The General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) analyses the tragic situation caused by the new Covid-19 wave. He calls on believers worldwide to pray for India and its churches.

Tens of thousands of orthodox Jews had gathered at the Mount Meron for an all-night prayer and dance celebration. “It happened in a split second; people just fell, trampling each other. It was a disaster”.

“Do we deserve to live and die like this in our own country?”, a relative of a killed Christian student asks. Nigeria led the world in number of kidnapped Christians last year with 990.

“Church leaders, pastors and congregation members are taken away forever from the midst of us. Our hearts are totally broken”, writes an evagelical leader. Thousands die without access to hospitals.

In just 2 weeks, two evangelical churches in rural areas have been destroyed. One of the firemen was injured.

Four Middle Eastern countries accounted for 88% of all reported death penalties applied worldwide, but non-official statistics speak of thousands executed in China.

The Council of Evangelical Churches denounces the use of “biblical end-time themes” to “incite fear and panic”, and asks its members to “consult only reliable sources”.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its newest 2021 World Press Freedom Index, which denounces that 130 countries still do not fully guarantee the fundamental right of press freedom.

Milagros Aguayo was number two on the Lima list of the Renovación Popular party for the Congress. “The gospel is a tool to participate in the public life”, she says.

The nurses were accused of “defiling the Koran”. A Muslim co-worker attacked one of them with a knife.

Often defined by international media as a Covid-19 denier, the President died in March at the age of 61. The national evangelical students group and a Baptist pastor speak about Magufuli's legacy.

Tribal extremists threatened to kill 10 Christian families if they did not reject their faith. Christian leaders are concerned about rising cases of forced reconversions in the area.

Beatrice Stöckli was reported dead by Swiss authorities after four years hold hostage. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich confirms the DNA tests.

After the blast that killed over 100 people, the residents of the biggest Equatorial Guinean city are “starting to recover”, says an evangelical aid worker on the ground.

Mexico now has over 14 million evangelical Christians. Catholics are still majority, despite a 5% fall since 2010. 

“The stones were thrown from neighbouring courtyards” , the pastor explains. The church has been attacked before, as other churches in nearby areas.

China passed a reform of Hong Kong's election law to evaluate the “patriotism” of the candidates. “Many people do not agree with the government”, says a Christian in the city.

Muslim Fulani herdsmen suspected in the kidnapping of eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

A large number of Islamist lawyers swarmed the courtroom during a hearing, an intimidation tactic designed to obtain convictions and harsh sentences.

Evangelical leaders from the Middle East and North Africa analyse the impact of the uprisings that began in 2010, and the current situation.

In a UN Human Rights Council session, evangelicals ask Algeria “to allow re-opening of all churches and revise the ordinance on non-Muslim worship”. The government argues they do not comply with Algerian legislation.

Asian American Christians in the US call on fellow believers to “understand and acknowledge that the roots of evil undergirding racial hatred go deep within our congregations”.

Of the eight people killed, six were Asian women. The perpetrator is a member of a Baptist church that has condemned the attacks.

The pastor of the the Church of Brethren was abducted in an Islamic terrorist attack on Christmas Eve and taken captive by Islamic extremist militants.

Some US evangelicals “hope Virginia will have a domino effect on their neighbors”. They see “a growing number of Christian leaders and denominations speaking out against the death penalty”.