From global prayer movements to church division, AI worship controversy and political fallouts, 2025 has been a year where Christianity repeatedly found itself at the centre of the news agenda.
These are the Christian stories that resonated most strongly with our readers over the past 12 months.
1. Global prayers for Miss Universe Jamaica who remains in ICU after pageant fall
Christians around the world were urged to pray after Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Dr Gabrielle Henry was left in intensive care following a serious fall during the 2025 Miss Universe competition in Bangkok.
The Miss Universe Jamaica Organisation issued repeated calls for prayer, asking supporters to lift Henry “in love, strength and hope” as doctors monitored her condition. Medical teams confirmed she had suffered a severe head injury and would remain in ICU for at least seven days.
The incident drew widespread attention after a deeply Christian moment earlier in the pageant.
Mexico’s winner, Fatima Bosch, who is Catholic, publicly declared “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”, which means “Long Live Christ the King”, following her national victory, a statement that resonated across the global Church.
The Miss Universe Jamaica organisation shared on 8th December 2025 that she’s expected to return home shortly.
They later expressed heartfelt thanks to people around the world who “have sent prayers, messages and overwhelming support for Dr Henry’s full recovery”.
2. ‘We are the Anglican Communion’: GAFCON announces major split
One of the most significant church developments of 2025 came when GAFCON announced it would no longer recognise the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, signalling a major rupture within global Anglicanism.
In a strongly worded statement, GAFCON primates declared the Anglican Communion would be “reordered”, rejecting long-standing Instruments of Communion including the Lambeth Conference and the Primates’ Meeting.
They accused Church leadership of abandoning biblical authority, particularly over sexuality and gender.
The announcement came shortly after Dame Sarah Mullally was named Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, the first woman to hold the role.
Conservative Anglicans said the appointment reinforced theological divisions that had been growing for years.
Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda said the future of faithful Anglicanism now rested with those committed to the “plain and canonical” reading of Scripture.
Archbishop Laurent insisted they had not left Anglicanism and later said “we are the Anglican Communion”.
3. Bake off pushed me to rely on Jesus, says winner Jasmine
Great British Bake Off winner Jasmine Mitchell became one of the year’s most inspiring Christian voices after speaking openly about how her faith sustained her throughout the competition.
The 23-year-old told Premier Christian News that the intense pressure of filming pushed her to rely more deeply on Jesus.
She described praying the Lord’s Prayer repeatedly during stressful moments and said: “It didn’t take away the stress, but I felt like God was walking along beside me with it.”
Jasmine also shared how her Christian upbringing shaped her love of hospitality and baking, rooted in family gatherings and church life.
Alongside the show, she balanced filming with studying medicine, describing the experience as nothing short of miraculous.
At age ten, Jasmine began losing her hair due to alopecia, however, in her early 20s, she decided to embrace her natural look, telling Premier that it has been a journey of identity and faith.
Church members famously tasted her practice bakes after Sunday services, unaware she was competing.
Jasmine revealed that one Sunday she “kind of just scraped off all the fancy decoration and dismantled it, hoping that no one would actually guess that I was doing anything like being on the Bake Off, which thankfully they didn't”!
4. AI generates fake Ed Sheeran 'worship song'
An AI-generated fake worship song, appearing to feature Ed Sheeran singing about Jesus, was released online in January 2025.
The song, which included lyrics praising Christ and redemption, circulated widely online and fooled thousands into believing the pop star had released a worship track.
The AI bot sang “Jesus lift my soul so high, break my chains let me fly //Through the storm through the fire seekin' love seekin' higher.”
The incident came as the UK government intensified efforts to tackle deepfake content, particularly where manipulation of real voices and images could mislead the public.
Christian AI expert James Poulter told Premier Christian Radio: “There’s a real opportunity for the church to have a dialogue with the public around what it really means to be a human person, and what it means for AI to come alongside us and be a help and not a hindrance."
He later added: “The way things are created is obviously very hard to regulate […] But we could regulate it on the distribution end, which is really the social networks the likes of YouTube and Meta's platforms, TikTok and elsewhere.”
5. Franklin Graham explains why Trump didn't swear on Bible at inauguration
Evangelist Rev Franklin Graham gave his view on why Trump did not swear on the Bible during Monday's inauguration ceremony, after the incident sparked a flurry of speculation amongst Christians online.
Speaking exclusively to Premier Christian News, Graham insisted the moment had no spiritual significance and was simply due to timing issues during the ceremony. He said the oath had already begun before the Bible was in position.
"You're supposed to be sworn in by 12," Graham said. "And I think it was now 12:01, and so that was just kind of hurried and didn't have time."
Graham, who prayed publicly at the inauguration, also addressed Trump’s claim that God saved his life during an assassination attempt. He echoed that belief, urging Christians to pray consistently for the president.
The evangelist contrasted Trump’s approach to faith with that of previous administrations, saying President Trump, "cannot do his job without God" and is confident that he will "listen to the Christians" while in office.
6. Ozzy Osbourne heard the gospel weeks before death
The death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne took on spiritual significance for many Christians after an evangelist revealed the singer heard the gospel just two weeks before he died.
According to a post shared by @celebrityevangelist on Instagram, the evangelist visited Osbourne shortly before his death and “placed a Bible in his hands” while sharing “the good news of Jesus Christ”.
The post added: “The Holy Spirit was drawing him,” suggesting spiritual openness in the final days of the 76-year-old rock icon.
The claim prompted an outpouring of prayer and reflection online. One user commented: “For his sake, I hope he repented and received Christ,” while another wrote: “I pray he made it to heaven.”
Osbourne was raised in a working-class Roman Catholic family in Birmingham and attended Catholic school. Despite his controversial image, Christian themes frequently appeared in his music, including Black Sabbath’s ‘After forever’, which defended belief in God.
Osbourne previously said: “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual… I do believe there’s a God.”
7. Christian teen freed from forced marriage in Pakistan
A landmark court ruling in Pakistan brought relief and celebration after the forced marriage and conversion of Christian teenager Shahida Bibi was formally annulled.
In February 2025, a civil court in Bahawalpur ruled in Bibi’s favour, dissolving the marriage and ordering new identity documents confirming her religion as Christianity.
The decision allowed the 18-year-old to return to her father and freely practise her faith.
Bibi’s case was supported by legal advocacy group ADF International. Tehmina Arora, ADF’s director of advocacy for Asia, said: “We are grateful that Shahida Bibi has received justice over her captor. Shahida is now free and able to begin the process of healing from this ordeal.”
She added: “These cases are a tremendous violation of these young women’s basic human rights, including their religious freedom.”
According to ADF International, more than 1,000 girls from minority communities in Pakistan are forcibly converted and married each year.
They added that many victims are unable to escape due to threats against them and their families.
According to UNICEF, 100 million girls worldwide are at risk of forced child marriage over the next decade, with girls from religious minorities facing an even greater threat of coercion into both marriage and religious conversion.
8. Charlie Kirk shares scripture minutes before death
The death of Christian activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk shocked supporters after it emerged he was quoting Scripture moments before he was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Just minutes before his death, Kirk shared 2 Corinthians 5:15 with the crowd. The verse states: “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
Addressing students, Kirk said: “That’s all pretty amazing evidence, not just intra-biblical evidence but extra-biblical evidence that Jesus Christ was a real person. He lived a perfect life. He was crucified, died, and rose on the third day, and he is Lord and God overall.”
Kirk was killed around 12:20 pm local time on the 10th September 2025 while launching his ‘American Comeback Tour’. Authorities confirmed an ongoing investigation into the shooting.
Hours earlier, his wife Erika shared Psalm 46:1 on X, writing: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Days before his death, Kirk also posted: “Jesus defeated death so you can live.”
The verses quickly went viral, with some Christians describing his final words as a powerful witness of faith.
9. KFC ‘gravy baptism’ advert sparks Christian backlash
Hundreds of Christians complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a KFC advert was accused of mocking Christian baptism.
The two-minute commercial, titled ‘All Hail Gravy Part 2’, depicts a man being submerged in a lake of gravy in a ritual that many viewers interpreted as a parody of baptism. The ASA confirmed it received close to 600 complaints.
One complainant said: “I’ve never complained about an advert before, but this is beyond the pale.”
Another critic on Marketing Beat described the imagery as “degrading and disturbing”, and accused it of promoting “cultism, cannibalism, grooming”.
KFC defended the advert, describing it as a “modern-day fable”. Monica Silic, KFC’s chief marketing officer for the UK and Ireland, told Adweek the campaign was intended to inspire “fandom” and bring “lightness and levity to the chaotic world”.
However, Christians objected to the advert’s religious language, including references to a chicken being “divinely dunked”.
The ASA confirmed it had been reviewing the complaints.
10. Plans to merge 14 CofE parishes is announced
Plans to merge 14 Church of England parishes in Warrington and St Helens sparked widespread discussion about the future of local church life and mission.
The proposals form part of Liverpool Diocese’s Fit for Mission programme and would see the parishes unite as a single larger parish, sharing resources, administration and professional support.
Supporters said the changes would free clergy and volunteers from bureaucracy, allowing more time for evangelism, worship and pastoral care.
The plans were unveiled at a well-attended public meeting at St Peter’s Church in Newton-le-Willows.
Rev Martin Cox, priest in charge of St Oswald’s, Winwick, and rector of Christ Church, Croft and Newchurch, described the proposals as “an exciting development for the mission and ministry of the Church of England in the Winwick Deanery”.
He added: “The Fit for Mission project will introduce a new culture through a large single parish. It will effect closer connections between member churches who will be strengthened by joint resources and specialist advice.”
The initiative builds on similar schemes elsewhere in the diocese. Churches were expected to confirm participation by October, with any transition beginning in 2026.