Displaying items by tag: Praise

New Life Radio was based in Russia but moved to Odessa, Ukraine, in response to increasingly restrictive Russian laws. New Life’s founder and organiser said despite the current crisis, Christian radio is a crucial ministry for reaching Russian-speaking peoples. He said, ‘The importance of Christian radio is we can ensure Russian-speakers get solid biblical teaching and sound doctrine in a way that overcomes their inability to currently get it. When the government stops the evangelical church from evangelising and doing public discipleship, what’s the next vehicle that can accomplish that? Christian radio’. New Life Radio was launched as an FM station, then expanded its reach across Russia and surrounding Russian-speaking nations through satellite radio. They now broadcast on the internet around the world. During the Ukraine crisis they moved to Romania to continue broadcasting. They also now give updates for informed prayer.

Alexander, Iryna and their children are in Kyiv and tell us how their faith helps them to live under siege. ‘Millions are praying for Ukraine and we believe that God has the victory. It's scary, we feel fear and don't know what the next hour will bring, but God is still the same as 2,000 years ago. We see military helicopters, hear shelling, but we believe we will win. People will have to give lives for this freedom but we know our nation is strong. We know that the truth will win, and the darkness and the lie will be exposed. Sometimes we don’t see God's intentions, but he hasn’t stopped doing his work and we must trust and believe. Our God came to give us life and no doubt, it's a spiritual battle. We are on the prayer frontline. God's word is alive, God’s word comforts. His word is active and gives us strength, his spirit is within us. God is big, he's bigger than any enemy.’

The general secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance said he felt called by God to speak out against the invasion of Ukraine. In an open letter Vitaly Vlasenko said he mourns what Russia has done and shared his sorrow for the victims and those forced to flee Ukraine. He wrote to President Putin twelve hours before the invasion to implore him to think again. He has not received a reply, but he has received letters of support from across the world. ‘They think that I’m really courageous, to openly say something about this, but I’m a simple pastor of the local Baptist Church.’ Vitaly’s parents were children of World War 2 and they told him how tough it was and that nothing is worse than a war. ‘We are in the 21st century and must think differently. We must discuss on a political level with the church, a place of reconciliation, peace and love.’

For the last six years, Prayer Alert readers have often been asked to pray for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, held in an Iranian jail on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. She was freed on 16 March, as was retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori, and they have both been reunited with their families in the UK. Mr Ashoori had been detained in 2017 on spying charges and sentenced to ten years in prison. Another prisoner, Morad Tahbaz, has been released but must stay in Iran. As Nazanin walked down the plane's stairs seven-year-old Gabriella Radcliffe asked, ‘Is that Mummy?’ Mr Ashoori's daughter Elika spoke of her happiness at seeing her father, sharing a video of the pair's arrival. Their release came after the UK settled a debt to Iran of almost £400m dating from the 1970s. This news follows last week’s positive report of a landmark decision that nine Christians jailed for their faith should be freed from prison.

In the midst of the current conflict that has brought horrendous suffering to the Ukrainian people, numerous reports are coming through of divine intervention and protection, and specific answers to prayer. There are encouraging testimonies of people being led out of danger shortly before an attack, bombs that fail to explode, enemy forces coming under great confusion, angel formations in the sky, and of God’s tangible presence. A pastor based in Kyiv also noted how very heartening it was to see ‘many people in the Ukrainian army asking for prayer’: see

Christiana Moon, a YWAM missionary from Essex who fled from Kyiv, has described her escape as surreal and crazy, ‘like a dream’, but said she experienced ‘real moments of light’. She has been sheltering at the home of two Ukrainian Christians in Lviv, and plans to board a bus to Poland, then fly to England. The 22-year-old said ‘I can't believe last Sunday, I led Bible study with my church, it was just normal. Now the sky is grey with smoke.’ She said that being in Ukraine has been ‘a journey of trusting God when you have to make so many quick decisions. With people giving you advice or panicking around you, I have learnt how to listen to God’s voice.’ Christians in Lviv opened up their home to her and the church is hosting many refugees. It’s an incredible moment of light that non-believers are witnessing.

A court has acquitted nine men who were sentenced to five years in prison for attending a house church in a ‘landmark decision’ for Iranian Christians. They were imprisoned in 2019 for ‘acting against national security’ and ‘promoting Zionist Christianity’. In November 2021 the supreme court ordered a review of their case, arguing that ‘going to church does not mean Christians are enemies of the state’. On 7 March all nine were released when the appeal court judges found there was ‘insufficient evidence’ of them acting against national security as they had only ‘worshipped in the house-church, and Christians are taught to live in obedience, submission and support of the authorities’. Earlier this year Christian agencies which have been supporting their case called on the UN to help Persian speakers in Iran to have the right for a place of worship.

The Government has been facing growing calls to waive visa rules for all Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in the UK. On 2 March Boris Johnson said the UK could take in 200,000 or more Ukrainian refugees.The scheme allowing close relatives of Ukrainian people settled in the UK to come over will be widened to include adult parents, grandparents, children over 18, and siblings. UK firms will also be able to sponsor a Ukrainian entering the country.

A Warwickshire town kicked off its ancient Shrove Tuesday ball game following a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 822nd Atherstone Ball Game involved hundreds of people competing on the streets for ownership of a heavy, leather ball. Rob Bernard, chairman of the organising committee, said. ‘We are absolutely delighted that it is back on now.’ The winner is the person who has the ball at 17:00 GMT. This year’s winner said it had been easy to hold on to the ball at the end - as he hid it under his T-shirt. ‘It had popped and then I quickly took it and put it under my T-shirt and me and my friend were just in a deep hug,’ he said. People were ‘extremely excited’ about the return of the game, which has international attention.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) reported some truly stunning numbers surrounding its international mission’s efforts, noting impressive increases in baptisms and sharing the Gospel throughout 2020. ‘We’ve seen the Holy Spirit working across the globe in mighty ways,’ said Wilson Geisler of its International Mission Board. There was a 62% increase in new believers between 2019 and 2020, rising from 89,000 to over 144,000. During the same period, baptisms swelled 81% - from 47,929 to 86,587. That is not all: 769,494 people heard the Gospel in 2020, up from 535,325 in 2019, with 18,380 churches planted across the globe in 2020. Most evangelism increases took place in South Asia, where 89% of the baptisms unfolded, and 97% of new churches were planted. These statistics are particularly fascinating amid the backdrop of a pandemic that left many domestic and global churches shuttered, restricted, or otherwise quieted.