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Concerning Stats Reveal Why Knowing Scripture Is So Important
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Believers serious about following Jesus need to understand Scripture.
That’s the argument Dr. Peter Bylsma, author of “The Bible I Never Knew: A Closer Look At Christianity’s Main Themes,” made on a recent episode of CBN’s “Faith vs. Culture.”
A survey released last year by the American Bible Society found a majority of Americans wish they cracked the covers of their Bibles more often. The State of the Bible analysis showed more than half (52%) of Americans aspire to reading Scripture more regularly, CBN News reported.
More than a quarter of them, though, said they just “don’t have enough time” to do it.
Perhaps even more concerning is only 6% of professing Christians hold to a biblical worldview, with the overwhelming majority (96%) choosing syncretism, a “term used to describe a customized blend of philosophies of life that a person pieces together for their own satisfaction,” the survey explained.
Failing to study and understand the themes of the Bible, Bylsma asserted, shows a lack of seriousness about following Jesus and adhering to Christianity.
“Our culture is working against us,” he explained. “In fact, we don’t even realize we are in a culture that is influencing us in different ways. For a person to take on a different perspective based on Scripture … [you need] a network of people who are thinking like you and can support one another because the message of the Gospel and the message of the Bible are countercultural and that is hard to live in today’s society.”
Another concern is New Age philosophies creeping into Christianity.
A Pew Research Center survey from 2018 found six-in-10 Christians believe in at least one of four of the New Age themes outlined in the study: “Believe spiritual energy can be located in physical things,” “believe in psychics,” “believe in reincarnation,” and “believe in astrology.”
Additionally, a YouGov poll released in late 2022 found 87% of Americans believe in at least one belief that falls loosely under the umbrella of “new-age spiritualism.” The study found more than half of respondents (55%) said they believe karma is real, with 41% believing in hypnosis, 39% believing in UFOs and extraterrestrials, and 29% believing in the “law of attraction,” known by many as “manifesting.”
It’s often a failure to understand Scripture and the tenets of the Christian faith that result in those who claim to follow Jesus espousing beliefs antithetical to Christianity. While many come to faith without a deep knowledge of the Bible, it’s critical they, upon salvation, invest in understanding Scripture and the teachings of Jesus.
“We usually come to Christ in a simple way, usually not having counted the cost, usually not having a knowledge of what you’re getting yourself into,” Bylsma said. “You jump in and then you have that relationship and then you think that’s enough. And I would say the church doesn’t really do a good job of nurturing mature Christians.”
“Some of the churches I go to kind of have the same themes over and over,” he continued. “I would say it’s elementary; it’s almost spiritual milk. And there really needs to be a deeper dive into the concepts and the themes [of the Bible]. Twenty minutes once a week just doesn’t do it.”
It’s tempting, he continued, to feel satiated in just knowing a handful of Bible passages. But those who believe they are saved and are desiring of a relationship with Jesus “need to go further.”
To make his case, he pointed to the teachings of the Apostle Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11, he wrote, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (NIV). Paul’s point was that, as believers continue in the Christian faith, they should mature spiritually.
The central — and most important — theme of the Bible, of course, is the message of Jesus. Everything throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, points to God becoming a man, taking on the insurmountable debt sinful humanity could not pay by dying on the cross and rising from the grave three days later.
Believers who have accepted Jesus as their savior ought to invest time in truly understanding the whole of Scripture, knowing that it is fundamentally transformational. It is, as Hebrews 4:12 explains, “alive and active” and “sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (NIV).
You can watch our full conversation with Bylsma in the episode of “Faith vs. Culture” above.
Sources:faithwire
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Nearly 2,000 Students Choose Christ in 1 Night at Ohio State: ‘God Is Moving in This Generation’
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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
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‘Amazing Salvation Numbers’: Seismic Spiritual Shift in World’s Largest Catholic Country
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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
us news
‘Only God’: Massive ‘Miracle’ as Thousands of Students Choose Jesus, Confess Sin, Get Baptized
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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
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