A Word From the Editor

What a week for the global church. From the sunlit National Mall in Washington, D.C., where thousands gathered to rededicate America to God on the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, to the blood-soaked farmlands of Nigeria's Plateau state where our brothers and sisters continue to pay the ultimate price for their faith — the people of God are living out the tension of the ages. Heaven and earth are both pressing close this week, and we want to help you hold both realities before the Lord.

This edition also carries the weight of homegoing. The Rev. James Robison — fiery evangelist, humanitarian, and one of the most influential voices of the American church for six decades — passed into eternity on May 17. His life was a testament that God can transform any beginning into a platform for extraordinary grace. We honor his legacy, mourn his absence, and celebrate the finish line he crossed. As you read, let the news of this week move you not to despair but to deeper prayer, greater boldness, and renewed hope in the One who holds all things together.

— The Faith in Focus Team

Christian News This Week

🇺🇸 Thousands Gather on the National Mall to Rededicate America to God

On Sunday, May 17, 2026—exactly 250 years after the Second Continental Congress called Americans to prayer and fasting—tens of thousands of believers descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.” The all-day event, organized by Freedom 250, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Park Foundation, featured worship music, Scripture reading, and addresses from faith leaders and government officials alike. The stage design told its own story: arched stained-glass windows framing the nation’s founders alongside a towering white cross.

President Donald Trump appeared via video recorded in the Oval Office, reading from 2 Chronicles 7:14 — the passage long cited by those who believe national renewal begins with humility before God. House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered a prayer of rededication linking America’s founding principles to the Christian faith, while evangelist Franklin Graham, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Sen. Tim Scott, and hundreds of thousands of ordinary believers joined in prayer and song. Pastor Samuel Rodriguez offered what many called the spiritual heartbeat of the day: “America is not done with God. And God is not done with America.”

The event was not without controversy. Critics from across the religious and political spectrum raised concerns about the blurring of church and state, and some noted the program’s overwhelmingly evangelical and politically conservative composition. But for the vast majority of those who attended, the day represented a genuine longing — a hunger for national repentance and divine direction that transcends partisan lines. In a moment when the church is often divided, Rededicate 250 stood as a remarkable visible gathering of those who still believe prayer can change a nation.

Source: CBN News, May 18, 2026​

🇳🇬 Fulani Attacks Continue to Devastate Nigeria’s Christian Communities

The drumbeat of violence against Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region continued in the days leading up to this week, with fresh attacks in Plateau State leaving multiple believers dead and dozens more displaced. According to reports from Christian Daily International and Morning Star News, Fulani militants killed at least 11 Christians across three villages in Plateau State over a two-week period ending in early May, shooting residents and burning homes. These attacks are part of a long pattern of terror that Open Doors has called the most violent country in the world for followers of Jesus.

Nigeria, a nation of roughly 230 million people divided nearly equally between Christians and Muslims, has seen unprecedented levels of anti-Christian violence in recent years. According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith between October 2024 and September 2025, a staggering 3,490 — 72 percent — were Nigerians. The U.S. government designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” in late 2025, and President Trump had previously warned of possible military action if the Nigerian government failed to protect its Christian citizens. That warning has not yet produced visible results on the ground.

Church leaders in Nigeria describe communities living in constant fear, unable to return to farms or homes destroyed in raid after raid. Open Doors and Release International continue to call global believers to pray, advocate, and give. The body of Christ worldwide must not grow numb to what is happening: these are real men, women, and children dying because they bear the name of Jesus. Their suffering calls us to intercession, solidarity, and urgent action.

Source: Christian Daily International, May 2026​

✟ Rev. James Robison, Televangelist and Humanitarian, Passes at Age 82

The Rev. James Robison, founder of Life Outreach International and longtime host of the daily television program “LIFE Today,” passed away on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the age of 82. His ministry board confirmed his death, calling him “the beloved founder” of the organization. Born in 1943 in a Houston charity ward under circumstances of profound brokenness — the product of his mother’s rape, raised for his first years by a pastor and his wife who answered a newspaper ad — Robison never hid the raw material of his beginnings. He believed his story was the most persuasive sermon he had to offer. He came to faith at 14, was called to ministry at 18, and never looked back.

Over six decades in ministry, Robison preached in more than 600 citywide evangelistic crusades attended by over 20 million people. His television program reached an estimated one billion homes worldwide through networks including TBN and Daystar. In the 1980s he became a central figure in the Religious Right and the genesis of the Moral Majority, advising presidents from Reagan to Bush to Trump. But perhaps his most lasting legacy was a dramatic pivot — away from political culture war and toward global humanitarian work — through Life Outreach International, which has delivered food, clean water, and disaster relief to millions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He is survived by his wife Betty, son Randy, and daughter Rhonda.

Mike Huckabee, who once served as Robison’s communications director and later became U.S. Ambassador to Israel, captured the loss simply: “His death hits hard. He mentored me in so many ways.” Three major figures in Christian television broadcasting — Robison, Joni Lamb of Daystar, and Marilyn Hickey — passed within approximately three weeks of one another in May 2026, marking an extraordinary transition moment for a generation of Christian media. James Robison ran his race. Heaven gained a faithful servant.

Source: Religion News Service, May 18, 2026​

Weekly Devotion: Faithful Unto the End

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

— 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

Three stories landed this week from three very different places, yet they speak with one voice to everyone who bears the name of Christ. On the National Mall, tens of thousands gathered to pray. In the Middle Belt of Nigeria, believers were burying their dead. In a Fort Worth home, a family was saying goodbye to a father who spent his life giving the Gospel away. These are not separate stories. They are a single story about the church — the same church that has always been praying and suffering and running its race simultaneously, in every generation, on every continent.

The verse at the heart of the Rededicate 250 event is the same verse that Nigerian Christians have been claiming in displacement camps for years. It is the same verse that James Robison preached in crusade after crusade before he had ever heard of Life Outreach International. “If my people… shall humble themselves, and pray.” There is something profoundly clarifying about holding these three realities at once. The American church’s gathering for national renewal looks different — and matters more — when we see it through the eyes of a Nigerian widow who cannot go home.

James Robison’s life models the full arc of what faithful discipleship can look like across decades. He began as a crusade evangelist calling individuals to salvation. He became a political force. And then, quietly, God redirected him — toward the hungry, the sick, the child dying for lack of clean water. He came to see that the Great Commission and the Great Commandment cannot be separated. His death this week is a summons to ask: what does faithfulness look like in our own generation? Are we building platforms, or are we building wells?

The persistence of violence against Nigerian Christians should break our hearts open wide. Open Doors tells us that 72 percent of all Christians killed for their faith in the world last year were Nigerians. And yet the global church has largely returned to its routine. The Rededicate 250 gathering was right to call America to prayer and rededication. But if that prayer does not flow outward — toward the suffering church in the Middle Belt, toward the persecuted in China and Pakistan and Ethiopia — then it remains incomplete. Genuine revival is never merely national. It is always global.

Here is the invitation this week: let the three stories meet in your heart and in your prayer closet. Pray for America’s renewal. Pray for Nigeria’s deliverance. Give thanks for the James Robisons who ran before us. And then ask the same question the Second Continental Congress asked in 1776, and that Nigerian believers are asking in displacement tents today: Lord, what are You calling us to? The answer, across every culture and century, has always started the same way. Humble yourselves and pray.

A Prayer for This Week:

Father, we come to You this week carrying the weight of three stories and the needs of a world You love. We thank You for every gathering of Your people that turns toward You in prayer — on National Malls and in mud-walled churches alike. We cry out for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are suffering and dying because they bear the name of Your Son. Protect them, Lord. Comfort the widows and the orphans. Bring justice where there is impunity. We honor the legacy of James Robison and the generation of faithful servants who ran before us — and we ask that You raise up a new generation with the same fire and the same compassion. Humble us, Lord. Teach us to pray. And heal the land — all the land, everywhere Your people dwell. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Recommended Reading from AnsweredFaith.com

These hand-selected articles from AnsweredFaith.com speak directly into this week’s headlines and themes:

​How Fasting Breaks Strongholds in Spiritual Warfare​

Rededicate 250 was rooted in humility and prayer — the same spiritual disciplines that have historically preceded national turning points. This article explores the biblical connection between fasting, intercession, and the breaking of corporate strongholds, making it an ideal companion read for anyone stirred by this week's national prayer gathering and the ongoing crisis in Nigeria.

​Examples of Persecution in the Bible​

With fresh reports of Fulani attacks on Nigerian Christian communities, this article grounds us in Scripture's honest account of what persecution looks like and how the people of God have always responded — with faith rather than fear. It provides theological anchoring for understanding why our brothers and sisters in Nigeria are suffering and what the biblical posture of the persecuted church looks like.

​The Importance of Your Personal Testimony: Why Your Story Matters for God's Kingdom​

James Robison spent his ministry using his own broken story as his most powerful sermon. This article explores why personal testimony is not an optional add-on to the Christian life but a core weapon of the Kingdom. It's a fitting tribute to the legacy of a man who never stopped telling what God had done in him, and a challenge to each of us to do the same.

This Week’s Resources

📥 Digital Bible Study | AnsweredFaith.com

​Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough — A 10-Week Bible Study Series by Pastor Duke Taber​

With the national call to prayer at Rededicate 250 and the urgent need for intercessory breakthrough on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria, there has never been a more fitting week to go deeper in the discipline of fasting. This 10-week Bible study series by Pastor Duke Taber — a seasoned Senior Pastor with over three decades of ministry experience — takes you through the full biblical landscape of fasting, from Moses’ 40-day fast on Sinai to Esther’s national fast to Jesus’ own wilderness preparation. Each lesson is designed for personal devotion, small groups, or mid-week church services.

What sets this study apart is its balance of biblical depth and practical application. You won't just learn about fasting — you'll be equipped to practice it as the transformative spiritual weapon it is. Lessons cover how fasting breaks strongholds, how it clears the channel for hearing God’s voice, and how it has historically accompanied the greatest revivals and moments of divine intervention. Whether you are praying for your nation, interceding for the persecuted church, or simply hungry for a fresh encounter with God, this study will meet you exactly where you are.

→ Download the Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough Bible Study​

📚 Book Recommendation | Available on Amazon

​Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand (The Voice of the Martyrs)​

Author: Richard Wurmbrand | Publisher: David C. Cook / The Voice of the Martyrs

Few books in the history of the church have shaken Western Christianity out of its comfort zone the way Richard Wurmbrand’s autobiography has. First published in 1967 and never out of print, Tortured for Christ recounts the fourteen years Wurmbrand spent in Romanian communist prisons — tortured, isolated, and yet unbroken — for his faith in Jesus Christ. In the week that Nigeria's Christians are once again bearing a disproportionate share of the global church’s suffering, this book is not merely recommended reading: it is necessary reading for every believer who has never paid a price for their faith.

Tortured for Christ has sold over three million copies and been translated into more than 65 languages. It was instrumental in founding The Voice of the Martyrs, the international organization that has served the persecuted church for over five decades. Wurmbrand writes not with bitterness but with an astonishing love — for his torturers as much as for his fellow prisoners. This book will expand your prayer vocabulary, deepen your theology of suffering, and make the news from Nigeria feel personal in the best possible way. Highly rated by thousands of readers on Amazon, and endorsed by Chuck Colson, Billy Graham, and countless others, it belongs on every believer’s shelf.

→ Find Tortured for Christ on Amazon​

Faith in Focus | Week of May 13–19, 2026 | Serving the Body of Christ