Displaying items by tag: Church growth

85 million people, 98.6% of Iran’s population, are Muslim; only 0.2% are Christian. Massive numbers of Iranians have come to Jesus in recent years. From only 500 Muslim-background believers in 1979, many estimates suggest the number is even greater than one million. Large numbers of Persian people have also encountered the risen Christ outside of Iran. The Church has not grown this fast since the seventh century. In Iran, a person can receive a death sentence for abandoning their religious faith. This growth is a remarkable move of the Holy Spirit, with many signs and wonders, dreams and visions. But we still need to pray for a mighty move of God across the nation; for the Iranian believers to be protected as they share their faith; and for those who are translating the Bible into the many different dialects spoken in Iran to reach every lost tribe.

After a decade of civil war, Syria has at last begun to reconnect with its neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, and the UAE. President Assad’s grip on the country is tenuous as areas near the Turkish and Iraqi borders are controlled by rebel groups. Fighting has left Syria in economic ruins; families which used to have more than enough income to provide for themselves are now in poverty because of hyperinflation. A man with cancer did not continue with expensive treatment; it was better that one dies rather than all of them dying. Families without enough food for all their children give lunch to some children lunch and dinner to the others. But God is working. The story of Jesus is reaching new populations; there is a budding movement of the Holy Spirit and churches are forming among the Druze in the south and the Kurds in the north.

Brazil has one of the largest Christian populations in the world; 91% say they are a ‘Christian’ of some form. The Kingdom of God has exploded in Brazil since 1960 as the nation has been saturated with truth in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus said (Luke 12:48), ‘To whom much is given, from them much is required’, and Brazil has certainly been given much from God. The Church has become a strong mission-sending organisation in one generation. Today, God desires it to go to a new level of seeing mission mobilisation emphasised in every local ministry so that every believer contributes to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The Brazilian Church is known as a praying Church; pray for a massive prayer movement across the churches and denominations emphasising intercession for an explosion of church-planting, leading towards communal movements to Christ among all unreached people groups.

A church that was formed from a WhatsApp group during lockdown now meets every fortnight. Lay pioneer minister Venessa Pinto distributed postcards during lockdown to her neighbours, inviting them to join the group as a way of staying in touch during the restrictions. ‘Within a couple of days we received many messages, mostly from young adults.’ Venessa said. ‘We started engaging on questions of spirituality and faith and out of that we began meeting on Zoom for social activities and to talk about faith. Gradually that transformed into something more formal and into an intercultural worshipping community that we call Roots.’

Technology is a powerful tool for light and life in this pandemic. A surge in Google searches around the theme of hope and faith plus a phenomenal increase of people searching Christian websites means that more are hearing the Gospel. Global Media Outreach registered a 170% increase in clicks on search engine advertisements about finding hope. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Campus Crusade (Cru) created special internet tools for ministry in the pandemic. Cru’s student page is expected to receive 20 million more visitors than last year, and BGEA’s outreach had 191,000+ online visitors and 11,000 decisions to accept Jesus as Saviour. See also Intercessor Focus: praying for the local church.

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About this mini e-book

In the light of the current COVID-19 outbreak, how can Christians respond effectively in times of crisis? Church history can teach us an important lesson - to keep calm, to care for others, and to focus on God’s Kingdom.

How was this in the early church? In the first centuries the tiny Christian church didn't grew as exponentially as some house churches in China today. Their average growth was around 40% per decade (4% per year). But there were two periods in which this catalyzed: during two devastating epidemics with a 30% mortality rate. Today's coronavirus is actually a minor concern compared to that. The way the early Christians responded to this existential crisis made all the difference. They became contagious themselves.

Interested to read the whole story? We compiled it for you in a mini e-book (pdf) that you can download. And yes, you can freely distribute it to others who might be blessed or challenged by this amazing story of love and courage.

Church history can teach us an important lesson - to keep calm, to care for others, and to focus on God’s purposes.

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About 750 Christians from the Yao people group gathered recently for fellowship, worship, prayer and mutual encouragement. The believers, who spread across three different countries, had never gathered for worship in such a large group. Though many of them were very poor, they had saved up beans and maize to contribute to meals during the conference. Some of them made their own instruments and incorporated traditional dance into the worship. ‘It was beautiful,’ an observer said. A group who had experienced a lot of persecution in their village decided to take their village chief, a Muslim, to the conference. Afterwards, he decided that he and the whole village would follow Jesus. The Yao people have been predominantly Muslim since Islam’s introduction in the early 19th century. Malawi has the highest percentage of Muslims in southern Africa.

A Muslim-majority country of 41 million, Algeria depends on fossil fuels for its export income. It struggles to provide jobs and homes for its people. Democracy and human rights exist on paper, less so in reality. A movement to Christ is happening in Algeria. Most new believers come from a Kabyle Berber (non-Arab) background, but faith is growing among Arabs and most other people groups as well. New fellowships have begun throughout Algeria, partly because Berbers have moved into Arab areas to share the good news. Persecution is a fact of life. One Christian woman wrote: ‘Women who convert to Jesus Christ face new challenges, which sometimes cost them dearly. They face rejection by their families. Others are repudiated by their husbands because of their faith. They can even be deprived of their children.’ Pray for new hope for Algeria’s youthful urban population and its rural poor.

Albania was once the poorest nation in Europe, but poverty has been cut by more than half and the economy continues to show positive signs of growth. Despite having well-known gangsters, it has made notable steps in combating drugs, weapons and human trafficking. Last year the European Commission said that it had shown enough progress towards implementing the required reforms that accession negotiations can begin. Under Communist rule, no religion was allowed. Now, Islam claims twice as many followers as Christianity. Christian believers enjoy worshipping openly in a country that once restricted religious freedom, although most who claim Christianity are reported to be nominal in their faith. Praise God that children’s ministry is drawing whole families into church and multiple generations are coming to faith. Pray for isolated believers to find safe ways to meet with others, and for believers from Muslim backgrounds to be protected from pressure and attack from friends and family.

The persecuted Iranian Christians belong to what is said to be the fastest-growing church network in the world. The core of their theology is that all roads lead to Jerusalem, which is why they are praying for the salvation of Israel. They feel that it has been prophesied (Jer. 30:7; Zech. 14:2) that in the days approaching Jesus’ return to Jerusalem as King, there will be trouble for the Jewish state. The Persian people (as many Iranians still prefer to be called) blessed Israel in the past. King Cyrus freed the exiles so that they could return to the Land and rebuild the Temple; Queen Esther saved her people from extermination, so that Iranian Christians might stand in the gap for the Jewish people. What Satan has meant for evil, God can turn for good.