(Image courtesy Far Corners Missions)

India (MNN) — Andhra Pradesh has been nicknamed an “emerging hotbed of anti-Christian violence” by World Watch Monitor.

Far Corners Missions ministers in the area.

Today it is the state with the highest anti-Christian incident rate in India. These attacks often target pastors and their families. Andhra Pradesh is also neighbored by many states enforcing “anti-conversion” laws. And there’s no telling how long Andhra Pradesh will remain operating without a similar law.

However, growing violence and opposition isn’t stunting the growth of Christianity in India. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Far Corners Missions began their Vision 25 campaign earlier this year. Their goal is to reach 1250 unreached villages on the Central East Coast of India with the Gospel by 2025.

To do this, Far Corners needs to have the ability to train more pastors at their Word of Life Bible Training Center.

In order to train more pastors, they needed more room to house them. So in January, Far Corners began raising funds to build another floor on their student dormitories.

Gary Bishop of Far Corners shares, “Within a few months, we had all the money that was needed to completely pay for the dorm expansion, so God blessed that step of faith and the desire to plant those churches in an amazing way.”

The ministry is now down to the finishing touches.

Word of Life focuses on training men to plant churches and engage a village in practical ways. Their curriculum is very similar to Bible courses in the West. However, the students in India also have the opportunity to practice their preaching at churches in the evenings.

Bishop says, “This is preparation for these young men to go to unreached villages. That is a village where there are no known Christians and no one is planning to plant a church there.”

The students are given helpful courses to equip them with useful skills. The classes teach first aid, small appliance repair, electrical wiring, and driving.

Bishop says, “Almost 100% of the villages that our guys go to will be villages without any kind of medical help at all.” He continues to explain that in the poorest villages, anyone who has a broken appliance will throw it away rather than try to repair it. Learning electrical wiring will help pastors set up solar-powered lighting that will allow for more working, studying, and security in the daily lives of the villagers.

“These four courses give them a step in the direction of credibility in a village where they’re going, where it will be largely Hindu people,” Bishop says.

Before Vision 25, Word of Life could only train 50 men, 25 each from the freshmen and sophomore classes.

But this fall, Word of Life will be able to welcome 15 more men to learn how to plant churches.

“We have some additional young men ready to go, and we’re excited for what that means for the Kingdom in India,” Bishop says.

Far Corners Missions provides for all the needs of the students while they take classes. For the low cost of $65 a month, all their expenses are covered.

Click here and select “India – Teach” to help this project financially, or call 800-550-0035.

When you partner with a student at Word of Life, Bishop says, “It’s a really personal connection.” You have the opportunity to be a prayer partner with him, and you will receive updates on how he is doing every quarter of the school year.

Bishop asks for your prayers that Word of Life will be able to handle the extra students as they continue to grow.

Also ask God to strengthen His servants in India despite the hardships they face on a daily basis.

If it sounds dangerous, that's because it is.

"Pastors and evangelists are killed regularly in this country. Christians are persecuted. Sometimes Christian girls are forced to marry Muslim men," says Patrick Klein with Vision Beyond Borders (VBB).

He doesn't disclose the nation's name because terrorist acts are a daily occurrence, and religious persecution is rampant. Christ-followers comprise only about 2% of the population in this country, or roughly 3 million people.

"We really want to protect [the Christians] inside," Klein explains. "We don't want to cause anymore grief for them."

VBB is working with Voice of the Martyrs USA (VOM) to truck 50,000 Bibles into the closed nation from a neighboring country.

"They have a network, but we also have a network in this closed country to get Bibles to them, so we just thought, 'Let's partner together,'" Klein says.

Given the hostile nature of the closed nation where VBB and VOM are working, permission to bring Bibles across the border was a surprise, but a much-needed blessing.

"It took about a year to get permission. We've been working at it, and thankfully the Lord has really blessed us to be able to get permission," explains Klein. "There's such a great need for Bibles, and people are just hungry.

"There's a great receptivity to the Gospel in the villages. People are tired of all the terrorism and all the bloodshed, and people are just hungry for the Truth."

Klein says the so-called Arab Spring brought Islamic extremists to power in this country. As people push back against the country's dominant religion, they start looking elsewhere for answers.

"People are questioning Islam, and they're open to the Gospel," says Klein.

Even former terrorists are being transformed by the Truth they find in Jesus Christ. The last time VBB and VOM worked together on a project like this, Klein says, a terrorist obtained one of the Bibles.

"He read the Bible, got saved, and he's given out 600 Bibles to more terrorists," says Klein.

Over the next few months, VBB and VOM hope to send approximately 20,000 Bibles into the region. But they need your help.

"It's about $3.35 to print and ship them into the country," says Klein. He credits the project's affordability to a direct relationship with the Bible printers.

"Because of the big quantity of 50,000 as a total project, we were able to get the price down as low as possible," he explains. Even with a highly-reduced price, they're still looking to raise $65,000 USD.

You can help this project happen by clicking here.

Pray that as people receive God's Word, they'll find salvation through Jesus Christ. Pray also for the country's leadership.

"Pray that God will really touch the Islamic leaders in this country," Klein requests. "There is Sharia Law in the country, which makes it very difficult for Christians."

Pray that Christ-followers in this country will remain strong in their faith, and that there will be unity among believers. Pray also for openness for the Gospel.

According to police, gunmen fired on a Bible study at Deeper Life Church in central Nigeria Monday, killing at least 19 people–including the
pastor–and wounding others. Hours later, bombers struck a primary school in Lokoja,
the capital of Kogi state. There's
also been an unconfirmed media report of another bomb discovered at the Revival Church in the same area.

The attacks represent a move into the central region of the country. Although no one has claimed it, the attack fits the
style of Boko Haram, a radical Islamist sect.

Boko Haram, whose name in Hausa means "Western
education is sacrilege," is responsible for more than 660 killings this
year alone in Nigeria, many of them at churches.

In preparation for this story, Christian Aid Mission Africa Director Rae Burnett spoke with the head of the mission agency they
support to ask about the latest incident. While not dismissive of the tragedy, he indicated that there's more
violence than what occasionally gets reported in the media. "'If we told
you every time an attack occurs, or every time that shots are fired or bombs
are thrown, cars are hijacked or people are just killed, I would do nothing but
sit at my computer.'"

The tension levels are reaching critical mass. "Everybody is fearful–" explains
Burnett, "Christians and non-Christians
because you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not just churches
that are being attacked."

Boko Haram has a singular focus: to re-create Nigeria as an
Islamic state, instill Sharia law, and eradicate the Christian population. Despite U.S. sanctions imposed on three
leaders of the group, they appear unfazed. In fact, says Burnett, "Just
this past week they threatened the president and said that he has to convert
to Islam and rule under Sharia."

The conundrum: the attacks open doors for the Gospel, but
also have been problematic. This particular ministry partner
also indicated that because they're using resources to assist the attack
victims in multiple areas, they can't maintain the work goals they wanted to achieve. 

Even so, Burnett says, "These missionaries are even
more committed to expending every ounce of their own lives for the Gospel of the
Lord, so they're not at all intimidated."

The work
of this ministry partner has now expanded geographically to cover most of the Islamic north of Nigeria. With
100 missionaries to oversee, there's a lot at stake. Burnett explains: "The headquarters is in extreme
danger because people do know what it is. Tthey hardly even go to their office,
but he needs to have a headquarters in which to operate."   

Christian Aid Mission helped buy land for a new building,
but then funds ran dry. The partner reports
that more than 50 pastors and missionary
leaders have so far died at the hands of Boko Haram. Burnett says, "This is really
a crucial thing for them. They're in extreme danger where they are now. It has nothing
to do with the missionary leaving the field. It's not the field. It's the headquarters of
the ministry. None of the missionaries have left the field and their places of
ministry."

Christian Aid wants to support this partner by raising as
much of the $35,000 needed as possible to start construction on a safer headquarters
in Abuja. See our Featured Links
Section for details.

That's been the case for Roshan Kuma, a missionary supported by Gospel for Asia,
and his brother-in-law, M.T. Joshri. They were arrested March 10, 2010 and have
been behind bars under charges of working with the Maoists, an anti-government
terrorist group.

The good news is
that Kuma is now free, released on August 10 after a trial earlier this month
found him innocent of the charges brought against him.   

While Kuma was in
prison, he refused to give up his calling to share the Gospel. He told his
fellow prisoners about the love of Jesus, and many chose to follow Christ. He also started a prayer meeting in the jail.

At the time of
his arrest, Kuma pastored a church with about 100 members. Some in his village
believe the accusations against the missionary pastor originated with
anti-Christian extremists unhappy with the growth of the church.

"In spite of
spending more than a year of suffering in prison, Pastor Roshan's vision for
serving Jesus never dimmed. He still has an unquenchable thirst and
passion for the ministry," said Dr. K.P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia president
and founder. "He continues to serve in the same area where there's a lot of
Maoist activity, which causes many people to live in fear. Yet he has a
successful and wonderful ministry in this small village."

The believers in
Roshan's village continually prayed for their pastor while he was in prison. The
amazing part was that while the pastor was behind bars, the church grew and now
has about 125 people attending worship each week. The congregation is in the midst of
constructing a new church building, which they plan to dedicate this fall.

"Please pray for
Pastor Roshan, that God would continue to use him mightily for the Kingdom,"
K.P. asked. "Praise the Lord for using Pastor Roshan in prison and for the
inmates who chose to follow Jesus. Pray that they will stand firm in their
faith–even while they are in prison."

Also keep praying
for Kuma's brother, M.T. Joshri. There has
been no new word on his case.

MNN and Compass Direct first reported this story in May 2010. At that time, Hindu nationalists promised to
launch a "religious cleansing" of the Christians living in this area in advance
of the Narmada Samajik Kumbh.   

At least a million people are expected to attend the homecoming festival that
takes place on the Narmada, a river that flows through Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat.   

The risk of violence against Christians in the area is high. Already, there are reports of plans for forced
conversions of local Christians to Hinduism. Reports
indicate that the area is heavily saturated with anti-Christian propaganda.

There is an anti-conversion law on the books in Madhya Pradesh; however, it
will be interesting to see if it will be enforced on behalf of the believers
who are being targeted during the festival.

According to Gospel For Asia, the believers and pastors struggle with mixed
emotions over the intended plans. Some fear they will be harassed, beaten and
maybe killed, while others have gathered courage in the Lord to continue
sharing the Good News and love of Christ with the people.

Prayer is needed. Pray for the safety
of the Christians and that they will stand firm in the Lord and His promises.
Pray also that the religious gathering will not affect Gospel for
Asia-supported ministries, but that the missionaries will be a strong witness for
Christ and reach many who are lost.

Helicopter gunships and artillery
swung into action Wednesday against Taliban in Swat. Officials estimate that as many as 800,000
people are on the run as the government
pounds the Taliban back into line. 

While many of the refugees are
heading for relatives' homes, humanitarian agencies are struggling to accommodate the thousands pouring into refugee
camps.   

Todd
Nettleton with
Voice of the Martyrs notes that the stakes are high for believers. "The Taliban do not want a Christian presence
in the area that they control. They do not really want a Christian presence in
Pakistan, at all."

The 3-month-old truce didn't
work. Rather than lay down their arms, the
Taliban expanded its reach from Swat into Lower Dir and Buner. Their constant forays were an apparent land
grab designed to test the government's  resolve. 
 

The fighting also disrupted
ministry. When the Taliban came through to enforce sharia law, beheading
officials and burning girls' schools, Christians were hit, too. Nettleton says, "I have heard of direct attacks against
Christians. I think it is only natural that as the Taliban advances, churches
will be targeted. Christian homes will be targeted. And people will be asked to pay
the protection tax to stay in the area." 

Compass Direct backs up that
report. They indicate that on April 21, as
members of a congregation erased pro-Taliban graffiti on their church in Taiser
town, near Karachi, armed men intervened to stop them. Soon 30-40 others
arrived as support and began to fire indiscriminately at the crowd; among those
seriously injured were three Christians, including a child, according to a
report by advocacy group Minorities Concern of Pakistan.

A legal advocacy worker told
Compass that police stood by as a Taliban-assembled mob attacked the
Christians. "The Christians do not have guns, they do not have weapons, but
only a little bit of property and the few things in their houses," said Sohail
Johnson, chief coordinator of Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan.  

A representative of the Muttahida
Quami Movement regional party told Compass that after firing on the crowd,
Taliban fighters went through Christian houses, ransacked them and burned one
down. He said they also burned Bibles and beat women on the street. Reports of two execution-style killings of
Christians could not be verified. 

Christians fear inciting violence
by taking a stand against elements connected with the Taliban.

Pray for their protection and pray for the
boldness of the evangelists and church planters during this time. Pray that Pakistani Christians will remain
unshaken from the work the Lord has given them, trusting Him to bring eternal
results .  Ask God to give healing to
those injured. Pray that those mourning
for the martyred believers will find comfort in Christ.

Nigeria (MNN) — An uneasy calm
hangs over the Nigerian city of Bauchi, mainly because the area remains under a
dusk-to-dawn curfew. Deadly riots erupted Saturday that left thousands
displaced, 14 dead and 100 in the hospital. 

Tensions have been on the rise
for a couple of weeks now since Pentecostal Christians reportedly barricaded a
pathway used by Muslims attending Friday prayers at a nearby mosque.

The Police Commissioner says they've
made 30 arrests in connection with the riots. 
The Red Cross reports extensive property damage  to more than 200 houses, six churches
and three mosques.

International Christian Concern
and Open Doors say there is still concern that sectarian riots could rival the
massacres in Jos.  According to reports,
an Open Doors team was on its way to the region to help victims and investigate
what happened.

The spark tht set off several
days of rioting is unclear.  However, tensions
have been running high in Bauchi since November 2008, when more than 300 people
died in Jos, Plateau State.

In Bauchi's case, it appears
Muslim extremists were targeting Christians, and that has caused ministry in
the region to slow.  Pray boldness and
wisdom for the Christians.

The new Law, which replaces Karabakh's 1996 Religion Law,  includes a ban on unregistered religious
activity. Article 25 requires all religious organizations
to register or re-register within six months of the new Law coming into force.

Glenn Penner with Voice of the Martyrs Canada says this is bad
news for believers. "It virtually
gives an undefined monopoly to the Armenian Apostolic Church over preaching and
spreading its faith. It restricts other faiths, such as evangelicals, to simply
'rally their own faithful.' In other words, evangelicals can have church
services, but they are not going to be able to do evangelistic work."

According to Forum 18, the new Law is copied word-for-word
from Armenia's Religion Law as adopted in 1991 and amended in 1997 and 2001.

There's a requirement for 100 adult citizens to register a
religious community, which could threaten existing churches. The law would also censor religious literature,
but the penalties for breaking the law aren't spelled out very well. 

An open door for interpretation is always trouble. Penner says, "Pray for clarity with the law, that the
government will actually do something to really clarify the question, 'What does it mean to disobey the law?'"
Pray that the president will reject the law. Pray also for boldness for the believers.

In 2010, the
country will lead the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE).  Even while promising a public review of the legislation,
the law moved to the desk of President Nursultan Nazarbayev for final approval.

Joel
Griffith with
Slavic Gospel Association says the next move is difficult to guess.  "The president of Kazakhstan was quoted
earlier as saying that he was uncomfortable with the idea of missionaries in
Kazakhstan. He basically said, 'We
really don't need missionaries in Kazakhstan.' But again, considering that Kazakhstan is part of this international
organization that expects adherence to international standards; we really don't
know what tactic he'll take." 

According to Forum 18, the
current form bans unregistered religious activity. The law, as it is now, also bans anyone from
sharing beliefs without both the written backing of a registered religious
association and a missionary registration. It would require permission from
both parents for children to attend any religious event.

Other concerns include changes
involving small "religious groups," like house churches. They would not be allowed to maintain places
of worship "open to a wide access," nor would they be allowed to
conduct missionary activity.

Penalties increase for holding
religious services, conducting charitable work, importing, publishing,
distributing religious literature, building, or opening places of worship. That could have a significant impact on SGA's
work.

Griffith urges prayer for
wisdom. "Pray that it would be
vetoed because we want for churches to be able to proclaim the Gospel and
worship as they choose. Pray that the churches would not be discouraged in the
face of these challenges. These types of
challenges often provide a window for the church to shine." Pray
for wisdom for SGA teams as they see a closing door to
evangelistic work.

Protesters are accusing neighboring Pakistan of being behind the Mumbai attacks that killed at least195 people.

The fallout didn't stop there. As reports revealed intelligence failures on the part of India's government, along with the neglect of preventing the attacks, India's interior minister resigned Sunday.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based MissionIndia had a training conference for their top leadership in Mumbai about a mile from the initial assault site. The church leaders weren't directly harmed, but they were trapped for a time when  parts of the city shut down. 

Though not directly impacted by the crisis, Dave Stravers, of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India is more concerned about the long-term impact of the terrorist strike. Government mistakes are "giving a lot of political ammunition to the BJP."

Hindu extremists have been found among members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP–the opposition party contesting the Congress Party in the coming elections. BJP officials are taking advantage of the outrage against the Muslim extremists and campaigning for a tougher anti-terror law in response to the bombings.

However, the BJP has also been blamed for instigating Hindu extremists in their attacks on believers in Orissa. Stravers notes, "This party is anti-Muslim and anti-Christian, and it could give them enough impetus to  actually get control of the government of India as they did about tenyears ago, and this would be very bad news for Christians." 

The message to believers is: STOP. According to one of member of the Mission India staff, the extremists are calling for a repeat to last Christmas Eve's attacks on Christians. Police and government leaders have done little to quell the violence or to stop the  violence from continuing.

However, the Gospel is stillgoing out. Stravers says their church planters are still active. "We're praying for Christians to be strong in their witness. The church is growing fast. This is the good news. Nevertheless, believers will perhaps be suffering in the meantime."

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