Free Republic

A local pastor in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the origin of the novel coronavirus, was taken away by police for interrogation while he was leading an online meeting of Christians on evangelism and church planting, according to the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness. The Zoom meeting, “Proclaim Jesus Gospel Gathering,” was underway when the police in Hubei province’s Wuhan city came over, looked for evangelism materials or publications, and took away the pastor, identified only as Luo, from Nanjing Road Church, the U.S.-based Christian persecution watchdog International Christian Concern learned from the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness, which speaks...

A house church pastor in China’s Hunan province has been arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” after he refused to join the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Three-Self Patriotic Association. Radio Free Asia reports that pastor Zhao Huaiguo, the founder of Bethel Church, was arrested on April 2 in China’s Hunan province, after being criminally detained since March 14 for inciting subversion of state power. His whereabouts are unknown. His wife, Zhang Xinghong, told the outlet that after her husband was criminally detained, the state security personnel told her that the reason for his arrest was due to his re-posting...

Rev. Bob Fu, founder of China Aid, speaks at a House Foreign Affairs' subcommittee hearing on the increasing persecution in China in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018. | The Christian PostBob Fu is sometimes affectionately called the pastor of China’s underground railroad. He’s the founder and president of ChinaAid, an international human rights organization dedicated to exposing religious persecution by the Communist Party in China and to promoting religious freedom for all in that country. He is also this year’s William Wilberforce Award winner.He recently talked with Shane Morris about his life and his work, as well as some...

CNN Tonight host Don Lemon showed off how bitter and heartless he could be during Wednesday’s handoff from PrimeTime host Chris Cuomo. The same day The Washington Post disgustingly mocked the death of a Virginia pastor due to the coronavirus, Lemon decided he needed to get his kicks in as well. According to Lemon, his death should be a “lesson” for those who believed “God is larger than this dreaded virus,” as the pastor said. Shortly before to the handoff, Cuomo had interviewed Bishop Gerald Glenn’s daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley to see what kind of man he was and to set...

The pastor of a Tampa megachurch is facing charges after refusing to close its doors despite a “safer at home” order in effect in Hillsborough County, meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. The sheriff says up to 500 people were in attendance at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne’s Sunday services. Howard-Browne, 58, turned himself in Monday afternoon after Sheriff Chad Chronister and State Attorney Andrew Warren on Monday announced an arrest warrant had been issued for charges of unlawful assembly and violating public health emergency rules of isolation and quarantine. Howard-Browne was released 40 minutes later after posting a $500 bond....

President Trump’s popularity with Christians in America is off the charts. In addition to his unyeilding support for Israel, he is the most pro-life president in the history of the United States. Pastors and priests from a variety of churches across America have praised Trump for his courage to stand up for Christianity in the face of criticism and hatred from the left. Shawn Bolz, a prominent pastor in Los Angeles who has prophesied about many things from Kanye West to President Trump, told Fox News his number one mission is to make hearing from God normal for everyone. ======================================================================...

A senior pastor of the Grace Assembly of God church is among those from the church who have tested positive for the coronavirus. In a letter on Thursday (Feb 13) to members of the church, Pastor Wilson Teo told members of the congregation that he has been warded in the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) since Feb 11. Seven confirmed coronavirus cases are linked to cluster associated with the church. The first two cases were announced on Wednesday, while the other five were announced on Thursday. At least three of them work at the church, which has a branch...

A Chinese pastor living Wuhan — the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak — has penned a powerful letter urging the international faith community to pray as the number of confirmed cases rises above 20,000 in the country. The Christian leader, identified as "A Wuhan Pastor" by China Source, penned a lengthy letter in which he revealed that fellow pastors from around the world have been reaching out, asking how they can support him. “It is readily apparent that we are facing a test of our faith,” the pastor wrote. “The situation is so critical, yet [we are] trusting in...

A church congregation tired of sowing seeds and not being able to harvest anything have unleashed their wrath on their pastor who came to the church in a new range rover. The Ghanian pastor is said to have continuously asked his church congregation to give out tithe to receive more blessings. The church gave all they could but as days went by, their blessings showed no signs of knocking on their doors. The young pastor was nabbed while entering a government building compound with his wife seated at the passenger’s seat. The youth of his church pounced on the preacher...

American pastors who traveled to Hong Kong to support the months-long pro-democracy demonstrations say they faced tear gas and water cannons as they stood in solidarity with student demonstrators during one of the most dynamic five-day stretches of the protests. Rev. Bill Devlin of the Infinity Bible Church in New York City and Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition were in Hong Kong from Nov. 13 until Nov. 18. They were present as police besieged Hong Kong Polytechnic University where students barricaded themselves in and clashed with riot police. Devlin and Mahoney say they spent time between PolyU...

Kanye West has had several friends preach at his Sunday Service, but since he started making them public, one little-known pastor from Los Angeles has started catching the ear of many of those gathered -- but who is he? Adam Tyson is the senior pastor of Placerita Bible Church, 30 miles northwest of LA, and for the past few months, he's been leading West in a Bible study before sharing the gospel with thousands at Sunday Service events in Detroit, New York City and, this past Saturday, in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Kanye started visiting our church back in mid-May,"...

Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has secured the release of 17 prisoners foreign governments had detained. “We’ve had 17 released, and we’re very proud of that record. Very proud. And we have others coming,” Trump said Saturday evening as he welcomed home Joshua Holt, an American citizen who had been detained in Venezuela for two years without trial. Unlike his predecessor, the president has managed to bring these prisoners home without freeing terrorists or paying millions of dollars in suspected ransom payments. 1. Sabrina De Sousa: Portuguese-American Sabrina De Sousa, a former CIA agent, was arrested and...

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a "Civil War-like fracture" in the country. "I have visited nations ravaged by civil war," Kinzinger tweeted. "I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant." I have visited nations ravaged by civil war. @realDonaldTrump I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant. https://t.co/a5Bae7bP7g — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) September 30, 2019 The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump...

Maybe he should convert to YouTube. A pastor and self-proclaimed “former homosexual” is suing Vimeo after the video-sharing website shuttered his account for posting clips lauding conversion therapy. Church United pastor James Domen’s Manhattan federal court suit says Vimeo shut down his account for posting five videos relating to “religion and sexual orientation” — but claims the video platform actually did it as part of an effort to silence him. “Church United’s account was deleted in an effort to censor James Domen from speaking about his preferred sexual orientation and his religious beliefs,” says the lawsuit, which says Domen spent...

A Maine jury ruled against a pro-life pastor Wednesday after he allegedly yelled so loudly outside a Portland abortion facility that he disrupted “the delivery of health care services,” including the killing of unborn babies. The jury’s decision is the latest action in a lengthy legal battle between pro-abortion state leaders and a group of pro-life advocates who regularly stand outside the Planned Parenthood in Portland. On Wednesday, a jury decided 6-3 that pro-life pastor Brian Ingalls, of Lisbon, broke a state civil rights law in October 2015, The Press Herald reports. The state sued Ingalls three years ago, alleging...

China has announced its decision to uphold a North Carolina pastor’s seven-year prison sentence for "organizing illegal border crossings" — a crime more commonly applied to human traffickers — despite his appeal. Pastor John Cao, who along with a fellow Christian teacher allegedly crossed the China-Myanmar border last March, filed an appeal for being wrongfully convicted of “organizing illegal border crossings” in 2018. After postponing Cao’s hearing several times, a court in China’s Yunnan province announced on July 25 it had decided to uphold the sentence, persecution watching group International Christian Concern reported. The court was “surrounded by a heavy...

President Trump stopped by McLean Bible Church, a megachurch near D.C., on Sunday on his way home from playing golf, where Pastor David Platt prayed for the president–a common Christian practice. Perhaps if Politico reporters and editors understood the biblical command of praying for all those in positions of authority, they might not have botched their coverage of the president’s pit stop so poorly. On Monday, Platt wrote to his church members with an explanation of Sunday’s prayer, but Politico reported that Platt “has apologized to his congregation after praying for the president during the unscheduled visit.”

Games reach an incredibly diverse set of people across national, linguistic, and social barriers, and that goes for religion, too. Last week, we noted that Ninja was taking meals off-screen out of respect for Ramadan, and it should be little surprise to see religious groups taking up residence inside virtual spaces. One Christian pastor now holds church in VRChat, and that even includes baptisms – no matter how ridiculous a person’s avatar. Pastor D.J. Soto is the subject of a new video from YouTuber Syrmor (via Polygon), and the whole process is equal parts earnest and absurd. Soto describes his...

FULL TITLE: Tennessee pastor who was facing 72 years in prison for repeatedly raping his adopted daughter, 14, is jailed for just 12 after dozens of parishioners show up to court to support him A former Tennessee pastor who repeatedly raped his adopted teenage daughter has been given an effective 12 year prison sentence after dozens of parishioners showed up to court to support him. Prosecutors had sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars for 41-year-old David Richards, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports. But a judge cited his longtime ministry and the support he still receives as mitigating...

ASHBURN, Ga. (BP) -- A Georgia pastor has confirmed the termination of a church staff member who allegedly "admitted to assaulting several young people years ago." The pastor also apologized to the Southern Baptist Convention and SBC President J.D. Greear for having "failed my duty as a pastor in not taking action sooner." "My greatest failure during this time has been to the God I serve who gave His Son for me," Pastor Rodney Brown of Trinity Baptist Church in Ashburn, Ga., said March 7 in a statement to Georgia Baptists' Christian Index newsjournal. "This situation has greatly changed my...