In Israel, the trauma runs deep.

“Iran continues to launch its ballistic missiles and hit Israeli cities. Many people live in kind of an anxiety-filled environment,” says Pavel Shifman, Trans World Radio’s director for Israel. 

In the weeks since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, Israel has also received missile strikes from Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon and, most recently, Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

“The situation of the war is not something unusual for the Israelis. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, it has been going through a major war or conflict every 10 years,” says Shifman. 

“But the interesting part is that Israel did not start those conflicts. [Yet] Israel always won those conflicts.” He ascribes these victories to God protecting the Jewish people and fulfilling Old Testament prophecies where He promises to gather His people back to the land.

In this latest conflict, the TWR Israel team says many people have stopped responding to sirens, “because they can’t handle the stress of running to bomb shelters three, four, five [times] a day or night,” says Shifman. 

“They haven’t slept well during the last 30 days because Iran deliberately attacks the civilian population and shoots missiles like every other hour. So some people just decide to stay at home, and whatever happens, happens.” 

TWR Israel on the move

With Passover being celebrated this week, it’s a critical time to be praying for the Jewish people. 

“We want to show them who Yeshua is, who Jesus is,” says Shifman. “Israel lives in kind of a two-name reality. They never pronounce His name correctly. In fact, they refer to Him in history as ‘that man.’”

“Yeshua” means “salvation.” But many Jews refer to Jesus as “Yeshu.” Shifman explains that “Yeshu” is “basically a curse that says, ‘may his name be wiped out from our tradition and our history.’ They don’t even understand that, but that’s how things developed over the years.”

TWR Israel’s team shares the gospel of Christ through social media channels, Bible distribution, and Zoom calls with people who are interested in learning more about the Bible, Jesus, and faith. 

Shifman says the Zoom study calls are important because, “According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 43% of Israelis identify themselves as secularists. They don’t believe in the Bible. We need to bring the reality of God into their lives, to connect all the dots and bits and pieces and show them that their God is there.”

Isaiah 53 and Jeremiah 31 are key passages, Shifman says, that point to the Messiah and to the New Testament (or new covenant). 

Pray for Israel

Pray for open hearts among the Jewish people to Christ the Messiah, especially during Passover celebrations, which have many signs that point to Jesus. 

Shifman adds another prayer request: “The rise of anti-Semitism is really high these days. We want people to change their attitude towards the Jewish people, and see how God loves His people, and so we do too, especially as believers and followers [of Christ].”

Header photo courtesy of TWR.

The coordinated attacks targeted churches and luxury hotels, carried out by Islamist extremists during Easter services. The bombings deeply traumatized the nation and exposed security failures, leaving lasting concerns for the country’s Christian minority.

Kandy, Sri Lanka (Photo courtesy of Antonio Cogo/Unsplash)

Although it was seven years ago, Rajeeve Sathianathan, Sri Lanka director of Christian World Outreach (CWO), says the government is taking steps to help restore Christians’ confidence and protect their freedom to worship this Easter.

“In big cities, they are sending security forces to guard the big churches so that incidents like what happened a few years ago won’t happen again,” says Sathianathan. “But that protection is there only in big cities. In remote villages, that’s a challenge.”

Christians make up a small minority in Sri Lanka, where the majority of people are Buddhist, along with significant Hindu and Muslim populations. This can lead to persecution, especially in rural areas.

A woman in Sri Lanka. (Photo courtesy of Gemmmm/Unsplash)

On top of less security in Sri Lanka’s villages, rural Christians often face opposition from their neighbors.

Sathianathan says, “Most of them are like house churches. So the landlords tell them, ‘Hey, we need to kick them out of this place because we don’t want them to use this property to invite people in.’”

Easter is just around the corner this coming Sunday. Pray for Sri Lankan Christians and CWO partners.

“Pray for them, for strength, because sometimes the fear comes when you experience this kind of restriction,” Sathianathan asks. “That’s what I continue [to pray] for protection and also pray for wisdom.”

Learn more about CWO’s Sri Lanka ministry at cwomissions.org/srilanka/.

Header photo courtesy of Vinnath Satharasinghe/Unsplash.

Deaf leader Allan Orozco oversees DOOR International’s church-planting program. He says Deaf communities in distant regions of places like Nepal often keep to themselves.

“Many Deaf individuals find it hard to navigate the city, so they often remain in their villages in these remote mountain areas,” Orozco explains.

(Screenshot)

Through a program called “2-by-2,” DOOR helps pairs of church planters begin work in unreached Deaf communities. In Nepal and other difficult regions, 2-by-2 workers travel to places inaccessible by car. See a 2-by-2 team in action here.

“2-by-2 workers have motorbikes that they can navigate up these big mountains and engage with the individuals in these communities, sharing Jesus with them,” Orozco says.

“Some of them are from generational-Deaf families – the parents are Deaf, the siblings are Deaf, aunts and uncles, and so on. They’ll (2-by-2 teams) go out to these villages and engage with them, share the Gospel.”

How 2-by-2 works

DOOR International currently supports 40 2-by-2 teams serving Deaf communities worldwide. No matter where they’re working, the teams’ mission is the same: introduce the Deaf to Jesus.

“Many of these Deaf communities have no Deaf leadership, no Deaf churches that are accessible,” Orozco says, “so we send these two workers to begin interacting and engaging with the community.”

The 2-by-2 program trains and pairs Deaf leaders gifted in evangelism with Deaf leaders gifted in teaching. Those with an evangelism skill set are typically outgoing and able to begin relationships easily.

As the evangelist teammate meets Deaf people and invites them to a Bible study, “the Chronological Bible Teaching approach allows these two workers to see some [Deaf people] being saved and continuing in that journey of discipleship with them, teaching and training,” Orozco says.

“The teaching gifts come into play in the discipleship journey of those who are becoming saved, and hopefully leading to reaching the [entire] community.”

Why support and prayer matter

Reaching the Deaf for Christ is a monumental task – fewer than two percent of the world’s 70 million Deaf people know or follow Jesus. Connect with DOOR here to help this work continue.

(Photo courtesy DOOR International)

“Often, we’re sending Deaf missionaries who don’t have a community to raise support through, whether it’s a communication barrier, or [having few people] in their network to ask for support,” Orozco explains.

“We want to see their ministry continue regardless of this lack of support, so providing support from the outside can be so beneficial.”

Most importantly, pray. You can download a prayer calendar here to intercede for Deaf Gospel workers throughout the month.

“Like the Bible says: ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to provide more workers for His harvest field.’ That is our prayer: to raise up more Deaf leaders to go out to the harvest,” Orozco says.

Header and story images courtesy of DOOR International. 

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA (VOM) says, “People came in on bikes and motorcycles, opened fire. The initial reports were at least 30 people killed. I think that number is going to rise as some were badly injured.”

This coordinated attack targeted believers, as the affected community in northern Jos is almost entirely Christian.

“The gunmen were yelling, ‘Allahu akbar,’ or ‘Allah is great,’ as they were conducting this attack,” Nettleton says. “So there clearly was an Islamist ideology that was driving this – and the fact that it was on Palm Sunday, I don’t think that is insignificant in this story as well.”

(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Northern Nigeria remains a hotspot for Christian persecution. That reality makes it difficult for believers to discern between empty threats and imminent danger.

Nettleton says, “Our Nigerian contact said there had been threats in Jos. Even in the last two or three weeks, there had been threats made against Christians, against churches…. The threat level is always elevated. So [it means] differentiating between, ‘Is this sort of a regular threat? Or is this really serious? Do we need to pay extra attention to this?'”

Boko Haram and Fulani militants frequently carry out attacks on Christians in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north. While neither group has officially claimed the attack in Jos, Christian holidays often become opportunities for Islamist violence.

“One of the things that we…at The Voice of the Martyrs try to do is bang the drum for us to remember Christians are at extra risk on these holy days – on Christmas, on Easter. During times when there are a lot of Christians gathering, the gatherings are obviously known. They’re very public, and so the risk is greater in these holidays.”

(Photo courtesy of VOM USA)

With Easter quickly approaching, the Church in Nigeria needs your prayers.

Nettleton urges, “Think about brothers and sisters who are worshiping and celebrating the same resurrection we are, but they’re doing it in a place where they are in danger, where the threat is very real to them – to pray for them, to remember them as Hebrews 13:3 tells us to do. I think, honestly, that adds a depth to our celebration of the resurrection.”

Header photo courtesy of VOM USA.

“It’s Hezbollah who dragged the whole nation of Lebanon into a war with Israel,” says Camille Melki with Heart for Lebanon. “The Lebanese people did not choose that, do not want that. In fact, we long for a lasting peace for the entire region.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

A month into the renewed war, Melki says the Lebanese government and army’s response has left a serious leadership vacuum, “which means that Hezbollah has a free rein in those areas, and Israel has a free rein to retaliate and attack Hezbollah in those areas.”

Yet beauty remains. Last weekend on Palm Sunday, children carried olive and palm branches down church aisles, singing “Hosanna, Hosanna!”

“You know, that word ‘God save us’ has a whole different meaning for us in times of war,” says Melki. 

The UN Refugee Agency reports that around 14% of Lebanon’s territory is now under Israeli evacuation threats. About one in five people in Lebanon have been displaced, according to a report from NPR.

Melki says Heart for Lebanon is now serving 7,200 families with aid and care. 

“Our team had to add 2,600 new families to our beneficiary list. This is a 45% increase,” he says. “This is a lot to take. We need wisdom. We need protection, and we need the prayer of perseverance, as we ourselves are faced with security threats and difficulties maneuvering aid from one place to the other. We are always trying to reach out to the families who are on the move.”

Heart for Lebanon’s focus on holistic, relational, and unconditional ministry allows believers to reach and engage refugees in relationship.
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon has given this Holy Week the title “Hope In the Resurrection.” Pray that their Good Friday and Easter services will bless many and point them to Jesus. 

“Our hope is found in Christ resurrected, the victorious over death,” says Melki. “I hope that gives us a reminder that eternal peace is only given to us through Jesus Christ.”

Pray also for the Heart for Lebanon team for the long road ahead. 

“We look at the moment where we will be all together in heaven, worshiping the Lamb. But in the meantime, we stand in solidarity with one another,” says Melki. 

Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon. 

Governments monitor Christian activity. Believers risk rejection, arrest, and worse. And yet, the Gospel is not bound. Dane of unfoldingWord says partners are bridging the gap for minority-language communities.

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)

“In partnership with the Bible Society of Jordan, unfoldingWord is trying to equip church networks with free and open Scripture text, translation tools, [and] translation training materials,” Dane says, “to meet the Scripture and discipleship needs of all the minority communities in the Middle East and in North Africa.”  

Although the Bible is available in Modern Standard Arabic, most people in the MENA speak either a variant, a dialect, or a completely different language. In other words, a majority of MENA communities do not have the Bible in their mother tongue. 

Thanks to unfoldingWord, MENA church networks are gaining the tools needed to translate Scripture into unreached languages. 

“unfoldingWord has 27 ‘book packages’ for the New Testament in English,” Dane says. 

“We hand them off to people like the Bible Society of Jordan, [who translate] them into gateway or strategic languages of the world. That’s what makes Bible translation wisdom, skill, and knowledge available to church networks translating the Bible for their own people.” 

Visit unfoldingWord’s website to learn more.

Each of the 27 “book packages” contains “a literal translation of the Bible, a simplified translation of the Bible, a verse-by-verse translator guide, definitions of key terms, [and] short articles about handling Bible translation issues,” Dane explains.

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord via Facebook)

“They’re all linked to the words in context. and the original languages, in a software package.” 

Pray for receptive hearts across the MENA to encounter the truth of Jesus. Pray for wisdom and discernment as the unfoldingWord team strives to complete more book packages.     

“Our team finished all of the book packages for the New Testament, but they’re still working very hard on the Old Testament. I think they’re about halfway through,” Dane says. 

Header photo courtesy of unfoldingWord.

Samuel* with Redemptive Stories says multiple reports are circulating, but the basic outline is this: Muslim men were allegedly harassing a young woman in the predominantly Christian town of Suqaylabiyah on Friday. When men in the community came to her defense, it quickly escalated. 

“There were reprisal attacks on the people who were harassing her,” says Samuel. “Then the group that was harassing the young lady attacked a Christian village.”

A girl in Syria (Photo courtesy of Ahmed Akacha via Pexels)

The National reports that on Saturday, gunmen entered Suqaylabiyah and damaged businesses, cars, and a statue of the Virgin Mary. Thankfully, no casualties were reported. 

In response to the attack, Syria’s Greek Orthodox and Catholic patriarchs have issued a joint statement: Easter this year will be celebrated “only with prayer inside the churches.” Maronite Archbishop Joseph Tobji was careful to say that it was not a decision made out of fear. 

Samuel puts it this way: “Not the whole of Syria, but a lot of Christian communities are standing with this one community that was attacked. In solidarity, they’re limiting their celebrations external to the church over Holy Week.”

Samuel says that especially in Syria, Easter is normally a time of great celebration, with marching bands and songs of lament and joy.  That makes this restrained observance of Easter “a sad realization of the pressures that Syrian Christians face these days,” he says.

Please pray for believers in Syria. Ask God to bless them in unexpected ways this Easter, even though it won’t look like what they had hoped. 

“As the government becomes more restrictive in Syria, [pray] that the Church will just continue to be a bright light in the midst of that,” says Samuel. “[Pray] that Christians would not leave the region, because the more Christians leave, the less the voice of the Church can be powerful to communicate hope.” 

Header photo: Syria (Stock photo courtesy of Abd Alrhman Al Darra)

That shift, says Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries, puts someone in a spiritually dangerous place: “When your heart starts to turn cold toward any people and hard, you are entering into a spiritual danger zone.”

It’s common for people to sort others into categories — by nationality, religion, or appearance. These labels are often shaped by distorted narratives or difficult personal experiences. But this tendency isn’t new. Jesus Himself warned about the consequences of a broken world, saying that as lawlessness increases, “He said the hearts of many will turn cold,” says Hutchcraft.

Photo courtesy of Luis Georg Müller via Unsplash

For believers, the risk is especially significant. Making quick judgments based on limited understanding doesn’t just harm relationships — it can obstruct the message of the Gospel.

But there is a different way forward — one that restores clarity and compassion. Hutchcraft points back to God’s perspective: “Let’s think about what our Creator sees. He doesn’t see categories. He sees, first of all, individuals made in His image.”

That truth reframes everything. Scripture consistently shows that Jesus came for individuals, not groups. His ministry reflected this in the people He chose to follow Him — tax collectors, zealots, and others from vastly different social, political, and educational backgrounds.

Despite their differences, they were unified in something greater. As Hutchcraft explains, “They are disciples of Jesus Christ, and those differences, those categories, apparently don’t matter. It is submerged into a new identity.”

And that identity carries profound worth.

“God sees people He considered so valuable that each one was worth the life of His own Son,” says Hutchcraft.

The challenge for believers today is to adopt that same lens — to see individuals, not categories, and to let that perspective shape their role in the Great Commission.

Pray that God’s view of people will guide and transform the hearts of those sharing the Gospel.

Visit Hutchcraft Ministries to learn more about sharing the Gospel effectively.

Header photo: People walk (Photo courtesy of Ryoji Iwata via Unsplash).

Staff at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary outside Beirut have little capacity to worry. ABTS Director of Partnerships Loulwa El Maalouf says they’re busy hosting hundreds of displaced people.

“Our guests come from different backgrounds and areas across Lebanon. Yet amid uncertainty, we see them gather hand in hand to assist the kitchen staff in preparing meals. Join us in prayer that during this season of hardship, just as these meals nourish their bodies, the word of God may also nourish their spirits.”
(Photo, caption courtesy ABTS)

“This word ‘balance’ doesn’t exist in our dictionary, especially during this time,” she explains.

When the crisis began in early March, “so many members of our staff spent more than 12 hours at work, and no one is complaining.”

ABTS serves amid crisis

ABTS offers undergraduate- and graduate-level education to believers across the Arab world through traditional and hybrid programs. More about that here.

For ABTS students, Lebanon’s current emergency is nothing new. “We have students from Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Syria,” El Maalouf says.

“Our students are used to living in crises.”

Even so, “We want to be an example for our students,” she adds, stressing the importance of combining practical demonstration with classroom learning.

“We equip them to be the salt and light within difficult circumstances, so it’s very important for us to be able to do what we preach.”

Displacement pushes Beirut to the limits

Israel’s defense minister says his country would establish a “security zone” in southern Lebanon and take control of key river crossings, a move that would stop over a million people from ever returning home.

These displaced masses are filling every nook and cranny of Beirut, a city already strained by overlapping disasters. According to the UN, many newly uprooted families lack basic necessities such as shelter, food, and medical care.

(Photo courtesy ABTS)

Faced with ever-increasing need, believers press on. “They’re preparing for what might be a long-term war; some of them had to relocate because their areas are not safe. However, they are serving wholeheartedly with a smile on their face,” El Maalouf says.

“This is truly only possible through the strength of the Holy Spirit.”

Pray that displaced families will come to know Jesus through the word and deed of ABTS staff.

“Our prayer and our plan is that everyone will hear the Gospel and have a clear understanding of why we are doing what we are doing,” El Maalouf says.

Ask the Lord to continuously strengthen believers, and consider supporting emergency efforts here.

“We are sharing regular updates on our website,” El Maalouf says, and if “someone is interested in providing meals or accommodation, they can also financially support” ABTS work.

Header image depicts Israeli air strikes in Beirut early in the current crisis. Header and story photos courtesy of ABTS.