Bill* with Mission India shares the story of a troubled boy named Sumit. Life wasn’t easy in his house. His father had passed away when he was very young, and his two older brothers made the poor choices that Sumit followed. Eventually, he was kicked out of school.

But one thing remained steady: Sumit’s love for the game of cricket! He dreamed of being on the national team for India.

Kids playing cricket at a Children’s Bible Club (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“His mother, through the grief of losing her husband and not knowing what to do with these three boys, gave her life to Christ,” says Bill. 

The pastor at their church suggested that she send Sumit to a children’s Bible club. One of the first activities that day? Cricket! 

“[It] just so happened [that] one of the helpers of the leader of the Bible club was very good at cricket. He and Sumit developed a friendship,” says Bill.

“Over the course of about six months, the misbehaviors that Sumit was so good at were replaced with positive behaviors. About seven months in, he gave his life to Christ.”

Sumit’s story is one of many, where a child just needs someone to take an interest in them. 

“One of our ministry principles… follows this B.L.E.S.S. acronym: the body, the labor (the work that people do), emotional support that people need to develop, their social skills and their spiritual skills [or] their spiritual development.”

Bible club leaders shower kids with the love of Christ and provide academic and spiritual instruction, along with the chance to play sports! 

“I think that’s the secret sauce,” Bill says, referring to the leaders. “You know, you have somebody from the community who’s given their life to Christ to lead children into a relationship with Jesus.”

Would you pray for the children of India? Consider partnering with Mission India to reach them. A gift of $36 per month sponsors 18 kids for an entire year of Bible club. (Want to see what club looks like? Watch this video!)

“The opportunity for children is just unbelievable. It’s a great place to invest prayer. It’s a great place to invest resources,” says Bill.

“Pray specifically that the children of India would be turned toward our Almighty God. I believe it’s an undeniable right that children should be able to know their father. To be able to offer that to millions of children that haven’t ever met God, we would certainly like to make that offer.” 

*name withheld for security

Header photo: Kids playing cricket at a Children’s Bible Club (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says their indigenous partners in both nations are feeling the effects of uncertainty and travel restrictions. Regions of northern India outside of Kashmir — Jammu and Delhi, Kelley says — are also impacted. 

“Then you add in the fact that you’ve got nuclear powers — so you’ve got people with historical hatred towards each other, and the ability to wipe out thousands and thousands of people. [It] is a very precarious situation,” Kelley adds.

“For so many different reasons, a ceasefire couldn’t have come quick enough, because this is a tinder box just ready to explode.”

(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

But Kelley says that as Christians, we must look through the spiritual lens, not merely the physical.

Hindu-majority India has the world’s highest concentration of unreached people groups. Meanwhile, Pakistan is the second largest Muslim-majority nation in the world. 

“As with any issue that’s country to country where hatred is so deep, it’s a matter of the heart, which means the only answer is the gospel,” says Kelley. 

So, how can the Body of Christ position itself for spreading the gospel? Unknown Nations’ partners are already on the ground in this border conflict. “These people are deployed on a daily basis. They’re distributing our solar-powered audio Bible[s]. We do water projects. We train these leaders, and then second-generation leaders,” Kelley says.

“When we’re talking about countries like India and Pakistan, we have to build a ground game where there [are] leaders on the ground that are properly equipped to share the gospel and multiply. That’s where a lot of our efforts are at.”

Kelley recognizes that people who have lost everything will quickly begin to question their worldview.

“This (situation in Kashmir) is beginning to get to the place of an insecurity among the people where they are questioning,” he says. “Both of those worldviews (Islam, Hinduism) — that’s the second and third largest religions in the world — are going to be open to the gospel now.”

As a member of the global church, consider how you might deploy your resources to hotspot areas like the India-Pakistan border, starting with your prayers.

“We need to pray intentionally, but with the right kind of vocabulary: not country-oriented, but people-group oriented,” Kelley says.

(Image courtesy of congerdesign via Pixabay)

Don’t know where to start? Visit Joshua Project’s webpages for India and Pakistan, and choose one of the unreached people groups on their lists. You can start with the Yadav people in India, or the massive Pashtun people in Pakistan. 

Learn more about Unknown Nations here.

Photo from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, India (Courtesy of Jannes Jacobs via Unsplash).

“The partnering of those two things together has this really simple but profound impact,” he says.

If only physical help is offered, an opportunity is lost. It’s spiritual distinctives –  the way we follow Christ, show love to our neighbors, and pray for our enemies – that uniquely position Christians to offer hope. But if only spiritual hope is offered, we risk missing the command of James 2:15-17 to respond to physical need. 

FARMS International carries out this practical directive by providing zero interest loans to physically impoverished believers. Most recently, a local businessman equipped through the ministry of FARMS offered a training of his own, where attendees learned practical aspects of livestock management. Clifton says a Christian worldview underlaid the teaching. 

“It’s all being spoken from a Biblical perspective. What does God have to say about business? What does God have to say about how we manage money? What does God say about how we treat animals and our livestock?” he says. 

Through the practical training and assistance offered by FARMS, Clifton sees spiritual doors opened. 

“As we grow spiritually, that impacts our physical reality,” he says. But it’s not a one-way street: physical reality plays a role too. 

“Because if someone is helped in that area, it’s their livelihood. It’s their potential to earn income which impacts every area of their life,” Clifton says.

We see the marriage of physical and spiritual in the incarnation of Christ. Isaiah 9:6 begins, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”

Photo courtesy of Kalisa Veer via Unsplash.

Through the birth of Christ, “you have that idea that a physical child was born,” Clifton says. But this wasn’t the Son’s beginning. “He already existed in a spiritual sense for all of eternity.”

This Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of Him who meets our every physical and spiritual need, please keep FARMS International in your prayers. Pray that believers equipped through loans would be able to grow their businesses and better provide for their families. Pray for the safety of believers in dangerous areas, and pray that Christian’s words and deeds would reshape their communities.

Featured photo courtesy of Owen Outdoors via Pexels.

On Eagles Wings Leadership Center
(Photo courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries)

“One of the things that we are really passionate about is discipleship, but a holistic approach,” says Nick Liew. “Some of the things that we tend to see in the capital-C Church is a focus on some of the obvious things, like, ‘Hey, don’t drink and don’t smoke.’

“Those things are, yes, very much important,” he continues, “But there seems to be a neglect on taking care of your body — what you’re putting into it, being active.”

Liew serves as the coordinator for On Eagles’ Wings, a division of Hutchcraft Ministries serving Native communities. He says a young girl once asked a leader on the team why all the Christians she knew were out of shape. 

“That was a wild question to me, because I was like, ‘Would that same question be appropriate if it was, “Why do all Christians steal? Why do all Christians lie?”’” Liew says. God has bought our bodies with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19–20), and honoring God with our bodies also requires caring for our physical fitness.

On Eagles’ Wings recently finished construction on its new Leadership Training Center, which includes a gymnasium. Their year-long internship program for Native young people requires three days of personal fitness per week, in addition to discipleship, classroom training, mentorship and more. 

“For a lot of (the students), they had a misconception of ‘Why should I work out? Is it just to be around the outward appearance of looking good?’” Liew says. 

“It’s actually a command that we take care of our bodies, but it also has its spiritual implications.”

He explains that a person might know Jesus, know scripture and be sharing their faith and life with others. But physical limitations such as shortness of breath or injuries can prevent someone from being able to serve in long days of ministry. 

Photo of Nick Liew’s family courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries

It points back to Jesus. “He didn’t walk this tightrope of ‘this is spiritual, and this is humanity.’ He existed in both,” Liew says. 

“We’re supposed to be the body of Christ, and there’s no separation in whether it be finances, relationships, business or going to church or small groups or whatever it may be. We’re supposed to involve all of that. Everything that we do has a spiritual component.” 

Pray for the students who will be involved in the Leadership Training Center starting this July. Pray that they would grow this upcoming year in fitness for serving God and bringing hope to their homelands. 

Learn more about the Leadership Training Center with On Eagles’ Wings here. 

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Victor Freitas/Unsplash.

Iran celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution a few weeks ago. The day included crowds on the streets chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” and other demonstrations. 

In a recent conversation with Voice of the Martyrs Canada, Dr. Hormoz Shariat with Iran Alive helps us take a step back and look at the “why” behind Iran’s opposition to Israel. He says it’s spiritual warfare and must be seen and treated as such. 

Photo of Islamic Revolution celebration on Feb. 11, 2015 courtesy of Mostafameraji via Wikimedia Commons.

“Number two is political. The Iranian government needs an enemy – [it] always has,” Shariat says. “[Iranian governors] need an enemy outside Iran so they will keep the minds of the Iranians busy.”

He refers to ‘Death to America,’ and ‘the great Satan, America,’ as often repeated phrases in Iran. 

(“Death to Israel” is also present) 

“For example, in the first [eight] years in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, the government of Iran welcomed a war with Iraq. For eight years, they had this war and it really benefited [them]. They stabilize[d] themselves.”

Shariat says there is a disconnect between Iranians and their government. Many do not agree with the regime’s hatred-driven policies.

Iran is listed as number nine on the World Watch List from Open Doors.

“I’m a very positive person,” Shariat says. “I look at [persecution] positive[ly]. That’s a sign of us Christians winning. That’s why the Iranian government is afraid of us. They’re afraid of Christianity, and they have no answer to it except violence, except putting them in jail and putting fear [into Christians].”

Yet God is moving in Iran. In the past 45 years, hundreds of thousands have turned to Christ. The Joshua Project says the number of evangelical Christians in Iran is growing by 19.6% each year — compared to the global rate of 2.6%.

Now is the time to pray earnestly for Iran! Pray not just for protection for these believers but for courage. Ask God to move powerfully and turn the nation to Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Mohsina881018 via Wikimedia Commons.

Christian World Outreach’s Single Moms Raising Sons program began by supporting single mothers in South Africa with Bible studies. But quickly, the ministry realized they needed to help fatherless sons too by connecting them with a biblical community of male mentors.

From there, the Men Molding Men camps were born.

CWO’s Greg Yoder says, “We have two age groups that we do camps with. So it’s the younger boys, and then young men up to about 18-years-old. [They are] just dealing with being a young man and someone who is being raised by a single mom and needing a man around them.”

Men Molding Men camp (Photo courtesy of CWO)

CWO has six Men Molding Men camps in South Africa planned for 2024. The personal and spiritual impacts of these camps can’t be overstated.

“One of the boys just gave a testimony,” Yoder says. “He’s 18-years-old and the other young men that he came to camp with, they’ve become his family and they are encouraging him. He said, ‘I’m quitting smoking, and I know you guys will encourage me.’ So they do become a little community that can encourage each other and just keep each other focused on being Christ-centered in their lives.”

Ultimately, these camps introduce fatherless boys to their perfect and trustworthy Heavenly Father.

You can help make an eternal difference in the life of a fatherless boy in South Africa. Give to CWO’s Men Molding Men camps at their website!

Yoder also asks, “Pray for the leadership of the ministry as they make decisions [and] stay focused on what God’s given us as a ministry.”

Header photo courtesy of CWO.

Beyond the military movements, Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says this is a spiritual war.

Photo taken after the Hamas attack on Israel, October 7, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Kobi Gideon, GPO/Wikimedia Commons)

“People who attack Israel, they’ve been proclaiming the name of their god. They’ve been screaming and shouting, ‘Our god is greater than the God of Israel. So we let’s do violence and let’s kill and destroy in the name of our god.’ That shows you right away that it is spiritual warfare.”

Pochtar says from the attacks on October 7th, “I’ve seen all sorts of footage. It’s been posted by Hamas [and] by just civilian people…. It’s heavily spiritual. I really feel like lots of demonic powers were released…because normal people, sober [people] cannot do that. We heard about some of the evil events in Ukraine, but those people had been drugged and drunk and they did crazy stuff. Not on the same scale, but they did.”

As more information is verified from the Hamas terror attacks one month ago, the world has learned horrifying accounts of Israeli babies beheaded, parents and children burned together, women raped, and bodies showing signs of torture.

“With Hamas, we’re talking about sober people, religious people who will do that — for the sake of their god. It’s a war between Allah [and] the God of Israel who is also the God of Christians, our God.”

Steeple in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo courtesy of Jonny Gios/Unsplash)

The Church across Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza is the spiritual frontline because the only thing that will change hearts and save souls in both the Muslim and Jewish worlds is Jesus Christ.

Pochtar says Christians are showing profound unity. “When this disaster happened on October 7, first of all, I received phone calls from Arab pastors. I have a number of Arab pastors who are my friends…. They called me and said, ‘Israel, we are crying with you. We are crying for your nation, for our nation. So we are with you. Let us know if we can help you in any possible way. We can host people.’ That was amazing.

“So to see the support of Arab Christians, they’re not blind. They don’t just think of ethnicity. They really understand the Bible. They know what happens in their hearts for their own people. Yet, they also support Israel and they value friendship with Jewish families because we are brothers. We are family in Christ, and this is very, very precious.

“Together, we really make a difference. Together, we are a powerful testimony of what Jesus can do when we both serve Him and focus on the Kingdom of God and His principles.”

Please continue to pray! Jehovah Sabaoth — the Lord of Heaven’s Armies — is at work, as people across Israel and Gaza are seeing angels and meeting Jesus.

“We hear stories of Israelis who’ve been encountering Jesus in that way; some Muslims have been encountering Jesus in that way,” says Pochtar. “So many spiritual things can happen.”

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

Header photo shows a column of smoke resulting from the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, March 5, 2023. (Photo, caption courtesy of Mohammed Ibrahim/Unsplash)

One week after this report came out, spiritual revival broke out at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.

The revival was characterized by young college students who stayed after a chapel for continued prayer and worship. It persisted in a spontaneous outbreak of confession, worship, and prayer that lasted for several weeks and drew in people from around the world.

Revival at Asbury University (Photo courtesy of OneWay Ministries)

Regular chapel schedules resumed at Asbury yesterday. However, other universities and churches across America are opening their doors as more people — particularly youth — seek the Lord through prayer, confession, and worship. There are even stories and online videos surfacing of worship gatherings in other countries inspired by the movement at Asbury.

Stan Key, Minister at Large for OneWay Ministries, describes America at a spiritual crossroads.

“Oh, my goodness, the world we live in. I think I’ve despaired for our nation. The nation that you’re going to grow up in, your generation, and particularly your children, it’s not going to be a pleasant place to be. So this gives me hope,” Key says. “Lord, can you revive our nation? Can you revive the Church?”

Many Christians have been greatly encouraged by testimonies of repentance and humility out of Asbury University and other related worship gatherings. But other believers are cautious to get excited about the so-called revival. Responses range from curious and questioning to skeptical and even outright critical.

Biblical discernment is important in all things, and especially in any movement that would claim the name of Jesus.

Key says this desire for biblical wisdom in the wake of the Asbury revival is important!

“In terms of discerning what is going on,…I don’t think we should just criticize all those who want to be cautious. I’m a skeptic at heart myself. I need some proof.”

(Photo courtesy of OneWay Ministries)

Was this emotional sensationalism? A bandwagon effect? Did lack of one centralized leader mean it was a spiritually-hyped free-for-all?

Many of the critics simply are curious to see what kind of lasting spiritual effect this revival could have on individual lives and American culture. “I think there’s two kinds of critiques of a move of the Spirit like this,” Key says. “One is the legitimate sort. ‘What is going on? And how should I respond?’…. Most of the critique is quite respectful. It’s like, ‘Well, we’ll see.’ Okay, that’s fair.”

However, Key cautions, “There is a critique in which I sense arrogance and condescension.’”

So what is the spiritual fruit that has come out of Asbury?

Key’s father-in-law, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, was the president of Asbury College (now Asbury University) during the 1970 revival on campus.

As someone who is familiar with conversations surrounding faithful Christian revivals, Key says, “The word that, to me, always marks the authentic presence of the sanctifying Spirit is the word humility. Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they get the Kingdom.’”

Another litmus test is the five characteristics of a work of the Holy Spirit, as outlined by Jonathan Edwards in the First Great Awakening.

Key explains, “If it’s those marks that Jonathan Edwards said — if Jesus is exalted, sin is exposed, the Bible is lifted up, sound doctrine is preached, and it’s about love — where’s my can of gasoline? That’s about as good as it gets.

“If this is of God,…all I want to do is bring my can of gasoline and pour gas on what God is doing.”

(Photo courtesy of Jon Tyson via Unsplash)

More and more stories have come out of Asbury about students and young people repenting of sin, coming to the altar broken and crying out for Jesus, praying for one another and restoring relationships with one another.

Far from sensationalist reports, those who were there speak of peaceful worship and biblical conviction.

“I did hear the president of Asbury and his team in a prayer meeting with about 500 alumni last weekend,” Key says. “They were responding to questions. But he said something to the effect of they’ve had quite a number of Christian celebrities show up and…a number of them said, ‘If you like, I’ll address the crowd or I’ll be a part of this in some way.’ To a number of them, they’ve said no.”

Students and young people, travelers and townies were not there to see celebrities and political pundits.

This generation is open to — and even hungry for — spiritual truth. Truth that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

The Asbury revival may be over, at the official campus capacity level. But if the Holy Spirit has kindled a fire for the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of young people in America, may our prayers fan the flames.

May this be a generation that seeks the face of the Lord.

Header photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash.

Spiritual revival can be hard to define. But it’s impossible to manufacture, and there’s no question: A true revival of the Holy Spirit is happening again out of Asbury University in Kentucky.

Asbury’s chapel service concluded last Wednesday like most chapels do. However, something was notably different. The students didn’t leave. Many stayed and continued in worship, prayer, repentance, and sharing testimonies.

Revival at Asbury University (Photo courtesy of OneWay Ministries)

This revival is going on a week now, and the chapel with 1,200 seats is overflowing. Believers are driving, bussing, and flying in from around the country and even other campuses to join. Singer and songwriter Andrew Peterson has even postponed his upcoming performance slated for later this week at Asbury so as not to interrupt the revival unfolding.

Stan Key, Minister at Large with OneWay Ministries, says it is similar to Asbury’s 1970 revival. His father-in-law, Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, was the president of Asbury College at the time (now Asbury University).

“A chapel service on a Tuesday morning in February of 1970 just didn’t end. It just kept going for eight days. These were the days of Vietnam, Woodstock, LSD, these were troubled days and that movement impacted really the nation. Students would go to other campuses, they would go to their local churches and simply share the story of how God had visited the campus. Similar movements of the Spirit — brokenness, repentance, transparency, humility, kneeling in prayer — would happen in other places as well.”

What Is Revival?

Asbury Hall (Photo courtesy of Gerry Dincher via Flickr under Creative Commons: https://rb.gy/3bypuz)

The current movement has many Americans asking: What is revival?

“Jonathan Edwards defined revival as ‘the acceleration and intensification of the normal work of the Holy Spirit,'” Key explains.

Another quote he references is from missionary Norman Grubb: “‘Revival is when the roof comes off and the walls go down.’ In other words, the roof comes off our lives and there’s this awareness of God and His Holiness, particularly, and this sort of vertical dimension that is just palpable.

“But the second thing that happens in, I believe, authentic revival is the walls come down suddenly with our brothers and sisters. We become transparent and very humble. We ask forgiveness [and] reconciliation…. Both of those dimensions are very strong.”

So What About This Revival?

First, it’s important to understand what this revival coming out of Asbury is not.

Key has been in touch with other staff members of OneWay Ministries who have witnessed the revival on Asbury’s campus.

He reports, “The revival at Asbury at least is marked not so much by signs and wonders, or the weirdness that sometimes is attracted — laughing revivals, ‘slain in the Spirit,’ gold dust, and some of these things that we’ve all read about and heard about that claim the name ‘revival.’ I don’t want to sit in judgment on those, but that’s not what’s going on.

“It’s not even associated…with preaching. The chapel sermon last Wednesday was rather nondescript. As I understand it, it was a good message, but people weren’t leaving, saying, ‘Oh my goodness, what a great preacher. What a great sermon.'”

This is also not a political movement. Although there have reportedly been figures appearing on Asbury campus already trying to politicize this revival.

“There are people who want to control revival and use revival,” says Key. “This is not about politics. This is much more radical, much more revolutionary than politics. This is about the human heart.”

This all begs the next question: What defines this revival?

“There are certain themes that are there: The humility, the testimonies…. It’s about brokenness and repentance.”

(Photo courtesy of OneWay Ministries)

It’s also a movement that could be spiritually defining to this current generation of young people.

“For the 20-something generation [with] much brokenness and pain, I’ve been hearing some of the testimonies of students, and just what they’ve lived through and the issues they face,” Key says. “They’re discovering the presence and power of God’s sanctifying spirit in their lives, and it’s changing.”

The work of sanctification — being made holy in Christ — is described well in the plea of an old 80s hymn by Steve Camp: Revive us O Lord, revive us O Lord, and cleanse us from our impurity and make us holy. Hear our cry and revive us O Lord.

Pray, not just for young people, but for the United States to seek the face of the Lord in obedience and reverence to His will. Pray for this movement of the Holy Spirit to spread out from Asbury University and ignite a new generation passionate for the Gospel.

“That’s what many of us are praying and longing for: That this is not a campus event. That God would move across our nation.”

In conclusion, Key references Isaiah 57:15, which reads:

For this is what the high and exalted One says—
    he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Header photo courtesy of Jon Tyson via Unsplash.

But SAT-7’s audience in the Middle East and North Africa needs the programming SAT-7 provides. Although they’ve canceled their Network 2020 conference and implemented work-from-home mandates for staff in many SAT-7 studios, they’re continuing production.

But why the urgency? Nicoletta Michael says SAT-7 is focusing its programming and its pandemic response into four main categories.

1. COVID-19 Awareness and Prevention. SAT-7 is making efforts to spread news and precautions directly from the World Health Organization to its audience. Their goal: teaching safe and healthy practices to anyone who may not know what it takes to keep their communities safe from COVID-19.
2. Education. Education was hard enough for families to access in the Middle East and North Africa before the pandemic hit. Now, in addition to families who could send their kids to school in the first place, kids who did have access to education are stuck at home with no way to learn. That’s why SAT-7 “designed and redesigned our program… so that we could respond to the educational needs of the children [and] support parents in homeschooling.”
3. Mental and Relational Wellbeing. According to Michael, “We felt it was important to address this issue and how those viewers could maintain their physical and mental wellbeing by taking care of [not just] their body but their minds as well.” SAT-7 also addresses some of the relational challenges that face families in lockdown, such as an international rise in domestic abuse.
   

   Photo courtesy of SAT-7

4. Spiritual Support. In times as tumultuous as these, people have questions. They want to know where God is, how they’re meant to stay a part of a body of believers, and where they can find hope in the middle of chaos. Fortunately, SAT-7 was “able to address those questions, bring the church to people’s houses, and bring support to people [while] also answering these questions.”

SAT-7 is covering each one of these topics with minimal staff and while following all government-instructed safety precautions. Staff members are either working from home or rotating in set crews to avoid contact with one another in case of contamination. SAT-7 personnel maintains required distancing. They’ve minimized the amount of content they’re producing.

But they’re still producing.

So pray.

Pray for staff. “During this time, they have shown extreme adaptability and flexibility and courage,” Michael says. “They have put themselves second so they can be responding to the needs of the people in [the Middle East and North Africa].”

Pray that they will continue to stay healthy and that their families will remain safe during this pandemic.

Pray for viewers. Some members of SAT-7’s audience have been in the hospital, so pray for their safety and health in the days ahead.

“We would like to pray for God’s guidance in giving the right answers to people that are caught now in different dilemmas and questions.”

You can support SAT-7 directly right here.

Header photo courtesy of Pixabay.