Network plants 10,000 churches
Mission Board’s Send, North America’s largest church planting network, has announced that Southern Baptist churches have planted over 10,000 new churches since 2010. In 2022 alone, over 47,000 churches worked together to plant 745 new churches. They focus on the quality of the churches planted and are grateful that the survivability rate remains strong.
Iranian couple released from prison
Praise God that Christian converts Homayoun and Sara have been acquitted and released from Evin Prison after being jailed in August 2022 for belonging to house churches, aka ‘crimes against national security’. Homayoun is particularly vulnerable, as he has Parkinson's.
70+ chaplains ministering after deadly storms
Violent storms spawned 80 tornadoes across the Mississippi valley in April, resulting in over thirty deaths, levelling dozens of homes and flooding across south Florida. Throughout April and early May more than 70 chaplains from Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Samaritan’s Purse have prayed with over 2,900 people as dozens professed their newfound faith in Christ.
Lord Sentamu told to step back from active ministry
The former Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, was ordered to step back from active ministry in the Diocese of Newcastle after he criticised a review into the church's handling of abuse allegations against a late priest. The Church has formally apologised to the victim of sexual abuse after the review found that senior figures - including Sentamu - failed to act appropriately when disclosures were made to them. The current Archbishop of York said that the diocese remains committed to the highest standards of safeguarding, placing victims and survivors at the heart of this work. The Church of England's lead bishop for safeguarding said, ‘We all have a bigger moral duty when it comes to safeguarding matters: to really look at it, refer to it, ask questions, hold each other to account, and be curious about how things have concluded. Because of that moral imperative I think that with good training we all would know we need to act differently'.
