One Somali man had an incredible journey from being an agnostic refugee to being redeemed by Christ and becoming a World Challenge partner.

As the church service drew to a close, Abdi noticed several men closing in on him. They pushed through the normal Easter crowd until they were in ring around him, and one tried to grab his arm.

“What are you doing?” he asked, uneasy. “Who are you?”

“We need you to come outside with us.”

We can be told to “just have more faith” or even pray for more faith, but there are also specific steps we can take to help strengthen our faith.

“Faith is on the rise,” reports The Guardian magazine, “and 84% of the global population identifies with a religious group.”

Gary Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz offered a conference to refresh pastors in Ukraine and over 10,000 church leaders arrived to hear them.

Chernivtsi, or Cernăuți as it is called by the Romanians, has been called “Jerusalem upon the Prut” for its strategic location between Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

It has traditionally been a cosmopolitan city, home to many Romanians, Germans, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Roma and Jews.

Pastors around the world need encouragement, refreshment and prayer from their fellow believers.

Recently, Gary Wilkerson, Kelly Wilkerson, Nicky Cruz and Carter Conlon were invited along with other pastors and leaders to speak at a pastors’ conference in Kenya. 

Part of World Challenge’s domestic mission work is reaching refugees making their home in the United States.

The Refugee Project released a shocking statistic: “Nearly 69 million people have been displaced from their home due to war, persecution or violence. That’s one of every 111 people on the planet.”

One woman is working hard to make sure that those often neglected by her hometown have somewhere safe to go. 

Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is the country’s largest city and famous for its historical architecture. Mark Buzzetta, Director of World Challenge’s Mercy Missions, wasn’t there to see castles and museums, though. Instead, he was looking for a food kitchen.

Concern for the young people and future of Burundi is what drives one young man, a World Challenge scholarship student at Summit.

I am from Bujumbura, the capital city* of Burundi in East Africa.

Raised in a non-Christian family, I started drinking when I was 6 years old. It’s not uncommon for people to start drinking at an early age with the traditions in our community.

Evangelism is becoming an increasingly touchy subject both outside and inside the church.

Ministries are now taking steps to help church members with disabilities feel included and part of community.

Ellen Stumbo is a writer, national speaker, pastor’s wife and ministry leader. She’s also the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome and an adopted daughter with cerebral palsy. 

In our current culture of pluralism and individuality, a fair amount of controversy surrounds church, who leaves and why they leave.