Pakistan’s first national Christian basketball team shares pre-match prayers. See story below. Image: Pakistan Bible Society.
Missions Catalyst News Briefs 01.18.17
Day: January 18, 2017
WORLD: 50 Countries Where Christians Are Most Persecuted
Source: Open Doors, January 11, 2017
The 2017 World Watch List is here—ranking the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Please use this report to learn more about these countries and how you can be praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
Thank you for standing with persecuted Christians in all of these countries.
» A related story from Mission Network News provides helpful analysis (with different angles on the data showing up in a variety of articles published in the last week). A video from Open Doors reminds us “the list isn’t just numbers and figures. It represents those who have decided to follow Jesus, no matter the cost.” Topping this year’s list are North Korea, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
» See also the Human Rights Watch annual report, which summarizes 2016 human rights issues in more than 90 countries worldwide.
PAKISTAN: First National Christian Basketball Team
Source: United Bible Societies, December 19, 2017
History was made last month when Pakistan’s first national Christian basketball team—Koinonia Love Pakistan—toured Malaysia. According to the Pakistan Bible Society, which was instrumental in the team’s formation last year, it was the first time that Pakistan’s Christian community has officially represented their country in a sporting event abroad.
“I feel honored that our Christian boys represented Pakistan,” said Bible Society General Secretary Anthony Lamuel. “We thank God that through sport we have been able to promote the disciplined use of the Word of God as a strength in the growth of our Christian faith.”
The team was formed by the Pakistan Bible Society, the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBF) and the Peace Ambassadors Society (a Christian sports organization) after last year’s Christian sports festival. This annual event, organized by the Bible Society, has become the country’s largest Christian sports festival, attracting around 1,000 people who compete in a variety of sports, including cricket, football, athletics, and basketball.
The festival’s guest of honor, PBF Vice President Colonel Naseem Butt, was so impressed by the standard of the basketball being played that he suggested forming a Christian team to play on a national level. The young team, who are mostly aged between 15 and 25, went on to play in several national basketball matches, all of which they won.
“Our emphasis is to help young people to use their sporting talent and time to glorify God and share his love, peace and Good News,” explains team manager Irfan Francis, who works for the Pakistan Bible Society. “Through this work we provide spiritual, educational, physical and professional training to young Christian sportsmen, and help them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through sport.”
Please pray for the Pakistan Bible Society’s work to use sport to share the Bible and promote peace.
» See also a story from Uganda, National Rugby Team Sings Christian Hymn before Every Game (God Reports).
UGANDA: Sheikh Sent to Kill Pastor Becomes Christian
Source: Morning Star News, January 12, 2017
Islamic extremists ambushed a church leader in eastern Uganda last week after a sheikh they had sent to assassinate him at a church service instead became a Christian, sources said.
Sunni Muslim extremists had sent the sheikh, trained in Islamic proselytization, to the church’s worship service on December 4 to kill [said Bishop George Edweu of the Pentecostal Upright Church].
As the bishop was preaching on hearing and understanding the voice of God, the sheikh was sitting among the congregation of 200 people when the power of the gospel convicted him of sin, Bishop Edweu said. The young man rushed up to the podium and fell at the preacher’s feet.
Bishop Edweu said he stopped preaching and questioned the young man. As tears rolled down the sheikh’s cheeks, he answered, “I was sent to come and attack, to kill the pastor and destroy the church,” according to the bishop.
He repented as the shaken congregation looked on, Bishop Edweu prayed for him, and the would-be assassin put his faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, the pastor said.
News of the former sheikh’s conversion hit the community like lightning, and the young man knew he had to go into hiding. He, his wife, and two children, took refuge at an undisclosed location.
Since then area Muslims have been announcing his conversion weekly as they gather for mosque prayers. A local Christian resident told Morning Star News that on Fridays he has heard over the mosque loudspeaker, “[Name withheld] needs to die for forsaking Islam.”
The bishop and his congregation fear more persecution could be imminent.
The incident was the latest in a series of anti-Christian attacks in eastern Uganda.
» Read full story. See also Christian Woman in Eastern Uganda Coerced into Taking Poison.
ALGERIA: A Year in Prison Due to Facebook Post
Source: World Watch Monitor, January 12, 2017
An Algerian Christian has been sentenced to a year in prison for a post he made on Facebook.
On January 8, the court in Bouira (100 km east of Algiers) found Samir Chamek, 34, guilty of insulting Islam and its prophet over items he posted on his Facebook page. The sentencing follows a year-long legal battle:
“I will appeal to the Supreme Court,” Chamek told World Watch Monitor. “I explained to the judge that I only shared publications from other people, and I do not master the computer and French very well.”
» Read full story; additional details in a story from Morning Star News. Slimane Bouhaf, whose story we included in our last edition of news briefs, was also imprisoned due to an anti-Islamic Facebook post.
GHANA: Saving the Life of an “Evil Child”
Source: Partners International, December 24, 2017
Among the Konkomba people group, there is a bizarre but common practice of killing infants who are believed to carry evil destinies. When a child is born into a pagan home, the parents consult mediums to know whether the new-born will bring luck or evil to the family into which he or she is born. If the medium rules that the child will bring evil, the parents are tasked to purchase an animal for sacrifice and also provide other needed items including money to aid in the ritual of taking away the life of that child.
Malalb is a mother who nearly lost her four-year-old-daughter to such a barbaric practice. Malalb is a Christian married to an unbelieving husband, Bambilla. When their baby girl was born, Bambilla decided to consult an oracle to know whether the newborn would bring a blessing or a curse on the family. The oracle divined that the baby was an evil child and so she had to be killed to prevent her ill-fate from befalling the family. Bambilla accepted this and decided to purchase the ritual items comprising a goat and money among other things needed for the murder of his daughter.
Malalb looked on helplessly as her husband prepared to take the life of their only daughter at the time. Even though she did not condone her husband’s decision, there was little she could do to make him change his mind.
Thankfully, God intervened…
» Here’s an update from another story about caring for children which we’ve been following: Compassion Has “Very Little Hope” for India, Sets Deadline to Shut Down Sponsorships (Christianity Today).