Category: News Briefs

Source: Back to Jerusalem, August 28, 2021

The Taliban is using sophisticated biometric equipment that they have captured from the military, to go door-to-door to hunt down Christians. Back to Jerusalem (BTJ) started working with our hackers over a week ago to develop a way to disable this equipment, but prayers are desperately needed.

Over a week ago, a BTJ partner with special connections on the ground in Afghanistan alerted BTJ that the Taliban captured special US-made hand-held scanners that were used by the US military to identify people in Afghanistan. Twelve years of photos and individual biometric data was stored on the military database, including information such as sex, age, marital status, and religion. Now the Taliban know exactly who the Christians are.

One of the Taliban brigade commanders, Nawazuddin Haqqani, has bragged about it during a recent interview with Zenger News, confirming that the Taliban does indeed have the US-made hand-held scanners and have gained access to the massive database of information to identify Christians.

The biometric units were used to scan faces, eyes, and fingerprints. The information was then stored in a central military database. This means the Taliban now has several thousand of these units that were left behind and complete control of the database.

• Please pray for the BTJ hackers and team members who are working on this.
• Please pray for the Christians whose information is on this database.
• Please pray for the Christians who are still in Afghanistan and preaching the gospel.

The full story includes pictures and explains how Christian hackers can help.

Watch a video about praying for Kabul (Prayercast).

You can also sing a prayer for Afghans to the tune of “Away in a Manger” (Thanks to Global Worship and FPUC in upstate New York. The author even provides sheet music.)

Read and contribute to a conversation at Brigada Today: What’s Your Take on Extracting Christians from Afghanistan?

Source: Sam George, Lausanne Movement, August 16, 2021

Over the last few months, several colleagues in mission organizations and seminaries around the world have asked me, “How has the pandemic impacted the future of human migration and mission?” Here are three initial reflections, from the macro-level down to the micro.

First, from a macro-level and long-term perspective, the pandemic has caused a demographic shrink. Untimely deaths, return migration, deurbanization, and economic restructuring will produce massive population shifts and its full impact will be seen in 30-40 years from now. Some products, services, and industries will become obsolete, while several new markets will emerge. The new modes of work, workplaces, and workers along with the resulting socioeconomic crises will displace multitudes away from their homes and across many borders.

Secondly, from a meso-level and mid-term perspective, the pandemic-related lockdown has forced us to stay put, but we are now more connected to more people than before. Unable to travel, we devised new ways to transact the old business and invent new ones. Though there are many positives to this new way of work, the speeding up of digital transformation is also resulting in increased confusion, conflicts, and psychological problems at home, work, and community. The boundaries of life, work, leisure, family, and church are now overlapping and remain out of sync.

The increased flow of information, ideas, money, products, and services across borders will result in increased migration in the future. We will travel to more places more frequently at a cheaper rate than ever before. More people will end up in new places within their country, continent, and across the globe. We are entering an age of hyperconnectivity and hypermobility, all of which will produce increased cross-cultural interactions and greater hybridization.

Thirdly, from a micro-level and short-term perspective, we will be forced to adapt blended forms of work, life, and even church. The church is not something we do in a particular place or time anymore. It has been liberated from its captivity to place, time, structure, and leadership. It is beyond the current predicaments of going digital or reworking physical meetings—it is a blend of scattering (diaspora) and gathering (ekklesia), as all of God’s people are unleashed into the mission of God, not just a few full-time religious professionals with specialized training.

Read the full story.

To learn more, connect with Lausanne’s Global Diaspora Network.

Source: Asia Harvest, August 30, 2021

Over the years, many people have told us they would love to come to China and experience the great revival that has swept over 100 million people into the kingdom of God in the past 30 years. Some have the idea that Chinese Christians must be angelic. In reality, the revival fires have blazed brightest among the simple, downtrodden people of China, whom God has decided to show mercy to.

We would like to share a precious video with you of a woman named Liang Shaoying. Her hard life and family tragedies caused Liang to call out to the one True God. She was met by the Lord Jesus Christ, who transformed her and her whole family.

As you watch this dear sister’s testimony, please pray for the many millions of Christians across China like her, who are currently facing the most brutal persecution since the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s.

Watch the full video on the Asia Harvest site or below (about eight minutes, Chinese with English subtitles, 7G.tv). It’s quite touching.

Source: Open Doors, August 16, 2021

The Taliban now hold Afghanistan. Earlier, Al Jazeera released videos of Taliban fighters entering the capital city Kabul with ease, taking the reins in the Presidential Palace, and declaring an end to the 20-year war. In addition, President Ashraf Ghani reportedly fled to Tajikistan over the weekend to prevent further bloodshed (although other sources mentioned Uzbekistan).

With the collapse of the government, the expansion of extremism, food shortages, and the raging pandemic, Afghanistan needs urgent prayer from the global Church now more than ever.

• Please pray for the small group of believers in the country. They are walking on eggshells and are uncertain who to trust.
• Pray for the displaced. A new wave of refugees is expected to come from Afghanistan to many parts of the Middle East and the rest of the world.
• Pray for the women. Many women fear that Taliban rule means they will be stripped of opportunities for education.
• Pray for the sick. Though under-reported in international media, COVID-19 cases are spiking in the country, and hospitals are limited in what they can offer.
• Pray that the country will not be a haven for extremists. The Taliban government of 20 years ago [were] known enablers of extremist Islamic organizations.

Read the full story.

Also read How to Pray for Afghanistan—and the Taliban (The Gospel Coalition), Afghan Pastors Ask for Prayer (9Marks), and A Liturgy for Responding to International Tragedy (The Upstream Collective).

Source: Haggai International, August 2021

The district of Rayagada [in the Indian state of Odisha] is like a step back in time. More than two-thirds of the population belong to indigenous tribes such as the Khonds and the Soras. And the tragic murder of a Christian missionary [Graham Staines] in the rural mountains of Rayagada years ago has left many believers wary of venturing into the community.

In 2021, after much prayer, fasting, and preparation, Ramachandran Periasamy’s team headed for one of the 22 villages [of the Dongoriakondh tribal people group in the Rayagada district]. Around 100 people live in this village, accessible only by foot.

“About 20 years ago, a local missionary went to this village to share the gospel but was killed by the tribal people. Thereafter a few attempted to reach the village but all attempts failed. For the last few years, no Christians have visited this place.”

Ramachandran’s team arrived in March and, to their surprise, were warmly welcomed. They prepared chicken curry for villagers and established connections with a few families. They were able to speak to the leader of the village who invited them back and has permitted them to implement valuable social programs.

Their warm reception has opened a door [for the team] to minister to the other villages in the locality, and years of church planting have taught them to win the favor of the people through relationship building if they want to credibly share the gospel.

Read the full story.

Source: International Christian Concern, August 13, 2021

Iraq adopted a five-year plan for the protection and building of human rights on July 26. The new Human Rights National Action Plan was launched with the support of the Office of the President and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). For Christians who have faced persecution, genocide, displacement from varying threats, land seizures, and more, the commitment to protect human rights as the country pursues recovery can be a sign of hope.

The new initiative is “seeking to harmonize national legislation with international human rights standards, to strengthen national policies for the protection and [the] promotion of human rights and to build individual and institutional human rights capacities,” according to Danielle Bell, Chief of UNAMI’s Human Rights Office and Iraq Representative.

In her speech, Bell also highlighted the key links between the protection of human rights and the growth of sustainable development in Iraq [and said,] “The need for strong and coherent action on human rights is more essential than ever. The Human Rights National Action Plan provides a solid framework for the legislative, policy, procedural and institutional reforms which can prevent human rights violations in the future and which will therefore make a difference to the lives of all Iraqis.”

Read the full story.

Source: Christian Aid, July 29, 2021

Since COVID-19 closed the border between Thailand and Laos, one of the things a local ministry leader misses most is face-to-face contact at border seminars with people such as 100-year-old “Uncle Pekelo.”

Still in good health, Uncle Pekelo has attended several of the ministry’s training seminars, where he has encouraged others with his testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness in the face of persecution, the leader said.

“He has endured so much in his walk with the Lord, to the point that he was imprisoned eight times for his faith,” he said. “Each time, he refused to renounce his trust in God, and to this day he continues to stand firm.”

At the church where Uncle Pekelo pastors a congregation of 50 families, local authorities once ordered the demolition of their worship building, the leader said.

“He and other believers hurried to put their Bibles in plastic bags to bury them in the jungle, to be hidden from being seized and burned… During his subsequent time in prison, he would secretly write letters to Christians in his village, encouraging them to stay firm in their faith. Does this not sound like the Apostle Paul?”

Read the full story.

Also from East Asia, read about the crews of 130 fishing boats forced to remove crosses and other Christian symbols (Back to Jerusalem).

Source: Christian Newswire, August 16, 2021

In a massive effort to share hope with millions around the world, the Luis Palau Association recently launched their latest online campaign, Take this Fear. Led by Wendy Palau, it features five messages focused on some of the most common fears women struggle with: abandonment, not being enough, losing control, being unhappy, and death and suffering.

Last year, they launched a similar campaign targeting mothers, leading to 2.8 million people being reached with the gospel ads. Seeing how effective online outreaches can be, Wendy and the team decided to go bigger with an online campaign targeting women of all ages. The vision—just like with live Palau Festivals—is for believers to use these videos as a tool to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with their friends and family.

“Fear can grip onto any of us so easily,” shared Wendy Palau. “That is why I knew it was so important to share these messages now. This tool has the ability to reach millions of people in some of the darkest and hardest to reach locations around the world with the Good News of Jesus.”

Read the press release or visit the Take This Fear website.

See also the article Why We Continue to Do Mass Evangelism, in which evangelist Greg Laurie addresses the argument that personal evangelism is more effective than mass evangelism (Outreach Magazine).

A year ago today, a tragic explosion shook Beirut. The people of Lebanon are still looking for answers. See a story below for how one Lebanese ministry is serving its community (Mission Network News).

In this issue:

1. LEBANON: Quality Education in the Name of Jesus
2. THE SAHEL: Christians in Peril in “Africa’s Afghanistan”
3. BANGLADESH: Christians Flee After Buddhist Radicals Attack
4. SOUTH ASIA: Believer Makes Sacrifice to Serve His Persecutor
5. WORLD: An Olympic Games Roundup

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for individual stories.