Missions Catalyst

Source: Back to Jerusalem, October 9, 2024

“Dude, where are we?”  I asked as we bounced around in the back seat; our heads hitting the roof of the car.  

“I don’t know.” The cameraman replied, laughing as we desperately tried to find a sign of historical reference.

We were looking for one of the most significant sights in all of China for Christians—China’s oldest church.

 The famed church is over a thousand years old and is rumored to have been built by [people from what is Iran today]. Most historians will use the word “Persia.”

The Nestorian church used the Silk Road trading route and sent out more missionaries than almost any other church. These ambitious missionaries were planting churches throughout Central Asia, Tibet, Korea, India, Vietnam, Japan, and China.

Iran sent missionaries out just as the early church sent missionaries to it. One of the twelve disciples, Simon the Zealot, is said to have made his way there and was martyred by being sawed in half in Suanir, Iran.

Two monasteries in the northern part of Iran, Saint Thaddeus and Saint Stephanos Monasteries, are said to be related to the history of the apostles Jude and Bartholomew bringing the gospel to Iran. Thomas, also known as doubting Thomas, is thought to have made contact with the Iranian church and obtained the support he needed to continue all the way to India. The ancient trade routes between China and Iran would have played a key role for these early missionaries.  

Interestingly, the oldest surviving church in Iran was rebuilt by the Chinese!

Read more in Eugene Bach’s The Day I Learned the First Missionaries to China Were from Iran. It’s part history lesson, part travelogue.

Other recent news from Back to Jerusalem includes a reflection on the influence of the Moravian movement, how to travel to China visa-free (?), and how China is partnering with North Korea to persecute Christians.

1. Lebanon: Praying for Those Caught in the Crossfire
2. The Philippines and Beyond: Risks and Opportunities for Migrant Gospel Workers
3. USA: “Bring Your Bible” Day Launches New Initiative
4. World: International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians
5. Roundup: Voices of the Persecuted Church

Read or share the email edition.

Source: Deomai, 7 Days of Prayer for the Unreached, September 29, 2024

We pray for the many who are caught in the terrible upsurge of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hundreds have been killed, thousands have been wounded, and tens of thousands have fled (especially from the south) toward northern areas, especially Beirut. Fear is rampant. Many think the strikes are a prelude to war, and, indeed, the Israeli government has told its troops to prepare for ground action. The less fortunate (like migrant workers from other nations) are often in difficult situations, virtually stranded and homeless due to the attacks. The U.K. is sending troops to Cyprus in anticipation of mass evacuations.

Some think a war between Israel and Hezbollah would be far worse than the one with Hamas; others, that Hezbollah will quickly bow to pressure. Regardless, many have been hurt, and many more will be. Pray for the churches, believers and Kingdom efforts in the area to be a blessing in this difficult time.

“Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)

Read the rest of Justin Long’s weekly prayer email and consider subscribing. This publication brings together current events, strategic ministry, and fervent prayer, and it comes out every Sunday. The September 29 edition also included ways to pray for Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh, India, China, Singapore, and South Korea.

Check world news sources for updates on Lebanon, but also check on ministries serving there. Pierre Houssney of Horizons International has been posting videos from Beirut on Instagram and Facebook.

Source: Mission Network News, September 30, 2024

Among those caught in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict are 11,000 Filipinos working in Lebanon. As of Friday, they are awaiting evacuation orders from their home country if Israeli troops begin a ground offensive.

An estimated 2.16 million Filipinos live abroad as migrant workers, according to 2023 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. It’s a reality that Lito Sampan with A3 and others see as both a gospel opportunity and something with risks to watch out for.

“We are always reminding the churches to come alongside these Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families and help them establish their purpose, why they are working abroad, and at the same time equip them [so] that they will be responding to the Great Commission of making disciples,” Sampan says.

Read the full story.

For a longer piece about OFWs and the Filipino mission movement, read Mobilizers See Millions of Future Missionaries in Overseas Filipino Workers (Christianity Today).

Source: The Christian Post, September 5, 2024

An annual event designed to encourage students to share their faith is opening up to adults this year.

Bring Your Bible Day, a project of Focus on the Family, is scheduled to take place on October 3. In the past, the event has been known as “Bring Your Bible to School Day” and called on students to proudly proclaim their Christian faith at school by, as the name of the day suggests, bringing their Bibles to school.

“With political tension and economic [uncertainty] in the air, Bring Your Bible Day not only serves as an important reminder of the values through which this country was founded but also an encouragement to Christ-followers everywhere to be active and open about our faith in the public space,” [said Emerson Collins, the project manager organizing the annual event].

Noting that there were “over one million student participants in last year’s National Bring Your Bible to School Day,” Collins said, “this year is shaping up to be the biggest one yet,” adding, “It couldn’t come at a better time.”

As the full story explains, this is part of the Live It Challenge, which equips students and families to live out their faith in fun and practical ways. You might want to check it out.

In other Bible news: For the first time in history, the list of languages that still need Bible translation to begin is less than 1,000 (Wycliffe Global Alliance, reporting data from ProgressBible). The goal is within reach.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs, October 2024

[November 3] is set aside as a global prayer meeting on behalf of persecuted Christians who stand as a bold witness to Christ on the world’s most dangerous mission frontiers. The earnest prayers of the global body of believers testify to the unity found only in Christ. May God inspire us as we enter into fellowship with our persecuted Christian family.

VOM’s 2024 IDOP short feature film, The Martinez Family: Colombia, will inspire viewers to pray for front-line workers who are sent by God to share the gospel and advance God’s kingdom in some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous places to follow Christ.

Watch the video and order free IDOP resources.

Sources: Various

Farshid Fathi of Iran shared his stirring testimony at last week’s Lausanne Congress. The event also included a contingent of Chinese believers who had been blocked from attending the previous congress (Evangelical Focus).

In Pakistan, a Christian mother of four was convicted of blasphemy and received the mandatory death sentence for passing what was seen as inflammatory content in a WhatsApp group (Morning Star News).

For a bigger picture on violence in Pakistan and how it affects Christian ministry, read or watch the report Pakistan Church Under Fire: A Call to Anguish (INcontext).

Speaking at an event in the U.S. on Korean reunification, a Canadian pastor who received a life sentence of hard labor in North Korea said he witnessed the hearts of his captors soften after they heard his sermons and says this miracle gave him hope that the country will one day embrace the Lord (The Christian Post).

Finally, you might be inspired by a new episode on the Relentless Pursuit podcast in which a cross-cultural worker shares how a harrowing experience of detention by authorities in his host country motivated him to start memorizing the New Testament (Pioneers-USA). How much would you have in your heart if it was suddenly all you had?