A new report out this week shows millions of Christians from 65 different traditions and denominations have now taken part in the movement which sees people praying for friends to come to know Jesus during the time between Ascension and Pentecost.

It’s received support from the Pope and the Queen.

A survey of 2,600 people who took part this year showed 92 per cent were praying for friends and family members to come to know Jesus – with nearly two thirds of this group planning to follow up or talk to the people they were praying for.

70 per cent said they felt more encouraged to share their faith while 99 per cent said they want to take part again next year.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “Once again the Spirit’s work in Thy Kingdom Come has humbled us, stretched us and taken breath away.

“I have previously said I cannot remember in my life anything that I have been involved in where I have sensed so clearly the work of the Spirit.

“My sense of this only grows as we learn that this year we had engagement from followers of Christ in over 170 countries, take-up across the denominations and traditions and the clear focus on seeking the empowering work of the Spirit for our effective witness.

“I am looking forward to all God is doing in answer to our prayers.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily…

After violence subsided in the city of Aleppo and people started to return to the city, many found their livelihood destroyed.

In Vartouhi Abajian’s case, it was her sweets and food shop, which had been looted and badly damaged.

Abajian said: “There was damage to the shop, some parts had collapsed. I needed to work so I started making food at home but my kitchen was too small. My situation had become impossible, so this rebuilding of the shop was vital to restore my livelihood.”

She was able to give a fresh start to her business with the support of her local church, which was turned into a Centre of Hope – one of 16 such centres across Syria – through which Open Doors is providing vital aid to thousands of vulnerable families, as well as vocational training and loans.

In her restored shop, Abajian cooks takeaway food from the Armenian cuisine, both meals and sweets, and takes special orders. 

Her business is now “going very successfully”, she said.

“As women, we can do it, we can be productive, even in this difficult period we can produce.”

Vartouhi standing near her food shop

Another business that successfully restarted recently is the hair salon of Rober Karageozian. When Aleppo came under siege, he had to flee to Lebanon with his wife and two children.

Karageozian said: “It was a…

After attending a listening party for his new album Jesus Is King on Sunday, people in the music industry have been tweeting about the upcoming film and his new direction in music.

Just heard Kanye’s new album Jesus Is King and saw the accompanying film. My favorite track is the last song and it features the Clipse. Both Push & No Malice. Kenny G is also on it. “New Body” has been cut from the album.

Here is the art pic.twitter.com/u87FLTDhZO

— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) September 29, 2019

Kanye also announced that he is no longer making secular music. Only Gospel from here on out.

— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) September 29, 2019

IMAX announced it will release the film exclusively in IMAX theatres around the world on 25 October.

Meanwhile, West’s fans are getting impatient as the release date for the album keeps getting postponed.

West’s wife, Kim Kardashian-West, originally announced the Christian-themed album will be released on 27 September, and then changed the date to 29 September.

On 30 September, still with no sign of the album, fans took to Twitter complaining about the delay and questioning if the album even exists.

I guess we’ll just have to await the actual return of Jesus, to get the #JesusIsKing album, huh, @kanyewest ? #LettersToKayne

— Cavino (@TalentNoGimmix) September 30, 2019

The anticipation got #JesusIsKing trending on Twitter with some Christians bashing the rapper for using Christianity to draw attention to himself…

Members of the public chose from the 100 hymns that have featured most on the show over the past five years.

How Great Thou Art and In Christ Alone came in second and third.

Songs of Praise host Aled Jones made the announcement in a Songs of Praise special on Sunday which was filmed at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

Jerusalem did not feature among the top 10 the last time the public voted in 2013.

Top 10 hymns, 2019

Jerusalem

How Great Thou Art

In Christ Alone

Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind

Abide With Me

I Vow To Thee My Country

Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer/Jehovah

Amazing Grace

Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord

I, the Lord Of Sea And Sky

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.

Heads of the Church of Ireland, Methodist Church in Ireland, Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church and the Irish Council of Churches are calling on members and congregations to pray, call for change, and to lobby their locally elected representatives.

Unless devolution at Stormont is revived within weeks, the Government is bound to liberalise the law surrounding terminations following the passage of Westminster legislation.

The church leaders said: “There is no evidence that these changes reflect the will of the people affected by them, as they were not consulted.

“They go far beyond the ‘hard cases’ some have been talking about.”

They said they were gravely concerned that the imposition of Westminster legislation:

– Removes from law all explicit protection for the unborn child up to 28 weeks of pregnancy;

– Offers no specific protection for unborn babies with disability;

– Does not prohibit abortion based on the sex of the baby;

– Creates a potential vacuum of up to five months in Northern Ireland for unregulated abortion to exist with all the attendant health risks to women.

They invited their members to sign an online petition created by Baroness Nuala O’Loan, and added: “Our Northern Ireland political parties have it in their own hands to do something about this.

“They all need to take risks and make the compromises necessary to find an accommodation that will…

Wrightbus went into administration last week with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Jeff Wright is a pastor at Green Pastures Church and owns a controlling stake in a company which was one of the UK’s main bus builders and supplied the “Boris Bus” red double decker Routemaster when the Prime Minister was London mayor.

Green Pastures is a Christian charity and received £15 million in donations from the Co Antrim firm when it was profitable.

Mr Wright said a lot of former workers were afraid and scared about the future.

He told the congregation at Sunday worship: “They don’t know what way to turn, so we must be mindful of that.”

He said negotiations to save the company were at a delicate stage.

“I won’t jeopardise the future so I can look good.”

He received a standing round of applause in the church.

Protesters outside Green Pastures church in Ballymena during a Sunday Service

The decision to spend company dividends on the evangelical church has been criticised by some former workers and some held banners to that effect on Sunday.

Mr Wright said: “I am so sorry that this church has to go through what they went through, I never thought this would happen.”

He said he had fought to build Wrightbus into a world-class entity through crisis after crisis and maintained its reputation for quality and integrity.

He added: “It…