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October 9, 2025

This edition is sponsored by Church Growth Engine

Today’s Briefing

Local Christians respond to the Israel-Hamas deal with cautious optimism.

During the government shutdown, a Michigan church expands its efforts to feed the hungry.

With shows spanning from House of David to Sherlock, Amazon’s Wonder Project takes a different approach to faith-based streaming.

Ahead of its 70th anniversary, Christianity Today has named Marvin Olasky as its new editor in chief.

On The Bulletin this week: the conversion-therapy case at the Supreme Court, the TikTok deal between the US and China, and the guilty plea of megachurch founder Robert Morris.

Behind the Story

From editorial director of news Kate Shellnutt: Three weeks ago, one of my former Christianity Today colleagues who lives in the Chicago area shared striking photos of agents spraying tear gas and pepper balls at a man dressed in black and wearing a clerical collar.

The pastor, David Black of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, was part of a clergy protest outside a local ICE detention facility. Black shared his account with Religion News Service this week, saying he was there to peacefully call agents to repentance and to join in prayer for those facing deportation.

The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has loomed over Chicago for months. Earlier this year, Andy Olsen, who covers immigration for CT, wrote about the Windy City churches that welcomed busloads of immigrants sent from the border back in 2022, in some cases straining Christians’ compassion but also bringing a surge in members and faith like they never imagined. Now, mass deportation threatens the city’s migrant revival.

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In Other News

Christian groups call for the evacuation of a quarter-million Sudanese civilians trapped in North Darfur.
Amy Grant won a legal dispute over a financial takeover of her family’s Nashville church.
Once a model for seeker-sensitive megachurches, Willow Creek turns 50 in the aftermath of accusations against its longtime leader, financial struggles, and shifts in the evangelical landscape.

The Future of the Church Can’t Wait

What do you hope the Church will look like in 20 years? In a time when the Church is often seen as divided, the future depends on what we do now. That’s why Christianity Today launched The Next Gen Initiative—to equip tomorrow’s pastors, writers, artists, and storytellers with wisdom, creativity, and Christ-centered vision.

This week, during CT’s Week of Giving, you can help raise up the next generation of leaders—and, good news, this week only your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. The Church of tomorrow starts today. Give now.

Today in Christian History

October 10, 1560: Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius, the founder of a theology that challenged Reformed assumptions, is born in Oudewater, Netherlands.

Kenyan Churches Struggle to Support Childless Couples

For more than a decade, Cecilia Karanja of Nairobi, Kenya, struggled to have children. She married three times, with two marriages ending in divorce due to physical abuse and abandonment…

The Loss of One Forgotten Virtue Could Destroy the Country

This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. Last week, many people commented on a group of American generals and admirals for what they did not do. They were gathered…

Taylor Swift Makes Showgirls of Us All

This past weekend, the internet was overrun by takes—thoughtful takes, sloppy takes, bad takes, lazy takes about Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl. By Saturday, the discourse…

‘Roe v. Wade’ Eroded the Church’s Historic Pro-Life Consensus

After the Supreme Court’s polarizing Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the liberal Protestant organ, The Christian Century, sometimes expressed deep ethical concerns about freer access to abortion. Though generally…

in the magazine

The Christian story shows us that grace often comes from where we least expect. In this issue, we look at the corners of God’s kingdom and chronicle in often-overlooked people, places, and things the possibility of God’s redemptive work. We introduce the Compassion Awards, which report on seven nonprofits doing good work in their communities. We look at the spirituality underneath gambling, the ways contemporary Christian music was instrumental in one historian’s conversion, and the steady witness of what may be Wendell Berry’s last novel. All these pieces remind us that there is no person or place too small for God’s gracious and cataclysmic reversal.

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