| Weekly briefing: $25M religious freedom fund, 35M youths to leave faith, ruling for adoption agency |
 (Photo: Dare 2 Share)Thousands of teens attend a Dare 2 Share conference in 2013. |
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We've compiled the top stories of the week. Here's what you need to know: |
Trump announces $25M fund to protect religious freedom |
President Donald Trump announced this week that the United States will dedicate $25 million to protect religious sites and houses of worship across the world. He also announced the creation of a coalition of top business leaders to help protect religious freedom in the workplace. |
Trump was the first U.S. president to convene a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York focusing solely on religious freedom. |
He said protecting religious freedom is one of his highest priorities. |
Also this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump over a July phone conversation in which he allegedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. |
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35 million youths could leave Christianity by 2050 |
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The Christian population in the United States would then decrease to 54 percent. |
“It is the largest and fastest numerical shift in religious affiliation in the history of this country,” the report states. |
That calls for a re-engineering of youth ministry, said Greg Stier, who leads Dare 2 Share, to not just slow the bleeding but flip the stats. |
“What if it was a student youth movement that would bring us back to our roots and unite this nation and transform it from the inside out?” — Stier |
Memorial service held for Pastor Jarrid Wilson |
Pastor Jarrid Wilson, who took his own life this month, was remembered at a memorial service this week for his genuine love for people and his commitment to help people struggling with mental illness. |
His wife, Juli, vowed to continue the work of giving people hope with the Good News of Jesus. |
“In honor of Jarrid, I’m going to ask all of you guys to join me in making our church home, our lives, everywhere we go, a little bit safer for people. Let them know it’s OK for them to tell you what they’re going through.” — Juli Wilson |
Judge rules in favor of religious adoption agencies |
A federal judge in Michigan ruled on Thursday that faith-based adoption organizations that contract with the state can refuse to place children with same-sex couples until their lawsuit against the state is fully litigated. |
The ACLU had sued the state in 2017 over a law that protects agencies from having to violate their religious convictions. The lawsuit alleged that same-sex couples were turned away by Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services. |
“Our nation is facing a foster care crisis, and we are so glad that Michigan’s foster children will continue having all hands on deck to help them find loving forever homes.” — Becket Senior Counsel Lori Windham |
Christian apologists answer common questions at Reboot |
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