Author: Shalem John
Houston is a city known for going big. America’s ninth-largest city by land area, it is home to the world’s largest medical center, one of the nation’s biggest ports, and Texas’ second-tallest building. Houston’s Christianity is also big, hosting some of the most mega of megachurches, including Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church and the largest Episcopal church in the nation. But it is also one of the US’s most religiously diverse cities. And another major religious space will soon join in: The Ismaili Center Houston. Ismailis are a branch of Shiite Muslims who believe that religious authority continues through a line…
“Around two years ago, I started reading the Bible,” 20-year-old Hailey Gillman told her 200,000 TikTok followers in March. “I proclaimed that I was a Christian on my social media. A lot of people knew that I was a Christian and I loved Jesus, but … I actually never really opened my Bible.” Gillman is not alone. According to the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible: USA 2025 study, Gen Zers spend less time in God’s Word than older generations do, with just 36 percent of the generation reporting Bible use at least a few times a year. At…
A crowd of about 200 mourners gathered under the clear sky of Barkin Ladi in Nigeria’s Plateau State as pastor Ezekiel Dachomo officiated the mass burial of at least 12 Christian victims of Islamic militancy on October 15. “I am in bitterness,” Dachomo told the crowd in a video posted online. In another video, Dachomo cries out, “We are tired to be outside performing burial every day, and they expect us to [be silent].” He went on to call out the Nigerian government for denying the genocide of Christians and pleaded to the UN, the US Senate, and President Donald…