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| What do you know about Obon? Or Ashura? Spend a few minutes in someone else’s world through this edition of Missions Catalyst (item #3). |
Source: Mission Network News, August 15, 2022
Over the last few years, Christians in Iraq have built a thriving digital church. Samuel with Redemptive Stories says there are two main reasons.
Firstly, women who come to faith often face persecution, finding it hard to travel alone. Samuel says, “Maybe God has appeared to them in a vision or a dream, or even social media. But still, they might live in their family home. But having access to smartphones has opened up an avenue for them to hear about the gospel and the hope and the joy offered in Jesus Christ.”
Secondly, Samuel says, many people have come to faith in places without physical churches. This especially applies to places in the rural south and west, far away from the big cities.
And many people are coming to faith in the risen Jesus. Samuel says, “I think the biggest shock has been the sheer numbers. If you look at the numbers from different organizations, in terms of those that have responded to the gospel, some are counting numbers in the millions.”
Praise God for the connections being built between Christians in Iraq.
As people move back into areas destroyed by the Islamic State, some have begun rebuilding churches. Samuel says, “That is the ideal. And we look at digital churches in many cases as the bridge to the ideal.”
In the meantime, pray for boldness and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to rest upon Christian in Iraq.
Read the full story. By the way, we did a quick search for more info about Redemptive Stories but only found the stories they have published in partnership with Mission Network News for the last five years or so.
Did you know? Some ministries plant digital churches on purpose, not as a plan B. These churches may operate on Facebook, YouTube, and/or Zoom, through digital gaming communities, or on other platforms. Get a taste through TheChurch.Digital and DigitalChurch.Network.
Source: Christian Aid Mission, August 4, 2022
It happens from time to time, but it had never happened for one leader of a ministry based in the Middle East—each of two Muslim relatives finding out the other was secretly seeking Christ.
In a country undisclosed for security reasons, a 22-year-old Muslim recently passed by the local ministry’s church site and picked up a New Testament from the stack outside available for the taking, the leader said.
“He took it home, secretly read from it, and hid it, because he feared what his family might do to him,” the leader said. “He thought for sure that if they saw him reading a Bible, they would get so angry.”
Meantime, his 24-year-old brother was watching the same ministry’s gospel messages online. He saw a video on basic Christian doctrines on social media and secretly put his faith in Christ.
The full story includes several other encouraging accounts about the gospel going forth and a description of some current ministry approaches.
See also Unable to Trust Family Members, Milad Can Only Trust the Lord (Help the Persecuted). What a power-packed headline! You might also be interested in another story about God revealing himself to a Muslim man, in this case through a remarkable dream (Beyond).
Source: East-West Ministries, August 2022
Obon is an annual Buddhist celebration in which families, especially Japanese Buddhists, honor the return of their ancestors’ spirits to the mortal realm. Celebrated for hundreds of years, Obon is also known as Ghost Festival, Festival of Souls, or Festival of Lanterns. Buddhist temples schedule Obon celebrations during the summer months, and the event lasts three days.
Obon is rooted in the story of a monk freeing his mother from the hungry ghosts. The celebration commemorates all deceased ancestors and welcomes them back to Earth. The event includes a special dance and the lighting of lanterns.
During Obon, Buddhists reunite with family and friends to remember those who have passed. The festival is recognized in Japanese communities worldwide. Every Buddhist temple celebrates Obon uniquely, but fireworks, dancing, carnival games, and local food are often a part of the celebration.
The full article includes more detail and gets into ways you can use Obon to share the gospel. Note that this year Obon was observed August 13-15 or thereabouts (we see conflicting reports). See also a description of the Obon Festival from National Today.
August included another holiday you should know about, a big deal for Shiite Muslims. Watch a video from an Ashura procession in Melbourne, Australia (Musawi Films on YouTube, 23 minutes) or read more about the meaning of Ashura (Religion News Service).
Source: Open Doors, August 11, 2022
Believers are relatively few in Chattagram Hill Tracts, the southeastern part of Bangladesh. The population is dominated by indigenous peoples, with Christians scattered throughout the Buddhist population. Christians [there] are often mistreated, largely without consequence.
Around 10 pm, the village’s local church was alight with flames. When the shocked worshipers came to their church the next day, they were greeted with a depressing sight—every Bible, chair, hymn book, and the pulpit reduced to ashes.
The church was built on the outskirts of the village to appease Buddhists in the community. A church in their village, they believed, should be out of sight and out of mind. Evidently, this church was out of time, too. Arsonists had to intentionally go out of their way to get there.
The church has cultivated a strong legacy of ministry and discipleship since its founding in 2014. Many Buddhist-background believers were part of the congregation, despite facing threats and danger from their Buddhist community. In the midst of such discouraging threats, the church continued to grow and bring people to Jesus.
When Christians pressed for action, the village turned on them, nearly escalating to physical violence. As they were asked to leave, Christians were told to not rebuild the church.
Read the full article. A related story says this happened on June 30.
You may have heard about another church fire that got more headlines. It happened on Sunday, August 14 at a Coptic church in Egypt. The accident killed 41 people, including 15 children. Please pray for the families of the victims and survivors.
Source: Forum 18, August 5, 2022
On July 28, a court in the southeastern city of Gomel fined Protestant pastor Dmitry Podlobko [of Living Faith Church] two weeks’ average wage for holding outdoor baptisms earlier in July in a pool on family-owned property without seeking official approval. This is his second fine within a year to punish him for conducting baptisms.
Captain Vasili Kravtsov, head of Gomel District Police which prepared the case against Pastor Podlobko, insisted that he had violated the law. “Before conducting any religious rituals you need to ask permission from the local Executive Committee,” he told Forum 18. “He didn’t have such permission. This is the law and I am obliged to carry it out.”
If a religious community repeats a violation within a year, the regime’s senior religious affairs official, Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak, can apply to the court for the religious community to be stripped of its legal status (and thus its right to exist).
Organizers of public events (including religious events) need to get approval from local Executive Committees [and pay significant fees] if they plan to hold them anywhere apart from places approved by local authorities.
Read the full article and pray for this church and others.
Looking for more encouraging news from Europe? Read about diaspora churches in Sweden—including at least 40 planted by Nigerians (European Evangelical Alliance).
See also an article about ministries in Ukraine collaborating as response efforts shift focus (Christianity Today).