Iraq (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Ramalho via Unsplash)

On February 28, 2026 the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Since then, Iran has fired retaliatory strikes against Israel and against US assets in at least eight other countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

“We forget that people are dying right now and people are being killed and life is disrupted,” says Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center.

Each man, woman, and child killed in strikes since February 28 was made in God’s image. They are not numbers.

“In the Gulf now, it’s a war zone. It’s not only, by the way, the US bases, but also Iran is bombing even civilian entities and facilities,” says Sharaiha. “As a Middle-Eastern evangelical Christian, I really grieve the violence happening in the region. War brings suffering to ordinary people on every side.”

Kuwait (Photo courtesy of Frans Van Heerden via Pexels)

Sharaiha recognizes the polarizing effect of much of today’s media. Yet being polarized isn’t the role Christians are supposed to fill. 

“[One,] we remind ourselves that God is sitting on the throne,” he says. “Two, people are people, and they have faces. And the third thing, please remember that our role as a church is really to pray for the situation and ask God to interfere in a way that is amazing, that He would use whatever is happening to His glory, for the kingdom, and for expanding the gospel.”

Pray — and pray personally

Peace across the region, wisdom for leaders, and the spread of the gospel are places to start. Prayer for Iran’s future is also critical, as it is in a historic moment that could go many different directions. 

“If the regime is collapsing in Iran, my prayer is that if it is happening, that we will have Plan B, because what we don’t want to have is Iraq or Afghanistan,” says Sharaiha.

Iran (Photo courtesy of Zahra Amiri via Unsplash)

Iraq and Afghanistan are both neighbors of Iran. They have experienced decades of instability, with deeply complex combinations of terrorism, power vacuums, US military involvement, and other factors.

As you pray, Sharaiha urges you to have a real person’s face in mind. This will likely require an adventure. If you don’t already know people from Middle Eastern nations, go out into your community and try to find them — perhaps a local franchise or community center will give you this chance. 

“Get to know them, so that you will have a face next to the [country] name, next to that number,” says Sharaiha.

If all else fails, look up stories, prayer videos, or data from ministries such as Open Doors International, Prayercast, and Joshua Project.

Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Nathan McBride via Unsplash)

Finally, please also pray for discernment for the MENA Leadership Center as they navigate the developing conflict. Last week, the ministry offered an online training on Coaching for Success. Sharaiha says fifty people attended “from all countries in the MENA that are being affected right now.” This showed him that the training was meeting a real need, even in a time of open hostilities. 

Learn more here about the MENA Leadership Center and the role it plays for the Church across the MENA region.

Header image in Iran is a stock photo courtesy of Saba Ardani via Unsplash.

Yesterday, we covered why Christians should continue the work to end human trafficking and not grow weary of doing good. (Read the article here.) Now, we are digging deeper into the narrative surrounding human trafficking.

As previously noted, in 2019, The Freedom Challenge, an organization under Operation Mobilization, started a domestic partnership with the like-minded Logos Wilderness Therapy.

The Human Trafficking Narrative

Chelsea Van Essen, who is a licensed social worker and therapist, is the co-founder and clinical director of Logos Wilderness Therapy. She focuses on trauma and complex trauma and works with trafficking survivors. Primarily, human trafficking comes down to the exploitation of power and control.

“Oftentimes, when we’re healing from trauma or with trafficking survivors, we’re actually trying to re-establish the feeling of empowerment and control, and then also put those protections back in place,” Van Essen says.

(Photo courtesy of The Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

Re-empowering people means starting with enlightening ourselves. Access to a multitude of stories about exploitation and abuse in the world is overwhelming. However, Van Essen emphasizes the need to not live into the narrative that the world is overcome with evil or that the average person is powerless.

“God has created us to live into these spaces of dignity and value of human life,” Van Essen says.

The next level of fighting human trafficking is seeing the individual.

“The first thing that [is] lost with human trafficking is the dehumanization. That’s the first thing that happens where people are objectified for someone else’s pleasure or power,” Van Essen says.

Reinstating a person’s dignity and humanization is powerful. Examples of seeing the individual are found in Scripture, too. Tracy Daugherty, the director of The Freedom Challenge, says human trafficking is a narrative throughout the Old Testament. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and he was trafficked to Egypt. But before Joseph came Hagar, the mother of Ishmael.

Hagar and God

Daugherty explains how Hagar was trafficked from Egypt to Abraham, the same man who God makes a covenant with and who Christians call “the father of faith”. Despite being a man of faith, Abraham takes Hagar, most likely because social norms of the day said such an action was morally acceptable.

(Photo courtesy of The Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

“He picked up this woman and then, of course, she becomes a, really basically a sex slave for [Sarai/Sarah] [Abraham’s wife] to have a child for them. And as you continue on that story, what I love about it is she is the only woman in scripture that God reveals himself personally to. He says my name is El Roi, the God that sees,” Daugherty says.

In Hagar’s story, God makes it clear that he sees her pain and how His people have wronged her. His face turns toward her pain, and he provides for her and her son.

“It’s just good to remember that this is not a new story. It’s not a new narrative. We’re just more aware of it, and from the very beginning, we see the enemy’s plan to exploit God’s beautiful, resilient, fabulous creation,” Daugherty says.

A Heart for the Vulnerable

Van Essen urges followers of Christ not to be surprised by evil. This surprise is the first step to feeling helpless. God has not abandoned His people, and He does not call His people to manicured lives that never touch the edges of darkness.

(Photo courtesy of The Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

“It is always God’s heart for us to turn towards and walk towards pain. We don’t want to do that. But, when we just look at the model…it is always God’s call for what does God require of us, to love justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God,” Daugherty says.

“I am made in God’s image, which means that he empowers me to turn toward what He deeply cares for, and He deeply cares for those women and children who have been exploited in the world.”

James 1:27 reveals how what God considers undefiled religion is looking after the orphans and widows and staying unspotted from the world. Continuing the push against human trafficking is just one of the ways to live out pure and untainted religion.

Breaking Power Cycles

Furthermore, Van Essen notes how people should not try to fix the survivors of human trafficking. The Bible shows a pattern of God seeing people who are vulnerable experiencing pain and suffering. He draws near to them and moves them forward.

“It takes away this power dynamic, right. So, if I’m not over here trying to fix you, because then I’m assuming I know how to fix and rescue you and I don’t, right, that’s God’s job,” Van Essen says.

“I think in a lot of ways to remain hopeful is to have these reality checks of who am I? What is my space? What’s my role? And who is God? That does bring so much peace to my heart. God is the one sovereign, rescuer always, and then I am a partaker, a journeywoman with Him in this work. And that actually gives me the strength to like not [to] look away from what’s happening.”

Dig Deeper Into Ending Human Trafficking

Are you interested in joining or digging deeper into the work of fighting against the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable individuals? Then consider teaming up with The Freedom Challenge.

In 2020, The Freedom Challenge is headed to Israel to host the Jesus Walk. The Jesus Walk is a five-day wilderness backpacking trek. Participants will walk through Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. Along the walk, they will also minister to communities and learn more about the places where Biblical events took place.

To learn more about the Jesus Walk or to register for the event, click here.

(Photo courtesy of The Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

The Freedom Challenge is also hosting six one-day regional events. To find a regional event near you or to host an event, click here!

Another way to step up is through prayer. Pray for both the survivors and victims of human trafficking to find peace and healing. Pray for God to restore the dignity of those who have been dehumanized.

Ask God to encourage the Church not to turn away from pain or become overwhelmed by it, but to provide a light in the darkness instead. Pray for the Church to see the individuals impacted by human trafficking. And pray for the provision of The Freedom Challenge and Logos Wilderness Therapy.

Last Thoughts

On a closing note:

“As we discover these stories that often have men in the center, we can really without knowing [it] place a shame blanket on all men. I am the mom of two boys, and I have an amazing husband…what I would like to say is for our brothers; we need our brothers in Christ to stand up and be a voice, an advocate for their sisters,” Daugherty says.

“There [are] t-shirts out that say “the future is women,” and as much as I love women, I don’t want my future to look like that. I want my future to be men and women because we’re both made in the image of God, and it’s going to take all of us, the full Kingdom, to be able to stand in this fight.”

To learn more about The Freedom Challenge, click here.

To learn more about Logos Wilderness Therapy, click here.

Header photo courtesy of The Freedom Challenge.

The Fight Against Human Trafficking

(Photo courtesy of Freedom Challenge)

On the cusp of a new decade, is work to end human trafficking still vital? When it seems as if there is little to no way to counter human trafficking and stories of individuals in places of power who are exploiting the vulnerable come to light, is the fight against human trafficking still worth it? The Freedom Challenge’s Directory Tracy Daugherty explains why the answer is yes.

“This is nothing new. I just think that we’re more aware of it because of our communication tools available. I can know [about] all of this exploitation, and it’s a bit overwhelming. But if you look back from the very beginning, this idea of slavery was birthed, or exploitation or power over [others] was birthed in the heart of the enemy to try to mar the image of God’s creation,” Daugherty says.

Exploitation of Power

In 2019, Freedom Challenge started a domestic partnership with the like-minded Logos Wilderness Therapy.

Chelsea Van Essen, who is a licensed social worker and therapist, is the co-founder and clinical director of Logos Wilderness Therapy. Van Essen focuses on trauma and complex trauma and works with trafficking survivors.

(Photo courtesy of Freedom Challenge)

Van Essen explains human trafficking centers around power and control, along with the exploitation of both.

“Whenever there’s a power system in place, whether that’s individuals or organizations, we ought to be asking the question of how are they holding their power and also who is vulnerable around them,” Van Essen says.

These questions are applicable in churches, places of business, governments, and many more. Even if a specific power system seems like an unlikely place for exploitation, it does not mean it is immune to the exploitation of power and control.

Do Not Grow Weary

For Christians, awareness of human trafficking and exploitation, or any misuse of power, should be concerning.

“I think God cares a lot about power. I think there’s a lot of things that we see in scripture and biblically that speak to that and how we protect and uplift and empower the vulnerable,” Van Essen says.

(Photo Courtesy Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

In a way, whether human trafficking ends tomorrow, or continues for ages, it is the responsibility of Christians to protect, advocate, and fight for the vulnerable.

Galatians 6:9 tells us not to grow weary in doing good. Let’s not grow wearing in freeing and empowering those who are exploited and abused.

“God is good at His job. And His eye is on all of this. We get to just be salt and light. We get to preserve; we get to flavor; we get to light up dark places. And that is our commissioning as the Church,” Daugherty says.

Today, pray for freedom and healing for both human trafficking victims and human trafficking survivors. Pray for God’s peace to enter their lives and for the restoration of Christ. Pray for justice for those exploited.

Join us again tomorrow as we dig deeper into this topic.

To learn more about The Freedom Challenge, click here.

To learn more about Logos Wilderness Therapy, click here.

“China is perhaps the most sophisticated persecutor of Christians, right now, in the world. And by that what I mean is there’s easy technology, facial recognition, automated intelligence to track Christians, monitor churches, and so forth [for] creating a list or social score that could potentially be used very detrimentally against Christians,” Curry explains.

(Photo by Aaron Greenwood on Unsplash)

China was designated as a country of particular concern (CPC) in 1999 and has since remained on the list. At the meeting, Curry urged for new sanctions to help curb violations of religious freedom in the country. Curry also suggests the use of the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to freeze assets and restrict the travel of individuals who grossly violate human rights.

“I think unless we put individual pressure on some of the people who are persecuting, I don’t think we’re going to see a change because China has, has the patience as a whole unit to continue to violate, because there have never been any sanctions against them for these violations,” Curry notes.

Persecution in China

But why is the U.S stepping up its game with China now? That answer is still unclear. What is clear is the problem will not dissolve on its own.

“If we don’t take it seriously, and they don’t see any corresponding pressure related to these violations of human rights, that’s going to continue to grow. People need to understand they’re interning people for their religious faith in massive numbers in the northwest part of the country,” Curry says.

The government has torn churches down and imprisoned pastors for their beliefs. In September of 2018, one pastor was imprisoned for refusing to have his congregation monitored by the government through closed-circuit TV (CCTV). Curry says this is not an isolated incident and that stories like these are happening on a massive scale.

Pray for Local Believers

(Photo courtesy of pixabay)

But the situation for Christians in China will not change overnight, so will you pray? Pray for religious freedom in China. Pray for the pastors and Christians facing persecution to have perseverance and strength in their faith.

“It’s a new generation of believers. We need to pray for their leaders; we need to pray for boldness. There are more Christians right now…in China, than there are members of the Communist Party,” Curry says.

“When we stand up and obeying civil law, but stand up and say ‘Look, we’re part of this country. We want to be honored and respected and treated like good citizens.’ I think we will carry a large voice.”

Photo by Theodor Lundqvist on Unsplash.

Super Ball and Human Trafficking

This year the Super Bowl is being held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Here the New England Patriots will play the Los Angeles Rams. Per CNBC Make It, over a million people are expected to pass through Atlanta for the Super Bowl.

But, did you know the Super Bowl is one of the biggest events of the year for human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking in the United States?

Atlanta, Georgia (Photo by Jessica Furtney on Unsplash)

Human trafficking is the second fastest growing industry worldwide. It comes right behind the illegal drug industry. Each year, human traffickers profit $150,000,000,000 from exploiting vulnerable people.

Slavery has been around for centuries. But today, it takes a different form than what some history books might portray.

Modern-day slavery can look like human trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor, child marriage, and more. This is happening in nearly every country, including the United States.

What is trafficking? The legal definition per the Merriam-Webster dictionary is below.

Human Trafficking: noun : the business of inducing a person to perform labor or engage in prostitution through force, fraud, or coercion.

About 40 million people worldwide are slaves. Of that number, 24 million (or 60 percent) are women and children. To break it down even further, 12 million (or 30 percent); are underage children. The average age of a slave—12 years old. And every 30 seconds, someone else becomes a slave, too.

Find more facts on modern-day slavery here.

The Freedom Challenge’s Super Bowl Prayer Challenge

(Photo courtesy of the Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

Atlanta is already a hotbed for human trafficking because it hosts events throughout the year and is home to one of the busiest airports in the world.

But this year, the Freedom Challenge (an initiative through Operation Mobilization) is participating with It’s a Penalty and the International Institute of Human Trafficking during the Super Bowl.

It’s a Penalty is a campaign working to use major sporting events to raise awareness and globally prevent abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.

During Super Bowl weekend, the Freedom Challenge is inviting people to do one of the easiest and more powerful things they can do to end human trafficking—they’re inviting folks to pray.

How?

With the Super Bowl Prayer Challenge 2019.

Through praise and worship, the Freedom Challenge is encouraging people to trust God and through that trust, face modern-day slavering by putting it in His hands.

The Super Bowl Prayer Challenge 2019 begins February 2 at 9:00 am to 8:30 pm and will resume February 3 at 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm.

“This strategic partnering with the international institute of human trafficking in Atlanta and ‘It’s a Penalty’ around the Super Bowl and creating that prayer challenge where we’ll be having two full days of very focused long prayer, I would one, welcome anyone who would want to participate in that way and two, prayer for that,” Director of the Freedom Challenge Tracy Daugherty says.

Get Involved

Will you join in a time of intercession through prayer and worship and ask for protection, prevention, and the rescue of those enslaved by human trafficking?

Learn more about the Super Bowl Prayer Challenge 2019 here.

Passionate about ending human trafficking? The Freedom Challenge is rolling out new initiatives for women in 2019. Find them here.

“I think the prayer is that God continues to build a movement of women who care, who are resourceful, who are passionate, and who are willing to use their body, their soul, their spirit for the benefit of other women and children. And that is our prayer and we’re not stopping until we see a difference made,” Daugherty says.

For an insider look at the Freedom Challenge, click here.

(Header photo courtesy of the Freedom Challenge via Facebook)

“So essentially this is a movement of passionate women, who are dedicating themselves to freeing oppressed and enslaved women and children from around the world. And they are participating in all kinds of physical challenges, from running, to walking, to swimming, and of course climbing which was the original vision,” The Director of the Freedom Challenge Tracy Daugherty explains.

Women participating in the Freedom Challenge raise money to support projects focused on helping enslaved women and children. This money goes to 50 different projects the Freedom Challenge partners with worldwide. These projects participate in prevention, development, restoration, and rescue.

“Prevention and development are our greatest framework because if we can disrupt this evil atrocity and bring disruption to that from ever happening, that is rescuing the life in a more sustainable and powerful way. So, we put a lot of effort into that,” Daugherty says.

(Image courtesy of the Freedom Challenge)

An Alumnus’ Story

In 2018, author and blogger Sylvia St. Cyr participated in the Grand Canyon Freedom Challenge. She, along with 28 other women, raised $130,000 to support the efforts of freeing women and children. These women climbed to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. St. Cyr climbed with group one which featured seven women who were at the time strangers. But, over the course of four days, this changed. A lot changed, actually.

(Header and photo courtesy of the Freedom Challenge)

“Any time someone asks me “what was the Freedom Challenge like?” I have to use the word life-changing because pushing yourself to that limit and realizing what you can do when you have God living in you…You are a living example of His might, of His power, and so if He can bring me through the Grand Canyon…what can He do with the darkness that is the 40 million people trapped in human trafficking right now all over the world,” St. Cyr says.

St. Cyr said she felt God’s call for her to get involved with ending human trafficking particularly with an organization focused on helping women and children. Her proof the Freedom Challenge was the right choice? St. Cyr has osteoarthritis in her right knee. It has prevented her from running half marathons and more. However, she didn’t feel any pain during the Grand Canyon climb, even while carrying 50-55 pounds on her back.

“I see [the climb] as a living sacrifice in all ways. That’s what’s so beautiful about it, the amount of sacrifice in the love of what these women are doing is phenomenal,” Daugherty says.

Why Join the Freedom Challenge

While it is easier to donate to the cause rather than raise funds and climb, climbing is like putting a stake in the ground. St. Cyr says by committing to a climb, you are tangibly express your “yes” to the cause. Women who join the climb sacrifice their time and their resources. But they also get a lot more people involved through support than by simply giving.

(Photo courtesy of the Freedom Challenge)

Daugherty explains how during this process, women are giving towards the transformation of the lives of people they have never met, but they’re also receiving a gift, too. That gift is transformation by God.

“When we went down the first day. I was utterly exhausted. I mean I had nothing left…One of the hikers with us said, you know I can’t even imagine going up on day four. I don’t know what that looks like, that overwhelms me,” St. Cyr recalls.

“Our leader immediately said, ‘Well, God didn’t give you grace to go up today. He gave you grace to come down.’ I’ve taken that into my life now in such a way that if I ever get overwhelmed with something that’s happening in my life in a week from now, I just remember God has given me grace for today.”

Are you passionate about ending modern day slavery? If the answer is yes, then consider joining the Freedom Challenge to raise awareness and resources to end human trafficking.

Learn more about the Freedom Challenge here!

Please also pray. Pray for the end of human trafficking, for God’s light to enter these dark places of the world, and for women to rise and join the Freedom Challenge movement.

Join us tomorrow to find out how the Super Bowl and human trafficking collide along with what you can do to stop it.

Current Situation

Jack Sara, president of Bethlehem Bible College, describes the current situation between Israel and Palestine as a stalemate with deteriorating conditions on the ground.

“People are losing hope that there will be any solutions. They feel that things are going back instead of going forward. The whole political instability, the economic pressure that…the Palestinians are facing…with no solutions,” Sara describes.

Israeli West Bank Barrier as seen from Bethlehem. (Photo courtesy of Paolo Cuttitta)

Sara says 35,000 Christian Palestinians live in and around Bethlehem. It is an area hit hard by the building of the Israeli West Bank Barrier and land confiscation by the Israeli government.

“A lot of the Christians are still desperate to find a place where they, their kids are growing in peace and the…atmosphere where in Palestine it’s not that way. Still, the checkpoints are all over the place. The wall is being just erected, continued to kind of like suffocate almost the life of our Palestinians, especially in Bethlehem where the concentration of Christians is the highest in all of the West Bank,” Sara explains.

Because of challenges with the occupation, Palestinian Christians with family residing in cities inside Israel like Jerusalem cannot visit each other.

“Palestinians don’t have the right to move around the country. They have no access to borders that they could fly out from except for Jordan. There’s a lot of I would say [a] lack of freedom in many ways, and lack of opportunities because of that. The economy’s being controlled still by Israel,” Sara shares.

An Unheard Story

Palestinian Christians also face silence. Their plight rarely makes the news. Reports of bombings and fighting drown the cries of the oppressed, their story is overlooked and lost in the chaos. The loss of their story has meant many people in the West, including America, are ill-informed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

(Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

“I think it’s worthwhile for Christians first to dig deeper into understanding the realities on the ground and specifically how Christians are living. If we are concerned about the Church, we have to be concerned about the Christians in the Holy Land because the Holy Land is bleeding from its Christians. The Christians are leaving. You know that includes committed believers, includes ministers, includes people who are…not leaving by their own choice,” Sara explains.

Recently, a Palestinian Christian leader at Bethlehem Bible College was coerced to leave when his wife, a foreigner, was denied a family reunification visa to live with him in Palestine. However, their story is not an anomaly.

“Another couple, the husband was deported from the borders so…she’s now facing the question, ‘Should I stay working with Bethlehem Bible College serving God or just follow after my husband because he cannot live beside me here in Bethlehem?’,” Sara recalls.

Be Prayerful, Be Active

Please pray for peace. Pray for a solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which provides basic human rights and freedoms to all people, regardless of faith or nationality. Ask for God to make himself known through his Palestinian Christians.

“I believe Christ is concerned for our situation and Bethlehem, that He gave the ultimate sacrifice for, and the church there is struggling to survive. We wanted not just to survive but to thrive and be able to expand God’s kingdom among our peoples,” Sara says.

Ask yourself if we, as the global Church, do not support our Palestinian family who will be left to share the Gospel in the Holy Land?

Sara invites any Christians traveling to the Holy Land to add a stop to Bethlehem Bible College on their itinerary. Take time to meet with your Palestinian brothers and sisters and learn more about their challenges.

Want to learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of Palestinian Christians? Then CLICK HERE to visit Bethlehem Bible College’s website for more details.

Find more resources at Bethlehem Bible College’s conference site for Christ at the Checkpoint U.S. here.

Header photo image Bethlehem, photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.

A Sudanese court in August ruled that the property confiscations were unlawful. The court also ordered the Sudanese government to drop its case against five SCOC church leaders, according to World Watch Monitor.

(Photo courtesy of World Watch Monitor)

“The Sudanese government actually lost the case in court, which was kind of surprising,” says Greg Musselman with Voice of the Martyrs Canada. “When you have a country like that with such a strong-arm leader and government [and] the fact that a court would overrule them, you just have to wonder, was something happening in the background?”

Sudan is currently listed as the fourth worst country for Christian persecution on Open Doors’ World Watch List. It beats out other notorious countries such as Pakistan, Eritrea, and Iraq.

Musselman reflects, “The government of Sudan [is] an Islamic country under a dictatorship. Many Christians have suffered brutally, even those from the outside. A personal friend of mine, a guy named Petr Jasek, a Czechoslovakian [Christian] spent over a year in prisons in Khartoum because…they put it out there that he was spying on the country.”

While we can’t know for sure, part of Sudan’s motivation to agree to return the church properties could be fueled by international political pressures. Authoritarian governments aren’t always moved by pressure on human rights issues. However, the Sudanese government wants to be removed from the United States’ list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and normalize relations with the West.

“I think advocacy is working, especially at the government level. Again, we could talk about North Korea, we could talk about Pakistan, many of these nations that need financial help from the West and especially from the US. The US is in a position to exert pressure on some of these governments.”

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Meanwhile, human rights groups point out that Sudan has not made significant progress and still commits various human rights violations. Denial of religious freedom is just one of the ways the Sudanese government controls its people.

“When the US continues to have this influence, that still needs to be used not just for the rights of the Christians, but also for the rights of the people of Sudan that are being oppressed by their government,” reminds Musselman.

While this news regarding the SCOC’s properties is encouraging, there are other congregations in Sudan whose confiscated lands have not been returned. If a church is allowed to meet, they often have tight restrictions from the government.

The outlook for religious freedom in Sudan may still seem grim, but it can’t overshadow the persistent faithfulness of the Church.

“Whether they have legal buildings or whether they are meeting in homes or in the darkness at night…we know the Kingdom of God is still going forward. People are still coming to Christ. People are still becoming strong followers of Jesus through discipleship. Those things still happen regardless of what the government does.”

(Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

As you learn more about Sudan and what Christians face there, you can be equipped to respond through prayer, giving, and even advocacy.

Find out more about Sudan on VOM Canada’s website here. They have prayer requests and ways you can be an encouragement to the Sudanese Church through their ministry.

For now, please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan to persist in their faithful witness of the Gospel. Ask God to soften the hearts of Sudanese national leaders towards believers in their country. And praise the Lord for the return of church properties to the SCOC.

(Header photo courtesy of Prayercast)

The goal is to alleviate pressure from extremist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS who are intent on overturning President el-Sisi. It’s about politics and security, but human rights experts say there are other important factors to consider.

Just ask David Curry of Open Doors USA.

“Human rights should be a central part of our discussion regarding aid, whether that be military aid or business and so forth, because it’s so important to the American value of freedom of conscience and the ability to decide for yourself what you believe or what you want your life to look like.”

Curry wants Americans to think carefully about the influence of human rights on these kinds of discussions, especially when it comes to making and enacting policies.

“What are we doing with the American influence that we have on foreign governments to improve foreign rights?” he says. “I think that’s a good discussion to be having.”

But why would military aid have some experts concerned about religious freedom? In many countries, Christianity is seen as a Western movement. Because of this, countries like India and Russia have used anti-terrorism initiatives to quelch movements that don’t validate their way of thinking.

In other words, Christianity.

For now, Curry thinks there are many facets to consider.

“The government of Egypt has made significant progress in their desire to support the Coptic believers and the evangelical Christians there,” he points out. According to Curry, President el-Sisi even tries to recognize Christian holidays.

So why is Egypt ranked 17th on the Open Doors World Watch List? Curry says it comes down to extremism.

He believes that if we have the ability, we should be considering how we can help countries where oppression and infringement on religious liberties are commonplace.

“These are not groups that are sort of casually watching while things are happening,” he says. “Some of them are actively persecuting Christians and trying to restrict the freedoms of Christians.

Photo and header photo courtesy of Open Doors USA

“Egypt needs to consider that the American government and the American people want to see people free to choose their faith, to express themselves, and to hold those things intentionally, to keep a free society but one that’s safe.”

Curry wants people to have the chance to read Scripture and decide for themselves what to do. For that to happen, religious freedom needs to be preserved.

“If people don’t have the ability to decide to change their faith or worship freely without fear of being attacked, then it really strikes at the root of what it means to be free as a human being,” he says.

How can we help? Curry thinks it starts with knowing the issues and understanding what’s going on. The discussion of human rights and foreign policy also cannot be limited to one country.

“We’re doing trillions of dollars of business over a period of time with countries that restrict Christian freedom, are actively trying to destroy a Christian presence in their country, don’t allow freedom of choice, and have anti-blasphemy laws,” Curry says. “I think we need to be very thoughtful about whether or not we want to support those kinds of governments.”

Ask God for boldness and wisdom for the Egyptian Church as this situation unfolds, and pray that human rights stay on the forefront of this ongoing conversation.

“Too often and for too long we have ignored human rights in the discussion of how we spend our money, where our businesses spend their money, and where we choose to invest.”

Find out more about how you can engage with supporting the Church by clicking right here.