Displaying items by tag: Religion

‘Those who believed Peter were baptised and added to the church - about 3,000 in all’ (Acts 2:41). This passage reminds us that the early Church grew rapidly during a time of persecution. It is happening again in Laos. Small house churches are scattered throughout the country, and believers in Laos face continual persecution. Converts to Christianity are considered betrayers to their community’s Buddhist-Animist traditions. Unregistered house churches are illegal. Communist authorities intensely monitor Christians. Yet, there is reason for hope. While only 2.5% of the 7.4 million population are evangelical, the yearly growth rate of the Church is 6.8%. Most of the house churches in Laos are led by faithful but untrained leaders, but this is not a limitation for a sovereign God. Pray protection over house church leaders who are targets of persecution; pray for believers to safely proclaim the Gospel to their neighbours and persevere with grace.

A young man who accepted Jesus in 2018 was arrested by militias and detained several times during recent years. They tried to force him to recant his faith. There is no rule of law; there are no official law-enforcement agencies. Libya has no law against apostasy, so converts are tried for treason. However, a court based its decision on a law enacted by the elected legislative body between 2012 and 2014 ,which states that an apostate from Islam must be executed if they do not recant. That law and others were cancelled by the current Tobruk-based parliament, elected in 2014. However, as part of a continuing power struggle, the Tripoli supreme court declared the Tobruk-based parliament illegal, allowing courts freedom to still apply the cancelled laws. The accused did not have legal representation during the proceedings.

A North African country of 37 million people, Morocco has enjoyed a degree of stability and peace. The King takes the lead in politics and religious affairs. He is attempting to spread wealth beyond the main cities, and to open a limited space for political discussion. Positive change is slowed by corruption, political repression, and unemployment. Young people and rural dwellers show their frustration in sporadic protests. Morocco is 99% Muslim. Christians number a couple of thousand, each one born into a hostile environment. Few Moroccans have heard the gospel; many have come across slanderous reports about the Church. Christian workers have been expelled. It is hard to gather Christians together for fellowship and discipleship. Pray for the King, and for fresh hope for the people of Morocco. Praise God for Morocco’s Church, for expatriate believers, and for the internet and satellite TV which are lifelines for Moroccan Christians and seekers.

Livno is a small town in western Bosnia, an hour-and-a-half from the coastal city of Split, Croatia. Pray for spiritual seekers in Livno. Recently, a worker connected with two potential believers through a social media ministry and started reading the Bible with them. They were excited and wanted to read more until their Catholic priest told them to throw out the ‘Protestant’ Bibles, which they did. Pray that the priest will encourage these seekers to read God's Word from a ‘Catholic’ Bible, and that God will continue to draw them to Himself and to reveal Himself, no matter what version they read. Pray that the worker who was reading with them will be encouraged to continue to walk this journey alongside them. Pray that, ultimately, they will know Jesus and be joined with others in the body of Christ.

On 2 September, al-Shabaab terrorists killed 18 civilians and destroyed several relief trucks in central Somalia. Al-Shabaab has increased attacks over the summer. In August they killed several Somali soldiers and attacked military bases in Kenya, Mali, and Ethiopia. An attack on a Mogadishu hotel lasting 35 hours killed 21 people. Its leaders want to replace al-Qaeda and expand their reach. Al-Qaeda has not found a leader to replace Ayman al-Zawahiri. If one is not chosen soon, al-Shabaab could declare its East African government separate from al-Qaeda and hope to overthrow the government of Somalia itself. They are receiving resources through forcing people to pay taxes by threatening them, bombing their businesses, or kidnapping their daughters. Despite the danger, many continue to share the story of Jesus. These are not US or European missionaries; they are Muslim background believers living in close proximity in the same culture. World Mission sends them solar-powered audio Bibles in the local language.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 20,500 of Russia’s Jews (12.5%) have moved to Israel, where anyone who has at least one Jewish grandparent has the right to citizenship. An estimated 30,000 other dual passport holders have left Russia for Israel since March. Thousands more have moved to other countries. In March Moscow’s former chief rabbi Goldschmidt fled to Israel, where he now lives in exile. He said that the Jewish community was pressured to support the war publicly, but did not want to do so. Many believe the security and future of Russian Jews depends on Israel-Russia relations, which currently are extremely precarious, especially after Israeli premier Yair Lapid condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lapid also made it clear that the threatened closure of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency would be a ‘serious event’, potentially endangering bilateral ties.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is urgently calling for prayers for Nicaragua amid an escalation of efforts to silence the Church. The expulsion of the country’s Apostolic Nuncio was followed by the abduction of Bishop Rolando, the Apostolic Administrator of a vacant diocese, along with three priests, two seminarians, a deacon and a photographer. Bishop Álvarez is under house arrest after he criticised the closure of Catholic radio stations. ACN said, ‘These events represent further escalations in an attempt to silence the Nicaraguan Church. There is no easy solution. We need to support them as much as possible and pray for a peaceful solution and no further increase in hostilities. This crisis is critical. In less than four years, the Catholic Church has suffered over 190 attacks, including a fire in the Cathedral of Managua.’ Street processions are prohibited, religious celebrations are interrupted, and the police intimidate worshippers at churches.

Oman’s economy is heavily dependent on declining oil reserves. It has begun focusing on tourism as a new source of economic growth. Diverse untouched landscapes of coastlines, deserts, and mountains are unique destinations for travellers. The Oman Arab Bank recently sponsored their third tourism forum to train young adults in the tourism industry. While this boosts Oman’s economy, it is also an opportunity for the Gospel to reach five million people who have never heard the good news of Jesus’ love and gift of salvation. Proselytising is illegal, and those in active Christian ministry experience pressure to leave the country. But as tourism increases, creative access to new people groups will become more feasible. Pray for successful expansion of current Oman ministries: relief and water projects, media, literature, business as ministry, urban evangelism, and church planting. As tourism meets the financial needs of Oman, may the Church go forth to meet the spiritual needs.

Moqtada al-Sadr won most parliamentary seats last October, but he refused to negotiate with Iran-backed Shia groups to form a government, causing a year of political instability. When he announced his retirement from politics on 29 August it caused an eruption of street fighting overnight, as fighters exchanged gunfire. Tracer rounds illuminated the night sky in some of the worst violence to hit Baghdad in recent years, including using heavy weaponry such as rocket-propelled grenades. Some fighting was between the Peace Brigades, a militia loyal to Mr Sadr, and members of the Iraqi military. Some fighters Iran closed its borders with Iraq amidst the fighting, and Kuwait urged its citizens to leave immediately. A UN spokesperson has called for ‘immediate steps’ to de-escalate the situation. Iraq's caretaker prime minister has declared a nationwide curfew after unrest in several other cities, and suspended cabinet meetings. By 31 August most violence had stopped, but the country’s crisis has only deepened. See

In the midst of persecution God is providing spiritual and financial support to Christians: spiritual investment is eternal, while the financial support is temporal. Help the Persecuted (HTP) addresses real needs with Gospel-centred, sustainable methods like an agricultural project in Lebanon that goes beyond providing physical needs. The community created around this farm is hearing the Gospel being shared along with food distribution. One member tells of being strangled by her radical Al-Qaeda husband and in that moment she saw Jesus. He reached out his hand and said, ‘I love you.’ She didn’t know who he was, but shortly afterwards learned about the person she saw in her vision. She gave her life to Jesus and fled alone to Lebanon. She knows he will never leave or forsake her. We can praise God for the work of HTP and need to continue praying for their protection and finances.