John Evans

BEIJING (BP) -- The first time the government had them evicted from their rented building, they worshiped outside in a blizzard. When the police started arresting them at their outdoor services, they came back faithfully each Sunday. When their leadership was placed under house arrest and some of them were pressured to quit their jobs, they endured. They are Shouwang Church in Beijing, a congregation that has refused official registration. For years they have absorbed the abuses of a government opposed to their belief in Jesus Christ as head of the church. Shouwang now has ventured into legal efforts to secure a regular place of worship. "The Chinese Communist Party is always afraid of any form of organization independent from the control of the central government," said Mark Shan, news analyst for ChinaAid, a group that monitors religious freedom and has chronicled Shouwang Church's struggles. In China, only churches registered as part of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement are considered legal. But registration brings government restrictions on evangelism, Sunday School, baptizing teens and children and other activities. In addition, ChinaAid's founder and president, Bob Fu, says government-appointed leaders, many of whom are Communist Party members, are at the helm of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Shouwang Church's refusal to place itself under the yoke of government regulators has earned it and its roughly 1,000 members consistent harassment from authorities. In November 2009, according to the church, the government had the church evicted from its rented building, forcing members to worship outside twice before they received "tacit" consent to return indoors. But authorities continued to thwart efforts by the church to rent or buy a meeting place, so beginning on April 10, 2011, Shouwang decided to return to outdoor worship until they received official permission to meet indoors. During the church's first service, police arrested more than 160 members. For 17 months since then, Shouwang has continued to worship outdoors, and police have consistently arrested and detained scores of believers. Shan says most arrested church members are released within a few days, but some are terrorized verbally and physically by the police. ...

BEIJING (BP) -- The first time the government had them evicted from their rented building, they worshiped outside in a blizzard. When the police started arresting them at their outdoor services, they came back faithfully each Sunday. When their leadership was placed under house arrest and some of them were pressured to quit their jobs, they endured. They are Shouwang Church in Beijing, a congregation that has refused official registration. For years they have absorbed the abuses of a government opposed to their belief in Jesus Christ as head of the church. Shouwang now has ventured into legal efforts to secure a regular place of worship. "The Chinese Communist Party is always afraid of any form of organization independent from the control of the central government," said Mark Shan, news analyst for ChinaAid, a group that monitors religious freedom and has chronicled Shouwang Church's struggles. In China, only churches registered as part of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement are considered legal. But registration brings government restrictions on evangelism, Sunday School, baptizing teens and children and other activities. In addition, ChinaAid's founder and president, Bob Fu, says government-appointed leaders, many of whom are Communist Party members, are at the helm of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Shouwang Church's refusal to place itself under the yoke of government regulators has earned it and its roughly 1,000 members consistent harassment from authorities. In November 2009, according to the church, the government had the church evicted from its rented building, forcing members to worship outside twice before they received "tacit" consent to return indoors. But authorities continued to thwart efforts by the church to rent or buy a meeting place, so beginning on April 10, 2011, Shouwang decided to return to outdoor worship until they received official permission to meet indoors. During the church's first service, police arrested more than 160 members. For 17 months since then, Shouwang has continued to worship outdoors, and police have consistently arrested and detained scores of believers. Shan says most arrested church members are released within a few days, but some are terrorized verbally and physically by the police. ...

ITHICA, N.Y. (BP) -- Barrett Keene is walking from coast to coast to raise awareness about the plight of orphans -- a journey "that's crazy enough that people pause and say, 'What is going on? Why is he doing this?'"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- State legislators in Tennessee have made it official: Sex toys and graphic promotions of sexual activity are not welcome in public schools. [QUOTE@left@200="The new law, signed in May, specifically prohibits promoting sexual experimentation and forbids materials that 'condone, encourage or promote student sexual activity among unmarried students.'"]With the signing into law of SB 3310 by Gov. Bill Haslam, public schools that teach sex education classes must emphasize abstinence, and teachers are barred from promoting "gateway sexual activity" that encourages students to sexually experiment. "We are very pleased with the passage of the Tennessee law, and we think that it could and should serve as a model for other states to follow," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association. Tennessee only mandates sex education in school districts where the teen pregnancy rate exceeds a certain rate. But before the new law, some districts brought in speakers and curriculum that included explicit depictions of sexual conduct. The Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACTN) documented a 2010 incident at Hillsboro High School in Nashville when a speaker with Nashville CARES, an AIDS awareness and education program, taught a sex education class at the school. The speaker used anatomically correct models to show students how to perform a graphic sex act. FACTN also noted that in some schools, Planned Parenthood presented sexual education curriculum that included links to its national website. Huber added that some organizations claim they teach abstinence, but their curriculum goes in a decidedly different direction.

Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church has emphasized biblical stewardship in an effort to encourage all members to experience God’s blessings upon obedience.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — When a Vermont pastor’s father became deathly ill, the pastor called the Green Mountain Baptist Association. Like many pastors in the state, he works another job to make ends meet. Unable to pay for the long trip home to be near his father, he needed compassionate counsel from a trusted colleague […]

For many pastors, the association serves as the primary support system for their work and ministry.

HENRYVILLE, Ind. (BP) -- A family picks through a heap of ruins that was once their house, selecting a piece of plywood spared by the tornado. They nail the plywood to a tree and spray paint it with a simple message: "God is still good."

HENRYVILLE, Ind. (BP) -- "Forty percent of [people in] our community are uninsured, and it's not because they're bad people or even that they're poor people," said Toby Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Henryville, Ind., one of the towns hardest hit by the March 2 tornadoes that ripped across several states.

      In an era of youth evangelism conferences, Vacation Bible Schools for children, and evangelistic camps for teens, some believers may be inclined to ignore the need for evangelism among senior adults. But when Pastor Dennis McFadden turned his attention to this neglected group, his efforts resulted in an eternal harvest. McFadden, pastor […]