Maltese Christian cleared of advertising 'conversion practices'
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 4 Mar 2026
A Christian in Malta has been found not guilty of advertising "conversion practices" in what is believed to be the first ever trial involving so-called gay conversion practice.
It has significant implications for attempts in the UK and elsewhere to ban "conversion practices".
How to pray for Iran and Israel today
en staff
Date posted: 3 Mar 2026
A group of evangelical and Reformed Protestant Christians who seek to share the gospel with Persian-speaking people around the world have issued a 12-point prayer plan to use for Iran at the moment.
Parsa, which ministers to Iranians, suggests the following:
India pastor forced to eat cow dung
Luke Randall
Date posted: 3 Mar 2026
A pastor in India has been attacked and humiliated by Hindu nationalists who accused him of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity.
The attack took place in the Dhenkanal district of Odisha and saw Bipin Bihari Naik, who was leading a prayer meeting at a house church in Parjang village, subjected to hours of cruelty at the hands of people believed to be linked to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist movement.
Gafcon's G26 conference: What's the agenda?
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
The Gafcon Global G26 Conference begins tomorrow (3 March) in Abuja, Nigeria, lasting until Friday (6 March). en will be providing coverage of the conference, with some introductory key details below.
What is Gafcon?
The Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) is an international movement and fellowship of orthodox Anglican churches, bishops, clergy, and laity united around the historic Christian faith as received in the Anglican tradition.
DRC: People ‘hungrier than ever’ for truth
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
People in Goma are “hungrier than ever for the basic truths of the Christian faith” a year on from attacks by M23 rebels on Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Rwandan-backed force invaded the city in January 2025, leaving around 3,000 dead and 700,000 displaced. However, Martin Gordo, the Bishop of Goma, has revealed to the Church Mission Society (CMS) that a spiritual awakening has captured the area amidst the negative headlines, with thousands exploring matters of faith and becoming Christians.
Middle East: Growth brings fears of ‘discipleship gap’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
Despite much turmoil across the Middle East, reports indicate that the gospel is advancing rapidly throughout the region, so much so that a “discipleship gap” could be looming if more church leaders are not found.
Local church leaders say that this “spiritual awakening”, which kick-started during the Covid pandemic, is growing at such a rate that positive problems are appearing, including the need for more spiritual leaders, as people increasingly search for meaning amidst the difficulties facing the region, according to the Church Mission Society (CMS).
France: Major assisted suicide setback
Luke Randall
Date posted: 28 Feb 2026
Assisted dying proposals in France have suffered a major setback and the bill may now be unworkable after the French Senate failed to agree on who should be eligible for assisted suicide and strengthened citizens’ rights to pain relief until death.
The bill had originally been passed by the National Assembly last year but the Senate, the parliament’s upper chamber, narrowly rejected the provisions of Article 4, which states who is eligible for assisted suicide and is considered to be one of the bill’s most important elements.
Yemen: Abductions hit churches hard
Luke Randall
Date posted: 27 Feb 2026
The church in Yemen is “struggling” following the abduction of at least 43 Christians by Houthi rebels since the beginning of January.
Believers have been kidnapped from local streets in Houthi-controlled areas and then tortured, with attackers believed to be trying to obtain information about other Christians before imprisoning them.
Nigeria: Violence ongoing after strikes
Luke Randall
Date posted: 20 Feb 2026
Recent US airstrikes have “clearly had an impact” on the situation facing Christians in Nigeria, but religiously motivated violence continues, according to an Open Doors source.
Militant Islamist groups previously feared no punishment for their continual persecution of Christians across the nation’s northwest, but US intervention seems to have alerted them to stronger repercussions for their actions.
Iran: ‘Streets smell of blood’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 20 Feb 2026
Christians in Iran continue to meet to grieve and pray amidst ongoing unrest and state brutality, with one person on the ground revealing that “the streets smell of blood”.
Early 2026 has seen Iran plagued by mass demonstrations, fuelled by economic hardship, against the nation’s brutal Islamic regime, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Crackdown in China deepens
Luke Randall
Date posted: 19 Feb 2026
The suppression of religious belief in China continues to deepen, with a “full-scale institutional restructuring” making many church activities illegal on grounds of national security, according to new research.
According to ChinaAid’s annual report concerning religious freedom in China for 2025, the nation’s government has moved from a “high-pressure stability maintenance” model to a new approach of “institutional reconstruction”, which has seen them embed control over religious activity “into the core of regime operations” through a variety of legal, technological, cultural and international means.
Council of Europe calls for ‘conversion practices’ ban
Luke Randall
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
The Council of Europe has called upon member states to ban “conversion practices” which seek to alter a person’s sexual identity.
Parliamentarians voted for the motion calling on nations to “provide criminal sanctions based on a clear and comprehensive definition of the proscribed practices” at its assembly in Strasbourg.
Asia: Bible translation and distribution progress
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
The Trinitarian Bible Society’s (TBS’) work translating, publishing, and distributing Bibles and evangelical texts spans continents. The countries of Nepal and Myanmar, and the state of Karnataka in South India are just some of the places TBS is working to translate God’s Word into people’s heart languages.
Nepal
“The need is very great in Nepal,” says TBS. More than 120 languages are spoken in the country, and many are without their own translation of the Bible.
Children’s ministry in Moldova: ‘My daddy fixes children’s hearts’
Abbie Watts
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
“The love of Christ compels us.” Taken from 2 Corinthians 5v14, this verse is the strapline of Christian Mission International Aid (CMIAID) and underpins everything the Christian charity does.
I recently arrived back in the UK after spending two weeks with CMIAID in Moldova. Started by Matthew and Ruth Hillier and Dan Marianciuc, the multi-faceted organisation does whatever it takes to share the light and truth of the gospel to those of all ages and stages of life in Moldova and other Eastern European countries.
updates from the mission field
Mission: Across the street and across the world
OMF International UK
Date posted: 11 Feb 2026
In this piece, mission organisation OMF International UK provides en readers with an update on its work.
The worker bee has represented Manchester’s hardworking spirit since the Industrial Revolution. In keeping with that spirit, OMF UK has been a hive of activity as we moved our office from Kent to Manchester in 2025.
Sudan: UAE role in war highlighted
Luke Randall
Date posted: 4 Feb 2026
Christians have called on the football Premier League to raise the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) role in the devastating conflict in Sudan with Manchester City’s owner at a protest at Etihad Stadium.
The action was staged by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) outside the club’s stadium because Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the UAE’s vice president and deputy prime minister.
Ukrainian soldiers reached with the gospel
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 3 Feb 2026
A day after I wrote this article, en was informed that Andrew Killick had died. This article has been amended accordingly. It is a great privilege to tell the story of his desire for Ukrainian soldiers to hear of God’s love. (Written by Lydia Houghton.)
What began as a quiet conversation over church coffee has ended with 1,000 Christian books being distributed to Ukrainian soldiers.
EU rules will ‘bring death’ to unborn
Luke Randall
Date posted: 31 Jan 2026
New legislation requiring the European Union (EU) to raise funds to provide greater access to abortion in member states will “bring about more death to the unborn” and “trauma” for affected mothers, according to a Christian Institute source.
The new “My Voice, My Choice” legislation comfortably passed through the European Parliament by 358 votes to 202. While it does not give the EU the ability to interfere with abortion laws relating to its member states, it does provide an option for nations to obtain financial support to provide safe abortions, in line with their own laws, to citizens otherwise without such access, as reported by Evangelical Focus.
