In the midst of horrific destruction, where thousands of homes were burnt to the ground by wildfires in Reading California, 67 hospital staff still went to work. All  doctors, nurses, volunteers and office personnel made sure that patient care did not suffer. ‘Some people have slept on the floor,’ the hospital chief executive said. ‘The Reading police chief lost his home, as did two of his officers, but they still went on duty to save others at risk. It was a similar story with at least one firefighter. But it wasn't just the thousands of first responders who put their own loss and devastation to one side and stepped up to help their neighbours. Many ordinary folk took in people who had lost homes, provided food, donated supplies and offered any support that they could. Hollywood movies show society falling apart when disaster strikes, but the opposite happened; people wanted to band together and help.

6-10 November 2018

Beloved, Grace in the matchless name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

The attached flier serves to remind us of the above consultation coming up in November 2018 at Nairobi, Kenya. We appeal and request for the following actions from YOU ALL.

1. Those Who have not registered should do so.
2. Spread the information about the Consultation to other Intercessors, mission workers and organizations, missionaries and Church pastors.
3. Undergird this consultation in your daily prayer. Pray for safe travel for those who would be coming. Pray for provision for those who want to come. Pray for the atmosphere of prayer during the Consultation.
4. Pray about the focus of the Consultation, which is: the Unreached People Groups, The BIBLELESS peoples of Africa, The Persecuted Church, Revival of the Church, the 24:14 Inherit the Nation, GO 2020 and other global prayer initiatives.
5. Stay in touch and join in the monthly prayer conference call for the UPGS, the Bibleless Peoples and the Persecuted Church, etc.

For more registration info, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU.

IN HIS KINGDOM SERVICE,

AUSTEN C. UKACHI

In John 17, in which Jesus prayed for the last timewith His disciples before the crucifixion, He had every right to focus on his impending suffering which would be terrible beyond belief. However, true to His nature, He rose above his own human fears to think about the welfare of his disciples and his followers offuture generations. What was it He prayed for? Unity- that we might be one as He and the Father are one. Wow!

Of course, such unity is a supernatural thing, only possible by the presence and enabling of the Holy Spirit. We humans tend to divide at the drop of a hat,dwelling on what our differences are. We compare ourselves and can split off from one another because of pride and feelings of superiority, thinking our doctrinal adherence or ministry practice surpasses that of other organizations and churches. Personality splits also exacerbate this phenomenon of division that has resulted in tens of thousands of separate denominations around the world.

I was recently blessed by Gaylord Enns’ book, Love Revolution, that he gave the participants at the Transform USA Prayer Summit. Enns maintains that Jesus’ primary command gets lost in oureffort to have the right beliefs about Him. That command is, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) That kind of love enables us to have real unity. Also, humility, realizing our many flaws and that we need each other, also enables such unity.

We, as the Apostle Paul so brilliantly teaches, are part of the organism called the Body of Christ, and each of us has particular gifts that are meant to benefit one another. Unless we exercise those gifts with the love and humility that comes out of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, we are all impoverished, incomplete, and lacking. Only in that way of loving service to one another can we become One Body rather than remaining a deformed or handicapped body.

Such loving unity is fostered through prayer together. The early church quickly developed a culture of prayer at the command of Jesus that they should wait in Jerusalem. Acts 1:14 describes how they “all joined constantly together in prayer”. Great breakthroughs came out of this culture of prayer as can be clearly traced throughout the book of Acts. The history of revivals and mission advances bear similar witness to the power of united prayer. Too often, we succumb to the mistaken idea that our activism is what will transform the world. Mission is a supernatural thing. It requires God’s mighty moving to change hearts and societies that in the grip of the prince of this world through enslaving spiritual forces of darkness and deceptive ideologies that bind and hinder humankind.

Over the last couple of decades, colleagues and I have found ourselves facilitating special prayer initiatives in the midst of awful, hopeless conflicts, especially in Africa of which there were 19 such conflicts raging in the mid-1990s and early years of this century. Over and over again, we witnessed the Lord graciously bring about peace breakthroughs and the ending of these wars as His people confessed corporate sin, got reconciled with one another, and then prayed unitedly. Remarkably, it was often the next day or in a few days that we felt the atmosphere shift and a peace process was begun by the politicians and diplomats. In addition, spiritual revival or advances for the Gospel often also attended such amazing changes.

The re-establishment or beginning of new unity among His people was invariably the crucial thing that the Spirit of the Lord was seeking to bring about. After repentance for corporate sins and splits between church leaders were confessed with reconciliation and unity being reestablished, the participants could ask virtually anything and the Lord would grant it, even impossible things humanly like the ending of these hopeless ethnic conflicts that had gone on for many years, in some cases decades.

During a national prayer initiative for Germany and Berlin in 1997, significant division among leading pastors arose even though many were rejoicing that about 500 intercessors from 78 cities had come together, a real triumph for His church in the nation. I was wondering what to do and finally while on stage asked the participants to say this simple sentence to each other which exemplifies the Spirit of Christ:“I want you to succeed more than myself.”This helped among other things to defuse the divisive, competitive atmosphere. Humility and love that is more concerned for the success of others comes out of the realization that the most important thing isnot our individual accomplishments but rather ourunited functioning as members of His Body. It is that unity in prayer and the loving service that flows out of such praying that will bring His transformation to our world.

Let’s therefore pray accordingly for ourselves and for the international prayer movement:

1. That we and other ministry leaders will maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and that Satan, the diabolos or one who divides, would be bound.
2. That we and others in Christ’s Church will love one another as He has loved us. May we all experience a baptism or rebaptism of love in the Body of Christ.
3. That increasingly pastors and other ministry leaders will pray together across denominational boundaries for their cities and communities in every nation.
4. That this unity of the Spirit in prayer will result in the greatest and most pervasive global spiritual revival ever along with the fulfillment of the Great Commission-- to reach the remaining 5500 unreached people groups still without movements to Christ and very little access to the Gospel.

John Robb, IPC Chairman

“This was a headline on the front page of the June 13th issue of The Jerusalem Post – along with a picture of four young men, brothers, one in uniform following his swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem into the Israeli army. The article later appeared in an on-line version under a different title, “Following in Jesus’ footsteps to serve in the IDF.”   There are several aspects of this article which we find remarkable. First, it makes mention of “Messianic Jews”, not only in its subtitle, but throughout the article.  We can remember when we would rarely if ever have found that expression used in this or any other Israeli paper, English or Hebrew.  Perhaps it was for fear of alienating religious readers.  Rabbinical Orthodoxy teaches that a man or woman of Hebrew ancestry is nevertheless, no longer a Jew if he or she believes in Jesus.   But now, here is an article in this paper which even goes to lengths to describe who they are:

“Zauber is a Messianic Jew, Christians who believe that Jesus, or Yeshua, is the Messiah and is the only path to redemption.  There are an estimated 20,000 Messianic Jewish believers in Israel, but due to their beliefs [they] have been subjected to discrimination, such as being ineligible to make Aliya because it is not accepted that a Jew can believe in Jesus, even though they consider themselves to be Jewish.”

There is something else in this paragraph which would most likely not have appeared in a newspaper a few years ago--it mentions Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yeshua.  This is the name given to Joseph and Miriam (Mary) by the angel in Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31.  It is a shortened form of the Hebrew for “Joshua,” which was used often in the post-Exilic book of Nehemiah, and means YHWH is Salvation.  But all Israeli school children are taught that the name of the one who claimed to be Messiah was Yeshu—an acronym devised by the Rabbis meaning (although many of the teachers themselves are unaware of it), “May His Name be Blotted Out.” 

Lastly, in former years, we don’t remember this particular paper ever running a story related to Jewish believers in Yeshua which didn’t give “equal time” at the end to an “anti-Missionary” rabbi who gave his thoughts on the subject. But that didn’t happen this time.

Neither did it happen in an April 24th article about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s new deputy social media adviser Hananya Naftali, which bore the title, “From praising Jesus to tweeting Bibi [Netanyahu’s nickname], PM’s New recruit has colorful past.”  The opening sentence describes how Naftali, “a popular Israel advocate online, served in the Armored Corps, fought Hamas in Operation Protective Edge, and calls himself a Jew who loves Jesus.” 

These appearances tell us something—the presence of Messianic Jews in Israel is growing—and Jews in Israel and abroad are becoming aware of who Yeshua is, that there are a growing number of His followers in Israel! The Post, via its Internet Edition, is read by English-speaking Jews around the world.  Most native Israelis of course read the Hebrew papers—but those too, are rising above the taboo of writing about the presence of Messianics in Israel. 

It is important to realize that until recently, the vast majority of Jewish Israelis were not even aware that a sector of Jewish believers in Messiah existed in the Land—that there were any Jews who believed in Jesus, much less in Israel.  Nor are they anymore made up chiefly of those who have brought their faith with them when they immigrated. Now there are congregational communities of Believers throughout the land made up primarily of young adults who were born in Israel, and raised from childhood to believe in their Messiah.  They cannot be threatened, like the new immigrants, with having their citizenship revoked!  The military, university, civil workforce and government are beginning to notice believers who are excelling in their work, and who are not afraid to share their strength and vision.  We have personally known young believing men and women in the military who have been recognized by their commanders for their excellence – and been asked to share publically with their platoon about their beliefs.

And not only adults!  A few weeks ago, an 11-year-old believing neighbor of ours was asked by his teacher where he would be going to summer camp.  He told her it would be to a “Messianic” camp.  She asked, “What is that?”  He replied, “One for young people who believed in Yeshua.”  The teacher then asked would he do a presentation to the class on “Yeshua.”  Which He did!

“How beautifully the feet of those bringing Good News adorn the mountains!” (Isaiah 52:7).  That “beauty” is beginning to be noticed, throughout the nation of Israel.  Still very small—but it is growing—and the holy anointing it carries is beginning to make room for itself throughout different sectors of the society!

PLEASE PRAY:

• For the Messianic Body of Messiah in Israel, that the truth they carry will be recognized; that Jews throughout the nation will become aware of their existence—and be drawn to the Lord they serve.
• That the lie that a person loses their “Jewishness” by believing in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, would be exposed. 
• That legislation would be passed which affirms the Jewish identity of those who believe in Jesus.  At present, proof of Jewish identity is based upon race.  According to Jewish law, one’s true Jewish identity is passed through a Jewish mother.  Except—when a Jew believes in Yeshua (or becomes a Muslim)—in which case, it becomes based upon his religion, which he is said to have abandoned.  If it is known that a Jew is Messianic, he or she will not be allowed to immigrate to Israel.  Pray that this injustice will be overturned—by the God of Justice, who sent His Son “to save His people from their sin.”
• That Messianic Jews in Israel will be filled with the Holy Spirit, “Now Lord, look on the threats [of the enemies of your Holy Word], and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they [the Messianic Body in Israel, young and old] may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Yeshua!”
• “Followers of Jesus who serve in the IDF: The Jerusalem Post, June 13, 2018.

Martin and Norma Sarvis

Let’s pray for many other Jewish people in Israel to discern who Messiah really is. Pray that the blinders on eyes and hardness of heart will be removed and that they will become passionate followers of Yeshua. May they also recover their original missionary calling through Abraham and now through Messiah to be “ a blessing to the peoples of the earth”! 

“There has been a lot of diplomatic and other activity following the summit talks between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump.  Kim followed his Singapore trip up with one to China where he was warmly received by Xi Jinping who expressed that he was quite pleased with the Singapore summit.  The two leaders agreed to deepening Chinese-North Korean ties.  His meeting with Trump also seems to have bolstered his image at home where folks are complementing his "resolute" style. 

Following the summit, Kim wasted no time in making sure that the right messages were getting sent out through special meetings of the cadres while touting his immense victory against the U.S.  He also took steps to assure that everything would stay calm while he was away by tightening control over keypersonnel and faking heightened security near the borders.  However, many of the security agents are not pleased with their increased workload.  Kim is feeling more confident of his rulership and has introduced major changes to the old The Ten Articles, reducing their number to 5 along with calling for new loyalty oaths.  There is less focus on his father and grandfather in the new oath.  He is also called for the mass games to be resumed after a five-year hiatus.

In terms of practical results from the Singapore summit, analysts are mixed in their reviews.  Some feel that little was accomplished while others are saying that Trump has made major progess and others adopting a wait-and-see attitude.  The U.S. affirms that they will be giving Kim a set of deadlines for follow-up.  Meanwhile, work continues on improving the infrastructure at North Korea's Yongbyun nuclear reactor and test sites are not yet being dismantled.  There is one positive result apparent in North Korea.  That is the easing of anti-American propaganda and rallies. At the same time, the U.S. and South Korea have agreed to put all regular joint military exercises on hold while military and maritime communications lines between North and South are open again. There is also talk of modernizing the cross-border rail lines.

Ben Torrey

Director

The Fourth River Project, Inc.

www.thefourthriver.org

Pray: Let’s remember to keep praying for North Korea that Kim Jong Un and his government will implement the agreement to denuclearize their nation.
Pray: that they will open up the vast prison camps that are a death sentence to anyone who is sent into them. May these camps be closed down and may the whole nation move to real freedom for its people!

7 FARM ATTACKS and 3 MURDERS in 24 hours | The BRUTAL TRUTH ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA – YouTube.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDzA1bjXV1s&feature=youtu.be

More than 55 million Turks went to the polls on Sunday to elect the country’s new president and to form its new parliament. As has happened repeatedly since 2002, the winner was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With more than 52 percent of the vote, Mr. Erdogan secured a mandate to rule Turkey until 2023 — the centennial of the founding of the Turkish Republic after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

To many, especially in the West, yet another victory for Mr. Erdogan seems hard to understand. The economy has been gloomy. The Turkish lira is in free fall against other currencies. Democracy is in precipitous decline, too. Moreover, the usually fractured opposition seemed to get its act together this time, forming a coalition and putting forth Muharrem Ince, a charismatic candidate. All this led to a widespread expectation that Mr. Erdogan could lose this time, or at least would face a major setback.

But Turkey’s strongman proved as strong as ever. The reason for this is not ballot rigging. It is not even just the way that Mr. Erdogan holds a grip on power with his command of the news media. The truth is, most people who voted for Mr. Erdogan will vote for him no matter what. They didn’t see this election as a competition between politicians promising better governance. They viewed it as an act of defiance against a century-old existential enemy.

The story goes back to modern Turkey’s 1923 founding by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, whose top-down secularist reforms created a Westernized urban population that viewed him as a savior. But the same “Kemalist Revolution” left behind a traumatized conservative class, which felt itself as “a stranger in your own home, a pariah in your own land,” as the Islamist poet NecipFazil put it in 1949.

When multiparty elections were introduced in 1950, the conservatives began to enter the system. But they were repeatedly punished by “the regime’s guardians,” as the secular elite proudly called itself. Only with Mr. Erdogan’s election and solidification of power in the early 2000s was this secular hegemony fully broken.

This is what Turkey’s religious conservatives are thinking about when they vote for Mr. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party, not his flaws, which they may silently admit he has. They aren’t thinking about newspapers that have been taken over or professors who have been put in jail, but about how the Arabic call to prayer was outlawed in the 1930s and the head scarf was banned in the 1990s. Against this “Old Turkey” that the religious conservatives despise, Mr. Erdogan proved to be their savior. The more sensible among them may sense that their “New Turkey” is hardly any better than the old — but still it is their Turkey.

In other words, Mr. Erdogan is surfing on a sense of a historic revolution, driven by a revolutionary zeal. After a century in the wilderness, Turkey has become great — and Muslim — again. The rest is trivia.

This sense of world historical importance distorts how conservatives are able to see the rest of the world. They assume that the whole world, and especially the evil cabal that supposedly runs it, attaches as much importance to Turkey’s conservative turn as they do. And so they believe the main theme of Mr. Erdogan’s giant propaganda machine: conspiracy. They see a global conspiracy to topple Mr. Erdogan; they believe there are endless plots, coup attempts and manipulations against which the New Turkey must be defended. (Of course they felt this suspicion confirmed by the real coup attempt in July 2016.)

This conspiratorial mind-set explains away any problems the country faces, and so helps immunize the president. In other countries, a poorly performing economy might make a president unpopular — especially if his own unorthodox economic theories seem to have played a role. In Turkey, it’s used as evidence of an “economic attack” from the West. A recent poll found that four out of five voters — much more than Mr. Erdogan’s base — find this conspiracy plausible. It may in the end turn out that the more trouble Turkey faces, the more consolidated Mr. Erdogan’s base becomes.

What is most interesting about the New Turkey is its relationship with “democracy.” Human rights groups and Western news outlets may say that Turkish democracy is dying, but Mr. Erdogan and his supporters honestly and genuinely believe that Turkey is in fact more democratic than ever.

How can that be? For the president and his supporters, “democracy” has one simple meaning: Whoever wins the ballots should lead the nation — by ruling not just the executive but also the legislative and judicial apparatuses, the media, academia, religion and culture. There is hardly any realm in state or society that should remain autonomous from the elected leader, who represents an almost sacred “national will.”

When Westerners speak of “democracy,” however, they intuitively mean liberal democracy, which includes values like freedom of speech, a free press, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, academic freedom and property rights. But the synthesis of liberalism and democracy isn’t necessary; Turkey is just one of several “illiberal democracies” in ascendance around the world.

But no one should forget that Turkey is bigger than Mr. Erdogan, just as it was bigger than Ataturk. The Erdogan Revolution is likely to continue in the foreseeable future, but it can’t go on forever. Ultimately, when Old Turkey fully fades and the tide turns against the reactionary excesses of Mr. Erdogan’s New Turkey, a third Turkey may arise: a Turkey where no group is hegemonic, no one feels like a “pariah in your own land” and finally every person is free.

Mustafa Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, the author of “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty” and a contributing opinion writer.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/opinion/turkey-election-erdogan-democracy.html

Prayer Topics:

Pray: that Erdogan and the current government, that are turning Turkey into a pro-Islamic nation from a secular nation would govern the country with fear of God.

Pray: that Gospel would be preached more powerfully even with the current government.

SILK WAVE MISSION USA

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“In what the Christian Association of Nigeria is calling a “pure genocide,” 238 more Christians were killed and churches desecrated by Muslims last week in the west African nation.  This brings the death toll of Christians to more than 6,000 since the start of 2018.

According to a joint statement by the Christian Association, an umbrella group of various Christian denominations, “There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage.”  See: https://viewpointnigeria.com/stop-this-senseless-and-bloodshedding-in-the-middlebelt-can-tells-buhari/

The statement condemned the recent attacks, “where over 200 persons were brutally killed and our churches destroyed without any intervention from security agencies in spite of several distress calls made to them.”

The statement adds that the majority of those 6,000 Christians massacred this year were “mostly children, women and the aged…  What is happening in … Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately.”

The details of the murder of these thousands, though seldom reported, are often grisly: many were either hacked to death or beheaded with machetes; others were burned alive (including inside locked churches or homes); and women are often sexually assaulted or even raped before being slaughtered.

For long, both the Nigerian government and the U.S. government have sought to present this protracted jihad as territorial clashes between the haves (apparently always Christians) and haves-not (apparently always Muslims).

For instance, in 2012, Bill Clinton said that “inequality” and “poverty” are “what’s fueling all this stuff” (the “stuff” being a reference to the ongoing Muslim slaughter of Christians in Nigeria).  Following the 2012 Easter Day bombing of a Nigerian church that left 39 worshippers dead, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, said, “I want to take this opportunity to stress one key point and that is that religion is not driving extremist violence” in Nigeria.  Similarly, the Obama administration reportedly agreed to spend $600 million in a USAID initiative launched to ascertain the “true causes” of unrest and violence in Nigeria—which naturally lay in the socio-economic, never the religious, realm.

However, in its recent statement, the Christian Association of Nigeria denied all these claims.  After saying that those responsible for slaughtering Christians are always allowed to “go scot free” by the Nigerian government—which further portrays the attacks as “farmers/herdsmen clashes”—it inquired: “How can it be a clash when one group [Muslims] is persistently attacking, killing, maiming, [and] destroying, and the other group [Christians] is persistently being killed, maimed and their places of worship destroyed?  How can it be a clash when the herdsmen are hunting farmers in their own villages/communities and farmers are running for their lives?”

On May 2, the National Christian Elders Forum—a wing of the Christian Association, the members of which average the age of 75 and come from Nigeria’s six geo-political zones—met the British High Commission in an effort to solicit support.  (Days before that meeting, around 30 Muslim herdsmen stormed a church during early morning mass and massacred nearly 20 parishioners and two clergymen.)

Some of the more telling points in the group’s executive summary of issues follow:

It is clear to the Christian Elders that JIHAD has been launched in Nigeria by the Islamists of northern Nigeria led by the Fulani ethnic group [the “herdsmen”]. This Jihad is based on the Doctrine of Hate taught in Mosques and Islamic Madrasas in northern Nigeria as well as the supremacist ideology of the Fulani. Using both conventional (violent) Jihad, and stealth (civilization) Jihad, the Islamists of northern Nigeria seem determined to turn Nigeria into an Islamic Sultanate and replace Liberal Democracy with Sharia as the National Ideology. The object of course, is to supplant the Constitution with Sharia as the source of legislation. The current 1999 Constitution is plagued with dual conflicting ideology of Democracy and Sharia. There are certain values which are non-negotiable in a pluralistic society and it seems the advocates of the Caliphate do not respect this. A dual-ideology-driven Nigeria cannot be the Nigeria of our dream. We want a Nigeria, where citizens are treated equally before the law at all levels….  Bearing in mind that Christians constitute over 50% of the Nigerian population, the goal of the Islamists is bound to create serious conflicts which if not checked is capable of escalating into another civil war. Already, the Islamists are murdering Christians with impunity and destroying vulnerable Christian places of worship and communities at an alarming and inhuman rate.

That 6,000 Christians, “mostly children, women and the aged,” have been butchered in just the first six months of this year is a reminder of how violence only escalates when left unchecked, which is the story of the Muslim persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

For example, it took three times as long (a year-and-a-half, between December 2013 to July 2015), for the same Muslim herdsmen to slaughter only 1,484 Christians (532 men, 507 women, and 445 children), critically wound 2,388 Christians (1,069 men, 817 women, and 502 children), and burn or destroy 171 churches.

But the Nigerian government and the international community have from the start done little to address the situation—which is unsurprising since they cannot even acknowledge its roots, namely, the intolerant ideology of jihad.  As a result, the death toll of Christians has only risen—and will likely continue to grow exponentially through the years, until such time that reality is not only acknowledged but properly addressed.”

http://raymondibrahim.com/2018/07/09/international-community-ignores-genocide-christians-nigeria/

Pray: for the government of Nigeria and the international community to wake up to the situation of Muslim against Christian genocide and deal with the jihadist groups carrying it out with impunity.
Pray: for protection over this defenseless Christian communities and that those who are carrying out these crimes against humanity will be apprehended and punished.
Pray: that Muslims may come to Christ through seeing the true nature of Islam and the great harm it is causing in Nigeria and other parts of our world!

A friend sent this quote over a few days ago: "He who has the youth, owns the future."Though pronounced by a very wicked man, none other than Adolf Hitler, he was accurate about this and so decided in his day to form a youth mobilization movement called “Hitler’s Youth”. His saying is, of course, still true for the world of today, and from a spiritual point of view, the youth are extremely important to the Lord and His purposes on earth.

• UPRISING (United Prayer Rising) Youth Prayer movement (www.unitedprayerrising.org) - A number of UPRISING assemblies have been going on over the last several months in various parts of the world. Next up is the Toronto UPRISING event, August 8-11, that is gathering hundreds of Millennials from across Canada and elsewhere in North America to be challenged in prayer and mission at this strategic time in their lives.Pray for His call to draw many more to register and come. Also, please also intercede for those of us who will be speaking-- that we will be anointed with His special word for them. May many of them be called to pray for and get involved in reaching the 5500 unreached people groups of our world, that still have little or no access to the Gospel.

The GLOBAL UPRISING will happen in Jakarta, Indonesia in January 2019. Please also be in prayer for the organizing team for His unity, wisdom and perseverance as they make all the arrangements and that the ones the Lord wants to come—up to 3000- from within Indonesia as well as the ends of the earth will be drawn to Jakarta for this special time. 

2)  The Children in Prayer movement has quietly spread to many nations of the world. There are now praying children in the millions who will become the next generation of men and women of God as they hear His call to serve Him in the various occupations to which He calls them. 

Pray: that they will be well discipled and that the Lord will raise up youth and adults to mentor and encourage them in every nation. May this movement truly “go global” in the coming years!

Pray: that CiP coordinators in various nations will be able to stay connected with one another to share helpful resources and encouragement and that the international CiP team will be able to anointedly and effectively guide this growing movement.

“A country with 48,000 mosques and not one church building; ranked #3 (behind North Korea and Somalia) on Open Door's World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is most severe, is listed by Operation World as the country with the second fastest church growth in the world. That country is Afghanistan.

Not to diminish this fact, but one reason the growth rate appears high is because the evangelical population is so small to begin with. Still, this trend is confirmed by all of our ministry partners working with Afghans both inside and outside the country. There is, without a doubt, a significant, identifiable work of God, such as never before, taking place among Afghans today.

Like in the days of the Apostles where Paul, who was zealous for the Law and guilty of killing and imprisoning Christians was shown grace and had a miraculous conversion where the Lord appeared to him, the same God is at work in Afghanistan. There are mullahs who have come to Christ through supernatural means who have hundreds of followers. Some former Taliban members who have found forgiveness and new life in Christ are staring death in the face and sharing the Lord with other Taliban fighters and leaders.

One surprising statistic surfaced from IsikAbla's TV, Internet, and social media ministry at the end of 2017. The #1 city worldwide for her Facebook engagements (reactions, comments, and shares) was Kabul, Afghanistan with 182,781. Kabul also ranked #2 in the list of top cities for Facebook followers (behind Cairo) with 315,840.

This figure is even more suggestive of the hunger for the truth among Afghans in that social media users account for only 9% of Afghanistan's 34 million people, and that access and use of the Internet reaches only about 12% of the population. Eighty percent of users are 18-30 years old.*

Work among Afghan refugees

Our ministry partners also report a significant openness and response to the gospel among Afghan refugees in Iran and Turkey. In an article from Relief Web dated Feb. 7, 2018, it was reported that:

"Four decades of conflict in Afghanistan has led to massive displacement of Afghans across the surrounding sub-region. Iran alone has received around three million Afghan refugees. Close to one million of these have been registered by the government and are thus, afforded protection and are eligible for assistance. However up to two million remain un-documented and therefore have neither formal legal status nor access to assistance. Up to 800,000 of these undocumented refugees are considered to be extremely vulnerable."

Typically, Iranians are highly educated; Afghans are not. Many Iranians look down on Afghans and treat them badly. But in today's Persian-speaking church inside Iran you not only see many Afghans coming to Christ, but incredibly, serving alongside Iranians.

Iranian Christians have sought out these Afghan refugees to care for them. The reason they are coming to Christ, as one Afghan put it, is because "Iranians never cared for us, but you (Iranians) have loved us. That is what attracted us to Christ."

About 70% of the Afghan population speak and understand Afghan Persian (Dari). Thus Iranian believers have also been instrumental in exposing Afghans to modern day, understandable translations of the Scripture that has been a great help in evangelism and discipleship.

Extraordinary results are being seen in Turkey as well, where Iranian refugees have reached out to the Afghan refugees. Some Afghan converts are now pastoring churches and leading many to Christ. One couple alone has led more than 100 people to Christ. Another influence in the move of God inside Afghanistan has been that many of these refugee converts are communicating with their relatives and friends at home. They tell them that they are following the wrong God, then lead them to Christ and disciple them from outside the country.

Major factors influencing the this move of God among Afghans

1. Prayer

For decades there have been Christians and groups from around the world praying for Afghanistan. Finally, we are seeing the stony ground being cleared so that there is soft soil where the seeds of the Word of God are being planted in people's hearts. Fruit is beginning to be seen.

Still, many Afghan converts are fearful and lead dangerous lives. Converts must be careful about sharing their faith to avoid persecution by the Islamists, the police, and even their own family members and neighbors. In the village areas where conversion to Christianity is more noticeable and brings shame to families, converts suffer more persecution than in Kabul or the bigger cities. Continue to pray that the breakthroughs we are seeing increase until a full harvest is reaped.

2. The Blood of Martyrs

Prior to 9/11/2001 many Afghans--tired of war and conflict and fearful of the Taliban who came into power in 1996--fled the country. After 9/11 when the American forces came in and the Taliban were routed and defeated, many Afghans returned with hope and optimism for their country. People believed they had a chance for a new future after decades of war and fighting.

Along with those returning came expats, including a number of Christian missionaries. This started in 2002. A number of Christians came in under the umbrella of various aid and medical groups until 2007-2008 when their numbers began to dwindle. By 2014 most had stopped coming.

Many lives had been lost. A conservative estimate is that around 30-40 missionaries, as well as Afghan converts, were martyred. But an indigenous work, springing from the blood of those martyrs began, and is now spreading.

3. Fear, War, and Insecurity

Afghanistan has been a war-torn country for decades that has reduced it to ruin and privation. It has survived under the influence and control of many outside powers, including the British, the Soviet Union, and more recently, Western powers. Though the Taliban (which at one time controlled 90% of the country) were beaten back by U.S. and coalition forces, they, along with ISIS continue to be menacing and threatening forces--killing and terrorizing (sometimes innocent children) just to incite fear, subjugation and compliance. Muslims killing other Muslims has also been a factor contributing to the crumbling respect for Islam and the growing openness to alternative beliefs, such as Christianity.

4. Unemployment

With 40% unemployment, youth and young families see little hope for a future in Afghanistan. Many young men resort to fighting for the Taliban or ISIS just to collect a paycheck. But the depression and despair living in a poor society with little opportunity has made Afghans more open to the good news of a God who loves them, has a purpose for their lives, and can give them hope.

Pray: for this indigenous work of God taking place among the Afghan people.

Pray: Let’s rejoice in the growth of His church and pray for the new believers to be protected, to grow in maturity, and to be effective in outreach to others.

Pray: Also, join our brothers and sisters in Christ in praying for His peace for their war-torn land.

http://www.operationworld.org/country/afgh/owtext.html