Source: Barna Group, April 19, 2019
Each year, Barna examines behaviors and beliefs related to the Bible among American adults, a study conducted in partnership with American Bible Society. In the 2019 “State of the Bible” report, we find encouraging boosts in Bible engagement and that, despite continued skepticism, scripture still impacts the daily lives and beliefs of many Americans.
» Read more of the report here.
» For the seventh consecutive year, Australia is calling the nations of the world to join with them in three days of prayer and fasting for the United States of America, April 30 to May 2. May 2 is America’s National Day of Prayer. Consider joining Australian brothers and sisters in prayer for their upcoming elections May 18. Watch Australian Election Prayer & Fasting.
Source: INcontext Ministries, April 30, 2019
The fact that many of the casualties of the Easter Sunday bombings were Christians obviously drew the attention of the Christian world and especially the Christian media, looking at the incident through different ‘lenses’ than those of the secular media. Here are three misconceptions circulated by Christians in the wake of the attacks, and clarifications about the truth.
Misconception #1 The world didn’t report the Sri Lanka attacks with the same intensity as the mosque attacks in New Zealand.
Misconception #2: Political leaders intentionally neglected to mention “Christians” and only referred to “Easter worshippers.”
Misconception #3: The suicide bombers were “animals” and uneducated people, gullible to radicalization.
» Read what INcontext has to say and see other articles in their Perspectives series. INcontext Ministries exists to serve churches and the wider Christian community and even encourages readers to contact them with research requests.
Source: Christian Headlines, March 22, 2019
Three pastors in western India have been criminally charged in retaliation for refuting a false account of a Hindu extremist attack on six Christians that left a teenage girl unconscious, sources said.
Three of the six Christians beaten in Maharashtra state this month were also charged in retaliation for reporting the assault that left them with injuries requiring hospital treatment, said pastor Pandharinath Bhagya Gowri, one of the accused church leaders.
Police who took exception to Pastor Gowri and two other pastors trying to correct a false report about the beating later charged them with the same accusations filed against the assailants, such as house trespass with intent to assault, even though the church leaders were not even present during the attack, he said.
Hard-line Hindus in Bandhan village, Palghar District in February had cut the Christians’ water supply and warned them that worse would happen if they did not renounce their faith, Pastor Gowri told Morning Star News. On March 1 a mob of Hindu extremists burst into the homes [of three Christian families] and started beating and kicking them, he said.
» Another article suggests a different way to reach Hindu immigrants: Gathering, Giving and Guruing (MARGE Network).
Source: Mission Network News, April 12, 2019
Everyone appears to be seizing Sudan’s moment of change and celebrating the ouster of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir.
[Miles Windsor of Middle East Concern] observes the role of the international community as one that supports that process and ensures that there is not simply a new form of military regime in Sudan. He goes on to say that despite Bashir’s ouster, Sudan’s streets remain full of protestors.
For those serving as gospel workers or church leaders, the events of the last couple of days are momentous. What’s ahead is unknown, but full of possibilities.
“They’re asking for prayer that calm will be restored soon in Sudan, that the Lord would protect his Church there, and that our brothers and sisters in Sudan would remain a clear testimony in the midst of a crisis.”
Source: Open Doors, April 3, 2019
[On April 3], the full extent of Shari law [went] into effect in Brunei. The newest and third phase of the law is difficult news for Christian converts who are expected to have to go into deeper hiding in the small Sultan-ruled country on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo where conversion from Islam is illegal and punishable by death.
Since first introducing Sharia law in 2014, the Sultan, 72-year-old Hassanal Bolkiah, has been encouraging Islamization of the country where Muslims make up about two-thirds of the country’s population of 434,000. He has called for “stronger” Islamic teachings in Brunei.
The new laws—what some have called “cruel and inhuman”—carry the death penalty for a variety of offenses, including apostasy (converting from Islam), adultery, robbery, rape, sodomy and insulting the Prophet Muhammad (blasphemy).
The first phase, which covered crimes punishable by prison sentence and fines, was implemented in 2014. The new phase covers crimes, such as theft, punishable by amputation and stoning.
The law mostly applies to Muslims, including children who have reached puberty, though some aspects will apply to non-Muslims. For example, those who “persuade, tell or encourage” Muslim children under the age of 18 “to accept the teachings of religions other than Islam” are liable for a fine or jail. Individuals who have not reached puberty but are convicted of certain offenses may be instead subjected to whipping.
» Also read Committee Formed to Advance Nationalist Hindu Movement in Nepal (Missions Network News).
Source: Marti Wade
Some 45 years since the concept of unreached people groups began to be popularized, many still have little access to the gospel and some missiologists are advocating for new categories and definitions. These days we hear as much about least-reached groups, unengaged unreached groups, and frontier people groups.
Clarifying or confusing? I’m not sure. Each way of slicing up world populations has its strengths as well as its limits. Some of the new categories may obscure the complexity of reaching large but under-engaged groups like the Turks, Thai, or Japanese. But definitions matter, key groups have been overlooked, and the newer thinking may be just what we need to mobilize or redirect strategy and prayer.
» To understand the ins and outs of all this, read Why Missions Experts Are Redefining “Unreached People Groups” (Christianity Today) and Clarifying the Frontier Mission Task, by Rebecca Lewis (International Journal of Frontier Missiology).
» See also Year of the Frontier (Global Prayer Resource Network), which describes a new, daily prayer effort focused on about 400 of the largest frontier people groups. And it looks like the year has already begun: It’s May 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Visit the website for related resources.
Source: LifeNet Media Resources/Global Net
Have you seen this new, three-minute video designed to inspire a commitment to prayer and unity to reach the unreached? There’s also a longer version (nine minutes).
Could you show one of these to your church or group, then pray?
» See other short videos about the unreached—most of which we’ve featured here—as well as videos on related topics. Handy to have them in one place. Thanks, Joshua Project!
Source: Prayercast
On May 5, as Ramadan is about to start, Prayercast will begin releasing 130 new, short videos designed to stimulate focused, strategic, passionate prayer for the Muslim world.
Each video is four to five minutes long and led by a former Muslim who now follows Jesus, many sharing stories of healing and transformation. Prayercast will send you an email reminder each day of Ramadan with a brand new video to inspire you to praise and prayer.
Know someone you can invite to watch and pray with you?
» Learn more and sign up or look at other resources from Prayercast.
» See also 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World.
In this edition: