Creation Museum founder Ken Ham announced Thursday that a municipal bond offering has raised enough money to begin construction on the Ark Encounter project, estimated to cost about $73 million. Groundbreaking is planned for May and the ark is expected to be finished by the summer of 2016.

Ham said a high-profile evolution debate he had with "Science Guy" Bill Nye on Feb. 4 helped boost support for the project.

A Baptist preacher has been elected as Ukraine's interim president, prompting calls for Christians to pray for the beleaguered nation and its new leader.


New interim president Oleksandr Turchynov was the right-hand man of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister imprisoned by Viktor Yanukovych when Yanukovych became president in 2010. The former prime minister was released immediately following Yanukovych's removal from office Feb. 23, an ousting that came on the heels of a three-month-long protest movement in Kiev, the nation's capital.

Bomb attacks on the island of Zanzibar targeted Christ Church Anglican Cathedral and a well-known restaurant on 24 February, and an Evangelistic Assemblies of God Tanzania (EAGT) church on 25 February.  
 
Two bombs were detonated at the main entrance of Christ Church Anglican Cathedral and the Former Slave Market in the centre of Stone Town at around 1pm on 24 February. Another bomb exploded at Mercury's, a restaurant named after (Freddie Mercury) the late lead singer of the rock group Queen who was born in Zanzibar. According to eyewitnesses, the bomb at the Cathedral consisted of dynamite and was detonated remotely. 
 
On 23 February, a homemade bomb reportedly containing a mixture of ball bearings and chemicals was detonated at an EAGT Church. The bomb exploded as the church service was coming to a close, shaking the building and causing alarm amongst the congregation. It is unclear whether anyone was injured or to what extent the church building was damaged. 

Pastor Rick and Kay Warren of Saddleback Church, the Most Reverend Kevin Vann, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Orange County (NAMI-OC) are joining together to host The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church on March 28 at Saddleback Church in Southern California.
 
Open to everyone, The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church is designed to encourage individuals living with mental illness, educate family members, and equip church leaders to provide effective and compassionate care to any who face the challenges of mental illness.

An interfaith delegation from Indonesia, co-hosted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, has begun a week of advocacy in the UK to coincide with this week’s launch of CSW’s new report in Indonesia.

The delegation will testify at a hearing to launch the report, Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril – The rise of religious intolerance across the archipelago, on 25 February at the House of Commons.

A recent poll finds that Christians are concerned that directors of a faith-based film hitting the big screen soon have fundamentally changed the core message of a Bible story.

During 2014, studios are targeting the 46 million Christian consumers who spend $1.75 trillion annually, and Faith Driven Consumer is tracking the commercial viability of Hollywood's effort.

With the impending release in March of the Paramount Pictures film Noah, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Darren Aronofsky, Faith Driven Consumer has questioned members of the film's target audience about whether they are concerned about the controversial deviation from the actual biblical narrative. 

Last week at least 200 people were killed in Borno and Adamawa States in the north east of Nigeria in a series of terrorist attacks on rural areas. 
 
At least 121 people are now known to have died and several others were injured when Boko Haram gunmen attacked Izghe Village in the Gwoza Local government Area (LGA) of Borno State on 15 February. 
 
According to survivors, gunmen dressed in military fatigues and chanting Allahu Akbar (God is great) arrived at the largely Christian community at night in seven pick-up trucks and on motorcycles. They ordered villagers to gather together and then opened fire, chasing and killing any who attempted to escape and slitting the throats of several victims. The gunmen subsequently set fire to houses, looted food stores and stole approximately ten vehicles. 

 Anne Schleper, a defenseman on the United States women's Olympic hockey team, is an Olympian with a plan.

Schleper, 24, said she approaches her team's quest for a gold medal in Sochi, Russia, as a Christ follower who invites Him onto the ice with her.

The U.S. will play Thursday (Feb. 20) in the finals. 

"I'm a Christian and nothing happens in my life that isn't filtered through God's hands first," she wrote Feb. 6 on her Twitter account.

The other day I was listening to a preacher close a sermon about pain. The preacher preached about the very real struggle with pain and suffering that we all have to encounter in this life.

In typical African-American style, the preacher closed the sermon with a celebration. Here the preacher resolved the pain by pointing to being “hooked up.”

U.S. Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark knows some of the trappings that come with athletic success. A four-time Olympian, she has seen those temptations herself.

That's one reason she decided four years ago to start the Kelly Clark Foundation to help others compete in the sport that she loves so much.

"As a competitive athlete, sometimes you're required to prioritize yourself and think about yourself all the time," Clark, who won the bronze medal on Feb. 12 in the women's halfpipe competition, said. "I thought it might be better if I didn't spend so much time thinking about myself. That's kind of where my inspiration came from to start the foundation."