For some Lebanese believers working on the ground, the shift brings a glimmer of hope.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “This is unprecedented…. It has been a long, long time since we (Lebanese government) had any communication with Israel at all.”

Beirut, Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Maxime Guy/Unsplash)

Unprecedented — and controversial. The pushback from Hezbollah came fast and strong.

“All the Hezbollah people are in the streets and saying we will not allow this. It’s something that is now creating even a bigger division between the government and between the Hezbollah people, because the government is moving forward towards having peace talks and talking about the future of both nations,” Nuna explains.

“Hezbollah, of course, now is saying, ‘Oh, you’re bypassing us, and you’re saying we don’t need the resistance anymore…and we want to push you aside.’ So all the Hezbollah people are in the streets of Lebanon today, revolting.”

The Naqoura talks may mark the beginning of a new chapter. But for many in Lebanon, the moment is uncertain and possibly dangerous.

(Photo courtesy of TM Lebanon)

TM Lebanon and other local ministries are bracing for hardship. Nuna says, “As Christian NGOs, we have been meeting together to do a preemptive plan in case we have a new wave of displaced people, which we expect, and a new wave of attacks and new wave of bombing in the southern part of Beirut and people needing to leave homes.”

Yet, she adds, “We have become more united as Christian NGOs working together and thinking together and planning together instead of just reacting…. I think this is beautiful to see unity between the different NGOs working in different sectors and in different places, but still uniting in one goal — which is to show Christ.”

Please pray for peace, for the protection of civilians, and for wisdom for leaders on all sides.

To learn more, visit the Triumphant Mercy Lebanon website.

For TM Lebanon, it all comes down to a desire for Gospel transformation. “We want this new Middle East. We want to see God exalted. We want to see the name of Jesus exalted in the Middle East. We want to see the change.”

Header image of Lebanon and Israel flags, generated with OpenArt.ai.

“It’s sharing the love of Jesus, sharing the person of Jesus with other people,” says Ted Esler, president of Missio Nexus.

But our diverse world is also a fallen world, and it’s easy for churches and ministries to get siloed. That’s one reason Missio Nexus invites missions leaders to a conference geared toward collaboration. Echo: Amplifying the Need for Global Evangelism will happen September 24-26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

“Our superpower is really shared learning, and so that’s what we focus on more than anything else,” says Esler about these conferences. 

For example, he says, a mission agency recruiter might come wondering about mobilization trends. They would have a chance to learn from hundreds of other agencies present.

(Image courtesy of Missio Nexus via Facebook)

“We get together in a room [and then] we can talk about those things and help each one of those ministries lift their ability to serve,” Esler says. “It happens through sharing what they’re learning.”

If you’ve ever wondered what evangelism looks like across different cultures, Echo offers a chance to listen in.

“One of our speakers is a missiologist. She’s been working in Asia and she’s going to bring a discussion about contextualizing — or making the gospel understandable across cultural context,” Esler says. 

Another speaker focuses on evangelism to secular or postmodern people. Still another speaker leads large-scale crusades in Africa, following up with church planting. 

Find your place in the story 

You’re invited to attend Echo if you’re directly involved with Great Commission work, whether in a church context or a ministry with global outreach. Registration details and a full event guide are available at missionexus.org/echo.

“[Missio Nexus is] the association that’s centered on evangelism, discipleship, and planting churches on a global scale,” says Esler. “We tie together all the missionary agencies as well as globally-focused churches into one group to try to increase relationship[s], push new ideas, and focus on collaboration.

“We’re like Lausanne, except most of our effort is aimed [at] helping the Church and the mission agencies from the US and Canada move out and do what they’re doing in collaboration.” 

Header photo courtesy of Missio Nexus. 

John Pudaite, President of Bibles For The World (BFTW) says, “It really depends on how they interpret that and what they say has to be illegal religious conversion activities. That’s kind of a judgment call: What is legal religious conversion and what is illegal religious conversion?”

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World via Facebook)

Eighteen of India’s 28 states have anti-conversion laws on the books – often used to target Christian ministries and converts from Hinduism.

Since the announcement of new FCRA regulations, AC Michael, head of the Federation of Catholic Associations of the Archdiocese of Delhi stated that telling Indian Christians to “stop propagating their faith is a direct infringement” on India’s constitutional religious freedom.

For BFTW’s part, Pudaite says, “Fortunately, our primary partners in India have not had any difficulty or charges filed against them that they’re involved in illegal religious conversion activities.”

Despite the challenges, India’s need for the Gospel is urgent, with 1.3 billion people who still don’t know Christ. Pray for wisdom for faithful Christian ministries representing Jesus.

On a practical note, Pudaite also asks, “Pray that the organizations here may find ways to be self-sustaining!”

Learn more about BFTW’s critical Bible ministry in India.

Header photo of a church in Hyderabad, India. (Photo courtesy of Paul Silvan via Unsplash)

“It’s critical,” Greg Kelley from Unknown Nations says, “that we all recognize what our sweet spots are, where our strengths are, and none of us are going to be able to do it alone, that is, to carry out Jesus’ last words. We have to do it collectively and together. I quite honestly believe that is the environment that Jesus blesses the most.”

Unknown Nations focuses on reaching the unreached people groups in the 10/40 window through local missionaries, humanitarian relief, and distributing audio bibles in areas with 0.00-0.02 gospel presence.

Gospel workers distribute Treasure audio Bibles in Africa.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

MegaVoice makes solar-powered audio Bibles and partners with different ministries to distribute them so all people can hear the Gospel in their own language.

Kelley says this collaboration with MegaVoice is vital and allows Unknown Nations to focus on  its “sweet spot”, distributing the gospel to unreached areas.

“We need to realize when Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations that requires a church, but it also requires the Word of God. If somebody is an oral learner, then we have to realize there needs to be another way for the Word of God to hit this person’s heart.”

According to the International Orality Network, there are 5.7 billion oral learners in the world and 2.7 billion are unreached. As a response to this need, Unknown Nations and MegaVoice agree through their collaboration that teaching everyone how to read is not practical, but to deliver the Word of God through audio Bibles that will reach the oral learner’s hearts and help them become disciples.

Pray for God to bless these ministries’ efforts as they work together to spread the gospel. Ask God to prepare the hearts of the unreached people for His Word so when the Gospel comes, it may lead many people to Him.

Collaborate with Unknown Nations in this ministry by joining their prayer movement 

Header photo of Treasure audio Bible courtesy of Unknown Nations.

Helen Williams of World Missionary Press says the journey began when a new missionary asked WMP for Spanish Bibles. “‘World Missionary Press doesn’t print Bibles,’ I told him, ‘but we have Bible studies and material,’” Williams says.

“He said, ‘Okay, that’s wonderful! Can you provide it?’ and he sends us a list of 100 copies each of our Bible studies and some other material.”

WMP teamed up with a distributor in Honduras to supply the missionary with the items he requested. Praise God for this quick collaboration and for recent prison changes leading to Gospel opportunities.

“They got a new superintendent at this prison, and he’s a believer so he made it mandatory that the prisoners attend a Gospel service,” Williams says.

The story doesn’t stop there. Williams reached out to another MNN partner for further teamwork.

“I also contacted Mission Cry and said, ‘I’ve got prisoners in Honduras that need Bibles, can you help?’ And Mission Cry said, ‘You bet!’” Williams says.

“They provided 350 Bibles free for these prisoners in Honduras. That’s how the Lord works.”

How can God use you? Seek the Lord for further direction, and consider partnering financially with World Missionary Press. Most importantly, cover the work in Honduras in prayer.

“Pray for fruit; pray for people to come to know the Lord who might not otherwise have access to His Word. Pray for those responding, that they would grow and become established in their faith,” Williams requests.

“We just need to pray that the fruit that comes from it (prison outreach) would be fruit that remains and changes a nation.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Donald Tong/Pexels.

Ron Hutchcraft, president of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries hosts the free video series alongside his son and executive vice president of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Doug Hutchcraft. 

“You know what your hope story is?” Ron Hutchcraft says. “It’s the story of how your life is different from what it would be if there were no Jesus. It’s about the difference Jesus has made and is making in your life.”

Hutchcraft says every believer has a hope story and can use it to tackle the seemingly scary task of telling others about Jesus. 

“Reading your Bible is not scary,” Hutchraft says. “Praying isn’t scary. Going to church isn’t scary. Believing in the beliefs isn’t scary. But there’s something about taking that risk to tell somebody what you’re not sure they’re gonna want to hear—about your Jesus. We are stopped by that little four-letter word ‘fear’.”

Hutchcraft says that in his life, he’s discovered some incredible ways to break through that fear, and now that knowledge is pretty much contained in this free six-week video series on YourHopeStory.com. 

Your Hope Story can be used individually or with a small group. The series weaves in 25 diverse hope stories of people who have taken risks to tell people in their lives about Jesus. 

This series builds off four bridges Hutchcraft says every believer has in his or her life already. 

First is your situation—something every person is always in, whether that be work, going to the gym or going to the doctor. 

“What we need to realize is that our situation is our holy assignment. That God uses the very situations that pop up in our life, to position us, to represent Jesus there,” Hutchcraft says. 

The second bridge is your tribe, the groups of similar people you are part of. Maybe a group of parents on the PTA or classmates that are similar in age. 

Bridge three is your story. 

(Photo courtesy of YourHopeStory.com)

“We all have a story,” Hutchcraft says. “Now, First Peter says ‘Be ready’. And that’s what this whole video series is about. Be ready to give the reason for the hope you have: your hope story.”

The fourth bridge is prayer: prayer that God will open your mouth, prayer that God will open hearts, and prayer that God’s will be done. 

Your Hope Story uses these four bridges to help Christians gain confidence in sharing their stories with unbelievers. 

“I tell you what this does, it moves people from ‘I can’t’ to ‘Maybe I could’ to ‘I can and I will’,” Hutchcraft says. “And you will have the great privilege of looking in the mirror and saying ‘I am someone’s chance. I’m somebody’s chance at Jesus. I’m somebody’s chance at heaven’.”

Visit YourHopeStory.com to learn more about this free resource. 

(Header photo courtesy of John Schnobrich via Unsplash.)

The FCRA stands for the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. India requires non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive foreign funding to register for a license. This license can be suspended and cut an organization off from foreign funds.

John Pudaite with Bibles For The World (BFTW) explains, “You have thousands of organizations whose applications for renewal are in process, not knowing whether it’s going to be extended again. As they have donors from outside India,…every time they’d say, ‘Well, we’re extended till this point. Please send funds what you can by that point because after that point, we don’t know whether we’ll be able to receive funds anymore.’”

(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

With the FCRA registration extension, India also announced NGOs will have to declare details of moveable and immovable assets created by them using foreign funds every year. This will create even more time-consuming paperwork for ministries under the FCRA.

“Two of the main organizations that Bibles For The World works with were under this process. One of them has been renewed, the other has not.”

The FCRA has been used before to suspend licenses for Christian ministries accused of using funds or material bribery to force conversions to Christianity.

“They cannot understand that this is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that people are finding,” says Pudaite. “So they look at it the only way they can in material terms and say, ‘Oh, they must be converting because they’re being given money, they’re being given roofing sheets, or rice, or what have you.’ That’s not the case.”

Pray wisdom for Indian believers as they proclaim the Gospel and link arms with believers around the world for ministry.

“They are an extreme minority in these situations, and so we just need to pray that they may be strong at this time and that they may seek their refuge and their strength from from the Lord.”

Learn more about BFTW’s ministry in India here!

Header photo courtesy of Bibles For The World.

Partnerships on the ground

Nehemiah serves as a ministry liaison for FMI. He often connects with other ministries who want to serve in countries where FMI works. FMI will then connect them with support on the ground.

For instance, Nehemiah worked with another ministry to translate Bible stories into the Balochi language in Pakistan. He met them through the Alliance. “They’re just connecting the dots together. And because of that organization, we will reach five to six million unreached people inside Pakistan.”

The cause of the Unreached is celebrated and prayed for on the International Day for the Unreached, Pentecost Sunday.

Header photo courtesy of A Third of Us on Facebook. 

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.

“Rescue Radio”

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

Ron Hutchcraft, President of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says that because “A Word With You” is short it’s able to target a person’s heart while keeping them engaged for a whole 4.5 minute segment. This is important to the ministry as they seek to intentionally share Christ through “rescue radio.”

Hutchcraft says, “And that simply means that the message that rescues us from our lostness our brokenness and an eternity without God, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will be clearly, non-religiously, creatively, and regularly what our program is about.”

Creativity is important to the team. They want to show listeners that following Christ is not boring or a waste of time. The Gospel truly applies to every area of life. That’s why Ron Hutchcraft Ministries wraps the message of the Gospel in relatable stories.

And now Trans World Radio is helping take this dynamic rescue radio to new listeners.

Storytelling in Many Languages

Ron says, “We were approached by Trans World Radio, our wonderful partners. And they suggested that the story format that we use would be very effective in other cultures, because we live in a storytelling world. So, we started with the most spoken language in the world, which is Mandarin.”

From there the discussion snowballed. Currently “A Word With You” is being translated into Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic from English. Additionally, the ministry is looking at beginning translation work into Japanese.

The goal is to reach highly populous languages as well as languages from regions without many Christians, such as Japan.

Online Ministry

Hutchcraft says that through their partnership with TWR “A Word With You” extends beyond broadcast radio.

“Trans World Radio also has a wonderful online site called TWR360. And so we’re able to refer people. Let’s say, for example, you know, someone in the United States, who is a Mandarin speaker. [They] may have come here not too long ago, or a Spanish speaker. Well, they can go to TWR360 and listen to ‘A Word With You’ anytime, anywhere.”

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

The value of having these stories constantly available is crucial. It allows people to approach the Gospel disarmed. “A Word With You” is gentle, yet authoritative. It doesn’t make people feel as though they are sitting under a preacher.

In fact, Hutchcraft says that D.L. Moody captured the vision of what “A Word With You” does.

“He said men will listen to a story when they won’t listen to Scripture. The moral of a story remains with them a long time, and often sets them thinking along lines, they refuse to consider in sermon form.” Hutchcraft continues, “Interesting, and I think insightful and perspective. And that that’s exactly what we believe.”

Get Involved

As “A Word With You” continues to spread into new areas and in new languages, Hutchcraft asks for prayer that Ron Hutchcraft Ministries would be faithful to the message of the Gospel and creative in their storytelling.

He also asks that people pray that, “God will provide the funds for us to be able to accelerate getting into other cultures with this, what we hope is a disarming and very powerful, way to bring Jesus into somebody’s life right where they are.”

Learn more or support Ron Hutchcraft Ministries here.

Header photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries.