A major new translation of the Bible into modern Persian, launched in London Monday, marks a remarkable transformation for the Church in Iran. According to a news release from Elam Ministries, the organisation behind the translation, at the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979 there were no more than 500 Christians from a Muslim background in the country. Now Iran is thought to have the fastest-growing church in the world. ‘A very conservative estimate puts the number of Christians in Iran at 100,000,’ said David Yeghnazar of Elam Ministries, speaking in the news release. He continued, ‘The generally-accepted estimate is 370,000. Some believe there are 700,000, some over a million. Operation World puts the annual growth rate at 19.7 per cent. If that is the case, Iran will very soon have one million Christian believers.’ Yeghnazar believes there are a number of reasons why the church has grown so rapidly.

At a New Jersey summer camp children are encouraged to pray for the sick. A team member writes, ‘During the service I called out a word of knowledge about cancer and a woman with ovarian cancer came forward. The children prayed over her for over an hour, contending for the cancer to be gone. The scene was glorious as I watched the children praying fervently for a miracle from the Lord. One young boy told Lois that he had had a vision of the tumour being struck with a hammer. The lady visited the doctor soon after receiving prayer. There is no cancer anywhere in her body! The doctor told her that the mass was broken off like it was struck with a hammer and that it had passed from her body with no trace left behind. Amazing! When God heals a body, the works of God are displayed (Jn. 9:3)

A 17-year-old Great British Bake-Off contestant has said she is not ashamed of being a Christian as it is ‘such good news’. In an interview for the Christian Today website, Martha Collison said it is ‘the most amazing thing’ to be able to rely on God in difficult times. Martha, who is the youngest contestant on this year’s show, commented: ‘I think that being a Christian is one of the main things that defines me as a person’. She grew up in a Christian home and her father is an elder at their church where she helps with the children’s work.  Responding to a question on whether she is especially conscious now of being open about her faith, she said: ‘I think there’s nothing to be ashamed of in having a faith, and especially being a Christian. It’s such a big part of my life that I couldn’t hide it and I wouldn’t want to. I’d rather be open about it’.

While the world's attention is focused on the threat of the Islamic State in the Middle East, Christians in northern Mali have returned to their shattered communities after French forces wrested control back from Islamist groups. Churches were desecrated and looted when the region fell under radical groups in 2012. French forces were able to take control but the reconstruction is slow and costly, and peace talks between the government and mainly Tuareg armed groups are still ongoing. Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Yattara, president of the Baptist Church in northern Mali, told World Watch Monitor most Christians who fled the region had now returned to their homes but their churches are ‘in ruins’. He said the church there has lost most of its buildings and valuable property, including vehicles. The damage done by the extremists has also affected the church's work in the area of community provision.

The Church in London has been put on a growth path. One in nine Londoners now go to church, and church attendance in the capital has grown by 16% in the past seven years. This significant turn-around is reported by the Financial Times. Anglican mega churches like Holy Trinity Brompton (home of Alpha) and St Helen’s Bishopsgate account for the growth, as well as Hillsong, a mega church from Australia. This success is matched by a plethora of African Pentecostal movements, including the Nigerian Kingsway International Christian Centre and Kensington Temple. Research by academics at Cranmer Hall, a theological college in Durham, entitled ‘Church Growth in Britain from 1980 to the Present’ revealed that there are 500,000 Christians in black majority churches in Britain. Sixty years ago there were hardly any. At least 5,000 new churches have been started in Britain since 1980 - and this is an undercount, the true figure is probably higher.

A 105-year-old South Carolina, US woman refuses to take medication, choosing instead to rely on the Lord to keep her well. Dorothy Geiger is a former minister who just recently stepped down from the pulpit. She credits her faith in the Lord for strengthening and maintaining her well-being in her advanced age. ‘Hallelujah. Glory to God,’ she told WLTX. ‘I'm still doing what he tells me to do.’ Mrs Geiger founded God's Miracle House of Prayer for All People after the Lord told her to become a pastor. ‘God told me to build a church and he told me where to build it at,’ she said. ‘And I built it.’ The Orangeburg woman also believes she is being obedient by refusing to take any medications. ‘I don't take medicine,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘I depend on God.’ Her goddaughter, Myra Elmore, said that her godmother's faith has been an inspiration and encouragement to her over the years.

Margaret Jones, a registrar who refused to marry same-sex couples, says she was sacked for her beliefs not for her actions. A marriage registrar has been vindicated by a council’s reversal of its decision to sack her for refusing to marry same-sex couples because of her Christian beliefs. Margaret Jones, 54, who had been dismissed for ‘bringing the council into disrepute’, was offered her job back after an appeal hearing ruled that her employer had failed to take a ‘balanced view’ of her religious beliefs. While the decision does not create a legal precedent, it is likely to give people greater rights to express religious beliefs in the workplace because it was based on official guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Paul Diamond, barrister to the Christian Legal Centre, which advised Jones early in her battle, said: ‘All good employers should follow this precedent, and practising Christians should no longer fear expressing their beliefs.’

An indigenous ministry in Sri Lanka is going house-to-house telling the good news of Jesus to anyone who will listen. The area is influenced by various cults, sorcery, witchcraft, etc. In one particular coastal town, a small congregation was able to collect enough funds to buy a small piece of land and build a 12’ x 20’ hall with a cement floor and a coconut leaf thatch roof. They now have started special evening meetings in their jungle area where the people are hungry for the Word of the Lord.

Just above the hustle and bustle of downtown Dallas stands a place called Prayer Mountain. It's the site of mysterious healings and answered prayers. For example; Vivianna Ruiz. At the age of 6 she faced a diagnosis of leukemia. Ruiz recalled, ‘I was in the first grade when I was diagnosed and as you can imagine our life just kind of completely crashed. You feel so sick from the cancer and then the chemo - it kills everything, not just the cancer.’ The doctor said, 'There is nothing else we can do.’ Around the same time, a family friend convinced Ruiz's mom to bring her to Prayer Mountain. ‘Pastor Robert had everyone come and they all laid hands on me and prayed for me. I was asleep through all of it and when I woke up my mom says I was completely better, a new little girl, ‘Ruiz said. Thanks to that ‘miracle on the mount’ the entire family eventually came to know Christ.

The Evangelical Alliance has launched a new outreach programme specifically targeted at the UK's growing Asian population. 'Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes' is aimed at presenting the Gospel in a way that addresses many of the issues and questions that Asian people may have about Christianity. It was trialed in churches last year before being officially launched this week in London. Sanjay Rajo of Naujavan, a Christian organisation dedicated to serving 16 to 30-year-old Asians, said that until now there has been a real gap in the market for outreach designed for young British Asians. ‘In the last forty years Asians came to the UK from overseas but now we are seeing more young people, who are born here are confused about their identity and hungry for something spiritual,’ he explained. ‘This course will attract a younger generation such as university students and young professionals in their 20s and 30s.’