Category: News Briefs

Source: A Mission Mobilizer

Decades ago, missiologist Ralph Winter wrote about three eras of missionary history—how God sent his servants first to the coastlines of various continents, then to the inland areas of various continents, and then, finally, to the unreached peoples of those continents.

But the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia is an exception. Missionaries went first to the inland areas, reaching various Dayak groups but making little impact in coastal communities. The Banjar people, with a population of more than four million, are the largest such coastal people group. Twenty-five years ago they had no scripture in their language, and even now, no churches worship God in the Banjar language.

This has been an extremely difficult group to reach. Some of God’s workers have been killed. Others have been deported and blacklisted. Due to the challenges of reaching this group, gospel workers have set up a website with the goal of raising up 1,000 daily prayer warriors who would continue to pray until there is a breakthrough among the Banjar—the birth of fellowships that worship God in the Banjar language.

Would you prayerfully consider becoming one of these 1,000 prayer warriors?

To learn more, visit Pray4theBanjar.com.

Want to find (or create) something like this for another people group on your heart? Check out this extensive list of prayer links (Justin Long).

Source: Mission India, November 2023

In September, Pakiza [a church planter in Uttar Pradesh, India] and her brother Baheen were hosting a prayer gathering in the home of another believer, Pervaiz. A group of locals reported them to the police, alleging that they were in violation of their state’s anti-conversion law. Pakiza, Baheen, Pervaiz, and even Pakiza’s one-year-old daughter were arrested and placed in jail.

When I first learned of Pakiza’s situation, Acts 18:9 came to mind: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.’” Pakiza, along with many church planters in India, have very good reason to be afraid of sharing the gospel, and yet they continue their work. They ‘keep on speaking’ knowing that believers just like you are praying for them. Prayer has kingdom impact, even in the midst of persecution!

As we recognize the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church this month, please pray for Pakiza, Baheen, and Pervaiz as they endure this trial. Pray that God provides for their needs and encourages their hearts, and that they are released from the charges.

Read the full story. See many stories like this (and more encouraging ones) on the Mission India website.

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church will be observed these next two Sundays (November 5 and 12). In addition to IDOP.org, check out free materials from Voice of the Martyrs.

See also 15 Days of Prayer for the Hindu World (November 5-19).

For more from India, see also Three Arrested in Uttar Pradesh for Forced Conversions and India Court Rules in Favor of Christian Converts (both from International Christian Concern).

Source: 30 Days of Prayer, October 10, 2023

[Beginning] on October 7, a series of devastating earthquakes rocked Herat, Afghanistan. So far, the city of Herat, with its concrete structures, has seen little structural damage. However, villages in nearby areas have been devastated. Composed mostly of mud homes, many have seen significant damage, with whole areas being flattened to the ground and many lives lost.

The Body of Christ has always been called to respond and come together to meet needs. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-24, we read about the practice of taking up a “collection” in response to natural disasters. The Apostle Paul invited churches to rally together in support of their sisters and brothers of faith in another place, as a practical expression of unity. Let’s consider how we can do likewise today.

Pray where their friends and family continue to face significant challenges and hardship. Please join us in prayer and action as we continue to journey alongside and recognize the strength and resiliency of people who have been forcibly displaced.

Read the full story and watch an interview with someone on the ground. (4.5 minutes).

See also Christian Missionaries Find a Back Door into Afghanistan! (Back to Jerusalem) and read about thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing Pakistan as deportation deadline looms (Al Jazeera). Pakistan ordered the 1.7 million undocumented Afghan immigrants to leave or face deportation; the deadline is today (November 1).

Source: Christian Today, September 25, 2023

[On September 22, 2013] at least 122 people were killed when two explosions ripped through All Saints Church in Peshawar and over 250 were injured. Rev. Aftab Gohar’s mother, Iqbal Gohar, was killed in the attack, as were his nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles, aunts, and friends.

He admits it was not easy to forgive their killers but he took inspiration from Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp after being caught helping Jews to escape the Nazis.

“On the cross, Jesus prayed for those who were crucifying him: ‘Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing.’ Jesus [also] said, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’—a lesson that some people find impossible to follow.”

He blames the attack on Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which Christians say are often abused to target them.

Rev. Gohar, who grew up in Peshawar and has been a full-time minister in the Church of Scotland since 2008, joined other campaigners in handing in a petition to the Pakistan Consulate in Glasgow [in September].

The petition calls on the Pakistani government to improve safety for religious minorities and use the blasphemy law to punish those who attack Christians.

Read the full story. I like to hear that the teachings of a Middle Eastern Messiah and Dutch holocaust survivor can inspire a British Pakistani man to forgive his family’s enemies in South Asia while advocating for change. We are all connected.

1. A Letter from the Editor: Two Migrations
2. Spain: Evangelical Christian Numbers on the Rise
3. Pakistan: Mosque Broadcasts Scripture over Loudspeakers
4. Israel: Hamas Attacks Israel, Triggers War
5. Laos: Local Officials Shut Down Worship Service and Threaten Christians

Read or share the email edition.

Greetings,

I live near a busy border. The din of thousands of migrants coming across the border has been constant these last few weeks. It happens every year at this time, but this year we have had a long, warm fall season, so I’ve been outside a lot, hearing them and seeing one group after another. I’ve been wondering what on earth they say to each other, but imagine them saying, “Look! A place we can rest!”

I’m referring, of course, to Canadian feathered friends who are heading south for the winter.

But if I come into the house to warm up a bit, I see another group of migrants on the TV. One million Gazans heading south hoping to cross a border and find rest. Millions of others are like them, fleeing other conflicts or migrating due to one pressure or another.

I am pretty sure that when the geese fly over my house in years to come, I’ll think of these migrants, too, and wonder: What are they saying? Where are they now? Did they get to go home?

It might be a strategic time to read the recent Lausanne Occasional Paper, People on the Move. If you don’t have time to read it all I suggest this part: World on the move: We are all migrants.

When it comes to Canada geese, I’ve heard it is especially tiring to be in front, so they take turns leading the flock. I am praying for a new leader in Gaza. I have a name in mind but I won’t mention it. He was a visiting professor I met years ago. I sensed he was a real man of peace and I’ve prayed for him ever since to be a gospel light in his part of the world. Please join me in praying for him as you pray for this region.

For the gospel and the homeless people of the world,

Pat Noble

Source: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, October 11, 2023

At 11:30pm on Friday, October 6, Gaza-based Islamic terror group Hamas started firing the first of 5,000 rockets into Israel. At 1:15am Saturday October 7, Hamas announced the start of a military operation dubbed “Al-Aqsa Flood.” By 1:45am, Israel was returning fire; and at 3:34am, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was at war. As the sun rose on Israel, some 1,000 Hamas terrorists invaded the “Gaza envelope” (populated area within seven kilometers of Gaza) by land, sea, and air.

By Monday, the death toll had risen to over 1,500 including some 900 Israelis, mostly civilians (including whole families, even infants) who were slaughtered in cold blood. A further 2,500 Israelis had been wounded and around 150 abducted—including small children and an elderly holocaust survivor.

On October 8, HizbAllah official Hashem Salhab delivered a speech in Lebanon where he claimed that “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” is just a maneuver in advance of a larger and multi-arena operation that will eliminate Israel, indicating that what we have seen is just the beginning.

Read the full story with links and analysis. It also addresses ways this war puts many vulnerable Christians in danger. Other news channels are full of developments related to this situation. Other news channels are full of developments related to this situation. Thanks for praying.

Source: Christian Today, September 20, 2023

An update from the Observatory of Religious Pluralism in Spain [reveals] some of the challenges and opportunities facing Christians in the traditionally Catholic country.

The latest release of data collected across a municipal level has revealed that while Catholicism continues to be the dominant Christian expression, with three-quarters of the places of worship recorded in the report belonging to that tradition, evangelical Christianity has continued to grow over the last two decades.

Of the almost 31,000 places of worship across the nation, the vast majority were either Catholic or evangelical, with 22,947 and 4,259 churches respectively, with Muslims following in third with 1,749.

The number of evangelical churches has shown a significant increase since 2011, when there were only 2,944.

The growth in the numbers of evangelical Christians has been driven by an influx of believers from Latin America, but a 2019 report from Evangelical Focus Europe pointed to their numbers being concentrated in urban centers, with only Madrid (420), Barcelona (220), and Valencia (112) having over 100 evangelical churches. This leaves over 90% of towns and villages across Spain without an evangelical place of worship.

Read the full article.

For another snapshot of religious data, see More Singaporeans Are Choosing Christianity or No Religion at All.

Source: Mission Network News, October 4, 2023

A Muslim mosque, especially in volatile Pakistan, is the last place you’d expect to broadcast the Bible. Yet, nothing is impossible with God.

In an Afghan refugee village in northern Pakistan, the tribal chief’s son was known as a bit of a troublemaker. But eventually, this boy’s rebellious attitude softened. He began to show more respect and kindness and even stayed out of trouble.

When his father asked what changed, the boy told him about a Keys for Kids Storyteller he received and had been listening to. The Storyteller is a solar-powered mp3 player containing an audio Bible and Keys for Kids devotionals. The boy told his chieftain father that he believed in Jesus.

Greg Yoder, Executive Director of Keys for Kids Ministries shares, “The Muslim village chief said, ‘If this can change my son’s heart, we need to have more in this village.’ So I believe it was about 200 of them that were delivered into this Muslim village.”

Yoder says, “The village chief was just so amazed at what was happening within his village, he decided that… accompanying the Muslim call to prayer, they were going to play Keys for Kids in audio over these loudspeakers from the mosque itself.”

Read the full story.

See also Christian Persecuted in Pakistan Has Life Changed by Bible (Global Christian Relief).