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Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and other civil rights landmarks in Birmingham, Ala., were designated on Thursday as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument by President Barack Obama in one of his last official acts as U.S. leader. This church is where four girls died in 1963 after Ku Klux Klan members detonated more than a dozen sticks of dynamite outside the church basement. He also deemed two other new national monuments: Freedom Riders National Monument in Anniston, Ala., and the Reconstruction Era National Monument in South Carolina.

A human rights lawyer in China who has been detained since 2014 sent a message to his wife to gather people to pray not for his release but for the gospel to spread.

“The Year of the Breakthrough,” “The Destiny Year for Pioneers” and “A Comeback Year” are among the prophetic revelations released by ministers for the year 2017.

Christian ministers went to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to appeal to Congressional members about Comcast Corporation's recent actions to decrease or cease distribution of The Word Network, the largest African-American religious network in the world that was reaching 3 billion people around the globe. On Nov. 11, 2016, Comcast executives sent a two-sentence letter to The Word Network, stating it will no longer offer the channel to millions of subscribers on 456 Comcast systems.

Missouri State University officials just agreed to pay $25,000 to a former student who sued the school after he was removed from a master's degree counseling program, because he said he wouldn't counsel gay couples. Andrew Cash sued the university last April, claiming in the lawsuit he was "targeted and punished for expressing his Christian worldview." However, his personal religious stance presented professional issues, given the national counselors' code of ethics.

Downsized worship centers, smaller churches and increased focus on evangelism are among the major trends expected to overtake churches this year. The 10 major church trends projected for 2017 is a mix of both good and bad, and there appears to be a going back to the neighborhood church format described in the Book of Acts.

The attacks served as evidence of the increasing persecution Christians are subjected to in India, according to a report.

It’s difficult not to notice the unusually shaped stomach of this former Hindu fanatic. As it turns out, there’s an interesting story behind it—one that he does not hesitate to share with those who don’t know Christ.

A priest from Kerala, India who was abducted by ISIS early this year appeared in a YouTube video where he pleaded for help for his release, directing his appeal to Pope Francis and the government.

More incidences of violent Christian persecution will most likely happen in 2017, warned persecution watchdog Release International in a new report. By releasing the report, the organization hopes to awaken believers to intensify prayers and support for persecuted Christians worldwide.

Northern California county officials recently reversed their decision to ban a Christian congregation from meeting in a barn. Located just outside of Oroville, Calif. in Butte County, a group of Christians had been holding meetings in a barn, but county officials informed the owners of the barn and property they could no longer use the space to host church services. The same officials later even banned church gatherings in an open pasture on the property.

Prayer organizers in Australia called on Christians all over the world to join a time of prayer and worship on the first sunrise of 2017. The New Year’s Day Sunrise Prayer Relay was initiated by the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team in Australia along with other church leaders, and they are hoping that the idea will go viral so that many believers worldwide will take part in the event.

While Pope Francis tries to heal a decades-old religious rift with China within which Chinese Catholics are divided between loyalty to him and those who are members of a government-controlled official church, China's head of religious affairs on Tuesday said Beijing is willing to have constructive dialogue with the Vatican but stressed Catholics should "hold up high the flag of patriotism" and adapt Catholicism to Chinese society.

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley became the subject of controversy after he said that Jesus’ birth is not as important to Christianity as His resurrection.

One of the most generous 2016 Christmas gifts bestowed actually started by church members donating one dollar at a time! A Coral Springs church in Margate, Fla., surprised a mother of two children with a new car after she thought her 1992 vehicle was being towed. Church by the Glades in Coral Springs staffers and members executed a convincing prank on one of its members, Nicole Rollins, as she watched her car being pulled away.

Hogg Holdings has forked out a cool $11.4 million to acquire the site of a former Chinese Christian church, which was also the headquarters of one of the only Christian periodical publishing houses in the US,

People who consider Christmas a "religious feast" rather than just a "cultural feast" are more likely to feel happier than usual during the festive season, indicated a MaltaToday recent survey.

A man who was accused of blasphemy for claiming God was his father was found guilty through a speedy trial and was given capital punishment. According to reports, the accusation came from certain people who were jealous of him because he had gained a large group of followers and because he often referred to his opponents as “false teachers.”

“The Shack,” a film based on a novel of the same title, depicts God as a woman and has been the subject of debate among Christians for years. Some groups claim the depiction of the Godhead is merely symbolic, while others say the book is blasphemous and waters down the gospel message.

Here’s a major victory for religious freedom: In response to a lawsuit filed by four churches, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination revised the language of an “anti-discrimination” law that could have put pastors in jail for preaching about the biblical definition of gender.

Christmas day for this year will be celebrated on Sunday. This leads to some of the churches asking whether they would hold services for December 25 since most of the people will celebrate Christmas with their families. Most of them, however, were looking into adjusting the services schedules to make up for the celebration of Christmas.

Representatives of the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA) announced they will represent a Christian woman who was assaulted by an influential Muslim for refusing to clean his house. Bashiran Bibi, 58, allegedly was beaten into unconsciousness after an angry male said Christians couldn't refuse to take orders, stated ACLJ spokespersons.

Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced three days of mourning for the 24 Coptic Christians killed in a bombing of a Cairo chapel near St. Mark's Cathedral. Sisi informed details about the suicide bomber in a state funeral after the correction of Health Ministry's records on the killed victims. The previous report of 25 victims was changed to 24 after recognizing the 25th body as that of the suicide bomber.

Ordination of founder and church pastor Akan Weeks as a Bishop ended in tragedy as the Reigners Bible Church International located at Uyo collapsed on a Saturday, burying hundreds of people in the rubble where an estimated of 160 Christians were killed.

Slovakia, a predominantly Catholic country, passed a law Wednesday that bans Islam from being officially registered as a religion.