Newsmakers CBN News

The pastor behind a historic mass baptism last year is now setting his sights on what could once again break records and lead hundreds — if not thousands of people — to the Lord. Pastor Mark Francey of Oceans Church in California shocked the nation last year when he hosted Baptize SoCal, an event that attracted thousands of spectators and led to nearly 4,200 baptisms. At the time, it was reportedly the largest recorded baptism in U.S. history.
 
One year later, Francey is gearing up for an even larger effort: Baptize California, a state-wide initiative that could shatter other historical markers to become the "world's largest synchronized baptism." Francey told CBN News his baptism efforts started with a vision from God. His church was just three years old when he embarked on the ambitious Baptize SoCal event, and, at the time, he wasn't looking to launch into such an endeavor.
 
"I'm originally from California, but [had] spent the last 17 years in a different state, so moving here, starting a brand new church, treading ... water after COVID — the last thing on our mind was uniting ... this global baptism initiative," Francey said. But after he read a book that talked about one of the largest water baptisms in American history held at Pirate's Cove in California, he was surprised to learn the mass immersion took place in the 1990s.
 
Francey said he assumed it would have been much earlier. He was also intrigued by the fact it took place at the very same location where the late Chuck Smith baptized masses of young people 50 years ago during the Jesus movement. Pirate's Cove continues to have a profound impact on people’s lives today. All of these themes and ideas coalesced into a vision that changed everything for Francey. "I had almost like an open vision," he said, noting the vivid experience included worship and very specific details. "I saw boats from guys I knew in our church parked along Pirate's Cove."
 
Francey, who isn't prone to these sorts of images from God, said he told his church about it a few weeks later and people got excited. That's when he felt the Lord pushing him to organize and fund Baptize SoCal. At first, he was reluctant. "I tried to talk God out of it," Francey said. "I'm like, 'There's a lot of other guys here, fathers, mothers here that are doing great things. You know, I'm a nobody.'" The preacher said God wasn't interested in his insecurity. Francey knew he was called to embark on the baptism mission, and he decided to listen. Hear him explain.

An American missionary is fighting back after he, his family, and 11 Christian leaders are facing serious charges from Nicaraguan officials who accuse them of money laundering and organized crime. Britt Hancock, founder of Mountain Gateway Order, Inc., denied in an interview with CBN News and said he believes the legal battle is a direct response to the scores of Nicaraguans who attended his organization's powerful evangelistic events last year.
 
"In 2023, Mountain Gateway helped to organize a series of mass evangelism campaigns — eight of them throughout the year," he said. "We began in February and had the last one in November. But 1,000,000 people in total came to those eight meetings." Hancock said arrests began a month after the final meeting, with the national leader, coordinators of the events, and main pastors all being detained by mid-December.
 
ADF International attorney Kristina Hjelkrem told CBN News the imprisoned leaders are accused of aggravated money laundering. "The government has no proof whatsoever to that extent," she said. "Mountain Gateway has tried several times to prove their innocence and to provide evidence to this point to the court, but the government has either ceased or prohibited this evidence to reach the court file." And the potential prison sentences are sweeping, with Hjelkrem noting they range from 12 to 15 years and up to $80,000,000 per person — a fine she said is not common in the Nicaraguan judicial system.
 
As CBN News previously reported, Hancock, his son Jacob, and daughter-in-law Cassandra are all facing the aforementioned charges. Mountain Gateway has denied and rebuked the allegations and said in a recent news release it "diligently followed all legal requirements in the U.S. and Nicaragua that apply to non-profit and faith-based organizations." Hancock said he believes the size and scope of the evangelistic successes are what drew the government's ire, especially considering the work he has done in the country without incident since 2013. The revival events were so huge they dominated social media and media more generally.
 
"For the year, we became really the dominant social influence in Nicaragua, and they're not OK with that — if anything takes the sort of the emphasis off of them and their narrative," Hancock said of the government. "They have a history, a long history of responding very harshly against things like that, and so there's no doubt in my mind that that's the reason." While Hancock and his family came back to the U.S., the 11 people being detained in Nicaragua face what Hjelkrem said is a "dire situation."
 
Hear Hjelkrem and Hancock explain how they're fighting back against the allegations.

An evangelist going viral for his response to pop star Taylor Swift's latest album is explaining why he spoke out and why he's hoping to encourage Christian parents to be discerning. "I'm not an anti-Taylor guy," Shane Pruitt told CBN News. "I'm [a] pro-Gospel guy." He continued, "Anything that I know is largely affecting parents, or Christians, or people in the church that seems to ... be anti-Gospel, I think we lovingly call it out."
Pruitt did just that in a April 22 tweet, gently raising concern over some of Swift's lyrics on her "The Tortured Poets Department" album. "LYRICS MATTER," Pruitt tweeted. "Disclaimer, I’m definitely not the minister or parent that has the 'no secular music' stance. Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers. HOWEVER, there is a difference between being secular, and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN."
He then pulled lyrics about people "in their Sunday best" who "try to save you 'cause they hate you," among other related sentiment. Pruitt also quoted Swift as belting out the following lines in another song: "What if I roll the stone away? They're gonna crucify me anyway. What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?" Pruitt concluded his tweet by asking Christians whether it's appropriate to be "entertained by, sing with, and expose our kids to lyrics that aren’t just different than what you believe, but are actually mocking what you believe." 
The evangelist and preacher told CBN News he believes Swift's music has changed over the years, with her songs becoming "more and more explicit" and taking a "darker turn" in the process. It's a concerning matter, Pruitt said, considering the music is consumed by many young and impressionable girls. "I think we just need to be very aware and very careful of what we're exposing our kids to and how we're even engaging with things and being entertained by things that are really anti what we say we believe," Pruitt said.
Of course, Pruitt said Swift isn't the only vice exposing some Christians' poor spiritual priorities. In fact, he said some people even struggle with sports teams and athletes, elevating these to a higher position than they should. Calling this out doesn't always go well, he said. "In recent years, I can say this — especially in the American Church — if I go, 'Hey, here's what the Bible says about sexuality, here's what the Bible says about marriage, here's what the Bible says about being pro-life, here's what the Bible says about God determining sex and gender,' you'll get some hardy 'Amens,'" Pruitt said. "People are emboldened by that."
 

Jochen “Jack” Wurfl knows the rampant evil antisemitism can breed as he lost nearly every family member during Adolf Hitler's reign of terror. Wurfl, who shared his harrowing story in the book "My Two Lives," told CBN News he never thought he'd see such disturbing antisemitism in America, where he settled after the Holocaust.
"It's frightening, because it could end up in the same sort of situation eventually," Wurfl said of spiraling antisemitism that many have compared to the situation before Hitler launched his murderous quest. "I just don't understand it. How people can feel like this again — that they don't know what happened during the Holocaust, back during Hitler's regime?" The survivor lamented the loss of millions of lives and expressed his severe sorrow and fear over where the situation currently stands after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack and the war and antisemitism that followed.
"One would think that, once this happened, it could never happen again — that people have learned from this," Wurfl said. "But I'm beginning to wonder, because the younger people nowadays don't know anything about the Holocaust." Wurfl's comments come after a recent YouGov and Economist poll of 1,500 18-29-year-olds yielded some shocking findings. A whopping 20% believed the Holocaust never happened — and an additional 30% were unsure, underscoring fears of antisemitism among youths.
Another recent poll from Summit.org and RMG Research found that 33% of 18-24-year-old voters believe "Israel does not have a right to exist as a nation in the Middle East." "It's frightening," Wurfl said of the current dynamics among young people who continue to occupy college campuses with anti-Israel fervor. "And I can't understand that our education hasn't been better to let the kids know what happened [during the Holocaust]."
As CBN News has documented, Wurfl's own journey during the Holocaust was quite painful. "I lost my entire family," he said. "I lost my father, who had become a political prisoner ... and my mother was arrested by the Gestapo and the SS, and she was taken to Auschwitz, and she was killed there." Hear his warning for America here.

Actress Candace Cameron Bure continues to bring hope, faith, and love to Hollywood. From her roots in "Full House" to her creativity in executive producing projects like the Unsung Hero movie — a film about the real-life journey of For King and Country (Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone) and Rebecca St. James — Bure is on a mission to tell important stories while entertaining the masses. In a recent interview with CBN News, she shared her passion for positive, uplifting entertainment, and explained what it's been like to watch more and more people in Hollywood embrace — or at least show interest — in Jesus.
"Wonder Years" star Danica McKellar is just one of the actors who came to faith after Bure personally shared Scripture with her. "It's pretty incredible from the people that I've walked hand-in-hand with and encouraged along the way," Bure said. "And just to have a small part of knowing that I planted a seed, or maybe spoke a word that encouraged them along to become a believer — or strengthen their faith in Christ."
In the end, she said this is deeply inspiring and one of the most profound of purposes. "It humbles me that God would use me," Bure said, expressing gratitude that God allows her to use her voice to help bring others to faith. "I give Him such great thanks for allowing me to use my voice and not be fearful of it — to not sit scared to tell my friends about Jesus." The "Fuller House" star said she often receives messages through social media that thank her for speaking out, noting she is "humbled" and encouraged to persist in speaking out about biblical truth. 
Bure also discussed why, for much of her career, she stayed away from Christian films, explaining they had a bad reputation due to weak quality. But, in recent years, she said she's been blown away by how artistic and powerful these movies have become. "Within the last, I would say five years, the quality is incredible," she said. "It's like people of faith are coming out of the woodwork." Hear her discuss Christian movies and TV shows and why she's deeply proud of the powerful, family-forward story she's telling in "Unsung Hero."

In a cancel culture, grace and mercy often fall to the wayside. But Heather Rice-Minus, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, a ministry serving the incarcerated and their families, believes everyone is entitled to a second chance.
That's why her organization launched Second Chance Month in 2017, an effort to support men and women with a criminal record who are looking to restart their lives on a positive footing. 
Each year, Prison Fellowship designates April as a time of reflection and action to take steps that help formerly incarcerated people overcome roadblocks to success. Listen t Rice-Minus explain the challenges these individuals face and why this issue deeply matters.