“Where I live, I can tell that it’s spring because the pond is singing and the daffodils are blooming,” Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries says.

“On a spiritual basis, there seems to be a blooming of a spiritual spring. God is on the move and accelerating His work.”

David Kinnaman with the Barna Research Group recently presented the results of an extensive survey done for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. “Over the last couple of years, they have noticed that there’s a growing turn toward the spiritual for answers,” Hutchcraft says.

“It’s not so much about church-going and the institutional side, but a spiritual curiosity and openness is growing.”

This “spiritual spring” creates a Gospel opportunity for believers. “The number one thing people are looking for is peace,” Hutchcraft says.

“We’ve been through a huge recession [and] confusing political turmoil; a pandemic turned everything upside down. The mental health statistics are frightening.”

Do you know how to share your hope story? Resources from Hutchcraft Ministries can help.

Hutchcraft says, “We who know Christ have experienced the peace that comes from the One who speaks to a storm and says, ‘Peace be still.’”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Andréas BRUN/Unsplash.

The Chinese Communist Party continues to severely limit media in the country, targeting everything from music to video games to religious content. But that isn’t going to stop Chinese people from using media, and it certainly won’t stop Christians from proclaiming Jesus.

Kurt Rovenstine with Bibles for China uses the illustration of a sandbox on the beach. For years, the government in China turned away as people left the sandbox to play on the beach. Now, they have begun herding people back into the more restrictive sandbox. “As Americans outside of China, we look at the beach and say, ‘Look at all of the things we can’t do because we’re stuck in this little sandbox.’ But the church in China is saying, ‘Hey, there’s a lot in the sandbox we can do.’”

China’s people don’t always follow the rules when it comes to the internet. In fact, China has often been a hotspot for pirated media.

Printed Bibles

Aside from digital loopholes, Rovenstine believes printed Bibles and other books have a future in China’s churches.

That plays into Bibles for China’s plans for 2022. Rovenstine says, “We are looking at a spring distribution that’s in the process of being planned. We will print those Bibles, or have them printed with a partner outside of China. It’s the same Bible, just not printed within China. A late spring distribution is what we have on the calendar. We will print about 50,000.”

Ask God to give creativity to the Chinese Church.

Header photo courtesy of RAMillu on Pixabay. 

Bombing in Tunisia

According to Nettleton, this violence comes as the country prepares to elect a new leader. Tunisia’s president will not run for re-election this year. This move towards democracy follows after “peaceful protests [and] marches earlier this spring.”

Tunisia is the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring.
(Photo courtesy of Wassim Ben Rhouma via Flickr)

Tunisia is a Muslim-majority nation and is ranked* as the 37th most difficult place to live as a Christian. It is unlikely the coming election will produce anything other than an Islamic government. Protests in Tunisia once sparked the Arab Spring. Today, it is considered a success story of the movement. Now, there is some concern the recent unrest could undo current progress.

“Things seem to be moving in a peaceful and positive direction towards the exercise of democracy there. Now you have these two bombings [after] the President was hospitalized [beacuse] he is, and has been for a while, in very poor health” Nettleton explains. More than anything else, uncertainty characterizes the upcoming elections.

A Place for the Gospel

In the uncertainty, particularly when encountering life-threatening events in such close proximities, the concept of eternity is often pushed to the forefront of people’s minds. It is important that in moments like these, the local church shares the hope and light of the Gospel with those facing loss, fear, and hopelessness.

(Graphic courtesy VOM USA via Instagram)

“Pray for [Tunisian Christians’] boldness to witness, boldness to stand up and be heard in the election process, in the democratic processes,” Nettleton urges.

“Pray for God’s protection over them.

“As far as for the whole country, pray for peace. Pray that these democratic things will happen, that there won’t be delays to them, [that] they won’t be pushed off course.”

Pray God would use His people in Tunisia to share His love and the good news of the Gospel.

Commit to praying for the persecuted Church here.

To find more ways to stand beside the persecuted church, click here.

*The World Watch List (WWL) by Open Doors USA ranks the top 150 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Find the WWL here.

Header image courtesy of Open Doors USA.

The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) is in North Africa to do one thing — learn. TEAM's Robert Johnson says, "We're going to live with the people for about a week — eight days. We're going to do some English teaching and culture gathering and seeing what it's really like to be North African."

TEAM already works with North African immigrants living in Europe. Johnson says being in North Africa helps them get at the roots of the North African people and see how they live so TEAM can be more relevant.

Johnson says this is important as they're, "Building relationships with people and just listening and sharing when we have an opportunity of where we are, but also hearing where they are."

There are rules they have to follow. "You can't hand out Bibles, but you can talk about God. You can't tell them they need to convert, but you can share what faith has done in your life. There is openness, but there are some pretty strict limitations."

Johnson, as a photographer, will be trying to gather pictures that tell a story. "I feel that could be a way to see inside of what culture — what the life of someone living in North Africa is living like every day. I really just want to be a part of their lives."

Prayer is needed while TEAM is there. "Pray for open hearts [and] open doors. Pray for positive relationships being built. That positive fruit will be developed through these trips and the right connections will come about."