Christian charity Open Doors have found that the secretive believers – who face punishment if they’re caught – are at greater risk during the Muslim prayer month because prayer and fasting is expected from all Saudis during the prayer month.

Beth Fuller, spokesperson for Open Doors told Premier about Ahmed, who recently became a Christian and the pressure he is facing from his family.

“They would often kind of ask him to lead the prayers during Ramadan and he finds it very awkward to say no because he doesn’t really believe it anymore.

“It’s quite difficult… for Christians to feel that they have that integrity in following Jesus but not making it so obvious to the people around them.”

The charity said the handful of Saudis who have converted to Christianity usually keep their faith hidden as converting from Islam brings great shame on a family.

If discovered, Christians risk excommunication, imprisonment and even honour killings.

Fuller urged Christians to be praying for secret believers who need protection from people “who might be seeking to find secret Christians and expose them”.

She also called for prayer over Christians in the Islamic kingdom for them to “really have wisdom as they try and work out how to keep the balance of being faithful to Jesus and yet also not revealing their faith in an obvious way”.

Listen to Beth Fuller speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun:

Stay up to date with the latest news…

The Church said the materials “range from a safeguarding prayer that could be used to conclude a day of safeguarding training, to a litany of penitence for past failures”.

Rt Rev Libby Lane, Bishop of Stockport told Premier the new resources are one way the Church is coming to terms with the way it handled abuse.

“We recognise the Church should be at the vanguard of fostering change of culture where all can be safe and can flourish and we realise that has not always been the case in our Church,” she said.

“We need to face the hard truths that confront us. We pray that we would live up to the example of Christ and offer safe places and safe relationships for people, but that has not always been the case and so we so have to be honest about that.”

An example of the new liturgy is:

“For the times when people have been abused:
Lord, forgive us
All and heal us.

Bind up the wounds of those who have been hurt,
and in your mercy make us whole.
Lord, forgive us
All and heal us.”

The resources can be downloaded on the Church of England’s website and will be updated by the Church’s Liturgical Commission as new materials evolve.

Listen to Bishop Libby speaking with Premier’s Cara Bentley: 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

var om3008_12279,om3008_12279_poll=function()var r=0;return function(n,l)clearInterval(r),r=setInterval(n,l)();!function(e,t,n){if(e.getElementById(n)){om3008_12279_poll(function()if(window[‘om_loaded’])if(!om3008_12279)om3008_12279=new OptinMonsterApp();return om3008_12279.init(“a”:12279,”staging”:0,”dev”:0,”beta”:0);,25);return;}var d=false,o=e.createElement(t);o.id=n,o.src=”https://a.optnmstr.com/app/js/api.min.js”,o.async=true,o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=function(){if(!d)this.readyState===”complete”)tryd=om_loaded=true;om3008_12279=new OptinMonsterApp();om3008_12279.init(“a”:12279,”staging”:0,”dev”:0,”beta”:0);o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=null;catch(t)};(document.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0]||document.documentElement).appendChild(o)}(document,”script”,”omapi-script”);

};

Jaelene Hinkle, who’s a member of the North Carolina Courage team, said she was chosen by the US team to play against Sweden and Norway in June 2017. However, she refused the opportunity because the numbers on the shirt for the matches were rainbow coloured.

“I felt convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear it,” she told CBN’s The 700 Club.

“I gave myself three days to just seek and pray and determine what [God] was asking me to do in this situation.

“I’m essentially giving up the one dream, and I’m saying no to it. It was very disappointing.

“That’s where the peace turns to disappointment, because I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. Just because you are being obedient, it doesn’t make it easy.”

Hinkle said she hasn’t been selected to play for the US team since making the decision.

While she got support by her team mates and club manager for opting out of the matches, Hinkle was booed at a Courage game on Wednesday after her interview with CBN was broadcast.

Her club manager Paul Riley has continued to defend her.

“I give her a lot of credit. Whatever her beliefs are, whatever she believes in, that’s her. It doesn’t affect the team,” he said after the match.

Courage team mate Jessica McDonald added: “She is high on her faith, and in my honest option that’s absolutely incredible.

“If she’s for God, then that’s fine. That’s great if that’s what…

New Orleans-based Jesse Duplantis says he wants a Falcon 7X to enable him to travel anywhere around the world without having to refuel en-route.

In his regular This Week With Jesse video series, he said: “You know, I’ve owned three different jets in my life; just burning them up for the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Now, some people believe that preachers shouldn’t have jets.

“I really believe that preachers ought to have every available voice, every available outlet to get this gospel preached to the world.”

The 68-year-old leader of Jesse Duplantis Ministries purchased a Citation 500 aircraft in 1994, a Westwind 2 in 2004 and a Falcon 50 in 2006.

Explaining why a higher calibre plane is needed, he explained: “We believe in God for a brand new Falcon 7X so we can go anywhere in the world one stop.

Pointing to a picture of his Falcon 50, Duplantis added: “People ask, can’t you go with this plane? Yes, but I can’t go it in one stop.

“If I can fly it in one stop, I can fly it a lot cheaper because I have my own fuel for it.

“This one here, I have to stop and then you pay those exorbitant prices for jet fuel all over the world.”

According to the private jet website Sherpa Report, a Falcon 7X costs $54 million and needs $1.3 million to fund its upkeep each year.

Without mentioning why commercial airlines were not a practical option for his ministry, Duplantis added: “I really…