FMI’s Nehemiah* says this is an unprecedented moment in Pakistan.

“Most importantly, which is more important than even Mr. Khan’s arrest,…we have never ever seen the Pakistani people…go face-to-face with the military, with the army. That is the very, very first time. We have never seen something like this in 70 years of Pakistan’s history.”

Since Pakistan’s establishment in 1947, the nation spent more than three cumulative decades under martial law.

Pakistan flag (Photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash)

Now, with people revolting and the military clamping down, Nehemiah speculates, “I think we are moving towards another martial law in Pakistan or maybe official emergency is going to be declared in Pakistan very soon after this situation.

“People have entered into the buildings of military establishments — that we have never ever seen before…. A very strange thing is that when people were entering into these buildings, there was no such security. There was no one there who can stop them. It looks like that is a trap that people may enter so they have a reason to impose Sharia law or impose an emergency so a military establishment can come officially and take over Pakistan.”

Khan, a former cricket star turned philanthropist and politician, founded the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996. Eventually, Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018.

However, Khan’s administration was marked by economic struggles and waning military support for his leadership. He was ousted in April 2022 after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Amidst clashes between Khan supporters and police, the streets in many provinces have become dangerous and impassable.

Nehemiah says, “I was talking to one of the brothers in Pakistan because roads are blocked, there is nowhere to go, and he is still about 200 miles away from his home. He doesn’t know how to reach his home. So this is a difficult situation.”

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Meanwhile, Pakistani Christians are heartbroken for their Muslim neighbors who feel let down by police and politics and have no hope.

“We have an opportunity and room to share the Word of God with people, although this is a chaotic and difficult situation right now in Pakistan. But still, when there is no hope, we have only one hope in God, and that is Jesus.”

Pray for Gospel opportunities in Pakistan. Also, Nehemiah says, “Today, I want to request pray for Pakistan at-large, not only Christians in Pakistan but for peace in Pakistan and stability in Pakistan.”

Learn more about FMI’s ministry.

*Name withheld for security.

Header photo of Imran Khan, former PM of Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Financial Times/Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51005181@N05/8414079377)

This is the second time Lebanon’s municipal elections have been postponed. They were originally supposed to take place in May 2022 but were delayed one year.

Municipal and parliamentary elections are the only elections in Lebanon that allow for citizens to vote directly.

Additionally, Lebanon is approaching six months now without a president, and one year without a fully functioning government. Three-quarters of the population lives in poverty.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

As Camille Melki with Heart for Lebanon puts it, the Lebanese have been “holding our breath.” With the elections postponed again, disappointment and anger has taken hold.

Lebanon has shown over and over again that the people cannot rely on politicians for solutions.

Melki explains, “The municipalities are the smallest sized government that provides daily services to the citizens of that village, town, and city…. Those municipalities are out of cash, out of resources, and they can’t even pay their own staff salaries. So their basic needs and basic services are lacking all throughout the country of Lebanon.”

In this time of political uncertainty, the Lebanese Church is pointing people to a better hope in Christ.

“The citizens of Lebanon are seeking help predominantly from non-government agencies and from places of worship, which put the Church at the forefront addressing basic needs, immediate needs of survival — whether it’s food, education, or medicine. The Church is playing a significant role to be the hands and feet of Jesus today more than it has ever done so.”

Melki says, “The Church does all that with Christ’s love without anything expected in return. Your politicians might love and care on you, but basically they’re loving and caring on their position. They want a return on their daily investment.

Aid distribution
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“So when people see the Church loving freely and unconditionally and understanding that is in the ethos of our Christian faith, then it gives us the opportunity to answer the next question: ‘Who is Jesus? What does the Bible teach us?’”

Heart for Lebanon works with a network of churches in Lebanon of various sizes and denominations. However, like most organizations in the country, they have limited resources.

You can come alongside Heart for Lebanon with financial support so they can provide food packages, blankets, medical supplies, and even education scholarships to struggling Lebanese families!

Visit HeartforLebanon.org.

Also, Melki asks, “Pray for us that we would persevere and continue pressing on, knowing that our God is a God of strength, empowerment, encouragement, perseverance, and resources. We cannot give up. We can be motivated and encouraged by the greater Body of Christ that is praying for us.”

Header photo of Lebanon flag, courtesy of Charbel Karam/Unsplash.

Now, in 2020, the Statute’s legacy lives on in the form of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The USCIRF seeks to raise awareness of international instances of persecution and give voice to groups whose religious freedom has not been protected. And as of this December, they’ve been reauthorized to keep up their work for another three years.

In the words of Voice of the Martyrs USA’s Todd Nettleton, “They will continue to shed light on incidences of persecution or abuse of religious freedom and other countries and really help our government here in the U.S. continue to make this a part of our foreign policy.”

Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs USA

Part of the USCIRF’s role involves keeping American officials informed on religious persecution around the world. “They continue to raise this important issue among our leadership so that they know what’s going on and can factor that into some of the decisions they make with regard to our relationships with other countries,” Nettleton says.

This reauthorization is especially noteworthy because it was cleared in a bilateral vote. “In a time where it seems like the two sides in Washington agree on almost nothing… people from both parties voted in the same direction on this particular bill, which seems like a bit of a miracle right now,” Nettleton says.

So far, the USCIRF has been instrumental in designating countries of particular concern, recommending nations for sanctions, and inducing countries to improve their approach to religious freedom. They even had a hand in helping convince Turkish officials to free Pastor Andrew Brunson.

Politically, Nettleton says it’s a tool for unification. “It is a bipartisan issue,” he says. “It is something that both sides of the aisle should care about, and I hope that it maintains that throughout the three years of this authorization.”

Spiritually, it’s a reminder that the Church is called to advocate for the voiceless and protect its members. It gives a platform to the silenced and reminds us that freedom is a privilege not to be taken lightly. Consider how you can advocate for persecuted peoples around the world in 2020 and beyond.

Track persecuted Christians with Voice of the Martyrs.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Yes, things are changing, and if anything is certain, it’s that the Church needs to rely on God and look to its leaders.

That’s what makes the work of ministries like China Partner so important. They’re supporting and training young Christian leaders in China so they can help the local Church establish its identity. These leaders want to prove they can be good Chinese citizens and faithful Christians; the two are not at odds.

Touring the Chinese Church

During a recent October trip to China, China Partner’s Erik Burklin saw firsthand some of the ongoing accomplishments of the local Church.

With 30 million people, Chongqing is the largest municipality in China – and was the first stop on Burkin’s tour. Local believers had just established a brand new Bible school, and ‘the leadership there invited us to come and share with the students during the first part of our trip.”

(Photo courtesy of China Partner via Facebook)

Their next visit was the city of Wuhan in Hubei province. “They have just opened up a brand new seminary facility in that city,” reports Burklin. “They’ve been ministering to seminary and Bible school students for many, many years in an old facility, and they just finished a brand new facility in Wuhan… We were invited to visit that new facility and it’s fantastic to see they have capacity for up to 700 students in that particular school.”

When it’s completed, the Wuhan facility will be one of the largest seminaries in China.

The next stop was Chengdu in Sichuan, where they met with newly elected Church leaders from the area.

“Since its new leadership, they didn’t really know our history very well, or the China Partner history, and so we were able to introduce ourselves to them,” Burklin says. They explained to the leaders “the perspective of why we exist, who we are, what we do, what we believe in, and that we exist to serve the church in China, not to demand anything of the Church.”

Finally, they visited Nanjing and “the largest Bible printing company in the world,” Burklin reports. “They print more Bibles in that particular facility than any other printing press around the world, so that was fantastic… There is one Bible per second that comes off their presses. So in one minute, they print 60 Bibles.”

On November 11, the press printed its 200 millionth Bible. Those hundreds of millions of Bibles go not only to Chinese Christians but to believers in 90 different nations around the world.

“That’s a miraculous story of God’s story, and we’re so pleased to be able to partner with the Church in China,” Burklin says.

Changing Tides

So what happens when forward-moving efforts of the Chinese Church meet tightening tensions from local officials? The first step, Burklin says, is to understand the Chinese context.

(Photo courtesy of China Partner via Facebook)

“China is run by a Communist regime, and Communism in its core values is anti-God; they’re actually atheists by nature,” Burklin explains. “They have in their constitution what they consider their own religious freedoms that they protect, and yet everything is very, very much controlled. The Protestant Church and the people that we deal with obviously and the Christian leaders in China, they just adjust to that.”

One of the biggest challenges for Chinese believers right now is the identity question. Local officials are concerned that Christians won’t be “Chinese” enough, while the Church argues following Jesus and being respectful citizens are not mutually exclusive.

“Many of the church leadership there reminded us that they love China, but at the same time they love God and Jesus more. And so to be good citizens, to be good Chinese – that’s how they put it – is to be a good Christian,” Burklin says.

It’s a balance between showing respect to the government and laws of the land, putting trust in God’s provision, and rendering to each what is due.

“That’s a tremendous testimony to who they are and how they operate in China,” Burklin says. “They know that everything is somewhat restrictive, and it’s very frustrating for the church leadership in China to operate that way, especially those believers and church leaders who are working within the unregistered churches that have not been legally registered with the government.

“But yet, they have faith in God. They believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.”

The bottom line, Burklin says, is that the Church is going to expand.

“The Church… will continue to grow no matter what the current regime

(Photo courtesy of China Partner via Facebook)

will put on them because we know that under persecution, churches usually grow very strongly and believers come to faith because they see the faith that the believers have in Jesus in the midst of trial and tribulation.”

Burklin believes it’s a good reminder for believers in other countries, too.

“The Church leadership and the Christians in China understand that they are really part of a Jesus culture, not just a Chinese culture. You know, obviously, they identify as Chinese… but our higher calling is that we don’t belong to this world, right? This is just temporary.”

At the end of the day, the Christian perspective is a global one and an eternal one.

“You go beyond the culture that you’re living in. And that perspective is so heartwarming and really a challenge for us,” Burklin says. “We see this lived out every time we go there and that encourages us, when we return back to United States, to also live our lives that way, to understand that we’re not just American citizens, but we belong to Jesus Christ and that our ultimate home is in Heaven with Him.

“In the meantime, though, we try to still be good citizens, we try to be a good witness to our neighbors, to our friends, to be difference-makers right where God has placed us, and the Chinese Christians feel exactly the same way.”

Pray for Chinese believers to show courage and discernment in the face of change. Consider supporting China Partner’s work in leadership training and Church encouragement right here.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

(Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash)

Todd Nettleton, of Voice of the Martyrs USA, says both the founder and assistant director of China Horizons are detained in China. The reason–suspicions of helping people enter the country illegally. However, the recent charges correlate with a trend VOM USA has witnessed.

“We have seen, over the last number of months, a number of foreign workers in China, who have (when it comes time for their visa to be renewed) they find out, ‘oh sorry, your visa’s not going to be renewed’. Some foreigners have had their visas canceled,” Nettleton says.

Others have voluntarily left the country to avoid having their visas canceled with the hopes of returning in 6-12 months.

In the past, when travelers were unwelcome or detained in China, authorities typically put them on a plane and instructed them not to return. The end. However, travelers were not detained for lengthy periods, as is such with the arrests of China Horizons’ employees.

Has the golden age for traveling to the land of the Red Dragon come to an end? Possibly.

Concern for Foreigners in China

Some sources who have taken to social media are speculating if the recent arrests are the mark of something even bigger. Something resembling the Boxer Rebellion—a warning to foreigners to get out now.

For context, the Boxer Rebellion (1900) references a period in China’s history when a secret organization in the northern part of the country attacked foreigners. The Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists “killed foreigners and Chinese Christians,” according to this article. The attacks stemmed from a desire to prevent outside influences from penetrating the region. A similar attitude seems adopted today.

“Xi Jinping and his government have set as an aim they are going to control religious expression in China. If that takes tearing down church buildings, if that takes putting people in prison, they are going to exercise that control,” Nettleton says.

“Foreigners, obviously, don’t necessarily cooperate with that. They don’t fall under that Chinese control of all religious expression. And so, I think that’s why you’re seeing foreigners being told it’s time for you to go home.”

The resounding question—what does this mean for ministries working in China?

A reevaluation.

Nettleton says it is time for careful consideration of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ behind foreign ministries and foreign workers in China. The good news—Nettleton believes the Chinese Church is mostly self-sufficient and capable of carrying on the Church and Gospel work despite the costs.

“As believers, and as those who would take the Gospel to a place like China, we need to consider the consequences. We need to count the costs ahead of time because it has become much more serious in China, and an American passport is no longer protection from being put in prison,” Nettleton says.

Next Steps

(Photo courtesy VOM Canada)

Pray for the protection of Christians in China. Pray for discernment, their tact, and their wisdom in navigating ministry work in the country. Ask God to make clear His will for each Christian currently in China.

Also, pray for those who are or will pay a price for their faith. Pray for their strength and perseverance. Finally, pray for the national Church and its ability to carry forward the Church.

Find more ways to support the Church in China here.

Header screen capture courtesy Prayercast.

Tensions have grown over the last several months between the US and Iran. When the US withdrew from the nuclear deal — which required Iran to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions — it threw international relations for a loop. Now, with the US sanctions reimposed, Iran’s economy is suffering.

While Iran is noticeably frustrated with the US government, Iran’s parliament is also displeased with Rouhani. According to Business Insider, Iranian lawmakers have summoned Rouhani to explain why he allowed the nation’s economy to decline, even while the nuclear deal was in place.

It is easy to focus on the players on the prominent, political stage in this conflict. However, there are millions of others who are deeply impacted by these interactions — the Iranian people.

David* with Heart4Iran says, “We hear from [Iranians] that things are kind of at an all-time low in Iran. They have no freedom to move. We have heard that flights from Iran to Europe are being canceled [and] that people don’t have any money because of the huge inflation that’s happening and the currency devaluation that is happening. People just aren’t able to afford daily life and so it’s a lot of pressure and a lot of stress.

“When the news of these tweets comes out or when things flare up, it just makes the situations worse inside the country and the people feel the pressure.”

There have been rumblings for a long time in the Iranian Revolution’s wake — a slow swelling of distrust and disillusionment. The people feel restricted by their government and failed by corrupted leaders.

However, the disappointment does not stop at Iran’s politics. David also says, “We look at it as kind of a trend that’s been going on for years now — that people are disillusioned with Islam.”

Iranian family watching the Jesus Film. (Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

This may be, in part, why Iran has the fastest growing Church in the world. Heart4Iran seeks to equip and encourage believers in Iran and reach Muslims for Christ. David hears this building hunger for spiritual answers in Iran firsthand.

“Every day, people call us from Iran and they talk to us about their problems, they talk to us about what’s happening on the ground, they talk to us about religious things, and they talk to us about Christ. So we hear from them what’s happening and these political things that are going on in the background just seem to be part of a growing kind of pressure that is building on them.

“It’s just a stark contrast that the Gospel presents versus what they are being shown on a daily basis and what they are living on a daily basis. So God gets a lot of glory in that because His true identity is shown in Christ and when they hear that, they run to it.”

Our Iranian brothers and sisters in Christ are carefully and boldly spreading the Gospel in their nation. What they need now is the encouragement of fellow Christians.

(Image capture courtesy of Heart4Iran)

“We definitely should be praying for the people of Iran. They are going under a lot of intense pressure right now…. So we just want to pray that God will be glorified in this situation. These pressures can lead to people soul searching, and a lot of times that happens. People call us and they want to talk about the message of hope and the message of love in Jesus Christ that they’re seeing on Mohabat TV,” David shares.

Mohabat TV is a major part of Heart4Iran’s ministry. Through Mohabat TV, they broadcast the Gospel on satellite television into the homes of Iranians searching for truth.

“As the Body of Christ around the world, I want us all to pray for them. Pray for the people in Iran. They are coming to Christ, and they are experiencing new life in Christ, and this could just be the catalyst that makes that happen.”

(Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

*Name changed for security purposes