The attacks, which began on 9th May, targeted Mahima Church in Dhangadhi, Emmanuel Church in Kanchanpur and Emmanuel Church Budor in Doti, Western Nepal. Hebron Church in Panchthar, Eastern Nepal was also targeted. 

While no-one was killed in the attacks, Christian charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has voiced their worry that the developments show an increase in hostilities towards Christian groups in Nepal.

Steven Selvaraj, CSW’s South Asia team leader told Premier why he was surprised by the attacks.

“Nepal has been a Hindu monarchy for well over 200 years and had actually moved to a more secular democratic Republic,” he said during Premier’s News Hour.

In a joint press release on 14th May, the National Christian Fellowship of Nepal (NCFN) and Nepal Christian Society (NCS) condemned the attacks and stated that Christians are falsely being accused of conversion, leading to legal prosecution.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas echoed these words and said: “We are incredibly concerned that these attacks represent a stark decline in the ability of Christians in Nepal to practice their faith.

“We urge the Nepalese government, as a newly appointed member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, as well as uphold its commitment to promote and protect human rights, including the freedom of religion or…

A Christian contestant on the US show Dancing With The Stars has opened up about why she refused to dance to Jannelle Monae’s “Make Me Feel” on last week’s episode.

According to US Weekly, retired softball Olympian Jennie Finch said she considered the song to be a “little too risque”.

Finch, who has been open about her Christian faith, told reporters: “Just as a mom, it’s not something we listen to in our house. And my fans, my audience, is young girls.

“I want to glorify God out there, and that just wasn’t a great choice for me to do that.”

Monae’s song includes swear words and due to the wordplay used, the song has been described as a “bisexual anthem”.

Finch, who won gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics said she had initially discussed changing the words of the song with her dance partner but settled on changing the song all together.

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According to the Red Cross, a fresh wave of fighting in April has sent families from Kachin State running from their homes and travelling hundreds of miles to seek shelter in churches and camps.

“I fled with my family in the middle of the night. We travelled by foot for several hours and then took a bus to get here. I don’t know how much longer we have to stay here,” said 77-year-old Sharaw Naw Aung, who is staying at Trinity KBC Church in Myit Kyi Na, the capital city of Kachin state.

While brutal clashes targeted neighbourhoods in the area, a Christian school also fell victim to the chaos.

Religious freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said Myanmar military jetfighters bombed the Kachin Baptist Mission School on 12th May while the villagers were at work on their farms. A two-storey wooden building for the school was hit in the attack. There were no casualties.

Myanmar, which is mainly a Buddhist country, is made up of several ethnic groups fighting for independence. However, the country’s offensive has escalated in Kachin areas in recent years.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said the continued civil wars are extremely concerning.

“We urge the Burmese government and military to stop this offensive, and to begin a genuine political dialogue with the Kachin and other ethnic groups. We call on the international community to condemn the bombing of…

Open Doors have created a prayer guide called “30 days of prayer for the Muslim” world to help Christians understand the benefits of praying for Muslims during this period.

Beth Fuller from the charity told Premier Muslims are more likely to convert to Christianity while they are fasting.

“At Open Doors we often hear stories of Muslims actually coming to faith in Jesus during Ramadan, often through the kinds of dreams and visions that they have as they’re praying, which is just incredible.

“And we would love for more people to be praying for more of these kinds of encounters with Jesus.”

Open Doors have shared a number of Ramadan conversions testimonies to demonstrate how God is at work during this time.

Roman was a devout Muslim in Kazakhstan who decided to visit his local Baptist church to see the “betrayers of the real faith” during Ramadan.

He told Open Doors about what happened when he arrived at the church: “For the first time I heard about a God who loved me. I never knew that the almighty God loved me even though I am not perfect. That thought seriously never entered my mind. I always felt guilty. I felt that I had to earn His attention.”

Fuller told Premier there was another important reason to pray for Muslims during Ramadan.

“For Christians who have come from Muslim backgrounds – particularly in countries where perhaps there’s a more kind of extreme ideology…