A father-son pair opened fire during a Jewish celebration on the crowded beachfront on Sunday, killing 16 and wounding close to 40 people.

“We mourn for the people who lost their lives; I think it’s up to 16 now, from ages ten to 80+. It was a targeted shooting at a Hanukkah event with the Jewish people celebrating one of their high holy days,” Mike with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“The father was shot dead, and the son is in critical [condition] right now.”

(Photo courtesy Marek Studzinski/Unsplash)

Rising antisemitism

While mourning alongside the Australian Jewish community, the GCM CEO underscores the tragedy’s spiritual overtones. Although neither shooter was on a terrorism watchlist, 24-year-old Naveed Akram had longstanding ties to Australia’s Islamic State network.

“We’re not playing politics; we’re calling out evil where there is evil,” Mike says. “We’re trying to share the true nature of Islam. We’ve tasted it for over a decade now.”

One advocacy group reports that Australia has seen more than 3,700 antisemitic attacks since the Gaza war started two years ago. Other countries have also seen a rise in anti-Jewish violence, but not as dramatic as Australia’s. Jewish leaders met in Sydney earlier this month to discuss the disturbing trend.

As antisemitic attackers target Jews around the world for slaughter, Gospel workers are targeting them for salvation.

“We have Messianic Jews who are disciple makers, who are reaching out to their own people because they’re trying to bring the Messiah to their people. We’re also seeing Muslims reaching Jewish people inside of Israel,”

“They (Jews) need the Messiah just as much as anyone else around the world needs the Messiah.”

Keeping a Christ-centered focus

Learn about GCM’s approach to ministry here. Pray that believers will keep their eyes on Jesus during this politically divisive season.

“Jesus is the focus. It’s Jesus first – not America first, not Israel first. As Christians, we have to understand it’s Jesus first,” Mike says.

“We have this blind Israel support and ‘Israel can do no wrong,’ or this aggressive ‘anti-Israel at all costs’ [stance]. That’s not helpful at all. Jesus sets the stage, like, ‘It’s Me. It’s not you, it’s not them, it’s Me.”

Pray also that believers will forgive and love their enemies.

“That is another prayer point: to understand and learn how to love our enemies, even in the midst of extreme pain, trauma, and turmoil,” Mike says. “We can do that through the Lord because that is what His expectations are, and that’s what He did for us.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Larry Snickers/Pexels.

Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says there’s a massive movement of God happening in Myanmar. But, “it’s hard to share these types of stories because the persecution is so high.”

Myanmar’s civil war has killed over 75,000 people and displaced more than 3 million since 2021, according to UN estimates. Although last week the military junta signed a ceasefire with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — a key rebel group in the north — the nationwide chaos has no real end in sight.

GCM lost contact with dozens of believers after a devastating 7.7-magnitude quake struck Myanmar in March. Dozens more recently lost their lives at the hands of the military. 

In that loss, Mike still says, “There’s so much more to these people. [It’s] one of the largest movements on earth that no one knows about. Under the nose of such hatred and evil, God is moving and moving in such a powerful way. This is what He does all over the world.”

Recently, disciple-makers gained a new tool for spreading the Good News: a comic book version of GCM’s “Creation to Christ” story series.

“The way that we make disciples is we build relationships with individuals, and then we share stories,” Mike says. “We are discipling them in understanding God’s character without them even knowing it from the beginning.”

He says that in other contexts, such as the Middle East, visual aids are frowned upon. But this comic, created by a former Buddhist-turned-Christian, is more than welcome in Myanmar.

(Stock photo courtesy of Pixabay)

“Even the visual aid of it — because a lot of them don’t read or write — the visual aid of it is making just a profound impact. We have images of them discipling monks and monk children,” Mike says.

Find your place in the story

Please pray for the gospel to reach more people, and for wisdom and protection for Burmese believers in danger.

“[Pray for] blindness to the enemy, [and] infiltration at the highest level with the gospel of Jesus so that the [junta] government falls and the transformation happens at the highest level,” says Mike. 

Finally, please consider helping to recoup the printing costs of the comic book. In response to the March 28 earthquake, GCM invested above and beyond the funds they raised for relief and aid. One of those expenditures was for printing the comic books. 

“We knew that the desperation that they were feeling, these are the ingredients where the gospel just spreads like wildfire,” says Mike. 

Support ministry in Myanmar with GCM with a gift of any amount. 

Header image is a stock photo courtesy of Kosygin Leishangthem via Pexels.

Both Israel and Hamas representatives say they’re committed to the truce, but diplomatic progress remains slow and cautious. Disagreements over hostage bodies, aid access, and control of territory could trigger a relapse.

As aid workers bring critical help to Gaza, they encounter indescribable need.

Displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah line up to receive food provided by charitable organizations.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“I’ve read articles [about] Palestinians who are returning to their past houses and seeing the total devastation, saying how burdened and broken they are at the suffering,” Brother Y with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“There was massive, massive destruction, and it’s so painful for people.”

At least two-thirds of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began. Although Hamas claims to represent the Palestinian people, Brother Y says many residents reject that claim.

“Many of them put the suffering both on the Israeli government and Hamas, those that – as they say in their words – ‘call themselves our leaders,’” Brother Y says.

The war has brought suffering to Israel, too. Read more about that here.

“Many (soldiers) who came back committed suicide, and many secondary trauma people who are friends and relatives, also committed suicide,” Brother Y says. “We have a suicide epidemic in Israel.”

Hope and healing through the Gospel

(Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

Pray for believers as they bring help and the hope of Jesus to Gaza war survivors. The ceasefire creates space for humanitarian access, which gives believers an avenue to share the hope of Christ.

“The international involvement will create many opportunities for Christian-led, mission-minded NGOs to go in and bring in their people. The only thing I am optimistic about is the amazing Gospel opportunities that are going to be presented [as a result,]” Brother Y says.

“The only true healing, the only true redemption, the only true forgiveness can come through the Gospel.”

Pray for hearts to change as people formerly against Christ encounter His love. “Even guilty people can have a born-again experience, can get a new life and heart,” Brother Y says.

“Let’s go all the way back to the Nazis; people who [were] serving in the SS and who repented and turned to God – these things really baffle us [but] that’s the power of the Gospel,” he continues.

In Gaza, “there’s going to be lots of pain for the oppressed, oppressors, and everything in between. And that’s a great opportunity to bring the Gospel into this brokenness.”

Header image depicts destruction in the Beach refugee camp, Gaza Strip, circa July 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

But there’s more than economic opportunity at play. In a similar way, spiritual doors are opening for Gospel work. “Syria has opened up,” Marc with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“Because it’s now accessible for the first time in decades, we are starting work in Damascus.”

Working through a network of Syrian Christians, Marc says, “We’re going to be spreading to the north and south, building disciple-making communities, starting to see house churches formed, starting to see baptisms happen.”

Global Catalytic Ministries is known for equipping Muslim-background believers in underground churches across the Middle East. More about that here. These believers, once hesitant, are now eager to bring others to Christ.

“When our people come into contact, they’re already ready; the harvest is truly ready. We have a disciple maker sitting in Syria about to baptize a new believer tonight,” Marc says.

(Graphic courtesy of VOM Canada)

Still, eagerness doesn’t always come with experience. Many Christians from Muslim backgrounds long to share the Gospel but lack practical training.

“We’re seeing this massive hunger for disciples to be made,” Marc says.

“I sat in a room with 25 locals yesterday, pouring into them for about five hours on disciple-making strategies, and they’re like, ‘Tomorrow, more. Friday, more. We need more,’ because they’ve never had this before.”

This hunger offers hope in a region where traditional churches often struggle to grow.

“In this region, not many people are coming to the Lord because the churches are content with the status quo. They’re just moving Christian-background believers from church to church,” Marc says.

As Syria opens to new opportunities, believers see a rare chance to plant seeds of faith that could flourish for generations. Pray for training to take root, for leaders to rise up, and for the Gospel to spread like wildfire across the country.

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting a market in Damascus courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman/Unsplash.

Most of the victims were women and children. Even surviving families lost their land and livestock, which meant their livelihood.

Now, many villages in the mountainous region desperately need aid.

(Photo courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

Didi* with Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM) says, “The challenge is with the Taliban regime; they’re not bringing resources and rescue. Actually, it’s a really challenging area for reaching, period.”

The flooding obliterated some roads. One farmer trying to reach his family couldn’t find the road back to his village. His wife and three of his six children died in the floods; one son is still missing.

Although aid is slow coming, Afghan Christians in connection with GCM are mobilizing to the area with relief supplies.

Didi explains, “We don’t identify ourselves on the ground as GCM, but we have Afghan relationships with believers on the ground that we work with. So we have a few people that we know directly that they’re sending.”

Believers in Afghanistan still have to be careful in navigating situations that could lead to spiritual conversations.

“The first generation of believers, so many of them were in the direct line of fire and left the country,” says Didi. “So it’s a new day trying to reengage in the nation and seeing the Kingdom of God go forth.”

Ministry in Afghanistan today often looks like living out the Gospel and meeting the needs of Muslim neighbors, especially in light of natural disasters. The flash floods over the weekend are just the latest in a series of disasters to hit Afghanistan’s impoverished remote villages.

Didi says, “A huge part is just literally being the hands and feet of Jesus and creating relational equity through bringing care and assistance to this.

“From that point, after the relational bridges are formed and they’re past the immediate crisis, then you have opportunity to share the Good News: What’s the hope? Why did they come versus others that didn’t come?”

Pray for grieving Afghan families to ultimately know the comfort of Jesus Christ.

*Psuedonym for security purposes.

Header photo courtesy of Farid Ershad/Unsplash.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal “delusional” and says fighting will continue until Hamas is rooted out. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says he sees room for negotiation and is planning more talks.

“Most Israelis feel like the whole world is against them. Israel tends to unify in times of trouble, whereas the nation was very divided up until October 7,” says Brother Isaac*, who serves in the Holy Land with Global Catalytic Ministries.

Some question the capabilities of the Israeli Defense Force. Brother Isaac says, “There are questions of ‘Can we really trust our government? We had a massive intelligence failure [on October 7]’ and ‘There’s a regional war brewing, will we be able to handle it?’”

Others doubt the security of their secular worldview. Approximately “45 percent of Israel is secular [and]…it’s turning the hearts of the Jewish people to God; not necessarily to Yeshua yet, but to God,” Brother Isaac says.

“[The Gaza war is] definitely leading to a hunger for God and self-introspection that I’ve never seen in my entire 20 years living in Israel. I would say the same thing with the Palestinians as well.”

(Photo courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

On the Israeli side, “The majority of people that were attacked on October 7 were from kibbutz’s, which are very secular,” Brother Isaac says, which has led them to seek the Lord. “A lot of them started praying the Psalms, and they started crying out to God for the first time in their lives. There’s definitely a hunger and an interest in who God is during this hard time.”

Palestinian hearts are changing, too. “Even though there is a radicalization happening in society, among everyday people who want to live, there’s this questioning like, ‘What has Islam done for us?’” Brother Isaac says.

“It’s creating deep-seated questions in people’s hearts, which is definitely opening up more room for sharing the Gospel.”

Pray people on both sides of the Gaza war will meet the one true God as they search for truth. Learn more about GCM’s approach to discipleship and church planting here.

*Pseudonym

Header image depicts Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Islamic State shot and killed one election candidate as he campaigned on Wednesday. It’s the second murder of its kind since January 10.

“It is a pivotal time in Pakistan because [of] an election that takes place next week on the eighth,” says Mark*, a Gospel worker serving with Global Catalytic Ministries.

“[It is] a very tense time; the country’s on edge.”

Several candidates’ houses and offices were also attacked in Baluchistan this week. Pakistan’s Election Commission summoned an emergency meeting with security officials yesterday to discuss the “deteriorating” law and order situation.

“There’s a lot of conflict on the border; there are multiple terrorist attacks against Pakistani government facilities and local nationals,” Mark says.

Pakistan flag (Photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash)

On January 18, Iran added another layer of uncertainty. Seemingly unprovoked missile attacks from Iran on Pakistani soil brought the neighboring nations close to open conflict. Foreign ministers met quickly to dial down tensions, but Iranian aggression left an indelible impression on Pakistan.

Officials are “saying, ‘Look, don’t mess with us. We have nukes.’ They’re literally saying that on the news in Pakistan,” Mark says.

“They’re not afraid to fight back. I think they’re just holding back till after the election.”

The Lord is moving despite chaos and uncertainty in Pakistan. Recently, “We were praying, and two Sunnis came to our house, gave their [lives] to the Lord, and were baptized,” Mark says.

“They were having visions of angels, and they felt called and directed by God to find us. They were under persecution from within their own faith, so they came in desperation. They said, ‘If I can have anything today, I just need Jesus,’” he continues.

“They gave their [lives] to the Lord, and we’re discipling them. We need to pray for an increase of this across the entire Middle East because it is a season of harvest. We’re going to make disciples amid the chaos.”

Learn more about GCM here, or download a free prayer guide to intercede for church planters working in dangerous places.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting the Minar of a Masjid in Faisalabad, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Asfand Yar/Unsplash)

A mural in the holy city of Qom depicts Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, on the left and Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, on the right. (Photo/Caption courtesy of David Stanley via Flicker)

This is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 35th year in power. Joel* with Global Catalytic Ministries says, “It (the change) is expected simply because the current Supreme Leader is 85, so obviously, his ‘expiration date’ is coming up.”

Experts say the elections will likely produce yet another hardline leader. “It’s clear that they’re pushing for hardliners who won’t compromise,” Joel says.

“The Supreme Council wants to become much more adversarial. That primarily affects American foreign policy and troops in the region, but of course, reflects the church as well.”

The Shi’ite leaders of Iran present themselves as “agents” or stewards of God on earth. “To maintain power, they need to maintain the belief of the people,” Joel says.

Iran is one of the ten most dangerous places in the world to follow Christ “because when people believe in the Gospel, the government loses power.”

Religious zealots view non-Shi’ite faiths – Christianity included – as existential threats. For example, “The current president is a hardliner. When he came into power, we saw persecution drastically step up,” Joel says.

Now, “if the government is stepping forward to a much more hardline government, then we can expect the persecution against the Church to be drastically increased.”

With a hardline agenda securely in place, persecution won’t let up anytime soon. “The goal is regional Iranian dominance,” Joel says.

“It’s not simply Islamic dominance, but specifically their version of radical Shia dominance with their imamate.”

Global Catalytic Ministries equips believers from a Muslim background to make disciples in spiritually dark places, including Iran. More about that here. Pray Gospel workers will trust in Christ daily.

*Name withheld for security purposes.

Header image courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries.

However, as lives get busy and new headlines emerge, it’s all too easy to forget. Or, we block our ears when a tragic tale arises from Afghanistan.

“It’s so easy to get caught up in the darkness, all the bad things happening,” Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“But under the Taliban’s nose, people are coming to know the Lord because they’re seeing the true face of Islam.”

Read the full update from GCM here.

Global Catalytic Ministries trains and equips Christian leaders in Afghanistan. Each one quickly learns that serving Jesus means dying to self.

“Baptism is a funeral. In the West, we don’t treat it that way, but it’s a death process,” Mike explains.

It’s hard to fear death when you don’t love this world. “They love God so much that nothing else matters, not even death. That [type of transformation] is only done by the Lord,” Mike says.

The death process produces a “Maranatha cry.”

“The Maranatha cry [is] a lovesick cry for Jesus to come. ‘You have come, but You’re coming again’ is what Maranatha means,” Mike says.

“We don’t see the early Church looking back at the empty tomb. They were always looking forward and asking, ‘Did we miss Jesus? When is He returning?’ It was the return of the Lord that sparked their drive.”

GCM established numerous safe houses in the last two years, relocating thousands of Christians to safety. There is still more to be done. Here’s how you can help!

Please pray for “G” and his family as they courageously and covertly carry out the Lord’s work.
(Graphic, caption courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

Pray for the safety, protection, and courage of Afghan Christians. “One of our disciple-makers went out and was starting to coach another believer to spread the Gospel, [but] he didn’t have the process down,” Mike says.

“The Taliban heard and beat him up pretty bad. We didn’t hear from him for a couple of days.”

Another believer, known only as “G,” recently began translating Bible stories:

We began discipling this brother early on as our serious conversations turned spiritual. Of the 26 stories we use to disciple, it took only 3 and he was ready to denounce everything he had previously followed and commit his life to Yeshua! This brother is a very high-valued target and has a lot of influence in his community. He began translating the stories into his native tongue and discipling his family and community from the safe house! He asked, “Is there any activity that we can do that would be pleasing to Adonai? My family and I pray for the Israeli brothers and sisters.”

See more frontline updates from GCM here.

*Name withheld for security purposes

Header image depicts a Taliban member. The Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, is deeply conservative and rigid. They do not tolerate religious minorities and respond with hatred and violence to Christianity. (Photo, caption courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

Meanwhile, Hamas threatens to kill some of the 224 hostages it holds but released a handful earlier this week in exchange for aid. The war has displaced over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents in less than three weeks.

Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says regional church planters are in a complicated position.

“It’s easy to choose sides these days. But it’s like the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, [with] Isaac and Ishmael being the Arab world and the Jewish world, and the fighting that has happened there,” Mike says.

“As believers, we’ve been grafted into Israel and adopted into that family. How do we support both these cultures without choosing one or the other?”

Global Catalytic Ministries trains disciple-makers in the world’s darkest places. Learn more about the GCM approach here.

“We started off operating in Muslim countries,” Mike says, adding that he and other GCM leaders are increasingly convinced of one thing as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

“The best thing we can do for Israel and its national security is to make disciples in the Muslim world because something happens in their hearts. They fall in love with a Jewish Messiah and start falling in love with the Jewish people.”

Our disciple-makers on the ground are directly affected by this unfolding tragedy, and now, more than ever, we need your prayer for safety and strength.
(Graphic, caption courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

We can’t release too many details for security purposes, but church planters are working in this war like sheep among wolves.

“Some of our Arab brothers were telling me, ‘Man, I don’t want this to be like 9/11,’ just being persecuted and racially profiled,” Mike says.

“But ultimately, Jesus tears down the barriers and unifies Jew and Gentile. He is the One we look to, and He’s coming soon.”

Pray for success as these believers make disciples in Israel and the broader Middle East. Use prompts listed alongside this report, provided by Global Catalytic Ministries, to guide further intercession.

You can also support disciple-makers through GCM, as these believers deliver physical and spiritual relief to those in need.

*Name withheld for security purposes.

Header and story images courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries.