Day: December 4, 2019

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?

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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.

Source: Barnabas Fund, October 29, 2019

Church registrations are increasing in Uzbekistan with three churches validated in September, and up to five more registrations expected to be finalized in October. The first church registration in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where penalties for Christian worship were previously harsher than in the rest of Uzbekistan, is expected within weeks.

The rise in registrations could signal greater religious freedoms for Christians under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who was elected into office in the Muslim-majority country in December 2016.

President Mirziyoyev is expected to introduce a new religious law soon, under which the membership requirement for church registration will be lowered from 100 members to 50.

A Barnabas contact said the long-hoped-for registration increase was “hard to believe.” He added that, in some cities, the authorities had even approached pastors to offer to help them navigate the process of proving church buildings meet strict registration requirements. The church registrations were even broadcast on national television in a report featuring an interview with a pastor and footage of a church service.

Before Mirziyoyev’s election, Uzbekistan was known for its harsh treatment of Christians. But within the first year of his leadership, the first 3,000 Uzbek Bibles, partly funded by Barnabas, were sold legally in the country and official celebrations were held to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Fines imposed on Christians by the courts were also lower.

» Read full story as well as Christian Wins Landmark Case in Russia Over Right to Worship in Private Homes, also from Barnabas.

» Several of our regular sources published reports about a South Korean pastor killed in Turkey in what may have been a targeted assassination (Mission Network News). See an interesting editorial piece on Recognizing the Phenomenon of Persecution of Christians Globally (Forbes).

Source: Mission Network News, October 17, 2019

A village in Liberia with a gruesome history now has new purpose. Over a century ago, villagers buried six girls alive as a sacrifice for power. They then erected six stones on the sacrificial grounds and worshiped these stones as a symbol of power bought with blood.

”As [a group of evangelists] came along the trail, there was a snake that had been planted on it. It was a big deadly snake. They say if it bites you, you will not live. So, in other words, they had kind of mined the road to get in. It was planted there so that this man wouldn’t be able to bring the gospel into this area.”

A few of the team members accidentally stepped over the snake, thinking it was just another tree root. Miraculously, the snake did not strike.

“When he got to the village, everybody was stunned that he was still alive!…Three days later, the town chief and the villagers accepted Christ and removed all six of the stones that were a memorial for the six girls who had been sacrificed.

“Now the snake is dead, victory was won over Satan, and God’s light will run where the darkness was.”

» Read full story.

» From the other side of Africa (specifically Kenya), read Thirty-Blanket Bride, about a Westerner discovering her faulty perceptions (Thrive).