Missions Catalyst

Christians are racing to accelerate the translation of the Bible into Iran’s minority languages to be ready when the doors open, says Transform Iran. Story below. Image by Javad Esmaeili on Unsplash.

In this issue:

1. Never Forgotten: Why We Pray for the Persecuted Church
2. North Africa: Equipping the Nations to Pray
3. Iran: Racing to Translate the Bible for Minority Languages
4. How to Cultivate Risk Tolerance for Mission in Dangerous Places
5. Palestine: Equipping Palestinian Youth for the Future
6. Syria: A Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights

… plus links to more. Read or share the email edition.

Source: Global Christian Relief, October 28, 2026

I was reading through prayer requests from the field when one of them stopped me. 

It came from a widow living in a camp for displaced families in Nigeria. She had fled her home with nothing but her children. When a medical team reached her, she was sick with malaria that had gone untreated. They gave her treatment and a bag of rice, and she wept.

Then she asked for prayer for everyone in the camps:

“Pray for all of us living in IDP camps—that we will never feel forgotten by God or the Church. Pray for safe return to our ancestral homes and for complete healing from malaria and trauma.”

Not forgotten by God or the Church.

She isn’t the only one asking.

In the same set of requests, an elderly widow in Nigeria asked us to pray “that elderly widows across Nigeria continue to be remembered, honored, and protected.”

In India last winter, a group of Christian families had to look for shelter somewhere else after severe persecution in their village. When a team brought them rice, flour and cooking oil, one of their pastors said, “This support reminded us that we are not forgotten.”

Two countries. The same hope—that the rest of the family hasn’t forgotten them.

Read more. And ask the Lord to touch hearts of those who observed the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church last Sunday (November 1) or will do so this coming week (November 8).

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings … In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” – 2 Timothy 3:10-12

Note that on Sunday, November 8, nearly 1.2 billion Hindus worldwide will celebrate Diwali, the most significant holiday in Hinduism each year. See Praying for Hindus During Diwali (Radical).

Looks like Radical also has some new “explainer” videos you might have a use for. See Rethinking the Great Commission.

Source: Mission Network News, October 30, 2026

AI is helping translate the Bible into Iran’s ethnic languages faster, at a lower cost, and with less risk to translators. This is exciting news because speed matters.

“The race really is to get ready for an open Iran,” says Lana Silk, president and CEO at Transform Iran, “because we are fully anticipating that God is going to shake that nation further and open it up to the gospel in a way that it has never been before.”

You may have heard that Iran has one of the fastest-growing churches in the world. But Silk says it is mostly happening among Farsi speakers, who have access to Scripture in their language. Today, dozens of languages spoken in Iran have no Scripture available in them.

“There’s a real Bible poverty happening across these other [ethnic] people groups,” Silk says. “And the evidence is seen in the impact of the gospel.”

She says they envision having Bible translations completed and Bibles printed and ready for distribution within Iran—before Iran opens up.

Read the full story and a previous but related piece, Unlock Bible translation breakthroughs across Iran’s ethnic communities.

See also an article exploring how, even as the Middle East experiences the fires of war, it’s also seeing the fires of revival (Ministry Watch). Very encouraging.

Source: Mission Frontiers, November 2026

More than two billion people live in places where they have never heard of Jesus, where the gospel has not taken root, and where the cost of bearing witness can include imprisonment, violence, or death.

These are the hardest places—contexts of severe political oppression, active conflict, extreme poverty, and systematic hostility toward the Christian faith.

Yet many mission organizations and churches in the West remain functionally risk-averse, sending workers primarily to relatively safe locations while the unreached remain unreached.

To send people into environments of prolonged despair, danger, and uncertainty requires more than courageous slogans or better insurance policies. It calls for a deeper understanding of the biblical and practical importance of risk, fostering purpose and resolve in the Christ-follower.

Read more of this article from subject-matter specialist Anna Hampton. It’s part of a whole edition of Mission Frontiers on how to think about and prepare to step into risk faithfully. Much to consider, including articles about moral responsibility for senders and how to craft a theology of risk. Many are written by people who train others in these areas.

MissioNexus also released a new study related to risk. They asked 190 mission leaders across 40+ countries told us which risks could most disrupt Christian mission over the next 3–5 years, and which opportunities could most strengthen it. Take a look.

Source: United Bible Societies, October 27, 2026

The Palestinian Bible Society (PBS) launched a specialized three-day training program in Jenin and Nablus in the northern West Bank [where] young people face significant barriers to building stable futures. Economic hardship, limited employment opportunities, and challenging political and social conditions can make it difficult for youth to find work, gain experience, and plan ahead.

The workshop brought together local youth determined to learn how to use accessible AI tools to create income for themselves and their families.

By combining entrepreneurial thinking with high-tech tools, the Living Streams project equips local youth with practical skills that foster long-term independence. Learning how to leverage modern technology to start localized small businesses offers these young people a practical ray of hope.

PBS plans to expand these efforts, continuing to support young innovators across the West Bank as they develop resilient businesses and contribute to their local communities.

Read the full story. We’re used to seeing Christian community centers offer job skills training alongside their Bible studies and other efforts. Not sure I’ve ever seen AI training listed. 

Source: Jubilee Campaign, October 28, 2026

Editor’s Note: When the Jubilee Campaign does a report for the UN, they make it available on their website, and wow, are these reports thorough. Lots of fuel for those who like to pray very specifically.

The Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council that involves a comprehensive review of the human rights records of all 193 UN member states. Due to the intensive evaluation process and the vast number of UN member states, each nation is reviewed only every 4.5 years, and within the 16 years since the inauguration of the UPR in 2008, each country has been assessed just three times.

NGOs play a crucial role in the UPR process by submitting stakeholder reports that provide additional information and perspectives on a state’s human rights performance. This supplementary input is even more valuable in cases where a reviewed UN member state does not fully comply with its obligations, either by delaying [submitting] national reports for years on end or providing incomplete reports.

Following a UN member state’s review cycle, the UPR Working Group publishes an outcome report listing recommendations to the analyzed nation. The UPR is unique in that it allows each Human Rights Council member state—all 47 of which are part of the UPR Working Group—to directly address its counterparts and provide highly specific recommendations.

See the list of reviews and read the latest report, focused on Syria. Syria has fallen off the radar with so much happening elsewhere, but for some reason God has put it on my heart.

See also Open Doors World Watch List page on Syria. This year, Syria moved up the list from #18 to #6.