Christian nurse Jennifer Melle has returned to work after more than ten months of suspension following an incident involving a transgender prisoner. She was disciplined after referring to the patient as ‘mister’ while speaking with colleagues, despite reporting that she had faced racial abuse and physical threats during the encounter. Although her NHS trust has confirmed it will take no further action, she remains under investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council over the language used and for speaking publicly about her treatment. Melle, a south London nurse with twelve years of service, is pursuing an employment tribunal, alleging harassment, discrimination and breaches of freedom of belief. She has expressed gratitude for support received throughout the ordeal, especially by the Christian Legal Centre.

Ngoc*, a 63-year-old believer in Vietnam, has endured severe persecution for her Christian faith. Raised in ancestral worship, she came to faith in Jesus after hearing about His love and forgiveness at a local church. When she told her husband, his violence intensified, including attempts to strangle and stone her. Though some of her children opposed her decision, one daughter stood by her. Local authorities and neighbours later pressured Ngoc to renounce her faith. When she refused, a mob forced her from her home, and she was expelled from her village with only the clothes she wore. With her daughter and granddaughter, she found refuge in another community where local Christians helped them rebuild their lives. Despite suffering rejection, violence and loss, Ngoc continues to express deep trust in God, testifying to His faithfulness through hardship. (*name changed for security reasons)

On Shrove Tuesday, instead of speaking about pancakes or fasting, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell reflected on snowdrops in his ‘pause for thought’ on Radio 2. Walking through his garden in Bishopthorpe, he was struck by their fragile beauty and quiet strength. Blooming in winter’s cold earth, snowdrops herald the coming of spring, offering hope when the landscape still seems lifeless. Yet they are fleeting; by March they have faded. He recalled a deeply personal memory from thirty years ago, when he took the funeral of his one-year-old godson. The Sisters at the hospice placed snowdrops on the small coffin. To him, they spoke more eloquently than words of a life that was short, fragile, and beautiful. Linking this reflection to Lent and Easter, he reminded listeners that every human life has a beginning and an end, each miraculous and precious. Snowdrops, appearing in winter and disappearing quickly, invite us to reflect on mortality, hope, and the abundant life brought through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Yorkshire missionary Andy Newlove has shared remarkable stories of God’s faithfulness during fifteen years serving in the Philippines. His life, he says, began with a miracle. After a miscarriage, doctors doubted his mother would carry a child to term, but she prayed and dedicated her son to God. Andy was born, though tragedy followed when his father died while he was still a baby. Growing up, he witnessed many answers to prayer and came to believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit remain active today. As a child he experienced healing after a severe scald, and later prayed for a girl dying of meningitis who recovered and eventually became his wife, Tracey. When she was 33 weeks pregnant with their first child, they moved 7,000 miles to the Philippines. There they survived earthquakes, typhoons, and dangerous journeys while planting churches and training local believers. Miracles, unity among pastors, and revival marked their years of service. Today their legacy continues through family and Filipino leaders serving Christ worldwide.

Southern Baptists are seizing a remarkable evangelistic opportunity as the 2026 Winter Olympics unfold in Milan / Cortina. International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries serving across Italy have partnered with hundreds of American volunteers to proclaim the hope of Christ to the nations gathered for the Games. Outreach strategies include distributing Bibles and copies of John’s gospel, hosting welcoming hospitality points, and engaging in Olympic pin trading – each pin carrying a QR code linking to a multilingual gospel presentation. Kim Cruse of Tennessee is leading a team and encouraging bold, faith-filled conversations, reminding volunteers that many people are more spiritually open than we assume. Teams have prepared using AI chat tools to practise engaging with varied worldviews. Missionaries Dylan and Isaura Jeronimo-Lancaster are welcoming faithful church partners, reflecting the power of long-term collaboration. Volunteers testify that such global events offer a rare, God-given opportunity to impact lives from every continent with the timeless message of Christ.

Actor Tim Allen has publicly celebrated completing a 13-month, word-by-word journey through the entire Bible – a 'no skimming' commitment from Genesis to Revelation. The 72-year-old, known for the films Toy Story and The Santa Clause, shared that he felt 'humbled, enlightened and amazed' by what he read, and plans to begin again after time for reflection and meditation. His announcement drew encouragement from fans and Christian leaders, including Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, who invited him to join a two-year Bible study. Allen has become increasingly open about his faith, and in a recent podcast he reflected on the relationship between God’s law and human sin. Last year he revealed he had never previously read the Bible fully; he began with the Old Testament and found it 'amazing and not at all what I was expecting’. He has also called for clearer Christian themes in The Santa Clauses series, insisting Christmas be recognised as rooted in Christ.

At a recent meeting in Washington, Grace Jin Drexel shared the moving story of her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, imprisoned in China for his Christian faith. He was arrested in October alongside 27 other leaders from Zion Church, in what has been described as one of the largest crackdowns on independent churches since the Cultural Revolution. Grace explained that the arrests are part of China’s aggressive campaign to bring all religious life under Communist Party control. Churches have been forced to remove crosses, replace worship songs with revolutionary anthems, rewrite sermons to align with socialist ideology, and install surveillance cameras inside sanctuaries. Zion Church was targeted after refusing to install facial recognition cameras. Despite closures and intimidation, the church adapted, developing hybrid online and offline gatherings. During the pandemic, this model led to remarkable growth, expanding to over a hundred meeting spaces in forty cities and reaching thousands daily. Grace also spoke of the severe prison conditions facing detained leaders, her family’s separation, and harassment abroad. Yet she testified confidently that God remains faithful, prayers are not in vain, and repression cannot extinguish the Church.

An unexpected move of God took place at RoofCon, a major roofing convention held in Oklahoma City. Though the event was designed to equip professionals with business skills, founder Hunter Ballew sensed the Holy Spirit calling him to use the platform for eternal purposes. Evangelist Clayton King was invited to share a clear and simple Gospel message, emphasising how individuals can truly know they are born again. Attendance at the final session was voluntary, yet many remained. In a spontaneous step of faith, organisers purchased horse troughs and set up baptisms on the convention floor. Over two hundred men and women responded to the Gospel, with dozens immediately baptised. King described the moment as a powerful work of the Holy Spirit, noting a growing hunger for faith beyond church walls. He believes this reflects a wider awakening, as secular promises fail and hearts respond afresh to the transforming power of the Gospel.

Actress and Christian speaker Jen Lilley is calling believers to move beyond a passive faith and rediscover a vibrant, intimate relationship with Jesus. She observes that many people believe in God yet feel spiritually stagnant, settling for routine church attendance rather than a life fully alive in Christ. Lilley believes true renewal comes through deeper commitment, obedience, and freedom found in knowing Jesus personally. Through her podcast and her new devotional book, Wake Up Your Faith: 365 Daily Encounters with Jesus, she invites readers into daily, Spirit-filled encounters that awaken faith and confidence in God’s healing, grace, and faithfulness. Drawing on her own journey from a successful acting career to wholehearted discipleship, Lilley challenges Christians to be bold in prayer and witness. She urges believers to step out in everyday moments, pray for others, and respond to the urgency of the Great Commission. Her message is clear: now is the time to awaken faith, live fully surrendered to Jesus, and actively make disciples.

A growing spiritual awakening among Gen Z and Millennials is reflected in the testimony of filmmaker Michael Ray Lewis, a former atheist who has now turned to Christ. He says his unbelief was shaped by unanswered objections about evolution, evil, and judgment, reinforced by atheist media portraying Christianity as intellectually bankrupt. Determined to disprove his wife’s renewed faith, he began attending church and revisiting Christian claims. What started as resistance slowly turned into curiosity as Lewis discovered thoughtful responses to his questions and positive evidence for God’s existence. Scientific insights, particularly from astrophysics, challenged his assumption that faith and reason were incompatible. After several years, he realised that his remaining objections were rooted not in evidence but in unwillingness to believe. In 2016, he surrendered his life to Christ. Leaving behind his horror film career, he felt called to serve God creatively and produced the documentary Universe Designed, presenting compelling scientific and philosophical evidence for an intelligent Creator.