- This week on Christian World News,

President Trump issuesan ultimatum to Turkey:

release Pastor Brunson orsuffer the consequences.

And religious freedomfighter, Mike Pompeo,

is the point man for thepresident on foreign affairs.

See why this issue is nearand dear to his heart.

And standing up for Israel,how Nikki Haley is fighting

for the Jewish state at the United Nations

and why Christians have her full support.

(upbeat music)

Hello everyone, welcometo this weeks edition

of Christian WorldNews, I'm George Thomas.

My colleague WendyGriffith is on assignment.

Hundreds of leaders fromaround the world came together

to our nation's capital inWashington DC this week,

the Trump administrationcalled them together

to work towards endingreligious persecution.

During the summit, VicePresident Mike Pence

took a stand for an Americanpastor imprisoned in Turkey.

My colleague, Eric Rosales, has the story.

- One by one persecutedbelievers shared their stories

at the first ever ministerial summit

here at the State Department.

But the first persecutedChristian couldn't share

his story in person,that's because he's still

imprisoned in China.

- Many people know myhusband John is a pastor.

Living a simple lifein pursuit of spreading

the word of God.

- [Eric] Jamie Powell, thewife of Pastor John Cao

says the Chinese governmentsees him as a criminal.

Last year Chinese borderpolice arrested John

for what she calls his faith-driven work,

helping poor people.

He's now serving a sevenyear prison sentence.

- Since his detainment,my husband has suffered

a rapid decline in his health.

He has lost 50 pounds, he's not been able

to communicate with me and my children.

- Prayer is the start,but as human beings,

as we can see through aconference such as this,

really having these open conversation

and bringing awareness to these issues

is the most important thing.

- Religious freedom really,truly is for everyone.

It's a right given by God.

- [Eric] Former KansasGovernor Sam Brownback

is America's ambassador at large

for international religious freedom.

He urged the representativesfrom 80 countries

at this summit to help make the world

a place where people genuinelycare and love one another.

- Together, an alliance ofgovernment, civil society,

and faith, we can and willadvance religious freedom.

- [Eric] Brownback sitedthe ethnic cleansing

of Muslims in Myanmarand the Islamic states

genocide against Hazitisand Christians and Iraq.

He also highlighted USPastor Andrew Brunson

who he says remains wrongly imprisoned

on false charges in Turkey.

Vice President MikePence echoed the demand

at the first ever ministerial summit

to advance religious freedom.

- To President Erdogan andthe Turkish government,

I have a message.

On behalf of the President ofthe United States of America.

Release Pastor AndrewBrunson now, or be prepared

to face the consequences.

- [Eric] President Trumpspelled out the consequences

in his recent tweet, theUnited States will impose

large sanctions on Turkey fortheir long term detainment

of Pastor Andrew Brunson,a great Christian,

family man, and wonderful human being.

Turkish authoritiesarrested Brunson in 2016

on charges he helped failed a coup.

The 50 year old pastor facesup to 35 years in prison.

(crowd screaming)

Wednesday a court orderedBrunson taken from prison

and placed on house arrest.

The vice president saysthat's not good enough.

- Pastor Andrew Brunsonis an innocent man.

There is no credible evidence against him.

I know that his faith will sustain him,

but it shouldn't have to.

Pastor Andrew Brunson deserves to be free.

- [Eric] Pence told the leadersof more than 80 countries

the list of religiousfreedom violators is long,

China, Iraq, and North Korea top the list

and even though President Trumpis seeking better relations

with North Korea, theadministration continues

to press the issue of religious freedom.

- North Korea's persecution of Christians

has no rival on the earth.

It is unforgiving, systematic, unyielding,

and often fatal.

The mere possession of a Christian Bible

is a capital offense.

- [Eric] At the HolocaustMuseum, US Ambassador

to the United Nations, Nikki Haley,

spoke about the US's commitment

to protecting religious liberty.

- We will continue to forcefully advocate

for religious tolerance inthe international arena.

Not just because so many peopleare being denied this right,

but because defending religious freedom

makes for a safer and morepeaceful world for all of us.

- Secretary Pompeo saysthe ministerial summit

will not be a one timeevent, but an annual event

under the Trump administration.

Eric Rosales, CBN News, Washington.

- Thank you Eric.

Chris Mitchell is our CBNMiddle East Bureau Chief,

his home is normallyin Jerusalem, but today

he is here in our studiosin Virginia Beach.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

- Great to be here.

- I'm curious, Secretaryof State Pompeo this week

on Instagram made this message to Turkey's

foreign minister, he saidhe underscored that it is

well past time for thisinnocent Pastor Andrew Brunson

to come home.

Why is Turkey holding him?

- Well there's a couple a reasons,

but first George, I just wanted to comment

on Eric's story, this is unprecedented

for the administrationto stand up, first of all

on behalf of religiousfreedom, that hasn't been

happening to the degree it has now.

It's really unprecedented.

Plus the US administrationstanding up on behalf

of a Christian pastor in Turkey and making

a state to state, a nationto nation situation.

He's in prison because they consider him,

actually he's a political hostage

because Erdogan, PresidentErdogan of Turkey

wants his political adversary,who's Fethullah Gulen,

he accuses him of havinga coup back in 2016.

He wants the US toextradite him and he's using

Brunson as sort of a politicalpawn in the midst of this.

- We've noticed that inrecent weeks that TUrkey's

President Erdogan hasreally turned anti-Israeli,

in fact he's recentlycompared it to Nazi Germany.

What's behind this?

Is this all about internal,

domestic issues, or what?

- I think it goes deeper than that.

Back in the AKP party, whichis his political party,

really has increasinglyturned Turkey from a western

style democracy to anIslamist style totalitarian

government and now wesee recently, and he was

elected president withunprecedented powers right now.

So he has turned againstIsrael, partly because he's

actually more favorsthe Muslim brotherhood.

So he has really, thismessage, this relationship

between Turkey and Israelhas deteriorated for many,

many years and we're seeing more and more

of that deterioration.

- Is there a sense in your mind that he is

attempting to be thevoice for the Muslim oma,

the Muslim community thathe's positioning himself

as a kalif?

- That's exactly what he's doing.

He wants to be the new kalif.

Turkey used to be thehead of the caliphate,

back in 1924 that wasabolished by president Ataturk

back in the early 1920's.

He wants to restore that,that neo-Ottoman empire

that one day ruled the MiddleEast and parts of Europe

and I think that's exactlywhat he wants to do.

He wants to revive that Ottoman empire

and he sees himself as the head,

the kalif of this new empire.

- Kemal Ataturk, the founderof the nation of Turkey

is probably rolling in his grave.

- He must be right now.

- Seeing what's happening.

Chris Mitchell, it isa pleasure to have you.

Come back any time you want.

- George, great to be with you, will do.

- Thank you sir.

All right, we have much more.

Up next we introduce youto the two most powerful

players on the world stageto see how there're guided

by their faith as they fight for freedom.

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- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.

Did you know there aremore than 148 million

orphans in the world today?

148 million.

But it was three little girls

that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.

My husband and I spent nearly a month

immersed in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian orphanage

as we waited to adopt three sisters.

I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,

and the overwhelming desire to be loved.

That experience changed me forever.

And out of it grew aministry from my heart

called Orphan's Promise.

Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children

in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes.

They're being educated andthey're learning life skills.

I am asking you to join with me

and become family to these children.

Will you call the numberon your screen right now,

because every child deservesa chance to be happy.

- And welcome back toChristian World News.

As you saw in our first story,Secretary of State Pompeo

hosted the first ever worldwide conference

on religious freedom inWashington DC this week.

In his recent one-on-oneinterview with CBN's

David Brody, Pompeosaid his Christian faith

explains why this issueis so important to him.

- [David] Unfortunately,religious persecution

is nothing new, and inrecent years it's grown.

Secretary of State MikePompeo tells CBN News

it's a major priorityfor this administration.

- The advancement of religious freedom

matters to every individualin every country.

The human dignity, human rightattached to religious freedom

I feel personally, I knowPresident Trump does as well.

- [David] The overallconcept is to show evidence

that greater religiousfreedom means less terrorism

and a better economy.

Experts say roughly three-fourthsof the worlds population

face some restrictionon religious freedom.

As for Christian's, oneout of every 12 experience

extreme persecution in themost dangerous countries

on the State Department'sworldwide Watch List.

- Not every country will achieve the level

of religious freedom that wehave here in the United States.

But we think we can advanceit all across the world

by bringing togetherfolks from all faiths,

and frankly those who have no faith,

but their capacity topractice religion in the way

that they choose isimportant for the world.

- For Pompeo, this isalso personal because his

Evangelical Christian faithcompels him to take action.

Your faith I know is very,very important to you.

You've talked about this in public before,

so why, this seems, there'sthe public policy aspect,

but it's also personal.

- Look, it's very consistentwith what the Trump

administration is trying to achieve

with respect to religious freedom.

But it also fits with my world view.

I'm an Evangelical Christian, I know

that not everyone shares that faith,

but it's important, it'simportant not only that

Christians, but people of all faiths

have the capacity to worshipin the way they desire.

- [David] One of the biggestoffenders is North Korea.

And Pompeo already hashis hands full there,

negotiating with Kim Jung Un

to get rid of his nuclear weapons.

- We need to see Chairman Kim do what

he promised the world he would do.

- [David] North Korea'shuman rights record

is just as suspect as theirinaction on nuclear weapons.

The country ranks number one

as the most dangerouscountry for Christians.

While Secretary Pompeo wouldn'treveal his conversations

with Kim, he did make one thingvery clear in our interview.

- I want your viewers toknow that the United States

rarely has an encounter with a country

where we don't raise humanrights concerns where they exist.

We know the history there in North Korea.

- [David] And the US hopesto stop religious persecution

and make a difference around the world.

David Brody, CBN News, Washington.

- The Trump administrationis not only fighting

for persecuted believers around the globe,

it's also standing strong for Israel,

especially in the United Nations.

David Brody, busy man that he is,

also had this one-on-oneinterview with Nikki Haley,

America's Ambassador to the UN.

(crowd cheering)

- [David] When it comesto supporting Israel,

you're gonna be hard pressedto find a bigger defender

than Nikki Haley.

Her passion was on display Monday evening

in front of the influentialevangelical group,

Christians United for Israel.

- Let me tell you, it'sa new day at the UN.

(crowd cheering)

From now on, every countryknows that the United States

will not just block anti-Israel measures,

we will shine a light onthose who are responsible.

There won't be any morefree passes for those

who bully Israel at the UN.

- [David] Haley's timeat the UN has been marked

by a full throttle defense of Israel.

In an interview with CBNNews, she expressed excitement

to see that the hard workis beginning to pay off

as skeptical UN membersbegin to see the anti-Israel

terrorist group Hamas for what it is.

- The idea that we could getthe majority of the general

assembly for the firsttime to even acknowledge

that Hamas is an issuewas a fantastic win.

- [David] Haley also sees awinning team in the support

evangelicals have shownIsrael for decades.

- When you look at theanti-Semitism, you look at all of

the harassment that they'regetting around the world,

you do feel for thembecause you know these are

good people trying to live a good life

that are in a dangerous region.

And I think that Christian'sUnited, they see that

for what it is.

- [David] She's also callingout certain United Nations

bodies and their questionable decisions.

- The human rights council's a farce.

- [David] She got the US to pull out,

calling it full of hypocrisy.

- What we've said is you'vegot serious human rights

abuses, whether it's inVenezuela, whether it's in Iran

where they're protesting their regime,

whether it's in Nicaragua

and they're doing nothing about it.

- [David] The phrase doing nothing is not

in Ambassador Haley's vocabulary.

- Since day one, you've gonein there to shake things up.

How tough is that been?

- Every day I put on body armor

'cause I know there's gonna be a fight,

I'm just fighting adifferent thing every day.

- [David] Often on thatdaily agenda, Iran,

Russia, and dealing with North Korea.

Do you think theyunderstand the message that

what denuclearizationmeans to the United States?

- I think that North Koreaunderstands the message,

they just don't like to hear it.

We're not gonna loosensanctions, we're not gonna

do congratulatory statementsuntil we see actions

to stand by their words thatthey're gonna denuclearize.

And I think they've gotsome soul searching to do.

- [David] On the Russiafront, she's okay with

President Trump talking to Vladimir Putin,

even in private, despitesome of the criticism.

- He did that with Kim, he'sdone it with other leaders.

He did it with President Xi of China,

and that's just his way.

He feels like he can get more out of them

if he goes one-on-one like that,

it's his style, it's the way he does it.

You can't get to the end of the other side

if you don't have those conversations.

- [David] Despite theappearance of friendly talking

with Russia, she makesone thing perfectly clear.

- We don't trust Russia,we don't trust Putin,

we never will, they'renever gonna be our friend.

That's just a fact.

- [David] Iran fits that category as well,

especially after itsPresident Hassan Rouhani

warns Americans that a war with Iran

would be the mother of all wars.

- Iran has made, or has received,

their legitimacy by rhetoric.

It has the Europeans andeveryone that was involved

in the Iran deal scaredof what they might do.

We don't fall for that.

- [David] The world isindeed a dangerous place

and it has Nikki Haley keeping the faith.

- We just have to keep doing our part,

and we have to make sure that we're being

true to ourselves, true to our values,

true to what we believe inand not compromise on that,

and I have faith it's allgonna work out in the end.

- [David] David Brody,CBN News, Washington.

- [George] Coming up, it'sthe place where Christianity

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- Welcome back to Christian World News.

Christianity is growing faster in Iran

than anywhere else in the world.

That's because 10's ofthousands are abandoning Islam.

Not too long ago I hadthe privilege to witness

some of these newbelievers being baptized.

(horn honking)

On a recent Friday, 600miles east of Tehran,

not too far from theAfghanistan Turkmenistan border,

20 Iranians prepared for a secret journey

out of their country.

For their safety, we'veconcealed their identities

and changed their names.

- [Woman] I've beenwaiting for this moment

for nearly nine years.

- [George] The missiontook months to prepare.

It was fraught with danger.

- [Man] This was my wish before I die.

- [George] Afareen helpedarrange their travel.

- [Man] The moment theIranian government discovers

someone has changed their religion,

they will try everything tostop the person from sharing

their new faith with others.

- [George] Most of thesenew Christians paid a price

for abandoning Islam.

- [Man] The government scares Christians

imprisons them, firesthem from their jobs,

kicks them out of school,and many other tactics.

All in an effort to stopthem from evangelizing.

- [George] Afareen knew whatthey were about to experience

could land them in trouble.

CBN News met them shortlyafter they left Iran.

Due to the sensitivenature of this report.

CBN News has agreed notto reveal our location

nor the names of the individualsassociated with the story.

And this is why theyleft Iran for a few days.

For the first time, all 20followed Christ in baptism.

(singing in foreign language)

- [Man] Inside Iran, ifthe government found out

that you were baptized,you would be automatic

imprisonment and sorather than do that inside

their country, they came outside

for a special event like this.

- [George] Men, women,and children, all of whom

renounced Mohammed and professedtheir faith in Jesus Christ

in a swimming poolrented for the occasion.

Entire families got baptized.

- [Man] It feels verygood, I'm very happy.

My whole family is happy.

- And what makes this baptism

all the more significant,is that the majority

of Iranians in attendancehave come from the nations

third largest city of Mashhad,which also happens to be

one of Shia Islams most holiest cities.

Ila He, once a devout Muslimsaid the Koran left her

with more questions than answers.

- [Woman] This was theappointed time for me

to get baptized, also I knowGod used the past 11 years

to grow my faith so I couldendure difficult times.

- [George] Experts say hertestimony and that of many

others points to evidencethat God is advancing

his kingdom in Iran.

- I've never seen suchan unprecedented growth

of an underground churchanywhere else before.

- [George] Mike Ansari,an Iranian by birth,

is director of operations at Mohabat TV.

(speaking foreign language)

- [George] In 2006, itbecame the first 24-hour

Farsi Christian channel tobeam gospel programs into Iran.

The majority baptizedthis weekend came to faith

by watching Mohabat TV.

- Some of these believerswaited for many, many years

to be baptized.

They wanna tell the worldthat they belong to Jesus.

They wanna tell the worldthat what was before

is dead and now they're a new creation.

- [George] Ansari says many Iranians,

especially the young, feel disillusioned

with Islam and record numbersare turning to this channel

to learn more about Christianity.

- Roughly about 16 millionIranians within the last

12 months have viewed oneor more of our programs

on a satellite TV and alsoon their mobile devices.

That roughly translates toabout 20% of Iran's population.

And that is an overwhelming number.

- [George] Mohabat is now oneof four satellite channels

broadcasting continuousChristian programming into Iran.

- [Woman] Since we didn'tknow other believers

or were part of a house church,

there was nobody to helpus grow in our faith.

We could only grow throughwatching Mohabat TV

and with the Holy Spirit's help

to get stronger in our faith.

- [George] Nathan Rostenpourled a house church in Iran

for 10 years until he was forced to flee

because of religious persecution.

Now he hosts a show on Mohabat TV

teaching folks how to safelyrun a house church inside Iran.

- God is using this housechurch show to not only

share the gospel, but alsoto equip the house churches

and make leaders.

- And those who track thegrowth of Christianity

around the world say the one place

where the faith is growing the most is in

the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Edward Hofsapien says this isnothing short of a miracle.

His brother Higoff Sapienan Assemblies of God

pastor was murdered inIran for his faith in 1994.

He says no matter howhard the government tries,

it hasn't been able to stopthe spread of Christianity.

Ansari says these exclusiveimages should encourage

Christians that God is movingon the hearts of Iranians.

- There's a lot of goodnews that is coming

out of Iran and we need to focuson that and celebrate that.

We're hoping that theresults that are being shared

with the church in thewest would encourage

the body of Christ in the western world

that God is very much alive among Muslims

and he's doing a great job.

- And you can see more amazing images

of this baptism, simplygo to Christian World News

webpage at cbnnews.com.

We'll be back right after this.

- Hello, is this thing on?

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- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen,

did you know there aremore than 148 million

orphans in the world today?

148 million.

But it was three littlegirls that taught me

about the plight of orphans.

My husband and I spent nearly a month

immersed in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian orphanage

as we waited to adopt three sisters.

I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,

and the overwhelming desire to be loved.

That experience changed me forever.

And out of it grew a ministry

from my heart called Orphan's Promise.

Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children

in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,

they're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.

I am asking you to join with me

and become family to these children.

Will you call the numberon your screen right now

because every child deservesa chance to be happy.

- [Narrator] When yougive, smiles grow bigger.

When you care, homes are happier.

When you comfort,

the hurt goes away.

When we all come together to love,

miracles happen.

- And finally today, a special delivery

at a Texas Chick-Fil-Ahere in the United States

got a lot of attention.

A mother went into activelabor and gave birth

to her daughter in thebathroom at a Chick-Fil-A

in San Antonio.

The couple had stopped atthe restaurant to drop off

their other children with friends

while they were on theway to the hospital.

After a successfuldelivery, Chick-Fil-A gifted

the baby girl free Chick-Fil-A for life

and guaranteed her ajob when she turns 16.

That's pretty cool,that is pretty awesome.

Folks, that is it for this weeks edition

of Christian World News, thank you so much

for joining us.

Until next week, goodbyeand God bless you.