Faith Facts

• Faith and prayer guided the engineers who devised the rescue plan for the trapped miners.
• The successful rescue of all 33 men was celebrated by millions around the world as a testament to divine intervention.
• The engineer credited God for giving wisdom and strength during the intense drilling operation.

A young engineer who helped create the drilling plan to rescue 33 Chilean miners is reflecting on the historic 2010 effort ahead of a new National Geographic documentary.

The rescue became one of the most watched events in modern history as families, churches, and entire nations prayed for the men trapped deep underground.

“I cried like a baby,” the engineer said, recalling the moment when the first miner emerged safely to the surface after 69 days underground.

The operation required precise engineering, quick decisions, and constant coordination between teams on the surface and underground.

Every step of the drilling was carried out with the knowledge that one wrong move could cost lives.

The engineer emphasized that teamwork and faith were the foundation of the entire mission.

Churches across Chile and around the world held prayer vigils while the men waited for rescue.

“We knew we were working against time, but we also knew we were not alone,” the engineer said.

The successful rescue demonstrated the power of human ingenuity when guided by moral purpose and faith in God.

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Faith Facts

• Philip Anthony Mitchell leads one of America’s fastest-growing churches and is calling Christians back to Scripture.
• Mitchell says many believers today follow a ‘soft’ Jesus disconnected from biblical truth.
• The pastor links rising biblical illiteracy to the decline of biblical Christianity in the United States.

Philip Anthony Mitchell is urging believers to return to the Word of God as the foundation of their faith.

The pastor of a rapidly growing congregation says biblical illiteracy has left many Christians drawn to spirituality but detached from the actual teachings of Scripture.

“Biblical Christianity” is losing influence in the United States, Mitchell warned.

He cautioned against the spread of a watered-down version of Jesus that appeals to feelings rather than truth.

Mitchell’s message comes as churches across the nation wrestle with declining biblical engagement among younger generations.

“Biblical Christianity” is losing influence in the United States, Mitchell warned.

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Faith Facts

• Damasus was elected pope on October 1, 366, after a turbulent succession following the death of Liberius.
• Charles Finney, the renowned revival preacher, contracted cholera on October 2, 1831, during one of his evangelistic campaigns.
• A 62-foot statue of Jesus called Lux Mundi was dedicated at Solid Rock Church in Ohio on October 5, 2012.

Christian believers around the country are looking back this week at several pivotal moments that shaped the faith and witness of the church in America and beyond.

On October 1, 366, Damasus was chosen as the new bishop of Rome after a contested election that followed the death of Pope Liberius. His leadership helped strengthen the early church’s commitment to biblical doctrine and the authority of Scripture during a time of division and political pressure.

“The Lord has given us a shepherd who will guard the flock with courage,” one contemporary account noted of Damasus’s election.

Exactly 1,465 years later, on October 2, 1831, famed evangelist Charles Finney fell ill with cholera while preaching in the Northeast. Though gravely sick, Finney continued to call people to repentance and faith in Christ, demonstrating the steadfast commitment that marked the Second Great Awakening.

“I was so ill that I could hardly stand,” Finney later recalled, “but the Lord sustained me and the work went on.”

On October 5, 2012, Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio, dedicated its towering 62-foot statue of Jesus known as Lux Mundi. The gleaming figure with arms outstretched replaced an earlier statue destroyed by lightning and quickly became a visible reminder of the congregation’s desire to point travelers on Interstate 75 toward the Savior.

“We wanted something that would proclaim Jesus to everyone who passes by,” church leaders said at the dedication.

Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.