Day: April 16, 2014

In This Issue: The unstoppable gospel

• UKRAINE: Unity and Spiritual Awakening
• INDIA: Eunuchs Coming to Christ 
• THAILAND: Believer Sold His Own Blood to Help Bible Students
• WORLD: Potential Reach of Scripture Recordings Climbs to 80 Percent 
• CHINA: Christianity in Chinese Society
• YEMEN: Do You Want to Know More about Jesus?

Greetings!

As Christians around the world gather to celebrate the Resurrection, we’re reminded that the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is also at work in and through his Church. Today’s news briefs include stories of that power made manifest.

Blessing,
Pat

About Us

People of all denominations pray together each day in the public square in Kharkiv, Ukraine (photo by Sergey Baliuk).

Source: Rostyslav Stasyuk, Ukrainian Bible Society, via United Bible Societies, April 2, 2014

The dramatic events in our country have led to a remarkable unity and a spiritual wakening across the nation. It has been amazing to see the solidarity between representatives of different religions. … Last week, Archbishop Eustratius of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate), shared the astonishing news that Crimean Tatars − the Muslim minority in the disputed territory of Crimea − have offered to host the church’s services in their mosques.

“They said that if it became difficult for our priests and parishioners to pray in our churches in Crimea, they would make room for us in mosques. They have also assured that they would help protect our rights,” said the archbishop.

“Over the past month, as the situation in Crimea and the southeastern regions has escalated, churches, and individual Christians have become very active in speaking out and sharing the hope and encouragement found in the Bible. Christians of different denominations have been fasting and praying together for peace and wisdom for Ukraine’s leaders and other world leaders involved in the situation.

In Eastern Ukraine, prayer meetings are held every morning in the central squares of Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk. In the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, a 15-minute prayer session is held every hour from 9am to 9pm in the central square. In Kiev, the prayer tents that were erected during the protests in Maidan square are still there, and many people still come and use them as places of prayer.

The same kind of thing is happening in almost every city and town in the country.

» See also Missionaries Expect God to Work in the Midst of Eastern Ukraine Crisis (Commission Stories) and “Holy Desperation” in Ukraine (Baptist Press).

Source: Mission Network News, April 11, 2014

Eunuchs. Castrated males. There are about 1 million of them in India. Eunuchs are ignored by society. They form their own communities. Are people reaching them with the gospel? Are they ignored by Christians, too? A worker with Scriptures in Use (SIU) says yes, but not any more.

“We introduce storytelling to cultures that are non-literate, or what we call traditional oral learners. … Jesus told stories. He told parables. He allowed the story of the parable to speak to the hearts of the individual listener.”

[SIU’s] India partner became what’s called a “well-wisher” to the eunuchs in a community in Orissa State. As the relationships were established, the storytelling began. It started with 14 [participants]. The stories began with the Fall and continued through to the New Testament. “For three days we shared stories and then asked questions about the stories. At the end of the three days, we finally got to the Gospels. When it was done, all 14 of them accepted the Lord.”

It wasn’t a one-time thing. “We’re seeing some significant changes in them personally and then this desire to begin, in some way, to share their faith with fellow eunuchs and their families.”

» Read full story.

» Following India’s ongoing elections? You might be interested in this article about how Indian Christians view them (Christianity Today).

Source: God Reports, April 2014

“Teaching the Karen tribal people is such a privilege,” [write missionaries from the California-based organization, Pastoral Training of Asia]. “Serving in the refugee camp with no electricity [or] running water and pit toilets [is] always eye opening. Those living there are happy, not complaining but rather glad for the safety from … the hands of the Burmese soldiers.”

» Read full story.

» Readers might also be interested in Refugee Survey − Most Do Not Want to Go Back to Burma (Karen News).

Source: Faith Comes By Hearing, April 10, 2014

Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) recently added 16 languages to their expanding catalog of recorded Scripture. Now at 813 languages, FCBH’s recordings as a whole represent a potential outreach to more than 5.7 billion people in 189 countries − 80% of the world’s population.

Of the current releases, Tajik is the largest people group, with more than 4.4 million speakers, while the smallest is Cree Plains, spoken by about 260 people, primarily in Canada. Combined, these newest releases represent over 10.2 million people who now have God’s Word in audio available in their heart language.

FCBH has seen the growth of a small tape lending library established in 1972 to what is now the world’s largest resource of digital Scripture content.

» Read full story. This Easter season, FCBH encourages you to gather your family and listen to a New Testament account of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in an audio drama format.

Source: OMF International, Global Chinese Ministries Newsletter, April 2014

Religion is flourishing in China − particularly evangelical Christianity and Buddhism. The government is now taking a more benign view of the role of religious believers in society. A conference on the role of Christianity in Chinese society was held in Shanghai last October. Government official Wang Xinhua stated: “The government welcomes the support of the church. We lack the resources to meet all the needs we face, so we need religious organizations in order to do so.”

The government particularly has in mind the challenge of caring for the elderly who number several hundred million.

There is every reason to foresee that the Chinese church will continue to grow, mature, consolidate, and reach out in effective evangelism in the coming decades. Some Chinese academics advising the government even believe the church is on course to total 200-300 million [Protestants] in the next 30 years or so. This will make the Chinese church far and away the largest church in the world. Is it any coincidence that this is happening just as China is poised to become a world power?

» Full story has further analysis of the state of the Church in China.

Source: OM News, April 9, 2014

Yemenis are responding to Christian media. “Anas,” a local believer, was following up a contact, a young man, by phone. He said, “I am calling because you wanted to talk about Jesus. Is this true?” The young man responded, “Jesus is not here; I think he went to the capital and will be back next week.” Since the Arabic name for Jesus is not unknown in Yemen, Anas wondered whether the fellow was confused or just crazy, and the call ended.

God soon after prompted Anas to visit the contact in person − a risky decision, yet he did so in obedience. When he arrived, the young man explained, “Shortly before you called, I had a dream in which a bright shining figure told me that someone named Anas would call me and tell me more about Jesus. When you did call, I thought, this can’t be happening. So I acted crazy because it made me afraid.”

The young man brought together nine other friends to hear more, and they continue to study the Scriptures together with Anas. This is Arab culture, to do all things together, including a spiritual journey.

» Read full story.

» See also Sacrifice, reflections on Easter in an Arab Muslim country (Arab World Media).