Today’s Headlines:

EVANGELIST: GROWING TENSIONS WON’T STOP EVANGELISM IN IRAN

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX LEADERS STEP UP PRESSURE ON BELIEVERS

PAKISTANI COURT DENIES BAIL FOR CHRISTIAN ACCUSED OF ‘BLASPHEMY’

Today’s Top Stories:

EVANGELIST: GROWING TENSIONS WON’T STOP EVANGELISM IN IRAN

While Iran’s government says its nuclear program will advance despite stern warnings from the United Nations to the contrary, evangelist Sammy Tippit says tensions generated by the country’s international defiance have had an interesting effect on the Iranians. “There is a great sense of insecurity and instability within the nation,” he said. “I think the instability that is caused by what the political leadership is doing is causing people to try to find answers, to try to look for answers — people who would not normally be looking for those answers.” Tippit said this means people are more open to the Christian broadcasts his team is preparing for Iran. “My prayer is that somehow there could be a resolution and a solution to all of this in a peaceful means and that [this would result in] a growing Christian community.” (Mission Network News)

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX LEADERS STEP UP PRESSURE ON BELIEVERS

Believers in Axum, Ethiopia, considered the most holy city in the nation’s Orthodox Church, are facing increasing pressure from Orthodox leaders. A local source said the local Full Gospel church — the only known non-Orthodox church in the city — frequently experiences harassment, with stones often thrown at the building during services. Mobs severely damaged the church during attacks on March 12 and 17. Following the latest attack, Ethiopian Orthodox leaders ordered their followers to expel anyone from their home who was not a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. At last report, four young women have been expelled and are living inside the church compound for protection. The situation heated up significantly after popular nightclub singer Meseret Negusse came to faith in Christ. Despite repeated attempts to force her to return to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, she has persisted in her newfound faith and each Sunday she comes to church with new converts. (Voice of the Martyrs)

PAKISTANI COURT DENIES BAIL FOR CHRISTIAN ACCUSED OF ‘BLASPHEMY’

Naseem Bibi, a Christian woman who was charged with desecrating a picture of Khana Kaba, the Muslim holy place in Saudi Arabia, on Friday, March 3, will continue to languish in solitary confinement as her bail was denied by the court on Friday, April 7. Family members of Bibi have gone into hiding, fearing attacks by hard-line Muslim groups. Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan issued an exclusive statement from her husband, Gulzar Masih. He said her arrest stemmed from an incident when some Muslim protesters were desecrating a Christian cross, burning an effigy of George W. Bush and hurling insults against Christianity. When Bibi intervened, the protesters grabbed her, beat her and “stripped her clothes publicly.” After letting her go, she returned home and hid in a trunk when some Muslims came to her door. They claim they found her clutching a picture of “Khana Kaba smudged with defecation.” They lodged a complaint with police who then arrested Bibi. (Assist News Service)