Category: News Briefs

Source: OMF USA, June 8, 2020

“No way. That’s crazy!”

I was shocked. I’ve studied missiology. I have an advanced degree in cross-cultural ministry. All the research I could think of said the same thing: Near cultures can reach the unreached with the gospel more effectively and efficiently than far cultures. For someone from a far culture it just makes sense. Near cultures have language, similar cultural values, and a relatively short distance to travel.

But my friends of Southeast Asian heritage were challenging one of the core tenets in my philosophy of missions. When I asked if it would be easier for them to reach a certain people group in Southeast Asia, they said “No way. That’s crazy. It would be much easier for you to reach them than us.”

I’m a white male from Midwestern US. I don’t speak any Asian languages and I know next to nothing about the culture. Both of their families came from a minority people group nearby the majority people group I was praying would be reached.

Here’s what I missed: Racism. Tribalism. Ethnocentrism. Classism. History of oppression. History of power struggles. History of cultural clashes. Generations of stories that passed on prejudice like hand-me-down clothes.

I thought racism was primarily an American problem. Turns out it’s a human problem. And these ingrained prejudices can be bigger barriers to the gospel than language or culture or distance.

As I have watched the American, and particularly the white American church struggle with how to respond to both conscious and unconscious, individual and systemic racial oppression in our country over the past several years, I’ve become convinced that we need to incorporate a gospel-saturated response to racism in our cross-cultural training.

» Read full story.

» See also 10 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2020 (LifeWay) and Missions in a COVID Crisis: Diversity Implications (World Evangelical Alliance).

Source: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, June 9, 2020

Indonesia is home to some 6.8 million Minangkabau. They are the fourth largest ethnic group in Indonesia and the dominant ethnic group in West Sumatra. They are 99.72 percent Muslim and 0.26 percent Christian.

On June 3, Indonesia’s Communication and Information Minister removed a Bible app, “Kitab Suci Injil Minangkabau” [The Bible in Minangkabau language] from the Google Play Store at the request of West Sumatra governor, Irwan Prayitno. Backed by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI, Indonesia’s top body of Islamic clerics), Irwan insisted that the Bible app is offensive to the Minangkabau, whose culture is based on Sharia and the Quran, not the Bible.

The action sets a precedent and has triggered fierce debate on religious freedom both in West Sumatra and across Indonesia. Please pray.

» Full story cites an article from The Jakarta Post.

Also from the Jakarta Post: Indonesia has said its citizens will not be allowed to participate in the haj pilgrimage this year, even if Saudi Arabia reopens Mecca and Medina in time.

Source: God Reports, June 3, 2020

[Rahil Patel] was raised in England in a Hindu family and hungered for whoever God was.

“Hinduism is a canvas of hundreds of religions with different doctrines and ideas and philosophies… I was so desperate to search for God.”

His drive to find God led him to travel to India, his parents’ homeland [where he trained to become a Hindu priest]. After only one month, however, a small voice spoke in his left ear: “Have you made the right choice?”

It was the first seed of doubt.

» Read full story or a related 2017 article, Found By Love: A Hindu Priest Encounters the One True God (BillyGraham.org.uk). I encourage you to watch Rahil Patel’s eight-minute video testimony (BillyGraham.org) or listen watch him share it at a 2018 conference in Chennai (The Witness). He also paints a picture of what it’s like to grow up as a Gujarati Hindu in London.

1. EDITOR’S NOTE: George Floyd, Ravi Zacharias
2. SENEGAL: A Church for the Wolof
3. CHINA: The Red Dragon Rages
4. WORLD: Seven Countries on the Watch List That Might Surprise You
5. NEPAL: Breakthrough in High Places

Greetings,

Though we avoid reporting on stories already covered well elsewhere, we should acknowledge the death of George Floyd, the grief and anger many are feeling, and the violence that’s spread across the United States.

• See how a news ministry in New Zealand reports events and asks readers to pray for the United States (INcontext Ministries).
• Read Weep with Those Who Weep (Wycliffe Bible Translators USA).
• Consider the words of InterVarsity’s Tom Lin on the ministry’s resolve to pursue justice and reconciliation.

Likely you have also already heard about the May 19 death of Christian leader, evangelist, and apologist Ravi Zacharias.

• Read a brief article about his contribution (World Evangelical Alliance).
• Watch a livestream of his funeral on Facebook.
• Pray a prayer for justice and peace Ravi wrote after another tumultuous season (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries).

With love and prayers,
Marti Wade

Source: WorldVenture, June 1, 2020

On Saturday, May 30, 2020, we broke ground for a permanent place of worship. The story behind the ceremony for a new church building began years ago. After decades of missionary work, there are only about 100 Wolof believers [known Wolof believers in Dakar]. Out of those 100 believers, less than a third attend church on a regular basis. This breaks our hearts. When we spoke to some of them, they shared several reasons for not attending.

• “It doesn’t feel sacred.” They desire a formal place of worship.
• “It doesn’t feel Senegalese.” The worship style of most churches is imported.
• “They can’t understand it.” It is in French instead of Wolof, their heart language.
• “They can’t find it.” Many Dakar churches rent houses. The rented houses do not feel like a sacred place to worship. The rented houses are in obscure neighborhoods and are often forced to move every few years.

Because of this, we felt it was important to start a church, but we wanted it to be Senegalese. We desired to plant a church in partnership with our church association. After talking and praying with them for a long time, they finally came to us and said, “We need a church in Dakar for our young people. They are full of faith when they leave the villages for work or school in the city and they come back lost.”

We had a prayer of dedication for the land and the building on Saturday, May 30. On June 2, we [began] laying the foundations of the building. As we reflect on what God has done in the past, we see how God has paved our way.

» Full story explores obstacles they had to overcome. Let’s pray for the Wolof church to grow and draw more people to Jesus.

» Maybe you heard that a company in Dakar has developed a US$1, 10-minute COVID-19 test (Fast Company). Some at the lab have gotten sick, though, and one has died (The New York Times).

» More from West Africa: read a roundup of news and analysis of three violent attacks in Burkina Faso (Sahel blog) and read about children left behind in West Africa’s conflict-torn regions.

Source: Asia Harvest, June 2020

We believe the intense spiritual battle underway in China will be a turning point in the war between the light of the gospel and the forces of darkness in China. If God’s people endure and overcome, the revival fires that have blazed in China for decades may grow to a new intensity not seen before, with tens of millions more people coming to Christ.

The militant atheists who lead the Communist Party are terrified of this prospect. They are doing everything they can to stop the gospel spreading, which (ironically) they view as a virus. Official government documents have referred to the “Jesus Fever” infecting multitudes of people.

A few weeks ago (on May 3), the below video emerged of a typical house church meeting being raided in the city of Xiamen in Fujian Province. Six brothers who were identified as leaders were taken away and have not been heard from since. Pray not only for these brothers and sisters, but for the tens of millions of believers across China who are currently facing similar trials.

» See full story. Video is about 2.5 minutes in length and includes English text and subtitles.

Source: Open Doors, June 2, 2020

Each year when the World Watch List releases, there are many countries that you probably expect to see on the list because you follow the news. You know Kim Jong Un is a dictator, so you’re not surprised to see North Korea. You prayed about the Asia Bibi case, so it might make sense to see Pakistan on the list. You joined millions of Christians in prayer for Andrew Brunson’s release, so seeing Turkey on the World Watch List isn’t a shock.

But then there are other countries that might make you do a double take. Maybe the country is a tourist destination, known more for its sparkling beaches or incredible natural wonders than its treatment of believers. Or maybe the country is made up of Christians as its majority religion—how could such a place have a problem with Christian persecution?

And yet, these are countries that are oppressing God’s people, on the World Watch List for important reasons

» Full story highlights Maldives, Qatar, Nepal, Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya, and Russia and shares ways to pray.

Source: United World Mission, June 1, 2020

The Good News of Jesus Christ permeates even the furthest of places. Watch how God used Nepali partners to bring breakthrough in Nepal, reaching 40 people groups in 500 villages and training 2,000 Nepali leaders.

» See full story. Video is almost eight minutes long and beautifully illustrates key principles for reaching oral people, partnership, holistic ministry, etc.

» See also the Prayercast page about Nepal for ways to pray.

In this edition:

1. SAUDI ARABIA: A Tiny Church Grows
2. MIDDLE EAST: COVID-19 Lockdown Ignites Spiritual Interest
3. IRAN: Christian Sentenced to Flogging and Prison
4. LAOS: Christians Flee Destroyed Homes
5. SIERRA LEONE: Growing in Trust, Finding the Path of Truth