Category: News Briefs

Source: CBN News, via Joel News International, February 15, 2016

It’s Thursday evening in Fujian Province, southeast China. Scores of men and women are dancing, waving flags, blowing shofars, singing and worshiping God. You might think these images come from a charismatic service in America or Africa. But they’re not. This is communist China. And what is remarkable about this scene is that it’s happening in an officially government-controlled congregation known as Three-Self Church.

“Dramatic changes are happening,” evangelist Duan Huila told CBN News. “God is moving in a powerful way inside these Three-Self Churches.” He and his wife have witnessed this move first-hand. Both are evangelists and have for several years crisscrossed the Chinese countryside documenting the Holy Spirit’s move among Three-Self Churches. “The most amazing thing is that the Lord is raising up God-loving people in these churches—so many brothers and sisters who love God deeply and want to serve him,” Duan said.

» Read full story and watch related video from CBN. See also a 2014 Joel News story on the paradox of the rapid spread of Christianity in China and consider subscribing to Joel News for more stories about the advance of God’s kingdom.

» Also read Leave China, Study in America, Find Jesus (Foreign Policy).

Source: OMF Blog, February 2016

Hoa came to know Christ at age 17. Like many of her peers, she grew up in a Buddhist family. When school friends invited her to church, she met Christ and gave her life to the Lord. She eventually moved to Ho Chi Minh City to work in business.

Over time, however, Hoa’s fervor for the Lord diminished. She married a non-Christian man and was ridiculed by her mother-in-law who worshiped ancestors and wanted Hoa to do the same. After a bout of severe illness in her family, Hoa learned that her mother-in-law had asked a spirit doctor to curse them. When the spirit doctor died, the family’s health returned. Through these trials, Hoa was driven to the arms of her Savior once again.

Hoa’s story is not unlike many Christians in Vietnam. In fact, in a population of 93 million, less than two percent are evangelical Christians.While Buddhism and Confucianism are widely accepted, ancestor worship is the dominant religious practice, inciting a fear of spirits in many people. Introducing the good news of Jesus Christ to Vietnam’s people will require reaching entire families and communities, not just individuals, with God’s love.

Praise God that a small Christian population is steadily growing in Vietnam. A small number of Kinh believers (the majority group) follow Christ in the North and South, totaling around 447,000 believers.

» Read full story and download prayer materials for Vietnam. Throughout February, receive daily prayer points on weekdays by texting PRAYVIETNAM to 24587.

» For news about religious dynamics in another Buddhist-majority country, see Spiritual Battle Rages in Sri Lanka (Christian Aid Mission).

Source: Morning Star News, February 4, 2016

A pastor in northern India who was beaten and paraded through streets with his head half-shaved as crowds called for him to be cut to pieces said he is thankful that he was counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.

On Friday (January 29), Hindu extremists posing as policemen picked up Avdhesh Savita, a 35-year-old father of four, from his home in Rendhar village in Uttar Pradesh state and took him to Orai, Jalaun District. They beat him, shaved half of his head, one eyebrow, and one side of his mustache, and put him on a donkey as they led him in a procession through Orai.

They and others in the frenzied crowd mocked him, falsely accusing him of forcible conversion.

“The mob that was parading me was shouting, ‘Kill him, cut him in pieces,’ but I kept telling them that faith unites, it does not divide,” Savita told Morning Star News. “I told my tormentors that I believe in Christ out of my own freewill, and that I have never hurt anyone, but they just did not listen to me.”

» Read full story which includes further explanation and analysis.

Source: World Watch Monitor, February 3, 2016

In central Africa, a brutal militant Islamic group has embedded itself in the eastern extremes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Muslim Defense International (MDI)—formerly known as the Alliance of Democratic Forces—has become embedded in the region and is attempting to rid the area of its Christians to create a foothold of Islam in the wider Lakes region.

The MDI has been repeatedly attacking the mostly Christian population in these parts of DRC for years. Kidnapping and murder are common. Although their successes ebb and flow, they continue to display surprising strength and have found a firm foothold where they can prepare for jihad into the Lakes Region, the heart of Africa.

Islamic militancy in Africa is part of a broader, global ideological current. Groups taking inspiration from IS have, over the past year, claimed the lives of thousands of Christians on the continent, holding Christians captive from Mali in the west to Somalia in the east.

» Read full story.

» Pray for the DRC (Prayercast). Readers might also be interested in learning more about the story of Salah, an East African Muslim who risked his life to protect Christians from terrorists, eventually dying from the wounds he sustained in doing so (Answering Islam).

In This Issue: “Family is beautiful. I didn’t know what a family was.”

1. GERMANY: Former Pimp’s Message to Fathers
2. TURKEY: Jailed House Church Couple Flee Iranian Authorities
3. MALI: Swiss Missionary Kidnapped Twice
4. MOROCCO: Declaration Calls Muslim Nations to Protect Christians
5. INDIA: “You Showed Me That God Can Use Women”
6. GREECE: Partnering with Albanians to Plant a Church

Greetings,

The short film The Sum of Life’s Parts suggests that an average person spends 15 months looking for things lost, 67 days experiencing heartbreak, and only 14 minutes in pure joy. It’s an interesting film; watch it to the end. But aren’t you glad that Jesus came that we might have joy… and have it abundantly?

Chinese New Year is upon us, but the Tibetan New Year, or Losar, comes at the same time. Will you pray for these mountain dwellers to experience new heights of joy in Jesus? Get a beautiful 15-day prayer guide and spread the word that Losar begins February 9. (Thanks, Act Beyond!)

After we sent our last edition of the Missions Catalyst events calendar, we learned that our friends at Missio Nexus had planned several webinars for February which might interest readers, especially readers who lead mission organizations. The February 18 presentation will deal with global mission in the context of opposition and hostility (including the sort of places we often report on here). Do take a look.

Blessings,
Pat

Source: IMB Commission Stories, January 20, 2016

Broken homes are often hereditary, but God’s grace can end the cycle. That is the message reverberating from the testimony of pimp-turned-preacher Thierry Kopp. Today at 54, with a wife, two small children, and an evangelistic ministry, Kopp wants to pass on a legacy of love and truth to his children.

“Family is beautiful. I didn’t know what a family was, but God restored me [and] healed my heart. He showed me that he is my Father. And I like to be a father for my children,” he said.

At 23, Kopp was his own god. Selling drugs, pimping women, and accumulating riches, he lived the life he thought he wanted. But his life was empty until the day he met Christ.

With tears in his eyes, he explained in broken English what happened 20 years ago that changed his vocation from pimp to preacher. “I know, I know he loves me, and this is what changed my life—his love. Because… I have a lot of rejection. And his love was so strong, it changed my life—the love of God. Only love can change us,” he said.

» Read full story and watch related video. Commission Stories offers extended coverage of human trafficking issues, along with resources and ways to connect.

Source: SAT-7 USA, January 28, 2016

Imprisoned and blacklisted by the authorities because of their Christian activities, Arshia and his wife, Mahanaz, felt they had no choice but to flee Iran.

The couple shared their story with SAT-7 for a special documentary filmed throughout Greece and Turkey about Iranian and Afghani Christians who have had to leave their homelands because of persecution.

Baptized in Armenia, they returned to Iran and led a house church from their home in the mountains. They were discovered by the authorities, imprisoned and blacklisted. Upon their release, they were told they would be arrested again if they continued practicing their faith and would face severe consequences.

Arshia and Mahanaz felt they could not meet with other believers for fear of endangering them. Feeling silenced and isolated, the couple decided to flee Iran. Leaving everything behind, they walked for four days from Iran to Ankara, Turkey.

The couple have been living in a refugee camp for over a year now. “It is challenging,” says Arshia. “Our curfew is 10pm. However, it does give us safety. God is good. We go to the Iranian church here and can worship freely.”

Arshia and his wife have managed to find employment in a restaurant. They are still waiting for their documents from the camp to receive permission to move on and make a home elsewhere.

Please pray for Arshia and Mahanaz as they continue to follow Christ—wherever he may lead.

» Read full story or watch documentary (made for Persian-speaking audiences, but here with English subtitles).

1. Source: World Watch Monitor, January 11, 2016

A Swiss missionary abducted for 10 days in 2012 has been kidnapped again in Mali’s northern city of Timbuktu, sources tell World Watch Monitor.

Beatrice Stockly was taken from her residence before dawn on January 8 by armed men who arrived in four pickup trucks, according to the sources, whose names are being kept confidential for their safety.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Militant Islamist groups are active in the region, where two attacks within [the last few months], one of them at a Christian radio station just before Christmas, have left 25 people dead.

A local church leader who claimed to have previously worked with Stockly told World Watch Monitor the missionary settled in Timbuktu in 2000, working for a Swiss church, before starting work alone, unaffiliated with any church.

He said Stockly is in her forties and leads an austere life, selling flowers and handing out Christian material. She was described as sociable, particularly among women and children.

» Read full story. As multiple news sources report, Stockly appears in a video released last week (January 26) by Al Queda’s North Africa affiliate. The video demands release of other prisoners in exchange for her.

» Also read about Maud Kells, another woman who would not stay away from the people she loved (Christian Today).

Source: Christian Broadcasting Network, January 29, 2015

[In January] over 250 Muslim leaders met in Morocco to release the Marrakesh Declaration, a groundbreaking document calling for Muslim nations to defend Christians against persecution.

To combat the increased violence towards Christians in Muslim countries, Texas mega-church pastor Bob Roberts has been forming strategic relationships with Muslim leaders.

His efforts led to nearly 200 imams and evangelical pastors attending the October “Spreading the Peace Convocation,” hosted by him and Imam Muhammad Magid.

Roberts recently took his peace efforts further by traveling to Morocco with more than 250 Muslim religious leaders, scholars, and heads of states to release the Marrakesh Declaration. The declaration is a 750-word document calling on Muslim countries to grant religious freedom to non-Muslims.

In an interview with Christianity Today, Roberts said he is “blown away” at the success of the Morocco summit.

The Marrakesh Declaration is based off of Muhammad’s Charter of Medina, a seventh century document instructing how to govern a religious pluralistic state.

» Read full story and watch related video. As you might expect, responses to this initiative are varied. Check out coverage from Christianity Today, for example, then read a dissenting opinion here.

» Read reports about Cameroonian Christians and Muslims who are working to protect each other from Boko Haram (Voice of America).

Source: Act Beyond, February 2016

The partners of our team in North India were visiting some churches out in the villages. Most of the churches are comprised of families who became followers of Jesus in the past year. These families are snake charmers. They sit near the Taj Mahal and other tourist sites, playing a flute, coaxing the cobra to rise out of the basket and “dance.” Many of them worship the cobra, particularly because it’s their main source of income. However, now there are several of these families following Jesus.

Seth and Jay hadn’t visited this area in several months [but on the second day of their recent visit] led a Bible study during which they shared several examples of “normal, everyday” people in Scripture who obeyed Jesus’ command to “make disciples.” Some stories included women.

After the training session was over, a young woman, named “Parul,” approached Seth and Jay. With tears pouring down her cheeks, she declared, “I am a girl. I can’t do anything… at least, that’s what I’ve always believed. But today my prayers are answered. You showed me that God can use women. If those women could do it, I can do it, too. Now I know there is a place for me in Jesus’ Kingdom.”

In the past eight months alone, 68 snake-charmer families from this one village have decided to follow Jesus, as well as another 19 families from other caste backgrounds. These families now meet as multiple churches in their village. Most came to faith through the efforts of an illiterate (uneducated), twenty-something-year-old young man.

» Read full story.

» Speaking of what women can or cannot do, observe the creative way these women in Colombia created their own city (Al Jazeera).