- Lebanon: Seminary Pivots to Shelter Hundreds of the Displaced
- Pakistan: Christian Man a Victim of Fake Conversion to Islam
- Australia: Nami’s Legacy, an Illustrated Children’s Bible for Her People
- India: Persecution Escalates in Manipur
- East Africa: Media Ministry Spreads the Gospel in Hostile Territory
Author: MC
Lebanon: Seminary Pivots to Shelter Hundreds of the Displaced
Source: Mission Network News, November 29, 2024
Crises can happen in a moment, but they can also drag on beyond all expectations. Yet God has sustained his people in the Middle East to be his hands and feet during years of tumult.
Take Lebanon. It has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.
“Crisis, wars, disruptions [are] nothing new to this region. We’re used to difficulties and hardships,” says Loulwa Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.
“But at the same time, we are used to seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of his work.”
Today [ABTS] not only provides biblical education to around 240 students, but it also shelters a couple hundred displaced people.
“With every crisis in Lebanon, we are used to taking a step and saying, ‘Okay, how does God want us to respond now?’” Maalouf says.
Also from Mission Network News, see New Approaches Needed for Growing Mongolian Church.
Pakistan: Christian Man a Victim of Fake Conversion to Islam
Source: Morning Star News, November 28, 2024
A judge in Pakistan has overturned a verdict that denied a Christian’s effort to correct his name and religion on his national identity card as he was a victim of fake conversion to Islam, his attorney said.
[On November 16], Ahmad Saeed, additional district judge of Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District, Punjab Province, overturned the verdict of Pattoki Civil Judge Mian Usman Tariq, who had ruled that 24-year-old Sufyan Masih could not revert to Christianity after “converting” to Islam, said the Christian’s attorney, Sumera Shafique.
Masih had definitively affirmed his Christian faith and had reiterated that declaration in his statement to the district judge, she added. He told the judge that Asif Ali, the brick kiln owner where Masih worked, had registered his name in the NADRA record as Muhammad Sufyan and his religion as Islam in a bid to enslave him.
“Being an illiterate person, Masih failed to read the form filled by the data entry operator on the directives of his employer,” Shafique said, noting that Masih had put his thumbprint on the form in ignorance.
Also learn about a Baptist church in Uzbekistan that has been unable to use its building or meet publicly for worship since 2021. Other religious groups in the country are experiencing similar problems (Forum 18.)
Australia: Nami’s Legacy, an Illustrated Children’s Bible for Her People
Source: United Bible Society, November 25, 2024
Inspired by seeing the children’s Bibles available in English, Nami Kulyuru, a long-serving Pitjantjatjara Bible translator from Central Australia, had the vision to pass on the stories of the Bible to her descendants using traditional paintings.
After sharing her idea with friends and colleagues, Nami began the artistic work for this book in 2021. She was passionate about seeing the children in her community, including her children and grandchildren, have access to visual representations of Scriptures with which they could connect.
Following Nami’s passing in 2022, her family and community ensured that Nami’s legacy would live on through “Godaku Tjukurpa” (God’s Story)—the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible—produced by Bible Society Australia.
Read the full story and see some of the pictures.
Check out these additional stories about Bible translation and distribution:
- Believers in Oklahoma hope translating the Bible into Choctaw will fuel revival among the people and help preserve the language, which Choctaw people were forbidden to speak for decades (God Reports).
- You may have seen a story in the Wall Street Journal reporting that sales of Bibles are booming in the U.S. due to first-time buyers and new versions. The article credits the trend to rising anxiety, a search for hope, and, in some cases, focused marketing efforts.
- YouVersion’s Verse of the Year reflects what leaders say is a global trend of seeking peace through prayer.
India: Persecution Escalates in Manipur
Source: Global Partners, November 19, 2024
For the past year and a half, severe terrorism against Indian Christians has escalated in Manipur, India. The attacks [by] Hindu and non-tribal people—known as the Meiteis—[on] tribal and Christian people have significantly worsened over time.
[In mid-November], the Meitei terrorists attacked Christian communities in Jiribam, where the most important district headquarters of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of East India is located. There, terrorists burned down and vandalized 25 houses and five church buildings.
By the grace of God, no members were injured, as the houses had been deserted in time. Now the members are displaced, staying in various places, including relief camps.
In addition to this loss, over the past week, ten young Christian village volunteers were brutally killed for guarding one of the villages with guns, [and]in a quiet village within the Jiribam district, a devoted teacher and loving mother was attacked and burned to death [allegedly by Meiteis]. As she was well-known for her dedication to nurturing children in the village, her loss has left her village heartbroken.
Read the full story and pray for peace in this region.
From neighboring Myanmar, see Decades of Abuse Leave Rohingya and Myanmar Searching for Hope, which reports that a church bombing recently killed nine people near the border with China, seven of them children (Mission Network News).
East Africa: Media Ministry Spreads the Gospel in Hostile Territory
Source: Pioneers-USA, December 2, 2024
After experiencing trauma, Asha turned to drugs. But it was when she turned to Jesus that her mom called the police.
In a sensitive part of East Africa, the gospel faces much opposition from people loyal to the majority religion. Yet, some are receptive to the gospel.
A church-planting team began looking for people God was drawing to himself. One day, they connected with an 18-year-old girl named Asha and started sharing with her from Scripture. As Jesus filled her heart, she committed to follow him and was baptized.
Emboldened, Asha began sharing stories about Jesus on social media. But her mother was horrified and contacted the police. Asha spent the next 18 months in prison.
Can you imagine living in a place where your own mother would turn you over like that? Trust is scarce in this hostile environment, and after what happened to Asha, new believers are learning wiser ways to share their faith. Media strategies can help spread the gospel in places where unrest and suspicion make other ministries nearly impossible.
Another story from Pioneers starts with a believer in South Asia who didn’t think her family could ever follow Jesus—especially her dad, who had done puja (a worship ceremony) to Krishna every day since he was six years old. Hear what changed his mind (Relentless Pursuit Podcast).
New Life for a Dying Tribe and Other Stories of Hope
Global: Making a Difference in Media
Source: Various
Do you tend to see “the media” as a bad influence to be warded off? Or is media a tool to embrace for good? Some of both? Either way, a good way to respond is by praying for members of the media.
October 27 was a Global Day of Prayer for the Media. More than 2,000 people from more than 25 countries joined a live-streamed prayer marathon, thousands more visited a website about the event, and many Christians working in media roles shared their stories. Check out this excellent 20-minute video with scripture-inspired prayers for the media. Maybe you could use it to pray for the Missions Catalyst team.
Check out Create International’s Gospel Gadget Podcast, particularly episode 82, Media That Is Transforming Nations. Also from Create, read A Hidden Legacy: How a Christian Thangka Sparked a Tibetan Movement.
Bangladesh: A Beaten and Broken Church Bravely Grows Back
Source: Christian Freedom International, November 7, 2024
Three years ago, a church of new believers discovered the cost of following Christ. They were beaten. Their church [was] damaged. Their adversaries were their neighbors [militant Buddhists].
“They were trying to stop people from coming to our Savior Lord Jesus Christ,” said Chakma. He is a leader in this small church in an isolated forest.
The good news is that God’s Church is growing even in far-flung and hostile places. But when you consider what these Christians are enduring, it is extraordinary that they remain steadfast in their faith. One trait of Christianity is that persecution grows the church in unexpected ways.
Their bruises are a testimony of their faith in God. Their church, [now] rebuilt, is a testimony of God’s church caring for one another.
We love stories about life coming back on a big scale or small. From the other side of the world, check out Revival Grips Brazil’s Amazon, in which a pastor reports, “In the first six months of this year, we baptized 14,500 people. Our goal for this year is to baptize over 30,000 people” (CBN).
Israel: Arab Pastor Helps Hurting Jews and Muslims in Nazareth
Source: Joseph Project International, November 13, 2024
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” one of Jesus’ disciples asked, according to the Gospel of John. Today, an avalanche of “good”—in the form of humanitarian aid—is coming out of Nazareth, the historic Israeli city where, the Bible says, Jesus grew up as a boy.
What makes this humanitarian aid effort truly extraordinary is that it’s being led by an Israeli Arab pastor and his congregation, determined to help not only needy Arab families but also Jewish families struggling to put food on the table.
Since Bible times, there’s been animosity and distrust between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East—a reality that Saleem Shalash, pastor of Home of Jesus the King Church in Nazareth, knows only too well from firsthand experience.
“It’s not easy,” said the father-of-two, who speaks both Hebrew and Arabic. “As Israeli Arab Christians, we’re in the middle, like a piece of cheese between two slices of bread.”
But that does not stop Pastor Shalash and his congregation [from] delivering aid packages to more than 150 families every month, including Arabs, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. They run the largest Israeli-Arab aid center in Israel, supported by Joseph Project International, the largest importer of humanitarian aid into Israel.
“The good news is that this piece of cheese gives the taste to the bread,” Pastor Shalash said. “God put us here in this special place, Nazareth, to serve all people and be peacemakers.”
Read the full story and watch a short video clip from Pastor Shalash.