The good news? Don Szolomayer with Prisoners for Christ says almost every prison they’ve served over the years has some form of a church.

“[It] may not be in a building. It may just be a handful of inmates that gather periodically. On the other side of that, it may be a full-blown, active church with a building, with structure.” 

These churches need support. Prisoners for Christ offers an International Bible Institute program that disciples inmates in their faith in Christ. (More on that here.)

Another strategy is to connect believers outside of the prison with those inside.

Representative picture of a small prison cell. (Photo by camilo jimenez on Unsplash)

“When we go to various countries…we go into their prisons and we model how to do services and things of that nature, but then we’re gone. Who’s there to carry over? So one of the things we do is we try to find local churches and that to take on that responsibility,” says Szolomayer.

He encourages pastors around the world to view prison churches as part of their own congregation. Looking ahead, Prisoners for Christ hopes to see many inmates serving as chaplains within the facilities where they are incarcerated.

“You have someone in that prison that’s there, 24/7, that can share, that can mentor, that can disciple, that can evangelize on the spot, as needed, as things occur — that’s really the church in action in a prison setting,” says Szolomayer. 

Please pray as Prisoners for Christ develops their ministry model to plant more churches and strengthen the ones that already exist. Rapport with prison officials is opening the way for church-planting.

“It’s almost like starting from scratch every time you go to plant a church in a prison, because the variables are just all over the place,” says Szolomayer. 

Header photo: Representative stock photo from Iran courtesy of Mashid Saberpour via Unsplash.

“Because we’re very evangelistic, we also have to be very discipleship-oriented,” says PFC President Greg Von Tobel, “and so that’s what the IBI is all about.”

The International Bible Institute (IBI) was created in 2018 to fill the void for quality discipleship curriculum for prisoners in developing countries. The two-and-a-half-year program consists of three curriculum levels:

1. Basic: Covers principles, doctrines, and theology of the Christian faith, then moves into parables of Jesus, prayer, and the men of the Bible.
2. Intermediate: Teaches inmates how to have a prison ministry in their own prison and how to witness for the cause of Christ with other inmates.
3. Advanced: Trains inmates to plant churches and be spiritual overseers of inmates within the institutions where they live.

As of December 2024, IBI has six schools operating in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan —a nd authorities in some of those countries are taking notice of the impact.

“We planted an IBI in one particular southern state of Nigeria, and ran that for a year and a half, and then we planted another IBI in the south-central region, and we’ve had probably three different graduations at each one of these institutions,” says Von Tobel. “And of course, the good news always gets back to the Department of Corrections headquarters, and they are absolutely excited and thrilled about the changes that they’re seeing occur in the lives of inmates at those institutions.”

Now, PFC is hoping to open more IBI programs in regions that are currently suffering from ongoing violence. According to Von Tobel, it costs about $23,000 to run an IBI program for six years in an institution: “That is not a lot of money we’re expending to have people come to know the Lord and get them discipled. So that’s pretty exciting. We just need more resources in order to expand to other institutions.”

The impact of the IBI schools is powerful, bringing what Von Tobel calls a “calming spirit,” which can help the superintendents and overseers better manage their correctional institutions.

“Those officers take notice, and they want more of what we have to offer,” says Von Tobel, later adding, “Some of these Christian brothers that are graduating from our schools are now very confident and, with holy boldness underneath their wings, going and ministering the Word of God to the Muslim population. And we’re seeing Muslims come to know Jesus in a very powerful way, and we’re seeing terrorists who might be arrested coming to know Jesus. And so that’s the beauty of the IBI—that souls are being won, and we’re using the current population to win souls.”

Header photo courtesy of Colin Carey via Unsplash.

Rob Myers with DOOR International shares the good news that this kind of generational multiplication happens among the Deaf around the world. 

(Graphic courtesy DOOR International)

In 2000, a leader Myers calls Sanji came to know the Lord through the ministry of Deaf missionaries who came to India. 

“Sanji began to share the gospel with his local community. Another person came to faith and Sanji began to disciple him. Then that person ended up moving to a different part of India. As he shared his faith with a number of people, another brother came to know the Lord,” Myers tells us. 

Four or five “generations” down this line, a leader Myers calls Matthew felt the Lord leading him to travel beyond his community. 

“He moved to another country in South Asia, where there at the time were only about 20 believers out of a population of maybe 300,000 Deaf people. He, alongside another brother, began to share the gospel in this new community, and more leaders came to faith,” Myers says. 

Praise God for how He is moving among Deaf communities worldwide! 

Myers says that DOOR hopes to see local churches not only established and strengthened by disciple-making, but also carrying on a vision for disciple-making and church-planting beyond their region. 

“What you’ll often see as the outgrowth of this kind of thing is that disciples becoming missionaries into new communities,” Myers says, adding that there are Deaf missionaries from Kenya now serving in Mozambique, South Sudan and Angola. 

(Photo courtesy DOOR International via Facebook)

DOOR is beginning to plan what they call “outposts” in strategic areas of the world. 

“One of the things we recognize is that there are still major regions of the world where Deaf communities are cut off from the gospel,” says Myers.

These outposts would be launching points into key areas where the gospel isn’t present yet. Missionaries would enter the region to share the gospel and raise up indigenous leaders — “with the hope not just that the gospel would come to those specific Deaf communities,” Myers says, “but that through them sending missionaries out, it would flood into the surrounding communities.”

Would you come alongside DOOR in prayer for these bold, missional efforts by the Deaf to the Deaf? Visit doorinternational.org and find their monthly prayer calendar as well as learn about Deaf leaders who you could specifically partner with. 

Finally, would you share this story with someone today? 

“This might be the first time that you’re hearing about Deaf ministry and others may not be aware of it at all. So it would be a great opportunity for you to spread the word and let others know that they can be praying, that they can be supporting the work that God’s doing in these Deaf communities,” Myers says. 

Header photo is a representative photo courtesy of Dikaseva/Unsplash. 

Bruce Allen with FMI says Indonesia needs group cohesion to hold a nation of 6,000 inhabited islands together. The government built this into the constitution after Dutch colonial rule ended in 1949.

Pancasila

They call it Pancasila. Allen says, “Essentially, Pancasila recognizes that if the nation is to thrive, its residents must recognize their diversity. There is a lot of variety inside the country. But they commit to working in harmony.”

The government decided to endorse several major world religions, and let people choose one of them. Allen says, “Islam is the preference from their perspective, of course. But they also allow other religions that have historically been involved in the islands. These include Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, as well as Christianity, which they broke into two sects: Protestant, and Catholic.”

This gives FMI partners in Indonesia a lot of opportunities to share the love of Jesus with their Muslim neighbors. By contrast, Allen says, “Many Christians in the US, if you mentioned working with Muslim neighbors, would say, ‘I don’t know any Muslims.’”

“We are much more into our own smaller groups and communities versus this big national identity.”

Ask God to grow the Indonesian Church.

Of course, Pancasila doesn’t work perfectly. Allen says some islands still have pockets of persecution against Christians, usually by the majority religion. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim majority nation in the world.

Want to support Indonesian church planters? You can, through FMI. Allen says, “We have talked previously about the capital of Indonesia shifting to a new island. And now we want to propel church planters in this new city.”

Header photo shows the Shield of Pancasila. The bull represents democracy, the tree national unity, the chain humanity, and the rice and cotton represent social justice. The star represents God. By Gunawan Kartapranata – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10591923

Eric Mock of the Slavic Gospel Association tells the story. “He took an old broken-down wooden table, some instant coffee, a few tea bags, and a hot kettle and went out with a few cookies to set up the table. He talked to those people at the bus stop who were maybe just wanting a cup of coffee or a few minutes of conversation. It was there that his church was begun.”

It all started with one couple, discouraged and broken down by alcohol addiction. Jesus has completely transformed their lives, and the congregation has grown. Mock says, “So often we forget that God builds His Church. And the Church consists of those redeemed by God’s grace, who desire to step out in faith.”

SGA supported missionaries

SGA stands behind over 350 missionaries all over the former Soviet Union. But they want to double that number over the next ten years. Mock says, “Pray for this ambitious goal. Pray along with us that God raises up a greater number of missionary pastors trained in schools that SGA supports, going out to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples.”

You can support one of these pastors at SGA’s website.

The header photo shows the pastor at his bus stop church. (Photo courtesy of the Slavic Gospel Association) 

Bruce Allen with FMI says, “Christian leaders around the country have said this goes against the spirit of religious moderation that Indonesia has been known for. And it denies the constitutional right of 10,000 Christians living in the city.”

State vs local governments

The government of Indonesia has weighed in on this controversy. Allen says, “The Minister of Religion has even said the Christians have a constitutional right to have their own building on their property. But the city is refusing to back down.”

The Indonesian government has taken great pains to establish unity throughout its 6,000 inhabited islands. But local governments often have more practical power. Allen says, “It’s really incumbent on the Christian population to have very good relationships with the people in their neighborhoods and communities, who are not Christians.”

“Pray the Christian leaders do not become belligerent.”

Christians around the country are watching the showdown. Ask God to strengthen Indonesian Christians, giving them patience and love for their neighbors. Allen says, “Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ One of the hardest commands, I think that we have to follow as Christians.”

Church-planting expansion

Indonesian Christians have a vision for big future expansion. Allen says, “In recent weeks, I’ve seen that our leadership team members in Indonesia have interviewed 12 church planning candidates for FMI partnerships. Some were on Sumatra. Many were on the island of Kalimantan, the area where the country’s new capital is being built.”

They will even interview candidates on the islands of Java, where this controversy is taking place. Allen says, “By 2023, FMI could be looking at needing to support 18 new pastors. And this is in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.”

You can support FMI’s work in Indonesia.

The header photo shows a Christian church in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The military uses heavy artillery and airstrikes to hit resistance groups, often firing shells off even when there is no fighting going on.

One report says the junta only has full control over only 72 out of 330 townships in Myanmar. Other reports say the junta is focusing mainly on defense, no longer having the capacity for a full offensive.

Galen Burkholder with Global Disciples says the military response has gotten softer in some areas because they are running short on money. The intensity of fighting varies widely between regions.

Global Disciples

The Global Disciples team has been able to move around the country cautiously. Burkholder says, “There have been some horrendous stories of the junta actually bombing villages of their own people where there is a strong pro-democracy movement. But as they’ve moved cautiously, they have been able to continue their work. We are working with 147 different small clusters of churches across the country of Myanmar.”

“And all of them have been continuing with their training activities and then sending people out.”

These teams continue sharing God’s love across the country. Burkholder says, “We have places where we’re involved where COVID never reached. They are here simply isolated enough that there wasn’t outside influence. Those places have continued on, many up in the north of Myanmar in very mountainous areas. We’re seeing churches being planted there regularly.”

Burkholder says God is moving despite great chaos. Ask God to bring peace to Myanmar and strengthen the Global Disciples team.

Header photo courtesy of Gu Bra on Pexels. 

Tony Svendsen said they had the goal of planting churches in the township of Motherwell. “We don’t just go in and share the Gospel in communities and say ‘Good luck!’ Our goal is to establish a repeating model. What does it look like to reach an entire community?”

“When we first partnered with Motherwell, they wanted to plant two churches in a community of 500,000.”

But Svendsen and the team have a bigger vision for Motherwell than just two churches. “The first church we trained was January 2020. This was kind of the beginning of our partnership. We went in, did an initial training, and cast vision for what it would look like to multiply.”

Svendsen says they started by training small groups. “We had the intention of building the identity of churches across these communities. When we came back two years later, that same church had 32 small groups meeting in the community.”

Ask God to raise up leaders for these churches and communities in Motherwell.

Join an e3 Partners trip

Want to join an e3 Partners mission trip to South Africa or a different country? Check out future trips.

Cypress Bible Church plans to take two or three trips a year to South Africa. Svendsen says they may even take more in the future. “As we get interest in South Africa and begin to build a team, there’ll be more and more opportunities. And as churches say, ‘Hey, we want to adopt this part be a part of this strategy,’ we’ll be intentional about setting up trips specifically for other churches to be a part of.”

Header photo courtesy of Danie Bester from Pixabay. 

From 1972 to 1981, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. controlled the Philippines through martial law. He died three years after the uprising, but his family retained their wealth, returned to the Philippines, and became influential politicians.

The family has widely been charged with human rights abuses and corruption over the years. Experts say Marcos’ election victory was propelled by a misinformation campaign on social media. Many worry Marcos could bring an authoritarian hand to the government.

Bill Passons with AMG International says, “It’s always hard to figure out exactly why somebody votes a certain way. Sometimes it may seem clear. Other times, it’s confusing.”

AMG Philippines

But the elections don’t change AMG’s goals in the Philippines. Passons says, “When I was talking with our national director, he said they’re not worried about the politics of the situation. They are looking to the needs of 100 million-plus Filipinos and trying to meet those needs.” 

AMG has over 30 projects around the Philippines, sponsoring 3,000 impoverished kids. Since the Philippines is often exposed to extreme weather, the ministry works heavily in disaster relief as well. Passons says, “We also have church planting efforts where we train up church planters that will go into some of the remote areas.”

“We also have some vocational schools to help people go beyond high school.”

Pray the love of Jesus will transform communities throughout the Philippines.

The header photo shows Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the campaign trail. (Photo courtesy of PNA photo by Joey O. Razon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Jim O’Neil serves on the Board of The Alliance for the Unreached. He talks about why North American churches should join the cause to reach the unreached. “Think about being in those parts of the world where there are no Christian neighbors. So there’s no community of faith. They don’t have resources announcing Jesus into their communities. One of the most beautiful attributes of our faith is this relational connective tissue. Jesus invites us, community by community, to be touching humans, and bringing them to faith in Christ.”

Churches planting churches

O’Neil has seen this approach work. He served as a Gospel worker in Asia for 13 years. He helped plant several churches, and these churches themselves went to unreached Muslim populations in Indonesia. “This fledgling group of churches sent their sons and daughters, and they took the Gospel to the unreached.”

The churches even overcame bias to accomplish this work. O’Neil says, “Up until that point in time, that community viewed the Muslims as the enemy. Somewhere in their journey with Jesus and in their discipleship, they began to realize they too, are image-bearers of the great God.”

God can reach people with His love any way He wants, O’Neil says. It can happen through television, radio, or the internet. But God delights in using a loving community to spread the Good News.

O’Neil encourages readers to read over the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. “Those ‘all nations’ are on Jesus’s heart. Sit in that space just for a few minutes with Jesus. And say, ‘Jesus, what do you want me to do with this?’ Allow Jesus to speak to your heart and watch what he does.”

(Header photo courtesy of Tep Ro from Pixabay)