South Korean missionaries contributed much to the recent Gospel growth. Bibles For The World partners in Nepal wish to continue the upward trend.

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

“Post-COVID, [believers have] come out of lockdowns and quarantines with an urgency, saying ‘We’ve got to get the Gospel out!” President/CEO John Pudaite says.

The pandemic served as a grim reminder of what’s at stake. Believers in every community lost someone they knew. More often than not, “people died without even hearing the name of Jesus,” he adds.

Earlier this year, Bibles For The World leaders and Nepali partners met in person for the first time since 2019. Believers accomplished more in personal collaboration than they could over Zoom.

“Being able to see them face to face and spend time together in prayer and fellowship has been so important,” Pudaite says.

“[We said,] ‘Let’s regroup here; these are the things we planned to do; what are the new opportunities we’ve seen emerge?’”

Today, Nepali partners are putting the plans into action. Pray for favor as believers carry out the projects God placed on their hearts.

“Everybody’s coming out of this (pandemic) on fire and sharing, ‘Hey, there’s a new opportunity; there’s a new village that opened up to us.’

“It [inspires us] as we look to equip them and come alongside them.”

Help dreams become a reality by partnering with Bibles For The World here.

Header and story images courtesy of Bibles For The World.

A worker in Beijing hangs her hands over the testing holes during a 1-minute break period between day-long consistent testing services.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Eric Lin/Unsplash)

China’s economy is widely expected to miss its official growth target this year, raising concern among investors and policymakers alike. Experts say China will not likely start the long journey out of zero-COVID until 2023.

Lockdowns hamper churches as well as businesses, but believers find peace amid uncertainty.

“We don’t know what the future holds. But we know Who holds the future, and that’s Christ,” China Partner’s Erik Burklin says.

The Lord continues to open doors of opportunity for China Partner. What began as a short-term solution to social isolation could now become a standard method of operation.

China Partner’s team mentors Chinese pastors and Christian leaders through long-term relationships. More about that here. Since 1991, China Partner has been invited to train leaders in seminaries, Bible schools, and local churches in 42 cities.

Now, China Partner uses Zoom training to disciple Chinese leaders instead of in-person seminars.

“When we started China Partner, it was not an online type of ministry. But technology is so easy these days; it is like a new normal,” Burklin says.

“Who [could predict] Zoom would become one of the major platforms God would use [for] ministry?”

Pray for wisdom and discernment as church leaders navigate the legal process for registration.

“They (the Chinese government) passed a new internet law March 1; this was a typical way for the government to control things,” Burklin says, adding that the process is similar to registering a physical church.

“You can register your website or your internet content with the Religious Affairs [department;] there’s an application process you must go through.”

Header image depicts a public sanitation worker during the recent lockdown in Shanghai. (Photo courtesy Xiangkun ZHU/Unsplash)

Bruce Allen with FMI says this mostly represents girls aged 10 to 19. “Sometimes, these young girls don’t even understand what’s happening to their bodies, in terms of menstruation. COVID-19 has played havoc with the lifestyles of Kenyans in recent years. A lot of families relied on school for their kids’ reproduction education.”

Healthcare hurdles

In the late 1960s, Kenya became the first sub-Saharan African country to introduce a family planning program. But Allen says, “Over the last decade and a half, the government shifted its funding from family planning to focusing on the HIV epidemic. Because Kenya was exceptionally hard hit with HIV and AIDS.”

The major cities have some health clinics, but rural areas often lack these resources. Plus, being pregnant comes with a lot of stigma for young girls, so they often do not tell their families. Abortion is not legal in Kenya, and many girls try to induce one themselves, often suffering serious injury or death.

Allen says local churches try to pick up the slack and save lives. “They’re not getting an education from home, and they’re not getting it through the schools. Our churches want to provide it in a Christ-honoring environment. They’re saying, ‘We have to make our youth groups areas where it is safe to have these discussions.’”

“They want the kids to feel like they can open up and talk transparently, candidly, with competent church leaders.”

But these programs are expensive for rural Kenya churches. Through FMI, you can support healthcare and education in Jesus’ name.

Additionally, churches come around young girls who survive their pregnancies. Allen says, “What’s education going to look like when a 12 or 13-year-old girl now has to take care of an infant? Will the church provide tutors so the young parent can still finish their school? There’s a lot of opportunities for all types of ministry to go on.”

Header photo courtesy of Manuela Milani from Pixabay.

“Our people in China are incredibly frustrated with this process. They wish it would be over,” Kurt Rovenstine of Bibles for China says.

New outbreaks raised concerns about a new round of coronavirus restrictions. Hundreds of students in Beijing held a rare protest as officials tried to seal them in their dorms.

A worker cleans the sidewalk in Shanghai.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Sam Balye/Unsplash)

Shanghai has been under lockdown for seven weeks, and there’s no end in sight. For the first time in nearly two months, authorities allowed some residents to leave their homes to buy groceries last week.

Despite these trials, the Lord is working all things together for good. “I’m now sensing an increased spiritual fervor amongst the people we’re communicating with in China,” Rovenstine says.

“It’s almost as if the spiritual temperature is rising because of their challenges.”

Pray the Lord will give Chinese Christians His wisdom and boldness. Learn more about Bibles for China here.

“We have a long list of distributions that we’ve committed to. [Church partners are] ready to receive Bibles, and Bibles are available, but [it’s] an incredible struggle for the churches to gather.”

“This [test] between obedience to God and submission to the state is a huge challenge for our friends in China.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Eric Lin/Unsplash.

Since the end of March, tens of millions of people have been cooped up in their homes when infection rates surged in Shanghai. New cases rose again in areas outside the quarantine zone, so authorities say restrictions will remain.

Believers are struggling throughout the country. “It’s a real challenge for the churches; some churches have not met for quite some time,” Kurt Rovenstine of Bibles for China says.

“One of our folks said they haven’t been able to take communion in the church for over two years.”

Nearly half of the cities responsible for China’s GDP are under lockdown. Experts warn that prolonged closures could deal a considerable blow to supply chains for the automotive and tech industries.

Lockdowns also prevent church gatherings and keep believers in rural China from getting a Bible. So, Bibles for China is exploring alternative options.

Before the pandemic started, rural churches held celebration gatherings for believers receiving their very own Bible.
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)

“The Church is requesting audio players for elderly [people], illiterate [people, and] the sight-impaired, so that they can hear the Word of God,” Rovenstine says.

“[Audio players] can be put into the mail and delivered from the Provincial Office or dropped off at someone’s house. Our first batch will be delivered this month; kind of [like] a test to see how well they work and if they’re well-received.”

Another type of audio Bible is perfect in a small group setting. Both devices can be “loaded with content beyond Scripture – some preaching from the provincial leaders, and those kinds of things,” Rovenstine says.

“We’re excited about that [opportunity]. It’s a bit different for us, but the leaders are asking for it and think it will make a difference.”

Learn more about Bibles for China here. Pray for endurance for Chinese believers. Pray God’s Word, whether in print or audio, provides encouragement and hope.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Jida Li / Unsplash.

“We can get them into Hong Kong, and once they go there, we can get them into other parts of China,” Mission Cry’s Jason Woolford says.

China and Hong Kong are seeing the largest spike in COVID cases since 2019, despite severe lockdown and prevention policies. Earlier this week, China locked down an industrial city of nine million after 47 new cases were reported.

Frustration abounds on Chinese social media platforms. Government censors cannot keep up with the influx of posts. If ever the Chinese people needed a reason to hope, it’s now.

Pray Mission Cry receives the support it needs to send more Bibles and Christian resources to China.
(Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

“Our brothers and sisters in China share a page of a Bible with multiple people and then try to memorize it,” Woolford says.

“Meanwhile, we have two full sea containers that we could send if funded.”

Help Mission Cry send more Bibles to China here.

“Pray that the funding comes in for both of these containers and that we get them released and distributed to Hong Kong and Shenzhen,” Woolford says.

“Our partner reached out to me and said, ‘We need to get more containers as quickly as you possibly can get them to us. Because we don’t know if we’ll be able to get containers anytime soon, or at all again in the near future. And we need the Word of God.’”

In the header image, believers unload boxes of Bibles and Christian resources sent to Hong Kong by Mission Cry. Header and story images courtesy of Mission Cry.

“It’s been disrupted by the temporary lockdown now in place, but we know that, as soon as restrictions ease up and they’re able to move about more freely again, this work will continue.” FARMS Executive Director Scott Clifton says.

FARMS International pairs Christian stewardship and interest-free loans to help families work their way out of poverty while supporting the local church. Learn more about FARMS International here.

They began the FARMS Lanka program in 1973. However, when government changes took place in the early ’90s, “it became unclear on how partnership was to continue between FARMS International and FARMS Lanka,” Clifton says.

Through FARMS Lanka, local believers continued aid deliveries in the name of Jesus for 20 years. Now, “we feel like God opened the door to rekindle that relationship and partnership,” Clifton says.

Clarence, FARMS Lanka Director, delivers relief aid to needy families.
(Photo courtesy of FARMS International)

COVID-19 lockdowns force FARMS Lanka to close down their normal office and stop routine work. Sri Lankan authorities implement “temporary lock downs, but then they’re extended so it’s really hard to make any progress,” Clifton says.

“It’s a difficult, difficult situation.”

However, FARMS Lanka has been able to carry out some relief work, providing dry rations and donations for their food station through the local churches.

Persistent poverty and the current conditions in Sri Lanka provide plenty of opportunities to demonstrate God’s love.

FARMS Lanka – in partnership with FARMS International – has begun approving applicants for their program promoting businesses among believers. They have supported two poultry businesses and another for food preparation.

Clarence, FARMS Lanka Director, wrote in a recent update:

“Covid 19 threat has come to the whole world in a time where many economical, political, spiritual ups and downs are taking place in many countries. We have observed many people, due to fear, engage in religious activities during this period. The messages from churches has increased through media for those who are interested and for those who could not attend church services due to lockdown. In the Biblical history we have come across many pandemics. In all circumstances, when people see God, He has made a deliverance.”

Contact FARMS International here to partner with FARMS Lanka.

“If someone [serves] on the missions committee at their church and they’d like to mention FARMS, that would be incredible,” Clifton says.

“There are many opportunities in front of us and we anticipate more will come about, but to pursue these opportunities we need partnerships.”

Header image depicts aid recipients helped by FARMS Lanka. (Photo courtesy of FARMS International)

And yet, hope remains. Galen* with Global Disciples says, “We’ve seen it in many places where the lockdown allowed people to focus on their neighborhoods and provide a powerful witness of hope, and the kind of joy that has [transformed] many of their lives.”

One believer in Ethiopia used Global Disciples’ training resources to disciple five women from a Muslim background. More about Global Disciples’ approach here.

“While it’s not traditional in Islam for women to provide leadership, these women were willing to step forward,” Galen says.

“They started small house fellowships and within three months, those small house fellowships had multiplied into hundreds. Now, they are a significant network of house churches all across the region.”

In South Asia, lockdowns gave believers opportunities to share the hope and joy that comes only from Christ. Global Disciples partners with a large Christian church in a metropolitan area. “When the [COVID-19] restrictions came, they decided to multiply their church into 97 small house fellowships and committed to meet twice a week,” Galen says.

“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
(Photo, caption courtesy of Global Disciples)

“The neighbors, most of them Hindus, would hear them singing and praising God and they couldn’t understand it. They said, ‘Don’t you realize what’s going on with this pandemic? How can you be joyful?’”

Believers told their neighbors about Christ, the source of their hope and joy. Then, the Christians invited their Hindu neighbors to join their meetings.

“When the restrictions lifted, many of these house churches had at least one Hindu family who had come to faith in Christ, and were now worshiping in this home fellowship. They started a couple of new fellowships of about 50 new believers where God had moved in a very significant way,” Galen says.

“In these few months of being locked down, their church had grown more rapidly than any time in the last several years.”

You can hear more powerful stories like this when you join Global Disciples’ upcoming virtual event. Learn more here.

“Join us on April 20 and 25 where we will be talking about how many of these people – who are unreached with the Gospel – are within reach of those who know Christ,” Galen says.

*– Name changed for security purposes.

Header image courtesy of Global Disciples.

“Most of the teachers have been terminated. A lot of schools won’t even be able to reopen because all the teachers have new occupations,” Dean Vander Mey of Set Free Ministries says.

With help from its supporters, Set Free kept teachers employed throughout the school year. “We paid them the same salary every week, and we commissioned them to go into the villages, find their students, and disciple them one-on-one,” Vander Mey continues.

These visits did more than provide teachers with a paycheck. They kept hope alive and protected vulnerable kids. More about that here.

“We call them ‘wellness checks’, and the wellness checks had a huge part of the children not being abused because they (predators) knew teachers were going to come to the home and see how the children were doing.”

Pray people will turn to Christ as they encounter His love through local believers.

“The community said, ‘We’re not paying school fees anymore but you still love us, you still care?’ It had a profound effect.”

Last week, Kenya’s president put the capital and surrounding counties under a harsh new lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge. Vander Mey says the new restrictions won’t affect their schools. However, multiple closures have taken a toll on other schools throughout the region.

(Photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries)

“Because of all the other schools being shut down and the teachers terminated, many of the schools are not even remotely ready to restart. So, our schools are going to have a huge increase in student counts,” Vander Mey explains.

Visit Set Free’s website to learn how you can help this ministry expand its ability to take on more students when lockdowns lift.

Set Free’s newly-constructed high school had 87 students enrolled in March 2020. “When we reopen [in April], there’s going to be 300,” Vander Mey says.

“That’s because we’re one of the only schools in the area equipped and ready to restart, having all the necessary things in place for cleanliness.”

Header image courtesy of Set Free Ministries.

Vincent Michael of FMI explains why Turkey’s government would reverse course. “More recently, with shifts in the West, more conservative countries (and not just Turkey, conservative Christian countries like Poland) have grown leery of the convention. They see it as maybe a backdoor way to advocate for transgender [identities] or to advocate rights for LBGT communities inside their country.”

A persistent problem

This decision comes at a time when violence against women has surged around the world due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Michael says it’s a similar story in Turkey. “It’s not a moot point. It is a very real issue. And as President Erdogan takes Turkey into a more Islamicist way of thinking, those things will probably continue to rise more sharply.”

Michael encourages listeners to pray for the Holy Spirit to change hearts in Turkey. “You clearly see through the Gospels the value that Jesus places on women. But also, Muslim men have mothers. They have daughters. They have sisters. Pray that God would move in the heart of Muslim men, even before they become Christians, that they would become more compassionate to the needs of the women in their lives. Laws are one thing that nations set up, but hearts are another thing. And God can change hearts even in spite of laws.”

The header photo shows Istanbul, Turkey, where the treaty was opened for signature. (Alexxx1979, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)