Month: December 2019

Merry Christmas to our readers!

If you are a bit last-minute like me you might find Tearfund’s 25 Ideas for an Ethical Christmas just the ticket to help you catch up! You might also be interested in reading about the Christian roots of the fair-trade movement (Christianity Today; preview only). Did you know Ten Thousand Villages was the first fair-trade organization in the world? Let me suggest a similar organization, ECHO in South Florida. See their Christmas page if you’d like to shop.

Feeling super stressed? It might be a good time to read A Lost Screwtape Letter (Dated in December) from The Gospel Coalition. Or take my advice and spend 30 minutes watching the pilot episode of a new show about the life of Christ, The Chosen.

My news reader is full of stories of protests (Hong Kong, Lebanon, Iraq, and India) and reports of religious persecution. The night of our “dear Savior’s birth” heaven announced “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” I have come to see the angels’ pronouncement not as a declaration but an invitation. As Charles Wesley wrote, “Joyful, all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies…” the invitation is going out and…the nations ARE rising!

Peace to you and yours,
Pat

Source: International Mission Board, December 16, 2019

This month, Myanmar believers in South Thailand are hard at work. They are few in number compared to many churches, but their dedication to share the gospel story this season is unwavering. Three small churches, planted to reach factory workers, band together in December to share the Christmas story through music, drama, food, and fellowship. This will be their third year to produce the outreach events.

They can only plan events on Sunday, because that’s when factories are closed. Many of the believers work 12-hour shifts, six days a week, and then work through the night as the Sunday events approach. They will feed and give small gifts to hundreds of people who attend the events, using a portion of their $9/day salaries that they have faithfully set aside for this effort.

Please pray for the next evangelistic event planned for December 22, 2019. In addition to singing Christmas carols, the Myanmar Christians will perform a nativity drama and tell the Christmas story from the Bible. They also prepare and feed everyone who comes to the event and give them a small gift. The gifts and food also serve as a strong incentive for people to come. They recognize that this season, non-believers are often curious about Christmas and will come to an event to find out more.

» See full story with pictures and prayer points. You could also pray for churches reaching out through Christmas events in Japan, and read OMF’s Five Ways to Pray for Christmas Outreaches.

Source: OMF International, December 13, 2019

Last Christmas morning, Esther and I had a young man, Andrew, and his younger sister, Dawn [over to our house] for breakfast.

They grew up in a nomadic herding family, but Dawn was now in her final year of nursing school. After breakfast and our sharing about shepherds and uniqueness of the manger, she asked if she could share something with us.

Looking serious, she thoughtfully reflected,

“I remember when you came to our home and shared Jesus! I was just a little girl! You see the fruit of your prayer now! I am a Christian and my brother is studying to be a pastor! God cares for us, like he did the shepherds!”

A few times Dawn was so overwhelmed by God’s grace in her life that she could not speak and started crying. She said she thinks God may be calling her to work one day with children with disabilities and has been volunteering through the Christian Nurses Association.

Indeed, years ago we shared the gospel with Andrew and Dawn’s parents, not paying much attention to their children in the background. Andrew was often out tending the goats. Andrew listened to us and also read the gospel booklet that we had given to his parents. He prayed to trust in Jesus for his salvation.

In time both Andrew and Dawn went to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, to study, and they are both active in church. He is studying at Union Bible Theological College and hopes to serve in his remote home county. He has already completed his compulsory year of military service. Dawn completed nursing school and the national nursing exam, and currently works at a hospital. Andrew teaches guitar to Kazakh youth. Over our Christmas breakfast we had talked about possible ways they could share Jesus’ love with those around them.

» Read full story and praise God for the growth of the Church in Mongolia, most over the course of a single generation.

Source: Mission Network News, December 13, 2019

India has introduced a new law re-determining who qualifies for citizenship. In a way, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is a legal manifestation of growing sentiment in India that says to be Indian is to be Hindu. Both this law and mindset clash with India’s setup as a supposedly secular government.

Providing more details on the topic is a spokesperson for Voice of the Martyrs, USA, Todd Nettleton.

“Well, this is an interesting law because it grants people from Pakistan, people from Bangladesh, who have come into India, citizenship as long as they are not Muslims, which are the majorities in those countries. And so, it is something that is basing citizenship simply on religion, and so there have been protests,” Nettleton says.

Both Muslims and Hindus have taken to streets expressing their disapproval for the new law.

» Read full story as well as more about this bill in a thought-provoking article from the BBC.

» Religions in India in order of percent of the population are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, then Sikhism. Want to know more about Sikhs? Check out The Edmonton Appeal (Lausanne Movement).

Source: Open Doors, December 16, 2019

A bus attack by the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab in Kenya has claimed ten lives. Reportedly, the militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in which they separated the “local” (Muslims) and “non-local” (non-Muslims) passengers before executing ten non-locals, including several police officers.

The bus was traveling from the Kenyan cities of Wajir and Mandera near the Somalian border—an area mostly inhabited by ethnic Somali Kenyans.

Amani, an Open Doors team leader in the field, reported that one of Open Doors’ local ministry partners called after the attack.

“They have attacked us again as usual,” the partner said.

Sadly, Christians have come to expect violent attacks like this as they head into holiday seasons, such as Christmas or Easter, Amani explained. While media outlets have been slow to specifically say Christians were targeted in this attack, Amani offers perspective from being on the ground in Kenya.

» Full story reports claims that some politicians are seeking to eliminate Christianity in Kenya. Let’s pray for an end to this kind of violence.

» Even as believers worldwide look forward to the holiday, some may be in particular danger at this time. We read that Indonesia has boosted Christmas security over potential terror threats (France24). An opinion piece from Foreign Policy Association asks: Where is the outrage over the plight of persecuted Christians?

Source: Catalyst Services, November 2019

While a number of churches are intentionally reaching out to Muslim immigrants, many have failed to recognize another huge, unreached people bloc with whom their congregation may have much greater daily contact. Who are these people hidden among us? Hindus. The US alone is home to 2.6 million Hindus, the vast majority of whom come from Indian people groups largely unpenetrated by the gospel.

The number of South Asian immigrants, most of them Hindu, has grown steadily since the 1960s. As a group, these newcomers are the wealthiest and best educated of foreign-born Americans. Ninety percent represent socially advantaged groups, the traditional upper castes that are some of India’s least-reached people groups. A similar story prevails in Canada, and other Western countries also have large Hindu immigrant populations.

When the map above surfaced recently on the internet, many Christians were shocked. Excluding Mexicans, who make up by far the largest percentage of US immigrants, the swath of bright blue on this map reveals that Indians are the second largest foreign-born group in many states, especially in the East and Midwest. In the years from 1995-2017, an average of 65,000 Indians immigrated to the US each year.

Despite these statistics, few evangelical churches have seriously considered how to reach this major people-group bloc whom God has been integrating into their neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.

Why aren’t we reaching them?

» Complete article includes analysis, stories, and recommended resources. Subscribe to Postings or browse the archives.

Source: Morning Star News, November 29, 2019

After spending 11 years behind bars for a murder they did not commit, five Christians in eastern India were finally ordered to be freed on Tuesday (Nov. 26), sources said.

The Supreme Court of India issued a decision granting bail to the five Christians from Odisha (formerly Orissa) state falsely accused of killing Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, whose death on Aug. 23, 2008 in Kandhamal District touched off anti-Christian attacks that killed 120 people, destroyed nearly 6,000 homes and displaced 55,000 Christians.

The Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), said the legal fight does not end with the granting of bail to the seven accused Christians.

“This is just the first step,” Lal told Morning Star News. “The case still has to be fought at the High Court in Odisha.”

At the same time, Lal said he was glad that the Christians will be able to celebrate Christmas with their families.

» Full story points out that India has steadily risen on the Open Doors list of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, currently ranked number 10.

Source: World Evangelical Alliance, November 5, 2019

Just days ago, Christians joined in a public protest against the Algerian government for shutting down churches. This is unusual. [Christians in Algeria] usually they work out these matters behind closed doors. But this time it was different. Christians (specifically Protestants/Evangelicals), sufficiently frustrated by the harassment of their government, took to the streets in protest.

Take a moment to watch these bold Christians in their public protest. Then pray. Secondly, help them in their drive to afford the lawful gathering in worship. As you do, you will hear them in Arabic sing this worship song: “How beautiful you are, you are the Holy one, the only one deserving all dignity and authority.”

Their singing was done while standing in front of a government office, in a country where as a minority, they face the power and wrath of a Muslim-majority government.

» Read full story with background information.

» Also read Algeria: Crackdown on Protestant Faith-Churches Sealed; Worshipers Beaten (Human Rights Watch) and, from Ethiopia, a story about an evangelical church shut down and its members arrested in a religiously contested area (World Watch Monitor). In this case, the conflict seems to be between Protestants and Orthodox.