Christianity in the News: September 2025
Welcome back to the latest edition of the “Christianity in the News” series here on RVIVR. The month of September has been an emotional month for many Christians in the United States and around the world. In this month’s article, we review some of the most impactful news stories within the Christian world in the last month,
Without further ado, let’s dive into today’s article.
#1 National Revival over the Charlie Kirk assassination?
Three weeks ago, conservative political activist and devout protestant Christian Charlie Kirk died after an far-left, radical assassin shot him on the campus of Utah Valley State.
Many people were scared for the future of our nation after Kirk’s assassination. Would we see mass rioting and political violence after a left-wing terrorist killed a prominent Christian and political conservative leader? After all, we are only five years removed from the mass destruction and rioting that BLM extremists initiated in the summer of 2020.
Fortunately, our nation did not fall into chaos after Kirk’s tragic death. Instead, the United States of America experienced what appears to be the beginning of a Christian revival in our nation not seen since the early days of Billy Graham’s ministry in the 1950s and 1960s.
During Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona, Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk shared moving testimony about the impact that Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom had on countless people —“This past week we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire life.”
The data appears to back up the claims of a religious revival following Kirk’s death. American Christian Churches have reported a sizable (roughly double digit percentage) increase in Church attendance immediately after Kirk’s death, and Bible sales have spiked significantly within the United States in the past month.
What’s more, Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on September 21st drew massive crowds and viewership. Rough estimates showed that nearly 100k people attended Kirk’s memorial in-person and millions of live viewers online. This “Charlie Kirk Effect” has seemingly positioning this tragedy as a catalyst for Christian renewal in America.
#2: Christian GENOCIDE continues in Nigeria
The West African country of Nigeria has struggled with ethnic and religious conflict over the past several decades. According to researcher Emeka Umeagbalasi, there is a “coordinated and systematic murder of an entire people; therefore, we are clearly talking about a Christian genocide” occurring in Nigeria.
Based on data from the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa, roughly twelve thousand Nigerian Christians were murdered for their Christian faith between 2020 and 2022. Additionally, Muslims terrorists have kidnapped thousands upon thousands Christians and attacked thousands Christian Churches in Nigeria in recent years. This horrific persecution from Muslims has also led to the displacement of millions of Nigerian Christians looking to avoid the chaos and danger.
This Christian genocide in Nigeria has even led a notable American liberal media figure Bill Maher to sound off on the media blackout of this horrific ongoing tragedy.
Regardless, the genocide of Nigerian Christians shows that martyrdom and persecution is still alive and well in large swathes of our world.
#3: Pastor Voddie Baucham suddenly passes away at Age 56
Last week, the prominent Christian and Reformed Baptist Pastor Voddie Baucham passed away after a sudden medical emergency. Founder’s Ministry shared that following press release after Baucham’s recent passing:
Voddie Baucham has played prominent role in Protestant Christian circles for decades due to his bold preaching style and solid critiques of modern secularism. His sermons and speeches in particular have gained millions of views online.
Baucham’s sudden death stunned many protestant Christians. In fact, many prominent Christian leaders have shared their thoughts and memories of Baucham’s unwavering witness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Right before Baucham’s passing, he also shared a moving tribute honoring Charlie Kirk after Kirk’s untimely death.
