In this week’s News Briefs:
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Source: Frontiers USA, September 12, 2022
Aptitude tests said that he shouldn’t be able to learn a second language. But when God called him to share about Jesus in North Africa, no test score could hold him back.
The smell of baked goods floated above the chatter of voices in the apartment. Nicholas hunted for a spot to sit, stepping carefully to avoid crawling babies and squirming toddlers. Fitting 40 adults plus their children into his living room for their weekly [ministry team] meeting was a challenge.
However, finding enough elbow room was nothing compared to their goal of starting a church in their unreached community. The North African region where the team worked was a tough place to live, much less engage in conversations about Jesus. The last missionary in the area had left over 50 years earlier, driven away by threats of violence.
One way [the] team tried to connect with Muslim men and women was through a radio station that offered listeners the chance to study the Bible. But so far, nobody had taken them up on their offer.
Nicholas found an open spot on the floor next to two men deep in conversation and sighed as he sank down against the wall. Maybe the radio program was a lost cause.
As if on cue, the team’s leader, Brad, burst into the meeting with a huge grin. “Someone wants to study the Bible with us.”
The team went quiet for a moment, then exploded into excited chatter.
“The radio station called,” Brad continued, motioning for everyone to quiet down. “They want the team member with the best language ability to meet Tahar, the student.”
Everyone looked at Nicholas.
Read the full story. God did something amazing that continues to bear fruit years later. May this story give hope to those in the early days of their cross-cultural work.
Also from North Africa: Libyan Christians urge us to pray for a young man who converted to Christianity a few years ago and has been sentenced to death for apostasy (Middle East Concern).
Source: Christian Headlines, September 7, 2022
Christians in Zambia, Africa, are celebrating the latest milestone in Bible translation, the creation of Bibles written in their native tongues.
According to CBN News, the effort is led by Wycliffe Associates, an organization that offers Bible translations in countless languages. Currently, [more than] 5,000 people are working in Zambia to translate the Bible into 20 native languages.
Believers in Mansa, Zambia, were reportedly dancing after they got to read and listen to the reading of the New Testament in Aushi, their native language, for the first time.
“It’s like God is speaking our language,” Mumba said.
[Bishop Henry Mumba] also shared that the Bible is the first written literature in the Aushi language.
“Our country has 73 languages. And only seven were considered official languages. Those were the only ones who had scripture translated,” pastor Buster Paul Tembo Tembo of Livingston explained.
Read the full story. You might also want to read about a key strategy for accomplishing such projects; they call it church-owned Bible translation (Wycliffe Associates).
See also 4 Things You Need to Know About Sign Language Bible Translation (Wycliffe Bible Translators).
Source: The Christian Post, September 13, 2022
Thousands of Mongolians heard the gospel of Jesus Christ during an unprecedented outreach by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association [working alongside nearly 250 churches], in which more than 2,000 reportedly made decisions for Christ.
More than 17,300 people attended the two-night Festival of Hope held at Steppe Arena in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar [September 10-11], according to BGEA.
Sandwiched between Russia and China, the Central Asian country of roughly 3.3 million people has a long tradition of Buddhism and, more recently, a rise in the practice of shamanism, the worship of the elements.
But after 20 years of prayers from Mongolian church leaders, the plan for the Mongolian outreach came together, marking the first time in Mongolia’s history that hundreds of churches gathered for such a large-scale event, BGEA reports.
Read the full story. Note: Per the BGEA report, 9,000 attended the in-person event, while another 8,600 watched online. Youth aged 10-18 were the group with the largest number of decisions to follow Christ.
Source: International Christian Concern, September 6, 2022
The world is watching the ongoing crisis of the entire church congregation who left China due to religious persecution to seek asylum in South Korea. Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, which is comprised of nearly 60 members, traveled to Thailand last week to seek protection from religious persecution with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
The congregation left China between late 2019 and early 2020, settling in South Korea. However, when they did not receive refugee status in South Korea, they began to seek resettlement in the United States as another option.
[September 5] they submitted their UNHCR applications in Bangkok. They left South Korea and traveled to Thailand on 15-day tourist visas, hoping that their applications could be processed unprecedentedly quickly. If their visas run out, they could be deported back to China.
The church’s pastor, Pan Yongguang, emphasized the gravity of their plight. “This is dangerous but it is an opportunity,” he said. “If we stayed in Jeju, we would have had no chance.”
Read the full story or a longer article about this church in which the pastor compares their journey to that of the pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower (Christianity Today).
See also, from Afghanistan, letters to a Christian radio station (Sat-7) from listeners in Afghanistan (via God Reports) and a report about a mom who sold her kidney (but not her daughter) to put food on the table (World Vision). Keep praying for that country as well.
Sources: Various
Here are a few more things that didn’t otherwise fit in this edition:
1. If recent trends in religious switching continue, Christians could make up less than half of the U.S. population within a few decades, says a recent report from the Pew Research Center. We aren’t too surprised but it’s getting a lot of press. Note that the report presents four different scenarios, not just one.
2. The United Nations has named today (September 21) the International Day of Peace. This observance has been going on since 1981. While we may think of many situations around the world where peace is in short supply, this year their focus is on tackling racism.
3. Have you heard of March for the Martyrs, an organization raising awareness of persecuted Christians around the world? They will hold an event starting at the National Mall and winding up at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. this Saturday, September 24.
4. This time of year we see many ministry fundraising events. Accessible Hope International, focused on opening doors of access for people with disabilities worldwide, has an interesting twist. They are putting on their third annual virtual fundraising banquet (including home food delivery via Grub Hub), and invite friends and supporters to host “Luke 14” gatherings in their homes. That event is also this Saturday, September 24.