Ministry

The United States Department of Labor has launched a new website for its Center for Faith to provide resources for Christians and others facing religious discrimination. This initiative aims to combat rising cases of workplace discrimination against religious individuals. The launch signals a renewed federal focus on protecting the religious freedoms of American workers.

Elevation Church, the multisite megachurch founded by Steven Furtick, announced the launch of Elevation College in November 2025 as a hybrid institution. This move reflects a broader shift in Christian higher education toward integrating faith with modern academic formats to reach new generations. The launch signals a strategic pivot by megachurches to directly address educational needs and theological formation outside traditional university structures.

An Episcopal church in Ocean City, Maryland, is clashing with city officials after deciding to host a homeless tent encampment on its grounds. The decision has drawn criticism from local authorities citing zoning laws and ordinances, creating a tension between religious hospitality and municipal regulation. This incident highlights the ongoing struggle between faith-based organizations and government overreach regarding social welfare initiatives.

Yevheniia Poliakova, a Ukrainian woman whose apartment was nearly shattered by military aircraft, is now planting a church in Red Wing, Minnesota. Her story exemplifies the resilience of faith amidst the devastation of war and the desire to rebuild community. This narrative offers a powerful testament to the enduring power of the Gospel in the face of global conflict.

Candace Owens, Carrie Prejean Boller, and Joe Kent, who have all made headlines for their rhetoric on Israel, were among the featured speakers at Catholics for Catholics gala in the nation's capital. The event highlights the growing influence of conservative voices advocating for Israel within the Catholic community and broader cultural sphere. This gathering signals a strengthening alliance between faith-based organizations and pro-Israel advocacy groups.

Pastor Ishan Prasad and his family survived a severe attack by Hindu nationalists during a prayer meeting, receiving help at the critical moment. Their story illustrates the bravery of believers facing violence for their faith and the importance of timely intervention. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggles for religious freedom in India and the need for global support.

Former ICC Fellow Linda Burkle reflects on her ministry trips to China, noting that persecution of Christians extends beyond official borders. Her testimony reveals the deep-seated hostility toward faith in the region and the resilience of underground church leaders. This story emphasizes the global nature of Christian persecution and the need for cross-border solidarity.

A Christian leader in Nigeria's Plateau state alleges that international protection efforts failed to stop repeated attacks on communities in the Middle Belt. Despite the presence of U.S. military assets, violence against Christians persists, revealing the limitations of external intervention. This situation highlights the urgent need for direct local protection and sustained international advocacy for persecuted believers.

Iranian Christian convert Reza was released from ICE detention after nine months, with his church tracking his exact time of 267 days. His freedom highlights the ongoing struggles of persecuted believers facing immigration hurdles even after escaping physical danger. This case underscores the intersection of religious freedom and immigration policy in protecting vulnerable converts.

Worship leader Chris Tomlin reflects on reimagining a 1,800-year-old Christian hymn, connecting modern congregations to early church theology. This project demonstrates how worship can bridge historical faith traditions with contemporary expression. It reinforces the enduring power of ancient songs to shape and sustain the church today.

The St. Peter Catholic Church community mourns the Rev. John Zak, a beloved deacon who adopted thirteen children, after his adopted son was charged with his murder. This tragic event highlights the profound vulnerability of ministry leaders who dedicate their lives to raising and loving families. The case underscores the urgent need for safety and protection for those serving in the church and raising children in faith.

A pastor known for integrating his admiration for Costco with his Christian message reports a positive trend of young people turning toward the church. He asserts that there are no good answers outside the church, suggesting a renewed spiritual awakening among younger generations. This development offers hope for religious institutions facing demographic challenges and indicates a potential shift in cultural engagement with faith.

Worshipers in Rajasthan, India, gathered to hear the Bible read in the Hadoti language, marking a significant step in making the Word accessible. This translation effort brings God closer to a specific community, fulfilling the Great Commission by ensuring the Gospel is understood in their native tongue. Such initiatives demonstrate the enduring power of the Church to reach the unreached through linguistic and cultural engagement.

Singer Gwen Stefani has publicly shared how a 'miracle' pregnancy and her atheist friend's spiritual journey inspired her to return to Christianity. Her testimony highlights the transformative power of personal experience in religious conversion and the role of community in faith restoration. This story offers a modern example of faith revival among cultural influencers.

The Christian Post argues that the Church must acknowledge that patterns reveal character, which ultimately trumps charisma. This reflection on Mark Driscoll serves as a cautionary tale for congregations following charismatic leaders. The broader implication is a call for the Church to prioritize doctrinal integrity and character over celebrity influence.

Millions of Christians worldwide continue to gather to worship Christ under circumstances that Western believers can scarcely imagine, meeting in secret apartments or facing open hostility. Their unwavering commitment to Christ in the face of persecution demonstrates that the persecuted church often embodies the highest form of faithfulness. This reality challenges Western Christians to move beyond comfort and embrace the cost of discipleship.

Pastor Eric Mason addresses how church conversations on masculinity must be rooted in biblical truth while acknowledging the unique struggles of Black Christians facing false ideological movements. His insights offer a necessary correction to secular narratives that often distort male identity and spiritual purpose. This dialogue is vital for equipping men to serve faithfully in both the pulpit and the political arena.

Hindu nationalists in central India led a mob that stormed a house church, beating the pastor unconscious and injuring women and children. This violent assault highlights the growing danger facing believers in regions where religious freedom is under attack by state-aligned extremists. The incident underscores the urgent need for global Christian communities to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers who worship in secret.

John M. Perkins, a bold evangelical voice who proclaimed the gospel against racism, died on Friday at the age of 95. Perkins challenged Christians, especially white evangelicals, to repent of safe, narrative-driven approaches to racial justice and embrace the hard work of true reconciliation. His legacy continues to inspire a new generation of believers to stand for truth and love in the face of deep societal divisions.

Dr. Ben Carson has returned to the national stage with a renewed focus on fighting for America's families in a new audio series. His return signals a potential resurgence of conservative thought leadership and a call to address the moral and economic challenges facing the nation. Carson's involvement suggests a growing movement to reinvigorate the conservative base through intellectual and spiritual engagement.

A Southern Baptist church in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has donated $100,000 to a neighboring congregation to assist with the costs of a newly acquired building. This generous act demonstrates the power of local church generosity and the Gospel's call to support one another in ministry. The gift underscores the importance of financial stewardship and community unity within the body of Christ.

Mark Driscoll's Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, has acquired a $15.5 million building to expand its facilities following a decade of ministry growth. This acquisition matters as it demonstrates the continued vitality of the church, which now attracts approximately 5,000 worshipers each service. The broader implication is a positive sign for religious liberty and the resurgence of evangelical ministry in the United States.

Rev. A.R. Bernard, founder of the Christian Cultural Center megachurch in Brooklyn, and former Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan have both been sworn in as co-chaplains of the New York Police Department, bringing two of the city's most prominent religious leaders into direct partnership with its largest law enforcement agency. The appointments reflect a deliberate effort by the NYPD to strengthen its relationship with faith communities across denominational lines, pairing a Black evangelical Protestant pastor with a retired Catholic archbishop in a city where both traditions wield significant cultural influence. The dual appointment comes at a time when police-community relations remain a central concern in New York City, and when the moral authority of religious leaders is increasingly seen as a bridge between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

While the national narrative about Portland, Oregon, has focused on political dysfunction, drug crises, and urban decay, Christianity Today reports that churches across the city have refused to abandon the neighborhoods most devastated by addiction, homelessness, and despair. The feature profiles congregations and ministries that have planted themselves in Portland's most broken corners -- feeding the hungry, sheltering the displaced, and sharing the gospel with people the rest of the city has written off. The story is a reminder that the church's calling is not to flee dysfunction but to enter it, and that the most faithful ministry often happens in the places the world considers beyond hope.

A group of 41 members from Calvary Chapel Summerville in South Carolina who had been stranded in Israel when Iranian counterstrikes against the country shut down air travel has safely arrived back in the United States. The church group had been visiting the Holy Land when Operation Epic Fury began, trapping them in a war zone as Iranian missiles targeted Israeli cities and airports closed to civilian traffic. Their safe return after days of uncertainty and prayer from their congregation back home is a testimony that resonates deeply with a church community that watched helplessly as their loved ones were caught in the crossfire of a geopolitical conflict they never anticipated. The group's ordeal underscores the real human impact of the Iran war on ordinary Americans -- not soldiers or diplomats, but church members on a pilgrimage who found themselves in the middle of a shooting war. Their story joins thousands of similar accounts from American citizens scrambling to evacuate the Middle East as the conflict widens.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters that he prays daily for American troops serving in Operation Epic Fury and that 'biblical wisdom' plays a role in 'every decision' the Trump administration makes regarding the Iran conflict — an extraordinary statement from the nation's top military official that would have been unthinkable in most previous administrations. Hegseth, a combat veteran and outspoken evangelical who has never been shy about his faith, framed the prayer not as a private devotional practice but as an integral part of the decision-making process that sends young Americans into harm's way. The statement arrives as the U.S. death toll climbs past ten service members and the conflict shows no signs of the quick resolution the administration initially suggested. For the families of the fallen and the troops still in theater, Hegseth's invocation of prayer and scripture offers either comfort or controversy depending on one's view of the role faith should play in the prosecution of war — but there is no disputing that the Secretary of War is making the most public case for God's involvement in American military decisions since the Eisenhower era.

Frederick Haynes III, the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas — one of the largest and most politically active Black congregations in Texas — cruised to victory in the Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the U.S. House. Haynes, a vocal reparations activist who has declared 'Gotta pay us what you owe us,' represents the increasingly visible convergence of Black church leadership and progressive political power in American politics. His primary victory in a safely Democratic district makes him the presumptive next congressman, adding a prominent pastoral voice to a House that already includes several members of the clergy. The victory came on the same night that State Rep. James Talarico defeated Crockett in the Democratic Senate primary — a result that paired two candidates with dramatically different relationships to Christianity and generated immediate scrutiny of Talarico's unconventional theological views. The Texas primary results underscore the outsized role the Black church continues to play in Democratic politics, even as figures like Michigan's Karen Whitsett leave the party over what they describe as irreconcilable conflicts between Democratic orthodoxy and biblical faith.

The husband-and-wife founders of Church Under the Bridge — a congregation that has met beneath an interstate overpass in Waco, Texas, for more than three decades — have announced they are stepping down from the ministry they built from nothing. The church, which serves the homeless and marginalized, has become one of the most remarkable stories in American ministry — proof that the church of Jesus Christ does not require a building, a budget, or a prestigious zip code, only a willingness to show up where the need is greatest. The Dorrells' retirement marks the end of an era for a congregation that has fed, clothed, and loved thousands of Waco's most vulnerable residents, and raises the question every pioneering ministry eventually faces: can the vision survive the visionaries?

As ISIS announces a 'new phase' of operations in Syria following the U.S. military withdrawal, Christianity Today profiles the pastors who have refused to leave — men like Valentine Hanan of Aleppo, who has moved four times with his family to escape fighting but has never abandoned his calling to shepherd Syria's battered Christian community. The profiles arrive at a moment of acute danger for Syrian Christians: the combination of ISIS resurgence, American departure, and the ongoing instability following Assad's overthrow by Islamist rebel forces in 2024 has left the estimated 2 million Christians in Syria and Iraq more vulnerable than at any point since the height of the Islamic State's caliphate. The pastors' stories are a testament to the kind of faithfulness that makes no strategic sense — staying when every rational calculation says flee, ministering in a country where the church has existed for nearly two millennia and now faces the possibility of extinction.

John M. Perkins — the civil rights leader, author, and community developer whom University of Virginia professor Charles Marsh called 'the most influential African American Christian leader since Dr. King' — is 95 years old and under hospice care, drawing prayers and tributes from across the American church. Perkins, who survived a near-fatal beating by Mississippi police in 1970 and went on to found the Christian Community Development Association, spent a lifetime proving that the gospel demands not just personal conversion but structural transformation — that following Jesus means entering the places of deepest brokenness and refusing to leave. His three R's of community development — relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution — became a framework that shaped a generation of Christian activists, urban missionaries, and church planters. As the American church fractures along political and racial lines, Perkins's life stands as a rebuke to the idea that faithfulness requires choosing between justice and evangelism — he insisted on both, and the communities he built are his testimony.

The Global Anglican Communion — a movement of theologically orthodox Anglicans representing tens of millions of believers, primarily in Africa and the Global South — is meeting this week in Nigeria to elect their own 'first among equals' to rival the incoming female Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. The gathering marks the most dramatic escalation in a denominational split that has been building for decades over the Anglican Communion's progressive turn on sexuality, gender, and biblical authority. For the African bishops who lead the orthodox movement, the election of a parallel leader is an assertion that the moral and numerical center of global Anglicanism has shifted south — away from the declining Western churches that once sent missionaries to their shores, and toward the vibrant, growing congregations that now represent the majority of the world's Anglicans.

Former NFL quarterback and current philanthropist Tim Tebow delivered a sobering testimony before Congress on Tuesday, revealing that approximately 89,000 victims of online child sexual abuse remain unidentified — meaning tens of thousands of children are being exploited in images and videos circulating on the internet while law enforcement lacks the resources to find and rescue them. Tebow, who has devoted his post-football career to fighting human trafficking and child exploitation through the Tim Tebow Foundation, urged lawmakers to fund technology and personnel to identify the children behind the abuse material. His testimony arrives as online child exploitation continues to grow exponentially, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reporting record numbers of tips each year. For Tebow, the work represents the intersection of his Christian faith and public platform — a conviction that the most vulnerable deserve the most vigorous defense.

Brian Tome, founding pastor of Crossroads Church — one of the largest and most influential megachurches in the Midwest — has been suspended from ministry amid a review of conduct dating back to 2015. The suspension comes during a particularly painful week for evangelical accountability, following the confessions and removals of Acts 29 VP Tyler Jones and evangelist Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. for adultery. The pattern of pastoral failures across denominations and networks is testing the credibility of church accountability structures at a moment when public trust in institutional Christianity is already at historic lows. Crossroads, known for its innovative approach to reaching the unchurched, now faces the same reckoning with leadership integrity that has humbled churches across the evangelical landscape.

A new report reveals that nearly one in seven Christian colleges and universities have financial or institutional ties to Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry — a finding that is likely to provoke outrage among the parents, donors, and churches that trust these institutions to uphold a pro-life ethic. The report documents connections ranging from direct partnerships with abortion providers to academic programs that funnel students into the reproductive health industry. The revelation arrives at a moment when Christian higher education is already under scrutiny for ideological drift, with evangelical leaders increasingly questioning whether the institutions that bear the name of Christ still operate according to biblical principles. For families investing tens of thousands of dollars in faith-based education, the report raises an uncomfortable question: are Christian universities teaching students to honor the sanctity of life, or quietly undermining it?

Korean pastors gathered at a conference on the future of preaching in the AI era with a pointed message: artificial intelligence may be able to generate polished sermons complete with structure, illustrations, and theological analysis, but it cannot embody lived faith, suffering, or spiritual encounter. The conference examined how AI tools are already being used by pastors worldwide for sermon research and outline generation, while drawing a bright line between the mechanics of sermon preparation and the irreducibly human — and spiritual — act of preaching. Speakers argued that the power of a sermon lies not in its rhetorical polish but in the preacher's testimony: a life shaped by suffering, joy, doubt, and encounter with the living God. The conference arrives as surveys show roughly one third of Christians trust AI spiritual advice as much as their pastor's, raising urgent questions about whether the church is preparing its people to distinguish between information and incarnation.

Christian leaders across the theological spectrum have issued sharply divergent reactions to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, exposing a fault line within the American church over the morality of preemptive war, the theology of Israel, and the pastoral responsibility to speak to a congregation divided by politics. Some prominent evangelicals have praised the operation as a defense of Israel and a blow against a regime that has persecuted Christians, Jews, and its own people for decades. Others have echoed Pope Leo XIV's call for restraint, warning that the celebration of violence — even against a brutal theocratic regime — is incompatible with the ethic of Jesus. The diversity of Christian responses reflects not only political differences but genuinely competing theological frameworks: dispensationalists who see Israel's security as prophetically significant, just war theorists weighing proportionality and civilian casualties, and pacifist traditions that reject military violence categorically.

Pope Leo XIV broke his silence on the Iran strikes Sunday, declaring that 'stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through weapons' — a pointed rebuke that, while not naming the United States or Israel directly, leaves little doubt about its target. The papal statement arrives at a moment when the world's 1.4 billion Catholics are looking to Rome for moral guidance on a conflict that has already killed hundreds and threatens to engulf the entire Middle East. The Pope's intervention places the Vatican firmly in the diplomatic camp urging restraint, aligning the Catholic Church with European leaders who have called for negotiations rather than escalation.

A pastor with 40 years of ministry experience writes in Fox News that traditional male formation systems have collapsed, leaving young men vulnerable to radicalization, mental health crises, and crushing loneliness. The op-ed argues that the institutions that once guided boys into manhood — churches, fathers, mentors, and civic organizations — have been weakened or abandoned, creating a vacuum that is being filled by online influencers, extremist communities, and a culture of despair. The pastoral perspective offers a diagnosis that cuts across political lines: the crisis of young men is not primarily a policy failure but a spiritual and relational one, rooted in the loss of the very communities that Scripture calls the body of Christ.

The beloved hymn 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' has been officially drafted into the culture war, becoming the latest prominent symbol of the political and racial divisions cleaving the United States. Christianity Today argues the hymn — written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 as a celebration of African American faith, resilience, and hope — should belong to all Americans rather than serve as a partisan weapon. The controversy reflects a broader pattern in which sacred music, religious symbols, and elements of Christian worship are being claimed, contested, and weaponized by competing political factions, leaving the church caught in the crossfire of a culture war it did not start.

The cast of 'The Chosen' gathered with fans at ChosenCon to celebrate the show's remarkable ability to bridge the gap between faith-based and secular audiences — a feat that has eluded virtually every other Christian media project in history. The multi-season series depicting the life of Jesus has become the highest-crowdfunded entertainment project ever and attracted a viewership that extends far beyond the church pews, offering a case study in how authentic storytelling can accomplish what decades of Christian media have struggled to achieve: reaching the unchurched without alienating the faithful.

Former supermodel Kathy Ireland, who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue three consecutive years in the late 1980s and early 1990s before building a business empire worth over $2 billion, has opened up about how God redeemed her story and transformed her identity from cultural icon to devoted follower of Christ. Ireland shared her passion for teaching biblical literacy and leaving a legacy of faith, describing her 'true identity' as a daughter of God rather than a product of the modeling industry that made her famous. Her testimony adds to a growing chorus of public figures finding meaning beyond fame and fortune in personal faith.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has responded to the lingering theological fallout from his recent interview with Tucker Carlson by asserting that two separate divine covenants exist — one with Christians and one with Jews — a position rooted in dispensationalist theology. The claim attempts to reconcile evangelical support for Israel with Carlson's pointed questioning about the theological basis for Christian Zionism. The exchange has exposed a fault line within conservative Christianity between dispensationalists who view modern Israel as central to biblical prophecy and those who hold to covenant theology, which sees the church as the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. Huckabee's dual-covenant framework, while popular among some evangelicals, is rejected by orthodox Christian theology across most traditions as undermining the sufficiency of Christ's work on the cross.

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church considers his imprisonment a 'great privilege,' according to an advocate, as the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan escalates its crackdown on church leaders. The prosecution of Galstanyan represents the most serious confrontation between the Armenian state and its historic national church in the post-Soviet era, with the government targeting church leaders who have become voices of political opposition. The Armenian Apostolic Church — one of the oldest Christian institutions in the world, tracing its origins to the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddaeus — has been a pillar of Armenian national identity for over 1,700 years. The archbishop's willingness to view his suffering as providential rather than punitive places him in the long tradition of persecuted church leaders who have chosen faithfulness over freedom.

Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas and host of 'Pathway to Victory,' accepted one of the highest honors in Christian broadcasting at the National Religious Broadcasters convention — and used the moment to deliver a sobering warning about the fragility of pastoral integrity. 'None of us is immune' to moral failure, Jeffress told the audience, reflecting on the weight of ministry leadership in a week that saw two other prominent pastors — Acts 29 VP Tyler Jones and evangelist Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. — fall to confessed adultery. The NRB award recognizes decades of faithful broadcasting ministry, but Jeffress chose to point beyond his own accomplishments to the accountability structures and spiritual vigilance that every leader in Christian ministry must maintain. His remarks struck a chord at a convention already buzzing with concern over the pattern of pastoral failures that has shaken evangelical confidence in its institutions.

Cartel violence erupted across Guadalajara, Mexico, disrupting Sunday worship services as narcobloqueos — cartel blockades — prevented congregants from reaching their churches in the aftermath of the military's killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes. Christianity Today reports that pastor Constantino Varas of Iglesia Bautista Gracia & Amor received frantic text messages from church members who couldn't get through the blockades, which shut down roads across Mexico's second-largest city. The killing of El Mencho, once the most wanted drug lord in the Americas, has triggered a power vacuum and a wave of retaliatory violence that is falling hardest on the very communities — churches, schools, and small businesses — that the cartels claim to protect. The report highlights how millions of Mexican Christians worship each week under the shadow of narco-violence, a reality largely invisible to the global church.

Students at Liberty University participated in a 24-hour prayer vigil as part of the national Collegiate Day of Prayer, with a university panel discussing revival, spiritual warfare, and what they described as growing 'godlessness' on American campuses. The event follows in the footsteps of the Asbury Revival that swept through college campuses in 2023, which began with a spontaneous prayer gathering and spread to dozens of universities. Organizers said the current wave of campus prayer events reflects a growing hunger among Christian college students for spiritual renewal in an age of cultural hostility toward faith — and that the seeds of the next great awakening may already be germinating in university chapels across the country.

Tyler Jones, vice president of church planting at the Acts 29 Network and longtime pastor of Vintage Church in North Carolina, has been removed from both positions after confessing to a years-long 'inappropriate relationship with a woman' outside his marriage. The dual termination represents one of the highest-profile pastoral failures within the Reformed church planting movement, which was founded by Mark Driscoll and has planted thousands of churches worldwide. Jones's fall comes in the same week that Miracle Word Ministries' Ted Shuttlesworth Jr. also stepped away after confessing to adultery — extending a painful pattern of ministerial moral failure that has shaken evangelical confidence in pastoral accountability structures.

A Christianity Today investigation has found that ICE enforcement operations are devastating Latino church congregations across the Midwest, with some churches losing significant portions of their membership as families flee or go into hiding. The reporting, based on visits to multiple congregations including River Valley Church in Minnesota, documents empty pews, canceled programs, and pastors struggling to minister to communities paralyzed by fear. The investigation arrives as the Trump administration expands deportation operations nationwide and the broader evangelical community remains deeply divided over whether immigration enforcement and the Great Commission can coexist.

Reformed Baptist theologian John Piper ignited a firestorm among evangelical leaders after posting an Old Testament verse about welcoming the stranger — which many interpreted as a veiled critique of U.S. immigration enforcement. Pastor Jack Hibbs and other prominent voices accused Piper of 'irresponsible theology,' arguing that quoting Leviticus 19:34 without context about border security misrepresents Scripture. The clash exposes a deepening fault line within American evangelicalism over whether the Bible's commands to welcome the sojourner apply to national immigration policy — a debate that has intensified as ICE operations expand and the Pope and Protestant leaders increasingly weigh in from opposing sides.

A new study has found that roughly one third of Christians trust spiritual advice from artificial intelligence as much as they trust guidance from their pastor, raising profound questions about the future of pastoral ministry in the AI age. The finding comes as AI chatbots become increasingly sophisticated in mimicking empathetic, spiritually-informed conversation — and as churches grapple with declining attendance and growing competition for the attention and trust of their congregations.