Christian pilgrims used to flood Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born. Shireen Hilal, Director of Outreach at Bethlehem Bible College, says today, Bethlehem is a ghost town.

“When visiting Bethlehem, of course, people come and see the Nativity church, and then they go to their restaurants. We have many of the best restaurants here in the area. Besides that, souvenir shops and tour guides and all these businesses are connected to tourism,” says Hilal.

“Now imagine when the war started. Unfortunately, people stopped coming. People are afraid. So basically, those people who were actually working in businesses had to completely shut down their businesses.

A Palestinian woman. (Photo courtesy of Hammam Fuad/Unsplash)

“The war has put so many things behind. I think if the country would want to go back to how it actually was, I think we’d need at least 20 years to develop. I know that in Gaza, we even need more years to develop — I think, at least 30 years.”

Rising unemployment in the West Bank is made worse by the fact that Palestinians who used to travel across the border daily for work in Jerusalem are now barred from continued employment in Israel since the start of the war on October 7.

Amid growing tragedy and grief in their communities, Palestinian Christians with Bethlehem Bible College are being the hands and feet of Jesus to their neighbors.

Hilal says, “Through the Shepherd Society, which is the social arm of Bethlehem Bible College, we provided at least 200 jobs for those who are unemployed. I would not say it’s a full-time job, but at least on a monthly basis, we give what’s called pocket money for the family to survive.

“We want to raise a community that would not actually beg for food or beg for income, but rather work for that.”

The college is also supporting humanitarian aid efforts for those who cannot work or are unable to find employment. “There are areas where you want to teach people how to fish,” says Hilal. “But there are areas that you really need to fish for those who are elderly, for the seniors who are sick and who are with limited resources and so on.”

Through Bethlehem Bible College, people can also find the sustaining hope of the Gospel. To continue in their critical work as the light of Christ, Bethlehem Bible College needs the support of Christian brothers and sisters around the world.

Hilal says, “The Church itself, the Body of Christ…need to help the Body of Christ in Palestine.'”

Learn more about Bethlehem Bible College here, and find ways you can offer support and prayer!

Header photo shows a street in Bethlehem emptied during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Bethlehem is, once again, a ghost town with the ongoing war. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

It all started two weeks ago when student protesters began demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30% of government jobs for relatives of freedom fighters.

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says, “One of the greatest fears that the government would have would be a student movement. It’s incredibly intimidating because they know the power of that and the substance of that. That’s what was happening, and so they began to negotiate to ease some of these quota restrictions.

“So the good news is that things are moving in the right direction. The bad news is it just was very revealing of how unstable a country like Bangladesh is.”

Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of Niloy Biswas/Unsplash)

Along with the social unrest, Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation in deep spiritual darkness.

“If the Church around the world is looking at Bangladesh, they’re going to find a country that is in great need of the Gospel,” Kelley says. “I mean, you can’t look at a country of 173 million people, top 10 population of countries in the world, and less than 2% Christian [without] saying, ‘Oh my goodness, where is the Church at? Where are our missions efforts at?’”

So what can the Church do? Kelley says, “We need to get Bibles in there!”

Unknown Nations is reaching Bangladesh with biblical hope. In connection with ministry partners, “We distribute solar-powered audio Bibles by the hundreds in the Bengali language.”

Pray for the peace of Christ to permeate Bangladesh as a result of millions of people hearing Scripture and choosing to follow Jesus.

Support Unknown Nations’s audio Bible distribution ministry here!

Header photo courtesy of Unknown Nations.

The sanctions package also disconnected the largest Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system. SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide International Financial Telecommunications. It is one of the pillars of the financial world, allowing banks from different countries to securely message each other.

Impact on Russians

All these measures aim to cut off funding for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How do they affect the average Russian citizen?

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “Since the very beginning when it became difficult, we were hearing from Russian believers who were sobbing over this. They were embarrassed, they were frustrated. Some of them had almost immediately lost their jobs.”

Mock knew many Russians who had worked with western firms. “When Western companies began pulling out and then the sanctions started taking root, there are a great number of people who lost their livelihoods.”

For Russians living outside Moscow especially, the sanctions have taken a toll. Many people struggle to put food on the table, while also suffering emotionally as they watch their country invade their neighbors.

Russian churches

SGA continues to serve local churches in Russia, as well as Belarus. Mock says, “I think in the middle of recognizing the brutality of what Putin is doing in legislating this war, we shouldn’t group the Russian people in with the Russian leadership. There are many faithful Bible-teaching churches in Russia who are faithfully doing everything they can to minister to those suffering.”

Praise God for the faithfulness of these Russian churches. And pray for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The header photo shows a destroyed Russian vehicle in Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Voice of the Martyrs Canada recently spoke with him about the situation in the country. He says, “Christians are actually displaced. Many are displaced. I know people who were living in the South, and now they are living in the North.”

This means they lost their jobs, and much more. Obed says, “They lost their homes too. Before, maybe they were living in their own homes. But now they are renting a place. And they lost their businesses and everything else. Many Christians left the country.”

Starvation

Under the Taliban’s rule, people in Afghanistan go hungry. Thirty percent of the population, about 23 million people, need assistance. Humanitarians now fear the crisis will kill more Afghans than the preceding 20 years of war.

Despite all of these hardships, Afghan Christians remain joyful. Obed recounts their words. “They say, Pray for us. These things are normal for Christians. We are facing persecution, but it’s okay. Jesus is with us.”

“If it’s God’s will, that we leave Afghanistan, he will prepare a way for us otherwise, we are here.”

How to pray

Ask God to strengthen and protect these believers. Obed says the number of Christians in Afghanistan has continued to grow. “I can tell you, I know hundreds of people who believed in Jesus in the last two or three months.”

Pray the Afghan Church would continue to grow, despite the pressure from the Taliban. Ask God to provide for Christians who had to leave their hometowns and hide in new places, where they do not know anyone.

Header photo courtesy of ErikaWittlieb on Pixabay. 

In the last two years, the Lebanese currency has lost more than 93 percent of its value against the dollar. Wages alone barely cover basic necessities. Rising inflation means the average family is struggling to buy food or medicine. Many have to run up unpaid bills or borrow money just to put food on the table.

Horizons International works in Lebanon with a focus on evangelism, discipleship, and training. But in this economic collapse, the ministry’s Middle East Center for World Missions launched a new initiative connecting Lebanese believers with Western companies and ministries for remote employment.

Horizons International staff delivering food. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International via Facebook)

Pierre Houssney with Horizons International says, “There are a lot of really highly educated and capable men and women of God who have a lot to offer on the world scale, but they don’t have job opportunities and the money that they’re receiving in the local currency for their current jobs is just not enough to even start paying their most basic bills because it has just lost all of its value.

“We’re working with Western companies and also ministries to provide accounting, graphic design, web development, social media management, [and] all kinds of different services. We can be providing a living wage to Middle Easterners so they can tough it out in the Middle East right now, and specifically Lebanon during this economic collapse.”

Houssney says providing these job opportunities to church members in Lebanon has a direct impact on the Great Commission in the Middle East.

“The Christian presence in these Muslim-dominated areas is one of the most strategic things for reaching the Muslims for Christ,” says Houssney.

“So not only are we providing jobs for these people to be able to put food on the table so that they can remain in the Middle East, we’re also training them for ministry. We’re helping them to equip their churches, to be supporting their churches and families, and this is all part of our strategy for reaching the region for Christ.”

The Middle East Center has partnered with over 90 Lebanese churches, “which is most of the churches in Lebanon because there’s only about 105 churches in Lebanon,” Houssney says.

The language barrier between Lebanese employees and Western companies is a consideration. But many in Lebanon speak English and have done well in markets around the world. For those who come to Horizons International’s Middle East Center and want English lessons, the ministry connects them with the Language Academy of Beirut.

(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)

Interested in getting involved? Houssney asks, “What business are you involved in? Do you have a small business? Do you have a ministry or your church? What are the needs administratively that could be outsourced in your business or ministry?

“If we could just start a discussion about that and you tell us what your needs are in these areas we are offering, then there’s something immediate you can do. You can provide jobs for Lebanese and Syrian believers so they can remain in the Middle East. Then it can also add tremendous value to your business.”

Click here to connect with Horizons International!

Finally, Houssney asks, “We can just be praying that the Lord will provide the right opportunities, that the right businesses will come forward, and that God would provide wisdom and ingenuity in figuring out where these Middle Eastern believers can add the most value to the ministries and businesses that they’ll be serving through the outsourcing project.”

Header photo courtesy of Michal Gadek via Unsplash.

That’s why the Tent Schools partner in Lebanon takes a different approach. Hamming says, “Once they get past, say, the sixth grade or so, many of them never return to school. And instead of fighting that, instead of trying to fill these impossible gaps, he accepts that. His school tries to still give them an avenue to access employment. And he does that through languages.”

This partner has learned that if his students know just 500-1000 words in Lebanon’s most-spoken languages, they can get several different jobs. By learning English and French, for example, they will be able to work in tourism or retail.

Get involved

Pray the love of Jesus will shine through this school. Syrian refugees still face an unsettled situation in Lebanon as well. Hamming says, “Lebanon seems to be a land where the bigger nations around them like to carry out their squabbles, which creates great instability there. So pray for peace and stability and strength for the nation of Lebanon and the neighboring nation of Jordan.”

Lebanon and Jordan are not wealthy countries. But they bear the heaviest strain of caring for Syrian refugees. Hamming says, “Our support for them is critical for helping them meet the need. I think people need to appreciate how far U.S. support goes. Dollars go very far in Jordan and Lebanon. It’s the currency of choice compared to their home currencies, which are under distress and devaluation.”

Want to help? Click here to learn more about Tent Schools and donate. Hamming says, “Your support for Tent Schools goes directly to very tangible support like teacher salaries, fuel, food for students, and textbooks.

Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International on Facebook. 

Nehemiah from FMI talks about the latest case. “Riaz Gill is a Christian man. He was promoted to senior head clerk at a hospital in Karachi. Shortly after receiving this promotion, Gill was abused and threatened by Muslim co-workers who refuse to work under the leadership of a Christian. I want to say again that Christians in Pakistan are considered outcasts and Untouchables.”

Gill’s coworkers beat and dragged him, threatening even to kill him. He stepped down from this new post, but they want him gone from the hospital entirely. The authorities have refused to intervene. Nehemiah says Pakistani Christians find it more and more difficult every day to get jobs.

A corrupt system

With corruption so rampant in Pakistani workplaces, infrastructure and social services are in shambles. Nehemiah says, “Wherever you go, you find incompetent and corrupt people, especially sitting in the government sector. When Christians try to live and practice as Christians, even in their jobs, most of them don’t like it.” 

Ask God to comfort Pakistani Christians facing this abuse. Pray their work and care for others would strengthen Pakistani society and show the love of Jesus.

The header image shows a monument in Karachi, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of M.irfan44, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

For Christian males, the level of unemployment was worst in urban areas, dropping to 8.9 percent. Among other urban religious minorities, Muslims have a 7.5 percent unemployment rate and Sikhs 7.2 percent. Jobless Christians in rural areas also topped the list — 6.9 percent for men and 8.8 percent for women.

It can be a struggle for minority believers in India to find jobs, often because their neighbors refuse to employ them or because they aren’t given the same opportunities to gain marketable skills.

Unemployment is another way Indian Christians are targeted and pushed out of the country.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Bartholomew with Mission India says, “Since 2014, persecution towards Christians in India has increased by 400 percent. Persecution can look physical, it can look verbal, it can look many different ways. Our partners have experienced the full breadth of those different types of persecution.”

While we’ve seen this growing trend of Christian persecution in India over the past several years, Bartholomew says it doesn’t make it any easier to process. And there are some believers around the world who still don’t know about the struggles our Indian brothers and sisters face.

“I believe awareness is increasing thanks to different resources that have been created to kind of showcase what’s taking place and what the reality is. But at times, I think we’re all surprised by just the ways and the levels of which Christians in India are persecuted.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

However, Mission India is also encouraged by the stories they hear from national partners and how they respond to persecution. “They use it as a way of knowing that God is moving, and because God is moving, things are changing. That’s why persecution is increasing. So our partners celebrate the fact that God is moving and they’re seeing Him just move in powerful ways and lives are being transformed.”

To support national believers and give them marketable skills, Mission India hosts Adult Literacy Classes and Church Planter Trainings. The classes and trainings are led by local Christians employed by Mission India.

“All the money that we raise, it enables and trains Christians who live in India to go do the work,” Bartholomew explains. “A byproduct of that is we’re assisting them. But then they’re also being enabled to take the skills that they’ve learned to go better themselves, to go into the workforce and find different jobs.”

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

In Adult Literacy Classes, students achieve a 5th-grade level in reading, writing, and math. Empowered with literacy and math skills, these men and women are able to apply for better jobs, assure they aren’t cheated in their wages, and save money. They also learn about personal health and hygiene.

But the Adult Literacy Classes aren’t reserved for Christians. Non-Christians are welcome to join the classes as well. The teachers share the Gospel along with lessons, and many students have started a relationship with Jesus!

For a one-time gift of $40, you can sponsor an Adult Literacy Class student for a full year! Or you can give $200 a month and support one year’s worth of training for a Church Planter.

“By investing in Mission India, you’re helping to enable ministry to take place,” Bartholomew says. “As ministry takes place, more lives can be transformed. Our hope, obviously, is to see India transformed by the love of Christ.”

You can support Adult Literacy Classes here and Church Planter Trainings here!

Bartholomew also asks the Church to be “praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ in India, that they would be confident in Him. And pray for the people that persecute them, that their hearts would be opened to love and grace of Jesus Christ.”

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security purposes.

For believers ready to take a leap of faith and commit their talents to the mission field full-time, Mission Aviation Fellowship could be the right fit. MAF is currently hiring more aircraft mechanics, pilots, field IT support specialists, and teachers to join their team!

As an aviation ministry, MAF partners with ministries and organizations to reach isolated people with aid, resources, and the hope of the Gospel. In the day-to-day, this looks like medical evacuations, transporting food and supplies, flying indigenous pastors, and more.

Pilots

Pilot Daniel Moser taking off from an airstrip in Timor-Leste. (Caption, photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Pilots are, obviously, a major driving force of MAF’s outreach. Crissie Rask, MAF’s manager of mobilization, says many of their pilots specialize in another skill as well, such as a pilot mechanic or pilot finance.

“Sort of the backbone of our pilot staff is pilots that have a mechanics rating because of the kinds of places we fly…. We have a variety of people that bring the pilot component and another component to it. But for pilots who are going to be piloting and that is more their focus, we would ask for 1,000 hours of flight experience.”

Additionally, she says, “We’re looking for pilots that have a commercial license with an instrument rating and 50 hours in high-performance aircraft. [We require] an airframe and powerplant A&P mechanics license for our pilot mechanics [and] a minimum of 400 flight hours in a fixed-wing aircraft.”

Aircraft Mechanics

MAF also needs mechanics who specifically have avionics experience.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

“Avionics and electronics are much more complex than they used to be and we have a lot of work to be done in those areas, so that is a really high needs area,” Rask explains.

“On our mechanic side for…aviation, we want somebody that has an airframe and powerplant mechanics license and experience in general aviation maintenance. There is a rating called an inspection authorization that is very helpful and that is something else we look at. We have requests for those kinds of people really in almost every field we serve in.”

MAF operates with a mostly turbine fleet. Because of this, mechanics with turbine experience would be especially appreciated.

Tech Resources

MAF’s tech resources department is also looking for individuals with information technology-oriented talents to join them in the field.

“We need what we call field IT support specialists — somebody who can come alongside and assist in all kinds of levels of expertise in the IT world,” Rask says.

“As anyone here knows, it’s hugely necessary in any organization or business — and so much more even in a global context — where we rely on technology to have the communication and the infrastructure we need.”

Teachers

Finally, teachers are a critical need in the places MAF serves. But the teacher role is a bit different in that MAF’s teachers work with the children of other MAF families.

“Our families live, I like to say, ‘on the edge of isolation.’ But often there are not good opportunities for schooling in the local context.”

Homeschooling isn’t always an option either. “Not every family is interested in or has the right mix of personality and focus to do homeschooling. It is very common here in the States for people to homeschool, but often they have the support of a local library, local sports teams, a local kids club or church club. Overseas, it is so valuable for our children…to have somebody besides their parents [who] is nurturing and guiding them and investing [so] they have a solid education.”

The MAF team in Indonesia dedicating a new Kodiak. (Photo courtesy of David Holsten with Mission Aviation Fellowship)

MAF hires teachers to fill this need for families serving in various capacities on the mission field.

“So we are looking for certified teachers that are willing to go and invest. They are investing in the lives of the students they teach and that is their primary focus, but through that, the ripple effect is just wonderful in the communities they live in and get to participate in.”

Also, Rask says teachers with MAF can enable families to stay where they are and continue serving longer-term.

“I just have a quote here from one teacher. It said, ‘Last year, many families considered leaving the field when their kids were suddenly unable to attend school mid-year. Having teachers allows our team to focus on their MAF ministry as pilots, mechanics, and IT personnel. Some MAF spouses help out in the parts room at the hangar, teach English to national children, or host recovering patients from the local hospital. The teacher role allows them to have the margin to do that.’”

Get Connected with MAF!

View of Nabire, Papua, Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

You can learn more about these opportunities with MAF at their website! Just go to www.MAF.org/serve.

There, you can send an inquiry to MAF and share how you are interested in getting involved. If you don’t already have all the qualifications, they can connect you with resources to equip you. MAF has Mobilizers located around the US who will provide you with more information.

Meanwhile, please pray for MAF’s ministry going into 2019. As Jesus says in Matthew 9:38, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Header photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship.

(Photo courtesy of Sharnoff’s Global Views via Flickr)

But Christian ministries like Tent Schools International are stepping in and speaking hope into the lives of young refugees.

Dale Dieleman with Tent Schools notes information drawn from a document called “Countering Violent Extremism: A Peer-to-Peer Guide for Young People“.

“It’s written by ten persons in their 20s from around the world. Each continent is represented, and they did research in their own countries through the Kofi Annan Foundation that was sponsored by other organizations, as well to talk to youth in their countries about the causes of and prevention of young people getting involved with these extremist groups.”

Dieleman quotes a part of the document:

Violent radicalisation occurs when grievances, ideology, potent narratives and charismatic recruiters collide. To tackle it each of these must be challenged as part of a full spectrum approach.

“That I think is key. And the document goes into very specific, positive steps for taking action at the local level or one-on-one.”

(Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International)

One thing Tent Schools does to encourage young refugees is provide for computer labs job training. They partner with local ministry partners in various countries for this outreach.

“The trainees then would be persons who are within that country, but mostly refugees who have come and have nothing to do. These are young adult refugees who are not in any schools or in any other way engaged in employment, so they’re just sitting there in these refugee camps in sort of a limbo land between countries with no rights, with no hope, [and] no perspectives on what their goals are.”

These job training computer labs provide marketable job skills, something that gives the young people a vision for their future and a sense of direction. Because they won’t be refugees forever.

“Also, it’s an opportunity while they are participating in these labs. Say there’s 15 to 20 people in a computer lab meeting on a regular basis. Young people, they have an opportunity to speak with each other, talk with each other about their frustrations at being a refugee or their hopes being dashed and what future is there, and they can begin to talk with each other about some positive steps…. So not only would they get a certification at the end of the course, but they would also have some people who, it’s almost like a support group.”

So where does the message of the Gospel come into play? Dieleman responds, “I think the hope of Christ comes in, in the fact that we are doing this out of the compassion of Jesus. We want people to know about the Savior, we want to tell them about the Prince of Peace. In some places, they may be opposed to hearing that, but we rely on our partners in these countries to really determine how best to integrate that faith with the training they are taking and having opportunity to get to know people. It’s very much a relationship-based approach.”

Going back to why young people and refugees become susceptible to radical recruiting tactics, another contributing factor is that sense of being marginalized and devalued in their current society. To that end, there is something Dieleman says you can be aware of in your day-to-day to combat marginalization.

“If they would help other people see, for example, that jokes, xenophobic jokes or discussions that they’re having putting down people from other religions or whatever, or being frightened that their own identities and their own cultures are being threatened, people really need to talk with each other and say, ‘Hey, you know, all this is really doing is fueling the fires of extremism and radicalization.’ So I think part of that is educating each other.”

Then, pray for young refugees, especially as they grapple with their purpose and future. Pray for them to place their ultimate hope in Jesus Christ — something that can never be taken away from them no matter their circumstances.

Dieleman also lists these prayer requests:

“Let’s pray for the young people who are struggling today. You may not know their names, but let’s pray for them. Let’s pray for those who are just, if you will, wasting time in refugee camps with no sense of direction, no sense of what’s next….

“Let’s pray that the situations that are causing refugees be done away with….

“Let’s pray for level-headed leadership globally to reduce this continual rising tide of refugees and migrations all over the world which causes instability….

“Let’s pray for the destruction of these extremist groups. Let’s pray that God intervenes in ways that we may not even know of at this time….

“Let’s just pray for strength, for peace, and for stability in this world.”