According to John Pudaite of Bibles for the World, his team prepared 80,000 Gospels of John and 6,000 Bibles for new believers.
They ran out in two days.

“The hunger for God’s Word and the gracious way in which they accepted it, those who were immediately engaging with it, was just so encouraging to see,” says Pudaite. “Cambodia is one of those countries where a majority of the population is 18 and under now, and we’re seeing tremendous population growth, since the year 2000 and onward. So this whole generation doesn’t know the Khmer Rouge, doesn’t remember that, and so now this is a generation that is open to the Gospel. I don’t think we’ve seen that many young people at one of these international festivals than what we saw in Cambodia, and that’s just really exciting.”

Cambodia’s history under the Khmer Rouge of the 1900s included bloodshed and Christian persecution. Currently, only approximately two percent of the population is Christian. However, there is a movement of home churches growing at a grassroots level within the country. A goal of this event was to help connect new believers with some of these churches.

“Part of this festival was that those who profess faith in Christ were connected and assigned to some of the different churches, depending on what village or what locality they came from, for their early discipleship. Many of them may not have even known other Christians existed in their town or in their village,” says Pudaite. “It’s very exciting to spend time with some of those pastors and workers and just be able to equip them and encourage them in the work that they’re doing, and that’s the part that we try to play as Bible school. We know that we’ll be there a short time and, ultimately, it’s the local church, it’s the Nationals, it’s the indigenous people who have to carry on the work. And so we look at it from the from day one as what can we do to go in, equip, and encourage them in the time that we are there.”

The outpouring of support from local churches and the younger generations is happening amidst a backdrop of conflict, with Thailand invading and dropping bombs about 100 miles away from where the festival took place.

“And so in the midst of that crisis, or perhaps in part heightened by that crisis, people have been asking spiritual questions, as their lives and very livelihoods have been threatened. Their villages have been destroyed,” says Pudaite. “So that was, I think, a really fertile ground. In the midst of crisis, we’re bringing Jesus Christ, who brings true hope and peace.”

Ways to pray for Cambodia:

• That the Gospel seeds sown in the hearts of those who attended the event would take root.
• That the cooperating churches that put together this event will continue to be strong.
• That the violence and incursions by the by the Thai Army into Cambodia would cease.

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

“Some government relief has gone into the mountains, but there are still people living in tents, and it’s cold. There’s snow in some regions,” says Patrick Anthony with FMI. 

The FMI team partners with a local ministry leader who lives just outside of the earthquake’s impact zone. He and another Christian brother have spent the last few months organizing and carrying out aid distributions to people in remote, hard-to-reach areas. 

But terrain hasn’t been the only difficulty. At one point during an attempted trip, the pastors were stopped from completing their journey by security forces who took issue with their Christian affiliation. 

After finding a workaround, they were able to continue, eventually connecting with locals and passing out used clothing items collected by local churches. The believers were also able to pray with the villagers and begin building relationships. 

“They said they were doing this in the spirit of Christmas,” Anthony says. 

While communities in this region are predominantly Muslim, several parents told ministry leaders they are only Muslim by ritual. When their children asked the visitors, Who is this Messiah? Is he Santa Claus?, the men were able to give a simple overview of the Gospel. 

Please pray for the local ministry leader leading this effort. Anthony says he is encouraged, as “now people want him to return and explain more.”

He and his fellow believers will need to be wise as they seek to do this, since security challenges are common across Morocco. Anthony says Christians there need to be careful to build trust slowly when engaging new people. 

“When they hear of someone who’s interested to learn more about the Gospel, they’ll meet with that person – three times, five times, ten times – before they invite that person to visit their fellowship” Anthony says. “It’s just common across Morocco that people try to infiltrate the church to turn people in and to get pastors and church people arrested.”

Please pray for discernment and open doors as mountain visits continue. 

“It sounds like God has opened up a tremendous door of opportunity for the Gospel in these places where people are still suffering from that earthquake a couple years ago,” Anthony says. 

Pray also for boldness, safety on dangerous Atlas Mountain roads, and wisdom for believers who must answer to authorities. Most of all, pray for the villagers: some who have never heard about Jesus but may now have that chance. 

View of Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Courtesy of Kaur Virunurm via Wikimedia Commons. Header photo: 2023 Earthquake damage; courtesy of Lucyin via Wikimedia Commons.

Like many kids in India, she grew up in a home filled with idols and rituals. Worship was familiar — but Jesus was not. Still, something about the songs, stories, and kindness of her Bible Club leaders drew her in.

Rohitha’s life was changed forever at a 10-Day Children’s Bible Club. (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“She loved hearing about Jesus healing the sick, and His sacrifice on the cross really resonated with her,” says Mission India’s Raina Miller. “So by day seven out of 10 at the Bible Club, she was reflecting on her life and the concept of forgiveness, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Jesus.

“On day nine out of 10, Rohitha invited Jesus into her heart, and she received Him as Savior — and on day 10, she declared her faith publicly!”

Now, Rohitha is part of a local church and prays daily for her parents to know the same hope she’s found.

Stories like hers are why Mission India continues to host 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs across the country — and why their matching challenge that launched today matters so much!

From now through December 31, a generous partner will match every gift toward Mission India’s 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs up to $1.1 million.

“Normally, one dollar lets one child attend a Bible Club,” Miller explains. “But through this match, one dollar reaches two children. So this is giving them the chance to attend a Bible Club where they can hear about Jesus — many of them, for the first time.”

Miller adds, “It’s just incredible to see what can happen in the span of only 10 days. You would think that’s such a short time, but kids’ lives turn around in that short amount of time, and they’re introduced to Jesus. It changes their lives forever, and it gives their parents the chance to have their lives changed as well.”

You can double your impact and help reach twice as many children with the Gospel at www.missionindia.org/double!

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

When Esther inherited the house, it needed a lot of work. 

“The community around them, the community that he’s involved with, got together and helped repair the foundation, the roof, and different things to make [the house] into a ministry center,” Tim Landis with FARMS says. 

Pastor Albin and his wife, Esther, used a FARMS loan to develop a ministry location. Photo provided by FARMS International. 

Now that the repairs are done, this center has a guest room that missionaries and out-of-towners can use. It also has a meeting room where women’s Bible classes have already begun. 

Pastor Albin is an encouragement and a model for FARMS because he utilizes funds and loans in ministry-minded ways. 

“That’s the fruit that comes from his mindset and wanting to evangelize, wanting people to come to knowledge of Christ, wanting to disciple people,” Landis says.

Albin has been a FARMS program participant for several years. During COVID, he was able to buy a building with a FARMS loan, which he then strategically turned into a pharmacy on one side and a reading room on the other. 

This reading room then became a place for Bible reading and Bible studies. Albin has also worked with FARMS to get livestock and other resources.  

“There is a pattern of success with Albin, and ultimately it’s always with ministry at the end in mind. It’s so impactful because it’s always about serving other people, and I just think that’s one of the greatest things, and why we like to highlight him,” Landis says.

Loans can open ministry opportunities like Albin’s and enable people to tithe back into their local churches. Evangelism starts happening, church activities start happening, and pastors can get some extra income to operate and shepherd churches.

 Landis says, “The end goal for FARMS loans is to strengthen families, to help them out of poverty, but also to strengthen the church.”

Please pray that FARMS will continue to see fruit like this, as Christians flourish and choose to give back to God with the things he’s blessed them with.

Header photo provided by FARMS International. 

(Photo courtesy of Paolo Nicolello/Unsplash)

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations explains, “Bali is an area where there are a lot of mountains, and when [rain] hits the mountains and these fronts remain in a certain area for so long, it just happens to have a greater impact. The rivers all get overflooded. It is a situation that doesn’t happen very often.”

As a ministry that provides aid in times of crisis, Unknown Nations is sending physical relief and spiritual encouragement to flood-affected areas in Jesus’ name.

“Our people go in and they just love them unconditionally. There’s no bait and switch, you know, ‘Let me give you this rice, this tarp, this temporary shelter, and then tell you about Jesus.’

“It’s just purely an act of love, and because of that, the people’s hearts open up. So our people will continue to minister as long as it takes to these people because, as I said, for them, it’s the worst crisis imaginable.”

Unknown Nations coordinates with the local Church to ensure new believers are connected with Christians who can disciple them long-term.

“This is really critical, because the local Church is going to be the staying power that’s there,” says Kelley. “That’s where we want the work to be done through.”

(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

Indonesia is in the 10/40 Window with some of the largest unreached people groups in the world.

Kelley says, “Of the 300 million people who are living in Indonesia, 200 million of them are still waiting for their first Gospel witness. That’s why it’s a priority.”

Pray for the local Church to be a faithful Gospel witness, and that those who mourn will be comforted in the Holy Spirit. Lift up Indonesia’s unreached millions to encounter Christ for the first time.

You can give to Unknown Nations at their website here as they respond to emergencies like this.

Header photo courtesy of Udith Babu K N/Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cliffside-sculpture-on-blue-ocean-view-33878489/

Either way, Georges Houssney of Horizons International says it’s every Christian’s mandate to fulfill the Great Commission.

“Every church is ‘glocal’ – global and local at the same time. Every church has to have the Great Commission on their shoulders and not only send some money to missions but be involved,” Houssney says.

(Photo courtesy of Helena Lopez/Pexels)

Christ’s final instructions, as recorded in Matthew 28, are not optional. Additionally, the call is not limited to a people group or location God has placed on your heart.

“[The] Great Commission is about calling the world into the sheep pen. It used to be just Jews, then it spread over to the Greeks and then all over the world,” Houssney says.

“He says, ‘I have other sheep. You go and get them because they must come and join the Church.’”

So, what can YOU do today? “In one city in the US, you’ll find people from every nation, tribe, and language,” Houssney says.

“We should not just pray for them. We should reach out to them.”

Learn how to share the Gospel with Muslim neighbors or coworkers here.

Ask the Lord to help you move outside your comfort zone and to view the people around you with eternity in mind.

“Why don’t we look across the street and see the Asians, Africans, Arabs, and Middle Easterners not as an invasion of our country but as God’s strategy to bring the Gospel to those people?” Houssney suggests.

“Every individual is a missionary. It’s not about going overseas a million miles or a thousand miles away. It starts where you are, but God may also graduate you into the world.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of NIC LAW/Pexels.

Through it all, the Lebanese Society for Educational & Social Development (LSESD) has worked through a coalition of ministries to be the hands and feet of Jesus across the Arab world.

(Image courtesy of LSESD)

This week, from September 26 to October 1, LSESD is hosting an event called Loving God & Neighbor Together — celebrating what God has done in their 25 years of ministry and looking to the next 25 years!

Wissam Nasrallah, the COO of LSESD, says, “Whether through theological education, academic or spiritual resources, through training for special needs, or through camps [for] children or medical camps, or through relief and development — our purpose is to enable the local Church to be fruitful, and to be the hands and feet of Jesus on the ground, and bring about positive Christian witness wherever the local Church is.”

When talking about the future of LSESD and its ministries, Nasrallah says, “Our region is going through major changes. One of the biggest changes is the disappearance of historical Christian communities. Whether they are Catholic, Orthodox, or Evangelical, the historical Church has been struggling.

“When we look around us and we see all these major changes, we realize that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. There are so many things that we would like to do, but we have limited capacities and resources. So we want to be good stewards of what God has given us and do the right thing.

(Image courtesy of LSESD)

“Our posture is to be listening to God’s voice. Where does He want this to be? How does He want our ministries to evolve? We’re really open to let Him shape the the type of ministry, the size of the ministry, and the form of ministry in the next 25 years.”

Ministries housed under LSESD include The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Salt & Light, The Beirut Baptist School, and others.

Click here to learn more about LSESD!

During the Loving God & Neighbor Together event this week, Nasrallah asks, “Please be praying for wisdom for our leaders, for our participants, but also for the church leaders as they navigate this complex time. As they see their churches shrink in some areas or even [are] persecuted, this needs lots of patience, lots of faith, and lots of discernment.”

Header photo courtesy of LSESD.

Nonetheless, “God’s working in two locations suffering persecution [in] Southeast Asia,” FARMS International Communications Director Tim Landis says.

Despite persecution, “the Holy Spirit is still active and at work, using these pastors in different fashions,” he adds.

Pastors in these countries need to be bi-vocational. “They need to hold the office of pastor and be able to preach and teach the people in their congregations, as well as hold a job to earn income for their families,” Landis says.

With physical needs at home in order, pastors can focus on reaching local communities for Christ.

In one country, churches welcomed 271 new believers last year, and 229 people were baptized. Believers led 78 people to the Lord in a second country.

Children in the first location lost their homes and village school to a civil war. Resilient as ever, the kids adapted to overcome. A jungle ravine became their new classroom, and twisted tree roots were their desks.

The children pictured here lost their homes and village school to a civil war.
(Photo courtesy of FARMS International)

“They’re all so eager to learn, to know Christ more,” Landis says.

“Even though circumstances in life haven’t [given] them a normal setting for church or school, they’re still willing and able to meet wherever God has afforded.”

Revolving loans and training from FARMS help church leaders and believers work their way out of poverty and support Gospel endeavors. Learn more about the process here.

“We desire to support their (believers’) physical needs, so that opens them up to support spiritual needs. That’s the end goal of FARMS – to strengthen the global Church,” Landis says.

Pray for wisdom and discernment as believers start new small business ventures. Pray Christians will proceed using biblical ethics and Scripture as their guideposts.

“In some of these locations, growing things that might not be ethically good” is a strong temptation, Landis says.

“People in Southeast Asia can make good money [by growing opium poppies], but it’s doing damage to people,” he describes as one example.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Colin Roe/Unsplash.

The same principles apply to Bible translation. When everyone works together, more gets done. Andy Keener sees this firsthand as the Executive Vice President for Partnerships at Wycliffe USA.

“I get the privilege of working with churches and Bible agencies worldwide to help identify Bible translation needs, develop projects with local leaders and churches, and provide funding and monitoring,” Keener says.

Bible translation used to be done by the West for the rest. Now, the workforce and process are shifting. More about Bible translation trends here.

The Kaninuwa of Papua New Guinea see Bible translation as a primary way to shape, equip and revive the next generation.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Wycliffe USA)

“Over the last generation, the center of gravity of the Church has been moving south and east from traditional Europe and North America,” Keener says.

“It’s not that there are fewer Christians in North America and Europe. It’s just that the growth of the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia has been so phenomenal.”

Western organizations like Wycliffe USA still have an essential role to play. It’s just different from before.

“More Bible translation workers [come] from these local communities. These [local church] leaders are saying, ‘this (Bible translation) is the responsibility of the church,’” Keener says.

“But [they realize] it’s a very technical thing to deal with the Word of God and Bible translation. So, through a variety of networks, we connect with them; we say, ‘how can we support you?’ it’s really about meeting them where they are; bringing the tools, resources, and networks that we have; and connecting with needs on the ground.”

The Great Commission workforce may be shifting, but that doesn’t mean believers in the West get a free pass. Find your place in the story here.

“One of the things you can do immediately is to pray. Sign up for a monthly PDF file you can get through email; that will share specific prayer requests from communities around the world doing Bible translation,” Keener says.

You can also “find ways to give towards projects around the world,” he adds.

Header and story images courtesy of Wycliffe USA.

Communications Director Tim Landis says the new FARMS program in Kenya started through social media. “God worked it out through connections and conversations on Facebook; it all happened very quickly,” Landis says.

“It’s one of those things where you’d step back and [say], ‘God doing is this because if it were up to our human hands, it would not have happened this way.’”

Watch a video about the new program here.

After communicating online and flying to Kenya for in-person meetings, FARMS began work alongside a local church and five loan recipients. “Back in November, we made a trip to Kenya to meet with them, train them, help them develop business plans,” Landis says.

“[Today,] we’re getting these messages back from them to show us ‘hey, we’re already up and going, we’re ready to go.’”

Some loan recipients grow produce or raise livestock, while others own small stores. “A couple of [recipients] lost their businesses due to due to COVID… God, at just the right time, has come in using FARMS to [revive] the businesses,” Landis says.

See testimonies from the field here.

Pastor Wycliffe, a strong advocate of FARMS’ approach, “started a business of growing maize and beans, and he has a couple of fields [now],” Landis says.

“His dream is to make enough money to start a hardware shop.”

(Photo courtesy of FARMS International)

FARMS International combines Christian stewardship with interest-free loans to help believers work out of poverty and give to the local church. Volunteers from the local church form a committee and serve as overseers of the FARMS program.

“We want them (participants) to grow spiritually, to be well-discipled, well-trained in godly business practices. Some of their earnings from their businesses go as tithe into the local church, building that up,” Landis explains.

“It’s essential that the local church is a part of FARMS programs as much as individuals.”

Support FARMS here to help grow God’s Kingdom in East Africa.

“Part of their (local believers) dream is to expand FARMS in Africa, to go to different places throughout the continent. So if God’s placed it on your heart to give to FARMS to start up new loan programs in various places, that would be great,” Landis says.

Header and story images courtesy of FARMS International.