Author: MC

In this issue: Millions seeking God on pilgrimage

1. SAUDI ARABIA: Hajj Begins Friday
2. SOUTHEAST ASIA: The Power of Crickets
3. UNITED KINGDOM: Felix Ngole Wins Appeal
4. EGYPT: Presidential Committee Legalizes 127 Churches
5. CENTRAL ASIA: Once He Smuggled Heroin, Now Bibles

Source: Cry Out Now, August 2019

This is a call for Christians to pray for Muslims as they go on the Hajj.

Since the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, all Muslims are commanded to perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are able. The Hajj begins on the eighth day of the twelfth month of Dhul Hijjah in the Islamic calendar. During these days, around three million Muslims from all over the world flock to Mecca to perform sacred acts and follow the steps of Muhammad, their prophet. This year, the Hajj will start on August 9 and last for three or more days.

» Short article from Cry Out also compares Muslim and Christian ideas about forgiveness.

More on praying for Muslims on Hajj:

Watch a new four-minute video from Prayercast. It’s simple and sincere. Want more? Sign up for daily prayer emails August 7-14.

Watch or download the international five-minute video, Hajj Prayer 2019 from Praying through the Arabian Peninsula. Informative. You can also download a prayer guide available in multiple languages.

Visit or follow Arab World Media on Twitter or Facebook. They will be posting updates from seekers in Saudi, the current social climate of the country, an insight into the rites of Hajj, and how you can specifically pray for the men and women seeking God.

Read God at the Hajj, by Shane Bennett.

Source: Tearfund, July 26, 2019

Chouma lives with her husband and daughter in a small village on the side of a mountain, near the border between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Chouma became a Christian when a few people from the local church prayed for healing from a sickness she’d had for many years. She was healed instantly and has been attending the church ever since.

However, living as a Christian in this community wasn’t easy. She was verbally abused by her neighbors. On a few occasions, she even had stones thrown at her while she was worshiping.

A few years ago, Tearfund’s local partner started working with churches in the area. Through a series of Bible studies and workshops, they equipped Christians to be agents of positive change in their communities.

The Bible studies sparked something in Chouma. She helped coordinate a number of initiatives in the village, such as a savings group and chicken rearing. [She also] set aside a corner of her house to raise crickets, which are a popular snack in Cambodia. With help from her pastor, Chouma had soon established a profitable cricket farm. Seeing her success, other members of the community started visiting Chouma to learn about the business. Now, 25 families in the village are raising crickets.

But Chouma didn’t stop there. The road to her village had been damaged for a long time—a big problem in such a remote area. Chouma got her church members to pool their resources and buy some cement. The whole community is now united around the road repairs, which are being led by Chouma’s husband.

The village now see the Christians in an entirely different light, and Chouma is hoping that the church will continue to grow.

» Read full story.

Source: Christian Concern, July 3, 2019

In a landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal has upheld the rights of UK Christians to freely express their faith by handing victory to former student social worker Felix Ngole. Overturning a High Court decision to uphold Felix’s expulsion from Sheffield University, the crucial outcome represents a major development of the law. It is now clear that Christians have the legal right to express biblical views on social media and elsewhere in public without fear for their professional careers.

Felix was expelled in 2016 from his social work course at the University of Sheffield after quoting Bible verses on Facebook that were deemed critical of homosexuality.

In the court hearings, the University argued that Felix had “lacked insight” into the effect of his posts on social media. During his Fitness to Practice hearing, the University had told him that the expression of his Christian views was unacceptable and was effectively told either to renounce his faith or stay silent on pain of losing his career.

However, the Court of Appeal held that it was the university that was “lacking insight” in not understanding a Christian viewpoint.

» Read full story and watch Felix discuss what he did and the implications of his expulsion. Wonder how these cases will play out in the future?

» See also Christian Street Preacher Awarded £2,500 for Wrongful Arrest (The Christian Institute). Oluwole Ilesanmi was accused of hate speech for criticizing Islam while preaching outside a metro station in London and his Bible confiscated by police.

Source: INcontext International, July 11, 2019

A presidential committee tasked with rectifying the status of unlicensed Christian places of worship, chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, approved on Monday [1 July] legalizing 127 churches and service buildings that used to be operating without permits. This brings to 1,021 the total number of unlicensed Christian places of worship and service buildings that have been granted legal status so far [since 2016]

After 160 years of tight restrictions on building churches in Egypt, these legalizations are not only ground-breaking in legal terms but also revolutionary within a Middle Eastern Christian framework.

» Full story explains why strengthening Egyptian Christian communities is vital for reaching the region and how we can pray. Some of their data comes from an interesting, undated article Minority Report: Christian Persecution in Muslim Majority Countries (Fuller Studio).

» In Egypt Approves 127 Churches, International Christian Concern reports that the government has faced heavy criticism for moving so slowly in this matter, as thousands of churches await legalization. A related article from CBN calls the July 1 decision “sweeping approval” and “a promising start.”

» Also from East Africa, see Revival in the Western Nuba Mountains (Reaching Africa’s Unreached).

Source: God Reports, July 30, 2019

“Viktor” once smuggled illegal drugs from Tajikistan to the state where he lives in Central Asia.

“He seemed to have natural abilities to covertly network across communities,” according to a report by Open Doors. He was so good he was offered the opportunity to smuggle drugs across the Afghanistan border, which would expand his illicit operation into three countries.

But in 1996, Viktor was caught with nine pounds of heroin and sent to jail. Once incarcerated, he became depressed and suicidal. “I felt empty inside and did not want to live anymore.”

One day Viktor’s cellmate received a package from his mother that contained the Gospel of John. The cellmate offered to let Viktor read it. Viktor didn’t want any part of the book at first. But after 10 nights of poor sleep, he picked up the book and began to peruse it. It didn’t make any sense to him. “‘The Word was first and the Word was God’ made no sense to me… What did it mean? I put it away and stopped reading.”

But then something unusual happened. He had more sleepless nights. Thoroughly exhausted and despairing, he picked up the Bible once more and this time, he couldn’t stop reading.

“I read about eternal life,” Viktor told Open Doors. “Reading about eternal life caught my attention. Thinking about it, I really desired eternal life even more than I desired to be released from jail.”

The more he read the Bible the more he felt God’s presence. He didn’t know how to pray, but he called out to Jesus.

Today, he is the pastor of an underground church in Central Asia. He secretly stores Bibles and other Christian media useful for evangelism in his barn. Viktor marvels at the way God turned his life around. “Please do pray that my testimony and my life can bring many people to Christ, and pray also for my relatives,” he said.

» Read full story.