CAR descended into civil war in 2012, displacing a quarter of the country's 4.7 million population, with fighting often erupting over gold, diamonds and uranium. Democratic elections in 2016 were a step forward for this impoverished African state, but peace and development remain elusive especially outside the capital, Bangui. Both Muslim and Christian militias kill, rob and rape and keep the nation fragile and insecure. Six hundred thousand people have been chased from their homes. The large majority profess Christianity. A purified and strengthened Church could be a great force for good in the nation. Seven peace agreements were tried, but have failed to end one of Africa's bloodiest conflicts. The latest one was signed in February; by the first week in March it was at risk of collapsing as three of the 14 armed groups that signed the Khartoum agreement disagreed with the makeup of the new government. See http://www.operationworld.org/country/cent/owtext.html

The Indian constitution provides for ‘the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health’, but the latter provisions substantially weaken religious freedom in practice. Many states enforce ‘anti-conversion’ laws, which in some areas require a person to seek permission from their local government 30 days before converting to a new faith. Religious identities are used on official records because some laws that apply differently to different religious groups (for example in tax deductions, bank loans, or marriages) can favour Hindu and Sikh families. Hindu fundamentalists are attacking all places of worship systematically, and extreme complicity is shown by police and authorities. Christians are being attacked, and police are not arresting the attackers. The law provides loopholes to discriminate against religious minorities, enabling newspaper reports to distort news in a way that makes it appear that Christians are not legally permitted to meet in homes and have fellowship. False facts are altering public sentiment.

Leading the Way ministry has reported that a ‘prince of IS’ has turned from terrorism to Jesus Christ. Mohammed asked ministry worker Peter to meet him, wanting to kill him. Despite the danger, Peter believed God wanted him to go, and boldly spoke the Word of Jesus to the IS leader. After the meeting Mohammed struggled to grasp what he’d heard about who God really is. He met him again, and told him he’d dreamt of a fragrant envelope dripping blood. Peter said God was telling him, ‘Blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is sending you a message and you need to give your life to Him.' At that moment Mohammed surrendered his life to Jesus.

A miracle story is emerging after a tornado struck Paducah, Kentucky, devastating a church building where forty preschool children and ten church staff were going about their day. The miracle? No one was killed or injured even though the roof was ripped off. As the storm raged around them, they sang songs like ‘Jesus loves me’ and ‘He's got the whole world in his hands’. The church suffered massive damage, but the only room not affected was the one where they were sheltering. By God's grace, they were kept safe. Later, members of the community showed up in droves to help the church begin its recovery efforts.

Many are asking, ‘How can we pray for an orderly solution to Brexit when the leaders of our nations appear to be tirelessly holding opposing forceful opinions?’ Now is the time to ask God to replace confusion with order and replace chaos with clarity. Pray that the outworking of every emotion and frustration among MPs and in the EU will facilitate the fulfilling of God's purposes. God is Lord of Heaven and earth, He is righteous, just and merciful; nothing is impossible for Him. In faith we can ask Him to bring boundaries, borders, and the sovereignty of the UK into His intention for the future. You are also reminded of the National Call to Prayer for the UK during the week of 24–30 March. May God revive us with fresh revelations of the depth of His love and authority that comes from Heaven when we pray.

The National Secular Society (NSS) claims that 12,000+ charities exist solely to promote religion, with some using public money to promote extremism and harmful practices, and calls for the advancement of religion to be removed from the list of charitable purposes. Although benefits provided by most of the charitable purposes relieve poverty, promote good health, save lives and protect the environment, the NSS said the benefit to the public by advancing a religion is far more contestable and based on the outdated presumption that religion is inherently a good thing. It believes religious fundamentalism has demonstrated that religion can exacerbate tension, division, segregation and conflict in Britain, and ’as such there is a clear need to consider whether religion should be regarded as an inherent public good deserving the status of a charitable purpose’. The NSS has written to the charities minister, calling for the removal of the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose.

Last week we prayed for sex education to be the responsibility of parents not schools. This week four more schools in Birmingham have stopped teaching about LGBT rights following complaints. The No Outsiders programme in Birmingham will now be suspended until an agreement with parents is reached. The debate began when Parkfield Community School suspended the lessons following parents’ protests. Campaigner Amir Ahmed said some Muslims felt ‘victimised’, but an LGBT group leader said No Outsiders helped pupils understand it is OK to be different. Leigh Trust said it was halting the lessons until after Ramadan, which finishes in June. Also, seven primary schools in Manchester, which have been contacted by parents unhappy over sex and relationships lessons that teach children about LGBT rights, have asked school management to discuss the inclusion of the lessons in the curriculum.

Children are taught about crossing the road safely. Talking to them about staying safe from sexual abuse is just as easy with the NSPCC’s new PANTS rules. With the help of a friendly dinosaur called Pantosaurus, talking PANTS is a simple way to teach a young child how to stay safe from abuse. The singing dinosaur video and fun activity pack can help parents teach the key messages without using any scary words. There are also PANTS teaching resources for schools and teachers that include lesson plans, class activities, and a catchy song ‘Not in My Pants’. It is not known exactly how many UK children experience abuse, because it is hidden from view. Adults may not recognise the signs, or the child may be too young, too scared or too ashamed to say what is happening. See

The Government estimates that tens of thousands of people are slaves in the UK. Most are trafficked from Albania, Vietnam, Nigeria, Romania and Poland. There are also significant numbers of British national slaves. Forced labour is in agriculture, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and car washes. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation or domestic slavery. Children are forced into cannabis production, petty theft and begging. In 2009 the Government set up a mechanism to which potential cases were referred to access relevant support. It wasn’t fit for purpose. Slavery victims were not supported, and traffickers got away with their crimes. A new Modern Slavery Act was introduced in 2015. Research has found that the number of potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery reported to the authorities has risen by over 80% in two years, and the number of modern slavery cases involving UK children is alarming. See

The arrest and subsequent release of street preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi in Enfield on 23 February (see) prompted outrage on social media, and prompted questions in parliament. Theresa Villiers MP asked the Home Office what guidance is provided to the police on street preachers, what lessons have been learned from this incident, and what steps are being taken to ensure that church groups can preach on the street. The Government replied that freedom of expression is a vital part of a democratic society, and it is a long-standing tradition that people are free to share their views with others. On 21 March Christian Concern reported that London mayor Sadiq Khan is to face questions over the incident, especially since the the police have changed their story on Olu's 'de-arrest'. See