It also happened to be Easter, making it an especially pointed attack. Christians are a minority in Sri Lanka, making up 1.7 million, or 7.7%, of the population (source: Joshua Project).

(Screenshot)

In the years since then, the government has largely met calls for thorough investigation with inaction and silence. A trial of suspects in the bombing began in late 2021 but to date no one has been convicted or punished for the killings. Many people gather each year to protest this silence.

Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach (CWO) says, “It is a time to remember. Being a believer is not not necessarily a safe thing. It’s a battle, and I think that’s part of what was going on (in Sri Lanka).”

The gospel continues to be opposed in Sri Lanka, but Christians are resilient.

“There’s been physical attacks on Christians, (people) attacking them if they do open a church, if they do any kind of evangelism,” Yoder says.

“But what’s impressed me is the desire (of) those who know the Lord to not let any of that deter them from sharing the gospel, and especially discipling others — helping them grow in their faith so that they can share the gospel with others.”

Since 2021, the CWO team serve kids and families by offering education programs and meeting tangible needs. (Learn more here.) They do their work with sensitivity to the culture, in order to build relationships where they can then share the gospel. 

“We’ve had parents of some of our children in the after-school program (whose) concern was, ‘You’re going to make our children believe the way you do.’ We’ve reassured them, ‘No, but we use Bible stories to help the kids learn to read,’” Yoder says. 

Ministry in Sri Lanka. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

“So they’re relieved by that, but then that opens the door because they want to hear, ‘Why do you want to love us? Why do you want to help our kids, if you’re not going to push the gospel on it?’ It just opens that door, and so people are willing to listen in the ministries that we do there.”

Now that you know more, will you pray? 

“Pray for the believers in Sri Lanka as they openly share the Gospel, as our staff there disciple others to grow in their faith so that they can share the gospel with others, share the love of Christ,” Yoder says.

Pray also for those still grieving for the people who were killed in 2019. Ask God to bring His perfect justice to those responsible for the attacks. 

Header photo of Sri Lanka is a representative stock photo courtesy of Vinnath Satharasinghe via Unsplash.

Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation says 80,000 Israelis have evacuated their homes in northern Israel, moving to central cities away from the border with Lebanon.

“It’s like we have two fronts. Officially, the war is only in Gaza. But in fact, it’s both Gaza and Lebanon,” Pochtar says.

Meanwhile, in the city of Ashdod, Pochtar’s church lives out its daily mission as the church, preaching and building up the church body. They pray about ways they can reach out to those trapped in conflicts farther away from their region, and they actively serve their neighbors.

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Pochtar thanks God that there is no longer a need in their area to deliver food to people living in bomb shelters.

“We right now (are) focusing on the poor and needy, widows and single mothers, but also aliyah, or immigration. The Jewish immigration keep(s) going, even during the war, praise the Lord,” Pochtar says.

More than 44,000 people, the majority of them Jewish, are estimated to have immigrated to Israel from January to November of 2023. When they arrive in Israel, they are in a key transition time where local believers can share the love and hope of Christ.

This Christian witness is important among rising expressions of anti-Semitism in other parts of the world.

“When you live in Israel, and you see the international social media, you (get) kind of (a) crazy picture, and you feel like ‘all the world is against us.’ So when we help people, we always tell them, ‘This help come(s) from Christians. Christians are with you, they care, they love,'” Pochtar says. 

Praise God for this church’s faithful ministry, and join in praying for the peace of the Middle East in these ways:

“First of all, (pray for) shalom — Israel need(s) peace, Israel need(s) shalom. Number two would be (the) salvation of Israel. Yeshua said, ‘Pray for the workers. (The) fields are ready. They are ready to be harvested but pray for workers in the harvest.’ So we pray for more people with a passion for evangelism,” Pochtar says.

Click here to learn more about Beit Hallel Congregation’s ministry.

Header photo of war relief action teams delivering much-needed essentials to soldiers at the Israeli army bases in the south of Israel, courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation.

According to Jonathan, a Christian worker focused in Pakistan, local interest in the Gospel partly stems from a growing disenchantment with Islam.

“A lot of this is because of some of the horrific things that have been done in the name of Islam by people claiming to be good Muslims,” he explains. “Al Qaeda and the Taliban and ISIS are sort of chief among them. And I think there’s this growing sense among many Muslims that… if this is what Islam is, I want nothing to do with it.”

But now that Pakistanis are more open than they perhaps have ever been, the local Church is underequipped to reach them. “Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world; there are more than 200 million Muslims in Pakistan,” Jonathan says. Among those 200 million Muslims are “at least 12 of the totally unreached and unengaged people groups.”

And there are fewer and fewer foreign missionaries. Ongoing security issues in the region and challenges with visas and other paperwork have caused a large drop in the number of foreign missionaries in Pakistan.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash

Thanks to their origin in the lowest castes of Hindu society, Pakistani Christians have stayed quiet for generations. They looked to Westerners, who they perceived as better-equipped, well-resourced, and more respected, to spread the Gospel.

Not only that, but leaders who did step up often saw each other as rivals. Because Pakistan’s Church only has access to a certain limited number of resources, Jonathan says many leaders had a mentality that “resources that go to you are resources that did not come to me.” Instead of collaboration, Christians engaged in competition.

Now, Western missionaries are disappearing, and the Pakistani people are looking for answers. Competition and muted humility are no longer options.

“There’s a new movement among younger leaders who really value collaboration and partnership and sharing resources and turn to each other for help rather than turning to foreigners for help,” Jonathan says. “There’s this move across the country of ministries beginning to work together and stepping up to the plate, realizing that ‘God has placed us strategically in the most remote parts of the country.’”

The Church in Pakistan is rolling up its sleeves and digging in to help their neighbors. They may not have personnel from the global Church, but they still need your prayer. Pray for the continued efforts of a young, under-resourced Church as they show other Pakistanis that God does have the answers.

“This is where it’s really important for the Pakistani church stepping up; the cultural differences between them and the unreached people groups are far less than the cultural differences between a Western missionary coming and having to learn a new language. It’s a very exciting time.”

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

York Moore with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has met with several college and university leaders across the U.S. to discuss what the future holds. He says, “The honest answer is really nobody knows. I know that some universities are starting to make the decision not to open back up in-class, in-person learning and that’s really tough. My guess is that we’re going to see a real mixture of universities deciding to bring students back versus e-learning as we continue on in the fall.

(Photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship via Becket Law Media Kit)

“There’s a financial reality to this as well. It’s not just about keeping students safe. It’s also about running the business of the university. That might sound callous but universities are not charities. They’re not non-profits. They are in business, many of them, to make money. So we’re going to have to see.”

It’s not just higher education that’s impacted by fall semester plans.

Moore says, “Think all about the implications that this has for the small-businesswoman that sets up a deli down the street from a major university, the dry cleaners,…all kinds of businesses that kind of rely on the ecosystem of the university. Campus ministries are no exception. We might not be for-profit small businesses down the street, but the reality is we depend on the ecosystem of the university to exist.

“Regardless, I think we’re in for a new normal. The new normal is going to require people to modify their behavior, including campus ministries. So we’re really gearing up with our partners and within InterVarsity to ask those questions [and] answer those questions. What will be our contingency plan as we return to any kind of circumstance?”

No matter the campus, however, InterVarsity is persisting to be Christ’s light to college students. InterVarsity chapters are getting creative with how they connect and build relationships, and Moore says they’re seeing a positive response.

(Photo courtesy of Ryan Jacobsen via Unsplash)

“We have weekly large groups that have been attended by thousands of students across the country. That’s great news! Many of our partners with InterVarsity and the EveryCampus movement have been doing large-scale gatherings, simulcast, pre-recorded production shows, but that’s only temporary. We have to figure out what a new normal looks like for serving students.”

Right now, InterVarsity would be greatly encouraged by your support, involvement, and prayers. If you would like to give to InverVarsity, click here!

InterVarsity has also partnered with the EveryCampus movement to foster spiritual revival at every college and university across the US. They recently celebrated crossing the finish line for prayer walking every US campus. But it’s not too late for you to get involved! Click here to learn more about EveryCampus.

Finally, please pray for Gospel campus ministries like InterVarsity. Ask God to grant their campus leaders wisdom and encouragement as they reach out to college students with Jesus’s love.

“We do believe that God is in this,” Moore says. “In fact, I believe that what we’re actually going to witness as a result of COVID-19 is going to be a great move of God.”

Header photo courtesy of Changbok Ko via Unsplash.

According to China Partner’s Erik Burklin and his contacts, “People can go back to stores, they can go back to work, [and] students have returned back to school, but everybody’s wearing masks.”

Although some sources wonder if it’s too early to move back to normalcy, others are optimistic. Gone are the days of door-to-door testing and forced lockdown. A healthy end seems to be in sight.

Why the optimism? For one thing, Chinese culture already tends toward several preventive measures. The outbreak of the SARS virus years ago made mask-wearing a cultural norm, Chinese citizens are already used to respecting authorities, and the Chinese culture typically thinks and acts as a larger community.

This last point creates a problem for Wuhan residents, however. Because many locals regularly consider their part in the larger Chinese society, they take their effect on society very seriously. Imagine, then, how difficult it must be to live in the apparent birthplace of a pandemic.

According to Burklin, many locals feel guilty about the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, even though the health crisis is obviously beyond their control. But rather than focus on something clearly beyond their control, local Christians are channeling their sympathy into prayer.

Bible school in Wuhan (Photo courtesy of China Partner)

During the pandemic, Burklin remembers “one pastor was saying, ‘Thank you so much for caring for us. That is sweet that you’re praying for us.’ And so you could tell there was this empathetic and very appreciative kind of response from them.”

Now, two months later, “they’re sending us messages saying ‘We’re praying for you,’” Burklin says.”It’s just a beautiful, again, a beautiful picture of the body of Christ lifting each other up, praying for one another, helping each other, and encouraging one another.”

As most of the world encounters the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand, the Chinese believers praying for them are no stranger to the virus’s effects. Reverend Zhu, a 45-year-old partner of China Partner and president of Zhongnan Theological Seminary, contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized for several months. He was released, healthy and safe, two weeks before Wuhan reopened.

Burklin says Zhu is not the only pastor to suffer and recover from COVID-19. Now, Zhu and others are already undertaking plans to reopen the seminary and provide education for young Christian leaders in China.

“It’s an amazing story of God’s faithfulness and an amazing story of how God saved him,” Burklin says.

Like Zhu, China Partner has plans to continue their ministry as restrictions lift and cities reopen. Although they cannot physically visit China for the foreseeable future, they’re planning on providing digital material and resources for pastors and believers in China.

Photo courtesy of China Partner

But to do that, they’re going to need your help. Donations are down thanks to COVID19’s economic influence, and China Partner needs all the help it can get to bring resources to their Chinese brothers and sisters.

And whatever you choose to do, pray. Pray for “wisdom for them, because a lot now has to be done differently after COVID is over of how to do large meetings and what is allowed,” Burklin says. “Of course, the government can always use COVID as an excuse to control even further than what they were doing before, right? So they need a lot of wisdom of how to go through all this.”

Find out more about China Partner and their work right here.

Header photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Surviving at the Dump

Families and individuals live off of the nearby trash. At the cost of their education, kids are often sent to scavenge through garbage.

Koshe/Korah, Ethiopia (Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond)

TeachBeyond is working to patch education gaps and lift kids out of poverty. It is why the ministry partners with Brook Hill Development Organization in the area to provide education programs and educational intervention.

TeachBeyond’s project, Open Schools Worldwide, is available to kids 7-years-old and up in the Koshe area. Currently, the age range of students is 7 to 15-years-old. Most of these kids have previously received zero schooling.

“Open Schools, which is a program, it’s not a school, but it’s a program that is designed for children who have never been to school or have had very little schooling. And, it gives then the beginning skills so that when they can hopefully finish the Open School program in a year, they can then enter the public-school system and not be leaps behind,” Mears says.

During the program, TeachBeyond also teaches students about Jesus. This is the first time some kids hear about God. Mears hopes Open Schools Worldwide is the first of many education programs for the children of Koshe. For this to happen, the ministry needs support.

Next Steps

Koshe/Korah, Ethiopia (Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond)

Will you consider supporting TeachBeyond’s work?

“We also are collecting a lot of teaching supplies. And not just even paper, pencil-type things. In the afternoons, we do games and educational games, and just games and coloring and arts and just different things that they have never experienced,” Mears says.

“We such life skills in those afternoons because they’re learning to share. These children…they’re on survival mode. So, it’s just been fascinating just to see that transformation start to happen of being kind to one another.”

Another way to get involved with TeachBeyond is through service on the field. To check out TeachBeyond’s options to serve, CLICK HERE.

Intentional Prayer

Pray for the protection and nurturing of children TeachBeyond serves in Koshe. Mears says because these kids miss out on scavenger time to attend the education program, they experience abuse at home.

“We’ve had a few children actually get abused. So, we’re just really praying that we can reach out to these families to let them see the importance of this education program and a way to connect, and just a way to help,” Mears says.

Pray for wisdom and discernment for the TeachBeyond team in navigating tensions and complications or their work. Ask God to give these children hope for the future, and a life buried in His love.

To financially support TeachBeyond or the Open Schools Worldwide program, CLICK HERE.

*Mears first visited Ethiopia during a mother-daughter mission tripe nearly five years ago. Through a series of events, God made it clear to Mears serving in Ethiopia was a part of His will for her. After spending 25 years as a reading specialist in the public school system, Mears connected with TeachBeyond and became a full member with the organization this last year.

Header photo courtesy for TeachBeyond. 

Nineveh Plains Christians

To the north of the Nineveh Plains sits the Kurds, and to the east is Iran. To the south and west is the rest of Iraq. Due to the geography, Christians in this region have historically been trapped between the three forces. Now, the militia in this area has taken it upon itself to enforce the rule of the land.

Kurdish soldiers prepare for battle outside Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
(File photo, Boris Niehaus, Wikimedia obtained via Christian Aid Mission)

In efforts to disentangle the militia from Iranian influence, Iraq’s prime minister recently issued an executive order. The order is meant to integrate the militia with Iraq’s formal armed forces, but it could end up impacting local Christians.

“You have this central government that has never stood up for this minority that is lived there for centuries. So, whenever there’s a problem with ISIS or whatever, it always seems to start in the same area, that’s no accident. It’s because the central government is either weak or is unable or unwilling to stand up for the Christian minorities,” Dr. David Curry with Open Doors USA explains.

“These militias gain in strength. They want to take over territory, or they become a law unto themselves. So, it’s continually happened, what we what we’d like to see is for the Iraqi government to stand up for the Christian minorities.”

Since ISIS was pushed out of the area, some Christians have returned to their homes. However, the Christian population in the region is a fraction of what it was before ISIS. Curry believes some Christians are postponing their return while waiting to see if the central government will protect Christians in the Nineveh Plains. They also want to determine that ISIS fighters really are clear of the area.

Responding With Prayer

“I would love to see believers praying for the Iraqi believers because they really are salt and light in a very difficult area,” Curry urges.

(Photo courtesy of Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash)

“Their strength, their courage is amazing. But we need to pray for their boldness [and] their security. We want to see Christians in Iraq and Iran, throughout the Middle East, strong in their faith, able to share their faith and live in peace.”

Pray for the Iraqi believers’ strength, boldness, and safety. Also, pray for God’s Word to go forth in this region and change lives for the better. Pray for this area to know the Gospel and respond to it.

Header image was taken in April 2017 during a UNESCO mission to Nineveh, Iraq, which was heavily destroyed and excavated by ISIS. Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

“China is perhaps the most sophisticated persecutor of Christians, right now, in the world. And by that what I mean is there’s easy technology, facial recognition, automated intelligence to track Christians, monitor churches, and so forth [for] creating a list or social score that could potentially be used very detrimentally against Christians,” Curry explains.

(Photo by Aaron Greenwood on Unsplash)

China was designated as a country of particular concern (CPC) in 1999 and has since remained on the list. At the meeting, Curry urged for new sanctions to help curb violations of religious freedom in the country. Curry also suggests the use of the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to freeze assets and restrict the travel of individuals who grossly violate human rights.

“I think unless we put individual pressure on some of the people who are persecuting, I don’t think we’re going to see a change because China has, has the patience as a whole unit to continue to violate, because there have never been any sanctions against them for these violations,” Curry notes.

Persecution in China

But why is the U.S stepping up its game with China now? That answer is still unclear. What is clear is the problem will not dissolve on its own.

“If we don’t take it seriously, and they don’t see any corresponding pressure related to these violations of human rights, that’s going to continue to grow. People need to understand they’re interning people for their religious faith in massive numbers in the northwest part of the country,” Curry says.

The government has torn churches down and imprisoned pastors for their beliefs. In September of 2018, one pastor was imprisoned for refusing to have his congregation monitored by the government through closed-circuit TV (CCTV). Curry says this is not an isolated incident and that stories like these are happening on a massive scale.

Pray for Local Believers

(Photo courtesy of pixabay)

But the situation for Christians in China will not change overnight, so will you pray? Pray for religious freedom in China. Pray for the pastors and Christians facing persecution to have perseverance and strength in their faith.

“It’s a new generation of believers. We need to pray for their leaders; we need to pray for boldness. There are more Christians right now…in China, than there are members of the Communist Party,” Curry says.

“When we stand up and obeying civil law, but stand up and say ‘Look, we’re part of this country. We want to be honored and respected and treated like good citizens.’ I think we will carry a large voice.”

Photo by Theodor Lundqvist on Unsplash.

“We have two main strategies for helping catalyze the church to impact their communities. One is we find best practice models of church-led, church-based social impact. It might be a project working with vulnerable children or elderly people, homeless people or refugees or ex-offenders. If it’s a really effective project, we don’t want other churches having to create that project for themselves,” Bird says.

Cinnamon International in Action

Cinnamon International* helps replicate impactful models with other churches. For example, Cinnamon International helped a woman in the United Kingdom spread her work regarding holiday hunger.

“During term time in the United Kingdom, the government paid for children’s dinners if they come from a situation of hardship, which is great during term time because these kids get a good hot meal every day,” Bird says.

(Photo courtesy of Element5 Digital via Unsplash)

But when the term ends and kids go on holiday, those same children who received meals at the school go hungry. The woman, Rachel, was collaborating with three churches to feed the kids suffering from holiday hunger when she and Cinnamon International intersected.

Cinnamon International came alongside her to work as a catalyst, and within the first two years, they saw 56 churches make lunches to feed about 11,500 who would have otherwise gone hungry during their school break.

“Now in the UK, we have 30 models like that, that have been replicated by three and a half thousand churches,” Bird says.

Two Strategies

The second strategy of Cinnamon International’s for helping catalyze the Church involves community and communication.

“The other is all those projects that churches run are all made possible and made better by their own relationship with civic agencies…But the problem is the Church communicates its value in story, whereas, civic leaders and institutions communicate value in numbers and metrics. At Cinnamon, we’ve developed a tool for helping the local churches in a district measure their social and economic contribution to the life of that district,” Bird says.

New York City (Photo courtesy of Dorian Mongel via Unsplash)

This tool is called the Cinnamon Faith Action Audit. Over the next five years, Cinnamon International will use this tool as it supports 50 cities in the United States to help churches measure their social and economic impact. Your city could be one of them!

“We’re starting with New York and Dallas and Seattle and we’ve got a pipeline of another 12 cities we’re going to be working with next year,” Bird says.

“That’s where we’re starting in the U.S. To try and capture what the Church is already doing, and then to identify gaps, needs within districts and cities that the Church can respond to and find projects that meet those needs, that we can replicate and scale up.”

Help get your church involved with Cinnamon International by reaching out here.

*Cinnamon International’s name was inspired by the curry Bird and other leaders ate while drafting plans for what became Cinnamon International.

Header photo courtesy of Akira Hojo via Unsplash.

Despite Nepal’s identity as a secular nation, minority religions in the country are often denied basic rights in regards to freedom of religion.

The World Watch List, a ranking by Open Doors USA of the top 50 most severe countries for Christians, ranks Nepal at #32. Here, the main source of persecution is religious nationalism. In 2018, the Nepali government introduced further religious restrictions through an anti-conversion law which went into effect last August. Read our coverage on the topic here.

Is Nepal Becoming Like India?

Now, some are wondering if the movement to push all non-Hindus out of neighboring India is about to take over Nepal.

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

“The BJP party in India has partners and friends just across the border in Nepal. They want to have a radical Hindu agenda. What that sounds like in practical everyday life is they say you’re not a Nepalese if you’re not Hindu,” says Dr. David Curry, President and CEO of Open Doors.

“There are people who were Christians from the early age who are living their faith. All of a sudden, they’re not considered good citizens even though, by our standard, they’re great citizens. They obey the law, they’re contributing taxes, these kinds of things. It’s a major issue right now.”

Open Doors has seen restrictions on the faith of Christians living in Nepal. This includes restricting the activities of Christians who want to express their faith, particularly pastors and even mission agencies serving those in need. Curry believes these restrictions are only going to increase.

Potential for Increase in Restrictions

Curry explains how even in more democratic countries, there are still nationalistic movements. That’s why despite the technical freedom of religion in India and Nepal’s constitutions, the countries are becoming increasingly polarized.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

For example, in India, radical Hindu mobs who are associated with politicians are often given protection from the law. Because of this, these groups are almost empowered, regardless of their constitution, to attack Christians (including churches and pastors) and other minorities.

“What they do is they draw out these minority groups, like Christians, and say ‘you’re not really part of Nepal’ so even if it’s a democratic system, the political power is pushing them towards excluding Christians, making life difficult, protecting those that are pressuring them,” Curry says.

“We haven’t seen that on that scale in Nepal yet, but all the signs are showing that they’re moving in a very similar direction to where India was four years ago.”

Please pray for Christians in Nepal, their protection, and their perseverance. Ask God to soften the hearts of leaders in Nepal and India toward Christians and other religious minorities.

Header photo courtesy of SarahTz via Flickr.