Category: News affecting the Church

Dr. James Dobson, Influential Christian Leader and Founder of Focus on the Family, Dies at 89

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TEXAS GOSPEL STAFF

Dr. James Dobson, one of the most influential Christian leaders of the past half-century and founder of Focus on the Family, died Thursday morning, August 21, 2025, at the age of 89. His passing was announced by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI).

A psychologist by training, Dobson dedicated his life to strengthening marriages, guiding parents, and defending biblical values, championing the family as the cornerstone of society. Through decades of broadcasting, writing, and public advocacy, he became a towering voice in American evangelicalism and a driving force behind the rise of conservative Christian engagement in politics.

Dobson founded Focus on the Family in Arcadia, California, in 1977, before relocating its headquarters to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1991. The move helped establish Colorado Springs as a hub for evangelical ministries and influence. Under his leadership, the organization grew into one of the largest evangelical ministries in the world.

At its height, the Focus on the Family daily radio program aired on more than 4,000 stations across North America and reached audiences in over 160 countries, translated into 27 languages. The show became one of the most widely heard faith-based broadcasts globally.

Dobson’s impact extended beyond the church into the halls of power. A significant figure in the 1980s movement to integrate conservative Christian ideals into American politics, he advised or counseled five U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. In 1985, he interviewed President Reagan in the Oval Office, and during the Trump administration, he served on the Evangelical Executive Advisory Board.

In addition to Focus on the Family, Dobson helped establish the Family Research Council in the early 1980s, a Christian think tank that remains influential in policy debates on faith and family.

Dobson authored more than 70 books, many of which became staples in Christian homes. His bestsellers included The New Dare to Discipline and When God Doesn’t Make Sense. His work earned him recognition as a New York Times best-selling author and induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Even after stepping away from Focus on the Family in 2010, Dobson continued his mission through the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI), where he hosted Family Talk. The nationally syndicated program airs on 1,500 stations and reaches more than half a million listeners weekly, ensuring that his voice continued to influence new generations.

Dr. Dobson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley, their children Danae and Ryan, daughter-in-law Laura, and two grandchildren.

Islamist Terrorists Massacre Christians in Congo and Nigeria Amid Growing Wave of Violence

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William Desjardins

On July 27, Islamist terrorists carried out a brutal massacre at a church in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing at least 49 Christians who had gathered for worship. The attackers, jihadists allied with the Islamic State, struck during a Silver Jubilee celebration where worshipers had come from surrounding villages to pray for security and peace. Instead, the congregation faced unimaginable violence, as attackers stormed the church wielding machetes. Witnesses report that Christians who attempted to flee were hunted down and killed, while others were beheaded inside the sanctuary. Most of the victims were Catholic believers, cut down in the middle of a service meant to reaffirm their hope and faith.

The violence was carried out by members of the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Uganda-rooted rebel group long recognized as one of the region’s deadliest militias. The ADF, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, has intensified attacks on Christians in the DRC as part of its broader effort to establish a caliphate under strict Islamic law. In this latest massacre, nine children were reportedly decapitated, and several others were abducted, underlining the group’s deliberate targeting of the most vulnerable. Pope Leo XIV issued a strong condemnation of the killings, denouncing the atrocity as a brutal violation of human dignity and a direct assault on the Christian faithful.

The aftermath of the massacre in Komanda village was devastating. The U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, was forced to deploy earth-digging machinery to create a mass grave for the victims, as the death toll overwhelmed local resources. Many of those buried had already sought refuge in Komanda after surviving attacks in other regions, only to be slaughtered once again. Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, described the situation as a “crisis of biblical proportions” and a “silent slaughter” where women and children are increasingly targeted. Reports from Open Doors further highlight that more than 80 villagers, mostly Christians, were killed in other attacks across the region in July alone. Despite the scale of violence, local sources revealed that no arrests have been made, leaving survivors fearful of another imminent attack.

The crisis in the DRC mirrors escalating Islamist violence against Christians in Nigeria. On August 4, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed a Christian woman in Plateau state, part of a broader campaign that has seen entire Christian villages depopulated and repopulated by Fulani militants. Boko Haram, another militant Islamist sect, has long declared its intent to impose strict Muslim law in Nigeria and vowed to “cleanse the north of Christianity.” Despite these threats, the Nigerian government has urged Christians not to be alarmed, assuring them of protection. However, the persistent violence and the absence of adequate security responses have left many believers skeptical and fearful.

Leaders within Nigeria’s Christian community have begun urging believers to take responsibility for their own protection. Ayo Oritsejafor, leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, called on Christians to take appropriate action in safeguarding themselves from further attacks. This comes against the backdrop of staggering losses: more than 4,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in the past year alone. With Islamist groups across central Africa pushing for control of Christian-majority regions, the plight of believers in both the DRC and Nigeria underscores a growing humanitarian and spiritual crisis—one where faith communities are caught in the crosshairs of violent extremism, with limited assurances of safety from the governments meant to protect them.

Francis Hannaway 31 July 1992 St Mary's Catholic Church, Sukkur, Pakistan. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Mary%27s_Catholic_Church,_Sukkur,_Pakistan.jpg

Christians in Pakistan: A Crisis of Persecution and Protection

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(Photo credit: Francis Hannaway/ St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Sukkur, Pakistan, July 31, 1992. Creative Commons.)

WILLIAM DESJARDINS

Pakistan’s 4.5 million Christians and other religious minorities face an unprecedented crisis of persecution, systemic discrimination, and legal vulnerability that has reached alarming new heights in recent years. Ranked eighth on the Open Doors World Watch List, Pakistan represents one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, with minorities comprising less than 4% of the population yet bearing a disproportionate burden of violence and injustice.
At the heart of the persecution lies Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty and have become weaponized tools of exploitation and intimidation. A groundbreaking confidential police report titled “The Blasphemy Business” has exposed the dark reality behind many blasphemy accusations: criminal networks systematically targeting young people for financial gain.

These sophisticated scams involve fake social media accounts that lure young men into conversations containing blasphemous content, creating elaborate traps that have ensnared over 450 victims since 2021, according to Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission. Once trapped, families face devastating choices—pay substantial bribes to police to drop charges or watch their loved ones face potential death sentences. Lawyers representing affected families have documented not only arrests and disappearances but also evidence of torture in police custody.

The blasphemy laws serve purposes far beyond their stated religious protection mandate. They have become instruments for land grabs, targeting business rivals, and criminal extortion. Though death sentences are rarely carried out, accusations frequently trigger mob violence and extrajudicial killings that claim lives with disturbing regularity.

A rare glimmer of hope emerged when Justice Ishaq Khan of Islamabad’s High Court ordered the government to investigate the abuse of blasphemy laws, prompted by the revealing police report. However, this hope was swiftly crushed by intense backlash from religious extremist groups. Members of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party publicly attacked the court ruling, while lawyers from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party challenged the order in court. By July 24, Justice Khan’s order was suspended amid fears that hostility could turn violent.

This pattern reflects Pakistan’s troubled history with blasphemy law reform. Historically, any attempt to modify or investigate these laws has been quickly shut down by violent protests from radical Islamic groups, creating a climate where even judicial review becomes impossible.
The situation deteriorated dramatically in 2024, with the Centre for Social Justice reporting a record 344 new blasphemy cases—the highest number in Pakistan’s history. At least 10 individuals accused of blasphemy were extrajudicially killed by individuals or violent mobs during the same year, highlighting the deadly consequences of these accusations.

Christians bear a particularly heavy burden under this system. Despite comprising only 1.8% of Pakistan’s population, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians. This disproportionate targeting reflects deeper systemic discrimination that permeates Pakistani society and institutions.

The human cost of this persecution becomes clear through individual cases. In June 2024, an elderly man was killed by mob violence after being accused of desecrating the Quran, demonstrating how quickly accusations can turn fatal. The case of Anwar Kenneth illustrates the system’s cruel inefficiency: the 72-year-old Christian spent 23 years on death row after being sentenced to death in 2002 for sending allegedly blasphemous letters. Only in June 2025 did Pakistan’s Supreme Court finally acquit him, ruling that “a person of unsound mind could not be held liable for such a crime.”

The Jaranwala incident in August 2023 exemplifies how blasphemy accusations can trigger community-wide violence. When Pervaiz Masih was accused of writing blasphemous content, violent riots erupted that destroyed at least 20 churches and forcibly displaced hundreds of Christians. On April 18, 2025, Masih was sentenced to death, but the damage to the Christian community had already been done.

Perhaps most troubling is the impact on minority children, as documented in a new report by Pakistan’s National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC). The report, titled “Situation Analysis of Children from Minority Religions in Pakistan,” reveals severe challenges including forced conversion, child marriages, and child labor affecting minority children, particularly from Christian and Hindu communities.

Between April 2023 and December 2024, the NCRC received 27 complaints related to the oppression of minority children, including abduction, murder, forced conversion, and underage marriages. Punjab province, Pakistan’s most populous region, reported the highest number of violence cases against minority children (40%) from January 2022 to September 2024, with 547 Christian victims, 32 Hindus, two Ahmadis, two Sikhs, and 99 others.

The discrimination extends into Pakistan’s educational system, where minority children face multiple forms of marginalization. The Single National Curriculum mandates Islamic religious education with no alternatives for minority students to study their own faiths, effectively infringing on religious freedom and hindering academic progress. Minority students report feeling uncomfortable sharing their religious identities, viewing them as inferior markers that lead to mockery from majority-religion classmates and even encouragement to convert.

Economic exploitation compounds these educational challenges. Many minority households remain trapped in cycles of bonded labor, particularly in brick kilns and agriculture, where entire families, including children, work under cruel conditions. This economic vulnerability makes families more susceptible to various forms of exploitation and abuse.

Forced religious conversions and marriages of Christian and Hindu girls to older Muslim men persist as major human rights violations. Despite legal protections on paper, institutional biases, public pressure, and inadequate law enforcement allow these practices to continue unchecked. These forced conversions often serve to legitimize what would otherwise be recognized as kidnapping and sexual assault.

The persecution occurs within a constitutional framework that explicitly limits religious freedom. Pakistan’s constitution restricts the right to free speech to maintain “the glory of Islam,” creating a legal environment where minority rights are subordinated to religious considerations from the outset.

NCRC Chairperson Ayesha Raza Farooq, working in collaboration with UNICEF, emphasizes that millions of children continue to fall through protection gaps due to fragmented efforts, lack of coordination, and limited political will. The NCRC has urged the government to strengthen legal protections, expand social safety nets, create inclusive education policies, and adopt specific measures to counter child and bonded labor, as well as forced religious conversions.

NCRC Minorities Member Pirbhu Lal Satyani states bluntly that children from religious minorities are among the most marginalized in Pakistani society, facing stigma, stereotyping, and structural exclusion that begins in childhood and continues throughout their lives.

The police report exposing “The Blasphemy Business” has opened new territory in Pakistan’s debate over blasphemy laws, revealing uncomfortable truths for the political establishment about the country’s human rights crisis and the extreme vulnerability of its minorities. However, the swift suspension of judicial review attempts demonstrates the powerful forces aligned against reform.

For Pakistan’s minorities, particularly its 4.5 million Christians, each day brings fresh uncertainty. The combination of weaponized blasphemy laws, systematic discrimination, economic exploitation, and social marginalization creates an environment where basic human dignity remains elusive. Without significant political will to confront extremist groups and implement meaningful reforms, Pakistan’s minorities will continue to live under the shadow of persecution, their children growing up in a society that treats their very existence as somehow lesser and their faith as inherently suspect.
The international community watches as Pakistan struggles with this fundamental test of its commitment to human rights and religious freedom. The outcome will determine not only the fate of millions of vulnerable citizens but also Pakistan’s standing as a nation capable of protecting all its people, regardless of their faith.

Genocide Against Christians Escalates Across Africa

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WILLIAM DESJARDINS

In the shadows of international headlines, an escalating campaign of violence is unfolding across several African nations, where radical Islamic groups are targeting Christian communities. In Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, the Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP), an ISIS affiliate, has taken responsibility for a series of attacks, including beheadings, village raids, and the burning of churches and homes. Between July 20 and 28, ISMP militants reportedly killed at least nine Christians, beheaded others, and displaced over 46,000 people. Nearly 60% of the victims were children according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

On July 24, ISMP fighters attacked a Christian village in Chiure district, killing one and setting multiple homes ablaze. Four days later, they claimed responsibility for the capture and beheading of two Christians, releasing 20 propaganda photos through jihadist channels boasting of their attacks. The images, verified by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), reveal scenes of mutilated victims, torched churches, and militants standing triumphantly over the corpses of what they call “infidel militias.” MEMRI Vice President Alberto Miguel Fernandez described the unfolding crisis as a “silent genocide” driven by deep anti-Christian hatred, lamenting the lack of attention from the international community.

Mozambique isn’t alone. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen similarly heinous violence at the hands of the ISIS-aligned Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). On July 27, ADF operatives opened fire at a Catholic church in the Christian village of Komanda, killing 45 people, including nine children, and setting fire to homes and businesses. Earlier in the month, the same group slaughtered 43 worshipers during a church service. These acts of terror are part of a broader ISIS strategy to establish a caliphate across Africa through decentralized, cell-based warfare—a shift from the group’s earlier land-occupying tactics in Iraq and Syria.

Despite mounting death tolls and mass displacements, global leaders have remained largely silent. Fernandez warns that ISIS-aligned groups are now in a position to destabilize multiple African nations simultaneously, posing a long-term threat not only to regional security but to global interests. While countries like Rwanda have deployed forces to assist Mozambique, the international response remains fragmented and insufficient. As ISIS continues to expand its ideological and operational reach, Christian communities across Mozambique, the DRC, and Nigeria live under the constant threat of slaughter, their suffering too often overlooked in a world consumed by other headlines.

Church Members in India Fear Attending Worship after Assault

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Morning Star News

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in central India on June 8 ransacked a church’s worship building, burned Bibles and assaulted every member, causing one to lose consciousness, sources said.

In Chhattisgarh state’s Dhamtari District, the Hindu nationalists attacked during the independent Penial Prayer Fellowship’s worship service in Borsi village, said Pastor Wakish Sahu, who leads the church along with his 57-year-old father, Mannohan Sahu.

“They forcibly entered the church, disrupted the worship service and were carrying wooden rods and shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Hail lord Rama],” Pastor Wakish Sahu told Morning Star News.

Threatening the Christians, the attackers told them to stop gathering for worship, he said. They broke all chairs, fans and musical instruments, then collected all Christian literature along with the Bibles and burned them.

Taking hold of Pastor Mannohan Sahu, they beat him with wooden rods, slapped his face repeatedly, struck his head with wooden sticks and kicked him, Pastor Wakish Sahu said.

“My father was being beaten up, and during this time blows landed near his ear, and he lost his consciousness,” he said. “The assaulters, probably scared that he was dead or going to die from the beating, called for a glass of water and forced it in his mouth.”

Pastor Mannohan Sahu sustained injuries over all his body, especially on the head, ear, chest, hands and back.

The assailants beat all 15 members present that day, including Pastor Wakish Sahu’s mother when she tried to intervene and save her husband; her hands and head were injured in the process.

“Two women and five men sustained severe injuries and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment,” said Pastor Wakish Sahu.

Only five to seven of the assailants were from the village, the others being outsiders the pastor said he “had never seen before.”

Pastor Wakish Sahu registered a detailed complaint at the Maganlodh police station, but officers did not register a formal complaint as they indicated they would investigate first. At this writing, however, no formal complaint has been registered.

“Since the attack, the believers have stopped coming for worship as they are too scared, and understandably so; but our family members, around 10 of us, still worship at the same time,” Pastor Wakish Sahu said. “We have decided that we will not give in to fear.”

Under the Hindu Radar

This was not the first time the church has been attacked.

A mob of Hindu extremists in June 2024 attacked his church in a similar way, threatening all those present and telling them to stop attending worship services, the pastor said.

“Since then, our congregation of close to 50 people had reduced to 15, and since the latest attack, nobody [outside his family] is coming to church for fear of being assaulted,” Pastor Wakish Sahu said.

After the attack last year, Dhamtari Christian leaders had submitted a memorandum to authorities, including the District Collector of Dhamtari.

“Police have been patrolling every Sunday since last year,” the pastor said. “They usually come inside to check if any persons from nearby villages are in attendance, because they maintain that only people from our village should be present in our services. They have warned time and again that no one from other villages should be found in our midst.”

During police visits, after confirming attendance they usually take photos before leaving, he added.

Congregation members stopped coming also from fear of being targeted by anti-Christian groups.

“Many of them have told us that they will attend worship in other churches in nearby areas or in the city but are afraid of attending worship services at our church because of fear of violence and the police,” the pastor said. “However, they do not understand that even city churches have not been spared.”

On the morning of June 8, the patrolling police who visited the church again asked if anyone from outside the village was attending and left. When the ensuing assault was underway, officers arrived and told the assailants to leave.

“It was very surprising that the police just told them, ‘It is enough,’ and they all just walked away,” Pastor Wakish Sahu said. “It appears that it was all in the knowledge of the police even before they attacked us.”

When he and other Christian leaders went to submit a formal complaint at the police station, the Hindu extremists were waiting outside to attack them again. The pastor requested police protection, and officers agreed to drop them halfway to their home.

“When the police were driving us back, the Hindu mob was following the police vehicle,” he said. “They came after us for a mile and then took a detour.”

He later learned the Hindu mob following them had gone to another Christian house in the area and vandalized and burned it, he said.

Another congregation in Dhamtari, Elohim Church, endured an intrusion by members of the Hindu nationalist Bajrang Dal on Sunday (June 29), said Pastor Alok Majumdar.

“The Hindu extremists entered the church while the service was going on and disrupted it by loudly singing Hindu religious hymns,” Pastor Majumdar told Morning Star News. “Subsequently, the police arrived and dispersed the Bajrang Dal members.”

Officers took an informal complaint, but it has not yet been formalized. No physical violence or vandalism was reported.

The same day, Hindu extremists disrupted the worship service of another church in the district, located in Gopal Puri about 10 miles from Pastor Majumdar’s church. Its pastor, Thanu Ram, was unavailable to confirm the incident but it was cited by both Pastor Majumdar and Pastor Wakish Sahu.

Before attacking Pastor Majumdar’s church, the same day Hindu extremists went to Pastor Rekha Mahilanh’s church on the way to Majumdar’s church. Extremists found a 21-year-old man outside the building who was attending church for the first time and assaulted him. They then searched for the church pastor. Pastor Mahilanh stepped forward and revealed that she was the pastor, and she and all other women of the church confronted the extremists.

“The Hindu extremists discreetly used some kind of a spray on some of the women,” Pastor Mahilanh told Morning Star News.

In the end, due to the women’s determination, the extremists left and proceeded to Pastor Alok Majumdar’s church.

Pastor Mahilanh did not report the matter to the police.

Pastor Raju Verghese, also in Dhamtari District, Pastor Majumdar and the Rev. Diamond Phillius, president of the Dhamtari Christian Forum, submitted a memorandum to the collector’s office on Tuesday (July 1) highlighting the rise in attacks against area churches and appealing for action.

Pastor Verghese told Morning Star News that the district collector, Avinash Mishra, was busy in a meeting, so he received the memorandum from them and said that he would take it up with them later.

Christian support organization Open Doors ranks India 11th on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. India stood at 31st place in 2013 but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi came to power as prime minister.

Religious rights advocates point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists in India since Modi took power in May 2014.

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