Category: News Briefs

Source: Mission Network News, February 14, 2025

In a bustling Afghanistan market, a rug vendor was approached by men whose journey to him had been two years in the making. They spoke with the man, whose hands had woven intricate carpets but whose heart carried deep sorrow. Their mission was to offer him a simple device: an MP3 player loaded with devotional materials and Scripture in his language. As they explained the gift and shared the gospel, tears began streaming down the vendor’s cheeks. He had seen unimaginable pain, including the slaughtering of friends and family who had dared to question Islamic teaching.

For missionaries, handing off the preloaded MP3 players to Afghans marks the completion of the distribution effort. For recipients, it marks the beginning of hope.

After conversing at length with Nehemiah’s partners, the rug vendor, who was also a tribal chief, requested a devotional unit for each family member.

“What began as simple conversation in the marketplace had now become an open door to an entire tribe,” Nehemiah says.

Read the full story and a previous story about creating the recordings: Voice Acting Opportunities Lead Children to Christ in the Middle East.

Source: World Venture, February 7, 2025

[Adama Diouf] was born into a Muslim family among the Serer tribe. And one time when he was a young man, like 13 or 14 years old, he got to see a Christian film in a town near his village.

He thought Jesus was amazing, and he couldn’t understand why Jesus would die on a cross. If he truly was the Son of God, why would he die? And why would God allow that?

So, one night, he and his friends in the village were having a dance party. All of a sudden, he saw a vision on the wall of Jesus on the cross. And Jesus looked at him and said, “I did this for you.”

He was stunned, and they said, “Why aren’t you dancing, Adama? Why, what happened to you?”

And he said, “I just saw Jesus on the wall.”

Read the full story or watch a related video, below. What would your life be like if following Jesus meant being shunned by your family?

1. World: Vision 2025 Accelerates Bible Translation Through Partnership
2. Congo: M23 Fighters Capture Key City and Advance
3. India: Pentecostals on the Rise in Punjab
4. African Sahel: Extremism in the Desert of Danger
5. Israel: Court Case in the “Bomb Shelter Capital of the World”
6. Kenya: New Training Center Prepares African Missionaries to Reach Nations

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Source: Wycliffe Bible Translators, January 29, 2025

Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert or inclined to be a lone wolf or team player, the Bible is clear that partnership is an important part of life. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, of course, but it’s worth the effort.

This is particularly true in the Bible translation movement. Historically, Wycliffe and a few key strategic partners were focused on translation efforts in different communities around the world. These efforts proved successful in many cases, and lives were being transformed through God’s Word.

However, a New Testament translation was taking decades on average to complete.

That’s when we felt like God was calling us to step out boldly in faith and consider what it would look like to see Bible translation start for every language still needing it by the year 2025. We recognized it would require us to rethink our processes, reconsider our partnerships and ask God to raise up his global Church to participate in the work in new ways. And that’s exactly what he’s done.

As of January 1, 2025:

• 131 countries have achieved Vision 2025.
• 43 countries have 1 remaining language.
• 24 countries have 2-5 remaining languages.
• 16 countries have 6 or more remaining languages.

The full story highlights work in Cameroon, Indonesia, and the Americas and reports that, as a direct result of partnership and collaboration, a new translation project is launched about every 14 hours; unprecedented (and encouraging).

Have you seen the new Artificial Intelligence Version of the Bible? Thoughts? Watch the short promo video and/or download the app.

Source: Mission Network News, January 31, 2025

[On January 31], Rwandan-backed M23 fighters captured Goma, a key city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering Rwanda. A city of 2 million already, Goma was crammed with an additional 300,000 people fleeing M23’s advance.

Government leaders of the DRC called Goma’s fall a “declaration of war” by Rwanda. In the days since then, M23 has captured more cities. It’s an advance that could escalate an already deeply conflicted region.

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says [these] events can be traced back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. But another key factor is the DRC’s extraordinary wealth of natural resources, Kelley says. The DRC is rich in minerals such as gold, diamonds, and cobalt. Other powers want access to these resources.

Millions of Congolese are paying for this conflict-turned-humanitarian-crisis. Kelley says the global church must remember the gospel call as the hands and feet of Christ.

Read the full story. Let’s pray for those in this volatile region. See the INcontext video below for some ways to pray.

At this writing, M23 has declared a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons (Al Jazeera and other sources).

India: Pentecostals on the Rise in the Punjab

Source: God Reports, January 15, 2025

“A wave of Charismatic Christianity—drawing from the worldwide Pentecostal movement—is sweeping through Punjab in tidal volumes and generating all sorts of conflicting emotions, (giving) a deep sense of belonging and ecstatic hope for those on the inside, disquiet for those watching from the ringside,” according to a (2022) report by India Today.

Part of the success has been the “Punjabization” of Christianity. Converts are allowed to keep their name and traditional dress, against the older missionary custom of requiring them to change both, The Tribune News reported [in December 2024].

Churches are stylized to look similar to Sikh places of worship. Worship services approximate Sikh ceremonies, in which congregants may sit on the floor and they sing like they do in Sikh services.

“They’ve made it so localized, so familiar that they have made the transition of the community so smooth that a lot of people are attracted to them,” according to The Tribune.

Read the rest of the article for stories of three megachurch pastors leading churches in the region or click on The Tribute News link above for a video interview (just under 13 minutes long).

See also Beyond the Headlines: “Ever-Present” Persecution in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern).

Source: International Christian Concern, January 16, 2025

About 400 million people inhabit the Sahel, a narrow strip of the vast African continent hugging the Sahara desert’s southern reaches and stretching from Senegal’s Atlantic coastline in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Sahel is a region plagued by extreme poverty, deep civil unrest, and rampant extremism that threatens to eradicate the very fabric of society.

In many parts of the region, law and governance have been practically abolished, supplanted by terrorist forces intent on establishing their vision of an Islamic caliphate.

Terrorist groups in the Sahel are increasingly taking the place of failed governments.

Read the full story. Not exactly “new” news, is it? But there have been some recent developments. See some helpful articles (from Justin Long’s Weekly Roundup): West Africa’s junta-led nations announce deployment of a joint force as extremist violence spikes (AP) and Nigeria’s cocoa industry in shambles as farmers battle theft, violence (Human Angle).

Source: Middle East Concern, January 31, 2025

City of Life Ministries (CLM) in Sderot, a town adjacent to Gaza, requests prayer for a court hearing [which was held] on February 2. They have an ongoing legal battle over using their rented premises for humanitarian aid and meetings of the Messianic congregation.

Sderot, known as “the bomb shelter capital of the world” because of its numerous refuges from missile attacks, was targeted when Hamas launched its attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023. Militants killed 50 civilians and 20 police officers in what became known as the Battle of Sderot. CLM ministers to those displaced by the attack and supports reservists of the Israel Defense Forces, among others.

Since 2020, CLM has faced repeated opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist groups, influencing Sderot Municipality to open a case against CLM and pastor Michael Beener for alleged zoning regulation violations. At an initial court hearing in March 2023, the judge remarked that this is the only example of Sderot Municipality pursuing alleged violations of zoning regulations in this area, implying discriminatory treatment.

Read the full story.

You might also be interested in the case made by Ted Esler that despite the “blood of the martyrs” theory, religious persecution mostly works.

Source: International Mission Board, January 28, 2025

International Mission Board missionaries commissioned a new facility in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 26 to prepare Africans to reach the nations. IMB missionaries, along with senior leaders from Richmond, gathered to pray for healthy African churches to send African missionaries and to praise God for the work he is already doing across the continent.

The goal of the Lead Global facility is to equip churches to engage unreached people groups effectively. IMB missionaries aim to help African Baptist churches reach a point where they can send and support missionaries independently. Historically, missionary support has not been a priority in African church budgets, so the IMB team is working to help churches understand the value of this investment. IMB and Lead Global will work together to help churches fulfill their role in the Great Commission.

Read the full story.

We rejoice in how God has used missionaries of African descent for many years. See below for an new initiative highlighting diverse African American ministry leaders (Chasm Gaming and the National African American Mission Council).

Missions Catalyst News Briefs 2025.01.15

1. India, China, Tibet… Praying for Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims
2. World: Digital Nomads as Global Marketplace Multipliers
3. Colombia: Pastor and His Family Killed in Heartbreaking Loss
4. Bhutan: God Answers Prayers on a College Campus
5. USA: A Taste of Heaven Right There on Death Row

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