A deadly church bombing related to an Easter service held in Nigeria has once again prompted a persecution watchdog to ask for prayers aimed at helping Christians in the country respond to the violence appropriately.

"It's obviously deliberate when on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday you have these violent attacks against churches and Christians. It's not coincidental," Open Doors Senior Communications Specialist Paul Estabrooks told The Christian Post Monday. "The big challenge is how do you overcome evil with good biblically and non-violently?"

At least 38 people were killed Sunday as a suicide car bomber detonated powerful explosives on a busy road outside a church that was holding a morning Easter service. more >>

Two twin grenade blasts Saturday killed an estimated two people and injured over 30 in a Kenyan city where Christians had gathered to hold an outdoor worship service. 

The first blast was thought to be a grenade attack during a Christian worship service in Mtwapa, a town outside Mombasa. That blast killed two and injured over 30, International Christian Concern (ICC), a Christian advocacy group, informed The Christian Post Tuesday.

Immediately after the that first blast, another took place in a packed restaurant in Mombasa, reportedly injuring five people. more >>

As the violent conflict between rebels and the Syrian government continues putting the lives of civilians at risk, many Christians are reportedly considering fleeing the country, once considered a safe haven for Christians in the Middle East.

Syrian Christians are faced with danger on two fronts, as remaining in the country means risking getting caught in the crossfire between government and rebel forces. At the same time, if the rebels prevail and the regime falls, an Islamic government could emerge, making life even more difficult for the Christian community, according to Issam Bishara, regional director for Lebanon, Syria and Egypt at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's (CNEWA).

Consequently, Christians are not only fleeing ares of violence, like the city of Homs, but more and more are reportedly considering leaving the country all together, driven by fear grounded in "a deep concern based on the reality that where the Arab Spring has flourished, political life has become more fanatic and less tolerant of recognizing equal rights for Christians," Bishara revealed. more >>

Correction Appended

The idea of more than 200,000 former Muslims coming to faith in Sub-Saharan Africa within a few short years is mind-boggling. But entire mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa coming to faith? That news is even harder to wrap one's mind around, but it is in fact what is happening according to reports from a former church planter among Muslims in West Africa.

In the new book Miraculous Movements, Jerry Trousdale, now director of International Ministries for CityTeam International, records amazing and inspiring stories of faith among Muslim communities in Africa. The author opens up a new world to Western readers, taking them into the heart of the "miraculous movement" of God in Africa that is transforming the hearts of Muslims. more >>

A little over a week after the death of Pope Shenouda III, the Coptic Orthodox church of Egypt is facing a crucial dilemma in the face of the rise of Islamism. Should the next leader speak for the rights of Christians, like his predecessor did, or should he be a peace-maker?

Names of three possible candidates are being discussed, 69-year-old Bishop Bishoy, an engineer graduate and senior member in the Church's governing Holy Council; 51-year-old Bishop Yoanas, who has a degree in medicine and who was Shenouda's personal secretary; and 73-year-old Bishop Moussa, known for his youth work and for Muslim-Christian relations.

The 88-year-old Pope Shenouda, who was both the spiritual and political leader of Egypt's Christian minority for four decades, died of longtime illnesses on March 17. After his death, President Barack Obama said Pope Shenouda would be remembered "as a man of deep faith, a leader of a great faith, and an advocate for unity and reconciliation." His commitment to Egypt's national unity is also a testament to what can be accomplished when people of all religions and creeds work together, Obama added. more >>

While the world is raising concerns over rights abuses by anti-government forces in Syria's ongoing violent conflict, few would even know that militant Islamists have expelled the majority of Christians from the western city of Homs, according to the country's largest church.

The Catholic news agency Fides says it has received a note from the Syrian Orthodox Church, which represents 60 percent of the Christians in Syria, about "an ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians" by members of the a militant Islamist outfit, Brigade Faruq, which has links with al-Qaida.

The militants have expelled 90 percent of Christians in Homs, which has faced the brunt of violence related to the uprising, and grabbed their homes, it said. They went door to door in the neighborhoods of Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan forcing Christians to flee without giving them the chance to take their belongings, it added. more >>