Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association describes the plight of these churchs as a trifecta of difficulties – and living in a war zone is only the start.

“The first part — this is dating all the way back to 2014 and the Orange Revolution — [is that] Protestant churches are seen as Western agents, Western connections,” he says. “Protestant churches are seen as those churches that undermine Russian Orthodoxy, Russian tradition. They are not to be trusted due to their relationship with the West.” 

These believers are often viewed within occupied territories as staunch Ukrainians.

“When these particular churches, or evangelicals continue to hold to their Protestant evangelical identity, and may hold to their Ukrainian identity, their lives are very complicated,” Mock says. “They don’t have access to the same resources, and a lot of these churches are shut down.”

All these factors notwithstanding, these believers still step forward with a sense of God’s calling. Mock says many believers have fled occupied regions, going to Russia, Belarus, or sometimes to other parts of Ukraine. But others stay. 

“That’s the key part that we need to remember when we’re thinking of the believers that are struggling in these occupied territories: if they leave, who will advance the gospel? If people struggle and seek comfort, rather than to be a light in the middle of darkness, who will step up?” Mock says. 

“Even in these occupied areas, the faithful believers recognize that God has raised them up for such a time as this.”

Find your place in the story! 

“It’s very difficult to serve these churches, so the primary thing we do for them right now is we pray. We passionately believe that there’s much power in much prayer,” Mock says. “The greatest tool we have to see a situation transformed is to appeal to our sovereign God, who is the one true God who even allows these difficulties for the purposes of declaring His greatness among the nations.

“I think secondly, we need to appreciate the churches around the exterior of these regions that are also praying, also helping with refugees. We do our best to help them as people flood into their regions looking for answers.”

Learn more about SGA’s Ukrainian relief fund here. 

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association. 

“It’s a multiplied crisis because of the coup that happened several years back. The military took over the nation, and they are still fighting an insurgency in the country,” says Joe Handley with A3.

(By United States Geological Survey – https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000pn9s, Public Domain)

“Some of the original governments, as well as [the] majority of people really don’t stand for this military. So the [earthquake] crisis is exacerbated because, sadly, the military is bombing their own people. They’re using the crisis as a cover to kill some of those insurgency players.”

The 7.7- and 6.5-magnitude quakes and aftershocks on Friday have killed at least 1,700 people, with hundreds still missing. The tremors reached even to neighboring Thailand, where at least 18 people in Bangkok lost their lives and dozens remain missing after a high rise under construction collapsed. 

Responses to the disaster

Despite the devastation, the disaster has prompted a strong international response. Rescue teams from China, India, Russia, Thailand and more nations have arrived or will soon. 

Handley says there’s also an incredible inter-faith response happening within Myanmar. 

“You’ve got Catholics and Protestants, even Buddhist and Muslims banding together united to help the people. It’s kind of unheard of, really, in Myanmar’s history in many ways, to have all these faith communities working together,” he says. 

Even with the help coming in, Myanmar’s situation is incredibly complex and the window for rescuing people trapped in the rubble is coming to an end. Pray for God’s mercy! 

In that complexity, A3 is doing reconnaissance this week to identify whether they can get aid in. For now, Handley says, “my colleague from Myanmar is really praying that the global Church will rally behind the people and the churches of Myanmar.” 

You can be part of that rallying through your prayers. Pray for power to be restored in the quake zones and for open channels for aid to get through to the people who need it, rather than other powers that be. 

Look for more coverage later this week for other ways to come alongside A3’s gospel-centered response.

“Whenever we’re doing aid-related efforts — helping the needy, providing food, providing shelter, rescuing people — the center of it is faith in Christ. So as we’re reaching out, the churches keep that center stage,” Handley says. 

Over the years, A3 local partners across the continent have responded to many disasters. 

“Ever since [a tsunami crisis in Southeast Asia], the mutuality and trust of the A3 alumni network of churches across the spectrum — every evangelical kind of background you can imagine, denomination and independent groups — they learn from each other,” says Handley.

Learn more about A3’s responses to global disasters here. 

Indian Navy official loading INS Satpura & INS Savitri are carrying 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid, heading for the port of Yangon. (Photo by Government of India – https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1905922454863716544/photo/3, GODL-India, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162955676)

Last month, the three congregations that meet in this historic building received an eviction notice from a government official. The notice said the building was structurally unsafe and the congregations would have to move out before August 24. 

Turkiye’s history of quakes makes structural integrity an issue everyone is invested in. However, Bruce Allen with FMI says the church has gathered evidence that that shouldn’t be a concern with their building. 

“They have just had a survey done by the Chamber of Geological Engineers — another government agency — and their foundation is secure. There is no corrosion. There’s no cracks. Their building is one of the safest in the city,” Allen says.

Screenshot from an August 2024 interview with the ANKA news agency (Screenshot courtesy of FMI)

“What is unique about [the church] is that it is the only church building in Türkiye in which three different sects of Christianity all share [the] facility: Syrian Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.”

Allen says all three congregations sense that the eviction notice is an attempt to eliminate the Christian presence in the city. They received a similar threat of closure in 2016 which was later resolved.

The pastor of one of the three congregations, who we’ll call Irik, has petitioned the new governor of the province. He has also publicly called on President Erdogan to intervene. Irik suspects this is also intended to prevent Christians from gathering to celebrate a significant anniversary next year. 

“His city was where the Council of Nicaea was held, which was pivotal in Christian history,” Allen says. “[The year] 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of that council. So there will be people descending on his city from all over Christendom, all over the world, to mark this anniversary.” 

As this situation unfolds, pray for favor with the government. Pastor Irik’s first prayer request is this: “I want this church to be a witnessing church, sharing the gospel until the day Jesus returns.” 

“Obviously he’s saying, ‘We don’t want to stop gathering together,’” Allen says. “But what he’s really saying is, ‘We just want to keep being a lighthouse of hope in this city.’”

Pray that the church will trust God regardless of what their government leaders decide. Pray that any meetings they have with officials will bring glory and honor to God. 

Header photo of a church in Istanbul, Türkiye is a representative stock photo courtesy of Igor Sporynin/Unsplash.

To date, Jaballah’s contacts have counted 46 closed churches without any newly opened ones. Churches not a part of the APCA are not formally allowed to open, and any attempt to do so would be met with automatic government shutdowns.

This essentially shuts down any opportunity for smaller churches to grow or remote plants to start. The churches that fall under the APCA umbrella are so big – some reaching 2,000 congregants – that there is little space for personal connections or discipleship.

Jaballah says the size of these legal churches confuses local believers. How can churches have the negative social impact that the Algerian government claims they have when these registered churches have so many members already? “The government searches for any excuse to persecute them and close the churches,” he says.

Plus, the rules are applied inconsistently. Some Catholic churches or churches that promise not to engage in evangelism, for example, don’t seem to require government oversight. This can potentially create division within the Algerian Church and drive leadership into unnecessary conflict.

“Our brothers [are] still fighting for their faith,” Jaballah says. “They’re [still] worshipping God.”

Christians in Algeria are trying to turn crisis into opportunity. Amazingly, Jaballah says, “We are happy that the church buildings are closed because God opened many opportunities for the underground Church.”

Christians are careful to exercise caution. “If more than 10 or 15 people [meet], they suspect; why are you together?” Jaballah says. “If the number is more than that, they suspect them, and right away they can stop them.” Instead, Christians enter churches individually so they don’t draw too much attention.

Jaballah draws comparisons to the first-century Church, which met in houses and found creative worship methods. Like the early Church, Algerian believers are hungry for sound theology and meaningful discipleship.

“We keep praying for our brothers and sisters,” Jaballah says. “We need to pray for unity among the believers. Secondly, I want to pray for wisdom. It’s not about us. It’s about him at the end of the day, for all of us when we serve the ministry.”

Pray for humility, courage, and faith. Learn more about how you can pray with Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

The Eastern and Western churches split nearly a thousand years ago, creating the modern Catholic and Orthodox churches. Protestants split from the Catholic Church, and the Protestant movement has itself splintered into thousands of different groups.

Should these different groups work together to accomplish the Great Commission?

Unity in the Church

Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says yes. “Jesus’s prayer for us is to be unified. If we really want to be honest with one another, we have to say that that’s probably been the greatest weakness. I think our enemy really tries to find ways to divide us rather than allow us to be unified.”

“A unified Church, a unified Body of Christ, is formidable.”

Various churches and ministries often compete against each other for the same people, donations, and resources. But God has unlimited resources, Weaver says. If these groups work together with a unified goal, they can actually cover more territory.

Weaver tells a story illustrating this kind of collaboration. “I was in an event the other day, and a CEO of another ministry that does similar work to us was sitting at a table with me. One of his major donors was present. And he turned to his major donor and said, ‘You need to know what Ed and his team at Spoken are doing.’ Well, that floored me. What a great example!”

Pray for unity in the global Church. If you are involved with a church or ministry, open your heart to what God could do. Weaver says, “I personally have been blessed and encouraged. My stress level has gone down because I’m not worried about finances as much.”

Header photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide. 

Soner Tufan serves as the spokesperson for the Turkish Protestant Alliance. He says it all started when Turkey imprisoned American pastor Andrew Brunson. This came 2 years after an attempted coup in Turkey.

The government claimed Brunson had ties to terrorist organizations. Tufan says, “The Turkish Government had many difficulties because the American government pushed a lot [with sanctions]. And it was too much pressure. That’s why our government created new ways to deport the foreign missionaries from Turkey.”

Turkish Protestant Churches

Turkey accused these missionaries of being terrorists as well. But most of them had lived in Turkey for years and were very active in the Church.

Tufan says Turkish Christians will need to adjust. “This shows that we need more local leaders. Also, we need more people. Please pray that more people come to Turkey, that more missionaries come to Turkey.”

“Also, pray for the victims, because they have to leave the country. Some have lived in this country for 35-40 years. Turkey is their hometown.”

Pray Turkish Christians would feel their connection to the Global Body of Christ. Tufan says, “The government would like to make the Turkish Protestant church lonely. They would like to cut the relationship with outside churches.”

Christians also face increasing hostility in Turkish culture, Tufan says, “People are especially using social media for threats and hate speech.”

Political dealings

Tufan says he expects the European Union Court will reverse the deportation decisions, but many of the missionaries will not return. They have moved on with their lives and settled their families in different countries.

Tufan would like more interaction between Protestant churches and the  Turkish government. But, “The problem is, they don’t reply. They don’t answer our calls.”

Header photo courtesy of Engin_Akyurt on Pixabay. 

The police deployed additional personnel to protect the funeral, which was held in Peshawar’s All Saints Church on Monday. Over 3,000 people attended.

Increasing attacks

Nehemiah with FMI says, “No group has claimed responsibility for the killing. But militant attacks on security forces and on common people in the markets have been not only on the rise in Pakistan’s northwest area (which borders Afghanistan) but in major cities as well, like Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. Many of them have been claimed by the TTP.”

TTP stands for the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, the most feared terrorist group in the country. They have carried out dozens of attacks since breaking a truce with Pakistan’s government earlier this year. Read more here.

Pakistani officials have condemned the violence, saying it threatens minority communities. Police have promised to catch the shooters, conducting a manhunt.

But Nehemiah says, “All these terrorists, even the ones who were caught by the police or security agencies, later are often released by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Even in the attack on a Pakistani public school, where hundreds of children were killed by the Taliban, all of those prisoners were released by the Supreme Court.”

Pakistani Christians

Christians make up a tiny minority in Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation. Estimates split this number mostly in half between Protestants and Catholics.

One Pakistani Christian told Nehemiah this: “Don’t pray for us. Pray with us.” Ask God to bring millions of people to faith in Jesus all across Pakistan.

The header photo shows Peshawar’s All Saints Church. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Truck drivers report fearing for their own security. Many don’t have the fuel they need to complete their journeys. The war, fought for almost a year by the Ethiopian government against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, is putting the population at risk of famine and has displaced many people from their homes.

Brother Tefera with Global Disciples describes the situation. “Many innocent people are dying in the war. The Gospel is not advancing. Global Disciples works with a cluster of churches in northern Ethiopia, and we don’t know where they are because nobody is at home. They are displaced. There are no more meetings of churches and no infrastructure.”

Pray for peace in Ethiopia. Tefera says, “Let’s pray for the [Tigray region] and all the remaining [parts of the country] to agree on peace, instead of trying to come to power by destroying life.”

Persecution

The prayer for peace in Ethiopia goes beyond the civil war. In the past 10 years, several churches and Christians have been targeted for violence throughout the country.

Ethiopia has ancient Christian roots, tracing back to the first century. In fact, many Ethiopians worshipped Israel’s God before the time of Jesus. The Ethiopian Eunuch mentioned in Acts was a part of this tradition. Yet persecution has still plagued the country from time to time.

Today, this persecution happens at the hands of extremist groups. Tefera says they use religious, ethnic, and tribal divisions to stir up conflict: “It might be tribal, it may be religious, but that is what they want to see. That is why the Church, whether it is the Protestant Church, the Orthodox Church, or even other religious groups like the Muslims, must understand and stand firmly for the unity of the country.”

The header photo shows one of several mass graves of civilians in the Tigray region. (Photo courtesy of Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons) 

But these believers face systemic persecution for their faith, and it’s only worse now during the COVID-19 pandemic, since Christians often do not have access to the same medical care and sanitation as other citizens.

Research by International Christian Concern says the unemployment rate among Christians hovered around 80 percent even before the pandemic. Employers have the right to fire Christians because of their faith, and believers that can work makes less than half the average national wage.

A mosque in Cairo, Egypt.

Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says Christians are treated as second-class citizens in Egypt. Many Egyptians see impoverished Christians as “dirty.” “There have been rumors that Christians are actually the ones that are behind what is going on with this virus. So they face a lot of difficulties, and it is a hard situation. The pandemic has made it even more difficult for them.”

Systemic oppression

Egyptian Christians usually don’t suffer actual violence, Musselman says, but a disregard for Christians is sewn into the fabric of Egyptian society. “Many of these people that have been believers for a long time, following Jesus, that has been their life for decades. Unfortunately, that’s also the situation for their children.” Many Christians have left Egypt in recent years, hoping to escape constant discrimination.

Throughout history, the love of Christ has often drawn the oppressed and marginalized. Pray that Christ will strengthen your brothers and sisters in Egypt and provide for their needs during COVID-19 and beyond.

Pray also that bad economic conditions in Egypt wouldn’t feed into actual religious violence, especially as blame falls on Christians for the spread of COVID-19. Musselman says, “It’s not just the Christians that are suffering unemployment in places like Egypt. It’s also the young Muslim population as well. A lot of these young men especially, they’ve got a lot of time on their hands, and they may become resentful.”

The header image shows a Greek Orthodox church in Cairo. (Image by DEZALB from Pixabay)

“When I was young, I was 18, I thought, ‘What is the meaning of life? To make money? To have girls? Success?’ But then I met all these famous people and I saw the empty eyes. So, the next question — ‘What will come if I have to die tonight?’” Nachtigal recalls.

Fast forward to today and Nachtigal is a Christian leader in Germany. He is the President of Global Outreach Day, a catalyst movement where on a single day each year, Christ followers reach out to non-Christians in unison. However, his story of growing up in a church without the Gospel is not uncommon. In fact, one could argue it is the plight of post-evangelized Germany.

The Facts

Germany is a European country with nine neighbors surrounding it. To the north is Denmark along with the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. On its Western borders are the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. To the south are Switzerland and Austria. Finally, on its eastern borders lay Czechia and Poland. However, Germany is also the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

Bronnbach Monastery, Germany. (Photo courtesy of barnyz via Flickr)

“Germany is a beautiful country. Beautiful, I mean, we have a great social system [and] health care. I would say Germany is one of the best countries in the world, for sure. I mean, in the winter it is quite cold, but I would say to live in Germany is really a privilege…. It’s a peaceful country,” Nachtigal explains in an awe-inspiring tone.

However, challenges arise when the Bible’s teachings go against society’s grain. Some people are open to the Gospel, but not all. Political correctness is valued and having views opposing this category can be detrimental. Germany, while it is a free country, Nachtigal says it does not necessarily support free speech.

“I love my country…. I thought about moving to the U.S. because I like Santa Monica. No, because you have many Christians. [The United States has] so many ministries. You have more ministries in Colorado Springs probably than we have in Europe…. You are living in Disneyland if it comes to so many good churches and ministries. But, we have only one megachurch with over 4,000 people. That’s it,” Nachtigal says.

Bridging Gaps in Germany

For Nachtigal, there is no easy answer in bridging the disconnect between the Gospel and the Church’s seeming lack of fire for loving people, despite who they are or what society teaches. Not all congregations lack this fire, but it is prevalent.

“I’ve read in a book that a revival is when every believer is active, not only in a church shouting and dancing. But how to engage churches? I mean, we are really working on it for the last ten years. I know…how to spur [a] revival, besides the Holy Spirit. (Of course, we believe in the power [of the Holy Spirit.]) W-O-R-K. It’s work. It’s a process,” Nachtigal says.

For the typical Christian in Germany, it is not persecution they face, but lethargy and a lack of training. Nachtigal and many others are working on this through Global Outreach Day and by living evangelism as a way of life.

“It’s work and sometimes you’re frustrated and all these; yes, it is. But still, we’re not giving up. We are slowly [seeing] a development where we could influence quite a lot of churches and inspire a lot of Christians. But still, it’s a lot of work,” Nachtigal explains.

When it comes to prayer needs, Nachtigal asks for one thing — ask God to use you.

As he’s already said, it takes work in Germany to share Christ, live a life of evangelism, and persevere in a post-evangelized society. However, Nachtigal quotes Matthew 9:37.

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’.”

Ask God how He can use you. Pray for ways to serve and share of Christ’s love in your town. If you are not sure where to start, begin with a training program through organizations like Global Outreach Day or even e3 Partners. Use them to springboard into a life of sharing the Gospel and seeing lives changed because of it.