Connect with us

us news

Okla. gov. signs bill allowing students to leave school for religious instruction

Published

on

A newly approved law will enable Oklahoma public school students to receive off-campus religious instruction during the school day if they choose to.

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1425 into law Wednesday. The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature last month, with the Senate voting 38-7 and the House of Representatives voting 51-40.

The law authorizes school districts’ boards of education to “adopt a policy that excuses a student from school to attend a released time course for no more than three class periods per week or a maximum of one hundred twenty-five class periods per year.”

The legislation defines a “released time course” as “a period of time during which a student is excused from school to attend a course in religious or moral instruction taught by an independent entity off school property.”

The measure came with stipulations declaring that a student’s parent or legal guardian must provide “written consent prior to the student’s participation in the released time course” and prohibiting the use of school district funds or staff to provide the instruction.

Additionally, independent entities where students go during “released time” must keep attendance records and make them available to school districts and hold districts “harmless with regard to any liability arising from conduct that does not occur on school property under the control or supervision of the school district.” Parents are responsible for providing transportation for “released time” courses and students are responsible for any school work they miss when they leave campus.

The bill gives school and district administrators “reasonable discretion over the scheduling and timing of released time courses.” It also allows boards of education to provide students with credit for work completed as part of released time courses based on “the amount of classroom instruction time,” “the course requirements and any material used in the course,” “methods of assessment used in the course” and “the qualifications of the course instructor.”

While one Democrat joined all Republicans in supporting the measure in the state Senate, the opposite kind of defection occurred in the House, where 25 Republicans sided with Democrats in opposing it.

Greg Chafuen, legal counsel with the religious liberty legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, released a statement in support of the bill on Thursday.

“Parents have the right and responsibility to guide the upbringing and education of their children,” he said. “And many parents consider religious instruction an important part of their child’s education. While public schools can teach about the Bible from a neutral, secular perspective, release-time programs offer religious courses taught by third-party charitable organizations off school grounds during school hours.”

Chafuen added that the new law “ensures that every Oklahoman knows that the law respects their right to seek religious education for their children through these time-tested programs.”

Oklahoma is not the first state to enable students to receive off-campus religious instruction during school hours. Ohio has a similar law, and the widespread embrace of students attending Bible classes by the ministry LifeWise Academy, which resulted from it, drew backlash from the atheist legal advocacy organization Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“If parents want their children to learn about the [B]ible, there are so many ways to do it without cutting into valuable school hours,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor asserted in a statement coinciding with the organization’s distribution of a letter to school districts throughout the state. “Participating students are being punished by losing hundreds of hours of academic instruction to LifeWise’s released time [B]ible study classes.”

The letter submitted to the state’s school districts explained that “FFRF has received several complaints from families in different school districts alleging that non-attending students were given busy work, or no work at all, as a consequence of staying behind during released time classes” while the organization “received at least one complaint reporting that a school assigned non-attending students additional homework seemingly as punishment for refusing to participate in a released time program.”

The United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1952 case Zorach v. Clauson that released-time programs did not violate the U.S. Constitution, finding “no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence.”

“When the state encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions,” stated the majority opinion.

“To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.”
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com

us news

Nearly 2,000 Students Choose Christ in 1 Night at Ohio State: ‘God Is Moving in This Generation’

Published

on

Thousands of college students gathered at Ohio State University on Tuesday night to seek the hope that’s found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and nearly 2,000 of them made decisions to give their hearts to God.

It was the second massive revival event of 2025 organized by the Unite US movement, and this time students braved sub-freezing temperatures down in the teens to get baptized in the backs of U-Haul trucks.

“We’ve been in awe of how God has already been moving on this campus over the past year, and He met us here again tonight,” Unite US said in a social media post. “Over 6,500 students gathered in The Schott to lift the name of Jesus and almost 2,000 responded to the altar call – experiencing the freedom only He can bring.”

“God is moving in this generation, and we know that He’s just getting started!” the post exclaimed.

Tonya Prewett, the founder and visionary behind Unite US, also posted to Instagram saying, “What a night at The Ohio State University! …close to 2,000 students made a decision to go all in with Jesus! I am in awe of how God is moving on college campuses!”

The Ohio State revival follows a Unite US outreach held last week at the University of Kentucky where more than 2,000 students gave their lives to Jesus Christ and many were baptized as well.

The next Unite US outreach will be held at Purdue University in Indiana on March 5. Since September of 2023, the ministry’s events have reached more than 70,000 college students across multiple campuses.
Sources:CBN News

http://theendtimeradio.com

Continue Reading

us news

‘Amazing Salvation Numbers’: Seismic Spiritual Shift in World’s Largest Catholic Country

Published

on

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil is witnessing a seismic shift in its religious landscape that’s rapidly reshaping the country’s spiritual and social fabric. As  News discovered, evangelicals are poised to outnumber Catholics as the largest faith group there.

In the heart of Brazil, amidst the rhythmic beats of samba and the vibrant colors of carnival, something spiritually profound is unfolding. “We are on the verge of a religious change in Brazil’, said Brazilian sociologist Dr. José Alves.

If there’s one image that symbolizes Catholicism’s influence here, it’s Rio de Janeiro’s 98-foot-tall Christ the Redeemer. Inaugurated in 1931, the iconic statute celebrated the country’s rich Catholic heritage. There’s also the beautiful blue Cathedral of Brasilia – one of the largest Catholic churches in Brazil’s capital city. But despite these historical landmarks, Alves says the faith’s dominance is rapidly declining.

“In 1950, 93 percent of Brazilians identified as Catholics. The Church was losing about 1 percent of followers every decade,” said Alves. “However, from 1991 onwards, the Catholic Church started to lose 1 percent of followers every year, resulting in a dramatic drop.”

Evangelical Christianity, once a minority faith here, is now growing at unprecedented levels. The surveys show that what was once the world’s largest Catholic nation, will be overwhelming evangelical by 2030.

Signs of this growth are everywhere—mega-churches dotting the landscape, filled with thousands of worshippers each week. That includes Andre Fernandes’ church in São Paulo.

“We are living in the fulfillment of a promise,” said Fernandes, who pastors Lagoinha Church. “For many decades, we have heard that Brazil would experience a wave of revival that would be exported around the world, and I believe that this is what we are experiencing at this moment.”

It also includes Lourival Pereira’s congregation in the Amazon region—boasting more than 10,000 members across roughly 600 cell groups.

“The foundation of our growth is these cells,” said Pereira, pastor of a Foursquare Church in Belem. “The real revival is taking place outside the church walls. Every day, people are meeting in small groups in homes; it’s the biblical model.”

Then there’s J.B. Carvalho’s church in the capital city of Brasília.

“We started the church in 2003 with only 25 people. Today, we have about 12,000 people in Brasília alone,” said Carvalho of Community of the Nations Church. “We also have another 15,000 people in Fortaleza. Our churches are spread throughout Brazil.”

And Silas Malafaia’s church in Rio de Janeiro is one of the largest and most influential Pentecostal churches in Brazil with more than 100,000 members.

“In the next seven years or so, we will be the majority in the country,” declared Malafaia of the Assembly of God Victory in Christ church. “Today, we make up about 35% of the population, and God’s Kingdom has influence in every corner of Brazilian society.”

Marcelo Crivella, a well-known evangelical pastor turned politician, once served as mayor of Rio de Janeiro. He says that, years ago, evangelical Christians hesitated to get involved in politics—but that’s no longer the case.

More than 30% of the country’s legislators are now evangelical. “We are more than 140 deputies and more than 20 senators,” said Crivella, a Brazilian Congressman.

Many of them gather each Wednesday in the halls of Brazil’s Congress for worship and prayer.

Celina Leão, the vice governor of Brasília, tells CBN News that God is also at work in other branches of the government.

“I used to participate in those prayer meetings when I was in Congress,” Leão told CBN News. “Now, every month in the governor’s office, we meet for prayer, and people come to my office. It’s a wonderful time to see friends and be in communion.”

The country’s first evangelical church opened in 1922. By 1990, the number had grown to more than 7,000 congregations. Nearly 30 years later, it grew to almost 110,000.

The growth is so staggering that one study found 17 new evangelical churches opening every day across Brazil.

“Now in Brazil we have 550,000 – 550,000 churches,” declared Crivella.

Ezenete Rodrigues says this dramatic transformation began, as in many great movements, with the most profound of practices: prayer.

“I’ve always believed that prayer is like planting: You plant, plant, plant, and at some point, it will sprout, and then the explosion will come,” Rodrigues told CBN News.

Rodrigues is one of the country’s most well-known intercessors. She has organized countless prayer rallies nationwide, urging her fellow countrymen to turn to God.

“Brazil has been hungry and thirsty for God, and the key has been intercession—bending our knees, seeking God, and letting the Spirit of the Lord guide us in everything we do,” said Rodrigues. “Today, we can look back and see so many beautiful fruits of this commitment.”

Those who have been tracking the explosive growth of the evangelical movement here in Brazil say worship has also played a monumental role in the church’s growth. And one Christian artist, above all, has been at the center of it all.

Her name is Ana Paula Valadao.

“Even growing up, I had glimpses of crowds, of multitudes worshipping the Lord,” Valadao told us.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, her group’s music became synonymous with a powerful worship movement that emphasized intimacy with God, passionate worship, and personal revival.

“As I was songwriting, the Lord always made me very intentional,” Valadao said. “The whole idea was about transformation, was about changing the nation.”

Paula’s songs played across Brazil, helping many experience a deeper connection to their faith. “It was about healing the land, and we started seeing amazing salvation numbers,” said Valadao.

She held concerts in strategic locations, drawing millions of people, many of whom were Catholics.

“Like the carnival sight in Rio de Janeiro and in the soccer stadiums, Jesus broke every record, gathering more people than any soccer tournament,” Valadao recalled.

Because of her songs, many Catholic services in Brazil today—like one CBN News attended in São Paulo—have embraced a more evangelistic style of worship, shifting away from traditional liturgies to incorporate contemporary music.

Father Antonio Luiz Catelan Ferreira, who leads the Cathedral of São Sebastião in Rio de Janeiro, says the change is part of an effort to encourage former Catholics to ‘come home.’

“People are attracted to environments where worship celebrations and moments of prayer are done in a more charismatic way,” Ferreira told CBN News. “Today, a growing number of Catholics are returning precisely because prayer meetings are conducted in a more Pentecostal style.”

Still, for Brazil’s Catholic majority, the question is no longer whether they will lose their dominance, but how quickly.

The answer? Probably, faster than anyone ever expected.
Sources:faithwire

http://theendtimeradio.com

Continue Reading

us news

‘Only God’: Massive ‘Miracle’ as Thousands of Students Choose Jesus, Confess Sin, Get Baptized

Published

on

Author and speaker Jennie Allen is witnessing what she calls a real-life “miracle.”

Allen told CBN News she was absolutely astounded last Wednesday night, when UniteUs, a ministry serving young people, arrived at the Rupp Arena at the University of Kentucky and saw thousands of students show up to praise the Lord.

“This is this is just all a miracle,” Allen said. “We are on our 12th University. Next week, we will go to 13th at Ohio State, and, in every single case, it has been miraculous.”

Images and photos show hordes of young people engaging in praise and worship, with many coming forward to accept the faith and get baptized.

“So many kids come forward, confess sin, follow Jesus, and we’re baptizing usually into the morning,” she said. “And it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s unlike anything I’ve even been bold enough to pray for … until recently.”

Allen continued, “You can just see all over the stadium, huddles of kids, wiping tears, nodding, praying, holding each other. I mean, it’s so precious and brave.”

After the event, four people baptized droves of young people for around an hour and a half, showcasing the full impact of these events. Allen mentioned one young man who was lost and not living right whose friend had been praying for him.

“He said, ‘I’m tired of living the way I was living and I want something to change,’” she said. “And he goes, ‘I’ve been going this way and now I need to go this way.’”

It was incredible for the man’s friend, who had been praying for him, to see him change right before his eyes.

“It can only be God,” Allen reiterated.

Despite never dreaming such events could be possible, Allen has been blown away by all God has done. It’s especially remarkable because these campus events are organized by local student teams who do all the fundraising and work to make it unfold.

The young team responsible for the University of Kentucky event had prayed fervently beforehand, doing a massive, 42-mile prayer walk around their campus.

Allen, who is gearing up for her own event, Gather25 — a “25-hour global broadcast event telling the inspiring stories of the global Church, by the global Church” — said it’s remarkable to see these revival-like moments unfolding on campuses across the globe.

Ultimately, she believes these simultaneous spiritual revivals are all God-ordained.
Sources:CBN News

http://theendtimeradio.com

Continue Reading
Advertisement The EndTime Radio

Featured

National19 hours ago

New Anti-Conversion Law Takes Effect in Rajasthan

India — As of this week, a newly enacted anti-conversion law requires people in India’s Rajasthan state to give two...

us news19 hours ago

Nearly 2,000 Students Choose Christ in 1 Night at Ohio State: ‘God Is Moving in This Generation’

Thousands of college students gathered at Ohio State University on Tuesday night to seek the hope that’s found in the...

world news19 hours ago

സൗദി റിയാലിന് പുതിയ ചിഹ്നം

റിയാദ് : സൗദി റിയാലിന് പുതിയ ചിഹ്നം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് സൗദി അറേബ്യ. ദേശീയ കറൻസിയുടെ ഐഡന്റിറ്റി ശക്തിപ്പെടുത്തുന്നതിനുള്ള നടപടിയുടെ ഭാഗമായാണ് പുതിയ ചിഹ്നം അവതരിപ്പിച്ചത്. അറബിക് കാലിഗ്രാഫിയിൽ...

Movie20 hours ago

“ചോസണ്‍: ലാസ്റ്റ് സപ്പർ”; യേശുവിന്റെ മരണത്തിന് തൊട്ടുമുമ്പുള്ള സുപ്രധാന ഭാഗങ്ങളുമായി ട്രെയിലർ പുറത്ത്

ന്യൂയോര്‍ക്ക്: യേശു ക്രിസ്തുവിന്റെ പരസ്യജീവിതത്തെ കേന്ദ്രമാക്കി നിര്‍മ്മിച്ച് പ്രേക്ഷകര്‍ക്ക് ഇടയില്‍ വന്‍ ഹിറ്റായി മാറിയ ‘ദ ചോസൺ’ ബൈബിള്‍ പരമ്പരയിലെ “ചോസണ്‍: ലാസ്റ്റ് സപ്പർ” സീസൺ 5-ന്റെ...

world news20 hours ago

കോംഗോയിലെ ദേവാലയത്തില്‍ 70 ക്രൈസ്തവരെ ഇസ്ലാമിക് സ്റ്റേറ്റ്സ് തീവ്രവാദികള്‍ കഴുത്തറത്ത് കൊലപ്പെടുത്തി

ബ്രാസാവില്ല: ആഫ്രിക്കന്‍ രാജ്യമായ ഡെമോക്രാറ്റിക് റിപ്പബ്ലിക് ഓഫ് കോംഗോയിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവ ആരാധനാലയത്തില്‍ എഴുപത് ക്രിസ്ത്യാനികളെ ശിരഛേദം ചെയ്ത നിലയിൽ കണ്ടെത്തി. രാജ്യത്തിൻ്റെ വടക്ക് കിഴക്കൻ ഭാഗത്ത് ക്രൈസ്തവ...

world news2 days ago

കൊതുകിനെ പിടിക്കുന്നവര്‍ക്ക് പാരിതോഷികം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് ഫിലിപ്പിന്‍സിലെ നഗരം.

കൊതുകുകളെ ജീവനോടെയോ കൊന്നോ എത്തിക്കുന്നവര്‍ക്ക് പാരിതോഷികം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് ഫിലിപ്പിന്‍സിലെ മനിലയിലെ പ്രാദേശിക ഭരണകൂടം. ഡങ്കിപ്പനി നഗരത്തില്‍ വ്യാപകമാകുന്ന പശ്ചാത്തലത്തിലാണ് പ്രഖ്യാപനം. കൊണ്ടുവരുന്ന അഞ്ച് കൊതുകിന് ഒരു പെസോ...

Trending

Copyright © 2019 The End Time News