In This Issue: Church planting among the Deaf
- NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: A Church for the Deaf
- LAOS: Mother Evicts Children for Following Christ
- FIJI: Permission Granted to Methodist Church
- BANGLADESH: Selling Books on the Bus
- WORLD: Don’t Overlook the Arts
“The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization … the key is prayer.” Oswald Chambers
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
Greetings!
Did you know Pat Noble has been the Missions Catalyst news sleuth for eight years now? Every week she goes through dozens of news sources seeking out Kingdom-related stories to keep us informed, inspired, and equipped to pray, stories we publish in digest form twice a month.
This edition will be Pat’s last for a while, however, as she is taking a six-month sabbatical from this kind of work. Please keep Pat and her family in your prayers as they still have a lot to juggle during this time. If you have an encouraging word, don’t hold back, send her a note!
We expect to continue sending out Practical Mobilization articles and Resource Reviews regularly. What about News Briefs? I’m not sure yet. We’d love to hear from you if you have input for us.
This may be a good time to add a new volunteer to the Missions Catalyst team. If you’re interested in joining us in some capacity (for the short term or possibly longer) please contact me.
Blessings,
Marti Wade
publisher and managing editor
NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: A Church for the Deaf
Source: Baptist Press, June 12, 2012
It was the loudest noise five-year-old “Tobutu” had ever heard. He never heard anything else again. When the explosions of civil war came to Tobutu’s African town, they claimed his father, mother, brothers, and sisters – and his hearing. He cried himself to sleep for months in a refugee camp in Sudan, alone and unable to communicate with anyone. He learned to steal to eat and, over time, to feed his drug addiction. He eventually moved to the Middle East and along the way learned sign language.
But it would be nearly three decades before Tobutu learned the sign that would change his life – “Jesus.” Tobutu and 21 other Deaf were baptized in the sea and have now formed the first known Deaf church in North Africa and the Middle East.
>> Full story tells more of Tobutu’s story and describes a vision for church planting throughout the region. Check it out.
>> See also IMB Deaf Peoples (International Mission Board) and Friendship, Respect, Love, and Justice for People with Disabilities (Lausanne Blog).
LAOS: Mother Evicts Children for Following Christ
Source: Mission Network News, June 6, 2012
A brother and sister in Laos were recently expelled from their homes because of their faith in Christ, reports Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.
The 18-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter were blamed for their mother’s extreme illness. Village elders claimed that the spirits were displeased because the two Christians were in the house.
[An] older brother even tried to convince them to recant their faith in Christ so as to heal their mother. When the two believing siblings refused to do so, their ill mother accused them of hating their other brother. She threw their belongings out of the house and told them to leave.
The two siblings immediately moved to a Christian village where they originally heard the gospel [and] were welcomed with open arms. Pray for these two brave Christians who have been forced from their family for the sake of Christ.
>> Full story includes some additional information about persecution in Laos.
>> Also read For the Love of Laos (OM News) and Crackdown on Churches Spreading in Southern Laos (Worthy News).
FIJI: Permission Granted to Methodist Church
Source: Ecumenical News International, June 8, 2012
The Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma has been granted permission by the government to hold its annual conference but expressed concerns about the strict conditions of the permit.
[Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu, General Secretary of the Methodist Church in Fiji] said the church is very appreciative and he is glad the early permission gives time for planning, but he recalled that last year’s conference was cancelled just hours before it was due to start. Methodist church leaders have opposed the military government, which has suspended a number of civil liberties.
“This is good news for the Church and an important step towards reinstating freedom of religion and the right to meet freely in Fiji,” said Christine Elliott, Secretary for External Relationships for the Methodist Church in Britain. “We share the relief and appreciation expressed by the Methodist Church in Fiji and hope that the relationship between church and state will continue to improve.”
>> Full story includes additional details about the situation.
BANGLADESH: Selling Books on the Bus
Source: Operation Mobilization News, June 2012
Akbar was selling books on a bus recently when another passenger, a religious leader, started to question and oppose him. Akbar did his best to answer the questions politely, but the tone of the conversation gradually got hotter.
A few students at the back of the bus heard the commotion and the increasing level of the conversation. They got up to see what was happening. To their surprise, they found their college friend in lively debate with another man. Even though they did not share their friend’s faith, he was still a friend, so they came forward to support him. After all, if Akbar was selling the books, they were bound to be good books. They respected him as a good man and friend.
The rest of the bus listened peacefully as Akbar offered his books to them, and heard what they were about. He sold five sets of books on that bus before getting off at his destination.
Praise God for sending support for Akbar that day. Pray that those who received books on the bus will read them and be changed.
>> Full story includes picture.
>> More good news from this country! See Believers in Bangladesh Will Sing until All Have Heard (Asia Stories).
WORLD: Don’t Overlook the Arts
Source: International Mission Board, June 6, 2012
“Michelle Michaels” has a job that isn’t normal. She frequently heads into the African bush armed with a sketchpad, pencils, and paintbrushes. But she isn’t there to play around.
“Art is often overlooked when it comes to missions,” Michaels said. “A lot of people go straight to humanitarian aid or church planting. Art is seen as more of a luxury than a necessity.”
But if you learn how art is integrated into a people group’s culture, you learn how to reach them, she said. Crafts and paintings can contextualize Scripture using an art form people are accustomed to, Michaels said. “They can relate to it better that way, and it really helps get the message across.”
Michaels once developed a henna design for a South Asian bride on her wedding day. In the dyed design was a Bible story pointing to the gospel, she said. “Henna is important to South Asian culture, and they get really excited when they learn that a design stands for something meaningful. It provides an opportunity to share the gospel with them.”
“All of a sudden, when we started doing the henna stories, it seemed like there were lots of opportunities to have conversations,” she said. “It has been so great to see how it can have eternal purposes.”
>> Full story describes other ministries using the arts as well.
>> Also read or watch the debate about censoring the arts: This House Believes Censorship Makes a Mockery of the Arts (Doha Debates).
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.