“Yes” meant three years of preparing and recording more than 600 episodes of Mission 66 Bible studies. Today, Mission 66 is being adapted into new languages — including English. 

Sayão says that especially within that busy season of teaching, he prayed God would touch his own heart first. 

“What I understood [was] that if I do not preach to myself in the way that I will be challenged by the Word of God, I can’t say anything to anybody else. I must really understand, not only to teach, but to be taught by the words,” he says. 

The need for Bible teaching in Brazil

“I would say that I have a dream, because there are some areas of the world that people are so hung[ry] for God. They are thirsty for something deep in their hearts,” Sayão says.

Brazil is among those places. Sayão explains that although there’s been tremendous growth in the Church (think 60 to 70 million people today, he says), not everything is as it could be. 

“We have some churches with a lot of syncretism with some other [beliefs from] the mystical society. We have some church[es] that need more biblical and theological training,” he says.

“My prayer is that through this way (Mission 66’s relational, narrative focus), we can really reach people. How many people will come to Jesus and will grow in their relationship with God? So hallelujah, praise the Lord.”

Where true life is

It all comes back to God and His Word. Sayão doesn’t see himself as a theologian but as someone blessed by God to know His love and purposes for us in Jesus.

Luiz Sayão is the creator of Mission 66, originally broadcast in Portuguese (Photo courtesy of TWR)

“I am telling you that what happens when you find God — the Word of God — you find Jesus. I’m like a beggar that found bread,” he says. “I found bread for my soul, my life.”

Those same riches in God’s Word are available for all of us, by God’s grace. Sayão urges readers to set aside the concept of “religion” in their thinking. 

“But remember that we have a God [who] created the universe, that brought us salvation in a very profound way through Jesus. He wants to bless your heart, to forgive your sins and to bring you close to His heart,” he says. 

“So pay attention to that, and I hope that the same grace of God that touched my soul one day will touch you and change your life forever.”

To learn more about God’s Word with Mission 66, visit its webpage on TWR 360 or follow along on your favorite podcast player.

Header photo courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash.

Lana Silk with Transform Iran describes Iranian believers this way: “They love Jesus. They prize Him above all else. They are prepared to be persecuted, to be victimized, to be tortured, even imprisoned, killed, whatever it takes in order to continue to love Him and serve Him.”

Many believers are leading others to the Lord even when they are still new to the faith themselves. Silk says many Iranians have deep pain and need discipleship to help them deal with it rightly.

One Iranian woman we’ll call Shirin* radically encountered Jesus — but first He asked her to take a step in her own heart.

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

Shirin was attending an underground discipleship gathering with Transform Iran. She told God that she wanted a vision of Him, like she had heard about from other Christians. Later, the speaker told everyone in the room that they needed to take care of any unforgiveness in their hearts before taking communion.

“She knew God had laid out a clear choice for her, that she had to forgive every person who had hurt her along her path,” said Silk.

Shirin obeyed and prayed. Suddenly, her body began to tremble as the Holy Spirit began working inside her. She then felt a fire in her body.

“She closed her eyes, and then she saw Jesus standing there, His face glowing,” Silk said.

Afterward Shirin talked about how Jesus’ crown was golden. She described His appearance and smile with clarity. Silk said, “He spoke to her. He hugged her, kissed her on the forehead. He told her not to be afraid. He told her how much He loved her, and in that moment, He met the desires of her heart.” 

When Shirin surrendered her resentment to the Lord and chose to forgive, God mightily answered her prayer.

Read more of the account of Shirin’s story here.

Please pray for the underground Iranian church. Pray for more profound encounters with the Lord, continued strength and resources for gospel ministry, and that they would be filled with courage and protected by God.

“God is living and active, and that means He’s living and active everywhere, and He’s living and active in Iran,” Silk said.

*Name changed

Header photo courtesy of

“I have the honor of being the black sheep in our family. It wasn’t till I was pretty far along in my teenage years that I even realized that,” he says. “So I was one, and I’ve got a lot of friends that are dealing with this as well. It’s a big problem right now — it’s an epidemic.”

(Stock photo courtesy of Steiner Engeland via Unsplash)

Why do kids wander?

Hutchcraft says it’s important to remember that you can be the most godly, Jesus-loving, Jesus-serving mom or dad… and still see your child wandering from their own relationship with Christ.

The number one reason kids become prodigals, Hutchcraft thinks, is that they haven’t made Jesus their own. 

“Even if they were going to Sunday school or church, they never quite got to the point where their heart all belonged to Jesus,” he says. “So it never quite became their own relationship.”

(Check out a resource from Ron Hutchcraft on this topic, “A Jesus of Their Own.“)

Praying parents

During his tumultuous teenage years, Hutchcraft’s parents depended on Scripture and prayer. His dad later told him, “We would go into our room, we would close the door, and we would get on our knees, and we would pray, we would pray, we would pray, remembering that this isn’t the final story [of our son’s life], this was just the chapter.’” 

“I remember knowing they were praying for me then,” Hutchcraft says. Their steady love eventually led him to turn around. 

“I remember my mind kind of being blown, even as a 16-year-old, that, ‘Why are they treating me like this?’ I knew in the back of my mind I wasn’t treating them well, I wasn’t pleasing them. Yet they were still coming back and being patient with me and loving me and praying for me.”

“If that’s who Jesus is,” he thought, “this is something that I want, that I have to dive deeper into.”

Encouragement for parents

If you have a wandering child in your life today, Hutchcraft lifts up Ephesians 4:29 as a key verse.

(Stock photo courtesy of Eye for Ebony via Unsplash.)

“It’s tempting to be angry. It’s tempting to say, ‘What’s wrong with you? I thought you were a Christian. I thought you loved Jesus?’” he says. “But taking the 10-second rule, you [instead] go, ‘The only thing I’m letting come out of my mouth is only what is going to be useful for building them up.’”

Being respectful of your young person is important too, especially when things are going haywire. 

“You might not respect what they’re saying, what they’re doing,” Hutchcraft notes. “But if there is a way for them to know that no matter what, you still love them, that your love for them is unconditional, [then do it,] remembering that we are Christ’s ambassadors — and that’s never more true than with your kids — as if He is making His appeal through us.”

So ask yourself every day, “Am I really representing Jesus to my kids?”

“The enemy loves to accuse us. He is the accuser, and he will want to discourage you,” Hutchcraft says. “Be patient and remember in God’s Word, don’t give up. That’s what Jesus told his disciples: ‘pray and don’t give up.’ Because what? You’re going to see a harvest. It happened in my life, and I think it’s going to happen in your prodigal’s life too.”

Hear more! 

There’s a way to receive more insight and encouragement on this topic from the Hutchcraft brothers. Listen to their March 4, 2025 podcast episode of Go M.A.D. with Doug and Brad, “A Jesus of Their Own Pt. 1: Pursuing the Prodigal.” It’s available wherever you listen to podcasts. Look for part 2 coming later in March! 

Header photo courtesy of Denis Pozdeev via Unsplash.

As families in need receive consistent aid and compassionate friendship from their team, Camille Melki with Heart for Lebanon says, “Many of them choose to take this relationship of trust that has been built between Heart for Lebanon and them to the next level and start asking questions.” 

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

These “why?” questions open the way for staff and volunteers to share the hope of Christ. They invite families to study the Bible with them. Melki calls these Bible studies “our best way to have this conversation taken out away from politics and religion into faith in Christ and Christ alone.” 

These studies, prayer groups and discipleship classes lead to deepened relationships and to greater understanding of God. 

“On any given week, we have more than 1,200 adults in these Bible study groups, and we have around 50 groups that meet in different places,” Melki says.

Melki says five church communities have sprung out of these Bible studies and discipleship classes, as people learn who God is and give their lives to him. It’s an exploding outreach, and you can play a part in it. In the next two years, Heart for Lebanon is looking to triple their team’s outreach capacity, which calls for greater logistical and financial resources. 

“Let’s also pray that God will keep giving us more and more leaders. The needs are huge. We are only touching the surface here. The people are thirsty and hungry for the truth.” 

Learn more and donate here about Heart for Lebanon’s goals to reach people for Christ. 

Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.

Brandon Bower with The Lighthouse says, “Often people say, ‘Marijuana is a gateway drug.’ I’d say, ‘Yes, but nicotine is the gateway drug that leads to other things.’

“Scripture will say, like in (1) Corinthians 6, ‘Everything is permissible. But not everything is beneficial.’ So when we’re thinking about things like smoking and nicotine, we’ve got to understand that, well, it may not be sin, it is probably not the wisest thing.”

The Lighthouse offers a holistic addiction recovery process founded on Scripture.
(Graphic courtesy of The Lighthouse)

The Lighthouse helps people in addiction apply biblical principles to their struggles. 

“We would consider that nicotine addiction would be a mastery of our hearts. Scripture says God has some guardrails in our life, designed to protect us for our good, for His glory,” Bower says.

“When a Christian steps out of these guardrails, then we see sin enter. At the Lighthouse, we really talk about those heart issues driving the sinful behavior.” 

The Lighthouse comes alongside people like Pat, a retired pastor from Texas. 

“(Pat) started really struggling with some life-altering issues,” says Bower. “He came in to be with us for seven months. You saw God radically change his heart. He said, ‘I’ve helped people for so many years. I needed a moment just to take some time and and reconnect with God and let people help me.’” 

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, reach out to The Lighthouse for hope and help from God’s Word. 

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Umit Bulut via Unsplash. 

The Covenant School where the shooting occurred is a Christian elementary school. The shooter, a former student of the school, was a 28-year-old biological female who identified as a transgender man.

The killer’s manifesto has not been released by investigating police. We don’t yet know the full motive behind why she lashed out on a suicide mission to attack a Christian school.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Labrum via Unsplash)

However, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake confirmed this was a “targeted” attack possibly born out of “resentment” the transgender former student held against the Christian school. He says the shooter was also under a doctor’s care for an emotional disorder.

Greg Yoder, Executive Director of Keys for Kids Ministries says, “There’s a heart problem. And when there’s a heart problem — when we don’t know who God is and we don’t understand who Jesus is — that’s when we become our own gods and take matters into our own hands and take action. In this case, it was evil action.”

Not a war cry, a missions cry

The secular world expects martyrs to be used as a war cry, a call to retaliation.

Yet, that’s not how the Bible sees it.

It’s true that anti-Christian sentiment is on the rise in the United States. But how should Christians respond to tragedy and targeting like this?

One has to look no further than the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:43-45a:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

(Photo courtesy of Lina Trochez via Unsplash)

This is a reality already lived out by the persecuted Church around the world — responding to pressure and opposition with love. Extending friendship and grace.

It’s not the victim-blaming of the political left. It’s not the defensive posture of the political right.

It’s leaning in with the Gospel.

Yoder says, “There are hurting people. There are people suffering with mental illness like this person who need help. They need Jesus…. He’s all healing. He can heal the mental illnesses. He can heal the physical diseases. And He can heal, of course, the spiritual sickness that we all have.”

This is the paradox of the Gospel message. We also were enemies of Jesus. Yet He died to save us from our own sin.

“For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10

(Photo courtesy of Tim Wildsmith via Unsplash)

Because we were loved by God while we were dead in our sins, we can extend love to others, no matter how they view us, the Bible, or Jesus Christ.

It’s not a war cry. It’s a missions cry.

A cry of grief for those who don’t know Jesus. Tears of sorrow for those who lost their lives to unspeakable violence. And a heart for the world to sense its need for a Savior.

In contrast to what society expects, Yoder says Christians can be “praying for those that are looking at this situation and who may not know Christ.

“Maybe this can be the entry point for them asking the question, ‘Why are they (Christians) so calm? Why are they taking this so well?’ and maybe being able to speak the truth of the Gospel into those that are watching.”

Keys for Kids — an invaluable resource

In post-Christian America, Yoder says, “We really need to get the heart issue. What are Christians really doing to disciple people? I don’t mean helping people grow in their faith. I mean the whole process of leading them to faith in Christ [and] helping them understand why they need a Savior.”

(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids)

This is where ministries like Keys for Kids are an invaluable resource to Christian parents and adults.

Yoder says, “By really discipling kids, we want to ignite a passion for Christ in kids and teens and families worldwide.”

Keys for Kids equips Christian families to saturate their children with the Gospel through tools like the Keys for Kids radio station, devotionals, app, and podcast.

“We want to provide resources for moms and dads that have a heart to disciple their kids where they can form this beginning piece, where they’re having and spending time with their kids every single day in the Word. So we’re the starting point,” says Yoder.

Also, “We’re in the process of creating some materials that will be especially for unchurched families…so when Christians go into a scenario where there’s a lot of unchurched kids, they can provide them a resource to help them know why they need Jesus.

(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries)

“Then once they grow in their faith, we want to provide them a resource that takes them from Genesis to Revelation, just providing the tenets of the faith, the starting point; and then provide resources to moms and dads and even adults who want to disciple kids and help train them in that process.”

Keys for Kids also has devotionals for teens called Unlocked, “which really helps dive into teenagers and all the things they’re dealing with in society. We talk about transgender. We talk about those issues that this person was obviously having to deal with and was probably frustrated with because searching for truth is difficult, especially when you don’t have that guidance.”

Ultimately, there is freedom, grace, and hope in following Jesus and the promise of eternity with Him.

Gospel hope in grief

Chad Scruggs’s 9-year-old daughter, Hallie Scruggs, was one of the children killed in The Covenant School shooting. Scruggs is also the lead pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Just a few weeks prior to the shooting, Scruggs preached a sermon on Christ’s resurrection of Lazarus in John 11:28-54. His words perfectly lay out of the poignant message of the Gospel in grief:

(Photo courtesy of Bruno Van Der Kraan via Unsplash)

“Jesus knew how the whole thing would go down and yet one of the most remarkable things about this story that always gets me is that, knowing exactly what He’s about to do, Jesus sits down and does what? He weeps.

“You see that a strong confidence in the end of the story does not undo or justify the absence of grief in the middle. A mature faith adds its tears to the sadness in our world. Jesus says, ‘Blessed are those who mourn,’ all the while, not losing confidence in how that sadness will eventually be overcome in Him.”

Easter is coming.

Header photo courtesy of Aaron Burden via Unsplash.

That’s when everything changed for Shiva and Petros, a married Iranian couple. They moved to Cyprus for job opportunities 22 years ago. There they made friends who were Christians and started attending church.

Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “Petros specifically, he would read the Quran and the Bible to compare both. Now, he couldn’t reconcile the two. The Quran says this, and the Bible says this. And he wrestled. In fact, he wrestled so deeply that he became an atheist.”

Then Petros heard the priest speaking in his own language, not once but three separate times. Fourteen months later, Shiva and Petros were baptized.

The surgery

Things wouldn’t get any easier for the family. Petros needed heart surgery in Switzerland. But the family needed help. Willey says, “Two women volunteered to help in their home with their children while he and his wife were in Switzerland. Two unknown churches provided financial support.”

Beforehand, the surgeon said he had a 10 percent chance of survival. Willey says, “So as he’s on the operating table, in his words, he said, ‘I saw Christ. Not a vision. I saw Christ there with me.’ Interestingly, he came through the operation so well that the hospital staff said it was a miracle.”

Today, Petros’s heart is completely healthy. He also doesn’t need to take any medication.

He and Shiva work at the SAT-7 PARS studio in Cyprus, sending the Gospel back to Iran. Praise God for being present with them throughout their lives.

The header photo shows Petros and Shiva. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

Then, COVID-19 put the kibosh on those plans for 2020. This summer, rather than hurling water balloons or staying up late in cabins, kids are mostly stuck at home.

But what if your home is countries away and ravaged by war? What if “camp” means a refugee camp, and summer programs are your only escape from a repetitive and impoverished lifestyle?

That’s the case for many kids in camps where Heart for Lebanon works. Thanks to coronavirus-induced restrictions, they can’t provide traditional summer programming and the escapism it offers. Instead, they’ve resorted to digital programs and minimal contact.

The programs are still effective, says Heart for Lebanon’s Tom Atema. “We know that because of the response we’re getting not only from the children and their parents, but what we see as we go visit the tents.” These visits, of course, strictly maintain the health measures required by local governments. Still, any face-to-face contact is meaningful for these struggling families.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

And as of June 16, face-to-face Bible study meetings are back on. On June 24, the first Kurdish Hope On Wheels Bible study kicked off.

It’s this last ministry that’s taking an especially unusual form during quarantine. Normally, the Hope On Wheels ministry takes a literal truckload of games, puppet shows, and club activities from refugee camp to camp. The goal is to keep kids not only entertained but filled with hope.

“We believe working with children as young as possible is a game changer for the Near East,” Atema says. “It’s an ability to take these children who have been living at or below the extreme poverty line and who have lost everything living in total despair… and rescue them with the love of Jesus Christ.”

“HOPE”, in the context of Heart for Lebanon, stands for “Helping Overcome Poverty through Education.” That education, alongside Christ-centered messages of love and faith, take the form of an educational fun truck.

But with a pandemic gripping every corner of the world with its diseased fingers, a truck can’t travel from camp to camp. That means 17 refugee camps are short their visit from Hope On Wheels.

Or are they?

Even though the truck can’t go visit each location, kids have staged their own versions of Hope On Wheels activities. Older kids organize games for younger kids, children put on their own puppet shows, and young fans of the truck mimic the lessons and stories they learned through Hope on Wheels.

Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon

In response, Heart for Lebanon has plans to help. They’ve built a team that works to produce Hope On Wheels digital content, such as videos and stories, that are now being shared across the world. This fall, Atema says they hope to have a dedicated Facebook page for Hope On Wheels content.

It goes to show that even a global pandemic can’t stop the joy and peace of the Gospel from touching even the youngest hearts. Pray for the continued success of ministries like this one, ask God to work in the hearts of the young kids you know who can’t attend camp this summer, and consider supporting Heart for Lebanon’s work directly right here.

Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.

Economic Emergency

“Because of the Syrian refugee crisis, and the economic impact that’s having on the country, [Lebanon] has been on the verge of bankruptcy. And this is just one more step in that process. The Prime Minister, [a] couple [of] weeks back, was in the United States. He’s been all over asking the other nations to help them financially help take care of this crisis, and nobody is,” Atema says.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

In other words, Lebanon is running out of money—fast. The country’s budget deficit is 11 percent of the gross domestic product. In 2020, Lebanon hopes to reduce the budget deficit to 6.5 percent. However, it is unclear what economic emergency measures will prevent bankruptcy. But one thing is certain: an increase in austerity measures.

The silver lining?

“When in great hardship, great persecution…there’s a there’s a wide-open door for the Gospel like never before. I don’t want to lose sight of that in all the negativ[ity] of this topic. Muslims are coming to Christ like never before, and reaping a tremendous harvest,” Atema explains.

(Photo courtesy of Heart For Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon is in the process of opening its new Hope Ministry Center, which officially opens October 1. This center serves the refugee community in the Bekaa valley with Bible studies, informal education for the children, job training, and more. In being the hands and feet of Christ to people who fled their homes, Heart for Lebanon is also helping relieve some of the economic pressures the Syrian refugee crisis has placed on the Lebanese people.

Responding to Lebanon

Now that YOU know what is happening in Lebanon, will you respond?

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Start with prayer. Pray for peace in the Middle East. Pray for the improvement of the economic crisis in Lebanon. But also pray for the Church there and its ability to reach people with the ultimate hope of Christ. Pray for Heart for Lebanon workers as they maneuver different personalities and political stances on the ground.

Find more ways to pray for Heart for Lebanon here.

Another way to help is through giving. A financial gift to Heart for Lebanon provides food, education, and much more for refugees living in Lebanon. It also provides a natural bridge for relationships through which the Gospel and hope of Christ are shared.

To give, click here.

Finally, share this story. Raise awareness of what is happening in Lebanon and advocate on behalf of the local Church and the people who are in need.

Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon

Heart for Lebanon’s school in the Bekaa Valley currently serves about 100 students. Heart for Lebanon hopes to increase this number to 250 kids over the next two years. But for every child at their school, there are many more who are receiving no education.

“We thank God that a lot of families want to send their kids to our school because this school has a good reputation. They know that their kids will be in a safe place, safe environment. Many people are waiting for this opportunity when we open the door for their kids,” Heart for Lebanon’s Bekaa Ministry Coordinator Bashir says.

“Every day we get phone calls from the families when they see us in the camps. They ask us. ‘we want to send our kids to your school, so can we send them? Can we, just one boy or one girl at your school?’ And the hardest thing for us is to say no.”

Heart for Lebanon’s Education Program

Right now, Heart for Lebanon focuses on educating orphans and kids with special cases, such as divorced or separated parents. The ministry does have some kids who have both parents with them, but their situations are still not easy.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon via Facebook)

Bashir explains how life is very difficult for Syrian families living in the Bekaa. Sometimes, neither parent can work. When a father does work, he is often working in fields for barely $4 a day. Furthermore, some people have promised to help these families and then never followed through.

That is not Heart for Lebanon’s reputation, though. These people know Heart for Lebanon, what the ministry does, and that it is a Christian organization—they still seek interactions with them.

“We talk about Jesus Christ in our work and in our ministry. We don’t hesitate to share from the Bible with any family. When God opens the door for us, we share. We speak, we talk, we pray, we share verses, we evangelize, but we wait when God opens this door for us,” Bashir says.

Relationships are a major part of Heart for Lebanon’s ministry, especially in the Bekaa Valley. The relationships Heart for Lebanon has built with Syrian refugees has opened doors to share the Bible, start Bibles studies, and hold weekly church services.

“We have a school in Beirut now and we have a school in the south of Lebanon as well. They have students like the Bekaa as well. So, we’re working in three different areas and we thank God that we have a great opportunity with many refugees in the three different areas,” Bashir says.

Future Plans

Heart for Lebanon also provides relief work, spiritual work, and community development alongside its informal education program. In the ministry’s strategic plan, Bashir says Heart for Lebanon eventually hopes to add a vocational program, too. Once students graduate from the informal education program, the vocational program would be the next step. It would teach trade skills like carpentry, electrical work, sewing skills, computer skills, and more.

“This will open the door for them to work in different places. After they graduate from this program…they will have opportunities to work. They will find places to work in. They will start to earn money and this is a community development program. It’s an educational program, and it will be [a] community development program later,” Bashir says.

A lot of the families Heart for Lebanon serves are excited about this future program. Plus, at the new Hope Ministry Center, Heart for Lebanon has plans for music school, English school, and more.

Will You Help?

But, until these programs are brought into reality, will you walk alongside Heart for Lebanon’s work?

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Bashir says the first priority in doing this is through prayer. Pray for protection of Heart for Lebanon’s work and staff. Ask God to bless their ministry and to glorify himself through it. Pray for the Syrian refugees Heart for Lebanon serves, for their healing, their growth, and for Christ to enter their lives.

Another way to tangibly help is through giving. Heart for Lebanon can do the work it does without the proper resources. Find how you can give here!

Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.