In This Issue: Araz Began Sharing What He Knew
- AZERBAIJAN: “Pray to Your God”
- SUDAN: Abyei Taken by North
- ALGERIA: Churches Ordered Closed
- MIDDLE EAST: Massive Revival Meeting
- SOUTH KOREA: Churches to Be Sued for Sending Aid to the North
- EGYPT: Church Restoration Ordered
- EVENTS: Missions Catalyst Calendar
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
AZERBAIJAN: “Pray to Your God”
Source: Faith Comes By Hearing Testimonies, May 2011
I looked at Araz, sitting there looking utterly defeated. He had been crying, which was something for this tough fireman.
It was also something that he was asking me to pray. When we visited his city he often invited us to his home and prepared a table for us. But when we talked to him about God, he just said that he and his father were members of a different religion. He wasn’t interested in Jesus.
But now, he called and asked me to meet him. His wife was expecting a baby and had become extremely sick. They took her to the hospital where the doctor said she had an infection that would likely kill her and the baby – she was given almost no chance to live.
This is when he said, “Pray to your God, because I have no hope.”
I prayed and felt a word from God come to my heart – “During his prayer of repentance in the church, he must receive Jesus in front of the whole congregation and ask God to heal his wife.”
I told him this, gave him a Mini Proclaimer [digital audio-file player] in his heart language of Azeri so he and his wife could listen to God’s Word, and left.
At the next Sunday service, there was Araz. At the end, he came forward. As God said, he repented, received Jesus in front of the whole congregation, and asked God to heal his wife.
The next day, he called to say that his wife was fine! The doctor was amazed when he couldn’t find any infection or disease in her body. He asked Araz if he had taken her to some holy place.
“No,” Araz answered, “Jesus healed her.”
The doctor asked Araz to tell him about Jesus. Araz didn’t know much yet, but he began sharing what he knew. Now he is praying for the doctor to be saved, and Araz and his wife are growing in God’s Word.
>> Full story with picture.
SUDAN: Abyei Taken by North
Source: SIM, May 24, 2011
Please pray for the Lord to calm Abyei, a disputed area of Sudan which was overrun by Northern forces on May 21. So far, the South has not responded with violence.
– Pray that cool leaders will be able to impose calm on both sides of the contested area.
– Pray that trade embargoes would be lifted. Price wars and shortages are impacting people’s lives in many places, both North and South.
– Pray for the legal separation of North and South on July 8, 2011. Lift up leadership in the three disputed states: Southern Khordufan, Abyei, and Blue Nile.
– Intercede for all church leaders who are involved in peace and reconciliation conferences in conjunction with the Sudan Council of Churches.
Thank you for standing with the people of Sudan and the Sudanese church through your prayers!
>> Full story. SIM also recommends The tug of war in Abyei (video) and Sudan country profile (BBC).
>> Also pray for Hawa Abdalla from Darfur, recently arrested and accused of converting Muslims to Christianity (Compass Direct), and read this encouraging story of reconciliation and a curse broken in Morobo, Sudan (Shekinah Foundation).
ALGERIA: Churches Ordered Closed
Source: Open Doors, May 27, 2011
Seven Algerian churches face closure this week after the governor of their province sent them written notice that they were operating “illegally.”
The notice on Sunday (May 22) from Police Chief Ben Salma, citing a May 8 decree from the Bejaia Province governor, also states that all churches “in all parts of the country” will be closed for lack of compliance with registration regulations, but Christian leaders dismissed this assertion as the provincial official does not have nationwide authority.
“All buildings permanently designated for or in the process of being designated for the practice of religious worship other than Muslim will be permanently closed down in all parts of the country, as well as those not having received the conformity authorization from the National Commission,” Salma stated in the notice.
On [May 22] the governor of Bejaia sent a statement to the president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) informing him that all churches in the province were illegal because they were unregistered. Registration is required under controversial Ordinance 06-03, but Christians report the government refuses to respond to or grant their applications for registration.
>> Full story.
MIDDLE EAST: Massive Revival Meeting
Source: Worthy News, May 20, 2011
Thousands of Christians have participated in the first known “Christian Revival” meeting in one of the most restrictive Islamic countries of the Middle East, Worthy News established.
Last month, more than “10,000 Christians from all corners of the country” participated in the evangelistic gathering, intended to reawaken interest in the Christian faith, pastors and a church member confirmed in several conversations.
Worthy News agreed not to name the Middle Eastern nation due to security concerns. Several Christians there have been detained by religious police after unauthorized worship services in homes. Some remain in prison where, according to a pastor visiting them regularly, they are not allowed to openly pray.
It was not clear whether any Christians participating in the April 8 “Christian Revival” meeting have been detained.
Christian leaders say there is a growing interest in Christianity, despite official figures claiming the country as roughly 100 percent Muslim.
>> Full story.
SOUTH KOREA: Churches to Be Sued for Sending Aid to the North
Source: The Christian Post, May 26, 2011
The South Korean government has reportedly expressed its anger towards the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) for violating legal restrictions in place to govern exchanges between North and South Korea.
According to ENInews the South Korean government may sue the NCCK as it claims the Church Council did not receive government permission before sending US$87,000-worth of aid support to a North Korean Christian group.
Agence France-Presse reported earlier in May that Seoul issued an explicit warning telling Christian groups not to make any unauthorized aid transactions with North Korea. It is alleged, however, that Christian groups decided to ignore that warning, choosing instead to act on their compassion towards the starving people of North Korea.
>> Full story.
EGYPT: Church Restoration Ordered
Source: Assyrian News Network, May 26, 2011
The military regime in Egypt has attempted to ease interfaith relations by ordering the restoration of an Egyptian church destroyed by Islamist extremists earlier this month.
A group of craftsmen have been dispatched and are working to restore St. Mary’s Church in Imbaba, a suburb of Egyptian capital Cairo.
Rising tensions between Christians and Muslims in Egypt have seen an escalation in violence over recent months. However, the country’s military rulers are looking to calm both sides and have ordered that the gutted church be restored immediately.
Workers have quickly moved in and are hoping to complete work in just three weeks, even though such work would normally be completed in closer to three months.
One of Egypt’s largest construction firms has now moved in and will use special chemicals and paint to rescue as many of the church artifacts and paintings as possible.
>> Full story.
>> Read more about Egyptian interfaith efforts in Muslim Brotherhood Appoints Christian Vice President (Christian Today). Another church renovation, this one in Pakistan: Muslim Renovates Flooded Church (UCA News).
EVENTS: Missions Catalyst Calendar
HIGHLIGHTED:
June 04 to 05 – World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk (global). Coordinated by Viva. Many great resources on their website.
NEW ON OUR CALENDAR:
December 28 to January 2 – MissionNet Congress (Erfurt, Germany). Celebrate the new year and seek God with thousands of young Christians from around Europe.
CORRECTION:
In last week’s edition we mentioned upcoming Perspectives Intensive classes in Texas (July 6-13), Pennsylvania (June 3-10), and Florida (July 18 to August 5). Readers let us know there are also classes planned for California (Pasadena, June 12 to July 4) and North Carolina (Durham, July 11-22).
>> See our complete Mission Events Calendar, and let us know what ought to be added!
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for the Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.
