A survey from Lifeway Research shows that just 44% of churchgoers were involved in a small group at their congregation in 2022 compared to 49% in 2010 and 50% in 2008. The research, which drew on interviews with 1,000 Protestant pastors in September, attributed the drop in small group participation to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting, "As churches continue ministry in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are finding it increasingly difficult to grow their small groups." During interviews with CP, a variety of pastors discussed their experiences with dwindling small groups and emphasized how such groups play an important role in creating a sense of community within a congregation. "Small groups, led well, are the engine of character development, discipleship, mentorship and leadership development in a local church. It is difficult to see how any church can flourish for the long haul without that structure," said John Reichart, the associate pastor of The Experience Vineyard Church in Rockville Centre, New York. Read more.

Heartbeat of Miami, a pro-life organization that operates a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic in Hialeah, Fla., and the state's attorney general have filed lawsuits against Jane's Revenge, a collective of abortion activists that have claimed responsibility for multiple instances of pro-abortion vandalism over the past year. Jane's Revenge, Annarella Rivera, Caleb Freestone, and Amber Smith-Stewart are named as defendants in the pro-life center's lawsuit, which was filed by First Liberty Institute. Heartbeat of Miami was vandalized shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision. The complaint details further allegations against the defendants, including that they conspired to disrupt the pro-life organization's annual gala, which took place at the Trump National Doral Miami Resort & Hotel on Sept. 17. They are accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, with the complaint seeking $5,000 in damages for each act committed in violation of federal law. They also face trespass charges concerning the facility's vandalism and the gala's disruption, civil conspiracy and violation of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. Freestone and Smith-Stewart face a separate lawsuit from Florida's Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, with the state seeking to recover $170,000 in damages from each in connection with their vandalism of Heartbeat of Miami, the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Hollywood and the LifeChoice crisis pregnancy center in Winter Haven. If convicted in connection to their recent indictments by a grand jury, Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera face up to 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $250,000. Read more.

The Winston-Salem-based Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina, which offers early college credit programs for high school students as young as 14, says it is looking into revising its policies after viral video footage posted online showed a female student receiving a lap dance from a drag performer during an LGBT pride event open to high schoolers. The March 22 event was the second of its kind, per a post on the school's Facebook page, which also featured pictures from the event. In a video shared by Libs of TikTok, a drag queen is seen straddling what appears to be a student sitting in a chair as onlookers, including students and staff, watch and laugh. Libs of TikTok reports that the school claimed that faculty and campus police were present at the festival to "make sure that this was a safe event for our students." Forsyth Tech Chief Officer of Student Success and Strategic Innovation Paula Dibley told Fox News that it would look into revising campus policies related to parental notification and admitted that parents of children under 18 were not notified of the event in advance. Read more.

In this op-ed, the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Timothy Head reflects on the freedom found in Christ and why that freedom is not a license for believers to do whatever they please. Head calls on believers to "use the freedom Christ won for us to serve, protect and defend each other, especially the most vulnerable among us," throughout this Easter season and beyond and cautions that Americans must continue to fight for their Constitutional right to minister and worship freely. "People of faith must stand together in unison and push back against these jabs at our God-given and constitutional rights. We must not cower as believers. Now is the time to stand up and defend our faith, convictions and values," he asserts. Read more.

CHANGED Movement co-founder Elizabeth Woning discusses Side A and Side B perspectives on Christianity and LGBT-identifying people and why she believes both movements fall short. "Sacrificing LGBT identity opens the door to self-discovery. Through honesty and authenticity, a life surrendered to God exposes our personal history: we are not 'born this way.' Our LGBT sexuality is not innate and determinative," she writes. "In the context of a supportive and empowering congregation, leaving LGBT behind makes way for wholeness. Distorted and broken expressions of relationships fostered by LGBT identity give way to belonging among other disciples of Jesus who are mutually pursuing spiritual maturity." Read more.

Planned Parenthood committed 383,460 abortions last year alone according to their most recent annual report. And not long ago, an undercover video investigation caught Planned Parenthood chopping up recently-aborted babies to sell off their organs for spare parts.

Meanwhile, the abortion Goliath raked in a whopping $633 MILLION in taxpayer funding.

Students for Life of America, the largest pro-life youth organization in the nation with nearly 1,400 active groups, is conducting this opinion poll to help us gauge the enthusiasm of the pro-life movement.

Dr. Richard Gallagher, an accomplished psychiatrist and professor, says demon possession is real. His 2020 book, Demonic Foes: My Twenty-Five Years as a Psychiatrist Investigating Possessions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal, first published in the fall of 2020, details the findings from his decadeslong career to make the case that demons and demonic possession are real phenomena. During an interview with CP, Gallagher—a Catholic and the longest-standing American member of the International Association of Exorcists—discussed the story of a troubled devil-worshipper named Julia. "Julia demonstrated to me very clearly that she could see, for instance, the chief exorcist at a distance [even though] he was 100 miles away," he explained. "If one is familiar with occult literature, one realizes that there are occultists, people [who] have turned to dark arts who claim they have a third eye, and that they can see things from a distance, this is an analogous phenomenon." Read more.

Just days after a trans-identified shooter killed six people at a Tennessee Christian school, singer Kelsea Ballerini spoke at the CMT awards about gun violence and her personal experience of witnessing the death of a classmate in a shooting at her high school cafeteria. And that wasn't the only statement Ballerini said she was making at the awards show, where she performed a musical number with several drag queens on stage. When asked about whether the performance was intended as a response to legislation recently passed by Tennessee lawmakers banning drag performances, Ballerini said, "I hate that it's a statement. I wish that it was just an element of performance and celebration like it always has been. But I'm happy to make that statement." Although Ballerini did honor the victims of the Christian school shooting, she did not acknowledge that the shooter, Audrey Hale, identified as trans. CMT also remained silent, following the trend of a number of media outlets that declined to assign a trans-identified label to Hale. Read more.

Sara Beth Liebe, an "American Idol" contestant and mother of three who garnered sympathy after critics accused judge Katy Perry of "mom shaming" her, abruptly quit the show after her "Hollywood Week" performance. "This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually going to be my last performance," Liebe said after performing "Roxanne" by The Police, adding, "My heart's at home." She informed the audience and the judges that she was going to "get home to my babies" because "they kind of need me." After her exit, Perry attempted to coach the young singer, telling her that "life is scary" and she knows "that it's easier to walk away than to be rejected, but then I also know that you lose out on your fullest potential, and I know that you love your family for your kids. I know that as a mother." She also encouraged Liebe to remember that "self-love is just as big as motherly love." Nonetheless, Liebe stood by her decision but acknowledged that she was walking away from a significant opportunity. Read more.

The actors behind the six-part PureFlix series "A Thousand Tomorrows," which is based on the bestselling novel by Karen Kingsbury, discuss how the series is a story of faith and forgiveness that sheds light on the realistic side of faith and struggling. The series tells the story of a bull rider grappling with childhood wounds due to his father having walked out on his family because his younger brother was born with Down syndrome. When the father reappears, Cody Gunner (Colin Ford) doesn't want to forgive his dad for fear that his pent-up anger and resentment have contributed to his success as a bull rider. However, a horsewoman named Ali Daniels (Rose Reid) changes his world with her optimistic perspective despite her own struggles with cystic fibrosis. "Something that a lot of films try to do but don’t do as well as 'A Thousand Tomorrows' is show this realistic side of faith," explained Reid. "We go through things in life, we have trials and tribulations, and we often feel like we're very alone in our struggle," added Ford. "And I think this story shows you that you're not alone in your struggle there." Watch the full interview here.