Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons Update – October 1st 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Fraser has just learned that a big South African denomination expects him to have everything organised for courses to start in January.  Pray that Hugenote would find the right forum to scale the church’s expectations down to a realistic level, that Fraser won’t be overwhelmed by the workload and that he will be able to identify other people who can train lecturers to use the system he has set up.

Pray for Mondray whom Dawn has counselled at maximum security.  Sentenced to 17 years for gangster, drug and murder related crimes in 2012, three months ago he surrendered himself to Jesus.  He feels strongly that God wants to use him to reach out to the other “sinners” in maximum and is full of enthusiasm over how his prayers for his family’s relationships are being answered.

Pray that Dawn will have wisdom and discernment as she interacts with the prisoners.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – October 1st 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Talita Kum

Blythswood has asked us to specially remember those who are involved in various activities in Romania to raise funds for projects like Talita Kum and the Daniel Centre.

 Now that the schools are back in operation, pray for the ongoing strength and commitment of those who staff Talita Kum and for the influence of their witness on the young lives who come to see them every school day.

 Remember children who were able to attend summer camps and whose lives were touched by those experiences.

Daniel Centre

Continue to pray for Balazs Csiszer and his team at the Daniel Centre in Cluj, Romania which was refurbished over the summer by the Go Relief team from Northern and Southern Ireland.

Pray for refurbished lives as the team give themselves daily in the service of the young men under their care.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

The Kachins of Burma – October 1st 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, September 25, 2018

The shocking genocide of the Rohingya people is now being followed by an appalling escalation of violence involving crimes against humanity against the Kachin, a largely Christian ethnic group.

7,000 Kachin have been displaced from their homes in the past year alone, while 66 churches have been destroyed since 2011. And a recent UN report said that abuses against the Kachin (which include rape, torture, and enslavement) “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law”.

The world must act now to protect the Kachin. Their suffering has been ignored too long.

Barnabas, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Barnabas Update – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Nine killed in shelling of Syrian Christian town

Barnabas Fund, 11 September 2018

Nine civilians from the Christian-majority Syrian town of Mhardeh died on Friday 7 September, when shells or rockets fired from a rebel-controlled region hit built up areas. According to local sources, a further 20 people were reportedly injured in the attack on the town, which is located around 14 miles north-west of the city of Hama.

Throughout the conflict Christian civilian areas in Syria have been deliberately targeted with rocket attacks and shelling by jihadist rebel groups, although these attacks have gone largely unreported by Western media.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Chinese authorities shut down large house church – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Barnabas Fund, 11 September 2018

Chinese authorities shut down one of the largest unofficial churches in Beijing on Sunday 9 September.

The church has been permitted to operate for years with relative freedom, but since church leaders refused a request from authorities to install CCTV cameras inside the building in April the church has come under growing pressure. 

The government introduced new religion regulations governing church registration in February.

As many as 1,500 people attend the church’s five weekly services. Police officers are now guarding the building. Prior to the church being shut down the congregation had been threatened with eviction.

China’s Communist government only recognises state-registered churches, which are closely monitored.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Central African Republic: Dozens feared dead – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

World Watch Monitor, September 17, 2018

In Central African Republic, dozens of people are feared killed after suspected Islamist rebels attacked a group of civilians in the central town of Bria earlier this month.

Local sources contacted by World Watch Monitor said as many as 42 were killed, as details about the attacks are now emerging.

Sources said the victims were mainly women who were hacked to death while returning from farms to the predominantly Christian quarter of the town, to sell their farm products.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, the town of Bria witnessed a wave of violence at the end of August.  The Christian populations of the town said they had been particularly targeted.

“The Seleka militants don’t want to see any Christians here,” one church leader said. “We Christians have nothing else to do, no food to eat, no place to go. We rely only on prayers.  It is a very difficult situation for us here. We pray for God’s help for us,” another church leader in the camp said.

Central African Republic has witnessed an upsurge of violence in recent months, notably with attacks targeting churches and clerics in Bangui, the capital.

Jacksons, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Jacksons Update – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Pray that the amazing work that God is doing in the lives of prisoners and their families through Hope Prison Ministry will not be lessened by avoidable hiccups and frustrations.

 Addiction to Tik (crystal meth) is widespread and destroying communities.  It’s hard to see how to help. Pray that there would be more hope and alternatives, so people are not drawn into drug addiction.

 NetACT and Hugenote College are ready to buy the server together.  Pray that everything would fall into place and the order would be placed with the supplier this week.

Pray that we would have perseverance in the face of frustrations as we try to be in the places God wants us to be and grow to be the people he’s designed us to be.

Blythswood, Mission Partners of Castle Street, Missions

Blythswood Update – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Talita Kum

As new and returning children begin school again, pray for the leaders and helpers at Talita Kum who will be interacting with these children as they come in for meals, hot showers and help with homework each school day.

The staff of Talita Kum may well be the only Christians that the children will see and come to know at close quarters during their school years, so the influence of these adults on the young lives is hard to imagine.

 Daniel Centre

Pray for Balazs Csiszer and his team who manage the Daniel Centre in Cluj, Romania. Give thanks for the refurbishment work that was done by the Go Relief team from Northern and Southern Ireland.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Hindu Extremists in Uttar Pradesh, India – September 17th 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Morning Star News, September 17, 2018

Under the influence of Hindu extremists, police and media campaigns against Christians in Uttar Pradesh state, India have mushroomed.

After false media reports of large-scale, fraudulent conversions of Hindus by pastor Durga Prasad Yadav went viral in July, followed by false police charges, there have been multiple area reports of disrupted worship meetings, pastors and evangelists arrested since September 13th.

“Hindu extremist groups are shouting anti-Christian slogans around the churches, threatening believers with severe consequences and asking every believer how much money he has been given to convert.”

Christians have been targeted in at least five cases and at least 12 pastors have gone into hiding, but attendance at Yadav’s church’s worship services has nearly doubled since Hindu extremists began targeting him.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Ugandan Church Closes after Islamist Attacks – September 2nd 2018

by Robert MacNaughton

Morning Star News, August 22, 2018

A church near Kampala, capital of Uganda, has closed after months of area Muslims pelting its gatherings with rocks.

On Aug. 4, a stone thrown through a window struck Pastor Moreen Sanyu and knocked her unconscious.  Next Sunday, Aug. 11, no one came to the worship service.

The church had grown quickly since May 2017 in a predominantly Muslim area, swelling to 400 people at one point before all worshippers stopped coming after the Aug. 4 attack out of fear for their lives.

“We cannot watch our children joining infidels’ church,” said a sheikh, adding that local Muslims will not allow the church to operate.  “We have not persuaded the Christians to join our faith, hence why should the church keep on stealing our members?”

Pastor Sanyu told Morning Star News that she just shared the gospel of Christ and his love for humanity with her Muslim neighbours, and they freely accepted the Christian faith, especially when many sick people that she prayed for were healed.