Faith Facts

• President Donald Trump paid tribute to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham at a funeral service Tuesday, calling him ‘a giant of the United States Senate.’
• Trump described the late senator as ‘a true American original who left us much too soon.’
• The service brought together political leaders and dignitaries to honor Graham’s decades of public service and commitment to American values.

President Donald Trump attended a solemn funeral service Tuesday to pay his final respects to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, delivering heartfelt remarks about the influential lawmaker’s legacy. The president honored Graham as a dedicated public servant whose impact on American politics and policy will be remembered for generations.

“He was a giant of the United States Senate,” Trump said during the service.

The president went on to describe the late senator as a steadfast defender of conservative principles and American interests. Trump’s tribute emphasized Graham’s unwavering commitment to national security, constitutional values, and the freedoms that define our nation.

“A true American original who left us much too soon,” Trump added in his remarks.

The funeral service drew political leaders, family members, and supporters who gathered to celebrate Graham’s life of service. Throughout his career in the Senate, Graham was known for his dedication to military veterans, strong national defense, and protection of traditional American values.

Graham’s passing marks the end of an era in conservative politics, as he served as a prominent voice for faith-based governance and constitutional principles. His legacy includes championing causes important to Christian conservatives, including religious liberty and the sanctity of life.

The service reflected the deep respect Graham earned across political lines during his time in public service. Many attendees spoke of his authenticity, principled leadership, and dedication to representing the values of his constituents with integrity and conviction.

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Faith Facts

• A Christian academy in Nigeria has baptized over 100 young people in three years through a soccer tournament that requires Bible study participation
• Mission teams in Costa Rica and Honduras report multiple baptisms from door-knocking evangelism campaigns
• A South Sudan evangelist led a three-day seminar that brought 20 new believers to Christ, including two young women delivered from spiritual oppression

Churches of Christ around the world are sharing powerful testimonies of evangelistic success through creative outreach methods that combine practical engagement with biblical teaching. From Central American mission trips to West African soccer tournaments, believers are finding new ways to share the Gospel and see lives transformed.

COSTA RICA

SAN JOSÉ — A balloon sword and multiple sheets of paper provided a visual representation of the “full armor of God” from Ephesians 6 in Dave Domingue’s Bible lesson in this Central American capital. Domingue, director of the Georgia School of Theology in Warner Robins, Georgia, also placed a blindfold over the eyes of his volunteer, Jean Paul Gamboa Fallas, to emphasize that “we don’t always see what’s coming,” Domingue said.

Domingue led a team of students from the theology school, who worked alongside members of the Church of Christ in South San José as they did door-knocking evangelism. The team also taught Bible lessons at Camp Jennie Sue, a family camp.

Gamboa, a graduate of the Brown Trail School of Preaching in Texas, and Andrès Coto Umaña conducted the camp.

“We are grateful for the partnership of the San José Sur congregation,” Domingue said, “and for faithful brethren from multiple congregations who came together with one purpose: to encourage the church, strengthen believers and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

HONDURAS

VILLA DE SAN FRANCISCO — A dozen members of the South Florida Avenue Church of Christ in Lakeland, Florida, participated in a medical and door-knocking gospel campaign in this colorful, historic town about 40 miles northeast of Honduras’ capital, Tegucigalpa. Team members reported multiple baptisms and Bible studies during the campaign.

NIGERIA

URUK OTONG — It isn’t the World Cup, but a school associated with Churches of Christ in this West African village sponsors a local tournament that’s winning souls for Christ. Rhema Christian Academy invites teams from the surrounding villages to compete in the annual contest.

Participants must complete lesson booklets provided by World English Institute, a ministry that helps students improve their English skills using the Bible.

“The finals of the soccer contest are played during our annual Youth Bible Conference in December,” said academy president Aniefiok Akpan.

About 100 youths, including soccer players and fans, have been baptized since the school launched the tournament three years ago.

SOUTH SUDAN

MANGOK RIIT — Demons can’t stop the growth of Christianity in this East African village, said Geng Garang Deng.

Deng, an evangelist who works with World English Institute, led a three-day seminar in the village that resulted in 20 new Christians.

“During our time there, we encountered unusual challenges, particularly concerning two young girls who had been afflicted by demonic spirits that prevented them from participating in church activities,” Deng said.

Church members held prolonged prayer sessions for the girls, during which they often would become unconscious, the minister added.

“Recognizing the urgency of their situation, we prayed fervently for both girls and engaged their families, encouraging them to seek liberation from such affliction by turning to the Lord,” Deng said.

“In a remarkable turn of events, we were able to baptize both girls with their families, bringing them into the fold of the church and away from the practices that had previously caused them distress.”

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Faith Facts

• NBC’s coverage of an Idaho teen suicide blamed state law without presenting medical evidence or expert dissent on pediatric gender treatments
• Major news outlets increasingly frame opposition to youth medical transition as a direct threat to life, while omitting serious safety concerns raised by medical professionals
• European nations including Sweden, Finland, and the UK have significantly restricted youth gender treatments after comprehensive medical reviews found insufficient evidence of benefit

When a family tragedy becomes national news, the responsibility of journalists becomes even greater. Yet NBC’s recent coverage of a teenage suicide in Idaho chose emotional appeal over medical complexity, presenting only one perspective on a deeply contested area of pediatric medicine.

The network’s reporting suggested that Idaho’s law restricting certain medical interventions for minors directly caused the teen’s death. What viewers didn’t hear were the serious medical questions that prompted similar restrictions across Europe and in multiple American states.

It’s genuinely reckless to use a platform the size of NBC’s to insist that kids will die without these drugs and never once stop to explain why serious people have real reservations. These aren’t partisan objections—they’re rooted in basic questions about long-term outcomes, irreversible effects, and the developmental capacity of minors to consent to life-altering treatments.

Countries once considered pioneers in pediatric gender medicine have reversed course. Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare now restricts these treatments to research settings only, citing weak evidence. Finland adopted similar restrictions after its own comprehensive review. The UK’s National Health Service shuttered its primary youth gender clinic following the Cass Review, which found the evidence base “remarkably weak.”

These aren’t conservative governments making political decisions. These are health systems responding to emerging research and the lack of long-term safety data. American families deserve to know this context when major media outlets present one side as settled science and the other as dangerous extremism.

The Idaho law in question reflects concerns shared by medical professionals across ideological lines: that young people experiencing distress deserve comprehensive mental health support, not fast-tracked medical intervention with permanent consequences. That position isn’t rooted in animus—it’s rooted in the Hippocratic principle of “first, do no harm.”

When journalism becomes advocacy, especially on matters affecting children, the public loses access to the information they need to make informed decisions. Parents across America are grappling with these questions in their own communities, their own schools, and sometimes their own homes. They deserve reporting that respects the complexity of the medical evidence, not coverage that weaponizes tragedy to shut down legitimate debate.

Every young person struggling with identity questions deserves compassion, support, and excellent care. The question before us isn’t whether to care—it’s how best to care, based on sound evidence and with full understanding of long-term consequences. That’s a conversation our media should facilitate, not foreclose.

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