Over 1,600 Christians around the country are on tap to gather for a National Religious Liberties Conference, Freedom 2015, November 6th-7th at the Iowa Events Center. The conference speakers and attendees will celebrate the freedoms God has bestowed on our country, encourage those who have been persecuted or those who may experience persecution in the future and develop strategies for defending religious liberties for Christian business owners, teachers, evangelists, chaplains, employees and churches. The conference is sponsored by over a dozen evangelical organizations including American Family Association, Liberty Institute, Samaritan Ministries and Generations.

Cleveland, Tenn.–Last week the Awakening America Alliance gathered pastors, pastor’s spouses, and regional denominational leaders at WinShape Retreat Center for a time of prayer, strategic interaction, training, and commissioning. A new Awakening America initiative, The Helper: A Genesis 2:18 Ministry hosted the retreat for training and equipping pastor’s wives to become covenant group leaders in their areas.

Since 2011, a pilot group of U.S. Latino students began studies at the certificate level, majoring in Bible and theology within Lee University. The group was called, Latino Educational Engage, appealing to the desire to act with commitment to attend the training needs of the group. The initiative began with the primary purpose of providing quality academic and ministerial preparation in Spanish to the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States today—Latinos/Hispanics. The group was formed as a joint initiative in Spanish with studies at all levels and with the cooperation of the Hispanic Educational Ministries in the United States (USAMEH) under the Church of God Division of Education and Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Also, this pilot program served as a promotional strategy for educational programs at the bachelor’s degree level.

As America reels from revelations about Planned Parenthood’s sale of unborn baby parts, and funding for the pro-choice organization is under attack by federal and state governments, the pro-life Hope Pregnancy Centers of Brazos Valley (www.partnerwithhope.org) has purchased and is repurposing a former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic there. Hope Pregnancy Centers is the first known pro-life pregnancy organization in the United States to own a former Planned Parenthood building.

“God carries us when we cannot walk,” Evangelist Nick Vujicic told a standing-room-only audience Tuesday night in the ballroom of the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Born with Tetra-amelia syndrome—leaving him without arms and legs—Vujicic motivated the attendees of the ninth World Congress of Families with experiences that have taught him that there is “value in every human life.”

A federal court in Peoria, Illinois, last week awarded more than $120,000 each to two Muslim truck drivers who were fired from their jobs for refusing to transport alcohol. The truckers, who worked for a general “over-the-road” carrier, said driving beer shipments would violate their beliefs, and the employer, Star Transport Inc., admitted its managers were not trained in how to handle requests for religious accommodation, as federal law requires.

Sevierville, TN–ALYN Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel received nearly $10,000 in donations received from the “A Night to Honor Israel” event hosted by Parkway Church of God in Sevierville, Tennessee, held on Monday October 19. The donations were received through sponsorships and a collection taken up that night. ALYN Hospital is a state-of-the-art facility with cutting-edge treatments for children from Israel’s Jewish, Arab, Christian, and Druze communities.

Author and Executive Director of Coming Alive Ministries, Jennifer Hand, will release her book “25 Days to Coming Alive at Christmas,” on November 1, 2015, available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

The producers of Matilda the Musical, La Cage aux Folles, and Sundance hits Mother of George and Blue Caprice are proud to present EASTER MYSTERIES, a modern reimagining of two medieval mystery plays that was performed at Hunter College last week and filmed for a theatrical release next March. The music, libretto and lyrics are by John O’Boyle, a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, and the motion picture is directed by Danny Goldstein (Godspell, Tamar of The River) with Musical Arrangements and Music Direction by Milton Granger (Mary Poppins).