Displaying items by tag: converts

A powerful testimony shared tells the story of Abdu Murray, who had a life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit after visiting a church. Curious about Christianity, he decided to attend a church service with no intention of becoming a believer. As he left the service and began walking home, something extraordinary happened: he was suddenly forced to the ground by an unseen power. He described the experience as overwhelming, realising he was being confronted by the presence of God. In that moment the Holy Spirit spoke to him, revealing the truth of Jesus Christ. Abdu immediately repented, embraced Christianity, and has since become a committed follower of Jesus. His testimony serves as a reminder of God's relentless pursuit of the lost, even in the most unexpected circumstances. This remarkable encounter with the Holy Spirit not only transformed his life but has also inspired others in his community to seek God’s presence.

Buddhist nationalism is strong in Myanmar, and Buddhists continue to persecute the 4.4 million Christians. Christian converts are persecuted by families and communities for ‘betraying’ the Buddhist system. Communities aiming to stay ‘Buddhist only’ make life for Christian families impossible by not allowing them to use community resources such as water. Myanmar is also the scene of the longest civil war in the world, and believers are vulnerable to persecution by insurgent groups and the army. The Covid pandemic has brought added challenges, since many Christians are deliberately overlooked in the distribution of government aid. Also on Christmas Day the charred bodies of at least 35 civilians were found in a Christian village; they had apparently been shot by the army the day before and then burned. At least 23 church buildings and over 350 civilian homes were burned or destroyed in Chin state between August and December.

Since the 1960s, there has been considerable growth of conversions from Islam to Christianity. Most of these conversions have been to forms of evangelical or Pentecostal Christianity, and some converts claim to remain in some way both Muslims and followers of Jesus. Pray for the continued growth of mission agencies taking the good news to those who have not heard it. Muslim-background missionaries are vibrant Christians even though most of them are hated by their home countries and Muslim leaders, and are ostracised, beaten, and murdered by their families and neighbours: see  Pray for God to continue to strengthen the endurance of new Christians as they evangelise, preach and demonstrate God’s love into the darkest corners of Islam. Converts from Islam face insurmountable questions on an almost daily basis, such as ‘I have more than one wife, what do I do?’ or ‘How can I support myself now my family has rejected me?’ See

Brother John and his friends met villagers playing music on a mountainside. John shared the hymn Amazing Grace with them and started talking about God’s grace, while a team member prayed silently. The team member said, ‘I think one of these older ladies has a painful knee’. One woman said, ‘Yes, I do, it’s terrible’, and her sister said, ‘Both my knees have problems.’ John said ‘The Creator God can heal those knees, can we touch them and ask Him to heal them? They agreed, and then John said, ‘In the name of Jesus, be well’. One elderly lady looked surprised and started doing deep knee bends. ‘What just happened? Is the pain gone?’ ‘Yes, the pain is gone!’ was the reply. The team prayed again and she was filled with the Spirit. Three ladies gave their lives to Jesus, received Bibles, and were taught how to study God’s word.

A Sri Lankan brick-maker is living with death threats after his conversion to Christianity, often seen as a ‘foreign’ religion, even though Christianity arrived in the Indian sub-continent almost two thousand years ago. Nimal is illiterate, but attended Bible school. When he talks about his faith, many people mock and challenge him. Rising from poverty to set up a small business, Nimal now shares some of his income with his church. Christian charity Open Doors International recently visited Nimal’s family. To watch the video about him, click the ‘More’ button.