Category: News Briefs

Source: J.D. Payne, Missiologically Thinking, October 25, 2015

Music is one of the artifacts of Western civilization that continues to manifest itself in Majority World contexts. A conversation tonight with a South-Asian brother reminded me of this reality.

I have written about the internationalization of bluegrass music and [its] Kingdom potential. At that time, I drew attention to Canada, Europe, and Japan. Let’s now think for a moment about India and a few musical interests there. I read tonight about an Indo-Appalachian US fusion band, and the recent growth of electronic music and the burgeoning rock scene in India.

Pastors, if we are only encouraging our musicians to lead us on Sundays and write praise and worship music, then the Church is missing out on a great Kingdom opportunity. How about casting a vision of the gospel penetrating the local music scenes in countries home to many of the world’s unreached peoples? It is time for some musicians to step off the Sunday morning platform and step into the highways and hedges of India.

» Read full story.

» Also check out Singing Psalms Creates Christian-Muslim Bonds (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship).

Source: AWM Breakthrough, November 2, 2015

A Muslim doesn’t choose lightly to become an atheist. To reject the Islamic faith for no faith is as significant as rejecting it for another religion. Doing it publicly brings the accusation of being an apostate and can result in ostracism, difficulty finding a job, imprisonment or even the death penalty. Doing it privately means living a double life.

With this in mind, please pray for us as we finish and publish a new video aimed at atheists in the Arab world. Last year, we worked with partners to produce a one-minute video for the same group, which you can watch with English subtitles. We received more than 120 personal messages, including this one from a young Tunisian woman:

“I’m like Samir [character in the video]; I don’t know the meaning of my life. I’m only 19 years old and I don’t have the desire to live. Could you please tell me, what is the true way to happiness? I don’t have friends and I feel lonely. Could you please help me?”

» Learn more about Arab World Media.

Source: Lausanne Movement, October 26, 2015

The first Mission China 2030 Conference was convened in Hong Kong on September 28 to October 1 and attended by 900 participants from mainland China. The Mission China 2030 vision is for China to send out 20,000 missionaries by the year 2030. Two hundred missionary commitments were made as the first step toward fulfilling this vision.

The Mission China 2030 vision was catalyzed by two main gatherings, the Third Lausanne Congress (Cape Town, 2010) and the Asian Church Leaders Forum (Seoul, 2013). Two hundred Chinese Christian leaders were invited to the Third Lausanne Congress, but were unable to attend.

Plans were made to invite them to a separate gathering in 2013, the Asian Church Leaders Forum (ACLF). It was at the Asian Church Leaders Forum that Rev. Daniel Jin (Executive Director of Mission China Today magazine) urged the Chinese church to work and pray to see 20,000 missionaries sent out from China by 2030.

“Over the last 200 years, since the days of the earliest British pioneer Robert Morrison, some 20,000 missionaries have served in China.” There was, he said, “a gospel debt to pay off.”

» Read full story. Lausanne asks us to pray for  those who made these first 200 missionary commitments.

Source: Scott A., Mobile Ministry Forum, October 30, 2015

I love farm animals. There are sheep, goats, horses, and cows in my area (North Africa), and quite a few of each in my neighborhood. I try to go jogging every day I can, and there are trees with big leaves along the way that the sheep and goats just love—these leaves are like candy to them. I’ll pull off a lot of big leaves and I know where all the sheep and goats live, and they anxiously await my arrival for their treats. I am known throughout our neighborhood to the locals as “Monsieur Mouton” (Mr. Sheep).

It is Tabaski season right now, when the locals celebrate Abraham’s supposed sacrifice of Ishmael. A ram without defect must be sacrificed during the holiday to purify and redeem the family. A partner organization here makes microSD audio cards with special messages for the local people that is appropriate for Tabaski but introduces them to Jesus. These little cards come with an adapter that allows them to be used in a radio and computer as well as a cell phone. I picked up a bunch of these from a missionary friend in three of the local languages here and handed them out to the guards, merchants, and others along my way.

There is a Malian carpenter with two rams tied up in the back that I visit regularly. I gave the Malian an SD card this past Thursday. When I stopped in Friday, he rushed up to me and said that he’d sat up until 1:00am listening to the messages. Later on that morning, he’d called all his friends in and they all listened to the gospel message over his radio! He then told me that he is anxious to take the radio to the village where he can share the message in the village.

» Read full story.

Source: various via Pat Noble

I was asked by leaders of my church to find a way for us to get involved helping the Syrian refugees. On my quest I found some resources you might find useful, too.

A Trickle of Syrian Refugees Settles Across the United States is an interactive article with maps and charts from the New York Times. A Christian Response to the Refugee Crisis in Europe  is a report from the International Association for Refugees. See also a dozen short videos compiled by a fellow member of the COMMA network:

1. Little girl celebrating her birthday in Syria and then as a refugee (Save the Children, 1:33 minutes)
2. Freezing and Fighting for Aid: Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VICE News, 17:50 minutes)
3. Syrian refugees: women fleeing domestic violence (Channel 4 News, 7:04 minutes)
4. Refugee Crisis: The End of Innocence in Hungary, short documentary describing the refugee journey (Channel 4 News, 3:56 minutes)
5. The British family helping thousands of refugees on Lesbos (Channel 4 News, 8:07 minutes)
6. Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, about Syrian women and children living on the streets in Lebanon (MiraH, 6:11 minutes)
7. Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: A Harsh Reality, promotional video for effort providing humanitarian aid to Syrian women and children (Caritas Lebanon, 7:16 minutes)
8. Syrian Refugee Appeal Video for Churches, promotional video with prayer for the Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe (Viva Worldwide, 3:40 minutes)
9. Hadath Baptist Church: Syrian Refugee Response, prayer video for Syrian refugees (Hadath Baptist Church in Lebanon, 3:55 minutes)
10. Rescue For Refugees: A Christian Response, testimonies of Christians in the Middle East during the Syrian/Iraqi crisis (Samaritan’s Purse, 12:04 minutes)
11. Escaping War: Refugees in Europe, highlighting humanitarian response (Samaritan’s Purse, 4:06 minutes)
12. The Rising Tide: Europe Refugee Crisis, video showing the state of Syrian refugees taking boats to Greece (Samaritan’s Purse, 5:55 minutes)

» See also: Syrian Migrant Family in Limbo at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (BBC).

Source: World Watch Monitor, November 2, 2015

A program organized by Bargad, Pakistan’s biggest NGO for youth development, is attempting to tackle the social stigma Christians face from the word used in the Constitution for them.

The Urdu “Isai” (derived from the Arabic word for Jesus used in the Qur’an) now carries strong overtones—from colonial times—with the “unclean” demeaning occupations done by the lowest castes. [The word is also used for laborer and sweeper.] This use of language feeds the narrative which makes Christians feel like second-class citizens in today’s society.

On October 8 in Lahore, more than 500 Muslim students took an oath that they would not call Christians “Isai,” but would use the word “Masihi” (Messiah), which Pakistani Christians prefer as a positive identity for themselves.

The program is part of Bargad’s Green for White campaign. The green of the Pakistan flag represents the Muslim majority and the white, the non-Muslim minority. The campaign is thus to motivate Muslims to support religious minorities, who in recent years have become the target of religiously motivated discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, and violence.

The students, from various parts of the country, also promised to carry this message to at least 100 other people.

» Full story with further background on this issue and pictures.

Missions Catalyst News Briefs 10.21.15

1. USA: Drawing Attention to the Word of God with Music
2. PAKISTAN: Supreme Court’s Landmark Judgment
3. TANZANIA: Seven Churches Attacked by Arsonists
4. MYANMAR: Doors Open for Mission Aviation
5. EGYPT: Broadcast Ministry Requests Prayer

A Christian youth festival in Egypt, the sixth annual OneThing festival, took place in Wadi el Natroun October 1-3 with around 7,000 people attending each day and more watching broadcasts (SAT-7).

Greetings!

In last week’s edition of Missions Catalyst, Shane Bennett mentioned that his social media feeds predict “the imminent demise of civilization or at least the destruction of all good people.” Mine, too! Consider, though, that Heaven may not measure progress on Earth the way we often do.

When I am overwhelmed with the news of Earth I am always encouraged by the stories of the spread of God’s Word. Though stifled in some places, overall it is gaining, growing, and glorious in its progress. As this week’s stories remind us, the Word is spreading in print, song, and through the testimonies of believers; as Paul said, “you are our epistle” (2 Corinthians 3:2).

A collection of more than a dozen good news stories about caring for refugees really inspired me, so much so that I think I might go serve them myself!

Want to know where the refugees are going week by week? Check out this interactive map from the International Office of Migration.

His truth is marching on!
Pat

Source: United Bible Societies, October 8, 2015

At the United Bible Societies we love the Bible. We are working towards the day when everyone can access the Bible in the language and medium of their choice. With “Your Word,” Scripture is shared through music in many languages.

It all started with a Facebook message this summer from Billy Dorsey, a multi-award winning musician from USA. We connected immediately, sharing the same passion for the Bible. We shared Billy’s story, how he grew from being homeless to a success in a music industry.

Following that article, Billy wrote “Your Word,” a Scripture-based worship song. But it’s more than a worship song. Thanks to musicians and Bible Societies partnering together, net revenues from the online release on iTunes will be dedicated to Bible translation. “Your Word” will help people to receive the Word of God in their languages [through] crowd funding.

The song will be released at the end of November, but already today you’re invited behind the scenes at the recording of the song in the first six languages.

» Read full story. And rejoice with heaven (and UBS) on the publication of Words That Changed the World, a beautiful book in Arabic with the illustrated text of the Sermon on the Mount.

» For more stories about the Word going forth in song, see Justin Bieber of Nepal Converts to Christianity (Christianity Today) and check out this Cairo group’s beautiful song in Arabic, Master of the Universe (Global Worship).

Source: World Watch Monitor, October 14, 2015

In a landmark judgment on October 7, the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the death sentence of Malik Mumtaz Qadri, 30, who murdered the former Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, a liberal Muslim, because of Taseer’s views on the country’s controversial blasphemy laws.

Liberal Muslims and minority groups welcomed the courageous decision of the Supreme Court’s judges, which affirmed democratic values, including the rule of law, and rejected religious fanaticism in the public sphere.

Human rights activists and minorities have been demanding the repeal of blasphemy laws as these laws have been widely used as a tool against minorities, especially against Christians and Ahmadis.

Former Governor Taseer was murdered for defending an illiterate and poor Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was convicted and received the death sentence under the blasphemy law. Her appeal is still pending in the Supreme Court.

» Read full story, and see how this ruling is affecting Asia Bibi (DAWN.com).

» You might also be interested in the plight of hundreds of Pakistani Christian asylum-seekers arrested in Bangkok (Jubilee Campaign) and the Peshawar women fighting the Taliban (The Guardian).

Source: Voice of the Martyrs, October 9, 2015

In late September, Muslim extremists burned seven churches within a week in northwestern Tanzania. Three churches were burned on September 22 and four more on September 27. One church, the Living Water International Church, suffered its third arson attack in two years. Each time the 70-member church attempts to upgrade its tin structure to a cement building, it is set on fire and forced to start over.

» Add your prayers. See related story with additional detail (World Watch Monitor).