Displaying items by tag: Praise

In 1912, medical missionary Dr William Leslie went to live and minister to tribal people in a remote corner of the Congo. After 17 years he returned to the USA discouraged, believing he had failed to make an impact for Christ. He died nine years later. In 2010, a team from World Ministries made a shocking and sensational discovery. They found a network of reproducing churches hidden like glittering diamonds in the dense jungle across the Kwilu River from Vanga, where Dr Leslie had been stationed. Each village had its own gospel choir, although they wouldn’t call it that. They wrote their own songs and would have sing-offs from village to village. There were eight churches, scattered across 34 miles - even a 1,000-seat stone ‘cathedral’ in one village, which got so crowded that a church-planting movement began in the surrounding villages.

On 12 January Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, attended the Coptic Christmas service. Against a background of rising tensions in the Middle East, he held up the importance of tolerance and unity at a time when those tensions could spill over into conflict and violence - especially between religious groups. ‘If we love God, we must love each other,’ was his simple, powerful message. In 2019, at the opening of a new cathedral, he expressed his support for Christians, saying, ‘You are our family’. As Christians, we know that there is a model for this kind of love. For tense times and hard hearts, the Lord Jesus has already offered the perfect solution. Jesus’ greatest commands to us are to love God with all our heart and, out of this, to love our neighbour as ourselves. God, who is Love, wants us to love our neighbours who live alongside us - whether next door or across a distant border - with the same agape love He has for us.

For the first time since 1890 the full Pakistani Pashto Bible will be printed. The translation is in the major Yousafzai dialect of Pashto. Up to now missionaries and evangelists and the underground Pakhtun speaking Church only had a version of the New Testament in a mix of Pakistani and Afghan Pashto. This version, aimed at Pakhtuns living outside Pakistan, will be printed in Europe. It is hoped that the Bibles will be ready to transport to mission agencies in spring 2020. For security reasons, the name of the translating organisation is not available.

When Rachael Prescott was expecting twins she was advised six times to abort them after they were diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. She was inundated with condolences and health scaremongering because they also had heart conditions. Doctors were more concerned that the children might have Down’s syndrome than with their cardiac situation. They were pressurised for genetic testing and abortion. The Prescotts refused the tests and Charlotte and Annette had Down’s syndrome, but only Charlotte had a heart defect. Rachael said, ‘We hope in the future to direct expectant parents away from false preconceptions and towards what we have found to fill us with so much joy. We celebrate our twins.’ See also world article on abortion deaths.

He was an uneducated Maasai boy, expected to herd cows all his life. But when he was nine the boys in his village were told to attend school and he learnt about Jesus. His curiosity about faith grew. Next, he was sponsored through children’s charity World Vision; an overseas family supported him with simple and life-changing gifts. During a severe drought, World Vision fed the entire family. When the rains finally came, they helped them to grow their own food. Then his life truly shifted, and God took him on a journey he never could have imagined. To read his inspiring faith-filled story, click the ‘More’ button.

Mike Pilavachi, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, and four Irish priests were all awarded the MBE in the New Year’s honours list. Pilavachi, who founded the Soul Survivor movement, has been honoured for his services to young people. Bishop Rose, who is now bishop of Dover after serving as chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons for nine years, was recognised for services to young people and to the CofE. The award also went to Northern Ireland's singing priests (Frs Eugene O'Hagan. Martin O'Hagan, and David Delargy) for their music and charity work, and to Fr Stephen McBrearty in recognition of his prison chaplaincy work. In addition, Wynne Roberts, a hospital chaplain, received the British Empire Medal for charitable services after raising £250,000 for charity since he began his Elvis tribute act six years ago.

In a rare move, police stepped in to stop Muslims attacking Amir Masih, a Christian sanitation worker, after he was falsely accused of ‘blasphemy’. The charges were dropped immediately after police investigations found that the pages of the Quran which he had in his possession were found in a rubbish bag he collected from local homes as part of his duties. Amir took the pages to a Muslim-owned shop to confirm whether they were from the Quran, but was accused by the shop owner of being an ‘unclean rubbish collector’ and dragged to the local mosque. The imam made a loudspeaker announcement that ‘a blasphemous Christian had been stopped’, calling on other imams to punish him and burn local Christian homes. But police stepped in and saved him from harm and possible life imprisonment.

Hassan, a fervent Muslim in an African country, was fanatical about converting Christians to Islam. He accepted a missionary organisation’s offer to help translate the Bible into the Ndam language. After all, many Christian scriptures are deemed holy books in the Koran. In a secular country where tolerance marked relations between Muslims and Christians, he welcomed the opportunity to discuss Scripture with prospective converts to Islam, but he was constantly exposed to Scriptures at translation workshops, and ended up accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Now he is growing through discipleship and constantly interceding for the salvation of his community.

2019 has been a year of great triumphs and unimaginable tragedies. As we enter 2020 we remember and proclaim that God is sovereign over every corner of the globe, the hope of the nations. Though some situations appear hopeless, we can rejoice that He reigns ‘far above all rule and authority, power and dominion’, and ‘all things are under His feet’. Nothing is impossible for Him. He rules over Iran and China, North Korea and Syria, a deluge in Mozambique, and a water shortage in India. He rules princes, presidents, and prime ministers. He rules over cyclones and volcanoes, floods and fires, protests, perpetrators, persecution and refugees. He rules over corporations, celebrities, and sports. He rules over galaxies, stars and planets, ‘and calls them each by name’ (Psalm 147:5).

Baadre refugee camp in Iraq houses 15,000 Yazidi refugees. The leader of Baadre children’s centre said that it was her dream that orphaned children freed from IS would find a place full of love and joy. In the 18 months since it opened there has been a huge change in the children. Their eyes now shine again, something they had lost through their terrible experiences with the IS militants. Some were born of rape, the sons and daughters of Yazidi girls and women held as sex slaves. But now they are in a mini-paradise, receiving the love they need, and learning Christian values of mutual respect, help in difficult times, comfort and encouragement.