Fellowship Community - Who's Next?

In 2025, the future of global mission in the PCUSA changed. It was jarring to many mission co-workers, churches, and individuals who gave their time, talents, and treasure to this beautiful ministry that spanned decades, touched many corners of the globe, and brought the good news to those who needed it most. It was jarring to us, too. To highlight and encourage church engagement in the world, TFC has formed partnerships with organizations like Frontier Fellowship, The Outreach Foundation, The Antioch Partners, and Friends of Forman. And it's clear that global mission is alive and well in the PCUSA and beyond. All of these organizations, along with others, sponsored and exhibited at our 2026 National Gathering. Their presence changed our gathering and reminded us that we remain connected to what God is doing in the world and that the next generation of global church leaders is already on the move. Want to learn more? Join these organizations and others at the Connecting Mission Leaders Conference this fall. We'll be there, too. We're also partnering with Frontier Fellowship on a trip to Egypt this fall. If you'd like to join us, read more and reach out. We invite you to pray for God's mission in the world. And please give to TFC so that these partnerships can continue and the next generation of missionaries can get their start. Support TFC The Fellowship Community gathers, equips, and encourages leaders for Christ-centered ministry in the PC(USA). Check out this video from the 2026 National Gathering. Hear from featured speaker Rev. Dr. Scott Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as he reminds us of the importance of "last words." Email us

Fellowship Community | 600 E. State St. | Sharon, PA 16146 US

RNS Weekly Digest - Booted from evangelicalism, a progressive, ‘post-evangelical’ church blooms in Texas

Booted from evangelicalism, a progressive, ‘post-evangelical’ church blooms in Texas

When Mariah and Michaela Montgomery-Lindsay moved more than 150 miles from Houston to Austin with three cats and two dogs in tow, it wasn’t for a job or family, but for church. “I was just aching for a community of people who understood this transitionary pain that I was experiencing in my life, and this deconstruction that I was going through,” Mariah said. She and her now-wife, Michaela, had been watching Sunday services of the Austin church, Restore, on YouTube for years. After growing up in a charismatic church and suppressing her gay identity for most of her life, Restore Austin, which offers a rare blend of progressive theology and evangelical expression, was the first church Mariah encountered that understood her exit from evangelicalism and was LGBTQ-affirming. After learning about Restore’s LGBTQ social group, the couple wanted in. Many of Restore’s roughly 1,200 members are religious exiles who’ve left conservative evangelical churches — often citing an emphasis on Christian nationalism. They’ve come to Restore looking for a church that both worships Jesus as a savior and follows what they describe as his model of radical love. They’re hoping they don’t have to give up their jeans, church coffee and worship music to find it.  Religion & Politics ‘A deal with the devil’: Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas Inside the parish-led fight against a $123M ICE facility in Texas ‘It's a sin if you do not vote’: Progressive National Baptists urge midterm turnout Photos of the Week: Paraguayan procession, Lindsey Graham's funeral Parishioners wearing birdlike costumes dance in the annual procession honoring 16th-century St. Francis Solano in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz) In Opinion Faith is back in Democratic politics One year later, people of faith should reckon with Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Why Mamdani kept pushing for Netanyahu’s arrest And finally, (VIDEO) Raphael Warnock says the US is a freedom train. People need to get on it. When he was 12 years old, the Rev. Raphael Warnock said, he was frisked and patted down at a grocery store between Sunday services, accused of shoplifting alongside his friends. After nothing was found in his pockets, he and his friends were dismissed without an apology. “That was one of my earliest encounters with what it means to be perceived as the other,” Warnock said. Decades later, that child, who grew up in a public housing project, is a sitting U.S. senator and senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the pulpit long associated with Martin Luther King Jr. One of a few ordained pastors serving in Congress, the Georgia Democrat frequently cites his faith as a moral framework for his legislative work. Warnock, who holds a doctorate in systematic theology, has been outspoken about what he considers misinterpretations of Scripture to justify immoral politics and has criticized lawmakers, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, over his use of Matthew 25. Given his roles as both preacher and policymaker, Warnock was a natural subject for the RNS video series created to mark America’s 250th: “What does it mean to belong in America?” In the fifth and final episode, released Thursday (July 23), Warnock spoke about growing up the son of Pentecostal preachers, the social gospel of Martin Luther King Jr., what the Bible says about immigrants and why he has faith in the American experiment. Support our responsible reporting on religion Forward this newsletter to a friend Make a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit newsroom here Or mail us a check: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205 Email membership@religionnews.com with a news tip or a comment Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Copyright © 2026 RNS, All rights reserved.

WCC news: WCC central committee moderator reflects on importance of Multi-Religious Council of Leaders

The Multi-Religious Council of Leaders, brought together by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Religions for Peace, strengthens collective efforts across regions and faiths to address root causes by supporting global advocacy, conflict prevention, reconciliation, peacebuilding, and social cohesion initiatives. Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator, who recently attended his first meeting with the council, reflects on its important role and how churches can contribute. Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, WCC central committee moderator, and Barham Salih, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Photo: UNHCR/Antoine Tardy 29 July 2026 What did you take with you from your first meeting with the Multi-Religious Council of Leaders? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: I was touched by the atmosphere of friendship and cooperation between faith leaders with very different backgrounds. It showed to me that religious communities can join forces and, rooted everywhere on this globe in local communities,  can make a difference in the world. What is the most important role for religious leaders in the council? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: The first task is to jointly stand up for human dignity, mutual respect, and empathy in a world wounded by division, injustice, and hate. We can be witnesses for this new way of living together in how we deal with each other. The second task is to prophetically denounce every misuse of religion to legitimize political goals that pull the name of God into the dirt. Persecuting refugees, invading another country, or oppressing one’s own people in the name of God are expressions of such misuse, against which we must lift our voice. How can the WCC contribute?  Bishop Bedford-Strohm: The WCC can connect with our member churches all over the world and stand by them in their struggles for justice, reconciliation, and unity. We can build alliances of justice and solidarity for the most vulnerable and promote public advocacy for their support. Our memorandum of understanding with UNHCR is is a good example for that. What was the most impactful meeting or conversation during the day at the UNHCR?  Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Besides our very good internal talks, I was very much moved by the official celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Convention for Refugees that took place in the building in which it was then signed. The witnesses of people whose lives were saved and transformed into flourishment by the protection they experienced through the Geneva Convention and the UNHCR as its arm deeply impressed me. They showed how important the convention is now in a time in which solidarity with refugees is under pressure. I was strongly reassured that WCC’s place in strong support for UNHCR is exactly the right place.  The Promise For refugees, churches “need to exercise their prophetic voice” (WCC feature story, 29 July 2026) WCC to enter Dialogue on Displacement and Shared Sacred Flourishing (WCC news release, 27 July 2026) Multi-Religious Council of Leaders | UNHCR WCC, UN Refugee Agency sign historic memorandum of understanding that deepens collaboration (WCC news release, 1 June 2026) WCC leaders visit UN Refugee Agency (WCC news release, 9 June 2026) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

RNS Morning Report - Bill Gothard’s survivors seek justice, healing amid his coma

Bill Gothard abuse survivors still seek justice, healing as they reckon with his legacy   Bill Gothard, the disgraced architect of the Institute in Basic Life Principles and subject of the docu-series “Shiny Happy People,” has been in a coma since June. At 91, the ministry leader is also named in an ongoing Texas lawsuit.   “A lot of us are really happy that Gothard can no longer harm other people,” Chad Harris, who was raised on IBLP’s homeschool curriculum, told RNS National Reporter Kathryn Post. “But also, in our view, Gothard kind of got away with it … he never really had to endure any significant financial loss or accountability.”   Many women and others like Harris who say they have been harmed by Gothard’s teachings echoed those conflicting sentiments in interviews with Post. Many survivors have been working for over a decade to hold Gothard and IBLP accountable for what they allege was sexual abuse.   Read our report on how survivors are grappling with his legacy.         Top Stories Bill Gothard abuse survivors still seek justice, healing as they reckon with his legacy (RNS) — Gothard, subject of 'Shiny Happy People,' has been in a coma since June. At 91, the disgraced ministry leader is also named in an ongoing Texas lawsuit. ‘Blessed’: Frederick Haynes, pastor and candidate, on his politics, faith and health WASHINGTON (RNS) — ‘The church has been so supportive that, I mean, they've been more excited about my campaign than I have,’ Haynes said of his historically Black Dallas megachurch. Booted from evangelicalism, a progressive, ‘post-evangelical’ church blooms in Texas AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) — Led by Zach Lambert, Restore church is part of a small but growing countertrend. Are you Jewish? California considers asking on official state forms (The Forward) — Supporters say collecting data on Jewish ancestry could improve health, education and public safety policy. Critics fear the risks of asking Jews to identify themselves to the state Opinion Catholics aren’t consequentialists: Why the US must refuse war crimes in Iran (RNS) — Some actions are so evil, so fundamentally at odds with the good, that they must never be done. Why Mamdani kept pushing for Netanyahu’s arrest (RNS) — Not that the anti-Israel hard-liners in his base have given him a hard time for admitting he couldn’t do what he said he’d do. ICYMI This historic divinity school is offering the first doctoral degree in ‘AI and Moral Agency’ (RNS) — Shaw University Divinity School hopes to be the first theological school accredited by the Association of Theological Schools to offer a doctoral degree in AI. Its first cohort begins in January. Inside the parish-led fight against a $123M ICE facility in Texas SOCORRO, Texas (RNS and El Paso Matters) — The parishes that won Socorro, Texas, running water in the 1980s are now fighting ICE's plan to convert warehouses into a mega detention center. And the town's water system is at issue again. Support Our Work As a nonprofit newsroom that covers all faiths, RNS sits uniquely at the intersection of freedom of the press and freedom of religion. News tips or feedback? Email comments@religionnews.com. Like the Morning Report? Share it with a friend. Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. We rely on reader donations to power our reporting. Donate here. Or send a check to: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205

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