Author: MC

In this Issue: Stories from Niger, New York, and North Africa

• WORLD: Latest Statistics on Scripture Access
• NIGER: 10 People Killed, Churches Burned
• UNITED STATES: Discipling toward Faith
• NORTH AFRICA: The Little Things
• FRANCE: Tragedy Leaves Parisians Open to the Gospel

Dear readers,

Our last edition of News Briefs featured a piece from Justin Long analyzing the annual status of global mission for 2015. You might also want to take a look at a follow-up article which points out that 70% of the least evangelized people live in just 70 states and provinces.

This week, we point you to an analysis piece from Wycliffe Global Alliance on the status of worldwide Bible translation.

Readers may have already seen another piece of recent global analysis, Open Doors’ World Watch List. The annual list ranks the top 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution and reports that it wasn’t an increase in violence, primarily, that drove religious persecution to record levels in this last year but rather increased “cultural marginalization” of Christians. Take a look at the report itself, Open Doors’ press release, or Not Forgotten: The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Most Difficult to Be a Christian (Christianity Today).

Finally, we hope you’ll appreciate more personal stories from Niger, New York, North Africa, and France.

Blessings,

Marti Wade

Source: Wycliffe Global Alliance, November 2014

Today, millions more people around the world have access to God’s Word in the language they understand best. God is accomplishing his mission through his power and through partnership.

There are about 7000 languages in active use and at least one book of Scripture exists in almost 2,900 of these languages.

There is known active translation and/or linguistic development happening in 2,195 languages across more than 130 countries.

As of October 1, 2014, estimates suggest around 180 million people speaking at least 1,860 languages are understood to “likely need Bible translation to begin.”

» Read full article (available in six languages) and view related charts. As the authors helpfully point out, “Statistics are rarely as simple as the numbers imply. Please read the FAQ sheet before quoting these figures.”

» See also an animated slideshow based on this data (Wycliffe Canada) and 23 maps and charts on language (Vox.com).

Source: Mission Network News, January 20, 2015

Picture this: You go to church one Sunday. You worship God, hear an inspiring message, pray, talk to friends and then you leave, hoping to return the following week. Unfortunately, when you return, your church has been burned to the ground by protesters.

That’s exactly what happened to 61 churches in Niger over the weekend, says missionary Neal Childs who’s working there. “Last week, churches all across the nation went on without any idea that churches would be burned.”

Childs works with churches in the region. “Four of our churches were attacked. Three [they] actually got in and did great damage. Two of our pastors’ homes were also burned. A Bible school was also burned.”

Childs says the attacks happened simultaneously in Niamey. It appears police and other security officers were overwhelmed and couldn’t control it.

How has this affected the church? “The church is strong in Niger, and it’s growing. And we believe that as a result of the persecution, it’s going to grow even more. All this senseless attack will only be turned around for the growth of the church.”

» Read full story.

» Editor’s note: Reports from the BBC (and elsewhere) mention only 45 churches burned in Niger but also attacks on French-linked businesses. The violence is connected to anger at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, also felt in other former French colonies. See also Niger: Christians, Churches Targeted in Protests (Open Doors).

Source: Pioneers, January 13, 2015

We filled the house with joy and food, and then we packed in 30 international students for a holiday meal in our tiny New York City apartment. I watched the organized chaos and wondered if their first impression of a meal in an American home would forever be tainted with having to crawl under the table in order to get to the kitchen for refills?

For the past few months, these students have been participating in Bible studies. We, like so many others around the world, use a method that disciples people toward faith in Christ—before they have faith in Christ. They are in the process of discovering for themselves who God is, what the Bible says, and whether he is worth following?

Each week we ask them these simple questions:

What are you thankful for this week? (teaching them to thank God)
What problems do you have this week? (giving them opportunity to intercede for others)
What can this group help you with this week? (teaching them to serve one another)

Then, while studying scripture, we ask:

What does this passage teach me about God?
What does it teach me about man?
If this is true, how does this change the way I view God?
Is there anything I need to obey from what I just learned?
Who can I share this story with this week?

Each week they amaze me with their desire to learn from the Bible. They wrestle with hard truths and eagerly share what they learn with others. But they have not yet expressed faith in God.

» Read full story.

» See also Training without Speaking (Act Beyond).

Source: Operation Mobilization, January 16, 2015

Small successes are marked with big celebrations in a therapy center for handicapped children in a North African country.

“If a child shows a little movement somewhere, it means the brain is generating new cells,” explained “Alex,” the co-field leader. “It can take months to see one little improvement.”

Therapists who have been working with the children over time see the tiniest twitch and recognize the months of preparation behind the movement. But other people easily miss it.

Church planting in this country is the same. “We miss [the movement] with believers and with non-believers,” said Alex. “Someone sits with you. You have a conversation and [recognize] there’s something happening here. Then there’s nothing again for another two months. You can easily miss it and give up with this person, or you can slowly continue on, and God will bring the fruit.”

Some workers have been in the country for over 10 years without seeing a single person come to faith. Work is still in the pioneering stage with church planting efforts.

Here, planting churches is the difference between microwaving and marinating, according to Alex. “We from the West are so quick in everything. We come to the Arab world, and it’s different. Things seem to take forever… There are no short cuts, no quick results.”

» Read full story. See also another recent OM story, this one about ministering in the Arabian Peninsula: Marriage Changes Everything.

Source: Eurasia Stories, International Mission Board, January 15, 2015

Christian workers living among the Muslims of Paris were surprised during [last] week’s Bible distribution as non-Muslim Parisians were the ones to stop for a spiritual discussion.

“We usually have many (Muslims) who stop and want to engage us in conversation, but that was not the case on Saturday,” said [a Christian worker] ministering among the Muslim immigrants of Paris.

This new openness by native Parisians comes on the heels of [the January 7] terrorist tragedy targeting the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a secular satirical newspaper famous for its cartoon depictions of Muhammad, and a kosher supermarket. A total of 20 people, including the three gunmen, were killed in the attacks. Al Qaeda of Yemen (AQAP) has claimed responsibility.

France is a secular state that doesn’t care much for religion of any kind. Charlie Hebdo is a shining beacon of that secularism, using paper and ink to mock, scrutinize, and defame anything considered sacred.

The Parisians who stopped to receive a Bible were young adults, and this gives the workers hope. “We pray that an openness to the gospel will be the description of this upcoming generation.”

» Read full story. Consider joining a campaign launched before the Charlie Hebdo events, The Pray for France Challenge.

» You might appreciate another article from a related IMB source, 13 Things Mission-Minded People Do Differently that Set Them Apart.