Category: News Briefs

Source: Mission Network News, October 15, 2015

[Burma/Myanmar] is among the poorest nations in the world. In rural communities, healthcare and education are all but non-existent. Hunger and poverty are extreme. The geography works against development. “Around the edges of the country are a lot of mountains and isolated people who do not have capabilities of travel,” explains Ron Wismer with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Today, MAF Myanmar is registered in the country and developing the necessary permissions to commence a flight operation.

The MAF presence will support a vibrant local church, too: flight will speed anything that local church needs to do. Some of the isolated communities are already excited about the thought of what MAF can offer them. “Praise God for this good news,” said villagers at Lailenpi. “We hope and pray that the Lord will continue to guide MAF until all the remaining steps are met with success and joy.”

» Read full story.

» You might also be interested in a story about efforts to empower Myanmar’s rural villagers to offer guidance for community development projects (Global Voices).

Source: SAT-7, October 12, 2015

On Saturday October 10, officers from Egypt’s Censorship Department came to the SAT-7 studios with a search warrant and removed items of equipment, including cameras and computers used for editing. The Office Director, Mr. Farid Samir, was detained for six hours but then released. He faces four charges relating to operating a satellite TV channel without the necessary licenses, although the SAT-7 Egypt office is a program production facility and not a satellite broadcast center for any of the SAT-7 channels.

A hearing was held Sunday October 11 at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, during which it became clear that all charges are based on a lack of and/or incorrect information. A decision will be [made] by the Public Prosecutor in the next few days concerning whether this case will go to court.

In the meantime, the confiscated equipment remains in police custody and the normal activities of SAT-7 in Egypt are severely disrupted.

The work of SAT-7 Egypt is carried out under the legal umbrella of the Coptic Evangelical Church but its services are in support of all the Church denominations in Egypt.

Though facing challenges, the SAT-7 team in Egypt remain encouraged by the love and support they have received. As Farid Samir wrote [October 12], “Unite with us in prayer so that we can complete our ministry—one based on love and which aims to serve our beloved country.”

» Read full story and please pray for the SAT-7 Egypt team. See also a most encouraging story about a Christian youth festival in Egypt that attracted about 7,000 people a day, and pray for another youth event planned for November 6-8.

More than 100 million Christians face daily persecution for their faith. Will you pray for them on November 1 and 8, 2015?

In This Issue: Praying for the Persecuted

1. SYRIA: Christian Workers Persevere, Receive Crown
2. INDIA: Pastor Beaten Unconscious
3. CENTRAL ASIA: 21st Century Media Strategies
4. WORLD: Genuine Concern or Misleading Skepticism about the Syrian Refugee Crisis?

Greetings,

Christian persecution is getting some mainstream news coverage, lately. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church less than one month away, but you still have time to prepare. You might start by downloading Open Doors’ latest annual report on Christian persecution, The World Watch List. See also the new Paper.li publication World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Commission is using to curate news of the persecuted church around the world. If you like apps, search your store for WEA RLC to get the news on your mobile device.

I recently had a conversation with someone about homophobia. Very early into the conversation I realized we were working with different definitions. I suggested the element of fear was required (hence phobia) but he thought it meant anyone against homosexuality. I said this would make them anti-homosexual, not homophobic.

That conversation, though, along with the recent shootings in Oregon, got me thinking about when and why Christians are persecuted. Would it be helpful to talk about Christophobia? Let me know if you think the concept is helpful.

Do the following stories have something in common? A fear of Christianity? Can you suggest helpful ways to respond?

• Six Churches Torched in Tanzania (World Watch Monitor)
• Ethiopia: Christians Arrested for “Spreading Hatred” (Worthy News)
• Nepal Rocked by Church Bombings amid Constitution Crisis (BosNews)
• Wild Accusations Torment Christians in Laos (Christian Aid)

This issue has a few more stories about the persecution of Christians, but keep reading: we have some good news, too.

Blessings,
Pat

Source: Christian Aid Mission, October 1, 2015

At several steps on their path to death by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian workers near Aleppo, Syria had the option to leave the area and live. The 12-year-old son of a ministry team leader also could have spared his life by denying Christ.

They stayed because they believed they were called to share Christ with those caught in the crossfire, [the leader] said.

The 41-year-old team leader, his young son, and two ministry members in their twenties were questioned at one village site where ISIS militants had summoned a crowd. The team leader presided over nine house churches he had helped to establish. His son was two months away from his thirteenth birthday.

In front of the team leader and relatives in the crowd, the Islamic extremists cut off the fingertips of the boy and severely beat him, telling his father they would stop the torture only if he, the father, returned to Islam. When the team leader refused, relatives said, the ISIS militants also tortured and beat him and the two other ministry workers. The three men and the boy then met their deaths in crucifixion.

» Read full story, details of which are also included in a larger story, Christians in Syria Struggle to Survive amid Terrors (Morning Star News).

» See also Egyptian Land Dispute Threatens Inter-religious Flashpoint (World Watch Monitor).

Source: Morning Star News, October 5, 2015

A pastor in Madhya Pradesh state is recovering after Hindu extremists last month beat him unconscious and left him in a pool of blood, sources said.

About 20 Hindu extremists in Fattiguda, Jhabua on September 10 kicked, punched, and beat with a club pastor Ajmer Singh Damor of Shalom Church, after storming into a prayer meeting at the home of Tihiya Vasunia, church leaders said.

Most of the Christians at the gathering scattered and escaped harm, but the Hindu extremists also abducted church member Dilu Katara and beat him before releasing him later that evening. Katara received hospital treatment for abrasions and internal injuries. The assailants also beat Pastor Damor’s wife, Runita Damor, but she was able to flee with her 18-month-old baby, said the Rev. Sam Francis, an area Christian leader.

Yelling that all Christian worship meetings must cease, the assailants destroyed household items and slaughtered one of Vasunia’s goats, church leaders said.

» See full story with picture.

» For another story from India that might touch someone looking for a place to serve, watch a powerful video just under 13 minutes long on India’s mental health crisis (VICE News).

Source: International Mission Board, September 15, 2015

“Jamilya” perches on a boulder, the highest spot on the mountain pass leading to her home beside a glacial lake. When she holds her cell phone just right, she gets a signal strong enough to call her family in the village five hours away.

“Rahat,” living in another isolated corner of Central Asia, doesn’t have running water, but he keeps a computer charged using a solar panel atop his family’s felt yurt. During his summer break from university, he spends evenings messaging his friends and watching pirated movies on the Internet.

Evan has spent the last 10 years trying to get the gospel to people like Jamilya and Rahat—Central Asians who are isolated behind physical, political, and spiritual barriers. For a long time he wondered, “Why isn’t something really cool happening?”

When two years ago, a co-worker showed him a website created for the purpose of making Scripture available in the language of the Central Asian people group Evan is trying to reach. To his surprise, the site was getting 1,000 hits a day.

By the end of the first year, nearly 25,000 Scripture downloads were recorded. Workers recognized they needed a full-time team comprised of members “passionate about seeing people get access to the Bible.”

Evan explained, “We aren’t using other evangelism tools; we are just connecting with people, trying to get them reading the Bible and then corresponding.”

“Our vision is that when people get access to God’s Word and begin reading it, that’s going to transform lives,” he said. “Cool things start to happen when people get access to God’s Word.”

And that’s exactly what Evan is seeing among this hard-to-reach people group.

» Read full story, which is quite encouraging. See also Short Films Open Hearts in the Middle East (The JESUS Film Project).

Source: INcontext Ministries, September 2015

An email currently circulating Christian networks calls for an “explanation” for a number of assertions regarding the Syrian refugees arriving in Europe from war-torn destinations. The email reads as follows:

“Can someone please explain the following regarding the Syrian refugees arriving in Europe from worn-torn destinations?

1. How come they all seem to have endless supplies of money to pay the people traffickers?
2. Most appear to have working mobile phones.
3. Most appear well dressed and fed and do not appear to be suffering the effects of malnutrition.
4. Most of the refugees are men of military age.
5. Why are other Muslim nations not helping their fellow Muslims (Saudi, Kuwait, U.A.E., Indonesia to name a few)?
6. How come the two boys and their mother drowned off the Turkish coast can be returned for burial to the place they fled so quickly, what I believed to be IS-held territory?

“Could it be they are being paid to come to Europe as a way to increase the Muslim population and get IS fighters embedded in Europe? We all know life is cheap from an IS point so the loss of a few lives along the way has no meaning for them as long as it benefits their cause.

“Just a thought.”

» Read INcontext’s response to these assertions (which they see as quite misleading) and their recent report in World In Motion.

» See also a couple of great videos: The Refugee Crisis: Time for Some Perspective (IRIN) and The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained (In A Nutshell), and also IRIN’s Humans of Syria where you can meet some of the professional people now called refugees. The Brookings Institute has some stats that might surprise you. Check out Much Ado About Nothing? The Economic Impact of Refugee “Invasions” and Is the Refugee Crisis an Opportunity for Aging Europe?

Finally, I am excited about some cool ideas about reaching refugees coming from the Mobile Ministry Forum. Read about them in Can We Offer Hope in this Refugee Crisis?

In this Issue: Sometimes the news is not what you expect

1. INDIA: Witch Hunts Not a Thing of the Past
2. INDONESIA: Attack Unites Muslims and Christians
3. NEPAL: The Day Jesus Invaded a Buddhist Monastery
4. GERMANY: Hundreds of Muslims Turn to Christ

For additional news, see our Twitter feed.

A new film about the life of Muhammad is causing a stir in the Muslim world.

Dear Readers,

Have you noticed that sometimes the news is just plain confusing? For example, the recently released film Mohammad: The Messenger of God (trailer above) is causing a stir in the Muslim world. It took me by surprise to read that Iranians made the film, while the fatwa against it is coming from Muslims in India. Wouldn’t you expect people in India, home of Bollywood, to support the project, while Iran, with so many hardliners about the arts, to object? But it’s not so simple. I had the same weird feeling when I read about that Pakistan is one of the top exporters of bagpipes: a challenge to my sensibilities. And maybe that’s a good thing!

I am wired to try to see connections and often God seems to use this gift. But I have to be careful how I use it and avoid any kind of “witch hunt” (see India story below). Some see a connection between the tragedy this week in Mecca and God’s judgment. My heart, though, hurts for those who sacrificed to seek God and were met with injury and death in their most holy place.

I do see a connection between the Muslim Hajj (September 21-23) and Jewish Yom Kippur (September 23) as they overlap this year. That means that, this month, many of the world’s people will be seeking to be cleansed from sin by a pilgrimage to their most holy places. Don’t miss the opportunity to pray for their cleansing—by the blood of Christ.

May they enter the true Holy of Holies with Jesus,
Pat

Source: Mission Network News, September 3, 2015

It’s easy to assume that the extreme superstition that fueled historical tragedies like the Salem witch trials is a thing of the past, but Mission India says that’s not the case. Fear-driven witch hunts are a very real and disturbingly common part of society in many of India’s states. The problem is especially serious in Jharkland, where 37 percent of all witchcraft-related murders occur.

For example, in early August, five women were killed in the state of Jharkland when villagers claimed they were witches. The entire village contributed to the angry mob that blamed the women for many of the community’s issues, including illness and poor crop yields.

Last August in the state of Assam, a 63-year-old woman was beheaded on the basis that she had cursed the village with an illness. In July, a couple and four of their children were killed in their sleep when their own relatives accused them of causing the sickness that was spreading among infants in the village.

» Read full story, which links to a 2014 article with analysis of the phenomenon (Washington Post).

» Also read the secular coverage of the same event, Five Women Killed in India, and a story on witchcraft in Afghanistan, The Fortune Teller of Kabul, both from The Guardian. And check out Occult Beliefs on the Rise among Chinese Communist Leaders and Satan Has Come to Detroit: Try Not to Worry (Christian Today).

Source: Missions Network News, September 11, 2015

Muslims and Christians aren’t known for working together. But in rural Indonesia, Muslims and Christians in a small village are going “against the grain.”

Four radical Muslims brutally attacked Pastor Yuda, an indigenous church planter in Borneo supported by Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI).

“The local people [Muslims] are coming together with the church members to try and find out who the person [was] who hit and attacked Pastor Yuda, and bring that person to the police” [reports FMI’s Bruce Allen].

Pastor Yuda’s village is 98 percent Muslim, and “the leader of that village, although he’s Muslim, does not want any conflict between Muslims and Christians or the church members in that area,” Allen shares.

» Read full story and prayer points.