Church Issues

• British churches out-number pubs: Although church-going has declined in Britain, migration has kept the overall number of churches stable, while three pubs close every day. There are also more churches in the country than there are supermarkets, Post Offices, bank branches and public libraries combined. Read more here.

World Scene

• Nearly 100 abortion workers quit after release of ‘Unplanned’: The hit pro-life movie has persuaded at least 94 abortion clinic workers to seek alternative employment (1% of all the abortion workers in the USA). Read more here. The movie is reportedly persuading many women to change their minds and not seek an abortion – one clinic has reported a 50% drop in traffic. Read more here and here.
• 446 babies saved so far during 40 Days for Life: The Lent campaign taking place outside abortion clinics in some 377 cities across the world has received hundreds of confirmed reports of mothers changing their minds and choosing life for their unborn children. Read more here. 40 Days for Life has saved over 14,000 lives since the initiative started in 2007.
• The Gospel spreads in northern Syria: As many Muslims across the Middle East turn to Christ in the wake of ISIS, Kobani, a Syrian-Turkish border town, has seen the opening of its first evangelical church. The congregation of 20 families meets openly. Read more here.
• Asia Bibi 'to be freed in two weeks': The Christian Pakistani woman whose death sentence for blasphemy against Islam was overturned, will soon be allowed to escape Pakistan and be reunited with her family. Though this is good news, there are still concerns over her health and safety. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Trump peace plan will not offer Palestinian state: It is expected that the Trump Administration’s Middle East peace plan, due to be unveiled in June, will take Palestinian statehood off the table and focus instead on economic incentives. Read more here.
  
• Gaza border towns are flourishing: Despite the constant threat of Hamas rockets and terrorist attacks, towns on the Israeli side of the Gaza border are experiencing economic growth at double the rate of the rest of the country. Read more here.
  
• Trump defends Israel in ICC: Taking a stand against the International Criminal Court’s biases and lack of accountability, the Trump administration has asserted not only the USA’s sovereign rights but also those of Israel, making it clear that the latter is firmly under US protection. Read more here.

Also for your prayers…

• Christian school worker fired for ‘gross misconduct’: Mother-of-two Kristie had been working at the Gloucestershire academy as a pastoral assistant, but was dismissed without notice after sharing Facebook posts that raised concerns about Relationships and Sex Education. She will challenge the decision with help from the Christian Legal Centre. Read more here.
• 17 Christians massacred at baby's dedication: Last weekend, more than a dozen Nigerian believers gathering to celebrate a child's dedication were gunned down by the Islamist Fulani herdsmen, who are conducting a genocide of Christians. The mother of the child was killed and the father is in a critical condition. Read more here.

Events

• The Christian Response to Relationships and Sex Education: 23 April 2019 (Romsey, Hampshire) and 8 May 2019 (Rochester, Kent). Two evening events with Tim Vince, director of Christian Education Europe. Register for free (Kent only) by clicking here. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.