David Vega, a Church of God pastor in Miami was the catalyst for a prayer gathering that drew 20,000 to a prayer celebration, despite the threat of rain. Thousands gathered to pray in the under-churched, cosmopolitan city, ripe with Santería – the syncretism of Christianity with elements of African and Caribbean witchcraft.

BELLFLOWER, Calif., Jan. 4, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — As the award-winning prolife movie pushes 2 million views on YouTube, Stephen Kendrick – Producer of Fireproof & Courageous said, “I am so glad I took the time to watch ‘180.’ It is gutsy and very powerful.”

Christians in India celebrated Christmas under the threat of violence. While there were isolated incidents reported, nothing on the scale of the Orissa pogrom of 2008 emerged.

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Stamford, Conn., unleashed a crescendo of complaint when he opined that popular Bronco quarterback Tim Tebow might engender violence against Muslims, gays and illegal immigrants by reciting quiet, Christian prayers on the sidelines of NFL games.

The 2012 Seek God for the City booklet is now available for purchase. The booklet is being offered this year in a partnership with Church of God Prayer Ministries and Pathway Press. Again, it has a special Church of God prayer ministries section.

At the threshold of this New Year, people everywhere are concerned. Escalating political, economic and social unrest have caused many, even believers, to become perplexed and fearful about the future. Jesus warned us that before His return, perilous times would come. But thank God, He has provided a way for us to not only survive but even thrive during even the most difficult of times. Allow me to illustrate.

The year 2011 saw plenty of anti-Christian rhetoric in the media—and plenty of anti-Christian acts against every day Joes and Janes standing up for what they believe. DefendChristians.Org, a ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, asked its members to vote on the top 10 anti-Christian acts of 2011 in the U.S.

Lee University’s Encore Program, which offers people age 60 and over the opportunity to take university courses, has a new line up of specially-designed mini-courses for the spring. These mini-courses are planned exclusively for Encore-eligible students.

“Robert, come with me to a mission where the people speak in ‘other tongues,’ as they did in the early church. I tell you it is all so wonderful. Every time I go there, I am blessed.” With that brief but enthusiastic invitation from his father, Robert Cook and his wife, Anna, found themselves in the Upper Room Mission on South Spring Street in Los Angeles, California.