Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Charisma magazine, September-October 2022. Lt. Gov. Robinson recently earned the Republican nomination as governor of North Carolina. As the first Black person ever to be elected North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, if Mark Robinson‘s meteoric rise to power continues, he could also wind up as the state’s first …
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A Turkish church leader explains why IM is fundamentally flawed A national leader of Foursquare churches in the Middle East calls the premise of the Insider Movement (IM) flawed, saying the approach assumes new Christian converts must leave their culture. “As a Christian I have changed my beliefs, but I have lost nothing of my …
Still wondering what kind of impact an idiom translation can have on one’s understanding of God? Take a look for yourself.
How Christians’ response to Muslims is creating a major crisis inside the church When Elijah Abraham arrived in the United States in 1987, he had every intention of adhering more closely to his Islamic faith. Yet the Iraqi native found his devout pursuit of the Muslim religion left him more frustrated than satisfied, and he …
In China, some 30,000 people a day are turning to Christ. Is this historic move of the Holy Spirit changing how the communist state treats Christians?
Dorothy Sun was attending a house church meeting in China last spring when four police officers started to pound on the door and shout for those inside to open up. Upon entering, they immediately demanded to see everyone’s identification cards. A female church leader quickly stepped forward and rebuffed the order—telling the policemen that everyone in the room lived in the building, had forgotten their IDs and were gathered to celebrate the nation’s Labor Day. After back-and-forth shouting with the leader over her dubious answer, the officers left.
Such exchanges are what many outside China’s borders believe is the norm for the Chinese church—and what Sun says is part of the ongoing secreted crackdown on Christians that Chinese authorities have practiced for decades. A native of China, Sun has personally felt the sting of government persecution, having spent six years in prison and 14 more working in a forced-labor factory as penalties for her faith. She has since become a U.S. citizen but returns to China annually with her husband, Freddie, who also has been jailed there for his faith, to work with house churches that refuse to register with the government. These indigenous believers, the Suns say, are spiritually alive and spreading the gospel despite the government’s opposition.
“China is thriving,” says Freddie Sun of the nation’s faithful. He estimates there are 150 million Protestants and Catholics, compared with 60 million communist party members. “Every day, 30,000 people believe in Jesus—even communist party members. It’s the greatest revival in church history.”
Tommy Green wears many hats: father, associate pastor, band member and author. But his driving passion is to share the gospel with punkers and assorted non-conformists. Formerly employed by a banking company, Green left in June 2009 for full-time ministry as a college pastor at Salt Lake City Foursquare Church. But his leading entrée into …
After Tom Watson suffered a stroke seven years ago, he began to question what memories he would leave his three sons. He didn’t want Father’s Day to become for them what it had been for him: just another day without a real dad. He wondered if they even knew his history of being physically and …
David and Thelma Ward attracted national media coverage when a one-time adoption credit led to a $54,000 tax refund. Thelma calls the unexpected bonanza an example of God at work in their lives. “We’re a blessed family,” says the North Carolina homemaker, who quit her job in 2008 to devote all her time to caring …
Despite technology that instantly connects the world, one-third of all languages today still don’t have a Scripture translation, and only 6 percent have the entire Bible. These ministries are rapidly changing that. Samuel Mubbala came to know Christ as Savior in 1970 while working on an early translation of the Lugwere language Bible. In those days, …
Almost 60 years ago, Bob Finley had a vision for indigenous missions that created the most effective missions organization you’ve never heard of The most dynamic spiritual awakening in church history isn’t occurring in a glittering American stadium, a booming South Korean megachurch or an African metropolis. Each day in China an estimated 30,000 souls choose to …
Sudanese Christians face tough choices over whether to secede
The future remains uncertain for Sudan, which is still plagued by unrest as it faces a January referendum.
There are positive signs, particularly in the south, where for the first time banks are moving in—a sign that cash is gaining more value than livestock. World Vision and other aid organizations also have facilitated peace conferences and border-clan meetings, encouraging conversations between ethnic groups.
Servant’s Heart in Louisville, Ky., doesn’t hold traditional Sunday services and doesn’t consider itself a church. Instead, the Assemblies of God mission is taking ministry directly to residents in the low-income community known as Portland.
Teams witness during weekly prayer walks, regularly visit a liquor store to share Scripture with customers and hold home Bible studies. The mission also has held clothing and food giveaways and helped sponsor free medical clinics. “Our focus is to do our best and minister. It takes different forms and shapes,” says Dave Heigl, pastor of the sponsoring Servant’s Heart Church in suburban Jeffersontown, Ky.
Why we’re fascinated with stories from heaven Richard Sigmund’s description of his eight-hour visit to heaven is a sensual extravaganza. After a serious, single-vehicle accident, he suddenly walked through a glory cloud, smelled a sweet aroma and tasted a sensation like strawberries and cream. Walking on a 6-foot-wide golden path accompanied by two angels, he …
Tenth Avenue North addresses human trafficking not only with words and music, but also with action When Dove Award-winning Tenth Avenue North launch their tour this September, the contemporary trio won’t just be singing songs from another album. Instead, the Florida-based band will use their platform to spotlight a serious problem: human trafficking. Currently …
Meet the new generation of Spirit-empowered leaders out to change the world. Jaeson Ma Church Planter, Filmmaker, Music Artist Once a hip-hop rapper, 29-year-old Jaeson Ma ran with an Asian gang as a teen before accepting Christ. His conversion led to a career as a pastor, church planter and author before he returned to music. …
