That’s the key to Heart for Lebanon’s effective ministry, says Bachir Sarkis with Heart for Lebanon: relationships.

Heart for Lebanon’s team of staff and volunteers starts each day at 8:15 a.m., dividing out lists of families to visit whom they have connected with, and determining what rooms of their ministry center will host the week’s busy schedule of Bible study groups.

Along with food kits and winterization supplies, Heart for Lebanon introduces people to the love and hope of Christ.
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

For their home visits, Sarkis says four to five groups of staff will connect with at least 30 households every day, if not more. They have the long-term welfare of people in view.

“When we build relationship(s), we are building trust with people. We are winning the hearts of people, we are winning the love of people,” says Sarkis.

“When we promise them that we have distribution next month, (or that) we will help this family at this date, they find that we are working on time. So we do what we say, and people are touched through how we treat them, because they see through our team all respect, love and care.”

Syrian Sunni (Muslim) families, Syrian Christian families, Iraqis families and those of other nationalities that live in Lebanon alike receive Heart for Lebanon’s friendship.

The team provides humanitarian aid with respect for Kurdish families too, many of whom are looked down on by Lebanese families as farmers. These families feel the difference.

“They say, ‘You are totally different. We were taking (a) bad picture about Christianity, and now you’re changing everything,’” Sarkis says.

Jesus showed us how to care for people – by spending time with them, acknowledging them, hearing them.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Syrian Christian families as well as Lebanese Christian families both may know the basics of the Bible, Sarkis says, that Jesus is the Savior who died on the cross. But they don’t necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus or know how to accept Jesus as Savior. So the Heart for Lebanon team helps them toward that understanding.

Sarkis tells us, “Through the visits that we are doing, we (get) the opportunity to win some of the people that we visit to Christ. It’s not easy to win someone to Christ. It takes time, it needs patience.”

Heart for Lebanon strives to help people grow as disciples of Christ. They work alongside the Church with their multiple discipleship programs, learning programs, relief work and more.

Sarkis asks for prayer for the peace of Lebanon, as Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire over the southern border of the country.

“We pray for stability in the political situation, because any political earthquake, I’ll call it— (if) any political problem in Lebanon or any war might be expanded, (it) might affect all our work.”

He says a rocket strike in late February struck very close enough to their center in the South to send shrapnel through the walls and windows, and they had to stop all their operations in the region.

Learn more about Heart for Lebanon’s disciple-making ministry here.

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Masjid MABA/Pixabay.

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

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

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

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile, in Israel, Hanukkah continues through this week amidst two months of war.

Pastor Israel Pochtar with Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says church volunteers are delivering aid to Israelis living in bomb shelters in the south. But even bringing aid to these areas is risky.

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

“We buy food and we have them in food packages for Holocaust survivors, single mothers, or mothers who have been stuck home and cannot even go to the grocery stores to buy groceries because they have little kids…. It is dangerous. Rockets are coming down and exploding,” Pochtar says.

“For some who cannot come [to pick up food], we go into houses and apartments and deliver them. We’re also going to bomb shelters in the city of Ashkelon because people during the war live in the bomb shelters…. So we need to get bulletproof vests and helmets because it’s a dangerous place, but we did it.”

You can meaningfully support Israelis through Beit Hallel Congregation, serving in Jesus’ name. Click here to give to the church’s war ministry.

Pochtar says, “Many times, I will get a phone call or email from people I don’t know who just heard about us and want to do something for Israel through the local Church.

“They want to not just give and help Israel, but they want to be sure the testimony is there, the message of Jesus there. That’s what we’re able to do.”

Praise God for Gospel opportunities reaching Jews, Arabs, and even refugees from other countries.

“It is amazing to see how God is using our church and all the volunteers we have,” Pochtar says. “We’ve been able to help thousands and thousands of people, and all of it in the name of Jesus and the message about Christians. It’s from Christians, they stand with you, they love you. That’s it.”

The Lord is doing something in Israel and across the Middle East. Pray for even more people to have their eyes opened to salvation in Jesus Christ this Christmas.

Header photo courtesy of Robert Thiemann/Unsplash.

However, a more holistic picture of Haiti is needed, because Eva DeHart at For Haiti with Love says the northern part of the country tells a different story.

For one, several mountain ranges divide the country, and ministry in the north is not as treacherous as the south. 

“We have the international airport up there and we have the port that we can take anything in by ship. The activities in Port-au-Prince might as well be in a different country. They’re three mountain ranges away and they just don’t affect our ministry because we don’t work down there. We’ve always worked in the north,” DeHart says.

When people outside Haiti have the impression that For Haiti is affected by the violence in the south, DeHart says it is difficult to garner support for the ministry, much less get any outside missions teams to come assist.

Yet, the ministry is remote enough that they don’t feel the same effects of what is happening down south.

“We’re just an isolated little world up there. We fly in, do our own thing, and fly home,” says DeHart.

(Photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love)

For Haiti’s primary ministry is a burn clinic on the northern coast. While other NGOs and some ministries are pulling out, they are determined to continue operations and remain as a Gospel remnant to Haitians in need.

“They’ve got probably more needs than anybody else in the Caribbean, and yet they get so much publicity because of the things that go on in Port-au-Prince that it kind of takes the rest of the country down with it,” says DeHart.

“If we could just get people to focus on the whole island and not just Port-au-Prince and look at ministries that don’t deal in Port-au-Prince and aren’t affected by those events that take place in the capital, then the number of people that can be helped is endless. They all really need us. But the events in Port-au-Prince get the headlines and people who are not familiar with the whole island tend to back off. Then that hurts everybody.”

Now more than ever, For Haiti needs ongoing ministry support. You can give to For Haiti at their website here.

DeHart says, “If we can just stay focused on the north and stay focused on keeping burn supplies in that clinic and keeping it staffed, then God is answering prayer.”

Header photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love.

Jason Woolford, Executive Director of Mission Cry is dedicated to getting used Christian books and scripture to believers around the world. Read more here. A former enlisted Marine, Woolford was pushing to get a shipping container of materials to war-weary South Sudan. Unexpectedly, fellow service members became the answer to funding and distribution.

The Other Marine

It started with a radio interview.

“Somebody had heard and they said, ‘hey, you remind me of this other marine, who’s a minister.

Wes Bentley (Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

You guys are like people who love Jesus but could rip somebody’s face off.’”

Woolford decided to take that as a compliment. Shortly after, he was able to connect with the fellow believer and military man.

The Marine built a compound in South Sudan where he trained 400 chaplains each year for the South Sudanese army. Those chaplains needed Scripture they could take with them into conflict.

Stealth Bibles

A typical Bible can create danger for a soldier in the field. A hard or waxy cover causes reflection and could give away the reader to enemy combatants. A special Mission Cry Bible was created to eliminate this concern. The NASV editions include a plan of salvation and discipleship program with a few new additions.

“With this particular shipment to Sudan, we created a military cover. It’s hard to tear, it’s waterproof, and it doesn’t shine,” Woolford says.

10,000 of these Bibles were printed and sent to California to join the container going to South Sudan. Once they arrive, they will go to all program graduates and out to the field to support those already ministering to the war torn populace.

These Bibles can be sponsored for printing and delivery for $2.

“You’re giving them the sword, which is the word of God. In other words, you’re arming somebody to properly fight against the devil to properly make a difference.”

The Colonel

Once a shipment is assembled, Mission Cry needs the funds to send it, a total cost of $11,000. A retired colonel heard the call and funded one of these shipments after hearing the need on the radio.

“He said, ‘I hope that a portion of my retirement in serving this country will also serve people

(Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

around the world.’ And he sponsored an entire container,” Woolford says.

Both significant donations and small ones fund shipments like the one for South Sudan on the ground. Currently, four sea containers are waiting on funding.

“We’re fascinated sometimes when my staff comes in and they’ll say, ‘look, someone sent a quarter somebody sent $1 bill.’ That means just as much to me as those who sponsor a full container,” Woolford says.

How can I help?

Consider donating to fund on of Mission Cry’s Scripture shipments. Pray the believers who receive the word will grow and be encouraged by it.

Lastly, are there unused Bibles or Christian books gathering dust on your shelves? Sent them to be shipped to believers in need. Donate your used books here.

Header photo courtesy of Mission Cry.

“Evangelical pastor Jinwook Kim, he was stabbed…just while walking down the street in southeastern Turkey. He began serving as a pastor in this area just earlier this year, although he’s lived in Turkey for five years already. He died from his wounds after he was taken to the hospital,” Allen says.

“In a sad twist to this story, his wife is expecting to deliver their second child [last] week.”

Attack on Pastor is Suspicious

Local authorities claim the pastor was the random victim of a thief trying to steal a phone. A 16-year-old has been arrested as a suspect for the murder. However, Allen and others familiar with the case suspect foul play. Allen suggests the incident may have been a targeted assassination.

(Photo by Svetlana Gumerova on Unsplash)

“From other ministry colleagues who work in that region, I have been informed that underage perpetrators, like the 16-year-old who [was] arrested, they’ve been used in a number of assassination attempts against Christians in Turkey recently, to lessen legal liability,” Allen says.

If minors are caught, their sentencing is typically less severe than sentencing for adults. Allen says another Turkish evangelist received a death threat the day after Kim was attacked, adding to the suspicion that Kim was not a random target for petty theft.

Officially, Turkey is a secular state. However, over the past few years, political sentiment that to be Turkish is to be Muslim has been on the rise, as has violence against non-Muslims. Turkey is also ranked as the 26th most difficult country to live on Christian by Open Doors USA’s World Watch List.

Pray for Turkey

Still, Allen urges believers not to lose hope for Turkey, but to instead pray. First, pray for Pastor Kim’s widow and their children. Pray for her endurance and faith as she lives in the contrast of welcoming a new child into her family while grieving the loss of her husband.

“Pray for the other evangelists. Turkish, as well as foreign workers in the country who are still there under their current visas, pray for them. Pray for their courage, for their perseverance, for their ability even though they may be scattered across the country, to network well with each other and help encourage one another as iron would sharpen iron,” Allen says.

FMI is in the process of expanding its work to Turkey with local Christian leaders. To learn more about this expansion, click here.

Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Sammy Tippit in Brazil

(Photo courtesy of Sammy Tippit Ministries)

Evangelist Sammy Tippit of Sammy Tippit Ministries says discipleship materials on sharing one’s faith are in the works for May 2020. These materials will include daily resources for a span of 28 days. The goal is to equip churches to disciple believers who have prayed for their families so they can move into the act of sharing their faith.

“They have thousands of churches involved in this. They’re going through YouTube, to live broadcast and stream this into all the churches, and all the churches will participate in an evangelistic event,” Tippit says.

After the 28 days it takes to complete the program, the Multiplying Church Movement will hold a 3-day evangelistic outreach. They have already asked Tippit to preach at the event.

But the May 2020 event sparked another idea.

“When we talked about that and agreed upon it, I said, ‘You know, this could be done worldwide. It doesn’t have to be done just in Brazil.’ So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to do the same thing with other languages,” Tippit says.

Sparks for a Global Movement

Sammy Tippit Ministries is already engaging with work in other languages across the world. Since 2017, the ministry has used social media sites to connect believers to resources. Just this year, the organization started utilizing technology such as WhatsApp to equip and connect believers in various countries. Now, technology could help connect and resources these same believers even more effectively.

(Photo courtesy of Sammy Tippit Ministries)

“We’ll have this outreach, and we’ll use different methods for different nations. For instance, in Iran, we will use TV, because that’s the easiest way for us to deliver it. And other countries, India, Pakistan, places like that we’ll use WhatsApp to deliver this,” Tippit says.

At the end of this month, Tippit will launch the plan to start translating discipleship materials into different languages . These materials can be used in small groups and are beneficial for teaching believers how to multiply their faith.

Next Steps

Tippit says the translation work itself is costly; the ministry is going to need support. Sammy Tippit Ministries is already looking at translating discipleship material into Hindi, Farsi, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and more.

To give, click here.

Most importantly, Tippit asks for your prayers. Pray for the translation of these resources and their impact. Ask God to raise up the workers, resources, and partnerships to make this translation work happen. Pray for people to come into a relationship with Christ as a result of these resources, too.

Header photo courtesy of Sammy Tippit Ministries.

This was the situation DOOR International translators found themselves in while working with a South Asian Deaf community. Rather than a setback, this is an opportunity to fill in these missing concepts, says DOOR President and CEO Rob Myers.

A Translation Hang-up

Bible translation is a community endeavor. Typically, DOOR translators will bring together community members and leaders to work out signs and determine if there is any overlap into other community signs. With enough overlap, only one translation will be needed for the region.

In this instance, they were doing just that. “They were asking for a number of different signs, you might ask for love. You might ask about the concept of grace. Then they got to the concept of forgive, and one of the people signed, ‘sorry,’” Myers says.

A ten-minute discussion ensued as locals tried to determine what the sign for forgiveness was. The concepts of ‘sorry’ and ‘apology’ were there, but not ‘forgive’.

“The only thing that they would get was either the sign for sorry, or they would say that sorry, we don’t have a sign for that concept.

“The hard part about that is that it’s not just that a particular word in their vocabulary is missing. Conceptually, [they don’t have] the idea of I am

“Many people just don’t know that Deaf communities are unreached by the Gospel. They don’t realize that there are still millions of people who don’t have access.”
(Graphic courtesy of DOOR International via Facebook)

forgiven… [that] when I stand before God, he doesn’t see my sin anymore but He sees me righteous,” Myers says.

More than just words, this indicates a key theological concept is missing and impacts how people live. In a community that had never heard the gospel before, he didn’t find this surprising. Thanks to DOOR’s work, unreached communities have the chance to hear the gospel; often for the first time. DOOR International focuses on bringing Scripture to the largely unreached Deaf communities around the world. None of which have a complete Bible translation. Learn more about their work here.

Overcoming the Barrier

Helping this community develop a sign for forgiveness and explain the concept is an incredible opportunity and involved process.

“We will never when we’re working with communities will never come in and tell them, if they don’t have a sign for something, just give them a sign for it and move on. Their language is one of the only things that belong to that Deaf community,” Myers says.

Instead, the DOOR translation team will explain and work through the idea with a committee of leaders. That committee, in communication with the community, will then determine the signs to use. This way, once the translation is produced, the word may already be in some use and accepted, as opposed to a unilateral decision from the translation team.

“One of the things that I love particularly about sign languages is that the bringing of the gospel is actually, it’s almost literally the word becoming flesh. And not only is it’s not just becoming sound, as it would be, in the case…where Scripture is being shared, vocally and orally, but it’s actually becoming flesh, it’s becoming motions on the hands, it’s becoming gestures, it’s becoming a part of someone else,” Myers says.

Join in Prayer

Please pray for wisdom among these translation teams as they translate Scripture and explain theological concepts.

Ask for receptive communities that will be open to the Word and these translators.

Pray for the International Deaf community, that they will be reached with the gospel.

Header photo courtesy of Geetanjal Khanna via Unsplash.

Renew, Reuse, Recycle

Mission Cry distributed two shipping containers worth of used bibles, seminary materials, and Christian books earlier this month. These materials were donated to strengthen South Sudanese Christians by fellow believers thousands of miles away.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

“These people are hoping and asking and believing that they could have a Bible, something that they can afford. And they want a Bible, they want a Christian book, even if it’s used. And if they can get a used Bible or a Christian book, then that’s going to change their life,” says Jason Woolford of Mission Cry.

Since 1956 Mission Cry has been distributing used Christian literature around the world.

In South Sudan, Woolford is partnering with Far Reaching Ministries, which focuses on training chaplain soldiers who serve in the field. Being a chaplain is a high-risk role; 18 chaplains have been killed in the past few years.

“Where we’re partnering with them is giving them their first-ever mission Cry Christian Resource International Bible, giving them the ability to read about the very God that they’re being martyred for,” Woolford says.

A Nation in need of Healing

Even now, citizens deal with the aftermath of civil war and ongoing tensions. The brutal conflict saw child soldiers, widespread torture and sexual violence, displacement, and destroyed lives. Read more about South Sudan’s ongoing struggles and the events of the past year here.

“People need the word and they want the word, so we’re going to give it to them, especially those that are suffering real persecution for the name of Christ,” Woolford says.

Though the shipment of materials has just arrived there is already a demand for more.

“There’s 80,000 people that are requesting, and needing, and have the ability to speak in English,” he explains.

Books for Believers from Believers

Woolford is asking for aid to continue getting materials to believers in need.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Cry)

“It costs us about $10,000 to send a sea container, but that’s filled with nearly a half a million dollars worth of stuff, so I’m asking about things that change people’s eternity forever or encourage them in a testimony,” Woolford says. Click here to give.

Your own used books could be what encourages a fellow believer in need. Donate your gently used materials here.

Woolford asks for believers to pray for Mission Cry and the continued success of the ministry. Pray that these materials will be a source of renewal and hope for South Sudanese believers. Pray for the peace and restoration of South Sudan and the healing of its people.

“We’re sending the only thing in the world that doesn’t return void, and that’s the word of God. And then on top of it, we’re sending the used Word of God. In other words, Bibles that were sitting on people’s shelf that we’re going to be thrown out the word of God thrown out but instead we’ve recaptured it,” Woolford says.

Header image courtesy of Mission Cry.

Indonesia is home to over 17,000 islands scattered across the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. Of those islands, NPR says over 900 are inhabited. This year the Muslim-majority nation was bumped from #38 to #30 on Open Doors USA’s *World Watch List. The move reveals a culture shifting towards a more severe religious intolerance, and the country’s politics reflect this shift.

Indonesia and Blasphemy Laws

Late last week the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a statement expressing concerns for how religion became a political tool during the election period. The USCIRF specifically notes the use of Indonesia’s blasphemy law to target political candidates.

(Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash)

“The blasphemy laws were first established to prevent religious abuse and defamation, and under the law, a number of religions were protected so Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism…Protestantism and Confucianism, these were all protected,” say Floyd Brobbel, Vice President of International Ministry and Operations for Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

The catch—these blasphemy laws indirectly created a religious class system based on an individual’s birth into a specific religion.

“Islam, which is the majority religion in Indonesia became, it became more political, and cases of blasphemy then also increased as the laws were bolstered, resulting in greater discrimination against other religious minority,” Brobbel says.

Religion in Politics

One example of this is the ousted Christian political figure, former-Governor Purnama. Purnama’s opponents used Quran verses to criticize him, making him suspect of blasphemy. This political tactic manipulates the majority religion against the opposition and puts the opposition at risk of blasphemy charges. Put simply, it is an attempt to rally up Indonesian Muslims in order to gain political power.

“This can become very dangerous situation for any religious minority that is seeking to oppose the major majority religion in the country,” Brobbel warns.

But how Christians respond globally to the manipulation of religion matters.

“I’ve seen some reports and their estimates that indicate that at least a quarter of the world’s countries have anti-blasphemy laws, and of course we know those blasphemy laws are specifically geared against freedom of religion,” Brobbel says.

Java Church (Photo courtesy of FMI)

As for the Church in Indonesia, the Christian life has to be lived out with tact. Floyd reiterates how the Church is called to be the salt and light in its communities. This means ministry continues alongside acts of mercy in Indonesia. However, the Christian lifestyle lived out could be perceived as anti-Islamic in extremist views. And if pressure against the Church continues to increase in the country, converts to Christianity could face even more challenges.

“There’s also the threat of the church that accepts people who convert to Christianity. In the case of Islam, they would be considered apostates. The real question remains and what happens to these churches? Would they be, would they be considered guilty of aiding and abetting apostates? And then what? What would the ramifications of that be? We haven’t seen that but we’ve certainly seen backlash against the churches that do accept converts in other countries,” Brobbel explains.

Responding as Christians

For Christians who do enjoy the freedom of religion, Floyd says it is important to be aware of those who do not share that freedom and to act in their interest. How? Through awareness, engagement, and prayer.

Get engaged by supporting people and movements working towards international religious freedom. Then, pray for the leaders of both nations with and without religious freedom. Ask God to guide these leaders’ decisions regarding freedom of religion and even to change their hearts to love and care for their citizens who disagree religiously.

Pray for Christians in Indonesia to remain firm in God’s truth and love while living out their faith with boldness and wisdom. Pray also for freedom of religion in Indonesia and for local governments to protect the rights of all citizens, even minorities.

*Open Doors World Watch List is a ranking of the top 50 nations where it is hardest to live as a Christian.

Header photo courtesy of Mr.TinDC via Flickr.