It’s arguably the fastest-growing religious movement in the world. Yet, despite increasing from less than 1 million adherents at the beginning of the 20th century to as many as 614 million today, the story behind the “spectacular rise of global Pentecostalism” has gone largely untold.

Pope Francis on Wednesday told leaders of women’s orders from around the world to be “fertile” spiritual mothers in the Catholic Church, not “spinsters.”

The number of people attending Sunday services at Britain’s Anglican churches is continuing to drop, but church officials say there are signs that the decline is starting to stabilize.

A Korean-American sentenced to 15 years hard labour in North Korea was a missionary who used his tourism business to form groups to overthrow the government, the state’s Supreme Court said.

Kenneth Bae, 44, was sentenced earlier this month after being detained late last year leading a tour group in the North Korean city of Rason, on the border with China.

The Historical Society of Church of God Movements announces its upcoming 12^th annual meeting for Thursday, May 30, 2013. This year’s theme is “A Study of R.G. Spurling: His Legacy and Influence” and focuses on the founder of the Christian Union, which later gave rise to the various Church of God groups prominent in Pentecostalism. The meeting will be held near Spurling’s home area at the “First Assembly House” adjacent to Fields of the Wood at 10000 Highway 294 near Murphy, North Carolina.

More than 1,500 top officials of the Church of God throughout Latin America gathered late last month in Guatemala to hear from denominational leaders and discuss plans that will guide the growth of the church until the year 2020 under the theme, “Word, Spirit, and Community.”

A Texas judge on Wednesday ruled that the “Bible banners” waved by cheerleaders during football games in a small school district are constitutionally protected free speech and that the tradition will be allowed to continue.

Why is there an epidemic of moral failure in the church? Because holiness has become a foreign concept.

May 9, 2013 is “Ascension Day,” marking the day when Jesus Christ ascended up into heaven, as recorded in Acts 1.3-11. It starts a global countdown of ten days of international prayer leading to Pentecost Sunday and the annual Global Day of Prayer on Sunday, May 19.