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.

“Over the last several months, there have been some new regulations passed down by the Communist regime, specifically through their new president, Xi Jinping, so we want to be careful not to overstep our bounds.”

Erik Burklin, President of China Partner, says many of these regulations “have been on the books,” but now they’re being more heavily enforced.

“Communism in its core values is anti-God,” Burklin says. “They are very atheistic in their belief system, so obviously they will do whatever they can to control any religious activity in their country.”

These new regulations include pushes for the underground Church to register, censorship of electronic Bibles, and a renewed pressure for Christians to stay apolitical. China Partner has always tried to stay neutral about politics, and because they work primarily with the registered Church, they’re doing everything they can to comply with new regulations.

“Whenever we go, we’re really going there on a tourist visa as a guest of China, but we’re obviously watched because we’re foreigners and strangers to them in a way.”

They’re filing all the right paperwork, telling the government where they’re going to be, and making their intentions as clear as possible. It’s something they’ve always done in the past, but now they’re doing it with renewed intentionality.

“As a result [of our efforts], we’ve had tremendous freedom to go just about anywhere, and we’ve never been curtailed in our teaching or in what we were able to present.”

Still, they want to be cautious, hence the smaller team. They’re also only taking staff and board members. They want to be ready for the unexpected.

Local churches, even registered ones, are also trying to be careful. Though they don’t necessarily condone the government’s actions, many of China Partner’s contacts are working with the new regulations.

Photo and header photo courtesy of China Partner

“Even they don’t know what that means for them practically, so they’re kind of in an unknown state right now,” Burklin says. “They want to be careful, and obviously they don’t want to overstep any bounds, but they don’t know how these regulations are actually going to be enforced, so pray for wisdom for us and for protection.

“They are worried about some of their policies, but they will respect it, and this is something we at China Partner have learned from our Chinese brothers and sisters, so we’ve decided to do the same thing.”

Burklin acknowledges that this doesn’t work for every group. Different organizations work with different local churches and do things in different ways. This is just how China Partner thinks they can best reach their specific partners.

Ministry is important, and it needs to go hand in hand with wisdom. No matter what regulations are put in place, the people of China still need the Gospel. China Partner may be working with the registered church, but there are local congregations that are struggling under the new regulations and Church leaders who are being arrested.

Pray for patience and wisdom as the Church moves forward through this time, and consider supporting China partner as they prepare for October’s trip.

But that concerns some people.

“There are so many Christians in China, and some people say there are more Christians than members of the Communist party, and that means the leaders are a little uncertain or not clear what that means for their future.”

According to David Curry of Open Doors USA, the pressure the Church feels varies depending on local and national levels of leadership and how different individuals feel about Christianity. However, some of those movements recently became a little more unified.

“You’re seeing on this continuum of freedom and persecution, you’re seeing it more toward more regulation, more persecution, and certainly more tightening down on the expression of Christian faith,” Curry says. “In this particular case what you have is the state administration requiring underground churches to pop their heads up and get organized or registered in a coherent way.”

Photo and header photo courtesy of Open Doors Ministries

Churches are hesitant about what it might mean to come under state organization. Curry says it’s not necessarily the immediate future that’s concerning but the potential problems it could cause to have the names, numbers, or locations of Christians in one big database.

Why consolidate this information in the first place? Curry says the Chinese government is concerned about the potential for Christians to develop political motivations, but he also thinks these concerns are unnecessary.

“That’s not what the Christian faith expression has been in China,” he says. “It’s been about a faith movement that has undergirded morals in China and other positive things in that community, and I think that’s why for the last several years they’ve been allowing it to function and to grow [without interference].”

Another concern is that politicizing the Christian movement might cause problems within the Chinese Church.

We don’t want to see the other side and have a nationalistic Church. The Church needs to be built around who Jesus is and what he said and his teachings in Scripture. That’s the way we understand theology and the Christian worldview. However, the Chinese Church wants it to be very Chinese in nature.”

Photo courtesy of Open Doors Ministries

The problem isn’t patriotism; it’s nationalism. Curry says he has met churches and pastors all over China who are proud to be Chinese. Problems arise, however, when Christianity becomes a political tool.

“In some environments around the world, you have a nationalized Church, which means the Church is forced to sign off on and give cover to the government in a political sense,” he says.

At that point, it’s no longer about Jesus, and the Church becomes another government organization.

The Chinese Church is going to need your support and prayer over the coming months as this situation unfolds. Curry says they have a tendency to reflect “the American Church’s shallow tendencies,” and that will be challenged by this new push for registration.

“Pray that this kind of process will force them to check deep in their minds whether they’re Christians first or Chinese first,” Curry says. “That’s fundamentally the question every citizen has to answer; are you a citizen of heaven first because you’ve decided to follow Jesus, or are you tied to a political agenda?”

Pray that the government will recognize the importance of the Church’s influence on the country’s morality, not to mention its battle against homelessness and addiction, and drop the new push before it goes much further.

Find out what Open Doors is doing in China and around the world right here.

Short-term mission teams from the U.S. work alongside locals on Starfysh projects.
(Image courtesy Starfysh)

Haiti (MNN) — God’s Word has plenty to say about teamwork and collaboration.

King Solomon penned in Ecclesiastes 4, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.” In Romans chapter 12, the apostle Paul says, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

Gospel workers in Haiti recently came together with that type of unity in mind. Starfysh founder Dr. Steve Edmondson says, “We had gathered on La Gonave to share with each other what we were doing and look for ways that we might collaborate.”

Bringing ministry supplies through customs was a challenge noted by all.

“Moving supplies into country in Haiti is extremely difficult, fraught with a lot of delays and politics and what-have-you,” shares Edmondson.

As the leaders discussed this issue and more, Haiti’s former Director of Finance strolled into their meeting.

“He had direct dealings with the people in power of financial dealings in the country of Haiti,” explains Edmondson. The official gave a presentation to the group about how Haiti’s government impacts Gospel work and the importance of complying with Haitian law.

Dr. Steve Edmondson speaks with Haiti’s former national director of finance.
(Image courtesy Starfysh)

“He and I really had substantive conversations about the next step in our young organization,” Edmondson says. “God is blessing our organization, and…knowing that we’re here for the long-run, we are looking for ways to be more credible among the people.”

Starfysh shares Christ’s love and compassion through holistic care. Their programs focus on creating an island economy, and providing quality nutrition, healthcare, and education. Find more details here.

Edmondson says one of his key takeaways from this meeting was the importance of registering Starfysh with the Haitian government. Not only would it give the group more credibility with locals, “it would give us better credibility at home in writing grants for our projects.”

Registration would also “grease the wheels of efficiency” in transporting Starfysh ministry supplies from the U.S. to La Gonave.

“We try to purchase all of our materials in Haiti whenever possible, but in some cases we just simply need to move supplies via container from the States,” Edmondson explains.

“[Registration] will really, really help us.”

Pray that Starfysh can register with the Haitian government soon. Pray that it will open doors and make Gospel work more efficient.

See more pictures from La Gonave on Starfysh’s Facebook page.

According to Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada, 28-year-old Tohar Haydarov was arrested last month on drug charges. But Musselman says there's no truth to the charges. "The drugs were planted on his person and also in his apartment, and now he's facing a sentence of 10 to 20 years. This intimidation is nothing new in Uzbekistan, and unfortunately, I don't think it's going to stop any time soon."

The arrest is just one example of the government abusing its authority to stop the spread of Christianity. Musselman says it actually started with church registration. "The churches go through the process of registering, only to be rejected. The Baptist Council of Churches have just given up on that, and they're meeting–and in some cases refusing to register because they realize it's just a game."

The government in that predominately-Muslim nation then takes action. "When they don't register, then the government can use that to shut them down or cause disruption of their services," says Musselman.

The persecution is having an effect on the church, Musselman says. "It's not stopping the spread of the Gospel. In fact, it is growing the Gospel."

Musselman asks for prayer that Christians will remain faithful. Also he'd like you to contact the Uzbekistan embassy and ask them to allow religious freedom. You can find them on the Web at: http://www.uzbekistan.org, or call (202) 887-5300.

You can also write:

Embassy of Uzbekistan
1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20036-1903

"[Urbana is] a conference that challenges each generation of students with God's purposes in the world: what is it that God's doing in the world and how they can engage with His mission, how God is speaking and calling and talking to them."

Jim Tebbe, director of the Urbana missions conference, lived overseas and served as the international director of a missions agency for years. He says that Urbana was a large influencer in his decision to do so. Tebbe is now leading his third Urbana conference and believes strongly in the importance of Urbana for Christian students.

"At a time when they're looking and when they're prepared and open to what it is that God may be saying to them, we're showing them the world, showing them what God is doing there, and then inviting them to be a part of that," says Tebbe.

Every portion of Urbana is focused on God's will and call for this next generation. One significant piece of seeking that out lies in the presence of over 300 missions groups for students to explore. Tebbe says that these groups serve the overall purpose of Urbana rather than as simple advertisements for their missions.

"In the vast majority of the cases, you'll see people [from missions agencies] spending a long time talking with students and then praying with them. That student may never go with that agency, but they've had an opportunity to talk with a mature Christian who's had some experience who can give a picture and another way of looking at things that they may not have considered before."

Tebbe is excited this year for the inductive Bible study on the book of John that will be featured at Urbana 09. Inductive Bible study in an alternating large group and small group setting was a new initiative at Urbana 06 and had a large impact on students. Urbana 09 will challenge students not only to be engaged in the Scriptures in a deep and meaningful way, but will ask students to commit to beginning this type of Bible study with someone who does not know the Lord.

Students at Urbana will have the opportunity to join hands with missions organizations, learn how to study the Bible, and clasp hands with thousands of other students praising the Lord and listening to His voice. At the very heart of it, Urbana is a place for students to focus on God's will for the world and for their lives.

"Students see the glory of God at Urbana in a way they just don't see in other places," says Tebbe. "When they get confused, and when they're lost, they can say, ‘I saw the glory of God and I heard the call of God,' and that gives hope and a direction and a sight that they can go to."

Urbana 09 is an international missions conference established by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It only comes around every three years, so students thinking about going should consider the fact that this is likely their best opportunity. The conference will take place in St. Louis, Missouri from December 27 to 31; early registration will be discounted until December 1.

To learn more about Urbana, visit www.urbana09.org or click here to view other Mission Network News stories about Urbana.

"Urbana has helped, I think, to spawn national mission movements among many countries now. So we have countries like Nigeria, and Mexico, and Argentina having large
conferences for their own students," said Christy Chapel of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a student-centered ministry.  In this way, they can present missions in
their own context. The missions offering taken at Urbana each year is typically given to help such growing international conferences. Some of the conferences that benefited from that donation include ones in Rwanda, Kenya, Nepal, Indonesia, and Germany. Attendance
numbers at those conferences range from 60 to 6,000.    

The reproduction of Urbana-like conferences could be its greatest contribution to the mission field yet. Urbana has been the starting point for many missionaries, but with each
spin-off, the number of missionaries sent out will multiply. That means a vaster spread of the Gospel message will result. 

Urbana is held every three years, the week between Christmas and New Year's. At its inception, it was held in Toronto in 1946, and from then on it was held on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Today, it is held in St. Louis, which creates a more conference-type feel than the university setting. It offers more space for a larger gathering as well, especially with the number of people attending this year's Urbana expected to be around 20,000.

"It's really designed to present to every generation of students, what is going on in the world in terms of missions and Global issues, and challenge students and recent graduates with how they can participate more fully in God's mission," said Chapel. This year's main topic will be "Jesus living among us." Topics covered will include global poverty, Christians and the environment, human
trafficking, and other issues of redemption.

This year's list of keynote speakers is an international team, including Shane Claiborne, a popular author among college-age students. 

With the conference only being held every three years, you may want to participate this year. By registering before June 30, you can save $50 on the
registration fee. There is a non-student rate as well. 

Stay tuned for regular updates on Urbana 09. To register, go to Urbana09's website.  The fee covers the cost of conference programs, and breakfast and dinners. Attendees are responsible for travel, lodging and any other food costs.  

The conference is open to college age students and high school seniors.

The Vietnamese government made this possible by granting a certificate of religious practice to the church. The 400-member group met to create Grace Baptist Southern General Confederation. It adopted a constitution and elected officers for the new organization, which will organize and represent new churches across Vietnam.

The church sits alongside the main airport road in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Formerly called Saigon, the city was renamed in the 1970s at the end of the war with the United States. The church is completing an expansion of its building, prompted by a road-widening project. A new multi-story building is fronted with a dramatic spiral staircase and topped with a cross.

Grace Baptist Church is an outgrowth of Southern Baptist missionary work that began in Vietnam in the late 1950s. Missionaries left the country when the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Since then, the Vietnamese government has not allowed missionary presence.

But that foundational work continued to grow. Today, Baptists are widely acknowledged as the fastest-growing church group in Vietnam. There are now some 5,000 Baptists in 90 congregations in a dozen cities and provinces across the country. Only some of them are allied with Grace, church leaders said.

Grace pastor Le Quoc Chanh has overseen much of the church's growth, keeping his congregation intact through various hard times in the past.

While the Vietnamese government hindered Christians from meeting or pursuing evangelism in the past, it is now developing a market-driven economy, encouraging tourism and seeking an increased presence on the world scene. New national laws assure its citizens religious freedom.

The Vietnamese concept of religious freedom includes registration of church groups.

Local observers say national government leaders sincerely want to let church groups function without interference. But they also want to ensure that churches do not pursue political agendas or other programs that might jeopardize Vietnam's political and economic stability — highly valued as the country develops. Observers say it may take longer for local government leaders in some outlying areas to move to a more open stance on religion. Opposition is still known to occur there.

International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin told the gathering, "We're here to recognize and celebrate the progress of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We commend the government leadership of your country.

"They have led Vietnam to take a place of leadership in the economy and trade and human rights of the global community," Rankin continued. "But especially, we praise God for this significant occasion in which the government of Vietnam is openly recognizing and registering the Baptists of Grace Baptist Church."

Rankin talked of the legacy of missionaries who served "out of love and devotion to the people of Vietnam."

"We honor the contribution they have made in laying the foundation for Baptist work in this country," Rankin said. "But most of all we celebrate your faithfulness and perseverance to continue to serve the Lord here.

"Not only have you been faithful in worship and Bible study and serving the Lord," said Rankin, "but you have given yourselves to the needs of the people of Vietnam."

"We challenge you to a vision for the future," Rankin concluded. "Continue to share the Gospel and serve your Lord faithfully. I am reminded of the words of the prophet Habakkuk: 'Look among the nations and be astounded for I will do a work among you that you will not believe.' Truly that prophecy is being fulfilled here today. We see God doing a work among us that we would not have believed, and we give Him the praise and glory for this day."

"Of course it's war–economic war," said Dmitri Jantsen of a Baptist congregation in the town of Temirtau near the capital, Astana. "They're handing down fines and confiscating cars, washing machines, and even pigs when we refuse to pay. They want to subject our churches to state control."

Jantsen claims the number and level of fines are increasing. Jantsen listed many recent cases across Kazahkstan against Baptist leaders who have been fined under Article 375 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. It's an article that punishes religious activity by unregistered communities.

The increased pressure on Council of Churches Baptists comes as officials are continuing their campaign to confiscate the entire property of another religious commune near the country's commercial capital, Almaty.