Read or share email edition, or scroll down for stories.
Source: Bible Society, June 4, 2025
Many people who aren’t encountering the Bible in their daily lives are part of online communities which are new mission fields.
That’s the finding of our new report, Digital Nations. It finds that some 5.5 billion people globally spend more than six hours per day online, where digital mission is not always strong.
Churches and Christian organizations have a new mission opportunity, the report argues. The report identifies 27 online channels or “nations,” such as Play Store, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Each has a different constituency and needs to be communicated with in different ways.
Read the full story and download the report. Key findings:
Looking for ways to engage digital nations? Crescent Project’s Embassy program is one option. They equip volunteers to connect with English-speaking Muslims in closed countries.
You can also find lots of resources for your metaverse mission at theChurch.digital.
Recently we shared another Bible Society report that has gotten attention and continues to spur conversation. See Migration and the “Quiet Revival”: What the Bible Society Didn’t Say (Acts 11 Project newsletter, Church Missionary Society).
Source: Crosswalk, June 9, 2025
More than 26,000 individuals across the United States were baptized on Sunday [June 8] in what is believed to be the largest synchronized baptism event in the nation’s history. Dubbed “Baptize America,” the one-day initiative saw 26,657 individuals baptized and 6,445 salvations recorded across 1,080 baptism events hosted by 650 churches in all 50 states, according to preliminary numbers. Organizers on Sunday night said about 10 percent of churches had yet to report.
“This wasn’t just about a moment in the water; it was about launching people into a life with Jesus, surrounded by a community that can help them grow,” [said Pastor and organizer Mark Francey of Oceans Church in California]. “We witnessed countless personal transformations and families baptized together; it was a movement of hope.”
“This is just the beginning,” Francey said. “We believe Pentecost Sunday will be marked yearly by revival, renewal, and restoration across America.”
Read the full story.See also Young Evangelicals Eager for Revival in Europe (Christianity Today).
Thailand is also setting new baptism records. The Association of Free Churches in Thailand has baptized more than 30,000 Thai believers in the last six years, many in mass baptism events. At a single event on June 12, they baptized 2,016 individuals. We looked for a good news article to share or link to and didn’t find one. Learn more about the movement as a whole in a 2024 article by Dwight Martin (Global Missiology).
Source: International Christian Concern, June 10, 2025
In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court upheld the dismissal of a Christian army officer by the Indian Army for his refusal to participate in specific religious rituals during regimental parades.
Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan challenged the Indian Army order dated March 3, 2021, dismissing him from the army without pension and gratuity, and sought reinstatement in service.
But the Delhi High Court upheld the dismissal by the Indian army, concluding that Kamalesan’s refusal to participate in specific religious rituals during regimental parades, citing his Christian faith, constituted insubordination and indiscipline, thereby justifying his termination.
Kamalesan stated that his regiment maintained only a mandir (Hindu temple) and a gurudwara (Sikh place of worship) for religious observances and parades, but did not have a Sarv Dharm Sthal—a place of worship accommodating all faiths—and noted that there was no Christian church on the premises.
He claimed that he regularly accompanied his troops to the mandir and gurudwara for weekly religious parades and festivals but sought exemption from entering the innermost sanctum of the temple during rituals such as puja, havan, or aarti.
Kamalesan stated that he abstained from entering the sanctum sanctorum of temples and gurudwaras during weekly regimental religious parades, aligning with his Protestant Christian beliefs that prohibit idol worship. He maintained that his participation in the outer areas of these religious sites was a sign of respect and solidarity with his troops.
However, the Army contended that participation in regimental religious activities is integral to fostering unit cohesion and morale.
Also read about an Indian Christian army officer fired for refusing to join a Sikh ceremony (Christian Today).
From another hotspot: Read about Friday’s massacre of more than 200 Christians in Nigeria (International Christian Concern).
Source: Forum 18, June 16, 2025
Individuals and religious organizations continue to be brought to court across Russia on administrative charges of unlawful “missionary activity.” These charges punish a wide range of activities, including ordinary worship meetings for fellow believers. Forum 18 found 124 such prosecutions between the beginning of January 2024 and the end of April 2025. The true number is believed to be higher.
More than 95 percent of defendants whose cases reached a verdict are known to have been found guilty during this period.
Read the full story and a longer article focused on the impact on foreigners working in the country.
See also What It Costs to Be a Christian Uyghur in China (Voice of the Martyrs Canada, via Mission Network News).
Source: Radical, April 29. 2025
What does it mean to reach the unreached when the cost is high, the outcome is uncertain, and the people you’re trying to reach don’t want to be reached?
In the final episode of Hard to Reach: Indonesia, Steven Morales wrestles with the deeper questions of gospel mission—questions of calling, sacrifice, and faithfulness in the face of resistance. In a country where the gospel is present yet millions remain unreached, what compels believers to press on?
Watch the 13-minute episode and others in the three-video series.
See also Celebrating Breakthrough in Indonesia (Pioneers-USA). It reports that all 132 previously unreached, unengaged people groups with populations of 10,000 or more are currently “engaged.” Praise God! Engaged to reached can be a long and rocky road, though, so let’s pray.
Source: Christian Today, June 3, 2025
As one of the UK’s most ambitious Christian projects prepares to break ground, the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ian Bullock, to help steer the initiative into its next chapter. Former Chief Executive of the Royal College of Physicians, Dr. Bullock brings with him an extensive background in leadership.
Located in Coleshill, close to Birmingham, the Eternal Wall is set to rise 160 feet into the skyline and feature a million bricks—each representing a documented answered prayer.
Read the full story. Curious? Check out their Eternal Wall FAQ video or browse a whole playlist of answered prayer videos. They hope to gather 200,000 testimonies of answered prayer. They have a ways to go.
For more videos about answered prayer, see Everyone Everywhere’s roundup of two dozen inspiring stories from around the world. Consider sharing one or more with your church or group—like the one below.