The Senate confirmed noted human-rights champion Sam Brownback as the new Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Ambassador Brownback will head the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom that monitors religious freedom abuses throughout the world. He is the first ambassador under the revised Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, the passage of which affirms continued congressional commitment to international religious freedom as a foreign relations priority.

“The idea that college campuses are tolerant or open to all ideas is laughable. The hostility shown to students who are pro-life is at an all-time high,” said 40 Days for Life President/CEO Shawn Carney.

Cleveland, TN–Art Rhodes, president and CEO of the Church of God Benefits Board, was named recipient of the 2018 Robert J. Varnell Leadership Award from the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce. The award is one of the three top annual awards and was presented at the 92nd annual meeting of the local Chamber on Tuesday, January 23.

There’s nothing more disheartening to a preacher than to see empty seats in a church. I’ll be honest—I like meetings where you have to pull out extra chairs and put people in the aisles. Why? Because I assume if God’s blessing is on a meeting it will be packed. I like numbers because, in my carnal thinking, crowds are more significant.

Another Christian business owner changes her seat in ministry to gain a new perspective. But, it’s not because of location, worship, people or the ministerial call. Christian leaders usually follow the same blueprint for an organization or church startup. This method today leaves many smaller organizations and churches with unnecessary struggles. A determined Jacqueline T. Hill shifted her career to launch a new strategy that offers help to Christian leaders who want to scale-up in their plans and visions in less than 15-days. She knows effective leaders have extraordinary desires from God, but how to get these ideas in motion is where they lack some knowledge.

The day before the opening gavel falls to open the 77th International General Assembly, a one-day intensive seminar featuring a stellar lineup of speakers will keynote the LEAD Conference, set for Monday, July 30, 2018.

The Voice of Hope, the only Christian radio station in Israel, welcomes Vice President Pence in his visit of solidarity with Christians in the Middle East.

Since January 22 marks the 45th year since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, along with its companion case Doe v. Bolton, that purported to legalize killing a pre-born baby’s life for any reason and at any stage of development, President Donald Trump proclaimed yesterday, January 22, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Part of the proclamation states: “I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on that day in homes and places of worship to give thanks for the gift of life, and to reaffirm our commitment to the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of each human life.”

Reagan’s successor, George H. W. Bush, continued the annual proclamation throughout his presidency. Bush’s successor, Bill Clinton, discontinued the practice but George W. Bush, resumed the proclamation, and did so every year of his presidency. President Obama had never issued a National Sanctity of Human Life proclamation during his presidency.

In President Trump’s proclamation, he states: “Today, we focus our attention on the love and protection each person, born and unborn, deserves regardless of disability, gender, appearance, or ethnicity. Much of the greatest suffering in our Nation’s history — and, indeed, our planet’s history — has been the result of disgracefully misguided attempts to dehumanize whole classes of people based on these immutable characteristics. We cannot let this shameful history repeat itself in new forms, and we must be particularly vigilant to safeguard the most vulnerable lives among us. This is why we observe National Sanctity of Human Life Day: to affirm the truth that all life is sacred, that every person has inherent dignity and worth, and that no class of people should ever be discarded as ‘non-human.'”

Since that tragic day in 1973, approximately 60 million innocent children have been brutally killed by abortion. Approximately 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Every day, more than 3,000 American babies are killed by abortion. Approximately 98 percent of abortions are performed for convenience, unrelated to health. Less than one percent occur because of rape and/or incest.

“January 22 is a tragic day in American history,” said Mat Staver (photo), Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “We carry the blood of innocent children on our hands every day. We cannot escape the consequences of this human genocide unless we stop the slaughter and repent of this terrible sin. Abortion is outright rebellion against God, the author of human life. Abortion kills innocent children and leaves emotional scars on mothers, fathers and families. We are grateful that President Trump declared today as ‘National Sanctity of Human Life Day.’ The Trump administration is taking action in favor of human life and we pray that the Supreme Court’s decision will be overturned very soon. Until then, Liberty Counsel continues fighting the battle to make the womb a safe place again,” said Staver.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

(Source: Christian Newswire)

Church of God International Women’s Ministries President Paula Hill has announced the newly-launched website www.cogwomensministries.com.