Category: News Briefs

Source: Mission Network News, December 13, 2019

India has introduced a new law re-determining who qualifies for citizenship. In a way, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is a legal manifestation of growing sentiment in India that says to be Indian is to be Hindu. Both this law and mindset clash with India’s setup as a supposedly secular government.

Providing more details on the topic is a spokesperson for Voice of the Martyrs, USA, Todd Nettleton.

“Well, this is an interesting law because it grants people from Pakistan, people from Bangladesh, who have come into India, citizenship as long as they are not Muslims, which are the majorities in those countries. And so, it is something that is basing citizenship simply on religion, and so there have been protests,” Nettleton says.

Both Muslims and Hindus have taken to streets expressing their disapproval for the new law.

» Read full story as well as more about this bill in a thought-provoking article from the BBC.

» Religions in India in order of percent of the population are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, then Sikhism. Want to know more about Sikhs? Check out The Edmonton Appeal (Lausanne Movement).

Source: Open Doors, December 16, 2019

A bus attack by the Islamic extremist group al Shabaab in Kenya has claimed ten lives. Reportedly, the militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in which they separated the “local” (Muslims) and “non-local” (non-Muslims) passengers before executing ten non-locals, including several police officers.

The bus was traveling from the Kenyan cities of Wajir and Mandera near the Somalian border—an area mostly inhabited by ethnic Somali Kenyans.

Amani, an Open Doors team leader in the field, reported that one of Open Doors’ local ministry partners called after the attack.

“They have attacked us again as usual,” the partner said.

Sadly, Christians have come to expect violent attacks like this as they head into holiday seasons, such as Christmas or Easter, Amani explained. While media outlets have been slow to specifically say Christians were targeted in this attack, Amani offers perspective from being on the ground in Kenya.

» Full story reports claims that some politicians are seeking to eliminate Christianity in Kenya. Let’s pray for an end to this kind of violence.

» Even as believers worldwide look forward to the holiday, some may be in particular danger at this time. We read that Indonesia has boosted Christmas security over potential terror threats (France24). An opinion piece from Foreign Policy Association asks: Where is the outrage over the plight of persecuted Christians?

Source: Catalyst Services, November 2019

While a number of churches are intentionally reaching out to Muslim immigrants, many have failed to recognize another huge, unreached people bloc with whom their congregation may have much greater daily contact. Who are these people hidden among us? Hindus. The US alone is home to 2.6 million Hindus, the vast majority of whom come from Indian people groups largely unpenetrated by the gospel.

The number of South Asian immigrants, most of them Hindu, has grown steadily since the 1960s. As a group, these newcomers are the wealthiest and best educated of foreign-born Americans. Ninety percent represent socially advantaged groups, the traditional upper castes that are some of India’s least-reached people groups. A similar story prevails in Canada, and other Western countries also have large Hindu immigrant populations.

When the map above surfaced recently on the internet, many Christians were shocked. Excluding Mexicans, who make up by far the largest percentage of US immigrants, the swath of bright blue on this map reveals that Indians are the second largest foreign-born group in many states, especially in the East and Midwest. In the years from 1995-2017, an average of 65,000 Indians immigrated to the US each year.

Despite these statistics, few evangelical churches have seriously considered how to reach this major people-group bloc whom God has been integrating into their neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.

Why aren’t we reaching them?

» Complete article includes analysis, stories, and recommended resources. Subscribe to Postings or browse the archives.

Source: Morning Star News, November 29, 2019

After spending 11 years behind bars for a murder they did not commit, five Christians in eastern India were finally ordered to be freed on Tuesday (Nov. 26), sources said.

The Supreme Court of India issued a decision granting bail to the five Christians from Odisha (formerly Orissa) state falsely accused of killing Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, whose death on Aug. 23, 2008 in Kandhamal District touched off anti-Christian attacks that killed 120 people, destroyed nearly 6,000 homes and displaced 55,000 Christians.

The Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), said the legal fight does not end with the granting of bail to the seven accused Christians.

“This is just the first step,” Lal told Morning Star News. “The case still has to be fought at the High Court in Odisha.”

At the same time, Lal said he was glad that the Christians will be able to celebrate Christmas with their families.

» Full story points out that India has steadily risen on the Open Doors list of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, currently ranked number 10.

Source: World Evangelical Alliance, November 5, 2019

Just days ago, Christians joined in a public protest against the Algerian government for shutting down churches. This is unusual. [Christians in Algeria] usually they work out these matters behind closed doors. But this time it was different. Christians (specifically Protestants/Evangelicals), sufficiently frustrated by the harassment of their government, took to the streets in protest.

Take a moment to watch these bold Christians in their public protest. Then pray. Secondly, help them in their drive to afford the lawful gathering in worship. As you do, you will hear them in Arabic sing this worship song: “How beautiful you are, you are the Holy one, the only one deserving all dignity and authority.”

Their singing was done while standing in front of a government office, in a country where as a minority, they face the power and wrath of a Muslim-majority government.

» Read full story with background information.

» Also read Algeria: Crackdown on Protestant Faith-Churches Sealed; Worshipers Beaten (Human Rights Watch) and, from Ethiopia, a story about an evangelical church shut down and its members arrested in a religiously contested area (World Watch Monitor). In this case, the conflict seems to be between Protestants and Orthodox.

Source: Barnabas Fund, October 29, 2019

Church registrations are increasing in Uzbekistan with three churches validated in September, and up to five more registrations expected to be finalized in October. The first church registration in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where penalties for Christian worship were previously harsher than in the rest of Uzbekistan, is expected within weeks.

The rise in registrations could signal greater religious freedoms for Christians under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who was elected into office in the Muslim-majority country in December 2016.

President Mirziyoyev is expected to introduce a new religious law soon, under which the membership requirement for church registration will be lowered from 100 members to 50.

A Barnabas contact said the long-hoped-for registration increase was “hard to believe.” He added that, in some cities, the authorities had even approached pastors to offer to help them navigate the process of proving church buildings meet strict registration requirements. The church registrations were even broadcast on national television in a report featuring an interview with a pastor and footage of a church service.

Before Mirziyoyev’s election, Uzbekistan was known for its harsh treatment of Christians. But within the first year of his leadership, the first 3,000 Uzbek Bibles, partly funded by Barnabas, were sold legally in the country and official celebrations were held to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Fines imposed on Christians by the courts were also lower.

» Read full story as well as Christian Wins Landmark Case in Russia Over Right to Worship in Private Homes, also from Barnabas.

» Several of our regular sources published reports about a South Korean pastor killed in Turkey in what may have been a targeted assassination (Mission Network News). See an interesting editorial piece on Recognizing the Phenomenon of Persecution of Christians Globally (Forbes).

Source: Mission Network News, October 17, 2019

A village in Liberia with a gruesome history now has new purpose. Over a century ago, villagers buried six girls alive as a sacrifice for power. They then erected six stones on the sacrificial grounds and worshiped these stones as a symbol of power bought with blood.

”As [a group of evangelists] came along the trail, there was a snake that had been planted on it. It was a big deadly snake. They say if it bites you, you will not live. So, in other words, they had kind of mined the road to get in. It was planted there so that this man wouldn’t be able to bring the gospel into this area.”

A few of the team members accidentally stepped over the snake, thinking it was just another tree root. Miraculously, the snake did not strike.

“When he got to the village, everybody was stunned that he was still alive!…Three days later, the town chief and the villagers accepted Christ and removed all six of the stones that were a memorial for the six girls who had been sacrificed.

“Now the snake is dead, victory was won over Satan, and God’s light will run where the darkness was.”

» Read full story.

» From the other side of Africa (specifically Kenya), read Thirty-Blanket Bride, about a Westerner discovering her faulty perceptions (Thrive).

Source: Various

Recent military action in northern Syria has brought more devastation and displacement. Watch a new video crying out to God for Syria (Prayercast).

Northern Syria is now divided into five zones with leaders are at odds with one another (Al-Monitor) and the region faces a critical water shortage (Syria Direct). Recent violence is taking quite an emotional toll on Christians (Open Doors).

Of course, this has been going on for some time. The Syrian Network for Human Rights recently reported that more than 14,000 people died under torture at the hands of the Syrian regime from 2011 to 2019, while the families of another 130,000 still detained wonder if their loved ones are still alive (The National).

That’s a lot to take in. And against that backdrop, we read this. World Vision asked Syrian refugee children in Lebanon what they are thankful for.

» Read Syrian Refugee Children Find Hope in Thankfulness.

Source: Forum 18, November 14, 2019

Three Protestant pastors given long jail terms in absentia for leading New Life Pentecostal Church in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital Almaty lost their appeal at Almaty City Court on November 1. The three have said they will appeal to Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court in the capital Nur-Sultan.

The pastors were variously accused of founding the Church in 1991 with “criminal intent,” and “by means of the technology of psychological and psychotherapeutic influence with the aim of causing psychological harm to the health and stealing others’ property by means of deception and abuse of trust… with the use of information technologies and methods of turning the victims into a state of changed consciousness (trance).”

The case against the three pastors is “complete drivel,” Yevgeny Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Humants and the Rule of Law commented. “I have read the verdict. It is nonsense.”

The three convicted pastors now live in the United States. Pastor Zaikin told Forum 18 “we still want to return to Kazakhstan.”

Pastor Kryukov says attendance at New Life Church’s various services on an average Sunday in Almaty is currently about 850.

» Full story includes pictures and much more detail.

» Pray for this region with a new Central Asia video from Prayercast.

Source: OMF International, November 2019

In 2017 I had the pleasure of spending three months in a Southeast Asian country as part of OMF’s Serve Asia program.

In all honesty, at times the needs seemed overwhelming due to cultural differences, the lack of healthcare, or limited resources and the lack of facilities which I had become used to. However, it challenged me to depend wholly on God and to ask him first. I also had to “think outside the box” and look at what was available and what would work best locally.

An example was using a combination of crates and bricks to raise the height of a bench to help a man with cerebral palsy do his work. He loves his role of sawing and sanding wooden board for artwork!

The lack of language also made things more complicated although I managed a few language lessons and grasped a few basic phrases which always caused my new friends to smile (and sometimes laugh).

I was also able to spend time helping at a local Christian home school. This allowed me to use my occupational therapy skills in sharing resources and advice for teachers and assistants working with children with additional learning needs.

Admittedly, I had only envisaged this as a short-term trip. However, the experience has opened my eyes to the opportunities for the gospel in this country and God has started a work in my heart as to the real possibility of longer-term mission. I was surprised by what God could do through me.

» Read full story.

» Other stories about using your talents in missions: Read how a man who worked in marketing saw his skills repurposed for ministry (Beyond) and how runners are needed in Susan (Mission Network News), plus follow the journey of a Malaysian Chinese girl pursuing God’s call while honoring her elderly parents (OM).

» See also, from Pioneers, Why Not You? Why Not Now? and Discerning Your Calling.