The Winter 2021 issue of Church of God Engage will be released on Friday, January 15, 2021 and available digitally at www.cogengage.org.

At the beginning of every New Year I always reassess my goals and pray for God’s direction. I ask myself: What do I want God to accomplish in my life this year? Then I seek the Lord to hear what He is saying to me about the next 12 months.

Levels of Christian persecution are at a record high globally, according to watchdog organization Open Doors, who announced the 2021 World Watch List today via press conference. A comprehensive research-based report, the annual World Watch List ranks the top 50 countries where it is most dangerous to be Christian – and exposes startling shifts in the landscape of global religious persecution.

NOTE: The following is provided by the Church of God Benefits Board in the interest of churches and ministries potentially affected by this information.

Cleveland, TN: The Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, recently announced that the loan program under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers.

This week, persecution watchdog Open Doors USA will announce the 2021 World Watch List, its anticipated annual ranking of the top 50 countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian – and provide a surprising update on significant shifts in the landscape of Christian persecution worldwide. Open Doors USA President and CEO David Curry will address media and viewers at an online press conference at 10 a.m. ET, Wednesday, January 13th.

A one-of-a-kind Christian broadcaster is launching the first-ever faith-based video-on-demand service in the Middle East and North Africa — sharing the hope of the gospel with a new generation glued to their phones during the pandemic.

The Church of God has always been committed to the Great Commission. However, the recent GO FINISH initiative, which took place in May 2020, was possibly the largest global outreach with an ecumenical partnership in Church of God history.

The Executive Team of OneHope is pleased to announce that they have hired Sherry Surratt as the new Vice President for North America.

Imagine the news, “You have a rare, stage three aggressive inflammatory breast cancer.” What would your first response be? Her new book, It Was Not My Time, is the story of Anna Mitchell’s response to what should have been life’s most devastating news. It’s a story of a devoted wife of seventeen years and proud mother of two sons who was not going to let those words define her or change her.

One Sunday while worshiping during church service, God gave Anna the most incredible gift; He healed her. He physically entered her body and enveloped her from head to toe. She felt His presence like never before and the peace she experienced is unexplainable. After her healing, a CT scan confirmed what she already knew, the cancer was gone.

Anna knows that God has always had a purpose for her life as He does all of us. She believes she battled for her life to find her true purpose, which is to honor Him in all things. With a new purpose as precious to her as her healing, Anna’s greatest desire is that her message provides hope and brings comfort to others. She wrote her story, believing that it would help you or someone you know get through some of the seemingly darkest days of life. He didn’t take Anna home because it wasn’t her time.

It Was Not My Time by Anna Mitchell, 96 pages, PB, $9.99. https://itwasnotmytime.com ISBN: 978-1-951561-44-4. Published by River Birch Press (2020). Distributed by Ingram and Amazon.com. River Birch Press publishes books with a Christian worldview. Its mission is to empower readers for fruitful living.

(SOURCE: The Book Experts via Christian Newswire)