He was holding not a gun, not a knife, but a microphone.

Kirk was a prominent political figure in America who consistently emphasized his faith in Christ and the biblical values that shaped his worldview and debates.

Greg Yoder, Executive Director of Keys for Kids Ministries, reflects on Kirk’s impact: “He had the uncanny ability, kind of like the Apostle Paul, of taking Scripture and proving Scripture to be absolutely true, but then infusing it into everyday culture and helping young people understand it. I think this is why he was targeted.

“He was actually convincing many of these young people that the ways of Jesus are the right ways of life.”

College students met around the country to pray for Charlie’s family and our nation. (GVSU – Photo: Joe Moss)

Kirk was known for practicing civil discourse and championing free speech on college campuses. His conservative convictions centered on faith, family, the sanctity of marriage, pro-life values, patriotism, justice, and individual freedom.

He willingly engaged with both supporters and critics, inviting students who disagreed with him to come talk at his table first.

Yet, even amidst differences of opinion, Kirk pointed young people to the Gospel. In an X post on September 6, just days before his assassination, Kirk wrote, “Jesus defeated death so you can live.”

Yoder says, “What I’m always amazed at is how he was depicted as some kind of monster and a hateful person, bigoted, etc. Clearly, they never watched any of his interactions with college students because he loved them. I mean, even those that criticized him and called him horrible names. He just smiled and said, ‘Well, you know, you have the right to say that. I love you. Jesus died for you.'”

American Christians are largely unfamiliar with physical persecution. Kirk’s assassination serves as a stark reminder that anyone who is a loud voice for biblical values may become a target for physical violence.

Yoder points to the truth of Ephesians 6:12: Our wrestle is not against flesh and blood.

“This is a time to mourn — not just for Charlie Kirk, but our culture, which is dying without Jesus,” Yoder says. “If the culture can lie and be convincing enough to tell someone they don’t know what gender they are, or that what’s evil is good and what’s good is evil, we know that this is the spiritual battle that Scripture is so clear about talking about.”

According to Barna Research, Generation Z is experiencing a spiritual revival. American churches are seeing young people coming back in droves, seeking out spiritual truth and answers to life’s questions.

At this pivotal cultural moment, young believers are asking, “How am I going to use my voice for truth for Christ?”

It looks like picking up the microphone and engaging in hard spiritual conversations — as Yoder puts it, “sharing your faith boldly and lovingly in this marketplace of ideas.”

Charlie Kirk (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

He asks, “Now the question is, who’s next? Who will join Charlie in declaring the liberating power of the Gospel, and using that to help form a political guide? We as Christians still live in this world. Are we to be influencers in the world? I think we are.”

If you want more biblical resources to encourage young people, check out the Keys for Kids devotionals and Unlocked devotions for teens.

Yoder also urges, “Obviously, we need to be praying for Charlie’s family, his wife Erika, his two kids, his friends, his close family, and those shaken by the event. There were so many young people there that saw this, and they’re not going to ever forget it.

“We need to be praying for ourselves, praying for our churches, and praying for those that are going to be responding in light of all of this that’s happened — and being reminded of the fact that God is still on the throne.”

Header photo: Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Caption, photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Flickr: https://tinyurl.com/4z9jey33)

It was artfully done. After building rapport with audiences with a quality story and production, the series finale delivered an unexpected twist. It closed with a heartbreaking portrayal of a blasphemy accusation and deadly violence. Then, the closing credits showed photos of Pakistanis who were falsely accused of blasphemy and then killed, as well as images of churches and homes destroyed in those types of riots.

Aftermath of the Joseph Colony attack on Christians in Pakistan in 2013 (Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

The bold risk and message of the show’s creators have sparked strong reactions, and also hope for change.

“It’s a unique situation where this was not [created] by Christian groups. They weren’t pastors,” says Floyd Brobbel with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada. “It seems to be from the entertainment community, recognizing that there is an issue in Pakistan, and recognizing that, ‘Hey, we don’t want this to be a part of our culture in Pakistan.’” 

Brobbel explains that Pakistani authorities usually fail to hold mob attackers accountable, even when accused people have been murdered. That has to change.

One voice for that change was Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani politician who was killed in 2011. He was critical of blasphemy laws, and he supported a Christian woman named Asia Bibi who was imprisoned on blasphemy charges at the time. Sunday, March 2 marked the 14-year anniversary of Bhatti’s assassination at the hands of the Taliban. (Read more on Bhatti’s ongoing impact in Pakistan here.)

Now that Tan Man Neel o Neel* has hit the cultural scene, Brobbel says Pakistani Christians can be encouraged that more people recognize the injustice going on in Pakistan.

Asia Bibi was imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges. (Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada)

“Hopefully now the majority will begin to speak up and really start pressing government officials and police to … start holding them (perpetrators) accountable and seeing them being charged with inciting mob violence, bodily harm, and in some cases even death,” he says. 

Would you please pray for Pakistan? Ask God to use this TV series to open the eyes of people who have been ignoring injustices against Christians and other religious minorities. Pray for a just government. Pray that the Pakistani Church will boldly press forward with the gospel in this cultural moment.

“God has often used unique ways to deliver His people, to show that He is in control and allowing His people to further the Kingdom,” Brobbel says, “and I think this could be a possible way in Pakistan that God is using to free up opportunities for the gospel to go forward.”

*Tan Man Neel o Neel loosely translates to “Body and Soul Badly Bruised”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Amir Arabshahi/Unsplash.

Kurt Dillinger, President and Founder of LIFE International, explains, “This particular building was the first Jewish synagogue built in Grand Rapids over 120 years ago, and they were here in this building for many, many years. Then it evolved into becoming a university building where they did theater here. Then it became another business building.

“It eventually became the largest abortion facility in West Michigan.”

(Photo courtesy of Dominic Blignaut/Unsplash)

Around 20 years ago, when the abortion clinic building went up for sale, it seemed an unlikely place to transform for a biblical pro-life ministry.

Yet, that is what LIFE International did, and Dillinger says it’s what God intended.

“Over a five-year period of prayer, God brought us to this building and He showed us this was the building. It came up for sale and some business people in the community heard about this story. They said, ‘We’re going to buy the building and give it to you.'”

Grand Rapids’ Kent County sees an average of 1,450 abortions per year, according to statistics from 2013-2023. The state of Michigan reported 31,241 abortions total in 2023 — a nearly 30-year high.

The Church still has much work to do in promoting and celebrating God’s value of life in the culture — in Michigan, across the United States, and around the world.

However, this story is a poignant reminder of God’s sovereignty and redemptive work, and He will have the final say.

“We’ve had many women come to our building here who had abortions in their past,” says Dillinger. “They’ll come, and they’ll want to see the building.

“We get to communicate to them, ‘Look what God did with the brick and mortar. He changed it from what it was, to what it is today. A place of death was turned into a place of life. He wants to do the same thing in your heart. You are more important to Him than brick and mortar. This is just a message to you how much He loves you.’

(Photo courtesy of LIFE International)

Dillinger emphasizes, “That’s been our message through our building. God has uniquely given us a wonderful mouthpiece here for our community.”

LIFE International has expanded its pro-life work over the years into more than 100 nations, equipping Christian leaders to communicate God’s heart for life.

Pray for women and men hurt by abortion or considering it to know God’s love for them and their babies.

Learn more about LIFE International’s ministry.

Header photo of historical ministry building, initially built as a Jewish synagogue. Photo courtesy of LIFE International.

(Photo courtesy of Ian Kiragu/Unsplash)

Nehemiah with FMI says the statistics paint a grim picture. “According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, cases of violence against women have risen significantly in recent years with 159 reported cases of deaths, with many incidents escalating to femicide.”

Those are just the reported cases. “Activists point out that social attitudes often blame victims, further discouraging women from seeking help,” Nehemiah says. “So we see many unreported cases in society.”

FMI models a biblical approach, elevating and supporting women in Kenya. “Our partners are engaging with our sisters on the ground, and they’re involving them in the ministry.

“We are praying, and we are talking on the different projects where we can engage our sisters to start some small cottage industries where they can grow and they can make a little money.”

Nehemiah adds, “Initially, the Church was unaware or had no idea how to respond to this situation…. But now we can see that the Church is standing and now the Church leaders are raising their voice as well. They have become an echo for the victims.”

Pray for justice and for Kenyan women to know their worth in Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Ethan McArthur/Unsplash.

Hutchcraft Ministries partners with Native American Christians to reach Native youth with Gospel hope. Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries shares a perspective often overlooked during this holiday.

Hutchcraft says, “If I am a Native American, I may have, at very best, mixed emotions about Thanksgiving in terms of the history that it was the first chapter of.”

Following this early chapter of shared gratitude, the history between Native Americans and European settlers turned tragic. Land was seized, treaties were broken, and generations of Native people suffered displacement, injustice, and grief.

“Now, as for the holiday, for most Native Americans, it is still a great family day,” says Hutchcraft. “It’s a day with food, [and] although there’s a lot of poverty, it’s great to enjoy the meal.”

Hutchcraft also highlights how the heart of Thanksgiving and spiritual gratitude are, in a way, inherent in Native culture.

“Long before the Pilgrims came, the spirit of Thanksgiving has been really part of their spirituality. So for them to come to a Thanksgiving feast that [was] like, ‘We are thankful to the Creator,’ it’s interesting that it was not a new concept at all.”

It opens Gospel doors to discuss the God of the Bible – the true Creator – and Jesus Christ who gave His life for the sins of all people.

Hutchcraft explains, “For believing Native Americans, they would see…that we today have so much to be thankful to our Creator for, to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.”

As you give thanks today, take time to pray for Native Americans, asking God to reveal Himself and draw hearts to follow Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Element5 Digital/Unsplash.

Today, we’re asking, “What does the future of the pro-life movement in the American Church look like?”

President of LIFE International Kurt Dillinger says, first and foremost, the calling for Christians hasn’t changed.

“As pro-life individuals, our primary calling is to be like Jesus to our culture. That’s the most pro-life thing that we could possibly do.”

(Photo courtesy of Alicia Petresc/Unsplash)

Looking at ballot results this past week, three US states rejected expanding abortion measures and seven states approved them.

These outcomes underscore the ongoing need to encourage a culture in America that values life – both for the pre-born and the people in our communities.

Dillinger emphasizes that the mission starts close to home. “We are to be people who value human life in our own homes, with our families, and with our own children first. That’s our primary mission field. Then from there, to those who live near us, our neighbors,” he says.

“How do we treat people? How do we care for people right next door to us? How do we interact with the people we work with, our co-workers, and our communities?”

As LIFE International seeks a culture that honors life, pray for America to repent and embrace God’s purpose for every human life.

Dillinger says, “The direction that we take in supporting the value of every human life — how we live that out, how we put policy in place, how we behave as God’s people in this country — as the Church has a huge impact on the rest of the world.”

Connect with LIFE International here.

Header photo courtesy of Edmond Dantes/Pexels.

International (MNN) — “If God loves me, why would he make me a girl?”

This is a question Lisa Pak of Finishing the Task ministry was asked by a young woman.

Photo by Andrey K via Unsplash

“How do you answer that?” Pak asks. “For all the things that I can do… the world is unfair. It is very much still a man’s world.”

Misogyny, sexism, and abuse against women are still prevalent around the globe, and they come in a variety of forms, including:

• Sexual abuse
• Human trafficking
• Lack of female education
• Child marriage
• Female genital mutilation

“The culture has deformed and continues to oppress that identity of God, the image of God, in women—in God’s daughters,” Pak says.

When this is the daily lived experience of a young woman, it makes it hard for her to believe in an all-powerful, all-loving God who sees her.

“Culture has been telling her that she’s less than—less than the boys, less than the older women, less than the cattle depending on the culture…” Pak says. “And now somebody comes with this message that God loves you, but she’s never felt it. And so that to her just does not make sense… ‘If he didn’t have to make me a girl, then why did he?’”

It’s a question being asked by women across the globe in parts of the world where the Gospel either has not reached or hasn’t yet begun to change the culture. According to Pak, when someone faces such intense of pressure from the culture around them, it takes internal strength for them to overcome it.

Photo by Andrey K via Unsplash.

“That’s where I believe the gospel needs to take seed in a people group—especially when the culture is so overwhelming for the girls—and in her individual heart…” Pak explains. “She needs to know that God is love, because that is the only way that you can overcome all the evil voices and the lies of the enemy that tell you that you are a less-than.”

So what can be done to transform the culture and help these young women? Pak believes it starts with how we live.

“I think the first step is your mothers, your daughters, your aunties, your nieces… you start treating them with the respect that you would treat somebody who carries the image of God, as Christ-bearers.”

For those of us who are daughters of Christ, it also starts with recognizing our own dignity—“you need to know how much you are loved, because it’s out of that heart that you’re able to love others.”

Ultimately, it’s going to take God’s people living out the Great Commission and sharing the gospel, in order for God’s love to reach people like the young girl Pak spoke with.

“So many women around the world, they’re not seen. They’re just part of the background, just the white noise, just part of the din of society. That’s not where God has placed his daughters… The Lord has created them in his image, and the dignity has been robbed by the sinfulness and the brokenness of this world.”

“…But God is just, and in those small moments, we can uplift one girl’s head. We can treat them with dignity. We can give them hope, and we can demonstrate confidence as women ourselves, to step up and be humble yet bold, and have that inner fortitude.”

Learn more about the work Finishing the Task is doing here.

Header photo courtesy of Chandan Chaurasia via Unsplash. 

Rob Myers with DOOR International shares three misconceptions or challenges that make Deaf-led churches rare today. 

“Some of it has to do with the lens that we use to view the Deaf community. Many times when we talk about Deaf ministry, people put on the viewpoint of special needs ministry,” Myers says. 

Instead, Deaf communities should be viewed as minority languages, people groups with their own distinct cultures. 

“In some places where we’ve recognized Deaf communities as minority languages, then the way that we approach Deaf ministry is the way that we approach ministry in other minority languages,” Myers says.

(Graphic courtesy of DOOR International)

“We want to train up leaders to reach their own communities, we want to do Bible translation.”

A second challenge facing Deaf believers is often access to information. 

“If [Deaf communities] don’t have Bible translation in their particular sign language of that country, then many of the people in that church are going to be cut off — the ones particularly who don’t have access to written language.”

Myers says that creating Bible translations turns into a situation like the age-old question, “Which came first, the chicken, or the egg?” 

“In order to do Bible translation, we want to find Deaf churches [to help translate into their language]. But in order for Deaf churches to really grow and thrive, they need Bible translation,” Myers says.

A third challenge is the stigma that surrounds Deaf people in many cultures, even within church communities. 

“It’s only been within the past few years that we’ve really seen the Church begin to embrace the idea of Deaf people being able to be missionaries,” says Myers, “[overcoming] that barrier [concept] of Deafness being somehow preventative of people using the spiritual gifts God’s given them.” 

Would you take time today to learn the facts about gospel ministry to the Deaf? Visit doorinternational.org to learn how you can help empower Deaf leaders around the world. 

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of SHVETS production via Pexels. 

The cause of climate change is controversial, but its impact means even the Middle East and North Africa are getting hotter. Fadi Sharaiha of MENA Leadership Center says that as temperatures rise and weather patterns change, ecosystems and cultures suffer.

Sharaiha says there are four different categories of culture affecting climate change in the Middle East and North Africa.

1. Water scarcity: “The Middle East is known as the most water-stressed region in the whole world,” Sharaiha says. Rising temperatures cause higher evaporation rates, making water sources more scarce. Communities that rely on those water sources could face conflict or economic problems.
2. Extreme heat waves: In the summer, temperatures can jump above 122 degrees Fahrenheit. These heat waves can cause heat-related illness and death rates to rise as well.
3. Desertification: Best described as extreme drought, desertification can change the land that was once used as farmland into barren, cracked deserts. This means economies that rely on agriculture face collapse, and food shortages threaten to follow in the wake of these droughts.
4. Sea level rise: Some communities thrive off of the sea. However, bodies of water such as the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arab Gulf, and Persian Gulf are rising. This throws off ecosystems reliant on these seas and endangers communities built on their shores.

“Regardless of whether this is a natural cycle or this is a man-made one, this is what is happening,” Sharaiha says. “This is what we are facing right now.”

So what should the Church’s response be? Sharaiha says the Church needs to watch crises like these and be proactive in responding to them. “If we have cities disappearing, then people are going to go somewhere else,” Sharaiha says. “We need to have the churches being prepared [on] how to handle refugees, food security issues, [and] wars.”

MENA Leadership Center helps communities prepare to meet some of these concerns. They have courses on working with refugees, strategic problem-solving, and Gospel-focused innovation.

“We are training leaders on how to use the digital church and how to do discipleship programs for that,” Sharaiha says. “There are opportunities for the Church to shine and to serve the community and thus bring more people to the kingdom of God.”

Learn more about the MENA Leadership Center here. And pray. “Pray for the Middle East. Pray for the Church to be ready to take its own position and role in terms of being light and salt to the world.”

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

According to Erik Burklin of China Partner, there is an active effort to make Christianity more “China-friendly.” However, leaders in China’s registered church see this not as an obstacle but rather an opportunity to contextualize their message within China’s culture. In the words of one pastor, “Our goal is to keep the biblical foundation but adapt to the culture, making the gospel relevant to our people.”

To Burklin, this is already an essential part of fulfilling the Great Commission. “We’re trying to figure out the best way of how we can share the good news of Jesus Christ to the culture or to the people that live in today’s culture.”

Yes, there is an active effort by officials to make religion “more Chinese.” But according to Burklin, “Chinese Christians laugh about that. They said, ‘Well, how much more Chinese do you want us to be? We are Chinese!’”

Really, it’s about ensuring that even Chinese Christians put the state first. Pastors are then faced with a complex challenge: trying to fit within the system and doing as the government asks without compromising the biblical integrity of the Gospel.

For example, many Christians around the world have heard stories of a future Chinese “version” of the Bible. Burklin got his hands on a copy of one of these Bibles. The cover was red and designed like a traditional Chinese book. Traditional artwork decorated both the cover and inside pages. And as for the content? “I had team members with me who speak Mandarin. […] they said it was identical to what they knew the true Bible to be.”

Burklin says that with these restrictions, the state is “almost saber-rattling in a way, just warning everybody, ‘Hey, you better toe the line and obey that we are really above all, including religion.’ And the Christians are saying, ‘So be it, but Jesus Christ is still the head of the church.’”

Above all, leaders within the Church in China focus on the fact that “Jesus is the person who brings salvation to the Chinese people. That is the core of our Gospel. That’s why we as pastors or as evangelists are working for the Lord; to let people know about the salvation that is possible through Jesus Christ.”

Follow China Partner’s work here at their website.

Header photo courtesy of China Partner.