Month: December 2024

1. Lebanon: Seminary Pivots to Shelter Hundreds of the Displaced
2. Pakistan: Christian Man a Victim of Fake Conversion to Islam
3. Australia: Nami’s Legacy, an Illustrated Children’s Bible for Her People
4. India: Persecution Escalates in Manipur
5. East Africa: Media Ministry Spreads the Gospel in Hostile Territory

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Source: Mission Network News, November 29, 2024

Crises can happen in a moment, but they can also drag on beyond all expectations. Yet God has sustained his people in the Middle East to be his hands and feet during years of tumult.

Take Lebanon. It has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.

“Crisis, wars, disruptions [are] nothing new to this region. We’re used to difficulties and hardships,” says Loulwa Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

“But at the same time, we are used to seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of his work.”

Today [ABTS] not only provides biblical education to around 240 students, but it also shelters a couple hundred displaced people.

“With every crisis in Lebanon, we are used to taking a step and saying, ‘Okay, how does God want us to respond now?’” Maalouf says.

Read the full story.

Also from Mission Network News, see New Approaches Needed for Growing Mongolian Church.

Source: Morning Star News, November 28, 2024

A judge in Pakistan has overturned a verdict that denied a Christian’s effort to correct his name and religion on his national identity card as he was a victim of fake conversion to Islam, his attorney said.

[On November 16], Ahmad Saeed, additional district judge of Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District, Punjab Province, overturned the verdict of Pattoki Civil Judge Mian Usman Tariq, who had ruled that 24-year-old Sufyan Masih could not revert to Christianity after “converting” to Islam, said the Christian’s attorney, Sumera Shafique.

Masih had definitively affirmed his Christian faith and had reiterated that declaration in his statement to the district judge, she added. He told the judge that Asif Ali, the brick kiln owner where Masih worked, had registered his name in the NADRA record as Muhammad Sufyan and his religion as Islam in a bid to enslave him.

“Being an illiterate person, Masih failed to read the form filled by the data entry operator on the directives of his employer,” Shafique said, noting that Masih had put his thumbprint on the form in ignorance.

Read the full story.

Also learn about a Baptist church in Uzbekistan that has been unable to use its building or meet publicly for worship since 2021. Other religious groups in the country are experiencing similar problems (Forum 18.)

Source: United Bible Society, November 25, 2024

Inspired by seeing the children’s Bibles available in English, Nami Kulyuru, a long-serving Pitjantjatjara Bible translator from Central Australia, had the vision to pass on the stories of the Bible to her descendants using traditional paintings.

After sharing her idea with friends and colleagues, Nami began the artistic work for this book in 2021. She was passionate about seeing the children in her community, including her children and grandchildren, have access to visual representations of Scriptures with which they could connect.

Following Nami’s passing in 2022, her family and community ensured that Nami’s legacy would live on through “Godaku Tjukurpa” (God’s Story)—the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible—produced by Bible Society Australia.

Read the full story and see some of the pictures.

Check out these additional stories about Bible translation and distribution:

• Believers in Oklahoma hope translating the Bible into Choctaw will fuel revival among the people and help preserve the language, which Choctaw people were forbidden to speak for decades (God Reports).
• You may have seen a story in the Wall Street Journal reporting that sales of Bibles are booming in the U.S. due to first-time buyers and new versions. The article credits the trend to rising anxiety, a search for hope, and, in some cases, focused marketing efforts.
• YouVersion’s Verse of the Year reflects what leaders say is a global trend of seeking peace through prayer.

Source: Global Partners, November 19, 2024

For the past year and a half, severe terrorism against Indian Christians has escalated in Manipur, India. The attacks [by] Hindu and non-tribal people—known as the Meiteis—[on] tribal and Christian people have significantly worsened over time.

[In mid-November], the Meitei terrorists attacked Christian communities in Jiribam, where the most important district headquarters of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of East India is located. There, terrorists burned down and vandalized 25 houses and five church buildings.

By the grace of God, no members were injured, as the houses had been deserted in time. Now the members are displaced, staying in various places, including relief camps.

In addition to this loss, over the past week, ten young Christian village volunteers were brutally killed for guarding one of the villages with guns, [and]in a quiet village within the Jiribam district, a devoted teacher and loving mother was attacked and burned to death [allegedly by Meiteis]. As she was well-known for her dedication to nurturing children in the village, her loss has left her village heartbroken.

Read the full story and pray for peace in this region.

From neighboring Myanmar, see Decades of Abuse Leave Rohingya and Myanmar Searching for Hope, which reports that a church bombing recently killed nine people near the border with China, seven of them children (Mission Network News).

Source: Pioneers-USA, December 2, 2024

After experiencing trauma, Asha turned to drugs. But it was when she turned to Jesus that her mom called the police.

In a sensitive part of East Africa, the gospel faces much opposition from people loyal to the majority religion. Yet, some are receptive to the gospel.

A church-planting team began looking for people God was drawing to himself. One day, they connected with an 18-year-old girl named Asha and started sharing with her from Scripture. As Jesus filled her heart, she committed to follow him and was baptized.

Emboldened, Asha began sharing stories about Jesus on social media. But her mother was horrified and contacted the police. Asha spent the next 18 months in prison.

Can you imagine living in a place where your own mother would turn you over like that? Trust is scarce in this hostile environment, and after what happened to Asha, new believers are learning wiser ways to share their faith. Media strategies can help spread the gospel in places where unrest and suspicion make other ministries nearly impossible.

Read the full story.

Another story from Pioneers starts with a believer in South Asia who didn’t think her family could ever follow Jesus—especially her dad, who had done puja (a worship ceremony) to Krishna every day since he was six years old. Hear what changed his mind (Relentless Pursuit Podcast).