Missions Catalyst

Source: Pioneers-USA and Commnet, July 11, 2023

A village pastor asked a Pioneers member to come with him to pray for Bee, who was very sick. She was also having brutal and disturbing nightmares. Turns out she and her husband had made a deal with a witch doctor 30 years before. That seemed to be behind what she was suffering now.

Several more brothers and sisters from the village church came to visit Bee. One was a new believer, Jeab. She didn’t know very much of the Bible and her faith still had a lot of Buddhist thinking. But she prayed to Jesus with boldness. Lek, Bee’s niece, was a young teenage girl. She came and played Christian songs from YouTube on her phone. Then there was Deng, a Buddhist woman who just watched things unfold around her.

“All of this challenged my theology,” said the Pioneers worker. “I thought we just needed to pray. I thought those prayers should come from mature Christians. And, at the same time, I was becoming aware of my own sin.”

Bee’s life wasn’t the only one that would be changed in the next few days.

Read the full story.

Source: Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, June 30, 2023

Emmanuel Iranian Church, a CBWC congregation in North Vancouver, BC, recently had a significant day: They baptized a total of 130 people.

Asked how this came about, Pastor Arash of Emmanuel explained,

“A spiritual revival is happening among Iranians …There is a void and a search for the true God in most Iranians’ hearts. Jesus is one of the most respected personalities in our literature, and when Iranians get to know Him according to the Bible, they receive him!

Asked how long it took to baptize that many people, the pastor responded, “Three hours and 12 weeks!” The church runs a 12-week baptism course in order to introduce Christianity, and when they feel participants are ready, they offer to baptize them. Another church in the area provided the facility for this special event.

See the full story with a few pictures.

No story tells the whole story. See also an article about Islam’s call to prayer ringing out in more US cities (The Conversation). We found both (and more) in Justin Long’s Weekly Roundup. Thanks, Justin.

Source: Mission Frontiers, July 2023

If we continue sending missionaries and resources to a country with a large population of Christians, it could reinforce the perception that they are (and always will be?) a needy mission field, when in fact, it is way past due for them to transform into a radical new missions force.

The 13 English-speaking countries in Africa have more than 130 million evangelicals. But research shows they are sending less than 5,000 cross-cultural workers. That’s only one missionary for every 26,000 evangelicals, showing a significant mobilization gap.

Instead of sending more missionaries into these Christian countries, what if we instead launched mobilization teams throughout that region, with a seemingly modest goal of raising up just one cross-cultural worker for every 1,000 evangelicals? Astonishingly, that would increase their missionary sending from 5,000 to 130,000 cross-cultural goers—the greatest missionary force in all of history!

Read the full story and see the Via Mobilization Index. The July/August edition of Mission Frontiers is focused on mobilization.

Source: Mission Network News, June 29, 2023

In some parts of Laos, pastors have been imprisoned for their faith or even killed. Patrick Klein of Vision Beyond Borders recently had a conversation with Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada. According to believers Klein has spoken with, China is pushing the Laos government to mirror China’s clampdown on Christian churches.

The goal of many officials in Laos: intimidation. Believers are cut off from hospitals, schools, and churches. They might be denied access to government IDs, which often means less access to even more services.

That’s not to say the church in Laos isn’t growing. “There are real believers inside the government-run churches. They’re trying to help get the gospel out. But they also have to be very wise in what they do, because if they go too far, and they are really evangelistic, they can get in trouble.”

But for the believers in Laos, even persecution provides opportunity. One pastor reported to Klein that while he is well aware of spies within his congregation, “they need to hear the gospel too.” In fact, some of these spies have even found Christ while on assignment. “The gospel keeps going forth in the midst of persecution and opposition,” Klein says.

Read the full story or listen to the 36-minute podcast episode that inspired it. That aired in February. You might also check out Steve Addison’s recent podcast interview in Thailand with Ying, a lady from Laos (19 minutes; Movements Podcast).

Source: Morning Star News, June 22, 2023

On June 16 [Islamic militants] killed at least 37 students, most of them Christians, at the dormitories of a private high school in Uganda, and kidnapped six others, sources said.

Shouting “Allahu akbar [God is greater],” according to the BBC, the assailants killed the students at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, Kasese District, hacking the girls with machetes and burning the boys to death by setting their dormitory on fire. Five non-students at the school were also killed, Ugandan officials said, and four students were wounded.

A survivor, student Edgard Mumbere, told Morning Star News that armed assailants shouted for the boys to open their dormitory door, with one attacker saying, “This school is propagating Christianity in Uganda and getting support from Christians in the West—Islam should be the dominant religion in Uganda.”

Read the full story.

Also read about Kahambu Kahindo, a student in Uganda who has hopes of returning home to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help children orphaned by continuing sectarian violence in the area (International Christian Concern). Uganda, which hosts more refugees than any other African country, is also on the brink of a massive food crisis (MAF).

Another heartbreaking story comes from Somalia, where some mothers are poisoning their children in order to get much-needed resources (Toronto Star, h/t Justin Long).

Source: God Reports, June 9, 2023

This Argentinian is no Hell’s Angel. In fact, he’s just the opposite, an angel, a messenger sent from heaven. His ride is bringing new life in Christ to tribal people lost in the jungle.

The native missionary—whose story is documented by Christian Aid Mission anonymously for his safety—rides his motorcycle into the most remote, dense jungle of Argentina to bring the gospel to native peoples largely cut off from civilization.

While the journey is daunting, the results have been spectacular.

“They worship Christ regardless of whether the heat or the cold hits them,” he is quoted as saying. “Many people, broken and crying, received Christ in their hearts after the message and evangelistic materials were delivered.”

See the full story with pictures.