Category: News Briefs

Source: Frontiers, March 13, 2023

Murat’s overbearing parents never let him out of their sight. But he wouldn’t let that stop him from being baptized.

Murat glanced behind him as he hurried down the street of the unfamiliar seaside village.

It felt strange to walk alone, especially in a place he’d never been. Although he was an adult according to both Islam and his country, his parents still treated him like a child, refusing to let him leave the house unaccompanied. They were finally discussing the idea of letting him get a driver’s license so he could run errands, but Murat wasn’t very hopeful.

He wondered if they suspected that he had decided to follow Jesus. If they tracked his internet use, they might have been able to tell that he’d done research about Jesus since his early teens and had struck up a friendship over video chat with Stanley, a Frontiers field worker who lived in his city.

He’d been talking with Stanley for two years, studying the Injil and getting answers to his questions, but the two friends had never been able to meet. Every time he tried to leave his house, one of his parents insisted on going with him.

He’d never even managed to make it to a meeting of believers that Stanley had invited him to.

But today that would change. Distracted by the details of their vacation and outings with his younger siblings, Murat’s parents had left him alone at their hotel. It was Sunday morning, and he had at least a few hours to visit a church he’d noticed as they drove through the city.

When he reached the small building, dwarfed by the mosques in the area, Murat stopped and hesitated. A few families walked past him through the door. A young man around his age smiled over his shoulder before disappearing inside.

Taking a deep breath, Murat climbed the steps and entered too.

Read the full story.

Source: Religion News Service, February 15, 2023

A decade ago the residents of Kesalingayapalli, a village in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, succeeded in building a temple to the Hindu god Ram, modeling their home as a place “rooted in Indian culture and tradition.”

Three years later, during the festival commemorating Ram’s birth, Bandi Venkatramana, a local farmer, erected an urgent red-and-white sign, known here as a saffron board, at the entrance to the quiet village.

It read: “In this village, everyone is a Hindu, hence people of other religions can’t propagate their faith here. If someone violates this warning, stern action will be taken against them. If you convert to a different religion, it’s akin to changing your mother.”

“If we see anyone carrying or distributing the Bible or Qur’an we first give them a couple of warnings,” said Sai Charan, a student living there. “If they don’t heed our warnings, we just beat them up.”

Read Hindus Only: How Religious Nationalism Has Spread Through India’s Villages for insights into the fears and concerns of these villagers.

Stories about inter-religious conflict seem everywhere these days. Read about ongoing pressure on Israel’s migrant churches (Middle East Concern). On the other hand, see Abrahamic Family House Serves as a Symbol of Opportunity in the UAE (INcontext Ministries).

Source: A3 (formerly Asian Access), March 9, 2023

“Hello Brother Joe, thank you for your prayer for our evangelistic event. For the two nights (March 4th and 5th), about 42,000 people came. More than 4,500 people opened their hearts to accept Jesus Christ. Praise God!” [Vietnamese pastor Loc Lam wrote to A3’s Joseph Handley]

Pastor Loc, our [A3] national director who also is the Vice General Secretary of The Vietnam Evangelical Alliance helped the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association coordinate this festival and translate the messages of Rev. Franklin Graham.

For years A3 has partnered with BGEA through Samaritans Purse in Japan and Nepal and through festivals like this one. It’s a privilege to be part of seeing so many come to Christ.

See the full story with pictures and pray for the new believers and those following up with them (a critical piece).

You may also be encouraged by watching a short video about this campaign (BGEA).

Missions Catalyst News Briefs 03.01.23

1. Ukraine: Invasion Passes Grim One-Year Milestone
2. Uganda: Police Rescue 40 Christian Children from Kidnapping Scam
3. Israel: Opposition to Messianic Ministry
4. Turkey: Antakya (Antioch) Church Prepares to Rebuild after Earthquake
5. Indonesia: Reli Finds Christ at the Flourish Café
6. USA: Nigerians Find New Home in Indiana

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for more.

Source: Mission Network News, February 24, 2023

It has been one year now since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine.

The war has had a devastating impact on the country’s economy and infrastructure, with more than 13,000 people killed and thousands more injured. Many families have been displaced and their homes and businesses destroyed.

Ukraine is a predominantly Christian country. The Church has played a vital role in providing support to those affected by the conflict, including refugees and those who have lost loved ones.

The full story includes perspective from Slavic Gospel Mission.

See also an informative infographic about the Russia-Ukraine war (INcontext International). In addition to data, it includes quotes from several Ukrainian pastors.

For more on how Ukrainians are responding, read Suffering, Grace and Glory (Jeff Fountain’s Weekly Word).

Download new resources to help you (or your group) pray for Ukraine (Ukraine Christian Ministries).

Source: Morning Star News, February 26, 2023

Police in Uganda have arrested two people in connection with the kidnapping of 40 Christian children lured by a Muslim posing as the leader of a Christian charity offering free education, sources said.

In Arua, in northwest Uganda’s West Nile Sub-Region, initial investigations alleged that 27-year-old Siraji Sabiri, a Muslim, had lured the children to a hotel with promises of school scholarships and was possibly planning to sell them to a rebel militant group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Police rescued 40 children from the hotel on February 2.

A pastor in Arua first learned of the alleged scam from church members who told him a Christian organization was registering children for scholarships for a school in Luwero District, in central Uganda. Sabiri is a resident of Wakiso District, near Luwero.

Read the full story. Another article reports that a pastor invited to participate in a religion debate by mosque leaders in Uganda was attacked after his arguments ostensibly led to 37 Muslims accepting Christ.

See also Uganda Threatens to Close UN Human Rights Office (Human Rights Watch).

Source: Middle East Concern, February 24, 2023

Messianic Jewish believers request prayer after Channel 14 TV, World Israel News (both media with a right-wing audience) and anti-missionary organization Yad L’Achim targeted the HaTikva (Hope) Project, claiming the work is a cover for missionary activity.

The humanitarian work of the HaTikva Project includes dental clinics in Jerusalem and Haifa which provide subsidized care to Israelis of all backgrounds who would be otherwise unable to afford treatment. Jerusalem Municipality and local welfare departments refer needy people to the clinics.

The right-wing media found people opposed to the ministry, including the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Arieh King, who is quoted as saying that the cooperation with the municipality was a “disaster” and that he hopes to stop “this damage to our nation.”

The HaTikva Project team has consulted a lawyer regarding the opposition and factually incorrect reporting. They request prayer for wisdom to know how to respond and that the negative publicity will not harm the ministry.

Read the full story. Another MEC article reports a number of attacks against the Armenian Christian community in Jerusalem. Pray for peace.

And, in news from Iran, MEC and other sources report that imprisoned Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, once sentenced to death for apostasy, has been released, as have several other Christian converts.

Source: The Christian Post, February 26, 2023

Antioch, where believers were first called Christians, is among the cities devastated by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Among the hundreds of buildings that suffered significant damage is a church that was razed to the ground.

“Nothing is left,” Pastor Elmas Akin of Antakya Mesihçiler Kilisesi church in Antakya, the modern form of Antioch and the capital of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, told CBN News. “And this has been our church for 23 years. All those years of love and caring for everyone. Everything is gone completely.”

Despite the devastation, Pastor Elmas says there’s hope. The church building had been rented, and the congregation prayed for God to provide them with their own church building, she said, adding that a year ago, they found a plot of land and started constructing a new church building.

The church is now meeting in the new building though it’s still under construction. “There’s no more Antioch left, but there will be a new Antioch,” Elmas said. “God has already given us the building for it, and there’s no damage to that church.”

Read the full story. As a variety of other sources continue to report, the Christian community in the region is actively involved in providing aid and relief to those most affected.

Read Four Ways Your Church Can Help After the Turkey and Syria Earthquakes (The Better Samaritan blog).

Source: International Christian Concern, February 14, 2023

Flourish Café in West Java, Indonesia, opened in 2021, motivated by the owner’s Christian faith and desire to reach out to women victims of human trafficking. Every Saturday, the owner held a “discover the Bible and Quran” study at the cafe to prompt discussion about the two books. As a result, some of their employees came to faith in Jesus Christ.

[One of them, Reli, reports] “From week to week, I became more and more interested in studying the Bible because so many words in it touched my heart. I installed the Bible app on my phone to read it throughout the week. I told one of my Christian friends about my interest in the Bible. She told me now, if you pray, pray to Jesus Christ. I prayed to Jesus, and several times in a dream, someone wearing a robe came and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’ I believe that Jesus appeared in my dreams.”

“In December 2021, I decided to be baptized because I had complete confidence to follow Jesus. But, until then, my family and husband did not know I believed in Jesus. They are not pleased that I converted and wish me to return to the Muslim faith. I pray that my parents and husband also believe in Jesus.”

Read the full story.

What about finding Christ in a tea house? When the Aroma of Christ Smells Like Oolong describes how Chinese ministries are using tea—bubble tea or the other kind—to reach Asian youth in North America (Christianity Today).

USA: Nigerians Find New Home in Indiana

Source: Assemblies of God News, February 17, 2023

Although he had pastored and planted Pentecostal churches in Nigeria for a quarter century, Paul Adeymo fled his native land in 2018, narrowly escaping death en route to a prayer meeting when attacked by Fulani herdsman.

Adeymo, his wife, Lola, and their three children—Joseph, Blossom, and Timothy—applied for asylum in the U.S. In part, Paul and Lola sought to move because Joseph, the oldest child at 24, has cognitive challenges. Medical facilities didn’t exist near his Nigerian home to effectively help him.

Despite not knowing anyone in the Hoosier state, the entire family immigrated to Indianapolis in 2018.

“I did research and found this is the best place to live,” Adeymo says. “We didn’t have to break the bank to survive. But I didn’t know how cold it would be. Yet the cold has not killed us.”

The Adeymos initially lived in low-income apartments near an Assemblies of God multi-ethnic congregation of 1,100 weekly attendees in the Indiana capital. Dozens of other Nigerians who live in the complex attend Lakeview Church, and the Adeymos began worshiping there as well.

Adeymo now is in the early stages of pioneering a church in Indianapolis for Africans.

The full story offers Pastor Adeymo’s perspective on violence in Nigeria and insights on ministering to immigrant Africans, as well as briefly describing Lakeview Church’s transformation from a previously all-white congregation to one that better reflects and connects with its now-diverse neighborhood. A good read.

Things continue to be rough for Christians in Nigeria. See 10 Prayers You Can Pray for Nigeria’s Christians (Global Christian Relief).