This comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine nears its one thousandth day.

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association draws out the fact that no matter what country you call home, it’s easy to view another nation as one collective group, with shared characteristics and intentions.

“We need to be careful not to connect the decisions of Russian national leadership to all Russian people,” Mock says. 

SGA serves alongside many churches in Russia engaged in faithful gospel ministry. These believers can sometimes feel disconnected from the world because of the political climate they live in.

Woman reading a Russian Bible. (Representative stock photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash)

Here’s a big-picture account of the changes Mock says Russian society has gone through over the past 30 years.

“In the late ’90s, there were financial challenges, but a tremendous amount of openness to the things of God. In 2005 things began to shift — both [a] shift away from God and shift toward a level of [affluence],” Mock says. Economic growth led to new businesses opening, even many from the West.

“But by the 2010s, churches were noticing the people where there [used to be] this excitement and openness to the gospel, they weren’t interested anymore. It was becoming more and more difficult to reach people with the gospel.

“Now in the 2020s, things are much more difficult for them. There are new restrictions that make it very difficult for open evangelism, if not impossible. There are restrictions on the pulpit, what could be said and not said.”

Another pressure point on public discourse is the war between Russia and Ukraine. Coupled with the restraints placed upon social media, it can lead Russian believers to feel that distance between themselves and the world. 

However, there’s more to this picture: gospel-driven unity. 

“One of the blessings of SGA is our ministry is unblemished by the changing events in this world. We have been able to serve [Russian] churches because it’s not been about us. We are serving their churches as they take the gospel to their people,” Mock says. 

“Because that vision remains unchanged, they have felt connected and not forgotten. They feel not abandoned and not apart, but instead, they feel that the Body of Christ is standing together.”

Immanuel’s Child (Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

Learn more here about SGA’s gospel outreaches alongside local churches. Among them are Immanuel’s Child and Orphans Reborn.

But above all, pray!

“Pray that these faithful Bible-teaching churches would be those churches that stand tall in increasing and mounting difficulties,” Mock says. “[Pray] that we (the global Church) would be united in the single cause to know Christ and to make Him known among the nations.” 

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach (CWO) says, “In Burkina with all that’s going on as far as different villages being attacked and things like that, it’s not safe for the kids to go to school. So we know they are closing.”

Village of Opportunity graduation in Burkina Faso 2023. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

CWO is determined to keep their Village of Opportunity open in Burkina Faso, offering vocational training to female students.

“We teach sewing, cosmetology, and we started culinary classes. Actually, [we are] in the middle of a building project to build a kitchen classroom so we can even reach more young ladies.”

All the education is in a Gospel context, helping students grow in their faith or learn about Christ.

The next school session starts in October, and CWO is raising funds to build an activity center at the Village of Opportunity.

“What that would be is a place where we can have activities for our own young ladies at the Village of Opportunity,” says Yoder. “But [we could] also rent it out, which would raise some funds in-country to help the school become a little more self-sustaining.”

Your gift to CWO goes a long way for educational ministry in Burkina Faso. Support CWO’s Burkina Faso ministry here!

Cooking school at CWO’s Village of Opportunity in Burkina Faso. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

Yoder says, “We’re just excited about what’s going on in Burkina and how God is working in spite of the issues that are going on with the government and with the insecurity there.”

Header photo of kindergarten schoolchildren in Burkina Faso, courtesy of RobertoVi/Pixabay.

Medical supplies are also running low. One British doctor still trapped in Khartoum was shot, and is treating himself with leftover antibiotics and makeshift pillowcase bandages.

Over 450 people have been killed and at least 4,072 wounded since fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two warring parties agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire to open a humanitarian corridor for evacuations. But that agreement ends tonight at midnight, and recent skirmishes have already broken the ceasefire in certain areas of Khartoum.

Joe Willey with SAT-7 says for Sudanese people trapped and trying to get information, smartphones only help so much. “In Sudan, unlike the US, only 28% of people in the country at least statistically have internet access. But satellite television is really popular.”

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 Arabic)

Satellite communication is critical in times like this. That’s where SAT-7 ARABIC’s television channel comes in with Gospel hope across the Middle East and North Africa.

“SAT-7 ARABIC is broadcast via satellite as well as social media,” Willey says. “So it is a really powerful tool to be able to share God’s love and make His love visible with the people of Sudan.”

Willey asks, “First and foremost, pray that the violence would stop…as well as asking for prayer for those who have lost loved ones and also that Sudan can be united because that nation itself is struggling to have democratic rule.”

“Please pray for the protection of Christians. Even though it’s a very small number, there is persecution and we’re praying that they would be protected, as well as any businesses that are operated by Christians and any churches or fellowships that meet regularly.”

Learn more about SAT-7 ARABIC’s ministry.

Header image of Sudan flag, courtesy of David Peterson/Pixabay.

York Moore with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has met with several college and university leaders across the U.S. to discuss what the future holds. He says, “The honest answer is really nobody knows. I know that some universities are starting to make the decision not to open back up in-class, in-person learning and that’s really tough. My guess is that we’re going to see a real mixture of universities deciding to bring students back versus e-learning as we continue on in the fall.

(Photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship via Becket Law Media Kit)

“There’s a financial reality to this as well. It’s not just about keeping students safe. It’s also about running the business of the university. That might sound callous but universities are not charities. They’re not non-profits. They are in business, many of them, to make money. So we’re going to have to see.”

It’s not just higher education that’s impacted by fall semester plans.

Moore says, “Think all about the implications that this has for the small-businesswoman that sets up a deli down the street from a major university, the dry cleaners,…all kinds of businesses that kind of rely on the ecosystem of the university. Campus ministries are no exception. We might not be for-profit small businesses down the street, but the reality is we depend on the ecosystem of the university to exist.

“Regardless, I think we’re in for a new normal. The new normal is going to require people to modify their behavior, including campus ministries. So we’re really gearing up with our partners and within InterVarsity to ask those questions [and] answer those questions. What will be our contingency plan as we return to any kind of circumstance?”

No matter the campus, however, InterVarsity is persisting to be Christ’s light to college students. InterVarsity chapters are getting creative with how they connect and build relationships, and Moore says they’re seeing a positive response.

(Photo courtesy of Ryan Jacobsen via Unsplash)

“We have weekly large groups that have been attended by thousands of students across the country. That’s great news! Many of our partners with InterVarsity and the EveryCampus movement have been doing large-scale gatherings, simulcast, pre-recorded production shows, but that’s only temporary. We have to figure out what a new normal looks like for serving students.”

Right now, InterVarsity would be greatly encouraged by your support, involvement, and prayers. If you would like to give to InverVarsity, click here!

InterVarsity has also partnered with the EveryCampus movement to foster spiritual revival at every college and university across the US. They recently celebrated crossing the finish line for prayer walking every US campus. But it’s not too late for you to get involved! Click here to learn more about EveryCampus.

Finally, please pray for Gospel campus ministries like InterVarsity. Ask God to grant their campus leaders wisdom and encouragement as they reach out to college students with Jesus’s love.

“We do believe that God is in this,” Moore says. “In fact, I believe that what we’re actually going to witness as a result of COVID-19 is going to be a great move of God.”

Header photo courtesy of Changbok Ko via Unsplash.

Church Closures

Since 2006, all religious groups must register their places of worship with the Algerian government. The only religion not required to follow this ordinance is the majority religion of Islam. However, the government often uses strict requirements for places of worship, resulting in the denial of applications.

(Photo by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay )

The USCIRF emphasized the need to protect places of worship during a recent hearing. USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins says the right to religious freedom is a right all people should maintain, including the right to access their places of worship. Christians who attempt living into this right put themselves at risk in Algeria.

“We don’t hear a lot about Algeria, but it’s extremely dangerous for believers to live there,” Patrick Murphy says, with I Found the Truth.

The USCIRF’s Vice Chair Gayle Manchin has called on the Algerian government to reopen the closed churches and to stop harassing the Christian community in the country. If history is any indicator, it is unlikely the Algerian government will heed this call.

Persecution in Algeria

(Photo by James L.W on Unsplash)

The World Watch List ranks Algeria #22 of the hardest countries to live in as a Christian. Open Doors USA, publishers of the World Watch List, says the persecution level of Christians is very high in the country.

“We have seen pictures and even videos of police coming in and closing down churches; believers being in prayer meetings, and they’re forcibly dragged out, and the doors are locked for good. And so, I mean this is a bad thing. Of course, it’s a terrible thing, and these pictures and videos are going around the Middle East, and now around the West,” Murphy says.

Next Steps

But the circulation of these images and videos is generating prayer. Pray for the protection and encouragement of the Algerian Church. Pray for their ability to meet and worship, too. And pray for God’s Word to impact and transform the people in Algeria.

“God’s going to use it to spread the Gospel. That’s always the result of persecution. So, in the end, it’s difficult, but God turns it to good.”

Header photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash.

Closed Doors in Home Countries

(Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash)

Within close-knit communities, even a national is considered an outsider. In fact, AMG’s Bill Passons talks about when Pastor Veds experienced rejection from a community. We shared his story earlier this week; you can read it here.

“It’s not that you’re not welcome, you’re still in the same country. There’s still similarities that you have but it’s a totally different, almost like a different people group. They may speak a different language and in some of these places, especially the more rural area, the people have been there for [a] long period of time.”

Think generations. These are the communities where if your parents and grandparents weren’t locals, you will never be a full member of the group. Passons equates these communities to small towns or villages someone might find in the West, too.

“I remember, I had a friend one time who had been in a place for 25 years and they called him a newcomer because his family wasn’t from there. And there can be those deep-seated acceptance of ‘our kind’ and kind of an almost rejection of people from the outside or just that they’re always kind of looked at as outsiders,” Passons explains.

Building Meaningful Relationships

A national pastor or church planter traveling from community to community would have to find ways to build meaningful relationships despite their outsider status.

(Photo courtesy of AMG International)

“The way that they over this is the same way that you would go in cross-culturally. You just start to build relationships, relationships that are built on usually small interactions at the beginning that over time develop into more deeper conversations. Usually, that takes a little bit of commitment and longevity,” Passons says.

When Pastor Veds visited isolated islands in his home country of the Philippines, he was immediately rejected. Longevity came in the form of living on a boat just offshore for five months. In that time, he built relationships with locals. His dedication was a key that helped unlock pathways for the love of Christ to manifest and for God’s Word to be heard.

Support National Leaders

Today, there are Christian communities on the isolated islands Pastor Veds visited. However, this pastor and many others are likely to encounter other communities similar to this one. Pray for Pastor Veds and other Christians who are sharing the Gospel in close-knit communities. Pray for opportunities to build strong relationships and for Christ’s love to be known.

To support believers like Pastor Veds through AMG’s work, CLICK HERE.

Header photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash.

Available or Accessible?

In every mission field the questions of availability and accessibility must be considered. Availability speaks to the possibility of attaining Scripture. Can people find the Word of God, in Chinese, in China?

(Amity Press. Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)

Accessibility speaks to how easy it is to get the Bible. Can anyone get it, or is Scripture only accessible if you meet certain criteria and live in a certain place?

An Accessibility Issue

Wendell Rovenstine, President of Bibles for China, says the Bible is available. “A lot of times I think people become confused. The availability of Bibles within China is still fair. They’re available and people can still receive Bibles that are legal, that are printed in China at Amity Press. We at Bibles for China make and provide those Bibles in the rural Chinese communities through the associations and networks we have there.”

Accesibility, on the other hand, is harder to come by.

Rovenstine acknowledges that different ministries go about the problem of accessibility in different ways. Bibles for China commits to legally spreading the Word of God. Through their ministry, many churches and Christians in rural areas have access to Scripture that wasn’t afforded prior.

However, Rovenstine admits that outside the registered Church, China shuts down any kind of ministry. The window of opportunity for foreign support of national believers is closing.

A Need for Study Tools

So, while they continue to focus on providing Scripture, Bibles for China also works toward fulfilling requests for discipling materials.

(All photos courtesy of Bibles for China)

“They need Bibles, but they’re telling us also that with the Bibles they need resources. In other words, the need study Bibles. They need John Maxwell leadership Bibles, they need commentaries, they need some sort of something that they give the individuals with preaching points and leaders within the registered Church in China.”

Bibles for China obtained the proper permits to give these things out within the registered Church. This increased accessibility of the Gospel in rural areas.

It can be difficult to work within the parameters of what the government deems as correct for Christianity, but Rovenstine still sees the registered churches as a way to get God’s Word in more hands.

“I’m not being naïve to what I read and what I see and what I know. But we are being intentionally involved in accomplishing the delivery of Bibles within China that are legal.”

Stepping Back

As Bibles for China grows, they have seen more and more national leaders take up the call to distribute Bibles. Chinese Christians take the lead on Bibles for China projects. Locals see the importance of Scripture and can work without as much suspicion as outsiders.

And as policies on foreigners tighten, locals may have to be the only ones leading the way. That’s why Rovenstine encourages Christians to pray for their brothers and sisters in China.

Please Pray

Pray for religious leaders as they struggle to remain true to the Bible and effectively minister in an increasingly closed off atmosphere.

Pray also that God would open doors not only for more Chinese to come to Christ, but for Chinese missionaries to go to other places with the Word of God. They have a heart for spreading His truth.

Pray that Bibles for China would be allowed to continue their efforts and consider joining their ministry by donating here.

Header photo courtesy of Bibles for China.

India (GFA) — One Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope center was closed November 17 after extremists forced the landlord to stop renting space to the program. They also threatened to kill staff members if they stay in the area.

On November 16, the center’s staff held a medical camp for the students, followed by other activities. At around 4:30 p.m., a group of more than 300 people from a nearby village came to the Bridge of Hope center and told the staff to leave the cluster of local villages as soon as possible.

“We will not allow any Christian activity in our village, even if it is social work,” they said, while others shouted anti-Christian slogans and verbally abused the staff.

The staff talked with the protestors for nearly an hour, explaining the activities of the center and how they help impoverished children, but the crowd was unmoved. They called the landlord of the house and threatened to banish him from the village if he continued to allow the program to operate in his building.

At the homeowner’s request, the staff brought all the center’s supplies to a local believer’s house. The following afternoon, however, more anti-Christian groups arrived in the village, many bearing weapons.

They told the staff to leave the area, saying, “We will not allow any work of Christians in this area. If you do not obey, we will take your lives.”

Upper caste groups, who are a minority in India, often oppose the education of lower caste and Dalit (“Untouchable”) children. However, this is the first time such a severe campaign has been mounted against a Bridge of Hope center, marking an increase in persecution.

The center’s closing means a loss of free education, food, and medical care to more than 100 local children, many of whom come from Dalit backgrounds and will be unable to receive an education apart from the Bridge of Hope program.

"It breaks our heart to see adults who should be the protectors of these children become the roadblocks to their future and hope of a better life," said K.P. Yohannan, the founder and international director of Gospel for Asia.

The Bridge of Hope staff and local church ask for the prayers of fellow believers as they determine how to serve the community at this time.

"We will do all we can to ensure that these children will continue to have the future they deserve," Yohannan said.

Pray for the protection of the Bridge of Hope staff, local believers, and everyone in the area who stands in support of the Bridge of Hope. Pray for wisdom as GFA staff determines its response to the anti-Christians’ demands. Pray for open eyes and softened hearts in the people who are making threats against believers.

On November 16, the center’s staff held a medical camp for the students, followed by other activities. At around 4:30 p.m., a group of more than 300 people from a nearby village came to the Bridge of Hope center and told the staff to leave the cluster of local villages as soon as possible.

“We will not allow any Christian activity in our village, even if it is social work,” they said, while others shouted anti-Christian slogans and verbally abused the staff.

The staff talked with the protestors for nearly an hour, explaining the activities of the center and how they help impoverished children, but the crowd was unmoved. They called the landlord of the house and threatened to banish him from the village if he continued to allow the program to operate in his building.

At the homeowner’s request, the staff brought all the center’s supplies to a local believer’s house. The following afternoon, however, more anti-Christian groups arrived in the village, many bearing weapons.

They told the staff to leave the area, saying, “We will not allow any work of Christians in this area. If you do not obey, we will take your lives.”

Upper caste groups, who are a minority in India, often oppose the education of lower caste and Dalit (“Untouchable”) children. However, this is the first time such a severe campaign has been mounted against a Bridge of Hope center, marking an increase in persecution.

The center’s closing means a loss of free education, food, and medical care to more than 100 local children, many of whom come from Dalit backgrounds and will be unable to receive an education apart from the Bridge of Hope program.

"It breaks our heart to see adults who should be the protectors of these children become the roadblocks to their future and hope of a better life," said K.P. Yohannan, the founder and international director of Gospel for Asia.

The Bridge of Hope staff and local church ask for the prayers of fellow believers as they determine how to serve the community at this time.

"We will do all we can to ensure that these children will continue to have the future they deserve," Yohannan said.

Pray for the protection of the Bridge of Hope staff, local believers, and everyone in the area who stands in support of the Bridge of Hope. Pray for wisdom as GFA staff determines its response to the anti-Christians’ demands. Pray for open eyes and softened hearts in the people who are making threats against believers.

Photo courtesy of MAF.

Democratic Republic of Congo (MNN) — Animism and Spiritism have a strong presence in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Witch doctor visits, charms, voodoo; it has many faces.

“There are in fact many ways that that has been more manifest lately due to the television being able to present it; more people being able to be open about their witchcraft,” says Ron Wismer in the Congo with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

Islam also holds sway in several Congolese villages. With these religions competing for attention, the Gospel is often pushed out of the picture. Specifically, two villages in the plateau east of the capital have been closed to the Gospel for years.

A local Congolese staff member with MAF has been bringing the “JESUS” film to various regions in the nation. He shows the film proclaiming the Good News of Christ once a month—more in the summer.

Recently, he approached Wismer with an idea. “He said to me that we should try it at a larger venue and we were happy to do that,” says Wismer.

That idea led the Congolese staff member to talk to pastors near the two closed villages. They agreed to join the effort. All the equipment was packed into a backpack and they set off to do “JESUS” film showings in both villages.

On the first day, MAF’s staff member showed the “JESUS” film to the smaller village of around 1,000 people. An estimated 600 people showed up and nearly 100 gave their lives to Christ.

The second village was larger with 10 times the population of the first village. For this film showing, they packed out a football stadium with people eager to hear the Gospel.

The staff member writes, “I estimated the crowd to about three thousand people. To the call for decision we had hands raised all around the stadium and to be frank it was again difficult to count their number but the estimation was beyond to some hundred, five to six or more.”

Wismer states, “What’s good about this situation is we’re working directly with local churches to help folks that do make a decision or raise their hand to get involved in a local church.”

But their work is not done. The greater Church of Congo has a goal to double the amount of churches in the next five years, and MAF is working to enable that goal.

The Congolese people are being radically changed by the Gospel message through MAF’s efforts.

“There are possibilities still for evangelistic efforts, again done by completely by local folks,” says Wismer. “We are just merely being the technology side of things with MAF. We have been involved with flying the ‘JESUS’ film around. This time we just drove it to that area.”

Wismer asks for your prayers. “Pray for safety of the teams that go out and do the JESUS film showings. And then obviously prepare the hearts of those who are seeing it. And then, most importantly, to help these people not only see the JESUS film, be moved, be changed, but then to be plugged into the local church where they can be discipled.”

Click here to learn more about MAF.