Displaying items by tag: Global

Following New Zealand’s terror attack, there have been six recorded incidents in just seven days. In Israel two rockets launched from Gaza terrorised residents around Tel Aviv; explosions and sirens were heard throughout the region. Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. Two Israelis were killed in another terror attack, and two days later a shooting attack on an Israeli bus traumatised passengers. In the Netherlands a gunman opened fire inside a tram, killing three and injuring others. In Kashmir 44 soldiers were killed and dozens injured by Pakistan terrorists. In Stanwell, UK, a far-right terrorist was arrested for attempted murder and racially aggravated public order. American experts say white nationalist threats are growing. Prayer leader Brian Mills says, ‘Satan undermines truth, is full of self-importance, is vehemently anti-Jewish and anti-Christian, seeks to interrupt our communication with God, and is a terrorist! We see a spirit of violence, intrinsic within Islam, being turned outwards.’

Global action is required to tackle the web's ‘downward plunge to a dysfunctional future’, said its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee in an interview marking thirty years since its conception. He said people realised how data can be manipulated after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but data breaches, hacking and misinformation could be tackled. He acknowledged that many people doubted the web could be a force for good. While he had his own anxieties about the future, he felt users were beginning to understand the risks. He thinks the principles of an open web need to be safeguarded in three specific areas of ‘dysfunction’ that harm the web today: malicious activity of hacking and harassment; problematic system design such as business models that reward clickbait; and unintended consequences, such as aggressive or polarised discussions. He said these things could be dealt with through new laws and systems limiting bad behaviour online. See also UK article 3, ‘Saving the internet from itself’.

Hinduism is slowly growing as people search for life’s answers in religion. Of the 140,000 Protestant missionaries across the nations, only 2% serve Hindu people. However, Hindus from all castes are slowly coming to Jesus after hearing Bible stories; in fact an entire village turned to Christ after hearing His Word preached in their language! Ministry to Hindus is challenging due to the variety of beliefs, practices, and subcultures. Pray for people of all castes to follow Christ. Pray for Hindus to abandon their thousands of gods to follow the one true God, and for God’s real and present power to expose the myth of karma. Pray also for those who have left Hinduism for Christ, because that choice often means persecution, even death. New believers are considered threats to Hindu society and are relentlessly pursued or shunned by their community. Fortunately new house churches welcome these new believers into their midst.

Figures for the persecution of Christians have shown a 'shocking increase', by 13.9% according to Open Doors World Watch List 2019. Asia has a sharp rise. China rose 16 places to number 27, with new laws to control all expressions of religion. Some church leaders say it is the worst since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976. India, the world's largest democracy, is now number 10 on the list. Hindu extremists act with impunity, violently attacking Christians and churches and non-Hindu religious minorities. Rising nationalism is leading to persecution in Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal, where national identity is tied to religion and those from minority faiths are considered outcasts. Persecution in North Korea has been worse than any other country for the last 18 years. In the north and middle of Nigeria, 3,700 Christians were killed for their faith - almost twice as many as the previous year.

In 2016, the EU parliament called for a permanent special envoy for freedom of religion and belief (FoRB), after the genocide of Christians, Yazidis and religious minorities by IS. One was appointed but his mandate was temporary; he was deprived of financial and human resources, and not fully integrated into the EU foreign strategy and policy. Consequently, the situation for minorities has deteriorated. 200 million Christians suffered brutal forms of persecution in 2018. 350 million Christians experienced discrimination. A proposal about this was put to the European parliament on 15 January; it was adopted, but further details are not yet known. It is hoped that a mandate will be fully integrated into EU foreign policies, with adequate financial and human resources to give real protection of FoRB.

The results of forthcoming elections will be important in many ways - domestic, religious, regional and global. El Salvador elects a president on 3 February: security, corruption and migration will be campaign issues. On 16 February President Buhari seeks re-election in Nigeria, where electoral violence remains a real concern. Ukraine’s presidential election on 31 March will focus on security and the economy. Afghanistan’s fourth presidential election since 2001, on 20 April, will test its capacity to conduct a credible, orderly process amid deteriorating security conditions. In South Africa the ruling ANC, dogged by record-high unemployment and corruption, faces an election test in May following the resignation of President Zuma. European parliamentary elections between 23-26 May will see anti-Europe and Euro-skeptic forces capitalising on anti-immigration and populist economic issues post-Brexit. In Guatemala, general elections in June will focus on the economy, reforms to public administration, migration, and anti-corruption issues that have divided the country over recent years.

Dave Eubank moved his family into the middle of some of the most dangerous places in the world to spread the Gospel and help others. He has been described as a Christian Rambo. Countless people caught in war zones around the globe are incredibly thankful for his outlook. Eubank achieved media fame last year when he saw IS forces shoot a fleeing family. He assumed everyone was dead, but then spotted slight movement; there was a small child alive in the midst of the horrific scene, lying under her mother’s body. With smoke screen and covering fire, he daringly ran into the open, exposing himself to enemy fire, grabbed the girl, and brought her to safety. He was seen praying for protection, crying out to Jesus, before he made the rescue attempt. Jesus is at the heart of everything Eubank does.

In France the security alert system is at its highest level, after an extremist gunman opened fire at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, killing two people and injuring at least twelve. Christmas can be a dangerous season for many. Last year suicide bombers killed nine and wounded over 50 people attending pre-Christmas church services in Pakistan. In Nigeria, Boko Haram have often carried out Christmas attacks. In the West, Christmas can mean financial strain, pressures, loneliness or simply a time with relatives where old tensions come to the fore and explode, sometimes with devastating results. For example, last year in Canada a father who had custody of his daughters (aged six and four) on Christmas Day killed them both and attempted suicide. Pray for peace to replace turmoil, restraint to replace violence, and harmony to replace disagreement wherever it threatens. Pray that police and other agencies can detect and remove danger from vulnerable community spaces.

GO 2020 is a global vision to activate the whole Body of Christ – millions of individual believers, churches and large global ministries - to pray and share the Gospel all over the world in a joint effort of evangelism during the month of May 2020.

THE CALLING

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Mt 9:37

The Great Commission is not an “optional assignment” for the Church. Yet 93% of church members never share the Gospel with others. GO 2020 aims to turn those numbers upside down … to pursue the following:

VISION

To activate and train every Christian believer, everywhere to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through a unique partnership effort involving many different denominations and parachurch organizations, this massive moment is meant to train and inspire every believer to live a lifestyle of evangelism.

GOALS

Mobilize 100 million Christians to share the Gospel during May 2020.
Reach 1 billion people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1 million new churches, faith communities and small groups.
Disciple 20 million new believers and integrate them into existing and new churches.

HOW?

Through a strategic partnership network built over nearly a decade, GO 2020:

Encourages ordinary believers to share the Gospel through personal conversation and to demonstrate God’s love through prayer, caring, and sharing in numerous different ways.
Equips Churches with training and materials in evangelism, discipleship and church planting (see Resources).
Promotes Kingdom partnership as churches, denominations and ministries from many different backgrounds work together to reach the world (see Partner).
Invites every church to be part of a church planting initiative during the year 2020. Every church is planting a church – together we can establish 1 million new faith communities.
Makes the Gospel visible through thousands of “Jesus Celebrations”, GO 2020 Events, March for Jesus and more.

GO 2020 is a special edition of Global Outreach Day, which has been taking place every last Saturday of May since 2012. On this day, every year, believers worldwide have stepped out together in faith to share the Good News.

25 million believers have already participated in Global Outreach Day. To see what God has done, view Global Outreach Day testimonies.

«Every believer is a witness and a disciple maker – Every church is planting new churches»

More at:https://www.go2020.world/explained

Prayer Points Suggested for GO-2020:

1. Pray that as the call to GO-2020 goes out, every believer wakes up to fully seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, realizing the time is short. (Rom. 13:11-14; Luke 19:13; Psalm 90:12)
   
2. Pray that every follower of Jesus is BEING a disciple who fully follows Jesus in loving God, loving others and making disciples that make disciples. (Acts 1:8; Matt. 22:37; Prov. 11:30; Matt. 28:18-20)
   
3. Pray that believers see the hearts of those the Holy Spirit has prepared to hear and that they share in a way that can be understood and responded to. (John 4:36; John 6:44; 2 Tim. 4:2)
   
4. Pray for every people group with little gospel witness to be adopted for prayer and outreach then engaged with a Kingdom multiplication strategy, so that there will be no place left without gospel witness in every tongue, tribe and nation. Currently ¼ to 1/3 of the world has little to no gospel witness (Unreached people groups) and 401 people groups over 500,000 in population have less than .1% Christians among them (these represent 88% of the remaining task. (Matt. 9:37-38; 2 Cor. 10:16; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev. 7:9) 
   
5. Pray for access to the entire Word of God in every language since at present only 7% of the world’s languages have a full Bible and only 1 in 5 Bible Translation Projects focus on translating the Old Testament. (Matt. 9:37-38; Heb. 4:12; Rom. 10:17-21)
   
6. Pray for the Body of Christ to recognize our call to see His Kingdom coming and His will being done (not building our own kingdoms) and that we work together in the unity of the Spirit keeping the bond of peace for His glory among the nations. (Matt. 6:10; Eph. 4:3; Matt. 12:22-26)

The 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference brought together 1,800+ delegates from civil society, governments, multilateral agencies, and the private sector. They came from 144 countries to exchange ideas and experiences. Although there has been progress around the world, they are concerned that the foundations of democracy and the rule of law are under threat in many countries. Today, the world is witnessing erosion of good governance, sharp increases in human rights violations and violence. The role of civil society is also being impeded by repressive governments. The rise of authoritarianism, in the guise of populist regimes, threatens all who defend social justice regardless of the regions or continents. Stealing from their own people, colluding with criminals, and distorting laws and truth to serve their own interests result in extremist movements and harsh divisions.