Half of Churches Satisfied with Discipleship, But Strong Agreement Remains Rare

Half of Churches Satisfied with Discipleship, But Strong Agreement Remains Rare

The first part of the State of Discipleship study conducted by Lifeway Research examined how U.S. Protestant pastors understand discipleship and how they believe it should best occur. While 52 percent of pastors are satisfied with discipleship and spiritual formation in their churches, only 8 percent strongly agree with this sentiment. Similarly, 52 percent report having an intentional plan for discipling individuals and encouraging their spiritual growth.
  • South Carolina Church Relocates Services Just Hours Before Roof Collapse
    Church leaders at the Haywood campus of First Baptist Simpsonville Upstate Church in South Carolina narrowly prevented a tragedy by moving services to a different location just hours before the sanctuary’s roof collapsed on Sunday morning. Wayne Bray, the lead pastor of First Baptist Simpsonville Upstate Church, which has 7,700 members worshiping at nine locations across South Carolina, explained in a video statement on Facebook that the collapse didn’t come as a surprise to them.
  • Generation Z Less Engaged in Churches Than Older Generations, Study Finds
    Research shows that Generation Z participates in church activities much less than older generations, and higher engagement is linked to better flourishing and well-being. The American Bible Society released the fifth chapter of its State of the Bible: USA 2025 report on Thursday. Generation Z adults showed considerably lower levels of church engagement compared to their older counterparts.

Anglican Church of Nigeria Ends Relationship with Church of Wales Over LGBTQ Issue

The Anglican Church of Nigeria has severed diplomatic relations with the Church in Wales following the election of an openly lesbian archbishop. The Nigerian primate announced this decision during a meeting of church legal officers in Abuja. The Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, leading the Church of Nigeria, addressed delegates at the 14th Conference of Chancellors, Registrars, and Legal Officers, stating that his province rejected the election of the Right Rev. Cherry Vann as the Archbishop of Wales.
  • Pastor John Amanchukwu Calls Christians to Boldly Confront Evil
    At the Turning Point USA's Faith Forward Pastors Summit on Wednesday evening, Pastor John Amanchukwu encouraged pastors and Christians to speak boldly against the increasingly evident evil within American culture. Amanchukwu, an author of the 2022 book “Eraced: Uncovering the Lies of Critical Race Theory and Abortion,” has been a vocal opponent of abortion, explicit books in schools, and forms of cultural Marxism, including critical race theory and queer theory.
  • Fundraiser Raises Over $70K for Family of Congregant Shot Outside Seattle Church
    Over $70,000 has been collected to aid the family of LeBron Givaun, who was fatally shot in broad daylight outside a Seattle church last week during a ministry gathering. The Pursuit Seattle, a branch of the multi-campus church based in Washington, held a prayer vigil in honor of Givaun on Sunday night.
  • Church in Wales Names First Openly Same-Sex Relationship Archbishop, Sparks Controversy
    The Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, aged 66, the bishop of Monmouth, was elected as the 15th archbishop of Wales. She is notably the first woman and the first lesbian to assume this role. According to The Telegraph, she was selected by an electoral college made up of clergy and lay members after two days of discussions at St. Pierre church near Chepstow.
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  • ELCA Elects Its First African American Presiding Bishop, Succeeding the Female Leader

    The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has continued a change by electing its first African American presiding bishop, who will follow the denomination's first female leader. The Rev. Yehiel Curry, serving as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, was chosen for a six-year term as presiding bishop during the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly held in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday.

  • Confidence in Church Rebounds After Three Years of Stagnation, 36% Express High Trust

    A notable increase in the public's trust in the church as an institution in the United States after a three-year period of stagnation. Currently, "36% of Americans now saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in it," showing a rebound from previous lows. Confidence in the church had declined to 31% in 2022 and hovered around 32% over the following two years, nearing its lowest levels recorded by Gallup since they began tracking the trend in 1973. At that time, trust in the chur

  • Rebels Affiliated with ISIS Attack Church Vigil, Kill Multiple Christians in DR Congo

    An attack on worshippers in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed the lives of 43 individuals. The massacre occurred at around 1 a.m. on July 27 in the village of Komanda, Ituri Province, targeting a Catholic prayer vigil at the Parish of Blessed Anuarite. The attack was executed by militants of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group affiliated with the Islamic State Central African Province. 

  • U.S. Churches Targeted by Vandalism and Arson Attacks in Early 2025

    A series of church vandalism and arson attacks that began in 2020 during the George Floyd protests and continued after the Roe v. Wade repeal in 2022, has persisted into 2025. Below are reports of acts of vandalism directed at U.S. churches during the first half of 2025, as documented by The Christian Post.

  • Court Confirms Insurance Firm to Pay $1.75M to the Church for Storm Damage

    A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $1.75 million jury verdict in favor of Central Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia. The church sued its insurance company, Church Mutual Insurance Company, over storm damage coverage. The ruling was issued on Monday, with U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida, sitting by designation, authoring the opinion that rejected the insurer's claims of misrepresentation by the church.

  • Local Church Achieves Revision of Ban on Public Religious Displays in London

    The Kingsborough Centre, a Pentecostal church based in Uxbridge, West London, has successfully prompted local authorities to reverse a ban that restricted street preaching, leaflet distribution, and public displays of religious messages. The church filed for a judicial review after discovering in 2023 that its usual outreach activities had been deemed illegal under a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) issued by the London Borough of Hillingdon.

  • Sudanese Authorities Demolish Pentecostal Church Without Prior Notice

    Authorities in Sudan demolished a church complex in Khartoum North, sources reported without any prior warning. Bulldozers and trucks accompanied by police and armed forces personnel arrived at the compound of the Pentecostal Church in the El-Haj Yousif area of East Nile District at noon on July 8 and proceeded to demolish the church building, according to Morning Star News.

  • Ben Mandrell to Lead Bellevue Baptist Church, Joe Walker Steers Lifeway Christian Resources

    Bellevue Baptist Church in Tennessee has elected Ben Mandrell, CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, to succeed former Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines as its senior pastor. Mandrell, 48, was selected following the church’s Sunday vote, which received nearly unanimous support, and he is scheduled to lead his first Sunday service on August 10.
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