Category: News Briefs

Source: Open Doors, November 20, 2018

Earlier this year, more than 30 Iranian ex-prisoners jailed for their faith recently participated in a trauma care training in Turkey [and shared] how God has used this training to impact them both personally and in their current ministries.

Wahid now pastors a church of 200 in Turkey. For him, the training allowed him to be transparent with believers who understood firsthand what he has gone through.

“As a former Iranian prisoner, I have often felt alone and thought nobody cared about me. …You showed me I’m not alone. In daily life, I find it difficult to talk about my time in prison; it’s a horrible story. And, as a leader, it’s a big temptation to pretend you are stronger than you actually are. To heal from my experience is a painful process. Some wounds are healed; others not yet. But, with the experiences and teaching at the training event, I have become stronger as a leader.”

Former house church leader Mojtaba is now counseling fellow Persian-speaking believers in Turkey, which initially triggered difficult memories. The trauma care training helped him understand what he needed to do to stay physically and spiritually healthy and able to counsel others.

“I learned how to create a safe space for myself. While I am counseling people, [I sometimes get caught up in] their problems. Now, I have learned to keep a certain distance. In the long run, this will mean I can do more for them. Creating this safe space has helped me stay healthy in the last few months while I have continued counseling, and during which time there was also conflict in my church. Despite the many emotions, I stayed physically and mentally healthy. I don’t get dizzy anymore.

“Sharing about my prison time also reminded me about the lesson God taught me there: ‘Be silent, I will be close to you.’ I try to apply that lesson to my life again. I don’t want to speak up anymore just to receive recognition from other people. I don’t want others to see me as an important person because I spend time in prison for my faith. I am no more than any other Christian: I need God just as all of us do. And I need him now too. So I try to focus on him first.”

» Read full story.

Source: Justin Long, November 29, 2018

The news of John Chau’s death while attempting to bring the gospel to a very remote, hostile, restricted-access region hit the mainstream news some days ago. Since then, there’s been quite a lot of chatter about it, with lots of people trying to make sense of it.

I am trying to hold myself back. My natural inclination is to write and tweet and talk, but I am reminding myself of this: we don’t know the whole story. And we may never know it.

We, as people, want to “judge”: either in the best or worst sense of the word. Our brains want to categorize, we want to put things in boxes, because that’s how we make sense of it, how we understand it.

We could classify Chau as a martyr—a person who died, almost gloriously, for the sake of the cause. Similarities to Elliot are obvious.

We could classify Chau as a failure—a person who rushed headstrong into the situation without adequate training or preparation or effective strategy.

It would be easy to do either. But we don’t know, and we don’t have enough data to know.

Let’s take a different example. What if someone trained and planned to be a Bible translator in, say, Africa. They prepared for years. They were expecting to spend decades on the field, working on learning language, translating Scriptures, etc. They arrive on the field, excited–and were killed two days later in a freak accident.

Knowing these additional details—the length of preparation, the length of time they planned to stay there, the scope of the work they envisioned, the nature of their death—how does this change our opinion of what happened? Were they martyrs? Were they failures? Or is this just a tragedy—a life cut short?

What if they were killed in a robbery gone wrong? Are they martyrs? What if you knew that in the midst of the robbery they were witnessing as best they could to the robbers? Would they then be martyrs, because they died in a situation of witness?

What if they were assassinated by radicals bent on killing Christian translators in the area? What if they knew the danger and yet went there any way, and were killed? Were they foolish?

There are many details we don’t know, and likely never will this side of heaven.

» Read full story as well as Missionary Martyrdom Isn’t Unusual.

» Justin also suggests: John Chau, Missions, and Fools (Ed Stetzer, Christianity Today) and Slain Missionary Prepared More Than We Thought, But Are Missionaries Still Fools? (Ed Stetzer, this time for the Washington Post), All Nations Clears Up Some False Assumptions about Chau’s Missionary Work (Denny Burk) and an interview with Dr. Scott James on infectuous diseases and isolated peoples (J.D. Payne, Strike the Match).

Source: World Venture, November 13, 2018

It took coming to Africa to learn how much busyness has consumed my life. I live in a culture where people work hard, but once they finish, they rest. They spend time with friends. It is a social culture. Many people have no problem sitting around doing nothing when it is not their turn to work. I came with no clear schedule, but with this addiction of always doing something. I started with language learning.

So, if I left my house at 8 am and was interacting with people until about 8 pm I felt satisfied as if I am actually doing the work people sent me here to do. If I got home at 6 pm, there wasn’t quite that much satisfaction. This last year, I lived with girls so my “work” wasn’t just in town, but it was at home—a 24/7 job.

I had this mindset that there are churches and people who have sent me over here to do ministry [and] I needed to represent them well. They have given me money, are praying for me, and if I am sitting at home during the day, I am betraying them. So I did crazy things [to] fill up my schedule.

Most days, I would only be living off of five or six hours of sleep. It is really hot here, and the culture and language can be exhausting. I am not saying this to show you how motivated I am or how much work I am doing. I am telling you this because it is a big problem and not a good thing.

This summer God spoke to me, and asked me why I felt this need to be busy. Why do I need to be going all the time? I am not going to save the world. I can’t even save one person. Jesus is the Savior, not me.

» Read full story and pray for anyone you know who could have written an article like this. Could even be someone you see in the mirror.

In this edition:

1. CENTRAL ASIA: A Documentary
2. MIDDLE EAST: Equipping Arabs to Reach the Least-Reached
3. NIGERIA: Christian Youths Protect Muslims in Violence
4. CAMBODIA: 21 Graduate from Bible Program
5. PAKISTAN: Asia Bibi Acquitted, Now Released

Source: Release International, September 6, 2018

Less than 30 years since the collapse of the USSR, Christians in Central Asia are being driven underground once more. In this 14-minute documentary film, host Tom Bradley visits Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine to interview local leaders and learn more.

» For more about the underground church, read The Secret and Surprising Ways Christians Worship in North Korea (Open Doors).

Source: Operation Mobilization, October 18, 2018

Over the last few years, members of the OM [field leaders saw] a growing need to involve more Arab believers on international teams as local churches began growing and expanding both their vision and their capacity to send missionaries.

Three Syrian Muslim-background believers completed the first training cycle, while seven Egyptian Christian-background believers entered the second round.

The speed at which the local interns can start making an impact is “quite startling,” [OM field leader] Jeremy said. “The guys in the internship school, within a month, had opened the Bible 21 times [on house visits]. As a foreigner, I was just happy to be able to buy fruit after a month [of studying Arabic].”

Hamad and Nidal were two of the first three Arabs to complete the three-month training module. Hamad had been looking for an opportunity to serve God using the gift of evangelism. Nidal wanted to begin ministry in a place where nothing was happening.

The training, they said, was personal and practical. They spent time learning how to facilitate Discover Bible Studies (DBS) on visits. They also practiced it themselves. “We did DBS in the morning together, so first we applied the Bible to our own lives and developed ourselves before we expected other people to accept it,” Hamad explained.

Answered prayers on visits were a stand-out hallmark of Nidal’s time in the training. [In] one family he got to know, no one [was employed] the first time he visited. He prayed for them. The second visit, everyone had jobs. Another time, the family lost their UN paperwork, which allowed them to live in the country as refugees. Nidal prayed again. Four days later, the family phoned him and announced the papers had been found.

» Read more.

» You might also want to check out a recent podcast episode on Church Planting in Iraq (The Missions Podcast, ABWE International). Well worth the listen.

Source: Global Christian News, October 22, 2018

Christian youths have stood to protect Muslims traders from being lynched by some Christian groups as violence has spread in Kaduna state, central Nigeria as a result of the death of about 84 people in Kasuwan Magani.

An eyewitness, Choko Nkut, said some of the youths “stopped (others) from lynching the Muslim traders who sell fruits at the junction. They did not just stop there, they stood to protect the properties of the Muslims until security agents arrived and the traders were handed over to the (security agents) for safety.” Nkut said, “I wish we all become our brother’s keepers.”

» Read full story.

» Violence in neighboring Cameroon is rooted in tensions between the country’s French and English speakers. A week ago a US missionary and father of eight was killed shortly after arriving in country. This week more than 70 students in a church-based boarding school were kidnapped and have just been released.

Source: Far East Broadcasting Company, October 22, 2018

Cambodia’s Voice of Love team shared that 21 students successfully graduated from their Bible class. Students in the program studied for three months via speaker boxes and lessons on the Old and New Testaments and Galatians.

In addition to celebrating their graduates, the Voice of Love team also took time to visit [more than] 190 listeners who shared with them about what they have learned through FEBC’s radio programs. Many mentioned the “Comfort at Night” program, which discusses being a peacemaker in your family and encourages people to live according to Christ’s Word.

Please continue to pray that God would work out his wonderful plan to use these people for his glory, spreading the gospel to other villages.

» Read more.

» Also from Cambodia, Worth the Wait describes a theological education initiative based on oral learning methods, obedience-based assessments, and practical ministerial and Bible study skills (Global Partners).

Sources: Various

It’s been a week since Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was cleared of blasphemy charges after eight years in prison.

Today news sources report she has been released from jail and transported to Islamabad. Widespread threats and protests may keep her from leaving the country, though we are seeing contradictory reports. Her lawyer has been evacuated to the Netherlands and her husband has appealed to the UK and US for asylum for the family.

Let’s keep praying not only for this woman and her family but for the people of Pakistan, where tensions are high.

» See also, from neighboring India, Outbreak of Violence against Christians in Assam Sparks Concern (Christian Headlines).

A Hindu worshiper lights candles to gain blessing from Hindu gods at a temple in Nepal (International Mission Board). See IMB story below.

1. USA: Missions Versus Halloween Pet Costumes
2. WORLD: I’m a Hindu, and This Is What I Believed
3. ALGERIA: Church Growth Despite Adversity
4. INDONESIA: Peace Under Fire
5. NORTH KOREA: A Radical, Dangerous Life