Source: Release International, September 6, 2018
Less than 30 years since the collapse of the USSR, Christians in Central Asia are being driven underground once more. In this 14-minute documentary film, host Tom Bradley visits Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine to interview local leaders and learn more.
» For more about the underground church, read The Secret and Surprising Ways Christians Worship in North Korea (Open Doors).
Source: Operation Mobilization, October 18, 2018
Over the last few years, members of the OM [field leaders saw] a growing need to involve more Arab believers on international teams as local churches began growing and expanding both their vision and their capacity to send missionaries.
Three Syrian Muslim-background believers completed the first training cycle, while seven Egyptian Christian-background believers entered the second round.
The speed at which the local interns can start making an impact is “quite startling,” [OM field leader] Jeremy said. “The guys in the internship school, within a month, had opened the Bible 21 times [on house visits]. As a foreigner, I was just happy to be able to buy fruit after a month [of studying Arabic].”
Hamad and Nidal were two of the first three Arabs to complete the three-month training module. Hamad had been looking for an opportunity to serve God using the gift of evangelism. Nidal wanted to begin ministry in a place where nothing was happening.
The training, they said, was personal and practical. They spent time learning how to facilitate Discover Bible Studies (DBS) on visits. They also practiced it themselves. “We did DBS in the morning together, so first we applied the Bible to our own lives and developed ourselves before we expected other people to accept it,” Hamad explained.
Answered prayers on visits were a stand-out hallmark of Nidal’s time in the training. [In] one family he got to know, no one [was employed] the first time he visited. He prayed for them. The second visit, everyone had jobs. Another time, the family lost their UN paperwork, which allowed them to live in the country as refugees. Nidal prayed again. Four days later, the family phoned him and announced the papers had been found.
» Read more.
» You might also want to check out a recent podcast episode on Church Planting in Iraq (The Missions Podcast, ABWE International). Well worth the listen.
Source: Global Christian News, October 22, 2018
Christian youths have stood to protect Muslims traders from being lynched by some Christian groups as violence has spread in Kaduna state, central Nigeria as a result of the death of about 84 people in Kasuwan Magani.
An eyewitness, Choko Nkut, said some of the youths “stopped (others) from lynching the Muslim traders who sell fruits at the junction. They did not just stop there, they stood to protect the properties of the Muslims until security agents arrived and the traders were handed over to the (security agents) for safety.” Nkut said, “I wish we all become our brother’s keepers.”
» Violence in neighboring Cameroon is rooted in tensions between the country’s French and English speakers. A week ago a US missionary and father of eight was killed shortly after arriving in country. This week more than 70 students in a church-based boarding school were kidnapped and have just been released.
Source: Far East Broadcasting Company, October 22, 2018
Cambodia’s Voice of Love team shared that 21 students successfully graduated from their Bible class. Students in the program studied for three months via speaker boxes and lessons on the Old and New Testaments and Galatians.
In addition to celebrating their graduates, the Voice of Love team also took time to visit [more than] 190 listeners who shared with them about what they have learned through FEBC’s radio programs. Many mentioned the “Comfort at Night” program, which discusses being a peacemaker in your family and encourages people to live according to Christ’s Word.
Please continue to pray that God would work out his wonderful plan to use these people for his glory, spreading the gospel to other villages.
» Read more.
» Also from Cambodia, Worth the Wait describes a theological education initiative based on oral learning methods, obedience-based assessments, and practical ministerial and Bible study skills (Global Partners).
Sources: Various
It’s been a week since Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was cleared of blasphemy charges after eight years in prison.
Today news sources report she has been released from jail and transported to Islamabad. Widespread threats and protests may keep her from leaving the country, though we are seeing contradictory reports. Her lawyer has been evacuated to the Netherlands and her husband has appealed to the UK and US for asylum for the family.
Let’s keep praying not only for this woman and her family but for the people of Pakistan, where tensions are high.
» See also, from neighboring India, Outbreak of Violence against Christians in Assam Sparks Concern (Christian Headlines).
A Hindu worshiper lights candles to gain blessing from Hindu gods at a temple in Nepal (International Mission Board). See IMB story below.
Source: Justin Long, October 18, 2018
Editor’s note: Have you heard it said that Americans spend less money on missions than they do on Halloween costumes for their pets? Justin Long gives us the data.
It’s that time of year again—time for a review of what we spend on Halloween vs. foreign missions. We spend a lot on dog food, and it’s sometimes compared to what we spend on missions (rightly or wrongly). Globally, [Christians] spend about US$48 billion per year on missions (CSGC figure). I suspect that the US, being the largest sender of missionaries, spends the greatest percentage of that amount.
Variously, we estimate about 1% of that amount is spent on the unreached (or about US$480 million, or better phrased as half a billion dollars). Some portion of that is obviously donated by Americans, but we don’t know precisely how much. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering alone was US$142 million (2017-18).
Americans will, on the other hand, spend about US$480 million on Halloween costumes for their pets (new 2018 figure). So it does seem that we could legitimately say Americans spend more on Halloween costumes for their pets than they give to foreign missions, for whatever saying that is worth.
Source: International Mission Board, October 19, 2018
Editor’s Note: Author Sai Anand is a neuroscientist from India. He studies how the brain works and uses innovative approaches to share the gospel and speak intelligently about God’s design of the human body and brain.
During college I heard about true liberation offered from the true God: Jesus Christ. He has changed my life and beliefs about everything. This, though, is what I used to believe as a Hindu.
God(s):
It’s difficult to fix a number to how many gods there are in the Hindu faith—the highest estimate is 333 million. The gods have different characteristics and abilities, so Hindus will pray to different gods for different requests. The concepts of omniscience or omnipresence aren’t attributed to Hindu gods, so Hindus don’t know whether the gods or the particular god they’re appealing to, recognize or acknowledge their sacrifices.
Worship:
Worship, most of the time, means sacrifices to appease the anger of the gods, who are known for lashing out against sin. They will punish you if you do something wrong. The inevitability that you’ll do something that angers a god is overwhelming.
Hindus visit local temples to make sacrifices, give offerings, pray, light incense, and meditate. Worship can also be performed at shrines in the home or along the road. For Hindus, the morning rituals usually include self-purification and prayers to the sun. Many Hindus will also visit the temple in the morning. But they can’t go to the gods whenever they want; the temple isn’t open at all hours of the day.
Salvation:
Hindus believe in the unceasing cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. Your karma—the result of your actions, good or bad—determines how you will be reincarnated in your next life.
There isn’t a way to know if you’ll be reincarnated to a better life or whether what you’ve done is deserving of hell. There is a general belief in a “hell” where you are punished, though there are believed to be many different hells.
» Full article has great pictures and includes advice about what to keep in mind when sharing the gospel with a Hindu.
» The Hindu festival of Diwali is coming up November 6-10, and, as we’ve mentioned before, many Christians will be participating in 15 days of prayer for the Hindu world October 28 to November 11.
Source: Sat-7, October 3, 2018
Like many Christian leaders in Algeria, Samia and Salah have witnessed amazing church growth in recent years. “Every three months, the church holds baptisms, sometimes for more than 100 people. In June, 67 people were baptized,” says Salah. But as political tensions have increased, churches have been subject to greater interference from governmental and local authorities.
“They refuse to grant permission for churches to operate, and then they close them down because they don’t have official permission,” Salah explains.
Eleven churches have been closed, including Salah and Samia’s in Aïn Turk, near Oran. It was shut down for seven months before thankfully reopening in June. Undeterred, Salah simply says, “The more problems the Church faces, the stronger it grows.”
» Also read another story from Algeria, this one about a Christian husband on trial for evangelizing his wife (Morning Star News).
Source: Partners International, October 18, 2018
I was panicking, and my heart beat fast when the village chief and his aides came to our house. I didn’t even dare to meet them. My husband opened the door and invited them in. Without saying a greeting, the village chief hurriedly asked my husband, “What have you done to make Yaha change his religion?”
Apparently, the villagers learned that Yaha had come to believe in Jesus and they could not accept that fact. The villagers were angry at Yaha’s decision, so they agreed to expel him from the village. Yaha’s extended family also rejected him because of his new belief, including the village chief who has kinship relationship with him.
My husband replied, “That was Yaha’s own decision sir; I did nothing to force him.”
Hearing my husband’s explanation, the village chief warned us as a family not to do anything to influence the villagers to change their beliefs.
The incident that afternoon made me afraid. Worry crept into my heart. I began to fear that later the villagers will reject and threaten us because we are Christians. In my moment of fear, God strengthened my heart through his Word. The Word of God says in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful!” When I received the Word my heart and mind began to calm down. I was so grateful that God helped me.
My heart was strengthened again and that night I was able to sleep well. God the Holy Spirit gave me great peace and tranquility so that in the midst of the problem, I could remain strong in him. God really cares and is always ready to help and reaffirm his calling for me to reach out to those who do not know the Lord Jesus yet. Blessed be the Lord.
» Readers might be interested in a report from another Indonesian Christian, a Christian commercial pilot who felt God led him to speed his departure from Palu, thus saving 140 passengers as the earthquake and tsunami devastated the area. Remarkable.