Christians are seeking asylum in the United States after enduring religious persecution in China by communist officials.

According to Baptist Press, in a video interview by International Christian Concern released last week, a Christian named Liao Quiang, alongside his daughter and son-in-law shared the dangers of being a Christian in Communist China.

Liao had been a member of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu before the Chinese Community Party (CPC) shut it down in December 2018. Liao then fled to Taiwan with his extended family.

He asserted that the CPC, “makes you think that they are willing to compromise, because they know Americans care about freedom of religion. If China makes concession[s] in religious freedom, then [the] U.S. should compromise in trade. It’s CPC who politicizes religious freedom, not Christians.”

Liao noted that members of his church face continued persecution for their faith following its shutdown. The church’s founder, Wang Yi, and a church elder, he shared, were incarcerated.

The CPC also threatened Christian parents, telling them their children would be sent to government re-education camps if they are sent to church schools. Parents with adopted children are at risk of having them given back to their biological families.

“The reason why we left China is because the Chinese Communist Party is limitless in its persecution. They not only…

In a 5-4 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court denied a Nevada church’s request to be exempt from the state’s 50-person cap on gatherings.

Christianity Today reports that Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley contended that it should be able to meet at 50 percent capacity like casinos and restaurants as long as they impose social distancing guidelines.

The church argued that restricting meeting sizes to 50 people was a violation of their first amendment right of religious freedom.

But the liberal majority, alongside Chief Justice Roberts denied Calvary Chapel’s request without any further comment.

In a dissenting opinion from three of the four justices who voted in favor of the church’s request, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh insisted that they would have issued an injunctive relief while the court fleshed out the case.

“That Nevada would discriminate in favor of the powerful gaming industry and its employees may not come as a surprise, but this Court’s willingness to allow such discrimination is disappointing,” the statement read.

“We have a duty to defend the Constitution, and even a public health emergency does not absolve us of that responsibility. The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine or to engage in any other game of…

Schools that don’t meet in-person this school year should send the money budgeted for each student to the parents so they can use it for private schools or homeschooling, President Trump says.

Trump made the comments Thursday during a press conference and noted that many parents will have to stay home from work if schools are not in normal session.

The president – who already was a supporter of school choice – said not reopening schools will negatively impact students.

“If schools do not reopen, the funding should go to parents to send their child to public, private, charter, religious or homeschool of their choice,” Trump said, emphasizing the need to give parents choice. “… If the school is closed, the money should follow the student so the parents and families are in control of their own decisions. So we’d like the money to go to the parents of the student. This way, they can make the decision that’s best for them.

“We cannot indefinitely stop 50 million American children from going to school – harming their mental, physical and emotional development.”

Reopening schools, Trump said, is also “critical to ensuring that parents can go to work and provide for their families.” An estimated 5.6 million parents would be unable to return to work if schools don’t reopen, he said.

Trump quoted the American Academy of Pediatrics, which said in a June document:…

A congregation in Illinois has given away hundreds of backpacks full of school supplies to students for the upcoming school year, with the hopeful expectation of giving away more later.

Whiteash Free Will Baptist Church of Marion handed out over 300 backpacks loaded with supplies on Saturday, with around 200 more backpacks likely to be given out at later dates.

Stephanie Lee, wife of Whiteash Senior Pastor Andy Lee, told The Christian Post that this was their fourth year of holding such a charity drive for their community.

“We know that how this school year will look is still a bit uncertain, but students will still need supplies, whether they are in the classroom or remote learning from home,” said Lee.

Unlike past years, the COVID-19 pandemic altered some of their plans, Lee noted, with the event being held outdoors instead of indoors and there being no free lunch or haircuts.

“We have received more requests from people…

(RNS) — Hundreds of campers may have been exposed to COVID-19 after attending a Christian camp hosted by Fellowship Church, an evangelical megachurch in Grapevine, Texas. The church’s Allaso Ranch retreat center, located near Dallas-Fort Worth, has been welcoming campers of various ages this summer since June 13. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that at least three campers who attended Allaso Ranch in the previous two weeks have tested positive for coronavirus, with one child hospitalized.

One parent whose daughter tested positive after attending Allaso Ranch in early July told the newspaper that she’d heard of at least 80 other campers who tested positive for the virus.

The parent also reported that more than 200 children attended the camp the week of July 5, and at least 140 came the next week.

An Instagram post from July 13 shows hundreds of maskless campers crowded together singing in Allaso Ranch’s indoor auditorium, worshipping mosh pit style. Other photos depict children close together without masks in an outdoor pool area.

“We all make calculated risks. We still have to live,” said another parent whose child contracted coronavirus at Allaso Ranch. “Everything is a calculated risk whether you go to the store or let your kid play sports. How are we going to defend not letting him go to camp when he’s playing baseball and going to work every…

California pastor John MacArthur said in a sermon Sunday his church will continue to meet in-person despite a state-mandated ban on such gatherings, saying that Christ – not the state – is the “head of the church.”

“I can’t think of anything worse than to put an entire world into fear and then shut down the only place they could go to have their fear finally and completely removed,” said MacArthur, a well-known author and preacher at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., whose sermons are syndicated on radio stations nationwide. “We’re fulfilling our Lord’s design.”

Churches in at least 30 counties have been ordered by the state to close again due to rising COVID-19 cases. MacArthur’s sermon came three days after the elders of Grace Community Church released a public statement saying the congregation “will not bow” to the state restrictions because the state itself had exceeded its authority.

“When any government official issues orders regulating worship (such as bans on singing, caps on attendance, or prohibitions against gatherings and services), he steps outside the legitimate bounds of his God-ordained authority as a civic official and arrogates to himself authority that God expressly grants only to the Lord Jesus Christ as sovereign over His Kingdom, which is the church,” the elders’ statement said.

MacArthur, in his sermon, said Grace…

(RNS) — Which churches have resumed gathering in person amid the coronavirus pandemic?

Mostly evangelical Protestant churches rather than mainline Protestant and, more often, those that are located in the South or Midwest, according to a new survey released Friday (July 24) by LifeWay Research, the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

But even for those churches that have reopened, services likely don’t look like they did before COVID-19 upended everyday life in the United States.

“Resuming in-person worship services has not been reverting to worship as usual,” LifeWay Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a written statement.

By theological affiliation, 82% of pastors who identify as evangelical — traditionally, more conservative — said their churches gathered in person for worship last weekend (July 19), compared to 57% of pastors who identify as mainline.

Doctrinally, that shouldn’t make a difference, McConnell told Religion News Service. But many evangelicals also tend to be more politically conservative, and the split falls along political lines as the pandemic has become politicized.

And by region, 78% of pastors in the Midwest and 75% in the South said they met last week in person, compared to 61% in the West and 55% in the Northeast, according to the survey.

Those numbers dropped off this past weekend in the West as California has…

Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL) has been asked to step down from the board of Bread for the World after he allegedly called fellow congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “f***ing b***h” in front of media personnel.

According to the Washington Post, Bread for the World, a Christian non-profit organization fighting against world hunger, asked Yoho to resign from his board position on Friday, insisting that his actions and words do not represent the values of the organization.

“As a bipartisan Christian organization committed to alleviating hunger and poverty through sound public policies, Bread for the World upholds the values of respect, dignity, and compassion that Jesus calls us to when engaging decision-makers from across the political spectrum. We believe that Rep. Ted Yoho’s recent actions and words as reported in the media are not reflective of the ethical standards expected of members of our Board of Directors,” the organization wrote.

Referring to a meeting Bread for the World had with Yoho on Friday, the group continued, “During that conversation, we reaffirmed our joint commitment to expanding opportunity for men, women, and children around the world and thanked Rep. Yoho for his commitment to foreign aid effectiveness and transparency. Despite these areas of agreement, Bread sought his resignation as an action that reaffirms our commitment to coming…

Netflix is defending its decision to include a transgender angle in its new series The Baby-Sitters Club, saying the plot is “smart” and “sweet” and supports children who want to identify with a different gender.

The live-action series is based on a collection of popular Scholastic books about middle-school girls who launch a babysitting business.

In episode 4, Mary Anne – one of the sitters – is asked to watch a young girl, Bailey. Mary Anne, though, soon discovers Bailey is a biological boy who dresses like and identifies as a girl. Toward the end of the episode, Mary Anne defends Bailey’s transgenderism to a doctor and nurse when Bailey gets sick and is hospitalized.

The series is rated TV-G and available on Netflix’s children’s profiles.

Last week, Netflix’s official Twitter account posted a defense of the episode by Rose Dommu, a writer for Netflix who identifies as a trans woman. Netflix’s Twitter account has 8.5 million followers.

“The Baby-Sitters Club is a smart, sweet, and self-aware update of the beloved book series about preteen BFFs who start a childcare service — literal girlbosses! This generation’s BSC handle the same dramas as their original incarnations, with the circumstances updated for 2020,” Dommu wrote.

The Baby-Sitters Club is a smart, sweet, and self-aware update of the beloved book series about preteen BFFs who…