Non-Existent Organizations

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA recently recorded a podcast with Chinese pastor, Brother Enfu*. He offered some insights on this unique concern of the underground church.

Nettleton says, “Every single church leader that has been charged in the last two years has been charged with financial crimes charges. They’ve been charged with fraud. They’ve been charged with so-called illegal business practices. And what it comes down to is the government comes in and says, ‘Hey, you’re collecting donations for an organization that doesn’t exist. That’s fraud.’”

Pastors facing this charge have very little chance at a defense. They cannot admit to having parishioners since that would require a legal church. The trials have been short and there is little chance for outside help since China says the arrests are for fraud not religious persecution.

(Image courtesy of Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash)

Nettleton says that for Brother Enfu and other church leaders this poses a serious problem. Tithing, paying a pastor, and even providing healthcare or insurance for the pastor have become increasingly difficult.

“You can’t start a checking account for something that doesn’t legally exist. And the Chinese government is certainly monitoring financial transactions. They’re watching what’s going on. He talked about the fact that people bring their offerings in cash because they don’t want it tracked through some kind of electronic transaction, and the church doesn’t have a checking account where they could deposit checks. So people bring their money, their offerings, in cash. Then in his church they divided it up among the elders of the church,” Nettleton says.

Once the elders have the money, there still must be a legitimate reason for them to have it. So many church leaders have found themselves attending to these practical concerns while they struggle to find time to prepare to preach.

Smaller Churches, No Outside Training

Additionally, the crackdown in this way has forced larger underground churches to break up into smaller units. They need more leaders, but the avenues to train and pay them are fewer and more dangerous than in the past.

One area of increased concern is with outside training from foreigners. Brother Enfu noted that the government has cracked down on outsiders sharing the Gospel.

(Image courtesy of Zhang Kaiyv on Unsplash)

Nettleton says, “Not just in front of a crowd of people, but literally even in a one-on-one conversation, for a foreigner to talk about religion is now against the law in China. And so the need for Chinese leaders to be raised up, and Chinese leaders to stay and to train the next generation of leaders, that is something that is certainly on Brother Enfu’s heart. He encouraged us to pray for that as well.”

As a result of these new and creative means of persecution, Chinese parents are preparing their children for oppression and imprisonment. Nettleton says, “He talked about literally sitting around his own dinner table and talking with his own children about, ‘What will happen when I get arrested? Yeah, that that’s a strong possibility. But more importantly, what will happen when you get arrested my children? When you go to prison? Because that’s what it looks like to follow Jesus in China.’”

Please pray that God would continue to grow the church in China despite persecution.

If you want to listen to Brother Enfu’s interview in full, click here.

*Pseudonym

Header image courtesy of Ye Jinghan via Unsplash

Iraq (MNN) — Chaos engulfed the new parliament of Iraq on January 9. A Shia faction of the government rejects the results of last year’s election. During the session, they claimed they had the seats to pick the next prime minister. Shouting and even fistfights broke out.

The Iran-backed Shia factions suffered losses in the elections. They contested the count, saying voter fraud cost them several seats. But Iraq’s federal court upheld the results.

Iraq’s government splits power among the major groups, with a Sunni parliamentary speaker, a Shia prime minister, and a Kurdish president.

Samuel with Redemptive Stories says no party gained a majority in the election, so the groups had to compromise. “They had finally written the outline for an agreement just last week. They got there and sat down for their meeting. Within one hour all the agreements that had been written and outlined had fallen apart and they were fighting. So they just left. And so again, we’re back to square one.”

The Church in Iraq

But the absence of a functioning government may provide an opportunity for the Church in Iraq. Samuel says, “People are a lot less concerned about what Christians are doing, or what they’re not doing. And it gives an opportunity for them to boldly proclaim their faith.”

Churches have seen many people interested in Jesus. They especially connect over social media or even more private Zoom meetings.

Ask God to strengthen and grow the Church in Iraq. Samuel says, “One of our partners says, ‘Now is the time of harvest. Now is the time to see God’s Kingdom build,’ He speaks particularly of the south of Iraq, which has been far more unreached than other places. This area has been controlled by Shia for a long, long time. So it is a place that remains very unreached.”

The header photo shows the Baghdad Convention Center, where the Council of Representatives of Iraq meets. (Photo courtesy of James (Jim) Gordon, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons) 

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta (Photo courtesy of MAKE IT KENYA PHOTO / STUART PRICE via Wikimedia Commons)

According to The Guardian, some are concerned that Odinga’s refusal to concede defeat to President Kenyatta could lead to more violence as his supporters protest. Already, 24 people have been killed in clashes with police and ethnic groups since the election.

Kenya has a history of mistrust in their democratic processes. Bernice Gatere with Trans World Radio explains, “I think the mistrust comes from the fact that our election seems to be very tribal-based…. There were quite a bit of people that voted based on the achievements of the candidates; but to a larger extent, people still voted according to their tribal lines. And that is what makes this situation tense and volatile because people tend to associate with the candidates from their tribe.”

TWR closed their office in Kenya for two days as they watched the situation, and their reporters on the ground covering the elections stayed in communication. Gatere says that they were kept safe.

As the nation of Kenya has been generally divided along tribal lines, the Christian community hasn’t been unaffected. Gatere says in one of the local churches preached recently from Joshua 5. “Just before Joshua took over Jericho, he found this angel with an outstretched sword and he asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’… [The angel] told Joshua, ‘I am neither for you nor for your enemy, but as the commander of the Lord’s army, I have now come.’”

She says this passage of Scripture is especially relevant to what the Kenyan Church is asking right now. “We’re finding that even Christians were asking, ‘Is God for us or for our enemies?’ The bishop was preaching and saying that he has gotten very many calls from Christians, some telling him, ‘Our votes have been stolen! What is the Lord saying?’ Others are saying, ‘Thank God [who] is with us, prophecy has been fulfilled!’ And he’s been wondering, ‘How do I minister to these Christians who are all my sheep, but some are going through pain and others are rejoicing?’”

Ultimately, the Kenyan pastor concluded in his sermon that it isn’t about whose “side” God is on. “God is never for you or against you. God is always with you in the situation you are going through.”

(Photo courtesy of Global Disciples via Facebook)

Meanwhile, TWR is working to broadcast a positive message across the nation of Kenya. “It’s the message of peace,” says Gatere. “We have already started producing peace messages that we are airing on all our stations, and that is basically calling people to the peace that when the Lord left, he said, ‘My peace I leave with you.’ We are calling on our listeners to extend that peace that they have received from the Lord Jesus Christ to their neighbor.

“We are also asking for people to do practical things. If you have a neighbor who is from another tribe or from the other party that you do not support, make a deliberate effort to reach out to them and show them kindness and do practical things for them so they can experience the love of Christ.”

Right now, you can be in prayer for Kenya and the believers there.

“Pray that as the Body of Christ, [we] would rise above our tribes and see the God who has brought us together, who has loved us equally, irrespective of our tribes.”

Click here if you’d like to support TWR as they broadcast Christ’s peace.

Sunday's election results would put Vladimir Putin in the
Presidency for his third six-year term. The returns show him capturing almost
64% of the votes in Sunday's election. He was president from 2000 to
2008.

Protestors accused Vladimir Putin of stealing Russia's
presidential election and demanded his immediate resignation. Sergey Rakhuba with Russian
Ministries explains the distrust of the government. "They
did anything possible to secure a victory for the third presidential term for
Vladimir Putin."

Despite police interference, Putin's opposition is trying to schedule another protest. Opposition
leaders said they wouldn't protest on International Women's Day, March 8, but rather on March 10, so far, without approval
from city authorities.

Rakhuba says some of the unrest stems from suspicion over
the integrity of the vote, while another part is due to concerns over Putin's
regime strategy. "It's not clear
where President Putin will take the direction: either more liberal and flexible
approach in terms of internal politics and foreign politics, or he will be more
strict than ever before."

If Putin reverts back to Soviet-era tactics, ministry work
with outside connections could face a challenge. Rakhuba says they've been readying
themselves by working with those who will be in the best place to effect
change. "Bringing the Gospel to
those people, especially the young generation, is still bigger than ever before.
We always appreciate our partners in ministry continuing to pushing those
initiatives. We agree to train, mobilize young people, provide resources, and
they will bring the transformational change."

It's the most likely chance of seeing any improvement in the
current government. "Through their
action of faith, on behalf of their churches, they will reach out to those
communities and see all these problems as an opportunity for evangelism. Then, we really hope that corruption will
stop growing."

Instead of simply protesting, Rakhuba says, School Without
Walls students trained by Russian Ministries are bringing God's presence into
their work places, resulting in real transformation.

God is calling Next Generation Christian leaders to
establish "church-plants" in this new frontier of freedom seekers that the
church has failed to focus upon. Rakhuba says, "Continue praying so that the evangelical
church, the Next Generation, will bring the transformational change to the
Russian society."

Upsets came from all corners. The communists gained ground in the votes, while Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin's party lost ground. In fact, United
Russia was expected to have enough seats to form a slim parliamentary majority.

However, Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says news
reports are shaping another picture. "They're claiming that might
even be an inflated figure because of vote fraud."

Amidst allegations of fraud–common to the electoral process, the complaints
are sticking. "Those claims were backed by some international
observers, pointing to some procedural violations and alleged ballot stuffing
and other things."

Several thousand
people protested Monday night against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his
party. Griffith says the whole scenario tells a
story. "What it tells you is maybe the Russian people aren't quite
as satisfied as maybe some of the pundits would have you believe."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also expressed
concern over the accusations surrounding Russia's parliamentary elections. Reports from the Associated Press cast into
doubt the validity or strength of United Russia's mandate. 

As of late Monday
afternoon, the Central Election Commission reported that United Russia led with
just under 50%, trailed by the Communists with 19%, Just Russia with
13%, and the Liberal Democrats with nearly 12%. Gains
made by the Communist Party raised questions of policy reversal to come. Griffith doesn't think so. "I
think it's a little bit early to read too much into the Communist numbers
coming in. I don't think that necessarily means Communism is resurgent, as a
philosophy; I think it may be a way to send a message."

Griffith goes on to say that changes noted in and around the
Commonwealth of Independent States could have some sympathetic ears in the
Duma. "As we've seen some of the countries around Russia–such as
Kazakhstan–implement these draconian religion laws, you sort of wonder if we
aren't going to see this being pushed in Russia eventually. It's our hope and
prayer that that doesn't happen."

Such laws are likely to prove problematic to Christmas outreach
for SGA. Changes in the political climate of the CIS could also have a lot of
influence in Russia. "We really need to pray that whatever
happens, this will not negatively impact the evangelical Church and our ability
to worship and  proclaim the Gospel."

Griffith urges prayer. There
is a growing sense of urgency due to the ideology they're seeing gain in popularity throughout
Europe. He says, "Resources are needed: Russian
Bibles, Russian Christian literature, also a need for pastoral training and
orphan ministry. There are more than 700,000 orphans across Russia that
need to hear the Gospel."

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, Griffith asks for prayer "that
the door would remain open for us to help evangelical churches there seize
those opportunities."