Religious communities in various parts of Belarus have faced visits, threats and warnings for holding meetings of worship which officials regard as illegal. On one Sunday in January, officials visited three Pentecostal services in separate villages. Pastor Vasili Raptsevich – who led worship in a church-owned house in a village in Brest Region for about ten disabled church members - was summoned to the police station. There he was told that he had violated the law by conducting a religious service away from its legal address without permission. Police threatened him with court proceedings and threatened to strip his Pentecostal church of state registration. In February, police in the capital Minsk - among them masked riot police - launched a mass raid on a cultural meeting being held in a Pentecostal pastor's home. 34 participants were taken to a police station, but were released two hours later without any explanation and without any official record being drawn up.

Pray: that God’s Church will be protected from persecution. (Ro.8:35)

More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue15611.html

A young Catholic layman, who turned his home in a western Belarus village into a shelter for homeless people with a prayer room, is being accused of leading an unregistered religious organisation, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Aleksei Shchedrov - who says he has helped about 100 local people since December 2011 - is being investigated on criminal charges under Article 193-1, and faces a maximum possible sentence of two years' imprisonment. Shchedrov denies the authorities' accusation of founding an unregistered religious organisation. ‘I am a Christian and I started to help those who are in need,’ he insisted to Forum 18 on 24 June from the village of Aleksandrovka, Grodno [Hrodna] Region. ‘I give them food, a bed, a bath and clothes and I pray together with them. But this is no religious organisation, just charity.’ Local police launched the criminal investigation against the 28-year-old Shchedrov following raids on the shelter in February and April.

Pray: for Shchedrov that the authorities will release him and allow him to continue to care for those in need. (Rom.12:13)

More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue20209.html

An online petition was launched to repeal the amendment of Belarus criminal code, that allots two years of imprisonment for religious activity without registration, reports Christian megaportal InVictory.org. The author of the petition is Alexey Shein, co-chair of the Belarus Christian Democracy party. The goal is to collect 5,000 signatures. In his appeal, Mr Shein notes that, since 2006, 18 people have been convicted under this law. ‘There are hundreds of Christian communities and ministries that work without registration in Belarus. A lot of organizations tried to register but they were denied. At the same time, the right to freedom of association means the right to found free associations,’ underlined the author.

Pray: for a huge response to the petition and that the authorities will reconsider their amendment. (Je.1:19)

More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue15362.html

Christians gathered to worship this weekend in Vanuatu, only a week after a deadly cyclone killed nearly 20 people. Pastor Barry Phillips told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that they have joy despite the circumstances. ‘The cyclone is the biggest one in but people are still happy. They have joy because they know that God is with us,’ Phillips said. ‘The trees are damaged, the buildings are damaged, but surely it will be rebuilt.’ Rebuilding efforts are underway on the Pacific Island nation. All-though there's concern that many of the outlying islands still don't have any way to communicate with the outside world and many people are still worried about basic necessities like water, shelter, and food.

650 people gave their lives to Jesus during a week of 24-7 prayer in South Africa which culminated on New Years Eve. And that was just the beginning of an incredible January for Peter Sekhonyane who mobilises prayer in giant tents around the South African townships. ‘Speak about the power of prayer,’ he says. A few days later they launched three nights of prayer in Johannesburg, and these continued for two weeks! ‘Out of that time of prayer we ended up with 812 conversions and no single shop was attacked,’ says Peter. Such stories demonstrate, once again, the powerful transformational relationship between prayer, mission (more than a 1000 people saved in January alone through prayer meetings), and justice (protection on businesses in a deprived and volatile part of the world). More about Peter Sekhonyane's remarkable story in this video on the ‘More’ link.

Every night in Sonagacchi, in India, more than 10,000 women stand in line waiting to be picked up for sex. Many of them were trafficked into prostitution. But now Freeset, a Christian business, has bought a building that will transform India's most infamous sex district. The 20,000-square-feet Gateway building is situated at the front of the red light district, but it will not be turned into more brothels where probably 1,000 women would be working. The new space will give Christian businesses the opportunity to employ women and free them from sexual slavery. One of the biggest issues facing those who want to start businesses in Sonagacchi is a lack of space. The Gateway building would act as a business incubator, gradually helping more and more freedom businesses to start and so providing an increasing number of opportunities for Sonagacchi's women.

SAT-7 Egypt Director says ‘Resistance through forgiveness’ videos of a 10-year-old Iraqi displaced by Islamic State (IS/ISIS) and of a brother of two Egyptian labourers beheaded in Libya, both voicing forgiveness for their persecutors, have been watched by a million viewers and drawn the attention of mainstream Arab media which rarely cover Christian news. Under the title ‘Iraqi Girl Myriam Faces IS with Love’, pan-Arab broadcaster Al Arabiya told how the clip of young refugee Myriam had spread via social media and was impressing ordinary viewers and media commentators. A columnist in Lebanese newspaper Al Nahar said the SAT-7 interview with her ‘should be presented in Lebanese schools as a lesson in humanity’. Farid Samir, Egypt director of Christian satellite channel SAT-7, which made both clips, said: ‘The massive interest in them shows the impact of resisting violence through forgiveness’.

The past decade has seen a groundswell of passion among Christians in China to pursue cross-cultural ministry. A corresponding wave of activity among outside organizations and churches has aimed at equipping China's church for this task. Much of this activity has focused on training individual workers and establishing the ‘highway’ by which they might make their way to countries neighbouring China and beyond. A closer look at the current movement suggests that, while these efforts are an important part of the overall equation, there are other, perhaps more fundamental, pieces that need to be put in place in order for a sustained sending effort to emerge. The growth of mature sending movement will take time. Some have suggested that internships with international agencies may be a wise intermediate step for equipping the future leaders of this movement.

More than 15,000 Kenyan young people have undertaken the Alpha course, thanks to a unique partnership between Alpha and Compassion International. Compassion, which engages in anti-poverty and educational programmes through child sponsorship, partners with local evangelical churches in 26 countries around the world. It aims to offer children and young people a ‘holistic’ curriculum which includes their physical, spiritual, socio-emotional and intellectual development. Alpha's evangelistic programme, founded at Holy Trinity Brompton and based on talks on Christian basics and small group discussions over a meal, has been widely used in the UK and elsewhere. A Compassion report on its partnership with Alpha in Kenya says the Alpha Youth course helps young people address doubts about their faith in a supportive setting. Compassion Kenya Director, Joel Macharia, says: ‘It attempts to answer the questions and to resolve the conflicts between individual beliefs and sound biblical teachings that the individual takes personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings.’