Category: News Briefs
Editor’s Note: Time to Celebrate
Greetings, friends!
Do you want to know what blesses me most when I look for news to share here? I love to watch the videos of celebrations—often baptisms or Bible translation events. This week, we have both.
- Watch the one-minute Presentation of the Wayuu Bible in Colombia (Bread of Hope) and read our related story below.
- Watch a baptism in Cornwall, England which has a little bit of everything and may be different from what you’ve experienced. My father’s family came from Cornwall, and I couldn’t resist! Also look for the link about revival in Britain which we tucked away toward the end of this week’s News Briefs.
Praise God, at work from Cornwall to Colombia and all around the world.
Blessings,
Pat
Latin America: Latino Christians Uniquely Positioned for the Great Commission
Source: Mission Network News, October 7, 2024
Approximately 80% of Christians are from the Global South. Yet [more than] 50% of the world’s international missionaries still come from North America and Europe.
Dave Matthews founded Reflejo to mobilize more Latin American Christians in missions.
“As the gospel has expanded to other nations—in our case, Latin America—we also have that duty to the Great Commission to obey and to go to all nations, bringing the gospel,” Matthews says.
“We’re a missionary agency for Latin Americans—Spanish and Portuguese speakers from Central and South America—to go to the unreached, to go to the hard-to-reach places that don’t yet fully have the gospel as they should.”
Matthews says there are many advantages to sending Latinos to places such as the Middle East and Central Asia.
First, Latinos can often blend in more easily and are less likely to attract unsafe attention. People from Central or South America also have fewer stereotypes and biases that could create barriers for them in Muslim-majority countries.
Historically, early Arabic influences on the Iberian Peninsula contributed to the cultures and languages of Spain and Portugal. With Spanish and Portuguese colonization, those same influences shaped Central and South American worldviews, values, and more. Hundreds of years later, the similarities help Latino Christians to connect with unreached peoples on the other side of the world.
Reflejo has also successfully placed Latino Christians in areas where others may not have access or be welcomed. They are met with curiosity and openness that allows them to quickly build relationships. For example, someone from the United States may not be able to safely travel to or work in certain countries that are open to South Americans.
“We are seeing access in a few of these places, and we’re well received. People are curious about where we’re from, what we’re doing, who we are, and we get to build relationships over time and share Jesus in a different way,” Matthews says.
Colombia: Dedication of the First Bible in Wayuunaiki
Source: United Bible Society, September 24, 2024
August was a significant month for the Bible cause in Colombia, where the Colombian Bible Society (CBS) celebrated vital milestones, including its 50th anniversary. This celebration showcased God’s faithfulness in the country and included the dedication of the first Bible in an indigenous language, Wayuunaiki, with two special events.
The Wayuu make up 19.42% of [Colombia’s] indigenous population, equivalent to over 380,000 people, making them the largest Indigenous group in the country. This community also resides in northeastern Venezuela.
At 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 10, the San José Coliseum, where the dedication took place, welcomed attendees to witness a historic moment. Diana Leal, CBS Executive Director, opened the event with a warm welcome:
The event continued with the Guajira Metropolitan Choir, who uniquely performed the Colombian national anthem— in Wayuunaiki. Following this, Bible Consultant Pastor Cosme Vivas shared:
“The Wayuunaiki language is not inferior to any major language because God speaks Wayuunaiki too. He loves the Wayuu people and wants them to hear Him in their language.”
Read the full story and check out The Wayuu People, a 3.5-minute video about their culture and way of life (Bread of Hope).
As we mentioned in our last news briefs, the number of languages needing translation efforts begun has dropped below 1,000. See Stones of Remembrance: A Milestone in Bible Translation History ( Wycliffe Bible Translators).
World: Understanding a Truly Global Church
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity
Watch the Center for the Study of Global Christianity’s co-director Dr. Todd Johnson cover 120 years of demographic history (Global Christianity, 1900 and 2020) in five minutes, mentioning trends on each continent based on CSGC data.
Uganda: Waiting for the Story of the Savior
Source: International Mission Board, October 2, 2024
When an older Muslim man grabbed her hand, Jackie Lewis was shocked. Muslim men do not customarily touch women who are not close relatives, especially young, single women like Lewis.
The man pointed to a set of rocks arranged across the floor of the classroom. Each rock represented a different story from the Bible. They had just finished hearing the story concerning Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Savior and stopped for a break.
“Are you going to tell us the story of the Savior next?” he asked eagerly and pointed to the rock representing the Exodus story.
“This promise in Isaiah is the same thing Moses said,” the man continued. “‘Watch and wait for the Lord to save you.’”
The man—a Muslim with close connections to the mosque in his community and a history of running Christians out of his village—is part of an IMB language preservation project called Story One.
Read the rest of the article to learn about the group of older men helping Lewis and other IMB missionaries select the Bible stories they want to record for their people. This effort simultaneously honors and helps preserve their tribal languages and brings gospel access to remote areas.
We love to see people cut off from the gospel gain access. But the renewal of those who had turned away is encouraging too! Read an article claiming a Christian revival is underway in Britain (The Spectator).
Asia: China’s First Missionaries to Were from Iran
Source: Back to Jerusalem, October 9, 2024
“Dude, where are we?” I asked as we bounced around in the back seat; our heads hitting the roof of the car.
“I don’t know.” The cameraman replied, laughing as we desperately tried to find a sign of historical reference.
We were looking for one of the most significant sights in all of China for Christians—China’s oldest church.
The famed church is over a thousand years old and is rumored to have been built by [people from what is Iran today]. Most historians will use the word “Persia.”
The Nestorian church used the Silk Road trading route and sent out more missionaries than almost any other church. These ambitious missionaries were planting churches throughout Central Asia, Tibet, Korea, India, Vietnam, Japan, and China.
Iran sent missionaries out just as the early church sent missionaries to it. One of the twelve disciples, Simon the Zealot, is said to have made his way there and was martyred by being sawed in half in Suanir, Iran.
Two monasteries in the northern part of Iran, Saint Thaddeus and Saint Stephanos Monasteries, are said to be related to the history of the apostles Jude and Bartholomew bringing the gospel to Iran. Thomas, also known as doubting Thomas, is thought to have made contact with the Iranian church and obtained the support he needed to continue all the way to India. The ancient trade routes between China and Iran would have played a key role for these early missionaries.
Interestingly, the oldest surviving church in Iran was rebuilt by the Chinese!
Read more in Eugene Bach’s The Day I Learned the First Missionaries to China Were from Iran. It’s part history lesson, part travelogue.
Other recent news from Back to Jerusalem includes a reflection on the influence of the Moravian movement, how to travel to China visa-free (?), and how China is partnering with North Korea to persecute Christians.
Caught in the Crossfire | Bring Your Bible Day
Lebanon: Praying for Those Caught in the Crossfire
Source: Deomai, 7 Days of Prayer for the Unreached, September 29, 2024
We pray for the many who are caught in the terrible upsurge of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hundreds have been killed, thousands have been wounded, and tens of thousands have fled (especially from the south) toward northern areas, especially Beirut. Fear is rampant. Many think the strikes are a prelude to war, and, indeed, the Israeli government has told its troops to prepare for ground action. The less fortunate (like migrant workers from other nations) are often in difficult situations, virtually stranded and homeless due to the attacks. The U.K. is sending troops to Cyprus in anticipation of mass evacuations.
Some think a war between Israel and Hezbollah would be far worse than the one with Hamas; others, that Hezbollah will quickly bow to pressure. Regardless, many have been hurt, and many more will be. Pray for the churches, believers and Kingdom efforts in the area to be a blessing in this difficult time.
“Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)
Read the rest of Justin Long’s weekly prayer email and consider subscribing. This publication brings together current events, strategic ministry, and fervent prayer, and it comes out every Sunday. The September 29 edition also included ways to pray for Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh, India, China, Singapore, and South Korea.
Check world news sources for updates on Lebanon, but also check on ministries serving there. Pierre Houssney of Horizons International has been posting videos from Beirut on Instagram and Facebook.
The Philippines and Beyond: Risks and Opportunities for Migrant Gospel Workers
Source: Mission Network News, September 30, 2024
Among those caught in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict are 11,000 Filipinos working in Lebanon. As of Friday, they are awaiting evacuation orders from their home country if Israeli troops begin a ground offensive.
An estimated 2.16 million Filipinos live abroad as migrant workers, according to 2023 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. It’s a reality that Lito Sampan with A3 and others see as both a gospel opportunity and something with risks to watch out for.
“We are always reminding the churches to come alongside these Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families and help them establish their purpose, why they are working abroad, and at the same time equip them [so] that they will be responding to the Great Commission of making disciples,” Sampan says.
For a longer piece about OFWs and the Filipino mission movement, read Mobilizers See Millions of Future Missionaries in Overseas Filipino Workers (Christianity Today).