Faith News Network

Global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) and Roadside Attractions have acquired rights to Jon and Andrew Erwin’s film I Can Only Imagine, it was announced today by Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Jason Constantine and Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents and Co-Founders Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. The film will be released in North American theaters on March 16, 2018. Kris Fuhr of Working Title Agency and Ben Howard of Provident Films will work on the theatrical campaign in conjunction with Roadside Attractions.

Memphis, Tenn.–On the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, a statement from Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the Church of God in Christ:

Museum of the Bible, the 430,000-square-foot museum opening on Nov. 17 just three blocks from the U.S. Capitol, announced today it will not charge a fee for general admission. Similar to the admission policies of other museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the Bible will instead suggest a $15 donation, with guests under no obligation to pay anything. Museum of the Bible will also offer guests the ability to reserve timed-entry tickets.

The 18,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org) today hailed as a “signal of new hope for persons of faith enduring persecution and oppression” the presidential appointment of Samuel Brownback of Kansas to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Department of State. Mr. Brownback has been Governor of Kansas since 2011.

Nick Hall, the 35-year-old founder of PULSE and visionary behind Together 2016, will be named President and CEO of the Mission America Coalition, one of the nation’s most significant conveners of Christian leaders and organizations focused upon evangelism and discipleship.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) recently sent a letter to GuideStar reprimanding them for their recent labeling of Liberty Counsel and certain other nonprofit organizations as “hate groups” at the recommendation of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

On July 7, the internationally renowned Ark Encounter theme park south of Cincinnati celebrated its first anniversary, continuing to welcome thousands of guests each day to the massive 510-foot-long reproduction of Noah’s Ark.

Global Mission for Children, a Christian mission serving in Africa & Asia is pleased to announce the launch of their Crowdfunding site Take Care of Others. Their listing fee is just 4% (plus normal PayPal processing fees) and 50% (2%) of the listing fee is donated directly to the mission fields which greatly differentiates them from other platforms.

For the third year running, Bible Societies have distributed more than 400 million Scripture items around the world — including more than 34 million Bibles. That’s enough for more than 5% of the world’s population. And since the beginning of the decade, the United Bible Societies fellowship (UBS) has distributed Scripture material for two out of every five people on the planet. The overall 2016 total — almost 401.4 million — includes Bibles, Testaments, Gospels and smaller Scripture items like booklets for people learning to read. It’s slightly lower than 2015’s total, but is up on the 2010 total by more than 34 million items.

Sharefaith announces its Top 20 Best Universities & Schools for Worship Ministry for 2017.