Category: News Briefs

Source: Asia Harvest, April 2020

Many people are asking, “Where is God?” during the current crisis. Friends, he is where he always is—ruling over the universe and working his perfect will and plan of salvation, as time marches forward to the end of the present age.

In recent months, house church leaders across China have reported a new openness to the gospel since the virus appeared, and even though meetings are not allowed and the Communist Party has shut down many Christian websites and social media platforms, many thousands of people have placed their trust in the Lord anyway. This week, [one of] our contacts in China wrote:

“More people are realizing that money and possessions will not save them, and many churches have been started through telephone and website evangelism, which has been very effective! Church planting has been going on, and just last week, in a five-day period, we distributed almost 40,000 Bibles to new believers! The more difficult the environment, the more opportunities we have for ministry. Now it is very effective to share the Word of God with non-Christians in China.”

» Full story also includes a look back at China’s pneumonic plague of 1911 (with 100% death rate: 43,942 infections and 43,942 deaths).

» See also Chinese Christians Defy Orders to Shut Down Online Services, Evangelism (Open Doors).

Source: Pioneers USA, April 14, 2020

After their country went into lockdown, a family in Europe saw ministry opportunities more than double. Twice as many kids come to youth group when it’s online. Turns out the youth find it easier to invite friends digitally, rather than in person.

An English conversation group used to meet weekly in person but now meets twice a week by video. “The topics are getting much deeper and more spiritually focused as the current circumstances are causing many to contemplate hope and security,” they add.

In addition, this family reports more conversations with local believers now considering their part in bringing the gospel message and hope of Jesus to the others. And this is not the only place that’s happening. “On the global level, the church has come together digitally on a massive scale to pray and seek God in the midst of the pandemic. We genuinely believe that God is opening the eyes of the world to see its need for a Savior. Jesus. He is the source of all hope and security!”

» Full story describes various ways global ministry is continuing despite lockdowns and closed borders.

» The mobilization team from Pioneers is hosting a virtual prayer event Monday, April 20, at 7pm EST. Hear from Pioneers workers in different parts of the world and participate in guided prayer.

Source: INcontext Ministries, March 25, 2020

On March 20, hundreds of thousands of Indian migrant workers lost their jobs after India instated a 21-day lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus. This loss of employment has caused the workers to embark on journeys home to their villages—some as far as 650 kilometers—on foot, as all public transportation has been suspended. There are approximately 100 million informal workers in India living and working in large cities to support their families living in remote villages.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to be taken by surprise at the mass exodus from the cities and has said that the Indian government will provide rent money and food for those affected, but that declaration hasn’t slowed the number of people fleeing the cities—many with no food, medicine, or other necessary resources.

From a Christian perspective, India has a Christian population of around 28 million, making up just over two percent of the total population. Indian church leaders have been working with local government leaders to provide more aid to their communities. Local churches have also been raising funds to deliver food and medicine in areas where the government aid has not been enough. However, this service has financially stretched churches since congregations are not able to gather physically to give their monetary offerings.

» Read full story with prayer points. As you probably heard, India has now extended the lockdown another three weeks, though some exceptions have been expanded (BBC).

» See also Prayer Emphasis for Sikhs, Prepare to Pray: April 12-16 and grab the free downloadable prayer guide (IMB).

» Read how churches in Russia and the former Soviet states are responding to the COVID-19 crisis with prayer and giving (Slavic Gospel Association).

Source: Mission Network News, April 13, 2020

A digital church in Iran provides fellowship, teaching, training, and counseling for Christians isolated from each other during Iran’s ongoing health crisis.

[Last Sunday] churches around the world met digitally to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A worldwide coronavirus outbreak has closed many church buildings, forcing Christians to move their services online.

But Heart4Iran launched a virtual church back in October 2019, Heart4Iran’s Mike Ansari says. “The conditions in Iran do not afford us the healthy and thriving church model that that we are used to in the West. [Most] of the Iranian believers are coming from [an] Islamic background. These are converts. They are isolated believers.” Heart4Iran calls their digital fellowship Mohabat Virtual Church.

Mohabat’s virtual church connects Iranian believers around the country into one family, Ansari says. “So, the very first virtual church that we launched for Iran in the region, we had roughly 1,000 people participate. And one individual… from Afghanistan gave his heart to Christ. This is telling us that there’s a huge demand, especially with a younger audience.”

» Full story. Heart4Iran is a network of 100+ministries working together to reach the Christians of Iran through media and broadcasting.

» From the US, read Ten Pieces of Good News We Are Hearing from Churches During the Pandemic (Thom Rainer). See also Using this Window of Opportunity and check out the tools there to get you started (Mobile Ministry Forum).

You’re probably feeling a range of emotions these days. Can you express them? This emotional word wheel by Geoffrey Roberts might help. (Thanks to Flowing Data.)

1. WORLD: Five Ways Isolation Can Radically Deepen Your Faith
2. INDIA: Gospel Opportunities Amid COVID-19
3. SRI LANKA: Hints of New Anti-Conversion Bill
4. HAITI: From Sorcerer to Church Planter
5. RESOURCES: Updates and Additions

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Greetings!

While we were waiting in the checkout line last week, the customer ahead of me asked, “How are you doing?” It wasn’t the “How ya doin’?” I’m accustomed to. It was more like “How are YOU doing? Are you okay in all of this?” Maybe the question was prompted by the magenta ink smear on my nose. (I was there to buy printer ink.) But I could tell the stranger was really concerned.

Times like these bring out the best and worst in people. My dear sister Andrea mentioned in our last in-person home group meeting that she is not always “the best version” of herself. For days after that sweet time of fellowship I pondered her words.

Sometimes we don’t have the right words to answer the question, “How are you?” Hence the word wheel above. For more thoughts on this all-important question, read The Greatest Gospel Question of This Moment: “How Are You Doing?” (Christianity Today).

In case you’re wondering, I’m feeling thankful and hopeful.

Pat

Source: Open Doors, March 27, 2020

Could God use this time of isolation to spark a new personal revival in our faith?

If we take to heart some of the popular stories from persecuted Christians who’ve experienced separation—some in prisons, some on house arrest, and others as secret believers cut off from any contact with Christian community because of their faith—the answer is an emphatic yes.

Here are five ways God can radically deepen our faith in times of isolation and solitude—if we’re brave enough to let him.

1. Isolation and solitude strip down our lives.
2. Isolation and solitude reveal the current that carries us.
3. Isolation and solitude form the geography for an authentic encounter with God.
4. Isolation and solitude can expand our prayer lives.
5. Isolation and solitude can increase our passion for his presence.

» Read more about these five ways to deepen your faith.

» Also from Open Doors, Stuck at Home? Worship with God’s People in These Five Songs.

Source: Mission Network News, March 30, 2020

Keeping the virus contained with 1.3+ billion people and a failed healthcare system is challenging, to say the least, but efforts are underway. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a three-week national lockdown.

“Travel from one state to the next is prohibited; all transportation has been shut down. People are filled with all kinds of anxiety,” says Todd Van Ek of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India.

Typically, India is one of the world’s most difficult places to be a Christian. However, “persecution has radically decreased because people are so consumed with the coronavirus,” Van Ek says.

In fact, “Parliament was going to meet and consider a national anti-conversion law, but then they shut Parliament down so it didn’t even come up for discussion,” he adds. “So we see a lot of positive even in the midst of all the problems that come with COVID-19.”

As described here, the nationwide “shelter-in-place” order ended Mission India’s typical ministry activities. However, “we’re still doing ministry; just the way we’re doing it has changed,” Van Ek explains.

Daily life in the villages is changing, too. “India is 70 percent rural, so the impact in the villages is completely different than the impact in the major cities,” Van Ek says. “In the villages, people are conducting worship services outside their home. People have more time because there’s this lockdown going on, so they’re engaged in more conversations.”

» Read full story and other reports about ministry in these times from Mission Network News.

» Also read India’s Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Vast Numbers Stranded and Hungry (New York Times).

Source: Barnabas Fund, March 24, 2020

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa hinted that he is prepared to introduce an anti-conversion bill to “save this country” from falling into deep difficulties.

On March 2, Rajapaksa, a leading member of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community and brother of the country’s president, spoke shortly before the announcement of a general election, due to take place on April 25 but now postponed because of the coronavirus.

Addressing the annual convention of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, Rajapaksa outlined the “threats facing the Sinhala Buddhist nation.” He identified the conversion of “traditional Buddhist families to other religions” as a major “threat.”

» Full story includes responses from local Christians.

» Also read Legal Confusion in Sri Lanka Fans Flame of Buddhist Nationalist Hostilities, Sources Say (Christian Headlines).

Source: Bible League, March 23, 2020

Thony, a 45-year-old father of three, comes from a community in Haiti where it is common to practice Voodoo. Thony not only practiced Voodoo, he called himself a sorcerer. He often worked with a woman who was a Voodoo priest, and they both served the spirits. During that time, Thony experienced attacks by these spirits, and the house of his priest partner was set on fire.

He recalls, “I became so afraid of that spiritual darkness that I decided to flee the area. That’s when I moved to a different community in Port-au-Prince.”

His life began to change for the better after his move. A pastor saw him struggling and offered to pay rent for Thony’s new home. Not long after, he was invited to attend a local church. He found new life in Christ when he went to church that day. That was 15 years ago. As he grew in his faith, he became more active in the church. Soon, the pastor suggested he attend church planter training. He says, “I was thrilled to be part of it!”

Thony loved the sense of community he felt in the training as well as the materials he received. He notes, “They have helped me fulfill my ministry significantly. I have used the books to study the Word of God with other people and to facilitate the growth of the churches where I’m a leader now.”

Today, he pastors two churches. “I used to be a sorcerer, but I am a servant of God now. I know and understand the Word of the Lord better.”

» Read full story.