The number of Christian refugees allowed in the U.S. has fallen to a historic low.

According to CBN News, in fiscal year 2018, which ended in September, 15,748 Christian refugees entered America. In fiscal year 2017, that number was 24,764, and in fiscal year 2016, that number was 36,822.

The change is about a 57 percent drop from 2016 to 2018.

The number of Muslim refugees entering the U.S. has also fallen. In fiscal year 2018, some 3,495 Muslim refugees came to America as compared to nearly 23,000 in fiscal year 2017 and nearly 39,000 in fiscal year 2016.

A spokesman for the State Department said the drop “was consistent with operational capacity to implement new screening and vetting procedures following Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”

He also added that security checks take time.

President Donald Trump issued the order in March 2017 and it went into partial effect three months later. The order prohibits refugees from Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen from entering America for 90 days unless they can prove a “bond fide relationship” with someone in the U.S.

Matt Soerens, the U.S. director of church mobilization for World Relief, said he is disappointed in the drop in refugees because he says the number of refugees in the world has increased. 

According to the U.N., that…

Evangelist Nick Vujicic advised a Christian dealing with depression despite her love for God to turn to volunteer work as a way of feeling a part of the body of Christ.

Vujicic, known as the “limbless evangelist” because he was born with no arms and no legs, said on his YouTube channel on Tuesday that he received a question from a believer named Yvette, who said:

“I’m a follower of God. I love Him, but I feel empty on the inside and I’m dealing with depression and anxiety.”

The evangelist, who has inspired millions of people around the world with his testimony of overcoming the odds and trusting in God, told Yvette that many people are dealing with the same thing as her.

“I want you to challenge yourself. Read Psalm 91 over your life for the next 30 days, just out loud, or Psalm 73 or Psalm 139. Those are my three favorite Psalms that really give me faith. As we hear the word of God, it gives us that faith that we need,” he first advised.

He then suggested that the emptiness may stem from a “lack of purpose.”

He challenged the woman to go volunteer at a homeless shelter, something which he said he…

A Massachusetts school district announced that it will no longer allow public prayers at high school graduations after pressure from a large atheist organization.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation posted a letter it received from a Massachusetts school district promising that they will not allow any more public prayers at graduations and other public events. Canton School District Superintendent Jennifer Fischer-Mueller sent the letter, dated September 5, 2018, in response to a complaint from the FFRF. She told them, “Regarding your letter of June 29, 2018, I am writing to confirm that steps have been taken to ensure that there will be no prayers of religious rituals as a part of any school ceremony (e.g. graduation) or any other school-sponsored event.” 

Colin E. McNamara, Esq. authored the June 29letter to which Fischer-Mueller responded. In the letter, he said a “constitutional violation occurred at the 2018 Canton High School graduation.” He informed the district that the violation occurred when the school introduced Reverend Dr. John Tomilio to deliver an invocation. 

Tomilio prayed to the “Holy, loving and most gracious God.” He asked God to “Bless these fine young men and women” and petitioned him to “consecrate all that they do” when they “venture into the future that You have carved for them.” In addition, he prayed…

Although he was initially angry at God for allowing him to suffer through a life-threatening medical emergency, Pastor Robert Morris says he later realized that God’s mission for his life is to get as many people to Heaven as possible.

Morris, senior pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, who returned to the pulpit in August following complications from hernia surgery, talked about the importance of spiritual warfare at the opening session of Gateway Conference 2018.

The conference brought together several Christian ministry leaders to engage on important topics concerning the Church and society at the Texas-based megachurch.

“This is especially true for leaders: Satan is a strategist, so we can’t underestimate him. When you sign up to be a leader, you sign up to be a target. Satan always attacks right before or right after a great victory. When Satan attacked Jesus in the desert and Elijah after the false prophets fell — they were both physically tired. God gave Elijah practical advice (to avoid attack): stay refreshed physically and spiritually, don’t be isolated, and do what you were called to do. Remember, God is greater than the enemy,” he preached…

JERUSALEM, October 3, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have closed private schools administered by the Syriac Orthodox Church, which Assyrian Christians say threatens the survival of the Christian community in the region.

The schools in the Kurdish-governed northeastern region of Syria were forcefully closed for refusing to implement a curriculum that school officials say undermines their religion and culture, promotes Kurdish nationalist ideology and ignores a long and painful history of Assyrian persecution at the hands of Kurds.

The academic director of the schools, a leader of the Assyrian community, has since been beaten, and an Assyrian journalist who wrote extensively on the closings was detained. Assyrian advocates say these actions reflect a pattern of intimidation toward Christian minorities and others who oppose the policies of the Kurdish self-administration.

On Aug. 28 in Qamishli, militiamen belonging to the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party (PYD), and members of the Sutoro, an Assyrian police force affiliated with the Syriac Military Council (MFS) and the Dawronoye, a secular, nationalist movement among Assyrians, expelled administrators and teachers from the schools. The militia expelled them because they failed to register and implement the curriculum imposed by the Kurdish-led government, according to a press…