“We are currently in a lockdown, and this is where child marriages also begin to appear,” Marijani says.

“Vulnerable girls are not at school; they’re not playing; they’re [at] home. People who live in crowded situations [find] opportunities to do this (child marriage).”

Ask God to help believers protect young girls from harm. Keep reading to learn why child marriage problems continue and how believers work together to combat them. Support OM’s work in Zimbabwe here.

Three issues driving child marriage

As Girls Not Brides describes here, multiple unresolved factors keep child marriage alive and well in Zimbabwe. “The first is poverty,” Marijani says.

“Zimbabwe has been in [an] economic crisis since 2000, and every year seems to [get] worse. Daughters are married off to reduce the economic burden,” he continues.

Education is another contributing factor, with many girls leaving school before they graduate. “Some people consider them to be adults once they drop out of school,” Marijani adds, whether these young women are of legal age or not. Zimbabwe did not raise its age of consent to 18 years old until 2016.

With biblical discipleship, OM Zimbabwe combats a spiritual factor putting girls at risk.

In partnership with local churches, OM Zimbabwe missionaries combat destructive practices with God’s Word.
(Photo courtesy of OM Zimbabwe)

“There’s an indigenous Apostolic Church which encourages girls as young as 10 to marry much older men. They do this because they would like to keep these young girls within their religious circles,” Marijani explains.

“They only read the Old Testament and they will point to the fact that, in the Old Testament, polygamy is allowed. People had concubines in the Bible. So, they will tell you that what they’re doing is aboveboard.”

Furthermore, senior members of this religious organization claim to be God’s agents. “They claim to be under some spiritual authority” that supersedes parents’ rights, Maijani says.

If you attend the so-called church and a leader wants to marry your underage daughter, “you are in no position to resist because the senior member is a so-called ‘prophet;’ they have authority over the parents so they cannot refuse.”

How to help end child marriage

In partnership with local churches, OM Zimbabwe missionaries combat these destructive practices with God’s Word. Support their efforts here by giving through OM USA. “OM provides Bibles and some OM members go to do Bible-based discipleship in this sector,” Marijani says.

Most importantly, pray. Use the prompts listed alongside this article to guide your intercession. “Pray for leaders in Africa. We need leaders who are God-fearing [and] respect the rights of people,” Marijani requests.

“Dictators and political leaders take advantage of the lockdown situation to crack down on all levels of dissent, so it [creates] more suffering.”

Header image courtesy of OM Zimbabwe via Facebook.

“It’s illegal; it’s not supposed to be happening,” Lovett says. “But still, it is a rampant issue across South Asia, the Middle East, and that part of the world.”

OM USA partners globally with churches and NGOs to prevent child marriage, rescue at-risk children, and give kids a different future – one rooted in Christ’s love and hope. Here’s how you can help.

Risk factors

Circumstances vary by culture and region, but poverty underlies many parents’ decisions to support child marriage. “People are just so poor. You’re looking at how you can have less of an economic burden,” Lovett describes.  Without education or a way to financially contribute to their parents’ household, girls and young women lack viable options.

“They’re stuck in this position that their future is only in getting married. And it’s often the younger, the better.”

According to the UN, approximately 650 million girls and women alive today were married as children. As VOA News describes, the coronavirus pandemic places an additional burden on girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

Watch as child brides around the world talk about their experiences.

3 ways to help

(Photo courtesy David Lovette)

Now that you know, how will you respond? Lovett describes three ways to help end child marriage.

PRAY

Prayer surpasses geographic and circumstantial barriers. Use the prompts listed alongside this article to guide your intercession. Pray child marriage would end globally, and that people would see women as Christ sees them.

GIVE

Together with their partners, OM USA empowers girls and women through education and vocational training. You can support their efforts here. “We have been doing what we can for the last few decades to address this [issue] through projects [designed] to empower young women with a skill that would help them have a way to support themselves,” Lovett says.

“Every time you see a young woman’s life transformed and there’s a sense of restored hope and dignity, it makes it all worthwhile.”

SHARE

Using the buttons below, share this article on your social media channels. Spread the word to rally prayer and advocate for change.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of amyannbrockmeyer via Pixabay.

Then comes marriage, often to a man old enough to be their dad or grandpa. “Especially in rural areas with high illiteracy, young girls – [some] even as young as ten-,11-, 12-, 13- [years old] – are being married to older men,” Lovett says.

“In Bangladesh, something like 22-percent of young girls are being married before they’re 15 years of age.”

OM USA partners with churches and NGOs to give kids like these a different future – one rooted in Christ’s love and hope. Here’s how you can help

How much does a girl child cost?

According to UNICEF, South Asia leads the world in child marriages. Child marriage affects both boys and girls globally, but it affects girls disproportionately – especially in South Asia:

Learning how to read gives women and girls self-esteem and hope. With the Bible as the teaching text, they can experience God’s amazing love for themselves.
(Photo courtesy OM USA)

Child marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse. India has the largest number of brides in the world – one-third of the global total. Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in Asia (the fourth-highest rate in the world). Nepal has also one the highest rates of child marriage in Asia for both boys and girls.

A report released earlier this week says the COVID-19 pandemic could make this trend worse. UNICEF officials say the economic side effects of coronavirus restrictions will likely drive families deeper into poverty, putting an estimated 600 million children at higher risk of exploitation.

Desperate times lead to desperate measures. If family members cannot produce an income, they become expendable. “In one of these countries, if you are a young kid – five, six, or seven years old – you’re already rolling cigarettes by hand [for up to] seven hours a day, for about $1 a day,” Lovette says.

“You cannot and do not attend a local school because your parents are illiterate; they don’t see the value of the school… If you miss grades one, two, and three, you can never attend a primary school there.”

Circumstances like these make life even more difficult for young girls. “[If] you’re looking at how can you have less of an economic burden, girls that are younger are [easier] to get married off in that part of the world,” Lovette explains.

The resulting conception and birth of a child introduces new problems. Watch Needata’s story to learn why. “We come alongside and do vocational training, literacy training, and then help them (former child brides) find a future out of this situation,” Lovette says.

Find your place in the story

Now that you know, how will you respond? Lovett requests prayer first and foremost. “Jesus said, ‘Pray the Lord of the harvest for workers’,” he summarizes.

(Photo courtesy David Lovette)

“That’s always a prayer – ‘Lord, raise up people from within Bangladesh, other parts of the world, who would be willing to come love and serve, and help make an impact and difference in these kind of projects.’”

Find more prayer requests listed alongside this article. If you can spare $10, support this critical work through OM USA. Plus, use the buttons below to share this article with a friend and help spread the word.

“The challenge is just so huge and we’re seeking to build awareness,” Lovett says. “So much of the rest of the world [doesn’t] hear and know about this.”

Header image courtesy of David Lovette.

According to a news alert from Operation Mobilization, the earthquake reached a 6.7 on the Richter scale. Eight people were killed and a couple hundred injured. Aftershocks continue to shake the region and terrify the people. For this reason, OM says the biggest need in the area is counselling for those who have been living in fear since the first quake.

We spoke with Operation Mobilization’s Sally Ababa, their national leader of operations in the Philippines. In addition to concrete houses being damaged, she says, “Because it’s in the southern part of the Philippines, which is not necessarily urbanized, what has been damaged are the infrastructures like bridges, some hospitals, churches, and some of the commercial buildings.”

Dwellings made of bamboo and other similar materials were mostly unaffected, but more official buildings like schools did incur damage. But while the OM team surveyed the damage, it was obvious the people here were still living in fear.

“Children are quite afraid when the tables start to move and all those things,” Ababa says.

OM is offering two training opportunities — one on a curriculum that helps children deal with the fear surrounding disaster, and another that helps the Church react quickly in the aftermath of disaster. Ababa says they learned a lot about disaster relief in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the storm that killed over 6,000 people in 2013.

Operation Safe

The first training equips Sunday School teachers and other youth workers with material that helps children cope during disaster. The curriculum, called “Operation Safe”, can be used in VBS camps and other similar settings.

“It is focused on allowing the children understand about calamities and disasters. Alongside with that, they will then understand that while it is dangerous, they have actually someone to go to, they have some friends that they can talk to, and they have Bible verses that they can hold on to so they won’t be afraid,” Ababa explains.

(Photo courtesy of Operation Mobilization).

This program helps children focus on the God who is in control of the situation. Even though there are many unknowns during something like an earthquake, these kids can hold on to a knowable and unchanging God.

Ababa says this material, and in effect the Gospel, will be available not only to children who attend the churches they work with, but those from the community who are invited to VBS schools each year.

OM will send a team this month to begin training leaders so they will be prepared for the week-long VBS classes in April and May. This year, there are 200 youth leaders looking to take the classes.

Disaster Relief Training

In addition to the VBS training, OM is being proactive as they help church leaders prepare for future disasters. This year, they are planning on 200 Christian leaders taking the training.

“This is teaching the churches on how to respond when disaster strikes like earthquakes and storms. So please pray for us, because this will be huge for our staff.”

Many Christians understand the importance of the Church stepping into situations like this to help. It is not only important from a humanitarian level, but an evangelistic one as well.

(Photo courtesy of Operation Mobilization).

“When we experienced Typhoon Hyan, it was very devastating, and we also had an earthquake involved. But now, three years later, we also saw how the Lord turned this into something to open up doors of ministries all because a lot of people around the world are praying and a lot of people also came to my country, ” Ababa says.

She asks that you pray for provision for the training. The group sizes are four times what they’ve hosted in the past. She says you can also pray for safety as there is some danger from extremist groups nearby.

Ababa says this is only the beginning of a commitment OM is making to serve the Island of Mindanao. If you’re interested in getting involved in the ministry here, consider contacting OM USA here. You can also find ways to give financially.

“My prayer is that we may continue as one Body of Christ all over the world to continue to pray for one another, to provide, give, and share what we can with others. And if you have time, just come and be a blessing to others who are in need.”

(Wikipedia)

As described on OM’s website, “Crossfit Slovenia will use the sport of Crossfit as a platform to forge relationships within the gym. Because Slovenes are such relational people, training Crossfit workouts together will immediately give you a connection with them because you will be doing something that they love.”

For a couple of weeks in July, you’ll be able to train Slovenes in Crossfit and introduce them to Christ. Or, if they already know the Lord, your story might help them deepen their relationship with Him.

Learn more about this mission trip or send your application here.

Crossfit Slovenia a unique ministry approach for a nation steeped in Protestant history but desperate for discipleship and evangelical growth.

According to Operation World, Protestants have had a presence in Slovenia ever since the Reformation. Although most Slovenes (60%) are Catholic, the Catholic churches in most cities are primarily there for cultural and societal reasons.

Prayer Points

• Ask the Lord if He would have you serve Him in Slovenia through this opportunity.
• Pray for evangelical churches within Slovenia to begin reaching their neighbors with the Truth of salvation.
• Pray for creativity to find new ways to engage Slovenes with the Gospel.

Recently Operation Mobilization teams have been distributing food and aid in some more remote areas of Pakistan. Many of the people in these areas have never seen a motorized vehicle, know nothing of the city, and live humble lives in the countryside. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that their perceptions of religion were slightly skewed as well.

Most of the people in these regions are either Muslim or Hindu, not Christian. In fact, as the OM team talked more and more with these villagers, they discovered that there was a common misconception that Christianity was actually just a sect of Hinduism.

The OM team members gladly took the time to set the people straight in their thinking and explain to them what Christianity is really about. They shared various accounts in the Bible of God's grace and love throughout history.

Throughout their stay in the remote areas, the team was invited to join in a celebration with a Hindu community. When they arrived, however, it seemed that no festival had actually been planned. The team decided that there would still be a festival, and that they in fact would be the ones to throw it. They took the opportunity to share the love of Christ and to explain what true Christianity really is. They also showed the "JESUS" film and shared their own testimonies.

After watching these Christians provide aid, share their stories, and truly love on them all, many villagers were clearly moved. They began to ask the OM team if they too could know Christ, noting that they had seen the true compassion these believers exhibited and wanted the same for their lives.

The OM team members are still praising God for His goodness in this situation. The Pakistan flood was an awful ordeal which has caused much grieving in the country, but it provided opportunities for believers that may not have arisen otherwise. OM teams may never have even ventured into these villages any time soon, but in the name of sharing Christ's love through physical aid, they were able to make a significant spiritual impact.

Praise God for the opportunities the OM team was given to share the truth of the Gospel. Pray that as the villagers continue to reflect on what they've heard, the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts and bring them to faith in Christ. Pray that the OM team may have other such opportunities to spread the Gospel as they continue to help still-struggling flood victims.

Help provide resources for teams like this one to distribute aid and share the love of Christ in Pakistan.