International (MNN) — Here’s a term you may or may not be familiar with: MBB. It stands for Muslim Background Believer. Monday, November 18 is the global day of prayer for this growing number within the Body of Christ.

We reached out to Bishop Dr. Yassir Eric, who is himself a follower of Christ from a Muslim background. (Hear more of his story here.) Speaking on behalf of this Global Prayer Day, he shared insights into what MBBs experience and how the Church, God’s family, needs to stand together. Here is part of what he told us.

Who are Muslim-background believers, and what are their lives like?

“These are individuals raised in Muslim families who, through personal encounters with Jesus — sometimes in dreams, through miracles, or a powerful message — have made the bold decision to embrace the Christian faith,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of Alek Burley/Unsplash)

“But for MBBs, faith isn’t a matter of private belief alone. It’s a costly choice that can mean complete alienation from everything and everyone they’ve ever known.”

You are not alone is a key message meant to be sent by this Global Prayer Day for Muslim background believers. It’s a message which is often counter to their daily life experiences.

“Imagine being cut off from family, labeled as a traitor by society, and living in fear simply for following Jesus Christ. They live under intense social, spiritual, and emotional pressure, making it challenging for them to live their faith openly,” Bishop Dr. Yassir says. 

“Islam has a complex social and religious system that considers those who leave it as apostates. When someone like ‘Ahmed,’ who was born into a devout Muslim family, decides to follow Jesus, he’s seen as violating family honor and religion. From a legal perspective, Islamic law often condemns him to imprisonment or even to death. The isolation that MBBs endure is profound — many live in hiding, cut off from all support.”

A lifeline for a brother or sister

Bishop Dr. Yassir calls this global day of prayer “a lifeline” for fellow Christians from Muslim backgrounds. Many experience loneliness even after escaping a hostile home life or country.

(Representative stock photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash)

“Even in some Christian circles, MBBs are misunderstood and not accepted because some churches may not fully understand their unique situation, or maybe they’re afraid,” he says.

“They long to be seen, accepted, and recognized within the Body of Christ — it’s what MBBs are yearning for. By praying for them, we stand in the gap, asking God to shield them, soften their communities’ hearts, and make a way where it seems impossible.”

We all know the encouragement of a kind word in season from fellow believers. Would you join in praying for these brothers and sisters today? 

“Almost every MBB has faced rejection and fear in ways most people can hardly imagine. A word of encouragement, an act of kindness, or simply the knowledge that someone cares can restore hope and strengthen their faith.”

How should we pray? 

Here are prayer points Bishop Dr. Yassir shared for Muslim background believers. 

• “Pray for their spiritual growth so that they will see their identity firmly in Christ and be rooted in God’s love.”
• “Pray for them to know Jesus intimately and to have the strength to stand firm.”
  

  (Photo by Guilherme Romano on Unsplash)

• “Pray for their families—especially the children, who often bear a heavy burden. Imagine a young boy in school who hears terrible things said about Christians, knowing his parents are Christians.”
• “Pray for young MBB women, who are especially vulnerable to forced marriages and abductions.”
• “Pray that MBBs would have safe places to worship and the freedom to build their own church communities.” 
• “Pray for their recognition, for a place where they can express their faith openly and safely.”

For more details and ways to support Christians from a Muslim background, please visit Communio Messianica. Click to learn more about the Global Prayer Day for Muslim background believers.

Header image of a man in Dagestan is a representative stock image courtesy of Daria Kraplak via Unsplash. 

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “My co-workers and I here at The Voice of the Martyrs often go and sit down with persecuted Christians. We ask them, ‘How can we help you? How can Christians in places like the United States, in freer countries, help? The first thing they say is ‘Pray for us.’”

Get your church involved

You can get involved, especially through your local church. In fact, Nettleton hopes every church takes time Sunday to pray for persecuted Christians around the world. VOM has created resources to help, including a video. You can find these resources here.

Nettleton talks about the video. “It’s short, usually three to five minutes. It gives the story of a real-life persecuted Christian, or somebody that kind of puts a face to the idea of persecuted Christians.” Additionally, VOM gives churches specific things to pray for on Sunday. “If you want to have a kind of a guided prayer time, in the course of your service, there are slides that say, hey, let’s pray for this situation. Let’s pray for this person who’s in prison. Let’s pray for this need that persecuted Christians have right now.”

VOM has observed this day of prayer for over 20 years. But does prayer really make a difference in the lives of persecuted Christians?

Nettleton tells the story of a coworker at VOM who was imprisoned in Sudan for 14 months. Despite the harsh setting, he got a restful sleep every night. “When Peter was released from prison, he went back home to the Czech Republic. He went to his church, his congregation. They said, ‘You know, Peter, every night at 8:00 pm we stopped what we were doing and we prayed for you.”

Header photo courtesy of the Voice of the Martyrs USA on Facebook.

“The great news this week is that Asia Bibi, a wife and mother and Christian in Pakistan, has been found not guilty by the Supreme Court. This is just a huge ‘praise the Lord’,” Nettleton remarks.

More about the acquittal here.

“Sometimes we wonder, you know, ‘Do our prayers make a difference?’ Well, here’s a case where it is absolutely an answer to prayer.”

As Asia Bibi’s case dragged through Pakistan’s legal system for the past nine years, Christians around the world prayed earnestly for her release. In 2015, VOM organized a petition to the Pakistani government calling for Bibi’s freedom.

Read our past coverage for a fuller understanding of Asia Bibi’s case.

“All of those prayers, all of that outcry to God and to the Pakistani government has now produced fruit,” Nettleton says. “We celebrate, we praise the Lord, and we continue to pray for Christians in Pakistan.

“There have been protests, there have been promises of violent reprisals… we can’t stop praying for Pakistan because she’s been released.”

The world is a pretty big place, and Christians are persecuted in more places than Pakistan. Would you and your church pray for them on Sunday?

IDOP 2018: praying for the persecuted Church

Each year, persecution watchdogs like VOM call believers to remember their brothers and sisters in chains on the first Sunday of November.

“The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church was not the creation of any ministry; it wasn’t [like] a bunch of Americans got together and had this idea,” Nettleton explains.

“It was an answer to the call of our persecuted family around the world.”

Some pastors preach their entire sermon on persecution and what it means to suffer for Christ, he adds, while others touch on New Testament passages that directly address persecution.  Churches use resources like these to help believers pray for the persecuted.

Download a church bulletin here: 10 Ways to Pray.

IDOP 2018 doesn’t have one specific way to pray, and there are many needs you can cover. However, Nettleton does ask that you remember to pray for something “unusual” on behalf of persecuted Christians: forgiveness.

“Pray that they’ll be able to forgive their persecutors, and pray that they’ll be able to witness to their persecutors. It’s not easy,” he says.

“Pray that God’s love will shine through those who are being persecuted – to their persecutors, to their fellow prisoners, to the judges and the lawyers and the people who are representing them – so that God’s Kingdom marches forward.”

As you pray for persecuted Christians on IDOP 2018, praise God for His perfect timing.

“We’re talking about Asia Bibi and…God knew…that this would all happen around the same time,” Nettleton shares.

“The video’s about praying for Christians in Pakistan.”

Watch a preview here.

Header and story images courtesy of VOM USA.

Women holding voter registration cards.
(Photo cred: Goutam Roy via Flickr)

India (MNN) — What if the fate of your religious freedom hung on the outcome of your nation’s elections? That’s kind of the case in India. India is now entering into its final stages of general elections, and a Hindu nationalist candidate is favored to win.

“It’s a little different than here in America because religion and politics are so closely intertwined in India,” explains Dave Stravers, President of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India.

“Some people are saying that this election will result in people in control who will push through a nationwide anti-conversion law.”

Five of India’s 28 states already have anti-conversion laws in place. This legislation makes it very difficult for people to change their religion.

“The effect of an anti-conversion law is to severely restrict evangelistic workers and churches, and in some cases, lead to the imprisonment of people who were baptized or those who baptized them,” Stravers adds.

Persecution happens mostly on the local level, Stravers says. Hindu radicals recently targeted two national Gospel workers involved in Mission India programs. The first woman was targeted because she operates a ministry with children.

“They beat her up, they threatened her; eventually she was rescued by her relatives,” shares Stravers. The other target was slightly older but just as vulnerable.

“The intention supposedly was, according to the report, to offer her as a human sacrifice to the gods in one of the local temples.”

(Image courtesy Mission India)

Mission India is holding an international day of prayer for India on May 7 to stand with concerned believers in South Asia.

“We’re dividing the day up into 15-minute periods and asking people to sign up to pray for India during that time, for the Lord’s intervention,” explains Stravers.

“This is a big deal, and we’re asking the Lord to intervene in a way that would protect the witnessing activity of Christians, who’ve been so tremendously effective in bringing many, many thousands and even millions of people to know Jesus.”

Click here to join with Mission India for a powerful Day of Prayer.

14 years later, Kuznitsov is the national JESUS film representative in Udmurtia for Campus Crusade for Christ and a passionate member of Resurrection Church.  

The Southern Baptist International Mission Board will be remembering the the Udmurt (OOD-mert) people this year on the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization May 27.

His team has shown the JESUS film in about 500 of the 2,000 towns and villages in Udmurtia. They fully intend to reach the rest.

"The guy is a walking evangelism machine," says International Mission Board missionary Tim Wicker. "Whenever he's out with us, we're constantly waiting on him because somebody walked by who he just couldn't resist talking to."

Once while driving late at night, Wicker and Kuznitsov were pulled over at a police checkpoint. Kuznitsov got out and began talking to the Udmurt policeman. Soon he returned to the car, reached into the glove compartment, and pulled out a New Testament and tract to give to the policeman. When he came back, Wicker asked why they had been stopped.

"We never got around to that," Kuznitsov said, grinning as they drove away.

He prays for the day when evangelical believers grasp what it will take to reach all Udmurtia with the Gospel. He knows it won't be easy.

"There's a spiritual battle going on everywhere," he asserts. "So I don't live by my feelings. I live by the Word of God. Inside of me God lives, and He is victorious."

To order a DVD and other free resources related to the Udmurt people of Russia, visit ime.imb.org/dayofprayer or call 1-800-999-3113.