JOS, Nigeria, April 29, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Muslim Fulani herdsmen in northwest Nigeria killed 12 Christians and kidnapped a couple from their church wedding ceremony in attacks this month, sources said.

In Tegina Kabata village in Niger state’s Shiroro County, herdsmen attacked a church site where a wedding was taking place on April 12, abducting the couple and some church members, area resident Danjuma Iliya told Morning Star News.

“As the pastor was officiating during the wedding solemnization, the herdsmen stormed the church and took away everyone who was unable to escape from the church building, including the bride and groom,” Iliya said. “In that village, five Christians were killed in the series of attacks carried out by the herdsmen.”

Two other Christians were killed by herdsmen in Niger state’s Gidigori village, Kusherki District, in Rafi County, on April 20, area resident James Ayuba said. They were two of seven Christians killed in three herdsmen attacks over five days in Rafi County, he said.

Others were injured in herdsmen attacks in the county’s Madaka and Sabon Gari villages on April 20-21, he said.

Church Elder Abducted

Also in Niger state, five missionaries kidnapped on March 2 were released on April 22, sources said. In a short statement on April 22 that gave no details, leaders of Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) expressed joy that their…

Mention Detroit, and Tommy Conley’s face lights up. Conley – who is a Pastor at New Way Christian Center – loves his native city of Detroit and wants others to love it too.

For Conley, Detroit isn’t just his hometown, it’s a place he feels called to be. Like many urban cities, Detroit has been battered by the effects of the Coronavirus.

While Conley, who has lost countless friends and two uncles in the same week, shares that his faith is still on steady ground, he would admit that there have been days of intense grief and sadness as he has watched those whom he serves struggle or even become ill.

“I’ve seen better days, but I also hold out hope knowing that God has a plan for all of the things that were going through,” Conley shared.

The pastor told Christian Headlines in an interview that he sees himself as a servant of God and knows that he has been called to serve on the frontlines through ministry in the midst of a city’s difficult fight against the pandemic.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Please tell our audience about your love and heart for Detroit?

I have always had a strong love for the city of Detroit. It was the place I was birthed, the place where my children were born, where I got married and where I found Christ. Detroit has such great traditions, we have great people, great entertainment and great food…

Saying “God put it on my heart to speak,” award-winning rapper DMX held a Bible study on Instagram over the weekend and even urged his fans to accept Jesus.

“Get into the Word,” he encouraged the 14,000-plus who were watching.

DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, rose to musical fame in the late 1990s and 2000s on the strength of albums that carried parental advisories for explicit lyrics, winning two American Music Awards and getting three Grammy nominations. Over the weekend, though, his focus was on Scripture.

DMX, now 49, read from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 and parts of Ecclesiastes 4.

“The best thing that we can hope for – the most important thing we can hope or pray for or ask for – is that our desires coincide with God’s will,” he said.

At one point DMX read Ecclesiastes 3:5 – there will be a “time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces” – and paused to reflect on the modern-day parallel during the pandemic.

He urged his fans to learn to pray and not rely on the prayers of others: “Your own prayer will do a lot better than someone else praying for you.”

He spoke of the current lockdown: “God is giving you the time … to get closer to him.”

He encouraged them to receive Christ: “Whoever hasn’t given your life to Jesus yet, whoever hasn’t surrendered all the way … I’m going to walk you through that right now.”…

(RNS) — An initiative that seeks to financially help small and struggling churches in the wake of COVID-19 has raised more than $400,000 and received over 1,000 applications for funding.

Through the Churches Helping Churches Initiative, a relief fund was set up to provide $3,000 grants to churches at risk of closing due to a decrease in financial giving during the pandemic. The initiative is led by the AND Campaign, with support from other organizations such as the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Pinkston and the Pinetops Foundation.

As part of this effort, national Christian groups are urging larger and more stable churches to contribute and help keep these small churches open.

Organizers hope to raise at least $500,000 in April through help from Christian donors, foundations and large churches. They will continue to fundraise money through May, Pinkston Vice President D.J. Jordan said.

An application process opened April 6 for small churches to apply for the grants. Through the relief fund, 68 churches have each been granted $3,000, Jordan said. About 980 applications have been submitted.

Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, Hold the Light COGIC in Detroit, Plantando Iglesias in Minneapolis and Union Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago are among the churches that have received funding.

Jordan said they’ll still be accepting applications in May, but…

Voice of the Martyrs has launched a campaign seeking the release of Jang Moon Seok, an ethnic Korean Chinese Christian who was kidnapped along the border by North Korea and sentenced to 15 years in prison for telling North Koreans about Christ.

Jang recently spent his 2,000th day in prison. 

[Jang] is a simple man who never did anything political,” said Voice of the Martyrs Korea representative Hyun Sook Foley. “He just helped North Korean people for many years. That should never be a crime, and Christians should join together to help Deacon Jang and his family.” 

Jang was friends with pastor Han Chung-Ryeol, a Chinese man who lived along the border and discipled 1,000 North Koreans before being killed by North Korean assassins in 2016. Christian Headlines profiled Han last year. 

Jang ministered to defecting North Koreans in Changbai, China, alongside Pastor Han.

“We believe the reason for [Jang’s] kidnapping was to gather information about the North Korean ministry work we were doing with Pastor Han,” Foley said.

He is serving a 15-year prison sentence for defaming the regime, attempting to incite subversion of state power, and providing aid and the gospel to North Koreans. Several North Koreans have encountered Jang in prison since 2014, Voice of the Martyrs said.

Voice of the Martyrs is urging Christians to email or write Kim Song, North Korean’s ambassador to…

Known as the Big Easy, many ministers would argue New Orleans is anything but easy when it comes to ministry. Known more for its partying scene than its church life, sharing the Gospel in an effective way can be tricky.

But now, as New Orleans has been one of the hardest-hit American cities by COVID-19, ministry has become particularly important. Bishop Onassis Jones, pastor of Christ Temple Church of New Orleans, believes that God has called him and given him the mandate to minister in New Orleans. Jones believes that he, along with other pastors in the city, is on the frontline of the pandemic and standing on the promises that all things work together for good.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How has your life changed as a pastor in the city of New Orleans?

As a pastor in the City of New Orleans, my life has changed in so many facets throughout my nineteen years of pastoring. As a native of New Orleans, raised and reared in the church, it has always been my desire to witness the manifestation of salvation and wholeness throughout Metropolitan New Orleans and surrounding communities. Therefore, my ministry approach derives from a holistic perspective – spirit, soul, and body. My mission is to teach and train disciples so that they can apply and execute biblical principles in all areas of their lives.  My life as a pastor has drastically changed…