In Depth:  Lydia Houghton

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‘Adult content’ creator comes to faith

‘Adult content’ creator comes to faith

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

A former OnlyFans “adult content” creator who reportedly made millions of dollars on the site has publicly declared her faith in Jesus.

Nala Ray grew up in church as a pastor’s daughter, and started her OnlyFans account “out of pure rebellion.” OnlyFans is an online subscription-based platform where creators can share content; it’s known for being popular with sex workers and the production of “adult” material for the site. Ray reportedly used the platform to share pornographic content with her paying subscribers.

Ex-Mafia boss: ‘I’m asking for redemption’

Ex-Mafia boss: ‘I’m asking for redemption’

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

A self-confessed former “underboss of the most powerful organised crime family in the country”[US] has been baptised.

Salvatore Gravano – widely known as “Sammy the Bull” Gravano – underwent water baptism, declaring he’s asking for forgiveness “not from a judge or jury, but from God.”

News from Narnia: controversial casting

News from Narnia: controversial casting

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

British actress and Christian Carey Mulligan has reportedly joined the cast for Netflix’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

The casting has caused controversy so far, with Meryl Streep reportedly in talks to play Aslan – the lion character described by Lewis as “an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question ‘What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?’.” With Streep being a woman, many have expressed concerns at this potential casting choice.

Ivory Coast drillers bring water of life

Ivory Coast drillers bring water of life

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

Combining social action and gospel proclamation: that’s what an evangelical missionary organisation is seeking to do in Sub-Saharan West Africa.

In Golikoro, Ivory Coast, a group of Christians set to work drilling wells for those without water. But it wasn’t just drinking water they were seeking to bring, it was living water, too, through the sharing of the gospel.

Remarkable Christian author Jonathan Bryan, 19, dies

Remarkable Christian author Jonathan Bryan, 19, dies

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

Christian author Jonathan Bryan – known for his campaigning for fellow non-verbal children to be taught to read and write – has died at the age of 19.

Written in preparation for this time, a poem, Song of Life, was shared on his Instagram page with the caption concluding: “When you read this I will be in heaven enjoying my new body and all the freedom that comes with it, but most of all I can’t wait to be with Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.”

Jewish roots attract  growing interest

Jewish roots attract growing interest

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

A growing number of Christians are signing up to a programme committed to helping its students learn more about the Jewish roots of their faith.

The Church’s Ministry among Jewish People (CMJ) has launched “Torah Plus” – a programme focused on teaching how what is written in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah, or Pentateuch) is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus (or Yeshua), and exploring the Hebraic roots of Christianity.

Ministry to farmers: sowing and growing

Ministry to farmers: sowing and growing

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

A Christian association is seeking to fill a reported gospel need in farming communities.

Tony Baskerville, Cheshire-based tenant farmer on the Rode Estate, Scholar Green, and elder at Grace Church, Sandbach, says that farmers are feeling increasingly marginalised. “There is a tremendous opportunity to reach out to them in genuine Christian love,” said Baskerville.

New college with Christian aims and ethos launches

New college with Christian aims and ethos launches

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

In response to the increasingly prevalent liberal and progressive ideologies appearing in universities, a “new and unique” Christian college has been launched.

Selden College will be based in Oxford and has a twofold vision: to recover the heritage of Christian higher education, and to glorify God in this arena.

King Charles honours Christian mission organisation MAF

King Charles honours Christian mission organisation MAF

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

The humanitarian work of Christian mission organisation Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been honoured by King Charles.

Representing MAF, CEO Donovan Palmer (pictured left), Trustee Max Gove, Deputy Country Director in Uganda Sam Baguma, and Becky Waterman attended a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by the King, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne, where the “exceptional” work of approximately 100 humanitarian charities was recognised.

Cerebral palsy: ‘My eyes became my voice’

Cerebral palsy: ‘My eyes became my voice’

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

A non-verbal teenager who uses his eyes to write is sharing his Christian faith through poetry, seven years on from the publication of his memoir.

Jonathan Bryan, 19, has cerebral palsy, and uses an alphabet board to communicate. His book Eye Can Write came out in 2018 – when he was only 12 years old – and details the silence, loneliness and pain of not being able to speak, and the experience of becoming literate and being able to communicate with his own words.

Successor to Word Alive is unveiled

Successor to Word Alive is unveiled

Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is launching a new Eastertime gathering, after popular Christian festival Word Alive shut down last year.

Rising Lights will take place from 6–10 April 2026 in the Devon town of Torquay, and is described as a chance to “hear God’s word, to praise our risen Saviour, and to rest.”