Author: MC
Muslim World: Stolen from Her Family. Guided by God.
Source: Frontiers USA, December 3, 2025
I knew as soon as my husband’s phone rang that something was wrong. We never received calls so late at night. “Who is it?” I asked.
Henry read from his screen. “Hakim.”
It took me a moment to place the name. Hakim was a Muslim-background believer my husband had befriended in a previous host country. But we’d moved away years ago. “Have you kept in touch?”
Henry shook his head as he answered. “Hello?”
Though his voice was muffled, I heard Hakim apologize for calling at such a late hour. “I need help. And when I prayed, your family came to mind.”
Hong Kong: Deadly Fire Rips Through Seven Apartment Buildings
Source: Back to Jerusalem, November 29, 2025
Many of you will have seen the headlines about the terrible fire that destroyed seven apartment buildings in Hong Kong, each with over 30 floors. Over 4,000 people have lost their homes. For a city with, generally speaking, good safety standards and many regulations, a disaster on this scale is unheard of. It is the largest fire in 80 years. [Editor’s note: the death toll has surpassed 150 at this writing].
Sue, a believer and employee of an insurance company in Hong Kong, asks us to pray. She contacted the help centers nearby but was told that people are bringing in plenty of supplies and do not need any more at this time. But the emotional and spiritual need is massive. Sue’s insurance company has many Christian employees, and they are going to the affected neighborhood to pray for and with people. People need comfort and hope.
They asked us to pray that good will brought out of this disaster and people will turn to God.
These were buildings where a large percentage of the residents were senior citizens, many of whom had little altars for idols in their homes. With their idols burnt, may they turn to the God who is alive and can truly help them.
For more about the fire and how Christians are responding, read Hong Kong Church Rallies After 60 Congregants Lose Homes in Deadly Fire (Christianity Today).
See also When God Sent Rain, a long but interesting story about a ministry team in another part of East Asia that God led to a drought-stricken region where they planted trees, restored a well, prayed for rain and pointed many people to the Lord (Beyond).
Iran: Water Shortage Pushes New Strategies and Spiritual Questions
Source: Mission Network News, November 21, 2025
Drought-stricken Iran added cloud-seeding to its efforts in late November, as a years-long water crisis comes to a head.
But there’s no quick fix to the drought, even if rainfall surges. For example, rain did come over the weekend in the west and northwest of Iran—and it led to damaging floods.
“This drought is happening at the same time as years of bad management in the old infrastructure, and climate change. So, recovery will take a long time,” says Edwin Keshish Abnous with Heart4Iran.
Iranians are already struggling with daily life needs, especially in Tehran. “The general feeling is that life is getting more and more fragile,” says Abnous.
“Water shortages have also an effect on health, sanitation, and food supply, which are all problems that hit the poor hardest. But despite that, we still see amazing bravery and spiritual hunger in Iranians who are looking for hope in the middle of a crisis.”
Heart4Iran’s call center team sees God at work in even these crippling challenges.
“As things get worse, our team is getting ready to answer more questions about fear, provision, and God’s faithfulness. Every time there is hardship and challenges in the land, the spiritual curiosity goes up.”
Read the full story with prayer points.
Read more about the droughts and lift up the people who are suffering in Pray for Iran (INcontext International).
Middle East: Smuggled Bibles Are Changing Lives
Source: Global Christian Relief, November 18, 2025
The two men were risking it all, crossing borders to sneak illegal materials across hostile regions in the Middle East. They knew they could be fined, thrown in prison, even tortured—or worse. Yet, despite the dangers they took on, they didn’t even believe the words in the books they were smuggling.
One day, as they stopped to rest, the men grew curious about the books they carried. As they flipped through copies of the New Testament, their curiosity only grew. They approached the man who coordinated the smuggling operation, and he told them about the gospel.
Soon, these men decided to become followers of Jesus and were baptized. The words they had been risking their lives for ended up changing their lives forever.
Read the full story. It includes the related video, Is This the Most Dangerous Job in the Christian World? (also below; 3.5 minutes).
Bible smuggling may be less common with digital and audio Scripture access on the rise. But have you heard of the pill-sized hologram Bible? Check it out (Back to Jerusalem).
May stories about the risks people take to access or give others access to Scripture encourage those of us with easy access and many copies, tools, and translations to treasure the Bible more.
Australia: Diaspora on the Doorstep
Source: Lausanne, September 19, 2025
When people move to a new country, they face unknown new streets, languages, and loneliness. Yet in these vulnerable moments, God works powerfully. In Australia, everyday believers are reaching out to diaspora communities—like Elena supporting international students, Pastor Tay serving seafarers, and Amanda walking alongside migrants in Sydney—opening extraordinary doors for the gospel through ordinary acts of kindness.
Elena is a teacher by trade and has her own business, which she started 10 years ago. While working, she noticed the challenges international students face when they arrive in Australia. Most of them seek casual or part-time jobs, but the hurdles of documentation, resume writing, cover letters, and interview preparation often leave them discouraged and alone.
Seeing this, Elena had a vision in 2015 to help these students find their footing. She created four tailored programs and even secured a contract with the South Australian government to provide educational support for job seekers. Around 8,000 students have benefited from her work. Remarkably, 90% of these students came from countries where the gospel is restricted or Christians are a tiny minority.
Read the article. Each of the three stories it tells includes a short video.
For another story about the power of welcome, watch a video about the refugee ministry of Sugar Land Baptist Church outside of Houston, Texas (World Relief).
Four Articles, Two Podcasts, Prayer Resources and More for You
For Kids and Families: The Great Gathering Prayer Cards
Source: Via
Do you remember the THUMB prayer cards? They featured great pictures of unreached people from the major religious blocs and described them in terms kids could understand and were printed in full color on sturdy card stock. And now they’re back!
This second edition has a fresh design and includes 25 unreached people groups, carefully chosen to highlight the breadth and beauty of God’s world. One extra card celebrates three people groups from the first edition who are now reached—a powerful reminder that prayer makes a difference.
Each card can help your family or the kids in your life:
- Learn about a people group’s culture and beliefs
- See their faces and find their home on a map
- Pray for God’s love to reach them
These cards make prayer simple, hands-on, and meaningful for all ages. Display them on your fridge, use them during family time, or try one of the fun activity ideas included with the cards.
Learn more or pre-order. I don’t see a release date but their ads say, “Pre-order for Christmas delivery,” so act fast to get them in time to put in someone’s stocking.
Also from Via, read Bedtime Prayers for the Nations: How to Help Your Children Care About God’s Global Mission or see an oldie but goodie, Advent Prayers for the Nations (with a prayer garland you can make for your Christmas tree).
Resource Kit: Ramadan Prayer Night Experience
Source: Crescent Project
As someone with a heart for the nations, you know that prayer is the starting point of every movement of God. That’s why Crescent Project created a new resource called the Ramadan Prayer Night Experience—a free, ready-to-use event kit designed to help churches gather for prayer for Muslims during Ramadan (February 17 to March 18, 2026).
This resource includes a 60-minute video with testimony, teaching, and guided prayer topics, along with a Leader’s Guide and promotional materials. The goal isn’t just to raise up prayer—but to stir hearts for the Muslim world, helping cultivate deeper compassion, awareness, and vision for the unreached. It can be used in a sanctuary with 100 or in a living room with 10—whatever you need for your community of faith.
“We would love to see churches and champions hosting a Ramadan Prayer Night in February, using it as a spark to inspire new workers, deepen engagement, and awaken mission vision in their congregations,” they write.
Learn more and download the resource (registration required).
Also from Crescent Project, in case you missed it, see How to Find Unreached People Groups in Your City with Google Maps.
See also Top Global Challenges Christians Should Pray for (INcontext International) which we included in last week’s News Briefs. It would also make a good guide for prayer with your church or group.
Articles: Four That Are Important for Mission Mobilizers
Sources: Various
Five Insights from a Study on Cheering: Strategies to Mobilize More Missionaries (Dave Jacob)
In 2022, three sport psychologists interviewed runners to discover what kind of cheering helped them and what type of cheering didn’t. They discovered the most helpful type of cheering was either instructional or motivational. Cheering that was unhelpful included criticisms and shouts to dig deeper when the runner already felt that they were giving all they had.
Based on their research, here’s their advice for how to best cheer for someone running in a race, and it just might work for those we are mobilizing as well.
Unlocking New Missionary Potential: Analyzing Key Motivations and Barriers (Launch Survey)
What truly drives or derails the next generation of aspiring missionary candidates? How can North American churches and mission agencies reverse declining missions involvement and recruit more laborers for the remaining harvest? How do the needs of the emerging generation differ from generations before, and how can we effectively pass the torch to the next generation of gospel workers?
You’ll have to provide your email to access related resources; they have some new ones.
Understand Your Missionary’s Support: Correcting 10 Misconceptions (Catalyst Services)
“What you don’t know won’t hurt you!” This familiar adage does not apply to your church’s understanding of missionary financial support packages. Ignorance or misunderstanding of important factors related to missionary funds definitely can hurt your missionary, the people they minister to, and your church.
(I was so encouraged when my sending church practiced the advice in #8, letting me know as soon as I accepted my first full-time mission role that they’d pick up 20% of my support!)
More Accurate People Group Data: Small People Group Policy (Joshua Project)
Why did the people group count drop from 17,700 to 16,300? Did 1,400 people groups just disappear? No, Joshua Project refined how they count to make the data more practical for actual ministry work.
They now focus the main list on groups you can realistically identify and reach. The groups being moved to the separate small peoples category are tiny diaspora populations that are nearly impossible to locate or engage directly.
If you use JPL figures in your mobilization efforts, consider updating those to be consistent.