January 2025 – Page 2 – Missions Catalyst

Colombia: Pastor and His Family Killed in Heartbreaking Loss

Source: Crosswalk, January 2, 2025

An evangelical pastor and his family were killed [December 29] in Colombia after a gunman on a motorcycle shot them as they were eating outside a restaurant after a church service. As reported by The Christian Post, the gunman killed Pastor Marlon Lora of the Prince of Peace Villaparaguay Church, his wife, Yorley Rincon, and 24-year-old daughter, Angela Lora Rincón, in the municipality of Aguachica. Meanwhile, their 21-year-old son, Santiago Lora Rincón, was injured in the shooting.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Lora and his church belonged to the Missionaries Biblical Churches denomination, in which he visited and managed nearly three dozen congregations in various parts of the country.

The full story reports that discrimination and threats against religious leaders have been on the rise in Colombia. Let’s pray for Colombia.

Bhutan: God Answers Prayers on a College Campus

Source: God Reports, December 31, 2025

Evangelizing is prohibited in Bhutan. Being a Christian is also illegal in the Buddhist nation. But Pastor Rajiv, who lives outside the country in a border town, has been reaching Bhutanese for Christ for over 10 years.

“Christianity is not a permitted religion,” Pastor Rajiv explained on a Voice of the Martyrs radio show. “In a way, it is illegal to be a Christian.”

[One of his strategies has been] to enter the country as a tourist and, visiting different colleges and schools, consistently praying for a Bible study at each. And God answered; Bible studies have been initiated at all 15 universities.

To launch a Bible study at a certain prestigious science and technology university, Rajiv was “praying and wondering” when the fruit would appear.

He was holding a food and volleyball fellowship at his home one evening and a first-time visitor, a freshman, enjoyed himself so much that he pledged to start a Bible study in his senior year.

It came faster than that. In his sophomore year, he was playing Christian music in his room to see if anybody would come to him identifying as a Christian. A freshman came in his room and said, “I like this music.”

“So, you are a Christian?” he asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

Next, the freshman gathered all his courage to kneel and pray before turning in for the night. After he prayed, to his surprise he saw the three other roommates were praying and kneeling—they, too, were believers. The Bible study was born.

Read the full story or click on the link above to listen to the related podcast episode.

USA: A Taste of Heaven Right There on Death Row

Source: Movements, January 13, 2025

They’d run out of protective vests, so our visit to death row was limited to one unit.

Usually, the prisoners were locked up in the individual cells 23 hours a day. They aren’t allowed to socialize. Each one would take one hour of exercise alone. All that had changed in response to what God was doing.

When we arrived, there were eight men waiting for us in their day room. We stood a meter away behind a yellow line. They stood behind a barred wall.

They were full of the love and life of God—white, black, Hispanic, Asian. It was a taste of heaven right there on death row. God’s glory was shining out from these men’s lives. I wanted to cross that yellow line, put my hands through the bars, and embrace these brothers.

They wanted to tell us what God was doing. “We don’t call this death row; we call it life row. This is where we found Jesus.”

In three years, 24 men have been executed on death row, 20 of them were disciples.

Read the full story and/or listen to the related podcast episode. Poignant. And it sounds like a book of stories about what God is doing in prisons worldwide is in the works. A different kind of insider movements? Stay tuned.

Readers might also be interested an article about youth ministry in the U.S. asking, “Is America experiencing a revival?” Spoiler alert: not yet, but there are encouraging signs (Greg Stier, via Outreach Magazine).

Mission Infographics, Chinese New Year, and What’s Coming Up Soon

Read or share the email edition. Suggested caption: Missions Catalyst Resource Reviews: in this edition, mission infographics, Chinese new year, 25 years of a new century and what’s coming up soon. Check it out!

The Mobilize Kit, Version 1, Is Out!

Source: GlobalCAST Resources

Need punchy, easy-to-share graphics with accurate, up-to-date info about the state of the world? MobilizeKit, a missions mobilization resources kit, contains ready-to-use missions infographics that are also editable and customizable for any use.

There are two versions:

Done-for-you Graphics: Explore and download ready-to-go materials. They do look great! And you have 72 infographics to choose from; skim through to see what works for you.

Do-it-Yourself Canva: Edit and customize every element to suit yourself.

Thanks, GlobalCAST! (By the way, we did not find this on their website, just on their social media feeds).

Campaign: 24 Hours of Prayer for the Buddhist World on Chinese New Year 2025

Source: 110 Cities, a project of International Prayer Connect

January 29, 2025 is Chinese New Year.

Join thousands of believers from many churches and Christian ministries around the globe, as we come together online for a 24-hour prayer meeting covering key cities and regions of the Buddhist world.

This will be an opportunity to pray together, exalting Jesus Christ as King throughout the Buddhist world, asking the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers to every unreached people group in these cities and nations.

Chinese New Year is a special time for families to gather and we want to pray for them.

Learn more or sign up for a prayer slot. While you’re there, you might browse the 110 Cities site to learn how you can pray for some of the most unreached cities in the world.

Ready to jump in? Our friends at Beyond are also starting 21 days of Prayer for the Buddhist World, January 9-29. Check out their prayer guide, too.

Article: 25 Years into a New Century

Source: The Schuman Centre for European Studies

Twenty-five years ago, the world was in the grip of Y2K panic. As January 1, 2000, drew near, fear spread around the world that a global computer bug would cause widespread computer failures in hospitals, airborne planes, traffic systems, television broadcasts, military control over rocket launches, including nuclear weapons? All eyes were on New Zealand as the clock clicked towards midnight on New Year’s Eve ahead of the rest of the world.

Twenty-five years later, our world has become overwhelmingly shaped by computers in almost every field. The iPhone introduced Smartphones only in 2007, one of the most transformative technological innovations of the 21st century. They now dictate our daily lifestyles: waking us up, feeding us Whatsapps, emails and social media updates, offering finger-tip access to daily Bible and meditation readings, weather reports, daily agendas, news headlines, directions for public transport for our appointments—and that’s all before getting out of bed!

Read the thought provoking article. It addresses many sweeping changes in the world and the global church in the first quarter of the century.

Perhaps a disclaimer is in order: You may see some of these issues differently than the author does. What would you see as highlights (and lowlights) in your corner of the world?

Event: Come to Portland for MissionConnexion Northwest

Source: MissionConnexion

A shout-out to readers in the great Pacific Northwest! We’ve got a big event coming up January 17-18. I was at the last planning meeting just this morning.

Can you make it? Have you thought about who else you can bring with you? It’s not too late too invite them.

Learn more, register to attend and get promotional materials. Psst: We’re still looking for volunteers; sign up at the bottom of the webpage.

Events: Conferences, Classes and More Coming Soon

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

January 12, Virtual Prayer Gathering (online). Monthly event for members of MissioNexus. Each gathering features a different presenter. The next one will be February 9.

January 12-14, Sending Church Elements Cohort (Tempe, AZ, USA). Discover practical strategies that can multiply your church’s sending. A joint project of Upstream Collective and Frontiers.

January 13 to February 8, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

January 16, Innovation Fund Overview and Process (online). Learn how you can apply for a grant from this fund.

January 17-18, MissionConnexion Northwest (Portland, OR, USA). A free, regional missions conference.

January 17-18, Agriculture Missions Summit (Manhattan, KS, USA). Hosted by Pioneer Bible Translators, Team Expansion, and Farming God’s Way.

January 21, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.

January 22-26, Vision 5:9 MERGE Conference (Orlando, FL, USA). A gathering for all reaching out to the Muslim diaspora in North America. Organized by a network of organizations and churches.

January 24-25, Help! We’re Going on a Short-Term Trip (Marietta, GA, USA). Seminar for team leaders from CultureLink.

January 25, The Nexus Central Florida (Oveida, FL, USA). One-day regional event for church mission leaders.

January 29, Global Day of Prayer for the Buddhist World.

February 1, Santa Barbara Mission Conference (Santa Barbara, CA, USA). An annual regional mission event.

February 3-5, Frontiers’ Pastors Track (Tempe, AZ, USA). In-person missions leaders cohort to multiply church sending.

February 3-7, Storytelling Training (online). Offered regularly by StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru.

February 6 to April 3, School of Mission Advocacy (online). This eight-week, affordable ($12) course by GlobalCAST Resources equips you with tools to mobilize your community for missions.

February 7-9, Missionfest Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada). Community-based mission festival.

February 8-11, Field Security Seminar (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

View the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.

Year in Review, Making Disciples in Kenya, & an Amazing Story from Wales

Read or share the email edition.