(AI-generated photo by ChatGPT)

Nuna of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “The peace talk is not just military; though, of course, it involves the military side, it’s much more than this.”

As part of the peace talks, U.S. President Donald Trump is urging Lebanon’s government to repeal a 1955 law.

“In our Constitution, there is a [clause] that says Lebanon has no connection with Israel, so we need to change that clause,” Nuna explains.

Under that 1955 law, “everything is very, very closed, and people are not allowed to have any communication with Israelis,” she continues.

“We don’t have the right to have any communication – by phone, by message, anything – with anyone in Israel. [If suspected,] you have to go to Security, where they will ask you questions, take your phone, and check it.”

If negotiations succeed and the Lebanese government normalizes relations with Israel, Nuna says, “Everything will change, not just on the political ground, but it’s going to change the whole face of Lebanon.”

The cost of peace

Although a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April, the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah continues to attack Israel.

Hezbollah flag
(Photo courtesy mhrezaa/Unsplash)

“Hezbollah is affiliated with Iran and wants to keep Iranian influence over Lebanon, but Lebanon is trying to get free from it. The whole contention is between these two,” Nuna says.

Lebanese people remain divided over an alliance with Iran. Though Hezbollah represents approximately one-third of Lebanon’s population – followers of Shia Islam – representatives of other major groups seek peace.

“Lebanon submitted an official complaint against Iran for the first time this week. This is unprecedented,” Nuna says.

Lebanon’s government is taking steps toward peace with Israel and independence from Iran – but at a cost. “The Shiite community is really strong in saying, ‘We don’t want this,’” Nuna says.

“The threats in the streets [are] that ‘We’re going to turn our weapons against all the people who are for the change and for the peace treaty.’ It’s becoming like a civil war.”

Nuna says these threats raise an important question: “Do we go through a civil war so that we can have peace, or do we forget the peace and keep the status quo in Lebanon with Hezbollah in charge?”

Christian aid

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has driven more than one million people from their homes in southern Lebanon. “There are so many displaced people,” Nuna says.

(Graphic courtesy Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

“They have no homes, no shelter, no food, no revenue, no work – nothing. We’re still there to help them, but we’re also trying to talk about this peace.”

Pray for Lebanese Christians as they care for displaced people in Jesus’ name, and partner with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon to support relief efforts.

“We need to not only bring in humanitarian aid, but also talk about God’s purposes and God’s ways and God’s plan, and bring people into alignment with God,” Nuna says.

“It’s not just a one-way Gospel, just salvation and that’s it, it’s also realignment with God’s purposes.”

Header image depicts working-level peace talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

But inside Iran, there’s another story unfolding.

John Cerniglia, President of SAT-7 USA, says Iranian believers inside and outside the country are still finding ways to share Christ, even in secrecy.

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7)

“We understand, of course, in Iran that we’re talking about the underground Church,” he says. “There are no church buildings in Iran, but we understand there could be as many as a million underground believers. These are people who love Jesus, but who are unable to be public in most cases about their faith. So we hear from them because they watch our satellite television program.”

Through satellite television broadcasts, ministries like SAT-7 reach homes across Iran with Christ’s hope, even when other channels go dark.

Cerniglia says, “Satellite continues to be the only reliable way to get information into the country…. The government can easily block the internet. They can easily shut down phone service. So we’re on a primary and reliable signal to get into the country.”

Viewers in Iran can even call SAT-7 and speak with an Iranian Christian outside the country at the ministry’s call center.

“A couple of months ago, a man called into the program…and he was receiving our content in the Farsi language,” Cerniglia shares. “He was in Iran, and he called into one of our inbound call centers, screaming. I mean, he was irate.”

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 PARS)

A young Iranian female staffer at SAT-7 answered the call – which Cerniglia explains also introduced a level of cultural imbalance, since the angry caller was an older male.

“He said to her, ‘You’ve destroyed my marriage. You told my wife I shouldn’t be beating her.’”

Despite the man’s anger and the layer of cultural imbalance, the SAT-7 staffer responded with the confidence and grace of the Holy Spirit.

Cerniglia says, “Our young Iranian woman paused and said, ‘Well, sir, what we told your wife is that she was created in the image of God, the Creator of the universe, and that her body is a holy temple to be protected and to be honored.’ And then this young 20-something said, ‘And sir, that’s how we see you. You, too, were created in the image of God.’”

“He was confused by this because this is foreign,” says Cirniglia. “In fact, this began a discipleship journey that our team is on with this gentleman! We hope to lead him to the Lord now that he understands the truth.”

Praise God for the faithful witness of Iranian believers, even from beyond Iran’s borders. Pray that many more Iranians would encounter the truth of Jesus and be transformed.

Find ways to come alongside SAT-7’s ministry at sat7usa.org.

Header photo: Iranians rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, voicing support for the United States and Israel, March 1, 2026 (Photo courtesy of MNN).

“We hope that something is happening. We will pray for that. But in [the] real scene, the war is intensified, even with drone [or] with air bombardment,” says Reverend Tut Kony with Greater Reach, Inc. 

Case in point: The reopening of the main airport in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, was postponed last week due to a surge of drone strikes from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary. It would have been the airport’s first opening since the war began in April 2023.

The two-and-a-half-year conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced about 12 million, and left 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance. It’s considered one of, if not the worst, humanitarian crises in the world today.

(Photo of Khartoum, Sudan courtesy of Ammar Nassir via Unsplash)

“The bigger problem is that people are dying without hearing the good news,” says Kony. “Our church planters are around. They are in the [IDP] camps. But the problem is that they will be targeted by those who are against the gospel. They can also be killed [by] crossfire.” 

The desperate need for food is both a daily struggle for Christians and an open door for ministry. 

“In Islam side, they [Muslims] see a lot of war, a lot of atrocities,” says Kony. “But from Christian side, who they considered their enemies, they are seeing they are coming with food. They are risking their life to bring food for the needy people.” 

If you have supported the gospel work of Sudanese believers, Kony thanks you.

“With your help, we have seen light coming out from the darkness. We have seen a lot of people coming to Christ when the atrocities [are] happening, because [through giving aid] we are able to show the love of Christ,” he says. 

Sudan’s population is 93 percent Muslim and less than 1 percent evangelical Christian. Pray that that will change!

“The bulk of people who are attending [church] here, they are Christian-background, but some of them are from [a] totally Muslim background, [who have] dedicated their life and consecrated to be ministers and pastors,” says Kony.

As you pray for Sudan, Kony asks that you focus on “the emerging church in Darfur, in [the] Nuba Mountains, in Blue Nile and even the far north. They need a lot of prayer. They need courage so that they can testify [to] their faith.”

Header photo courtesy of Aladdin Mustafa via Pexels.

In a press conference that afternoon, Netanyahu warned that if Hamas rejects the deal, or accepts it and then works against it, “Israel will finish the job by itself.”

The proposal would call for a “modest withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, said Netanyahu, and a return of all Hamas hostages within 72 hours of its signing. It would also establish a new, international body that Trump called “the Board of Peace.” This Board would be tasked with seeing Hamas fully disarmed and Gaza demilitarized.

Representative stock photo from Jerusalem, Israel courtesy of Tim Mossholder via Unsplash

The path ahead is complex. Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center says to remember that people’s lives and dreams and goals are involved here — not only the lives of the remaining hostages, but those at risk of being caught in a continuing cycle of violence.

“If you have a child who [is] 16 [and] he lost his family, what do you think this person will be? [A] peacemaker or a soldier, whether he is in Gaza or in Israel?” Sharaiha says. 

He acknowledges the evil that has been done on both sides of the conflict, starting with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Even if one day Hamas is disarmed, it’s important to recognize it is more than a band of like-minded people.

“Hamas is a doctrine. Hamas is a school of thought. It’s called ‘political Islam.’ Even in so many countries in the Arab world, Hamas is forbidden,” Sharaiha says. “Hamas was kicked out of Jordan because of their doctrine. So no, the Middle East [is] not all on the same level of how they look at Hamas.”

Over and above all, Sharaiha points Christians to remember the bigger picture: “God loves the people, God loves humankind, and God wants all to come to faith in Christ. So whenever it’s tough, we go back to the basics,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of MENA Leadership Center)

“In Genesis chapter one, where God created mankind in His own image, this really establishes that all people, regardless of gender, background, religion, bear God’s image and therefore have inherited dignity.”

Please pray

Keep asking God to bring the peace of Christ to people in the Gaza war zone. Pray for the government leaders who have a role in these peace conversations (1 Timothy 2:1-7). 

Pray also for the MENA Leadership Center’s future courses on trauma healing and refugee ministry. 

“We’re trying to prepare the church in the MENA to be ready for those people, and also to be ready to share the gospel in a way that [answers] the questions of the heart,” says Sharaiha. 

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Marek Studzinski via Unsplash.

As Ukraine reels from recent deadly attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv and other places, political tensions continue to escalate. Despite ongoing peace talks — from Oval Office meetings to negotiations in Vatican — true peace remains elusive. While world leaders debate the best path forward, Russia uses the delays to intensify its attacks along the frontlines. Meanwhile, ordinary Ukrainians continue working, studying, and caring for their families, all while bearing the heavy burden of war-weariness.

Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) shares: “The ceasefire has to happen! The securities need to be there. And it warps the imagination that even in these days, we are seeing senseless destruction.”

In the midst of such devastation, the need for lasting hope becomes even more urgent.

“It’s because the people that are suffering, the people that are dealing with loss, are looking for answers, and the only hope we have, both in good times and in bad — the only hope that we have is the gospel of Jesus Christ,” says Mock.

People help each other (Photo courtesy of Youssef Naddam via Unsplash)

Ukrainian churches are rising to meet this challenge. With support from SGA, they’re distributing food, medicine, generators, and other vital supplies. Mock draws a vivid comparison: “So in the middle of the darkest times, even a flicker of a candle casts off great light, and the gospel is being held forth by these churches.”

These efforts are being strengthened by international church partnerships. Through this coordinated aid, as many as 1.8 million people — many of whom had never heard the Gospel before — have now encountered it. Some are gathering in small groups that have begun to form into churches.

“These are faithful small churches with small congregations that originally were aid centers who have now found a common bond, a common love for Christ and for one another, and they’re forming as churches,” Mock explains.

This growing movement has created a new and urgent need: leadership. SGA has committed to raising up a new generation of pastors and ministry leaders. The current goal is to train 1,000 leaders over the next eleven years — a vital task as many pastors are now serving in the military or have lost their lives defending the country.

“As much as we talk about humanitarian aid, we desperately need to see new leaders who are leading these churches, and that becomes a critical thing, that God would raise them up,” says Mock.

Please pray that the Ukrainian church continues to be strategic in both its humanitarian efforts and gospel outreach. Stand with the people of Ukraine. Visit SGA website and get involved in the ministry God lays on your heart. And above all, pray for a swift and just end to this war.

Header image courtesy of Margarita Marushevska via Unsplash.

“I think having the African Union and the international community as a whole involved in this is really going to be important for diplomacy purposes,” he says. 

Much of the fighting concerns access to DRC’s rich mineral resources, including cobalt, gold, diamond, and copper. 

“They’ve got it all, and tremendous amounts of it, so that’s really the heart of the issue,” Kelley says. 

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are primarily Tutsi fighters, the people group targeted by Rwandan Hutus in the 1994 genocide. The group now seeks to eradicate Hutu influence from the DRC, a vindication for the many Tutsi people who have lived in the DRC for decades. 

“And the Rwandese are saying, ‘We’re trying to protect these minority groups,’ but at the end of the day, it’s just a land grab,” Kelley says.

M23 isn’t the only group stirring up conflict.

“There are over 120 rebel groups that have actively been at work in Eastern Congo,” Kelley says. 

He says this level of instability affects the Gospel movement. 

“It disrupts churches. It causes people by the tens of thousands to be displaced.”

Please pray for Christian brothers and sisters in the DRC, especially as churches are often targeted due to their vulnerability. Consider supporting a humanitarian organization offering aid to those who have lost everything in their displacement. Kelley encourages listeners to support Christian workers. 

“As aid is administered, it’s way more effective for it to come through the hands of followers of Jesus than it is some secular aid organization,” Kelley says. “The love of Christ can really cure a lot of things.”

Featured image courtesy of Pexels

Hunter Williamson, communications coordinator with THIMAR-LSESD, says they are getting updates from local Sudanese partners about the collapse of law and order in Khartoum.

“Both sides have been weaponizing aid, restricting (and in some cases even completely denying) entry of aid into areas controlled by rivaling sides,” Williamson says.

“You have a lot of crime. You have, in some cases, the fighters that are part of the forces that control certain areas are undisciplined. So maybe they act abusive towards the civilian population [and] commit crimes, robbery.”

Habil, a Sudanese graduate from ABTS. (Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

Sudanese pastors are trying to encourage frightened believers and reach the lost for Christ, but it’s hard. THIMAR-LSESD’s Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) has Sudanese alumni, and is working to encourage them.

Williamson says ABTS alumni “have been providing everything from financial support to Sudanese church leaders to just emotional and spiritual support — whether that just be picking up the phone and talking with a Sudanese friend that’s affected by everything, praying with them, [or] reading the Word with them.”

Pray for Christ’s peace to come to Sudan. Ask God to lead the lost to repentance and for the Sudanese people to know Jesus Christ. Pray for local Christians to stand firm in their faith.

You can learn more about THIMAR-LSESD’s ministry here.

Ultimately, Williamson says, “While there is all of this destruction, all of this bloodshed, God is using all of this to bring people to Him.”

Header photo of Khartoum, Sudan (Photo courtesy of Ahmed Rabea/Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/99216220@N08/9325962193/)

According to the Washington Post, the fighting could derail negotiations. Pray with SAT-7 that it doesn’t.

“For the first time in nearly 19 years, the Afghan government and Taliban leaders are meeting to discuss and negotiate the future of the country, to resolve the differences without violence,” SAT-7 PARS Executive Director Panayoitis Keenan says.

“These are very, very, very important talks, and we pray that they will end in peace.”

Though they face severe persecution in Afghanistan and many live as refugees in other countries, believers continuously pray for their homeland. Secret of Life, a weekly program designed for Afghan viewers, guides intercession for the peace talks.

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

“We are always advocates for peace and tranquility,” Keenan says, quoting the Secret of Life presenter, Pastor Shoaib.

“We pray that a godly peace will be established in Afghanistan, and that our people will no longer be harmed and killed; that no woman widowed, and no child orphaned.”

Peace process requires prayer

Decades of conflict and seemingly-endless war create a hunger for hope. “For the past 40 years, people in Afghanistan have been experiencing war and violence, and this has naturally had consequences on Afghan society,” Keenan says.

“Thousands and thousands of civilians were killed in cross-fires, bombings; thousands continue to suffer from mental health problems as a direct result of this conflict.”

SAT-7 PARS broadcasts the hope of Jesus to Persian-speakers in Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. More about the channel here. Although Afghans thirst for Living Water, delivering the Gospel is not always easy. “Afghanistan is very difficult to reach, especially with the Word of God,” Keenan says.

Your influence on the Afghanistan peace talks may be limited, but you know the God who steers world events.

Ask Him to intercede on behalf of His followers. “First of all, we pray that God will guide these talks; that He will guide them towards a peace beneficial to all Afghan people,” Keenan requests.

“Second, [pray] that women’s rights will be upheld; they have fought hard for these rights and are a vital and valuable part of Afghan society. It is important that they are recognized as such,” he continues.

Finally, pray for Afghanistan’s future. “Pray for the children, that they will grow up knowing peace, security, and that they would be able to flourish and grow,” Keenan says.

“The Lord says, ‘I know the future I have for you,’ so we pray that these children have a good future.”

In the header image, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darren C. Rickettes (left), Lt. Col. Donn H. Hill (2nd from left) and Deputy Commanding General of Afghan Development Brig. Gen. John Uberti, 101st Airborne Division, talk with an Afghan National Army commander during Operation Overlord in the Naka district of Paktika province, Afghanistan, on April 14, 2011. Operation Overlord is a division-level air assault mission designed to trap Taliban forces in the province. DoD photo by Spc. Zachary Burke, U.S. Army. (Released)

The agreement covers landownership, power-sharing between all parties involved, and the return of people who have fled their homes in the civil war. Rebel forces will be dismantled, but fighters will have the opportunity to join the Sudanese military.

Hope for the future

Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs says, “This agreement should, at least in theory, pave the way for peaceful coexistence within Sudan. Hopefully, a nation that’s not focused on fighting against others within its borders can focus instead on development and on moving forward into what we hope is a civilian rule.”

(Image courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Neighboring South Sudan played a big part in accomplishing the deal, supporting it even as negotiations dragged on from 2019 to 2020. Nettleton says, “They’re also invested because some of this conflict starts to spill across their border. And there has been a lot of conflict in South Sudan over the last several years. Hopefully, this could even be a harbinger of more peaceful coexistence in South Sudan as well.”

Signs of change

This is not the first hopeful sign in Sudan this year. We previously reported that Sudan had gotten rid of an oppressive apostasy law, outlawed female genital mutilation, and accomplished other religious freedom and human rights goals.

How did this deal come about? Nettleton mentions one of the government representatives signing the peace agreement is a general accused of committing atrocities in the civil war. “How did this happen? How did all these people get in the same room? But I think there does seem to be momentum towards civilian rule in Sudan.”

A church in Sudan. (Photo courtesy of World Watch Monitor)

Sudanese Christians

The peace deal would help Christians in the country, especially those living in Darfur who have suffered horribly in the war and under the oppressive rule of Sudan’s former regime.

But Nettleton says this won’t solve every problem for Christians in Sudan. “There is still a level of family persecution, a level of cultural persecution for someone who was born in a Muslim family and makes the decision to follow Jesus Christ. Their persecution typically doesn’t start with the government. It typically starts with their own family members. And this peace agreement is not going to affect that.”

Sudan is changing. Pray lasting peace will come to Sudan, and that Christians will have more freedom to proclaim the Gospel.

The header image shows spent ammunition casings in Sudan. (Photo courtesy of VOM USA) 

The deal opens diplomatic relations, direct flights, commerce, and tourism between the two countries. As part of the agreement, Israel agreed to halt plans to annex more of the West Bank from Palestinians.

To Palestinians, though, this deal feels like a betrayal. Israeli jets continue to bomb Palestinian territory, and much of the annexation that is taking place is not exactly official.

Scenes from Bethlehem, empty during COVID-19 lockdown. (photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook)

Jack Sara, President of Bethlehem Bible College says, “I think the UAE is kind of whitewashing in front of the other Arab nations so that they would not see it as a betrayal. I don’t think the Israeli leadership is going to lay down or lay aside the whole plan for annexation.”

Palestinians on their own

Sara says this deal isn’t really a surprise, as Israel and the UAE already had good relations. He predicts more Arab countries will make similar deals with Israel in the near future. “But it’s still frustrating to see that some Arab nations are lifting their hands from helping the Palestinians in achieving their just cause, which is really peace in the country, having their own freedom, dignity, and freedom of movement.”

So what’s next for Palestine? Sara says, “How can we decide for ourselves and move forward, building peace and at the same time seeking justice for our nation? We need prayers for the Palestinian leadership. I think they’re frustrated. They have a lot of kinds of things on their table, including the financial crises. The coronavirus hit hard on the Palestinian economy.”

Christians in Palestine

Pray for the tiny church in Palestine, which makes up less than 1.5% of the population. Sara says, “We need wisdom for the Christians in general. And for the believers in particular. We want to be a clear light for the Gospel and for Christ.”

COVID-19 hit Bethlehem hard, especially in the lack of tourism. You can donate to Bethlehem Bible College here.

The header image shows Jerusalem. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook)