>> wendy: today on christian world news, digging up history, archeologists examine the remains of the first protestant church in north america. and a community plagued by crime, until a church steps up to bring light in the darkness. plus, they're the lowest members of an outcast group, orphans from coptic christian families in egypt. we'll tell you who is helping them survive and

giving them hope for the future. christians in america are giving thanks to god for their spiritual heritage. hello, everyone. i'm wendy griffith. george thomas is on assignment. believers are celebrating the fact that america was founded as a christian nation. not too long ago, archeologists at jamestown, virginia, discovered the original church, built in 1608 as james fort. it's the place where pok pok pokehontus married. and it is the place of america's history. >> if you kill him, you'll have to kill me, too. >> stand back. >> i won't. >> pok pokehontus is legendary. smith claimed the daughter of chief palatan came to his rescue, after he had been taken prisoner by her

father's men. this native american heroin would later marry another jamestown columnist, john roth. just where that marriage took place has been a mystery, that is until now. nearly 400 years after that historic wedding. where we're standing right now, this is where pokehontus and john roth would have gotten married? >> absolutely. >> reporter: he is now 100% sure he and his team have discovered the first substantial protestant church in america, the 1608 church at james fort. he describes the find as a goose bump moment. >> this church was supposed to have been ruined to erosion. no one could find it. i came out here 18 years ago, and thought i want to give this a shot. and sure enough, the whole fort has been found and now the church. >> reporter: the secretary of the jamestown colony

recorded it as 18 feet wide. the walls and roof are gone, but archeologists uncovered deep post poles that held heavy timber columns to support the church. he believes the columns would have been two stories high. >> this would support the super structure of a very large building, which would have a cathedral ceiling. >> it is way off the charts for us. >> reporter: other evidence includes several graves found in what he says would have been the church's chancel. it is possible the reverend robert hunt is buried here. he accompanied the first english settltlers in 1607,7, and pland a cross on the shore, claiming the new world for jesus christ. a spokesperson for jamestown says an expert from the smitsmithsonian is planning

to examine the burials next spring. >> reporter: the archeologists are digging in the center of the fort. that matches the earliest known diagram of james town. you can see an "x" or perhaps a cross which scholars believe marks the church. historians and archeologists believe it shows the importance of the colony to the settlers. >> the direction from the virginia company is, look, you can find gold, find silver, do all these things we want to make money with, but if you don't, if you forget about religion, this is all going to be for naught. >> reporter: the 1608 church was important to the clon nistcolonists for many reasons. it was here in june of 1610, that the first governor, sir thomas west, addressed the

columnists, to motivate them to not abandon the fort. >> it would have been another lost colony had he not shown up. >> reporter: so they forged ahead with the church at the heart of the fort. >> what we take away from these stories is our birthplace, our nation, our story. >> reporter: the 1608 church lasted about 10 years. in 1617, governor samuel gargal called for a new church, located probably where the current brick reconstructed church stands and still greets visitors today. another testimony that christianity served not only as a foundation of america, but continued to thrive in a harsh new world of uncertainty. mark martin, cbn news, jamestown, virginia. >> wendy: fascinating. thanks, mark. abraham lincoln is one of the most beloved presidents. he freed the slaves.

but author steven masfield says he was also a man who struggled with faith. recently lee webb spoke with him about his new book "lincoln's battle with god." >> lee: steven, people may not know in his younger years, abraham lincoln was an eighth theist, an -- atheist and he rejected the very existence of god. tell us about that. >> lincoln's parents were caught up in the battles that swept the frontier, and it was very emotional. lincoln didn't have a great relationship with his father, so he started to turn away from their christian faith almost immediately. but then his reading turned him towards the writings of payne and volne, and he simply decided to become the village atheist. he challenged everybody's faith. he wrote small manuscripts against christianity. his friends said later it wasn't so much he didn't believe in god.

he was mad at god. because he thought his mother's ill ji illigetmasy made him less. >> lee: how do you account for his conversion? what changed his thinking on the christian faith? >> unfortunately, what changed his thinking were a series of deaths. he lost his mother. he lost sons. he said at one point in his life he was haunted by the thought of rain falling on graves. in the providence of god, each time there was a significant death in his life, there was a minister of the gospel there to speak to him. he lost a child as he was living in springfield. mary, his wife, completely freaked out in her grief. but abraham had a good minister, who pulled him in and shared the word with him. he could answer lincoln's concerns and intellectual problems.

and he became to come to a deep and genuine faith. >> lee: even after he came to faith, did he wrestle with one of the fundamentals of the christian faith? >> he wrestled with every fundamental of the christian faith. he was a smart man, and quite frankly at his age, christians had misbehaved and turned him off. he had to process every individual christian doctrine for himself. he did come towards a view and a belief and a sovereign god who ruled in the affairs of men. that's what leads to his great speeches, like the second inaugural address. he was not a man who just accepted other man's testimony quickly. he had to study things out and reach it on his own. >> lee: one of the antedotes i found most fascinating, you said, "he longed to go to jerusalem to walk in the savior's

steps." tell us about that. >> whenever we read about lincoln's death, almost always are the final words of mary lincoln saying, the young couple here are going to be embarrassed by my clinging to you. and abraham says, they will think nothing of it. mary said later they were continuing a conversation they had during the day. and that that conversation was about what they could do after the war. lincoln said i don't want to go back to springfield. i want to go abroad. i want to rest. i want to go to jerusalem. and then he said, i want to walk in the savior's footsteps. depending on which version of mary's story you hear, that may have been the last words he spoke. and he never spoke again. lincoln was definitely on a journey, so much so he went from being village atheist, to possibly his last words

on earth being i want to walk in the savior's footsteps. >> lee: the release of your book is tiimely, b bause we're abo to seeee the release of a newew movieie abouu abrah lincolnln c2u've had a a opportunitytyo see e advanced screeneng, c2d wha was your imimression >> i i got toto go to l.a., a ad c2ve got tell y y, it is a powowerful, powowerful film. c2think is a gift to thee naon at t tis time i in our c2story, with a a lot of diillusiononnt and cynicism. it has a a few smalll flawsws it doesn'do juste to the issue of faith, which is w why i'm gladmy bookok is on the c2rt. but what a powowerful film. what t attempt to h honor o o c2story. c2d daniell day lewis a at lincn -- hees a revelatn. he actually becomes c2ncolol hi sitting stitill is a morere c2werfrf reflectctn of c2ncn t than any otherer else you can see or read. i think it will impact our country at this time in our

history. >> lee: steven mansfield is the author of "lincoln's battle with god." steven it is always a privilege to talk to you about the christian faith and how it has affected us as a nation. thanks for being with us to talk about abraham lincoln. >> lee, it is always good to be with you. >> wendy: coming up, a bronx neighborhood in the grips of drugs and poverty. but a local church is declaring a war on drugs that is keeping its community in darkness. >> wendy: welcome back. here in the united states, one bronx, new york, community has long been plagued by poverty, drugs, and crime. cbn took its cameras to hunts point for a documentary on the high prostitution rate there. however, a local church refuses to let darkness rai reign in their community. >> reporter: these are the

images of hunts point, warn outbuildings, strip clubs, and girls walking the streets. >> there is a generational history in hunts point notoriously known for prostitution, crime, drugs, gangs. even now, sex trafficking is such a huge issue here. >> reporter: reggie is on a mission to paint a different picture of hunts point. he and his wife planted a real-life church in the heart of hunts point. >> i didn't want to come here. it wasn't my vision at all to come to hunts point. but as we started ministering here to the prostitutes, to the pimps, the lord directed our hearts, changed our hearts, for his people. that's why we're here. >> reporter: for the past two years, their church has tried a variety of ways to reach those people. >> this place needs jesus more than ever before. and, um, god has given us favor with all kinds of

people. reaching the community. but we want to think outside of the box. >> reporter: that new way of thinking led to a different approach to serving the community's poor. >> there was a ministry in texas called "vision for christ," that just happened to find us on the internet. and my doctor called me and we just met over the phone. it was such an incredible marriage, just the coming together of how can we come together to bless the communit community? >> reporter: he teamed up with the eye care doctor for three days of doing free medical care. >> they are doing eye testing and diabetes testing. >> reporter: they networked with area clinics to provide a full service health outreach, complete with medical tents and other equipment. dr. andy james heads "vision for christ." >> it is important because i

believe that's what jesus called us to do. he wants us to go and help others. really, it is all about him. we can help people see better, and we can help people feel better. >> reporter: and they ended up helping more than 400. >> we've had people where their blood pressure is really high. they should be in the emergency room right then. we have to refer them to the emergency room right then because they could have a stroke any moment. >> reporter: those attending were overwhelmed. >> it touched my heart because my daughter, before she has her glasses and she was playing at school, and her glasses broke. when i went back to the eye doctor, they said oh, you have to wait for two years, otherwise you pay. i'm a single mother. and it is not easy for me. it touched everybody along here, the community. >> reporter: while hundreds received free medical services during the medical outreach at hunts point, it was also an opportunity to hear the gospel of jesus christ.

♪ the lord is good ♪ >> doing the vision outreach in conjunction with the evangelism is huge. because the first thing people say is why? why would you come out here and give me free glasses and why would you give me a free eye exam? and it gives us the ability to say there was somebody who gave us something we didn't ask for and we didn't deserve. jesus christ died on the cross. that's why we're here, the love of jesus. >> reporter: single mom elizabeth is thankful for the care she received. and she also responded to the message. >> it is hard. but jesus is making me feel happy. >> reporter: and he says others were also touched. >> last night we had two of the worst drug dealers in hunts point come to the alter and get prayed for.

i mean, where does that happen, except when the church goes out of the building and comes out on the street. >> reporter: deputy burrow applauded stetsman and his team. >> we're very supportive of the effort the churches make in order to improve their communities. this is a perfect example of their effort. we're in a local church, not a big church. not a great cathedral. not a church with thousands or hundreds in the congregation, but just a little, average church, who said we are going to do something different. we are going to help these people realize that god is very much on the scene. >> reporter: meanwhile, real life church plans followup with all who received medical and spiritual help. all part of its moto of serving real people with real issues and pointing

them to a real god. >> it is time to make jesus real and show christ. that's why i love these out reaches because people are seeing who jesus is. when they put on a new pair of eye glasses, they're seeing jesus. >> reporter: charlene israel, cbn news, bronx, new york. >> wendy: >> wendy: coming up next, they're the most vulnerable people in egypt. but those

>> wendy: the election of momomohammed morsi as president gave egyptians hope. and now many are frustrated and impatient. >> the situation, of course, is getting worse. there is a lot of insecurities, and in stability that is happening in egypt. >> reporter: 25% of all

egyptians live at our below the poverty level. earning less than $2 a day. many of them are widows. an estimated 1.7 million egyptian children are orphans. marin miad is the founder of coptic orphans, a group that reaches out to egyptian widows and their children. >> once a father passes away, you have nothing. the first step, of course, the children are pulled out of school. you can't afford to send them to school. they become then the child labor. they become the child brides. they become those that are abused and they grow to perpetuate this poverty. >> reporter: the widows and the orphans are treated like social outcast. and the egyptians have no unemployment or social security. her husband, george, died from stomach cancer four years ago.

she and her two children have struggled ever since. they live in a small, one-room apartment near the city of luxor. and a coptic orphans volunteer regularly visits her and her children. if they are to have a brighter future, they need an education. 11-year-old antonio could barely read last year, but after 15 sessions with a coptic helper, he can now read bible stories. >> it started out with just sending money, sending money to the children. then we realized, wait a minute, to really help them, to get them on their feet, we need to focus on education. >> reporter: a tutor provided by coptic orphans helped this 16-year-old get better grades. last year the school ranked him as number two in his class. his father died at the age of 38. carllos' mother learned skills of her own, but had

no money to get started. coptic christians helped her start a salon. >> i was afraid to go out in public. i didn't have no self-esteem. i talk to people now. i'm a totally different person. i thank god this salon is providing food and clothing, everything we need. i am grateful to the lord he provided for us through coptic orphans. at the end of the day, it is the lord who is providing for us. >> reporter: 15-year-old iman was only three years old when his father died from intestinal bleeding. coptic orphans paid for his school fees so he can stay in school, and they paid for his mother's heart surgery. and she now provides for her family. they live in several rooms of this house. the landlord wants them to leave. they take them on a tour of the house the organization is building foyer their

family. >> coptic orphans are even build us a house and paid for my heart surgery. and the children would not have been able to continue with school. they are now doing well in their classroom. i'm so thankful and grateful to god for the help they've given us. >> reporter: iman and his mother and siblings now have a brighter future because of the help of caring christians. unfortunately, the rise of the islamists may cause greater persecution against non-muslims. riad says many christians are ready for the next wave of persecution. her organization will be there for help. >> many christians say they are willing to die for help. we want to be more and more ready to pair and to support and to make the christians in egypt stronger and stronger. actually, christ gives us an offer to work beside him,

and to me, i think that's the greatest honor. >> reporter: gary lanene,

>> wendy: several christian ministers are launching a series of videos aimed as in inspiring people to help agenda poverty. church leaders say christians are beginning to recognize their roles as global citizens. "compassion international" "christian aid" "and the micah challenge" examined the videos. thank you so much for joining us. until next week, good-bye and god bless you you.