Day: September 7, 2016

Missions Catalyst News Briefs 9.7.16

GERMANY: Refugees in Europe
UZBEKISTAN: Pastor and Family Granted Asylum in US
INDIA: Secret Christians Multiplying
YEMEN: Hope amid Chaos
CENTRAL ASIA: Experiencing Life and Death

Watch Arab Christians sing Khudni Maak (Take Me With You), a Yemeni worship song. Beautiful words and music!

Greetings!

I am amazed at the dangers people will face to get to safety. The Guardian reported this week that an Afghan man spent 22 hours strapped to the lorry bound for Spain after paying a trafficker to help him reach Europe. This week’s news is full of stories of such desperate attempts.

This week is also the beginning of Hajj season. Last year’s Hajj disaster shows even holy sites are not safe. Pray for the expected 2 million pilgrims and that they might meet Christ on their spiritual journeys.

A group of Arab Christians knows where safety lies; see above. What beautiful music and words. Thanks to Global Worship for sharing this.

Blessed is he who knows where to find refuge (Psalm 34:8).

Pat

Source: INcontext Perspectives, August 2016

In July, an INcontext team traveled to Germany to meet with key leaders in an attempt to unravel the challenges, opportunities, and approaches concerning the hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing European borders.

Interview after interview confirmed the fact that Muslims are turning to Christ. There is some suspicion that converts may be confessing Christ in the hope of receiving asylum, and there are fears that the salvation of many Muslims may come at the expense of Europe, but the general feeling is that God is building his kingdom and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

• An Iranian pastor in Wiesbaden shared how, in the 22 years that he has ministered in Germany, more than 3,000 Iranians have accepted Christ, most of them in the last three years.
• A Syrian pastor shared how “God is doing a mighty work.” Eighty-five percent of his church are refugees.
• In the Café International in Leipzig, there are 20-30 refugees attending Bible classes once a week.
• One Iraqi convert in Giessen stated, “I would rather die as a Christian than live as a Muslim,” after coming to know Christ.
• In Frankfurt, a local church offered the Alpha course to refugees and ended up with a waiting list of 40 Muslims.
• In Wiesbaden, there are now three Farsi and three Arabic-speaking churches.
• One Iranian convert shared that in 2014 he was the only foreigner in the German church he attended. There are now 40 Iranians in the church.

» Read the full report. The 11-page PDF includes much data and analysis.

» See also The Rescuers, reporting on a German NGO that assists refugees with safe passage on the Mediterranean (Foreign Policy).

Source: World Watch Monitor, September 2, 2016

Finally, their journey is over. Three years since fleeing Uzbekistan—following four years in a labor camp, house arrest, and death threats—Pastor Dmitry Shestakov has arrived in the United States, where he and his family have been granted asylum.

It’s been almost 10 years since Shestakov was first detained, after a raid on his Full Gospel Church in Andijan, southeastern Uzbekistan.

When eventually he was released, only two church members went to collect him.

“No one else dared to come, because they’re afraid to attract unwanted attention due to their connection with him,” a charity worker with Open Doors, which advocates for Christians like Shestakov, said afterwards. “Pastor Dmitry has to be very careful and everything he does will be strictly monitored. This includes the people he will be talking to, everything he says, everywhere he goes, and much more.”

Shestakov himself said he had been “ordered to follow strict guidelines and regulations.” He added: “I am a pastor and I want to serve God, but I have to find a wise way to do this.”

But two years later it became apparent that staying in Uzbekistan was no longer possible. After being made to ask the police for written permission to leave his house, and then receiving death threats, Dmitry Shestakov took his family to Ukraine, where they were granted refugee status by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

» Read full story.

» See also another report from Open Doors, this one describing tensions surrounding the faith of another Central Asian believer who apparently has remained in the region.

Source: Christian Aid Mission, August 25, 2016

In the strongly communal nature of life in Udhampur District, in the Jammu region [of Northern India], friends and relatives are the fiercest enemies of those who embrace Christ.

“So many people come to us secretly,” [one] ministry leader said, “but they don’t want to come on Sunday due to the fear of the people, because everyone knows it’s the day Christians come to worship in the church.”

The ministry, which shares the Good News to see lives transformed among the Dogri-speaking people of the area through the efforts of its 22 indigenous evangelists, has also been able to stage big-tent, evangelistic campaigns in the past two years. With many people coming from surrounding villages, those at the events who put their faith in Christ also may keep it hidden from their family and friends.

“They know Jesus is the truth, Jesus is the way of salvation, but they are afraid of their friends and relatives,” the director said. “You may see 200 people accept Christ, but only 30, 40, or 50 take baptism. We’ve prayed so many times for the sick people in the community, and they get healed immediately, but they remain secret believers. We believe that one day God will bring a break-through, but there are thousands of secret believers.”

» See full story with pictures.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs, August 13, 2016

Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands are in need of food, clean water, and medical care. Numerous homes, schools, and marketplaces have been left in ruins. Amid the chaos, the persecution of Christians continues—but these believers have hope.

“The Lord Almighty is the one who gives us strength and the ability to resist discouragement,” says one local Christian leader who is part of a ministry organization providing for a variety of needs in conflict-torn country of Yemen.

In Yemen, Christians face intense persecution from militant groups, such as al-Qaida, but they also face persecution from their Muslim neighbors. One believer said these difficulties are “encouraging believers to build the family altar.”

Although local Christians must be careful about sharing their faith, many say the war has taken some of the pressures off their community. As a result, believers are becoming more united as they share resources and to meet together to pray and worship.

More Muslims are coming to Christ, too. A local ministry leader said, “Every two or three days we discover a new believer.” Leaders are now discussing how to best shepherd these new brothers and sisters.

» Full story with pictures.

» One report says, “Unofficial statistics suggest that there are some 2,500 indigenous Christians in the nation, practicing their faith underground.” Read more at Gatestone Institute.

Source: Pioneers USA, August 18, 2016

Central Asia is breathtaking in its scenic vistas and the hospitality of its people. Its history and spiritual need after centuries of being a crossroads also take your breath away.

In this second video of our Middle Ground series, our tour guide heads out of the city with Pioneers workers to visit a mountain village and a traditional jailo, or summer pasture, where a shepherd tends his flock. Rob experiences both the rich hospitality of a meal with his hosts and the unsettling reality of what it took to make that meal possible.

» Read full story or watch Rob Experiences Life and Death (nine minutes long).

» Viewers might also be interested in the World Nomad Games now happening in Kyrgyzstan, “where 40 nations compete in eagle hunting, stick wrestling, and goat-carcass polo.”