Category: News Briefs

Source: Praying for Indonesia, February 3, 2021

A West Sumatra high school punished Christian students for refusing to wear a hijab during online classes. Parental outcry led to a ruling of unacceptable religious intolerance from the Education and Culture minister, and an apology from the high school.

Praise God this incident for the firm action by the Education Minister. Pray that this results in addressing general intolerance of Christians and other minorities.

Published on Facebook. The intersection of dress codes and online schooling got us thinking. But it also spurred a legal ruling: See Indonesia Bans Forced Religious Attire in Schools (BBC) and a longer article from Al Jazeera.

Also from Indonesia: Some missionaries are looking for 1,000 daily prayer partners to intercede for the people group they hope to reach. See Pray for the Banjar. There are too many similar efforts for us to curate them all, but if you have a vested interest in a specific group, look/ask around to see if there’s a prayer campaign you might want to join.

Source: Christian Aid Mission, February 11, 2021

A 19-year-old man in one area had engaged in [occult] practices for years, with sorcerers sending him to church services to carry out spiritual attacks—casting secret spells or invoking demons as he disrupted worship, a local ministry leader said.

“Once he came to our church to attack as usual, but he was caught by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word during our evening service,” the leader said. “He never went back to the dark world. He became a member of our church and is following a discipleship course in order to be baptized.”

The leader learned that the young man had been born in a rural area to destitute parents who could not afford to send him to school. An aunt who practiced a blend of Islam and witchcraft had offered to take him to a city to live with her on the false premise that she would educate him. Actually she sought to initiate him into the occult; she dedicated him to serve Satan, the leader said.

The full story acknowledges that neither witchcraft nor Islam are common in the impoverished country, where most identify as Christians, but this district is a bit different. We can pray for the three new churches there.

Please also pray for Haiti, facing a constitutional crisis (Miami Herald).

Source: Open Doors, February 1, 2021

On the morning of February 1, Christians around the world woke up to the news there had been a coup in Myanmar. The military has detained a number of opposition politicians, including the civilian leader of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Our sources on the ground tell us Myanmar’s new military takeover could lead to news blackouts, tightening restrictions on the church, and a resurgence of pro-Buddhist sentiment. Yet local believers in Myanmar are responding the best way they know how—through prayer.

Reports from local church contacts have been trickling in. “Pastors are admonishing their members to pray and intercede for the country in their homes,” shares [a partner named] Daisy. “In less restricted areas, some pastors and believers have gathered for prayer meetings in their churches.”

“The majority of our contacts across Myanmar are still out of reach, but despite the absence of communication, there is confidence that the Holy Spirit will give the church leaders wisdom for such a time as this.”

» Full story and a followup story include more on-the-ground reports and prayer points. A story from Mission Network News includes similar language, saying the national church sees this as a time to pray as in the days of Queen Esther (see Esther 4:16).

» For background and continuing coverage of events in Myanmar, see coverage from the BBC.

» You might also be interested in The Case for Multi-Ethnic Churches in Multi-Cultural Myanmar (OMF International). It’s part of Mission Roundtable, OMF’s “journal for reflective practitioners.”

Source: International Mission Board, January 26, 2021

Amita tells her story: how her family’s travels as refugees had been riddled with harrowing difficulties since leaving Afghanistan. Her father’s declining health added to her daily burden. Amita’s brother, a recent convert to Christianity, told her of a hope that went beyond this natural world. Struggling to understand, she found it difficult to believe. She was lonely, scared, and tired.

Over the weeks, Amita thought about her brother’s words. Little by little light broke into her darkness and she soon started to think this must be true. Jesus must be reaching out for her. She talked with her brother again and asked how she, too, could follow Jesus.

Upon arriving in Europe, after watching God deliver her father not only from earthly death, but also eternal death, Amita and her family sought out a believing community [and] started attending gatherings regularly.

As this desire grew in Amita’s heart, an IMB worker and a national partner also began praying that God would gather a group of Afghan teen girls, an often overlooked demographic in circles of new believers. As God answered this prayer, Amita agreed to invite other girls and bring her 14-year-old sister along.

Today Amita passionately shares what God has done for her. Never missing a meeting, she encourages girls who have not yet committed to follow Jesus to seek his Word and trust him with their lives. Will you ask God to extend her influence among this young generation of Afghan girls, orchestrating a spread of the gospel and changed lives?

» Full story includes a short video providing a good introduction to greater Central Asia.

» For other articles related to refugees and immigrants, see Jordan Becomes First Country to Vaccinate Refugees (INcontext Ministries) and US Travel Ban Lifted, New Mission Field Takes Shape (Mission Network News).

Source: Open Doors, January 29, 2021

Our Africa services team is reporting that Nigeria’s army has reportedly rescued hundreds of people abducted by Boko Haram—including at least one of the 112 still-missing Chibok girls kidnapped in April 2014 in an attack on a girls’ finishing school in the northeastern Nigerian village of Chibok.

A military source told Nigerian news publication The Cable that the rescue followed a series of military operations in the Sambisa Forest where hundreds of captives are being freed.

“For a month now, troops have been bombarding the Sambisa forest and Boko Haram hideouts, and many civilians are being rescued,” a military source said. “When the enemies are neutralized, those they have captured regain freedom.” Among those freed is a Chibok girl, Hauwa Halima Maigana, rescued after her captors’ hideout was cleared.

According to CNN, Maigana called her father to say she and others had managed to flee Boko Haram militants Thursday. Her father told CNN, “She asked me, ‘Is this my daddy? Is this my daddy?’ and she started crying. The crying was [so] much and I couldn’t hear her very well. I was crying too. I never expected to hear from her again.”

» Read full story. Let’s pray for Maigana, her family, and Nigeria.

» See also Kidnapped Christian Professor in Nigeria Released, Sources Say and Christians Leaders Killed in Middle Belt of Nigeria (Morning Star News).

Source: Beyond, January 30, 2021

In North India, a young follower of Jesus tutors in the home of a neighboring Sikh family. She learned that one of the boys could not hear or speak and that the family was being ostracized. Because of their “cursed son,” extended family members would not let them visit.

The boy’s parents had spent a lot of money trying to heal him, but nothing worked. They felt deep shame. The father had tried to kill himself several times. The whole family even ingested poison once, attempting to end it all.

For weeks, the young woman prayed with the family. Then her father, Sanjay, went to their home and read the story of creation: how God created mankind. He explained that as God’s creation, it wasn’t right for them to try to kill themselves.

The family began visiting a nearby house church and listened to the testimonies. After six weeks, they asked to learn how to start a Bible study group in their home. Their lives improved in many ways! The son began responding to his name, and now even says “Mama” and “Dada.” Though some of their extended family members still reject them, they are strong in Jesus.

» Read full story.

Source: Story Partners, January 13, 2020

Learn how God led Luke, a highly paid London attorney living in New York, to a new life loving and serving his neighbors in the oldest favela of Rio de Janeiro. Great story of a holistic, relationship-based ministry.

» Explore a different corner of South America in Bamboozled & Blessed: Miracles Deep in the Amazon Jungle (Pioneers USA).

Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity, December 2020

Every year in the International Bulletin of Mission Research we present an annual snapshot of global Christianity, a one-page version of which can be downloaded for free. The table provides a statistical overview of the world’s 2.5 billion Christians and their activities.

» Get the table and see also an FAQ with quick facts about global Christianity. For example, did you know that by 2015, 68% of Christians (1.6 billion) and 84% of Evangelicals (270 million) were people of color?