Category: News Briefs

Source: Lausanne Movement, July 2016

The 2016 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG2016) will be held August 3-10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Occurring once a generation, this is the third such gathering that the Lausanne Movement has convened. Previous gatherings held were in Singapore in 1987 and Malaysia in 2006 which mobilized and connected emerging evangelical influencers for global mission. They also led to many lifelong friendships and ministry partnerships.

YLG2016 is a gathering of 1,000 younger leaders from over 160 countries who will connect, pray, and discern together God’s leading of their generation for his global mission.

The Lausanne Movement is eager to connect evangelical influencers across all generations to work together towards the vision of the gospel for every person, an evangelical church for every people, Christ-like leaders for every church, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society.

» Read full story. (I am way beyond “young,” but following these leaders on Twitter blesses me! Love the passion.)

Source: Women Without Borders, July 20, 2016

Thousands of West African girls as young as four years old are still being offered to the gods, as atonement for some offense committed by a relative. Trokosi, which literally means “slave wives of the gods,” are part of a 300-year tradition in the Upper Volta region that encompasses Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Until the 18th century, fetish priests accepted livestock as offerings by families who were fearful of retribution by the gods. But then the priests decided a young virgin would be more useful for domestic and sexual purposes.

A slave’s term of service is supposed to last from three to five years, depending on the nature of the sin that is being atoned for. However, most families of trokosi cannot afford the very high redemption price required to buy their daughters back. They also live in real fear of the gods’ displeasure. If a priest dies, the woman becomes the property of his successor. But if the girl dies without her family redeeming her, they must replace her with another virgin. They must also replace her if she runs away. The cycle can continue for generations.

Through the efforts of non-government organizations many shrines have now stopped the practice of trokosi and over 3,000 women have been freed and rehabilitated. In 1998 Ghana passed a law banning the practice. However, thousands of girls still remain in slavery—some some estimate up to 35,000 in the four countries.

» Read full story.

» See also Afghanistan: Sold for a Herd of Cows (Institute for War and Peace Reporting).

Source: Mohabat News, July 18, 2016

Iranian Intelligence Police arrested three Christians from Baku, Azerbaijan, during their visit to a house church in Tehran. During their attack, they arrested one of the Iranian members of the house church as well.

Reports obtained by Mohabat News indicate that three Azeri Christians were arrested on June 24, 2016, during their visit to Tehran, Iran’s capital. These believers entered Iran as tourists to visit their fellow Christian brothers and sisters. The Iranian Intelligence Police raided a residential house in the outskirts of Tehran where they were visiting and arrested them all, along with one of the Iranian believers. They were immediately transferred to an unknown location.

Initial reports indicate that the three Azeri Christians arrested are members of “Word of Life” church in Baku, Azerbaijan, who had been invited to Tehran by a group of Iranian believers to visit their house church.

The wives of these Azeri Christian men have not been able to contact them since their arrest. Only one of the three men has been allowed to make two very short phone calls to his wife in Azerbaijan, during which he said, “All three of us are in good health and are held together in one place.”

» See full story and an additional report from Middle East Concern.

» You might also read The Story of Iran’s Church in Two Sentences (The Gospel Coalition) and another story from Mohabat news about the Catholic priest recently killed by ISIS militants and the French Muslims who attended his funeral mass to show solidarity. Both are inspiring.

In this issue: Sharing donuts in Japan’s city of peace

1. JAPAN: Of Donuts and Atom Bombs
2. NORTHEAST AFRICA: Community Garden for the Zaila
3. MALI: Kidnapped Swiss Missionary Still Alive
4. CAMEROON: 5,000 Kapsiki Speakers Brave Danger to Welcome Bible
5. IRAN: A Media Mogul Comes to Christ

Greetings,

I’ve seen sports, music, mountain climbing, and even surfing ministries that are designed to open doors for the gospel. Have we neglected the ministry of food? Nothing connects people like food!

Granted, it can also be divisive. Half of my household is now vegan, some of us have high blood sugar, and—shortly after buying 17 chickens—I discovered I have high cholesterol. So I’m a food pusher and a food cop, pushing eggs on my vegan kids while scolding my husband and mother-in-law for eating foods too high on the glycemic index.

My family’s spats are nothing compared to the war over hummus (see Give Chickpeas a Chance: Why Hummus Unites, and Divides, The Mideast), worse yet, the one over beef eating in North India. Perhaps our enemy knows the power of shared food?

I’m reading Tim Chester’s book A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table and watching Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Bread Making to mobilize myself and my tribe for welcoming international students. For additional inspiration and ideas about reaching international students, check out the latest edition of Mission Frontiers.

Whether you make your own healthy delights at home, help plant a community garden, or hang out with seekers in a donut shop in Japan (see stories below), may God bless your efforts to invite people to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” After all, he is the Bread of Life!

Pat

Source: Pioneers USA, June 16, 2016

A ministry team is trying to introduce the people of Hiroshima to an everlasting source of peace, one donut at a time.

» Watch video.

Source: Frontiers USA, June 16, 2016

In a remote corner of Northeast Africa live the Zaila people. They are living versions of the desert land where they reside—hard, austere, and seemingly impenetrable. For generations, these staunch Muslims have had no one reaching them with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

John and Rachel Miller had never heard of the Zaila when they first responded to God’s call to reach the nations for his glory.

But the Millers had heard of unengaged people groups—those who have no churches, no believers, and no messengers of the Kingdom trying to share the Gospel with them. They were convinced that even the most remote communities need a chance to hear about Jesus. John and Rachel decided they could be part of the solution and go to the Muslim world where the need for the Gospel is greatest.

As John and Rachel worked to recruit their team, they moved to a capital city in the region. They began looking for open doors to serve further afield where they could live among an unengaged people. At that time, the Zaila were one of Northeast Africa’s largest unengaged Muslim people groups. As they started meeting Zailas living in the capital, God stirred their hearts for this lost people.

Then they met a chief from Adaye, a remote Zaila village.

“Our people are hungry,” the chief told John, an agriculturalist, “and we don’t have a produce market in our town. Would you help us start a garden for the village?”

» See full story with pictures.

» You might also be interested in A Tale of Two Farmers, which brings together a man who grew up helping with the wheat harvest in Kansas and Oklahoma and a very different kind of farmer in Japan (SEND International).

Source: World Watch Monitor, June 17, 2016

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has released a video, purporting to show that a Swiss nun kidnapped in Mali in January is alive and in good health.

The three-minute video, posted on social media [on 16 June], shows a veiled Beatrice Stockly speaking in French, saying that she has been detained for 130 days but is in good health and has been treated well, although it has been very hot. She concludes by thanking her family and the Swiss government for all their efforts to secure her release.

» Read full story, which includes links to previous coverage, and see also a report from the International Business Times which refers to Stockly “the last Westerner living in Timbuktu.”

Source: United Bible Societies, July 11, 2016

Usually, large gatherings are banned in Cameroon’s Far North region, due to high security risks—Boko Haram has carried out a number of deadly attacks there. But on June 4, the iconic mountains near Mogodé—a town very close to the Nigerian border—witnessed an unprecedented crowd of 5,000 Kapsiki people celebrating the launch of the first Bible in their language.

Special authorization was granted to hold the gathering, and 250 soldiers were provided for protection by the general in charge of the region’s armed forces.

The day before the launch, the town organized a grand parade to welcome the new Bibles as special guests of honor as they arrived in the back of a military truck. In fact, the convoy carrying the new Bibles, Bible Society staff, and soldiers received a rapturous welcome in every Kapsiki village that it passed during its 120-kilometer journey from the Bible Society’s offices in Maroua to Mogodé.

As the truck pulled up outside the Catholic Church, a crowd of joyful Kapsiki Christians surrounded it. Their singing and dancing continued late into the night.

» See full story with pictures. Pray for the Kapsiki and their neighbors. (I was encouraged to read that one of the first things the Kapsiki did was take up a collection was taken to help other people in Cameroon who do not yet have the Bible in their language.)

Source: Iran Alive Ministries, July 1, 2016

The largest network of secular satellite channels in Iran is owned by a wealthy family that lives outside Iran. This network consists of over eighteen 24/7 channels that cover every interest from movies to sports and from channels dedicated to children to MTV-like music. Two years ago, we started praying for the salvation of this family. Last summer, Soleiman and his wife Sayeh, co-owners of this network, accepted Christ and contacted us. Sayeh explains:

“Having experienced the power of God’s transformation in our lives and being inspired by Pastor Hormoz [of Iran Alive Ministries], my husband and I decided to start a new Christian television station. We had the finances; we had the know-how.

“But as we prayed about starting this Christian TV station, God spoke to my heart: ‘Sayeh, do you want to glorify yourself or me? If you are looking to glorify me, you don’t need to start a new station. I already have one: Iran Alive (Network 7). I want you to work with my network.’”

» Read full story and pray for the continued transformation of Iranian leaders and others who hear the gospel.

» See also another story from this part of the world which describes the recent baptism and protection of 18 former Muslims (Bibles for Mideast, via GodReports).

Missions Catalyst News Briefs 7.6.16

1. BRAZIL: Refugee Olympic Team, Symbol of Triumph and Belonging
2. RUSSIA: Law Would Curtail Evangelism
3. NEPAL: Influential Buddhist Monk Receives Jesus
4. CAMBODIA: Journey of a New Testament Begins with Vietnam War Refugees

This Prayercast video asks, “Does God love even them?” Join us in praying for Islamic State and those they target or endanger.

Dear Readers,

May the recent suicide attacks in Orlando, Bangladesh, Baghdad, and Saudi Arabia serve as a call to press in on praying for our enemies and those they target. At least 250 people were killed in the July 3 attack on Baghdad; drone images capture the devastation (CNN). Pray also for those going to dangerous places to love and serve those in some of the places of greatest need. A team serving in Fallujah barely escaped harm when a coalition airstrike hit (Preemptive Love Coalition).

Prayercast reminds us, “Despite these gruesome realities, ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Ephesians 6:12). This is a spiritual battle against our adversary, the devil, who ‘prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8).

“We hate the darkness and underlying evil, and we grieve the resulting bloodshed and pain. Yet Jesus still says, ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44). God’s love reaches not only those suffering under this oppression, but it reaches even into the ranks of Islamic State. Just as God transformed Saul into Paul through an encounter with Jesus, so can he transform today’s persecutors into tomorrow’s evangelists. And he is doing just that.”

Pray for the Islamic State using Prayercast’s short, powerful video (contains graphic images). See also In Harm’s Way: Reflections on Missionaries and Risk (Evangelical Missions Quarterly).

Soberly,
Pat