In This Issue: A Curse Becomes a Blessing
- SOUTHEAST ASIA: Seeds of a Movement
- INDIA: Muslims Helping to Rebuild Christian School
- IRAN: No Annulment of Nadarkhani Death Penalty
- SWITZERLAND: Visit to Mosque Improves Perceptions
- SOMALIA: Christians Bear the Brunt of al-Shabaab’s Terror
- USA: Merger Unites 35,000 Missionaries
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!
Southeast Asia: Seeds of a Movement
Source: Pioneers, September 2011
A Christian worker in Southeast Asia writes:
“Recently I found my car stuck in a deep ditch with my two daughters in their car seats, tired, hungry, and a little scared. I had wandered down the wrong back road and in impatiently backing up to get on the main road, half the car fell into a ditch. I quickly called my husband and told him where we were, but I knew the neighbors in that area would rush to help as well. There are no tow trucks or emergency services here. It’s the community who comes to the rescue.
“As the neighboring Muslim women scooped up the kids and provided us shade and drink, the men began discussing the best way to get the car out of the ditch. My husband arrived with a few of our ministry partners and the real opportunity began. While working with the neighborhood men, they were able to share the gospel with several of them. I was able to laugh with the women at my mistake of backing the car into a ditch and begin a friendship with the ladies there in hopes of sharing the love of Christ.
“Even in taking wrong turns, when we’re impatient and want control of our life, God grants us opportunity and a way out of the mess. What we might think is a curse becomes a blessing. It’s in these types of situations that God in his faithfulness can plant the seeds of a movement of his love among an entire people group.”
>> Full story. See also a new Pioneers video about what church planting can look like in Indonesia. It’s the first in a series and is quite engaging.
INDIA: Muslims Helping to Rebuild Christian School
Source: Ecumenical News International, September 20, 2011
Muslims in Kashmir, in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, are supporting the rebuilding of a Christian school that was destroyed by fire during anti-Christian violence one year ago.
“What happened here is certainly wrong and it should not have happened. I can assure you that our people will not allow it to happen again,” Munshi Mukhtar Ahmed, a Muslim teacher in a government school in the town of Tangmarg, told ENInews on September 20.
There are about four million Muslims in Kashmir and 5,000 Christians. The church-run school has about 450 students, almost all of them Muslims.
>> Full story.
IRAN: No Annulment of Nadarkhani Death Penalty
Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, September 29, 2011
Sources inside Iran have firmly denied reports that a verbal notification of the annulment of the charges against Pastor Nadarkhani has been given to his lawyer, Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah. Christian Solidarity Worldwide is urging that conclusions should not be drawn on this case until a formal written verdict is received from the court, stating, “Continued international vigilance and pressure is vital: The life of this man is still very much in the balance.”
Some sources close to the situation fear that reports of a verbal annulment may have been a deliberate attempt to misinform the international community and ease the pressure on the regime.
Yesterday Pastor Nadarkhani faced the latest session of a court case that ran September 25-28, during which he was requested on three separate occasions to renounce his faith in order to secure an annulment of the charge of apostasy and a lifting of the death sentence. Pastor Nadarkhani refused each time. The final defense was presented by Mr. Dadkhah to the court on September 28. The written verdict is now awaited, expected within a week.
>> See also: Pastor’s Death Sentence Exposes Death of Iran’s Conscience (World Evangelical Alliance).
SWITZERLAND: Visit to Mosque Improves Perceptions
Source: OM Headlines, September 26 to October 2, 2011
When Bert (from the Netherlands) took a group of 20 from the Sharing Lives Course to a big mosque in Lausanne, Switzerland, one Friday, one of the participants admitted that it was his first time visiting a mosque, despite having lived and worked among Muslims for 40 years.
On an ordinary Friday, about 600 people gather for worship in the mosque, and on special days, the numbers add up to about 1,000. In response to the participants’ questions, the imam and chairman of the mosque emphasized that their mosque wanted nothing to do with Islamic extremism that sometimes arises in various parts of Europe.
When asked why the media seemed to focus mainly on Islamic extremism, the imam replied, “The journalists seem to have no interest in normal, peaceful Muslims who are wholeheartedly European.” He had repeatedly invited reporters to visit his mosque, but to no avail.
After the two-hour conversation, the whole group shared snacks, drinks, and a photo. “We realized again how a visit to a mosque helps improve mutual perceptions,” noted Bert.
>> Full story.
>> Readers may be interested to see how the Christians of Northwood Church in Texas invited Muslims to their Building Bridges Event (five-minute video, Vimeo). Speaking of perceptions, read Why Do Radical Muslims Hate America So Much? (Christian Post) and Thousands of Muslims Hold Rally in London against Islamic Extremism (Washington Post).
SOMALIA: Christians Bear the Brunt of al-Shabaab’s Terror
Source: WEA Religious Liberty, September 19, 2011
The decapitated body of a Christian man, Juma Nuradin Kamil, was found in Bakool region of southwestern Somalia on September 2. The killing, one of the numerous such incidents in recent years, comes at a time when tens of thousands of Somalis have died, and about 750,000 more are at risk of death in the wake of the 21st century’s worst drought in the Horn of Africa.
[The Christian] was killed by the Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Mujahideen Youth Movement), commonly known as al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked terror group that controls and runs a de facto government in most of southern Somalia. The group is also restricting international aid from reaching the starving population in territories under their control, especially to the Christians.
There are little more than 1,000 Christians in Somalia, most of them from the Bantu ethnic group. The country has no church building and Christians meet for worship underground, especially in southern parts.
– Pray for Christians in Somalia, who are facing a constant threat of persecution and deprivation of rights and aid.
– Pray for proper attention and consideration on the part of the international community towards the situation in Somalia.
– Pray that there will be a stop to al-Shabaab’s terror as well as more religious freedom.
>> Full story.
>> Also read Ahlu Sunna Declares All-Out War against al-Shabaab (AllAfrica.com).
USA: Merger Unites 35,000 Missionaries
Source: CrossGlobal Link and The Mission Exchange
On October 1, 2011, the memberships of CrossGlobal Link (formerly IFMA) and The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA) agreed to merge, forming a body representative of 35,000 evangelical missionaries deployed in every country by more than 190 agencies and churches.
“The merger will create better synergy, more effective use of resources, and eliminate needless competition and duplication of programs, products, and services,” said Marv Newell, Executive Director of CrossGlobal Link. “We must have a united voice to honor God as we move forward in this ever-changing world.”
>> Full story.
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for 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.
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