Croydon NSW

Syria has jumped into the top 10 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution, according to the Open Doors World Watch List. The country jumped from 18th place last year to 6th this year – the biggest rise in more than a decade – amid a surge in violence against believers. “Key factors [for the rise] include attacks on churches, the closure of Christian schools in the northeast, and a rise in Christian fatalities,” Open Doors says, citing activity related to the Islamic State group.

The Anglican Church globally is re-ordering, leaving behind colonial structures for fellowships which honour biblical truth, GAFCON 26 in Nigeria has been told. "Look around this room, so many countries are represented here, from the east to the west, from the south to the north. This is the church. This is a church that is global in scope." one speaker told the gathering on the first day. The G26 Mini-Conference is being hosted by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in the capital Abuja.

I was 28 years of age and living in Darwin. Despite growing up in a Christian family, and calling myself a Christian whenever I had to identify with a religion, I never went to church, read the Bible or prayed at all. My sister had given me an old laptop. On it, she was signed into her YouTube account. Her YouTube history contained a lot of Christian content and sermons from preachers like Mark Driscoll, John Piper etc. One morning, in September 2009, I woke up hungover and opened the laptop.