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Source: Open Doors, August 16, 2021
The Taliban now hold Afghanistan. Earlier, Al Jazeera released videos of Taliban fighters entering the capital city Kabul with ease, taking the reins in the Presidential Palace, and declaring an end to the 20-year war. In addition, President Ashraf Ghani reportedly fled to Tajikistan over the weekend to prevent further bloodshed (although other sources mentioned Uzbekistan).
With the collapse of the government, the expansion of extremism, food shortages, and the raging pandemic, Afghanistan needs urgent prayer from the global Church now more than ever.
Also read How to Pray for Afghanistan—and the Taliban (The Gospel Coalition), Afghan Pastors Ask for Prayer (9Marks), and A Liturgy for Responding to International Tragedy (The Upstream Collective).
Source: Haggai International, August 2021
The district of Rayagada [in the Indian state of Odisha] is like a step back in time. More than two-thirds of the population belong to indigenous tribes such as the Khonds and the Soras. And the tragic murder of a Christian missionary [Graham Staines] in the rural mountains of Rayagada years ago has left many believers wary of venturing into the community.
In 2021, after much prayer, fasting, and preparation, Ramachandran Periasamy’s team headed for one of the 22 villages [of the Dongoriakondh tribal people group in the Rayagada district]. Around 100 people live in this village, accessible only by foot.
“About 20 years ago, a local missionary went to this village to share the gospel but was killed by the tribal people. Thereafter a few attempted to reach the village but all attempts failed. For the last few years, no Christians have visited this place.”
Ramachandran’s team arrived in March and, to their surprise, were warmly welcomed. They prepared chicken curry for villagers and established connections with a few families. They were able to speak to the leader of the village who invited them back and has permitted them to implement valuable social programs.
Their warm reception has opened a door [for the team] to minister to the other villages in the locality, and years of church planting have taught them to win the favor of the people through relationship building if they want to credibly share the gospel.
Source: International Christian Concern, August 13, 2021
Iraq adopted a five-year plan for the protection and building of human rights on July 26. The new Human Rights National Action Plan was launched with the support of the Office of the President and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). For Christians who have faced persecution, genocide, displacement from varying threats, land seizures, and more, the commitment to protect human rights as the country pursues recovery can be a sign of hope.
The new initiative is “seeking to harmonize national legislation with international human rights standards, to strengthen national policies for the protection and [the] promotion of human rights and to build individual and institutional human rights capacities,” according to Danielle Bell, Chief of UNAMI’s Human Rights Office and Iraq Representative.
In her speech, Bell also highlighted the key links between the protection of human rights and the growth of sustainable development in Iraq [and said,] “The need for strong and coherent action on human rights is more essential than ever. The Human Rights National Action Plan provides a solid framework for the legislative, policy, procedural and institutional reforms which can prevent human rights violations in the future and which will therefore make a difference to the lives of all Iraqis.”
Source: Christian Aid, July 29, 2021
Since COVID-19 closed the border between Thailand and Laos, one of the things a local ministry leader misses most is face-to-face contact at border seminars with people such as 100-year-old “Uncle Pekelo.”
Still in good health, Uncle Pekelo has attended several of the ministry’s training seminars, where he has encouraged others with his testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness in the face of persecution, the leader said.
“He has endured so much in his walk with the Lord, to the point that he was imprisoned eight times for his faith,” he said. “Each time, he refused to renounce his trust in God, and to this day he continues to stand firm.”
At the church where Uncle Pekelo pastors a congregation of 50 families, local authorities once ordered the demolition of their worship building, the leader said.
“He and other believers hurried to put their Bibles in plastic bags to bury them in the jungle, to be hidden from being seized and burned… During his subsequent time in prison, he would secretly write letters to Christians in his village, encouraging them to stay firm in their faith. Does this not sound like the Apostle Paul?”
Also from East Asia, read about the crews of 130 fishing boats forced to remove crosses and other Christian symbols (Back to Jerusalem).
Source: Christian Newswire, August 16, 2021
In a massive effort to share hope with millions around the world, the Luis Palau Association recently launched their latest online campaign, Take this Fear. Led by Wendy Palau, it features five messages focused on some of the most common fears women struggle with: abandonment, not being enough, losing control, being unhappy, and death and suffering.
Last year, they launched a similar campaign targeting mothers, leading to 2.8 million people being reached with the gospel ads. Seeing how effective online outreaches can be, Wendy and the team decided to go bigger with an online campaign targeting women of all ages. The vision—just like with live Palau Festivals—is for believers to use these videos as a tool to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with their friends and family.
“Fear can grip onto any of us so easily,” shared Wendy Palau. “That is why I knew it was so important to share these messages now. This tool has the ability to reach millions of people in some of the darkest and hardest to reach locations around the world with the Good News of Jesus.”
Read the press release or visit the Take This Fear website.
See also the article Why We Continue to Do Mass Evangelism, in which evangelist Greg Laurie addresses the argument that personal evangelism is more effective than mass evangelism (Outreach Magazine).
