Author: MC

Source: Brigada Today, March 3, 2019

This past week, I (Doug) read through every word of Barna’s report, Reviving Evangelism. It’s a disturbing commentary. According to their data, nearly half of Millennial practicing Christians say it is wrong to evangelize (47%). Almost two in five practicing Christians (of all ages) say they have no non-Christian friends or family members (30%). More than half of all practicing Christians report having two or fewer conversations about faith in past year (56%).

To us, these are some of the most disturbing trends of our day. We could probably survive if political figures stop treating one another with adequate civility. But if, as the years tick by, we “forget” (or stop caring) about evangelizing (as it appears we are) and if, in the process, we forget how to tell the Good News (as it appears we are), we would be placing the Kingdom of God in a precarious position.

What do YOU think we should do about the study? How would YOU guess we respond?

» Comment on this item.

» Read an excerpt from the Barna report: Almost Half of Practicing Christian Millenials Say Evangelism Is Wrong. See also Some Pastors Optimistic about Millennials, Church Growth. Stats Don’t Bear Them Out (Baptist News Global).

Source: World Watch Monitor, February 25, 2019

Tajik authorities implementing a new religion law are barring children from attending religious services and have burned thousands of calendars with Bible verses.

Amendments to Tajikistan’s Religion Law came into force in January last year, giving the state greater control over religious education and increasing the amount of information religious organizations must pass on to the state.

The State Committee for Religious Affairs and Regulation of Traditions, Ceremonies and Rituals (SCRA) now demands “all kinds of information on the number of members, finances and activities,” a member of a religious community told Oslo-based news agency Forum 18 anonymously, fearing reprisals (see Forum 18 article).

They also gather information about the number of children under the age of 10 attending religious meetings, using the Religion Law and the Parental Responsibility Law to put pressure on parents and religious communities.

» Read full story. It looks like Jehovah’s Witnesses are being targeted in particular, but other faith communities like the Baptists who imported the Christian calendars are suffering as well.

» Also read the article Five Reality Checks for Mission, a recent article which deftly summarizes today’s key challenges for Christian witness in Asia and globally (Church Mission Society).

Source: Barnabas Fund, March 2019

Barnabas Fund contacts report that Pastor Thar Tun was kidnapped from his home in Rakhine state, Myanmar (Burma) on February 13 by Buddhist militants thought to be members of the Arakan Army (AA).

Pastor Tun, 56, who has five children, is the second pastor to be kidnapped in Myanmar in less than a month. It is thought that the pastor’s work helping refugees in his home town of Buthidaung made him a target.

On January 19, Pastor Tun Nu, 41, was kidnapped at gunpoint in Rakhine state by militants also thought to be members of AA. He was reported killed on February 1 alongside several others held captive, but his body has not been found.

At the time of Pastor Tun Nu’s abduction, witnesses described the AA as “truly brutal” and had warned that more abductions of Christians were likely because their missionary work made them a target.

» Read full story and please pray for these men’s families and ministries.

» Readers might also be interested in learning about a ministry in another part of East Asia. Christian Freedom International reports that religious refugees are counting on the tides to bring rice, medicine, and Bibles to the suffering people of North Korea.

Source: God Reports, February 19, 2019

Chaima wanted to join ISIS and kill Christians. “I loved to see people dying, I loved to see them bleeding,” Chaima says on a video on YouTube. “I was seeing videos of decapitation on the Internet and I loved it. I was just blind.”

Her mother was an immigrant from Africa to Sweden and both parents were devout Muslims. Chaima saw life as cruel and wondered, “What am I doing in this world?”

“I tried to kill myself three times. I was doing drugs. I just wanted to destroy myself.”

Chaima, from childhood, grew up unhappy. “I hated people who were not Muslim. I wanted to kill them. I was bound to dangerous things,” she says. “I didn’t feel loved by anyone.”

She had a passion for reading, so her mom, concerned for her bouts with depression, brought her library books. One of the books, by accident, was the Bible. Chaima decided to read it and try to prove to Christians that they were wrong.

» Read full story or watch Chaima tell her story on YouTube. This video was made about 18 months ago when she was 18 years old and explores not only her change of heart and baptism but deliverance from demonic activity. Some might find it a bit disturbing.

Source: Open Doors, February 15, 2019

“We only knew martyrdom from films, but martyrdom was reintroduced and it strengthened our faith because these people, these 21 martyrs, lived among us,” [says Malak, whose son was killed four years ago].

Few will forget the graphic images of the mass beheadings in a video released and paraded online around the world. February 15, mark[ed] the fourth anniversary of the deaths of 20 Coptic Christian men from Egypt and one Christian man from Ghana—all 21 martyrs for their faith.

In the days and weeks leading up to their deaths, ISIS captors reportedly tortured the men who had traveled the 1,200 miles to Libya to find work and support their families. Militants attempted to persuade them to deny Jesus in return for their lives. They all refused.

A new book, The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs, by Martin Mosebach, includes interviews with families of the men who were killed.

Reportedly, what he found was “a completely different point of view of martyrdom… No lamentation, no mourning, no pity, but, instead, pride and happiness.”

» Read full story and watch a short video about a church built to honor the martyrs (World Watch Monitor).

» See also Why the Church in the Middle East Won’t Stay Hidden (Frontiers USA).

Source: Barnabas Fund, February 5, 2019

An event held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 5 was attended by [more than] 130,000 Christians; a startling occurrence in a region where Christian worship is tightly restricted and Christian converts from Islam risk imprisonment for apostasy.

The UAE has one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world, mainly due to the inward migration of Christian workers. The country has recently gained a new cathedral, 16 new churches and has around 700 Christian congregations.

The 48-hour papal visit to the UAE this month is unprecedented for the Arabian Peninsula and may signal a softening of the government towards the Christian community, estimated to number over one million.

» Full story (and links) also describe the current state of religious freedom in this country.

» See also what the Secretary General of the Evangelical Alliance, Efraim Tendero, shared at the Global Conference on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi or watch his two-minute video greeting (World Evangelical Alliance) or read some comments from missiologist Todd Johnson, who points out that good Christian-Muslim relations are critical for the future of our planet.

Source: World Vision, February 2019

Venezuela is in crisis. The economy has collapsed and an uprising of political opposition to President Nicolas Maduro has put the country’s leadership in question. More than 3 million Venezuelans—5,500 per day in 2018—have left the country seeking food, work, and a better life.

Latin America’s largest migration in recent years is driven by hyperinflation, violence, and food and medicine shortages stemming from recent years of political turmoil. Once-eradicated diseases like cholera and malaria have returned, and children increasingly are dying of causes related to hunger and malnutrition.

An estimated more than 1.5 million people have settled in Colombia; nearly 700,000 in Peru; nearly 280,000 in Ecuador; and Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are each hosting 100,000 Venezuelans or more. About 290,000 Venezuelans have settled in the United States and more than 200,000 in Spain, according to the UN International Organization on Migration.

While the influx from Venezuela has caused tensions in host countries, it also has brought out their hospitable spirit. Still, needs among families in transition are great. And forecasts for 2019 show the number of displaced people may increase to more than 5 million. World Vision staff in neighboring countries are helping.

» Read full story. It’s quite informative. We’re also praying for the people of Haiti, a country recently in an uproar. See Haiti Braces for More Violence (CBC News video).

Source: World Watch Monitor, February 14, 2019

A Colombian pastor was killed as he left his church in the northwest of the country, in a region that has been plagued by violence from armed groups, local sources told World Watch Monitor.

Pastor Leider Molina, 24, had just finished preaching in his church in Caucasia, Antioquia state in northwest Colombia, on Friday, February 9. As he stepped outside he was hit by five bullets. Molina was known as a passionate preacher and an active youth leader working for his church and city, 670km north of the capital Bogotá, the source said.

The Caucasia region has suffered an escalation in violence for the last four months, according to the source. Armed groups fight for control of drug trafficking routes and the ownership of illicit crops.

“Communist guerrillas, paramilitary groups, criminal gangs, and drug cartels all see the Church as an enemy to be eradicated because, thanks to the preaching and courageous action of leaders and pastors, many young people have renounced armed conflict and illegal activities,” the source said.

The church in the area is terrified, according to the source. “Some Christians have fled with their families, while others have decided to stay awaiting the government intervention. Church leaders, however, continue their work despite the death threats,” said the source.

» Full story also reports on two other pastors in the region killed last September.

Source: Pioneers USA, February 13, 2019

Immigrant ministry is never boring, especially when God uses interesting means.

Recently, a few of our interns were out in the city to look for spiritually receptive people in the Muslim neighborhood near us. Our goal is to see Muslims come to faith in Jesus by investing our time getting to know the Muslims in our city. The day seemed to be a bust, and they were tired. However, they decided to press on and go to dinner at an immigrant restaurant there in the area.

Just after stepping into the restaurant, they met Ali, their waiter. He was full of joy. After a bit of conversation and talk of spiritual matters, Ali leaned in with a surprise.

“I had no peace in Islam, but I found peace in Jesus.”

“I am no longer a Muslim,” he said in a low volume. “I’m a Christian. I had no peace in Islam, but I found peace in Jesus.”

Within a few days, we gathered together for breakfast with Ali and his two sons. We wanted to hear his story of coming to faith. And as we talked, his 16-year-old son noticed the movie Nacho Libre on my teammate’s shelf.  It’s a slapstick comedy about a monastery cook who moonlights as a luchador, or Mexican wrestler, to supplement the funds used to feed the orphans in their care.

Ali and his sons were spiritually inspired by the movie, despite its silliness. They say that the movie was their first exposure to Jesus. In it, they saw a Christian caring for orphans, and that raised questions in their hearts about a God who cares for the marginalized and downtrodden. And God had prepared their hearts to hear a message of his love before seeing Nacho Libre.

» Read full story.

» For another story about God working in mysterious ways, read about a ministry outreach in Ireland in Plowing with the Big Red Bus (Operation Mobilization).