Church in Chains, August 8^th, 2024 (excerpts)

On 2 July 2024 at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, a side event was held to raise the issue of the persecution of Christians by the Algerian government.

Pastor Youssef spoke via video link, explaining he has been involved with the church in Algeria for over 36 years and been Vice-President of the Algerian Protestant Church (EPA) since 2018.

He said there have been 54 court cases against members of the EPA in recent years and Christians handed prison sentences varying from 2 months to 5 years and many fines.

On 2 July 2023, without his knowledge or attending court, he was condemned to two years in prison for organising church activities without a licence. He is currently waiting to have his appeal heard by the Supreme Court. He is conscious that it would take time for the appeal to be heard.

Only one EPA member church is open (in the capital, Algiers) and he does not know how long it will be able to remain open. 46 churches affiliated with the EPA have been closed by the authorities and 6 or 7 unaffiliated churches have also closed their buildings.  

Despite repeated attempts to register the EPA and its places of worship with the Ministry of the Interior, its office never confirms receipt of their applications and not a single church has yet been granted a permit.

The Voice of the Martyrs, August 8^th, 2024 (excerpts)

Christians make up less than 1% of the population of Turkey, which is 96% Sunni Muslim. When a Turkish Muslim chooses to follow Christ, they are often rejected by their families, a reality experienced by Mustafa and Basak.

Mustafa grew up in a radical Islamic family but became a Christian as a teenager. His decision shocked his family, who have been pressuring him to renounce his new faith. Mustafa currently has no place to live, so a local church is housing him in their church building while he looks for work and more permanent housing.

Basak was also raised in a devout Islamic home, but after she was invited to a Christian activity at her university and given a Bible, she trusted in Christ. Her family then rejected her and is also trying to convince her to return to Islam. When Basak graduates from university in a few months’ time, she will have no place to live until she can find a job and earn income to support herself.

The gospel spread throughout Turkey in the first century, and the region remained under Christian rule for centuries, beginning in the fourth century. Now, however, fewer than 1 percent of Turks are Christians. Turks are proud of their nation, which has seen rapid industrial growth and modernization.

Unfortunately, Islam is considered by most Turks to be part of their national identity; it is hard for them to imagine leaving Islam even if they know little about its teachings and do not practice its tenets. Christians in Turkey have limited freedom of worship. While there are few Turkish churches, believers boldly share Christ with their countrymen.

Barnabas Aid, August 7^th, 2024 (excerpts)

The minority Christian community of Bangladesh is among those at risk from the political unrest that has swept across the country.

A Barnabas Aid contact has reported that Christian schools have been attacked, along with homes belonging to Christians and other religious minorities.

These attacks have been carried out by Islamist extremists who have joined with the anti-government protestors.

Leaders of the student protest movement and military leaders have called on local authorities to provide greater protection for Christians and Hindus from mob violence.

The student-led protests began peacefully on 1 July 2024 but turned violent around two weeks later. On 5 August Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country after 15 years in power. The following day it was announced that economist Muhammad Yunus would replace Hasina as leader of an interim government.

Christians are a small minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, representing less than 1% of the population.

Pray for a peaceful solution to the civil and political unrest in Bangladesh and that extremists will not have opportunities to attack minority groups.

International Christian Concern, August 12^th, 2024 (excerpts)

The remains of more than 30 people were found on July 24 following yet another brutal attack on a Christian community by Islamic extremist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Eastern Congo.  Léon Siviwe, chief of Beni-Mbau, said the attack was part of a week marked by escalating violence.

“These are our brothers, sisters, daughters, and sons who, in the end, have lost their lives because of the ADF, who kill while speaking the Arabic language,” one survivor recalled. “I remember the day when my neighbour was taken and, in the end, he was found dead.”

The Anglican Bishop of Beni articulated the profound psychological toll that living under constant threat has taken on civilians in Beni.

 “We try to maintain some semblance of normalcy, but every loud noise sends us into panic mode. The laughter of children has been replaced by silence or whispers about who might be next. Our dreams have turned to nightmares, and we often find ourselves looking over our shoulders.

“These atrocities create a pervasive anxiety and trauma experienced by those in conflict zones, particularly in regions like eastern Congo, where attacks by armed groups such as the ADF have become tragically commonplace that defiles God’s purpose of creating man.”

Joshua Project, August 12^th, 2024

Legend has it that the Hindu god Vishwakarma created two people groups – the Lohar, workers of iron and the Badhai, cutters of wood. Woodcutting and carpentry are the traditional occupations of the Badhai, and though carpentry remains common today, some have acquired land and have begun to work in agriculture.

Literacy levels are low among the Badhai as most are unable to afford the cost of education. Modern medicine is available, though it is often coupled with traditional practices, especially in remote areas where modern facilities are less available than medicine men.

Most Badhais in Pakistan are Muslim, but there are also many Hindus among them. In Pakistan’s Sindh Province, both groups need a gospel witness.

The traditional religions of the Badhai are very difficult to penetrate. Their leaders are sensitive to people “changing religion,” which to them is the same as rejecting their family and community.  

Perhaps the Badhai would enjoy stories of the carpenter-prophet who was the Son of God and gave his life on beams of timber. Those who could tell the gospel through woodwork might find great success.

Pray for the Lord to pave the way for the Badhai people to have access to better education. Pray that workers would be sent to harvest this field and that a Disciple Making Movement would spread like fire.

Open Doors, July 6, 2024 (excerpts)

During his recent brief visit to North Korea, Russian leader Putin was treated to parades and shows and signed a mutual defence pact with Kim Jong-un.

Before heading on to Vietnam, Putin visited the Russian Orthodox Church, lit a prayer candle and spoke with Archbishop Theophanes, who performed a brief service. The archbishop was trained and ordained in Russia by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Such visits are meant to emphasise the strong connections between countries. The Orthodox Church in Pyongyang was constructed after Kim Jong-un’s father, the late leader Kim Jong-il, visited a church in the Russian city Irkutsk in 2002.

Putin publicly positions himself as a devout Christian and defender of the Russian Orthodox Church. This means that people from former Soviet Republics – who are usually Muslim – are often discriminated against in Russia.

Putin’s visit may also be intended to signal to an international stage that North Korea has religious freedom. This is, however, very far from the case. It is the country where Christians face the worst persecution for their faith.

There are only four official church buildings in North Korea, all located in Pyongyang – the Russian Orthodox Church, a Roman Catholic Church and 2 Protestant churches.

While these appear to suggest religious freedom, the churches are ‘showcase churches’, which only hold services when foreigners request to visit. North Korean citizens certainly would not be able to attend or worship God there.

The Voice of the Martyrs, July 11, 2024 (excerpts)

Mrs. Thai, a Christian widow in a Khmu tribal village in Laos, was persecuted by her own family and kicked out of her house because of her faith. She lived alone, and none of her family cared for her. She passed away on December 27, 2023. Her family did not want to take responsibility for her funeral.

Members of the local body of Christ came to bury her, but the village headman would not permit them to bring it into the village cemetery, concerned that it would displease the ancestor spirits.

Eventually, seven women of the church carried Mrs. Thai’s body far from the village and buried it themselves. Pray that the loving care of the body of Christ in Mrs. Thai’s case will have a deep impact on her family and the whole village so that they will be drawn to Christ.

The Communist government, in conjunction with Buddhist monks, persecutes Christians, with the exception of the government-controlled Lao Evangelical Church. Poverty, lack of infrastructure and mountainous terrain make evangelistic outreach challenging. Thanks to bold evangelists, churches continue to grow even as they experience ongoing persecution.

Most believers are persecuted by family members or village authorities concerned that Christians offend the spirits, and the central government restricts Christian activity.

There are many house churches and some church buildings, but the vast majority do not have a trained pastor. Laotian authorities sometimes arrest Christians and detain them for up to a week in attempts to control Christian activity.

Morning Star News, July 12, 2024 (excerpts)

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom again has recommended that the State Department designate Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), citing the country’s blasphemy laws as a prime source religious freedom violations.  The U.S. State Department has designated Pakistan as a CPC every year since 2018.

Pakistan continues to witness widespread abuses of religious freedom, including blasphemy laws, forced conversions of minority girls, and targeted violence against religious minorities.

The blasphemy laws have been criticized for broad and vague provisions often misused to settle personal scores or target people of minority religions in the 96-percent Muslim country. The USCIRF report documents numerous cases of individuals, including Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis, being falsely accused and imprisoned under these laws.

The mere accusation of blasphemy can lead to mob violence, extrajudicial killings, and mass protests, creating a climate of fear and intimidation. The recent high-profile case of Zohaib Masih, a young Christian who was wrongfully detained and tortured on false blasphemy charges, exemplifies the ongoing misuse of these laws.

The report also highlighted forced conversions, particularly of young Christian and Hindu girls who are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to their abductors.

In addition, numerous instances of targeted violence against religious minorities with attacks on churches, temples, and Ahmadi mosques, continue to be a serious concern.

International Christian Concern, July 11, 2024

Children and students alike in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to endure Islamist attacks and militia violence, forcing them to leave school and flee their homes.

According to UNICEF, “in both 2021 and 2022, DRC had the world’s highest levels of cases of sexual violence against children committed by armed forces and armed groups … in 2022, 730 children were verified as abducted.”

As a result, a reported 750,000 children have been forced to leave school and discontinue their education.

Some of these students pursue their education elsewhere and pledge to return to the DRC to help their fellow citizens overcome near-insurmountable odds.

In 2021, when Kahindo was 19, she and her parents were abducted by ADF, an Islamic terrorist organization with ties to the Islamic State group (ISIS).

“The rebels appeared abruptly and pulled us away into the thick forest, separated me from my parents and, for 3 days, sexually abused me in turns. They were eight in number.”

Kahindo’s mother managed to flee to the authorities for help. When the police returned, a gun battle ensued and Kahindo made a daring escape during the confusion.  However, her father’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Despite Christians being the religious majority in the DRC, they are routinely attacked and murdered by the Islamic ADF and other terrorist groups.

Kahindo now hopes to become a doctor and help young girls and women who get sexually assaulted by the rebels.

Throughout the world, people know the Balinese for their artistic abilities. They live on or originated from the island of Bali. Most Balinese live in very close-knit villages with strong family, social, religious, and economic interrelationships.

Hinduism is the primary religion of the Balinese. Even though Hinduism has greatly affected the culture, the Balinese have managed to maintain their original culture, so Balinese Hinduism differs from Indian Hinduism.  

These close-knit societies make it particularly challenging for any member to find spiritual truths outside of what they already believe.

A great need in Bali is a plan for tourism development. Well-conceived and well-executed strategies to build tourism and expand job opportunities could be an excellent gospel ministry.

Pray that Christian Balinese would find community and fellowship together. Pray that they would find ways to share the holiness and power of Christ with family and community. Pray that God would grant repentance and grace to those who need Christ and would provide them opportunities to receive him without fear.