Elijah Brown stressed the power of Scripture to transform lives and the importance of building bridges as he welcomed the global Baptist community to the historic city of Zurich in his opening remarks to the Baptist World Alliance General Council.

Advocating for religious liberty in eastern Ukraine, protecting women and girls, and keeping immigrant families together were the focus of resolutions the Baptist World Alliance General Council approved at its meeting in Zurich July 2-6.

As the Buddhist listened to his friend sing Christian songs, a sense of peace overcame him. As they spent more time together, his friend shared the gospel while explaining the meaning behind the songs. His friend told him if he received Jesus as his Savior, he would find spiritual peace and eternal security.

Christians who convert to Islam in East African countries often become targets for recruitment by extremist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Shabab, the al-Qaida affiliate in East Africa.

A study by the Pew Research Center confirmed what the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and other human rights advocates already reported—increased government restrictions on religion around the world.

During a Christ at the Checkpoint event, conservative evangelicals sipped coffee and orange soda with a self-described Palestinian “freedom fighter” in a remote West Bank village.

About 70 percent of mosques in Egypt have separate prayer areas for women. But a move to introduce women preachers in mosques marks the first time females have addressed worshippers formally in these spaces as officially sanctioned clergy.

When Kim Hak Song asked his captors what hostile acts he reportedly committed against North Korea, he was told his crime was prayer. He thought prayer was normal. The North Korean government did not.

When President Donald Trump meets with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un—assuming the on-again, off-again summit proceeds as scheduled—a broad-based group of faith leaders and human rights activists wants religious freedom included on the agenda.

Despite widespread secularization, 64 percent of Western Europeans surveyed in 15 countries still identify as Christians, even if only 18 percent say they attend church at least once a month.

Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation issued a joint statement of “grave concern over the heightened tensions between Israel and Palestine.”

Chilly relations between the United States and North Korea appear to be “thawing” in recent days, said Baptist minister Yoo Yoon of Dallas. But when he journeyed to North Korea last month, he experienced greater restrictions than in the past.