Nigeria: Christians Offer Eid Greetings and Plead for Unity

Source: International Christian Concern, March 23, 2026

The message of unity came as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) encouraged Nigerians to use Eid-el-Fitr as a moment for national renewal despite insecurity and financial hardship.

CAN President Daniel Okoh extended Eid greetings to the Muslim community, urging citizens to uphold values observed during Ramadan, including care for vulnerable people and peaceful coexistence.

“From insecurity to economic hardship, the challenges before us are real, but so too is our shared strength,” Okoh said, calling on Nigerians to prioritize dialogue and unity across religious and ethnic lines.

The plea for unity comes amid continued violence affecting Christian communities in Nigeria’s northeastern and Middle Belt regions.

Despite these conditions, Christian and Muslim residents in several communities continued customary Eid visits, sharing meals and exchanging greetings in mixed neighborhoods, even as some families remained displaced or avoided travel due to safety concerns.

Read the full story and Dozens Killed During Palm Sunday Attacks in Nigeria. Find such news overwhelming? Responding to the Palm Sunday attacks, Global Christian Concern has a short but powerful article on five ways to pray that might be applied to other situations like this one. 

ICC also reports that thousands of Christian families are being evicted from their homes in Pakistan.

Morocco: Completion of the Moroccan Arabic Bible Marks a Milestone

Source: United Bible Societies, March 15, 2026

After nearly three decades of perseverance, prayer, and quiet faithfulness, a historic milestone was reached. In January 2026, the first complete Bible in Moroccan Arabic was officially launched in both print and audio formats.

More than a publishing achievement, the launch represents the culmination of sustained local commitment, global partnership, and long-term investment in making Scripture accessible in the everyday language spoken by millions of Moroccans.

The completion of the Moroccan Arabic Bible represents many years of faithful work by a committed team and the steady support of partners who believed in the vision of making Scripture accessible in the language people use in daily life.

Throughout the years, progress was often gradual and required patience and resilience. Yet the shared commitment remained strong, that people should be able to read and hear God’s Word in language that feels natural and familiar.

With the Bible now available, attention turns to helping people access it and engage with its message. Efforts will focus on ensuring that the Scriptures can reach readers and listeners in meaningful ways, both in print and through digital platforms.

Read the full story

See also God’s Word for All People: Scripture Brought to Life (Wycliffe Bible Translators).

Pakistan: Muslim Man’s Custody of Christian Girl Upheld

Source: Morning Star News, March 26, 2026

A court in Pakistan on Wednesday (March 25) upheld the marriage of a forcibly converted 13-year-old Christian girl to the Muslim man accused of kidnapping her, sending a wave of anguish and alarm through the Christian community.

Christian rights advocates and civil society groups strongly condemned the verdict by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which granted custody of young Maria Shahbaz to Shehryar Ahmad, a 30-year-old Muslim alleged to have forcibly converted and married her.

Maria was abducted on July 29, and since then, her family has repeatedly sought judicial intervention to recover her, without success.

Read the full story. Pray for Maria and others like her in diverse contexts.

Another teenager who could use your prayers is 16-year-old Jonathan Muir Burgos, arrested with his father, a pastor in Cuba who was later released. We found multiple articles about their arrest but no reports that the son, who has significant health issues, was released from custody.

China: Are Bibles Banned in China? It’s Complicated

Source: Mission Network News, March 31, 2026

Kurt Rovenstine, of Bibles for China, disagrees with recent claims that China is one of the countries leading a trend of banning the Bible, as reported in a recent article.

“The way these articles are framed and the statements that they make, I think you have to be able to dig a little bit deeper to find out what is really the issue,” says Rovenstine.

So what is true?

In the article referenced, China is mentioned alongside Saudi Arabia and North Korea as some of the most dangerous countries to possess a Bible—Rovenstine notes this misrepresents the reality. China is not in the top three for limited access, but it is on the list of countries where access to the Bible is most restricted.

The article also claims the Chinese government is “removing the Bible from online retailers and replacing it with a ‘sanitized’ version.”

“We’ve not seen any of that,” says Rovenstine. “Nobody who’s claiming that has ever shown us that or actually produced one of these compromised Bibles.”

Read the full article for more perspective and some ways to pray.

You might also be interested in a recent article about the unique challenges Chinese missionaries face (China Source).

The Least-Reached in America; 5 Podcasts, Global Data & More

  1. Article: Where Should I Plant a Church in the USA?
  2. Podcasts: 5 Recent Episodes You Might Want to Listen to
  3. Data: World Christianity in Context, 2026 and Beyond
  4. Article: Four Ways to See the Nations at Our Doorstep
  5. Events: April Conferences, Classes, Training and More

Read or share the email edition

Article: Where Should I Plant a Church in the USA?

Source: J.D. Payne, March 10, 2026

The US is the third largest country in the world in population. It is home to 357,000 churches. This country is also home to the third largest number of unreached people groups in the world.

A great deal of US church planting is not guided by these realities. We must ask questions related to gospel need.

  • Where are the least-reached states, cities, and counties?
  • How many evangelical churches exist per population?
  • Where are the least-reached areas that include unreached people groups?

Read more and see also a post with links to current data on least-reached US areas, including an interactive map where you can pull up info about each state and certain counties and cities. Also note four dangers of research. I didn’t see anything about the distribution of unreached people in the US, but the author will be posting more in coming weeks.

Podcasts: 5 Recent Episodes You Might Want to Listen to

Sources: Various

Spiritual Warfare Explained: What Every Christian Needs to Know

Source: Everyday Radical

In this episode, David Platt and Austin Huang explore what the Bible says about unseen spiritual warfare and the return of Christ.

Listen in.

For Such a Time as This: An Iranian Pastor on War, Hope and Revival

Source: The Reflexio Podcast

This conversation will help you better understand the spiritual, political, and human dynamics of what God is doing in Iran today—and how to stand with Iranian Christians in informed hope-filled prayer.

Catch the conversation.

Why I Can’t Look Away: Iran, the Persian People & Fighting for Peace

Source: The Global Goer Podcast

Hear Jeannie Marie’s raw, personal take on why this war matters to every Global Goer—and why the Persian people need our voice right now.

Get this take.

Developing Resilience in Future Mission Workers

Source: The Global Missions Podcast

Drawing from his new book Godly Grit, Kyle Farran shares why perseverance matters to God, what causes many to leave prematurely (like unmet expectations), and how both individuals and churches can better prepare the next generation.

Hear from Kyle.

Why Mental Health Matters for the Church and Global Mission

Source: The Lausanne Movement Podcast

Drawing from over three decades of ministry and counseling experience, Dr. Gladys Mwiti explains why mental health care is essential to God’s mission of restoring the whole person.

Watch this episode.

What are you listening to lately? Let me know.

An Open Letter to Relatives of Workers in Conflict Zones

Source: A Life Overseas

Dear parent or sibling of a loved one living in a conflict zone,

I see you. Oh how I see you. I see you grabbing your phone before you are even out of bed to see what happened overnight in the Middle East and find reassurances that your family there is okay. I see you wondering why they haven’t gotten on an airplane and come back “home” to safety. I see you texting them, asking them several times a week (several times a day maybe?) “How are you? How are the kids? What do you need?”

Read more. Not related to such a worker, but know one? Check on them. Let them know they are not forgotten.

Data: World Christianity in Context, 2026 and Beyond

Source: International Bulletin of Missionary Research

Each year, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary provides statistics about the world’s 2.6 billion Christians. This year’s IBMR article highlights new future projections to the year 2075 (while previous data went only to 2050). Major findings of the 2075 data include:

  • The continuation of Christianity’s shift to the Global South
  • The increased importance of Christian-Muslim relations in light of the latter’s increasing share of the world’s population
  • The Demographic Republic of the Congo eventually replacing the United States as the country with the most Christians in the world

The full article is available to subscribers or can be purchased.

The one-page statistical snapshot, though, is free and well worth perusing and using if you write or teach about missions and the state of the world. 

Article: Four Ways to See the Nations at Our Doorstep

Source: Everywhere to Everywhere

More than 300 million people today live outside the country of their birth, a population that, if gathered in one place, would rank among the largest nations on earth, representing nearly 4% of the world. Most have moved because the world is broken: war, economic collapse, famine, environmental disaster, violence. Christians rightly pray for justice and peace and work toward wise and compassionate policy. Nations have the responsibility to order their borders and laws.

But Christians must also ask a deeper question: What if God is at work in this movement?

Read Four Ways to See the Nations at Our Doorstep.