In This Issue: The Seven Gates of Damascus
- SYRIA: The Seven Gates of Damascus
- EGYPT: Doors Opening
- EUROPE: Planting Churches in the Secularized Cities
- CHINA: A Visit to Lhasa
- FRANCE: Finding the Truth
- MALDIVES: Christian Deported for Owning a Bible
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!
Greetings!
This week’s news takes us to some cities that desperately need our prayers. Pray for the “everlasting doors” to be opened and the “gates to be lifted” (Psalm 24). May the King of glory enter Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, Lhasa, Amsterdam, and beyond!
Thanks for praying,
Pat
SYRIA: The Seven Gates of Damascus
Source: CryOut Prayer Update, October 24, 2011
Thank you for praying for Syria during this time of unrest. The situation is getting worse and it is unclear how it will develop in the coming months.
One friend writes, “During the past four months I have traveled to Syria several times. People are confused and afraid by all that is taking place, especially by the government’s actions as they try to stop the demonstrations. Despite the forcefulness of the secret police and the army, the demonstrations continue – particularly in poorer communities.
“I have heard that fighting has broken out among the Alawite and Sunni in different cities. Despite the many difficulties within the country, I am pleased to see believers reach out to the community by providing food for them. Many people have been out of work for months and are unable to feed their families.
“The families whom we’ve helped have heard the message. They are thankful for what the church is doing for them and genuinely want to help others. It is very unclear what the future holds for Syria, so I ask that you please keep this situation in your prayers.”
>> Pray through the Gates of Damascus (PDF) or take a virtual prayer journey (YouTube video).
>> Subscribe to CryOut prayer updates.
EGYPT: Doors Opening
Source: Pat Noble, November 2011
For the first time ever, the Egyptian Bible Society has been allowed to publish public advertisements quoting the Bible. The ads were run in the wake of the worst attack on Christians in decades, and the verse was Jeremiah 29:7 – “And seek the peace of the city … and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”
The Bible Society is also putting together a publication to be distributed during the traditional 40-day memorial service that will be held for the victims of the October 9 Maspero massacre. They ask us to pray for the content, design, and shipment of this publication as the time is short.
>> For more detail, see the Egyptian Bible Society’s October Newsletter.
>> See also Egypt: Update on Supreme Administrative Court Ruling in Favor of Christian Re-converts (Middle East Concern) and Mapping Egypt’s Political Parties (The Arabist), as well as Impartial Fact-finding for Maspero (Watani International).
EUROPE: Planting Churches in the Secularized Cities
Source: Joel News International 795, November 8, 2011
Europe may have the reputation as the only continent where the church is in decline, [but] with support from the (reformed) churches a new generation of church planters … launched new faith communities in Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Berlin (click on the city name to watch the video).
Internationally this is called the City-to-City Network. A Dutch video crew visited these six cities to interview the church planters and feel the vibe of urban mission in secularized Europe. The series will be broadcasted nationally in the Netherlands.
>> Subscribe to Joel News here.
>> Also read Britain’s Muslim Minister Urges Nation to Become More Christian (The Christian Post).
CHINA: A Visit to Lhasa
Source: OMF‘s GCM Newsletter, November 2011
Hundreds of yak-butter lamps glimmer in the darkness. Dozens of monks in blood-red robes chant prayers from wood-block printed sacred scriptures in a deep monotone. Pilgrims enter the temple and prostrate themselves before the gigantic images: golden-faced statues of the Buddha in his various incarnations and former Dalai Lamas interred in gilded shrines covered with silk hangings.
The devout spoon out liquid yak butter from thermos flasks or plastic bags to add to the largest lamps. Hideous demon guardians with distorted red and black faces tower in the shadows. Hundreds of long, wood-block printed Buddhist scriptures are stored in wooden containers along the walls. It would take more than a lifetime to study them all. In the side chapels there are even more images, some so obscene we cannot describe them. We will just say they represent the dark spirit of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism practiced by many of the lamas.
>> Full story. You can also download a bulletin insert that includes the full article and prayer points.
FRANCE: Finding the Truth
Source: Operation Mobilization, October 20, 2011
“Having left the house late, going back to pick up the one Farsi Bible from my distribution material hardly seemed like a sensible idea,” said Carl from OM France. “But God was prompting me, and I obeyed.”
Soon the other team members arrived and they began having conversations with immigrants who stopped by the stand. “Suddenly one of our team members, James, called me over to him. He was trying to chat with an Iranian who spoke only English and Farsi. Fifteen minutes later, we had discussed this man’s dissatisfaction with Islam and his struggle to accept the need to obey God. I suggested that if God had made us, our obedience was in fact his right.”
When Carl encouraged him to find out more, the man asked how he should proceed. “Then I knew that God had set everything up so that my Farsi-speaking friend could find the Truth,” said Carl. “I gave him the Bible I had returned home to get that morning.” Praise God for his provision for this seeking man! Pray that this man will read the Bible and know the Truth.
>> Full story.
MALDIVES: Christian Deported for Owning a Bible
Source: Mission Network News, November 3, 2011
An Indian Christian had been a teacher in Maldives for two years when he was deported. His crime: owning a Bible.
A co-worker reported [30-year-old Indian Christian Shijo] Kakkattu to the National Administrative Center after finding Christian materials on a school computer. Reports say Kakkattu accidentally transferred material from his flash drive onto the school’s computer. Mohamed Shiraj, the principal of Raafainu School in Raa Atool, told Minivan News, “The videos were in Indian, so I don’t know what they were saying, but the images were Christian.”
VOM confirms that police then raided Kakkattu’s house and discovered a Bible and other Christian materials. They then charged him with preaching the Christian faith in the Muslim nation of Maldives, which recently tightened restrictions on preaching and practicing non-Islamic faiths. Police took Kakkattu to another island for interrogation and held him for 15 days before deporting him back to India.
>> 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.
