“Gen Alpha and Gen Z—they’re clearly living in a video-first world,” remarks Greg Yoder of Keys for Kids.

According to a recent report, YouTube commands 78% of viewership among U.S. children aged 2-12 and is the most popular of media platforms, especially among younger viewers—87% of children aged 2-5, 74% of children aged 6-9, and 68% of those aged 10-12 prefer YouTube. Research also shows frequent binge-watching behaviors and growth in short-form content, as younger generations increasingly turn to social media apps as search tools.

Yoder notes that Keys for Kids, which produces and distributes resources to evangelize and disciple kids and their families, is paying attention to these trends.

“They get all the information in a short-term video shape, and it shapes the way they learn, it shapes the way they search for things, how they decide what’s worth their attention. So, for Keys for Kids Ministries, that means that we need to show up where they are.”

He says the ministry’s goal is not to chase trends, but to communicate eternal truth in ways younger generations will notice, such as more short-form videos.

“So more visual storytelling, more platform-native content is something that we’re going to be doing—but we really need to make sure that we see this kind of content as a doorway and not a destination,” says Yoder. “The written devotional content still has a deep place because it slows a young person down and it helps them reflect on Scripture or the Bible rather than just scroll past it, so I don’t think it’s an either-or.”

He also notes the danger that comes in trying to reduce the Gospel itself into short-form content.

“The gospel is simple enough for a child to understand like that, but it’s not shallow. We need to be bathed in God’s word. We need to abide in Him, and abiding in Him doesn’t mean 30 to 90 seconds. Discipleship is long-form. Short-form content is an excellent way of sparking curiosity, maybe answering one question or pointing a kid to Jesus, but it can’t replace scripture. It can’t replace conversation.”

For parents who want to disciple their children but aren’t sure where to start, Keys for Kids offers devotions for kids and teens available on their app, as well as other resources. Go to keysforkids.org to learn more.

Header photo courtesy of Keys for Kids.

In Israel, the trauma runs deep.

“Iran continues to launch its ballistic missiles and hit Israeli cities. Many people live in kind of an anxiety-filled environment,” says Pavel Shifman, Trans World Radio’s director for Israel. 

In the weeks since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, Israel has also received missile strikes from Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon and, most recently, Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

“The situation of the war is not something unusual for the Israelis. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, it has been going through a major war or conflict every 10 years,” says Shifman. 

“But the interesting part is that Israel did not start those conflicts. [Yet] Israel always won those conflicts.” He ascribes these victories to God protecting the Jewish people and fulfilling Old Testament prophecies where He promises to gather His people back to the land.

In this latest conflict, the TWR Israel team says many people have stopped responding to sirens, “because they can’t handle the stress of running to bomb shelters three, four, five [times] a day or night,” says Shifman. 

“They haven’t slept well during the last 30 days because Iran deliberately attacks the civilian population and shoots missiles like every other hour. So some people just decide to stay at home, and whatever happens, happens.” 

TWR Israel on the move

With Passover being celebrated this week, it’s a critical time to be praying for the Jewish people. 

“We want to show them who Yeshua is, who Jesus is,” says Shifman. “Israel lives in kind of a two-name reality. They never pronounce His name correctly. In fact, they refer to Him in history as ‘that man.’”

“Yeshua” means “salvation.” But many Jews refer to Jesus as “Yeshu.” Shifman explains that “Yeshu” is “basically a curse that says, ‘may his name be wiped out from our tradition and our history.’ They don’t even understand that, but that’s how things developed over the years.”

TWR Israel’s team shares the gospel of Christ through social media channels, Bible distribution, and Zoom calls with people who are interested in learning more about the Bible, Jesus, and faith. 

Shifman says the Zoom study calls are important because, “According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 43% of Israelis identify themselves as secularists. They don’t believe in the Bible. We need to bring the reality of God into their lives, to connect all the dots and bits and pieces and show them that their God is there.”

Isaiah 53 and Jeremiah 31 are key passages, Shifman says, that point to the Messiah and to the New Testament (or new covenant). 

Pray for Israel

Pray for open hearts among the Jewish people to Christ the Messiah, especially during Passover celebrations, which have many signs that point to Jesus. 

Shifman adds another prayer request: “The rise of anti-Semitism is really high these days. We want people to change their attitude towards the Jewish people, and see how God loves His people, and so we do too, especially as believers and followers [of Christ].”

Header photo courtesy of TWR.

“This is another story: how brutal Taliban is in Afghanistan and how they are limiting access to human’s basic needs in Afghanistan.” 

Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, Afghan citizens have battled a challenging political and economic landscape, marked by limited or restricted access to rights, education, and even food and water. 

The Taliban cited concerns over pornography access as the reason behind the most recent internet blackout.

“However, many observers believe the move is less about morality and more about information control and isolation,” Nehemiah says. 

In Afghanistan’s most rural areas, some villages are regularly without internet or mobile network access. Between existing access challenges and imposed shutdowns, Nehemiah says universal connectivity across the nation remains elusive.

“Even though the media is claiming that the internet has been restored in Afghanistan, still there are many cities with no internet,” he says. 

He points out that pastors and underground leaders rely on digital communication. 

“Messaging apps, online trainings, coordination with overseas partners: this blackout tries to smear these lifelines.”

But shackled internet cannot thwart the purposes of the Lord. Nehemiah says blackouts are an opportunity for people to ramp up use of solar-powered audio players distributed by FMI and Keys for Kids. Each device contains pre-downloaded Scripture and devotional content, which means sunshine, rather than wifi, is its fuel. 

“This device does not require any internet. It is built-in devotional tools in their own language,” Nehemiah says.  

He reminds us that the church is not called to wallow in darkness but to stand forth in light. 

Please pray for the people of Afghanistan. Pray that they will hear, believe, and trust in the Word of the Lord, and pray that any ongoing or forthcoming Taliban restrictions will be an opportunity to seek Him more heartily. 

For any areas still affected by the shutdown, please pray for restoration of access, and continue to ask for the Lord’s favor and protection as FMI and partners distribute resources. 

Nehemiah reminds us that one kind of connection is sure:

“Spiritual communication – prayer, scripture, fellowship – that does not require any signals and wires,” he says.  

All images used in this article by courtesy of Pixabay

Demonstrations broke out after the Nepali government blocked several social media platforms. The platforms had allegedly failed to register with the government.

“Gen Z [is] just frustrated with corruption. It started with an anti-corruption movement,” Joe Handley with A3 says. “Their main means of communication with each other and with the world is social media. So they’re protesting against [corruption], but you add to it that their communication channels are shut down. So the tension rises within them.”

Clashes on Monday between protesters and police killed at least 19 people. On Monday night, the government lifted the social media ban, but that did not stop the riots.

Photo in the Ason Bazar, Kathmandu, Nepal (Photo courtesy of Aayush Lama Tamang via Unsplash)

“This is the generation, at least there in Nepal, [that is] looking for a better future. They feel like this government has not provided that for them,” says Handley. 

Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday over the unrest, but young demonstrators still set the parliament building and other structures in Kathmandu on fire.

Handley says that after the ban lifted on Monday, reports from their partners began to increase. “If you’re on social media, you’re seeing smoke rising in Kathmandu, all over different parts of the town.” (See a collection of pictures here.) 

The government is calling for restraint and dialogue. A3’s network of alumni is calling for prayer. 

“They’re trying to be agents of peace in the midst of the chaos — and having to be careful too, because there [are] guns being shot and fire billowing in the capital,” Handley says. 

“My colleagues are begging the global Church to pray for peace, to pray that they could be agents of hope and good news, and that the gospel would shine.”

Header photo courtesy of Samrat Khadka via Unsplash.

“Dorood” means hello in Persian. As many Iranians turn to social media to seek truth beyond government censorship, a simple greeting from a friendly evangelist with a powerful message can change their life forever.

Farzad’s* journey with Christ began in his teenage years, influenced by his siblings’ faith, movie “The Gospel of Luke” (1979) and Yahoo Messenger chats in Iran. He says: “There was [an] online church in Farsi. They said, Kelisaye Interneti. And I found many friends there.” He also explored a Muslim Yahoo chatroom but grew discouraged by constant Sunni-Shia debates. The Christian chat felt different. “I could feel Holy Spirit among them,” he says.

Woman behind laptop (photo courtesy of Krismas via Unsplash)

The seeker became the Messenger!

Today, Farzad is a dedicated internet missionary. He once used Instagram and Facebook but now finds Telegram most effective. In the past two years, he has led twenty people to Christ! His method is simple: he creates a Christian profile, joins Persian chats, and builds friendships. “The best thing in Telegram is going to a group with a few members, for example, 200-300 members, and being with them, being among them and just talking with them — not directly about God, but without hiding your faith,” Farzad explains.

People notice his avatar and start asking questions: What do you do in Christianity? Do you fast? Do you have namaz (prayer)? They’re curious about the differences between Christianity and Islam, but most importantly, they want to hear his personal story.

“Then I share my testimony in a voice message. And it takes one hour, usually, because it’s not just my testimony, it’s my life story — from when I was five to now. I explain how I became a believer, how my parents, how my siblings… and it takes time. Then they always need time to process, to think about it, and the prayer helps a lot,” says Farzad.

It takes time, Farzad says, but after a few months, some return with a clear desire to know Christ. “If it’s time, I give them the salvation prayer, and I say, ‘Do you want me to pray with you? You can do that by yourself.’ From each group, usually at least two or three people come with their questions and get discipled.”

And after a simple greeting and a season of searching, an Iranian soul finds its rest in Jesus’ embrace.

Find your place in the story!

Many ministries are reaching out to Iranians, but the need for online evangelists is greater than ever. So next time you go online and meet an Iranian, don’t hesitate to say dorood! Your conversation might be the very start of their exciting journey to knowing Christ.

*Full name withheld for security.

Header photo courtesy of Haftohasht Innovation Studio via Pexels.

Staff member Kate Michel explains they are now a multimedia ministry: 

“[We] started just doing radio [in 1950], and then in 2015 we began doing television as well. So we have a local television station in Cap-Haitien. We have a YouTube channel with 130,000 subscribers,” she says. 

Their team also connects with fellow Haitians through social media, especially with an interactive daily prayer program.

The city of Cap Haitien. Photo courtesy of samu3ld via Unsplash.com
https://unsplash.com/photos/cars-parked-beside-brown-concrete-building-during-daytime-HlseIzr_6fI

“[The program] is midday every day for an hour, which is guiding our listeners in praying for Haiti, for the country, for leaders, and then for each other, for the prayer requests that listeners and viewers send in,” she explains. 

People listen in to 4VEH’s Christ-centered culturally relevant content all the way from Port-au-Prince, where gang activity is at its worst. 

“The radio signal doesn’t reach there, but they do listen in other ways, like on the internet, [or] from their phones,” Michel says. “So we are supporting those listeners as well, particularly through prayer.”

4VEH takes the gospel to Haitians wherever they are — in every sense. 

“For people who are not able to access the local television station, or maybe even not able to afford batteries for their radio, we use solar-powered radios that we distribute to people in very poor areas,” says Michel. 

“We’re excited that we still are able to do that. Even with all the problems that Haiti is going through, we’re still able to go out and give out these tools for people.”

Praise God for what He’s doing to bring hope to Haiti, and pray for abundant ministry for 4VEH’s next 75 years. 

Want to hear stories of lives turned around through 4VEH? Check out their website for English listeners at 4veh.org/en. 

Header photo of children in Haiti courtesy of Zach Vessels via Unsplash. 

As an Islamic nation, Iran has very few Christian resources for children. That’s why Heart4Iran’s virtual Sunday Schools are meeting such a deep need among Iranian kids.

Jennifer* is the manager of Heart4Iran’s Superbook Farsi program. She explains that each hour-long Sunday School outreach has two parts. The first 30 minutes are a TV broadcast of Superbook (a Bible-based kids’ TV series) supported by additional content. 

The host of the virtual Sunday School program, also an Iranian believer from a Muslim background, came to Christ through Heart4Iran’s Mohabat TV.
(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

“We have Academy videos — Bible background that are very helpful in understanding the history of the Bible story. [We have] Signpost videos [on] how, for example, the Daniel story relates to Jesus and how it relates to our life today.”

After that first half hour, kids then get to interact with other Christians.

“We go live for 30 minutes on social media — Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram — to worship. We [also] talk about the topic of that day’s program, and then do the craft related [to the program],” Jennifer says. “We have a lot of [responses] through that. It’s exciting!” 

You can help change kids’ lives with Heart4Iran through Superbook and virtual Sunday schools by prayer and support. 

“Pray for God’s transformational touch through this program (Superbook), reaching out to save all children, particularly those in Iran,” says Jennifer.

“I always say one day, if I go to heaven and only five kids come to me and say ‘I came to Christ through Superbook,’ I’m like, [it’s] worth all the hassle and everything [involved in this work] — even just five, even just one, right? It’s worth it!”

Visit www.heart4iran.com to learn more and support ministries like virtual Sunday School with Heart4Iran. 

*Name withheld for security reasons.

Header photo courtesy of Heart4Iran. 

This comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine nears its one thousandth day.

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association draws out the fact that no matter what country you call home, it’s easy to view another nation as one collective group, with shared characteristics and intentions.

“We need to be careful not to connect the decisions of Russian national leadership to all Russian people,” Mock says. 

SGA serves alongside many churches in Russia engaged in faithful gospel ministry. These believers can sometimes feel disconnected from the world because of the political climate they live in.

Woman reading a Russian Bible. (Representative stock photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash)

Here’s a big-picture account of the changes Mock says Russian society has gone through over the past 30 years.

“In the late ’90s, there were financial challenges, but a tremendous amount of openness to the things of God. In 2005 things began to shift — both [a] shift away from God and shift toward a level of [affluence],” Mock says. Economic growth led to new businesses opening, even many from the West.

“But by the 2010s, churches were noticing the people where there [used to be] this excitement and openness to the gospel, they weren’t interested anymore. It was becoming more and more difficult to reach people with the gospel.

“Now in the 2020s, things are much more difficult for them. There are new restrictions that make it very difficult for open evangelism, if not impossible. There are restrictions on the pulpit, what could be said and not said.”

Another pressure point on public discourse is the war between Russia and Ukraine. Coupled with the restraints placed upon social media, it can lead Russian believers to feel that distance between themselves and the world. 

However, there’s more to this picture: gospel-driven unity. 

“One of the blessings of SGA is our ministry is unblemished by the changing events in this world. We have been able to serve [Russian] churches because it’s not been about us. We are serving their churches as they take the gospel to their people,” Mock says. 

“Because that vision remains unchanged, they have felt connected and not forgotten. They feel not abandoned and not apart, but instead, they feel that the Body of Christ is standing together.”

Immanuel’s Child (Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

Learn more here about SGA’s gospel outreaches alongside local churches. Among them are Immanuel’s Child and Orphans Reborn.

But above all, pray!

“Pray that these faithful Bible-teaching churches would be those churches that stand tall in increasing and mounting difficulties,” Mock says. “[Pray] that we (the global Church) would be united in the single cause to know Christ and to make Him known among the nations.” 

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

The U.S. confirmed Israel’s drone strike against an Iranian air base on Friday morning, while Iranian media downplayed damages and cited “infiltrators” instead of Israel as the primary instigators.

This weekend’s attack follows Iran’s first-ever direct assault on Israel on Saturday, April 13. The following day, senior U.S. officials said it was apparent Iran’s attack on Israel intended to cause significant damage and death.

The latest tiff between sworn enemies Iran and Israel began earlier this month when a targeted Israeli strike killed senior military leaders at an Iranian embassy in Syria.

Meanwhile, analysts wonder if Iran’s economy can hold up to a prolonged battle, citing pressure imposed by Western sanctions and sky-high inflation.

“On social media, people are complaining about prices skyrocketing,” Heart4Iran’s Nazanin Baghestani says.

“Since Friday (April 12), everything has doubled and tripled [in price.] Basic groceries, such as eggs, they (Iranian people) cannot buy [because] it’s so expensive.”

Fear and anxiety constantly plague Iran’s people, fueled by government oppression and deceit.

“They (Iranian officials) are making the people afraid and quiet by arresting them, harassing them,” Baghestani says. As a result, “People are on edge 24/7, and they’re scared. The spirit of fear is so bad it just doesn’t let them function,” she continues.

(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

“Once that (fear) is gone, they can breathe, and it’s very important for us to disciple them and make sure they are strong to withstand all the storms they face inside the country.”

Heart4Iran connects Iranians with the hope of Christ through a 24-7 call center and social media. More about that here.

“Praise God; the message of Christ is always hopeful and peaceful. The goal of the Gospel is peace, and we introduce them to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ,” Baghestani says.

Please pray that the current tensions between Iran and Israel will not escalate into regional war. Ask the Lord to show mercy on the Iranian people.

“Only God can intervene [to stop the war,] no politician. Let’s pray that God will intervene and this war will stop, this regime will give in and free the people,” Baghestani says.

Header image depicts 10,000 Iranian rials, which are equivalent to .24 USD, as of April 19, 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

Iran’s assault on Saturday was the first time the Islamic Republic directly attacked Israel since the regime’s formation in 1979. According to an Israeli military spokesman, nearly all of the missiles and drones were intercepted.

“Iran attacked Israel [with] full force, about 300 missiles, intending for a mass casualty. Fortunately, that did not happen, but this was the first time they fired from inside Iran,” Heart4Iran’s Nazanin Baghestani says.

“They were [previously] using the neighbors and using Hezbollah (to attack Israel), but for this one, they wanted to show that ‘We can do it.’”

Although Israel defended itself against Iran’s assault with help from Western and Arab allies, “on the local news inside the country, they were saying that the attack was very successful,” Baghestani says.

“[Officials said,] ‘We intended to harm Israel and America, and we have succeeded,’ so, all positive.”

The U.S. and other Western nations say they will not back Israel if it escalates the conflict by retaliation. According to Reuters, Israel’s war cabinet “favored retaliation but was divided over the timing and scale of any such response.”

(Photo courtesy of Denis Oliveira/Heart4Iran)

Meanwhile, Iran’s people are fighting a new battle against the regime. Knowing the people oppose their leadership, “the government kept people busy so they could do their attack” on Israel, Baghestani says.

“Morality police [were] arresting women that had bad (‘improper’) hijabs. They would take these ladies to unknown places. This happened on Friday, and on Saturday, [Iran launched] all the missile attacks.”

Heart4Iran offers the hope of Christ to anxious and fearful Iranians through a 24-7 call center and social media. More about that here.

“The spirit of fear is so bad, and it just doesn’t let them function inside the country. Once that is gone, they can breathe,” Baghestani says.

“It’s very important for us to continue with them, to disciple them, and make sure that they are strong enough to withstand all the storms they face inside the country.”

Help Heart4Iran keep this important work going. Pray the current tensions between Iran and Israel will not escalate into regional war.

Header image is a representative photo courtesy of Angelo Scarcella/Pixabay.