Day: November 7, 2018

In this edition:

1. CENTRAL ASIA: A Documentary
2. MIDDLE EAST: Equipping Arabs to Reach the Least-Reached
3. NIGERIA: Christian Youths Protect Muslims in Violence
4. CAMBODIA: 21 Graduate from Bible Program
5. PAKISTAN: Asia Bibi Acquitted, Now Released

Source: Release International, September 6, 2018

Less than 30 years since the collapse of the USSR, Christians in Central Asia are being driven underground once more. In this 14-minute documentary film, host Tom Bradley visits Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine to interview local leaders and learn more.

» For more about the underground church, read The Secret and Surprising Ways Christians Worship in North Korea (Open Doors).

Source: Operation Mobilization, October 18, 2018

Over the last few years, members of the OM [field leaders saw] a growing need to involve more Arab believers on international teams as local churches began growing and expanding both their vision and their capacity to send missionaries.

Three Syrian Muslim-background believers completed the first training cycle, while seven Egyptian Christian-background believers entered the second round.

The speed at which the local interns can start making an impact is “quite startling,” [OM field leader] Jeremy said. “The guys in the internship school, within a month, had opened the Bible 21 times [on house visits]. As a foreigner, I was just happy to be able to buy fruit after a month [of studying Arabic].”

Hamad and Nidal were two of the first three Arabs to complete the three-month training module. Hamad had been looking for an opportunity to serve God using the gift of evangelism. Nidal wanted to begin ministry in a place where nothing was happening.

The training, they said, was personal and practical. They spent time learning how to facilitate Discover Bible Studies (DBS) on visits. They also practiced it themselves. “We did DBS in the morning together, so first we applied the Bible to our own lives and developed ourselves before we expected other people to accept it,” Hamad explained.

Answered prayers on visits were a stand-out hallmark of Nidal’s time in the training. [In] one family he got to know, no one [was employed] the first time he visited. He prayed for them. The second visit, everyone had jobs. Another time, the family lost their UN paperwork, which allowed them to live in the country as refugees. Nidal prayed again. Four days later, the family phoned him and announced the papers had been found.

» Read more.

» You might also want to check out a recent podcast episode on Church Planting in Iraq (The Missions Podcast, ABWE International). Well worth the listen.

Source: Global Christian News, October 22, 2018

Christian youths have stood to protect Muslims traders from being lynched by some Christian groups as violence has spread in Kaduna state, central Nigeria as a result of the death of about 84 people in Kasuwan Magani.

An eyewitness, Choko Nkut, said some of the youths “stopped (others) from lynching the Muslim traders who sell fruits at the junction. They did not just stop there, they stood to protect the properties of the Muslims until security agents arrived and the traders were handed over to the (security agents) for safety.” Nkut said, “I wish we all become our brother’s keepers.”

» Read full story.

» Violence in neighboring Cameroon is rooted in tensions between the country’s French and English speakers. A week ago a US missionary and father of eight was killed shortly after arriving in country. This week more than 70 students in a church-based boarding school were kidnapped and have just been released.

Source: Far East Broadcasting Company, October 22, 2018

Cambodia’s Voice of Love team shared that 21 students successfully graduated from their Bible class. Students in the program studied for three months via speaker boxes and lessons on the Old and New Testaments and Galatians.

In addition to celebrating their graduates, the Voice of Love team also took time to visit [more than] 190 listeners who shared with them about what they have learned through FEBC’s radio programs. Many mentioned the “Comfort at Night” program, which discusses being a peacemaker in your family and encourages people to live according to Christ’s Word.

Please continue to pray that God would work out his wonderful plan to use these people for his glory, spreading the gospel to other villages.

» Read more.

» Also from Cambodia, Worth the Wait describes a theological education initiative based on oral learning methods, obedience-based assessments, and practical ministerial and Bible study skills (Global Partners).

Sources: Various

It’s been a week since Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was cleared of blasphemy charges after eight years in prison.

Today news sources report she has been released from jail and transported to Islamabad. Widespread threats and protests may keep her from leaving the country, though we are seeing contradictory reports. Her lawyer has been evacuated to the Netherlands and her husband has appealed to the UK and US for asylum for the family.

Let’s keep praying not only for this woman and her family but for the people of Pakistan, where tensions are high.

» See also, from neighboring India, Outbreak of Violence against Christians in Assam Sparks Concern (Christian Headlines).