South Africa: God’s power at work
09 Apr 2015
Pastor Steve Haines is passionate about raising a generation of supernatural believers. Haines has been a pastor for 12 years he established the Supernatural Lifestyle School in Pietermaritzburg in 2010 providing Christians with two weeks of equipping in praying for the sick, prophecy and supernatural evangelism, while also giving space for people to encounter God through soaking and impartation. In 2014 the school moved to Cape Town. Katrina Harageus, a past student, returned to Namibia, and started a healing room in a hospital. The nurses have been bringing patients to her because they patients are touched by God and healed, even from cancer. In every school that has been run, they have seen healings, deliverances and salvations through the hands of ‘normal’ believers. Read about the deaf hearing, alcoholics delivered and more at the link below.
Global: Other elections to be held before 7 May
16 Apr 2015
On the 7 May the United Kingdom will hold Elections for the House of Commons, but seven other countries will also be holding parliamentary elections between now and then: Finland with election for Parliament on 19 April; Haiti has an Election for Chamber of Deputies on 24 April; Anguilla with election for House of Assembly on 25 April; Togo has an election for President on 25 April; Benin an election for National Assembly on 26l; Kazakhstan holds an election for President on 26 and Tanzania has a Referendum on 30l. For further Insights into how to pray for these and other elections in 2015 click the ' 'More' button below.
Nigeria: Election campaigns almost divided Lagos
16 Apr 2015
Lagos’ Governor Babatunde Fashola said on Tuesday that the 2015 general election campaigns almost divided Lagos along ethnic line and civil service administration. This comment came as the Lagos State Governor-elect, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, urged the civil servants in the state to continue giving support to his incoming team in order to continue the work in the state. Fashola said that the task ahead is daunting both at the national and state level and noted that 2015 election campaigns recorded unprecedented hype compared to previous elections in the country. ‘I have been involved in four elections, but in none of those elections have I seen a campaign that tried to divide our public service. I have never seen posters in front of the state secretariat that distorted the reality of our condition in service’.
India: Police attack Christian missionaries
16 Apr 2015
A group of 20 Christian missionaries were wounded by police officers because of their missionary work in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The attack took place on 26 February and has recently become widely publicised amidst concerns of ongoing religious violence and persecution against Christians in the largely Hindu nation. ‘We were made to get out of the police van by being kicked and then, inside the police station, the police lined us up and hit us with belts on our hands and wrists’ The missionaries arrived from Hyderabad and began distributing Christian leaflets in Jaipur. They were met with some hostility so they left. However, when they returned to where they were staying they found that someone had called the police and they were arrested. This incident comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, ‘We consider the freedom to have, to retain and to adopt a religion or belief is a personal choice of a citizen.’
Canada: Pro-life - an issue in election year
23 Apr 2015
Anti-abortion movement ‘March For Life’ will demonstrate in Ottawa on 13 May. Support for the pro-life cause has grown from 19,000 to 25,000 in three years and it’s the largest annual protest in Canada. However abortion advocates are working hard in public debate. Pro-life views have been suppressed and derided in politics and on the eve of last year’s march Justin Trudeau declared that Liberal MPs would be forced to vote pro-abortion on any legislation. (Mr.Trudeau is the leader of the Liberal Party)The theme of this year’s march for ‘Let Life Win,’ a veiled reference to Trudeau’s ‘no choice but pro-choice’ edict. This is an election year in Canada. In the past pro-life organisations have encouraged pro-lifers to support pro-life candidates, not specific parties. Now, in response to Trudeau’s ongoing aggressive pro-abortion rhetoric, the organizers have launched a campaign called #No2Trudeau.
In February this year we reported Turkey getting its first Christian TV station and in a season of fear for many Mideast Christians, Turkey has approved its first new church in 92 years to meet the needs of the Syrian Christian refugee community. The state will fund the construction and according to officials, this will be the first church constructed in Turkey since the creation of the republic in 1923. Pope Francis applauded Turkey for their acceptance of Christian refugees during his November visit to the country and also encouraged religious coexistence between the Muslim majority and minority Christian faiths within the country. See also: http://www.news.va/en/news/revisiting-the-highlights-of-pope-francis-visit-to
India: Christians living in fear
23 Apr 2015
Police have failed to make an arrest six days after a church was attacked in the northern Indian city of Agra. St Mary’s Church was desecrated in the early hours of April 16 by suspected Hindu hardliners who broke open the church gates and destroyed two statues. Christians are living in fear of more attacks as Hindu hardliners continue to target Christian facilities in India. A statement released by the Archdiocese said, ‘Christian institutions are sitting ducks for these fringe elements who are targeting them to further their vested interest. This has spread fear among Christians and we feel very unsafe in our own motherland.’ The Archdiocese called on authorities to speed up their investigation and take punitive action to deter future attacks on Christian properties. Elsewhere, in Delhi, six churches have been attacked or vandalised since December last year. See also
USA: More protests against police violence
16 Apr 2015
Protesters in several US cities blocked highways and swarmed police precincts in demonstrations against fresh cases of police violence towards unarmed black men. Most recently 250 activists marched across New York's Brooklyn Bridge carrying placards that stated, ‘Stop murder by police’ and ‘Stop killer cops.’ At least 12 people, some schoolchildren, were arrested following a scuffle with police. Los Angeles police arrested 15 protesters from a group of nearly 100 after they stopped on Metro Rail tracks and ignored orders to disperse. In San Francisco 100+ protesters surrounded a police station and disrupted a meeting at City Hall. In Oakland, demonstrators massed outside the Police Department and swarmed onto Interstate 880. These are but a few of the reported incidents following the 4 April fatal shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man shot in the back by a white police officer in South Carolina.