Iran and Syria have been scratching each other’s backs for decades. Iranian support for Syria in its conflict with Israel is primarily based on shared political and ideological interests.

Aleppo, Syria. (Photo courtesy of aladdin hammami/Unsplash)

Syria helps Iran advance Shiite Muslim influence in the region, and Iran provides support to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad with military and financial aid to help it withstand the ongoing civil war. And they both have Israel as a common enemy.

Iran’s support of the Assad regime is also driven by a desire to counter the influence of its regional rival, Saudi Arabia.

However, Samuel* with Redemptive Stories says, “As Iran is trying to bring in weapons, Saudi may actually support that because they’re trying to target Israel.”

Rather than sitting on defense, Israel proactively responded to this move arming political opponents.

Samuel says, “We’ve seen within maybe the last month, in particular, that there have been Israeli strikes into Syria particularly at targets that they suspect are bringing weapons in from Iran under the guise of earthquake aid.”

Despite significant political players on the stage of conflict in the Middle East, God is still on the throne and working through His Church.

Pray for Christians throughout Iran, Syria, and Israel working to advance the Gospel – the only thing that changes hearts.

“As we look at this situation, we don’t perceive or desire to have any sort of political power to make transformation happen on a scale that large,” says Samuel. “But we do have an amazing power through the Holy Spirit to be able to pray with and pray for our brothers and sisters who are responding.”

Header photo courtesy of Benjamin Rascoe/Unsplash.

*Psuedonym

Jack Sara, President of Bethlehem Bible College, says, “He was probably the first Christian to reach out to them with blankets with food parcels and tents. He just treated them as humans. He helped with bringing letters to their families, reaching out to their families in Gaza and elsewhere.”

Until his death, Brother Andrew was welcome in Gaza. He once presented a Bible to President Yasser Arafat. He once wrote, “There are no terrorists . . . As long as we see any person—Muslim, Communist, terrorist—as an enemy, then the love of God cannot flow through us to reach him.”

Work with Palestinians

1992 was also the year Sara first met Brother Andrew. “He was very much, I would say, involved in seeing that Bethlehem Bible College will continue to advance in its both training of students, but also outreach to the community around us.”

“When I wanted to go to seminary (I didn’t know this till after a while), Andrew was the guy who paid for my ticket to study in the Philippines for my Masters of Divinity.”

Brother Andrew angered many Christians in the U.S. through his gentleness. He mourned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and called the killing of Osama Bin Laden a murder.

Sara says Brother Andrew practiced “Aggressive bridge-building. He was a supporter of reconciliation work with Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews. He tried to help even those who would be looked at as fundamentalists or fanatics.”

Pray Christians around the world would learn from Brother Andrew’s gentleness and love.

The header photo shows Sara with Brother Andrew. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

Ukraine has asked Poland to increase the number of checkpoint employees on the Polish side of the border so the trucks can get through more quickly.

Ports in the Black Sea are out of commission due to the Russian invasion. Trucks carry most supplies between the two countries.

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “This has greatly hampered the distribution of aid to the churches and slowed it down to a crawl. All the borders are struggling to move food back and forth.”

“With winter coming, I would ask readers to pray for the nearly one-third of Ukrainians displaced from their homes.”

Winter

Temperatures are dropping fast, but there is no sign of Russia giving up its military goals.  You can help local churches provide food and warmth in their communities. Visit SGA’s website. Mock says, “The tempo of needing to minister to people has not stopped. There are people constantly on the doorstep of the churches asking for food. There aren’t a lot of jobs. Christians are tired. They’re worn out.”

Ask God to strengthen Ukrainian Christians for the difficult months ahead.

Your support won’t only go out to Ukraine, either. Conflict and hardship have erupted across the former Soviet Union, where SGA serves. The ministry works with churches in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and many other places.

The header photo shows aid being delivered by SGA partners. (Photo courtesy of the Slavic Gospel Association on Facebook.)

Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) is partnering with churches in Russia this year to provide Bibles, supplies, and the gift of the Gospel through their Immanuel’s Child program. SGA also works with churches in Central Asia and other countries in Europe for the Immanuel’s Child program, helping children receive the true message of Christmas.

Eric Mock, SGA’s vice president of ministry operations, explains that they are hoping to reach 40,000 children this year.

“The approach of the Immanuel’s Child program is to assist churches that may not have the resources for that outreach, to strengthen and expand their planned outreach for Christmas. Our goal is to help churches reach as many as 40,000 kids this year,” Mock says.

While Christmas in the U.S is typically a one-day celebration on the 25th of December, Orthodox churches in Russia celebrate on January 7th. This celebration doesn’t end until January 11th, creating a window of opportunity for Churches to share the Gospel.

Mock explains that this can be difficult because of legal regulations in the countries SGA works in. Yet many churches choose to be bold during Christmas.

“Here’s the thing, open doors that would never exist any other time during the year [except] for holiday tradition are now open doors to any stranger. So the churches, rather than thinking about themselves, focus that Christmas day on exalting Christ and take the Gospel to these villages and these orphanages,” he says.

The Gift of the Gospel

 Help share the Gospel with unchurched children. (Photo courtesy of SGA)

The Immanuel’s Child program gives unchurched children a Christmas gift that includes a children’s Bible, supplies, candy, and a Gospel star. The Gospel star Christmas ornament says, “Jesus loves you” on one side and has the donor’s name printed on the other.

Mock explains that this gift is the one the children get the most excited about.

He says, “They left any other gifts aside and stood in the line next to the young man that was translating…how to pronounce the name of the American family who had committed to pray for them for the next year.”

“Most of all they heard that they weren’t alone. There was someone on the other side of the world that cared enough about them, even though they had never met them, to pray for them,” he adds.

Christmas Evangelism

The work SGA does with Immanuel’s child helps the churches they partner with disciple the children all year. Any leftover funds not used in the Christmas ministry goes back to the churches.

Churches use these funds to buy Sunday school materials so they have the supplies to teach God’s Word all year.

(Photo courtesy of SGA. Children receive Bibles like this one in each Christmas gift.)

Mock says, “We’re equipping the church to minister to these children who come back to the church after the [Christmas] celebration.”

“Immanuel’s child is that spark that opens doors that is also the resources to give them the capacity to continue discipling these children,” he adds.

To donate to Immanuel’s child, click here. SGA sends one Christmas package to a child for every 25 dollars donated. To learn more and get involved with SGA, click here.

Another way to get involved is by praying for SGA. You can pray for the Immanuel’s Child Christmas ministry to reach the lives of these children with God’s Word.  Pray also for peace in the countries they live in and boldness for the Gospel.

Mock says, “When we are doing this kind of outreach, we need the faithful prayer of many people. Pray for these churches to be bold, stand strong, and to not back down.”

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

Today begins part one of a two-part story about Baskets of Hope and SOAR’s work in Russia. Join us tomorrow as we look into SOAR’s work in Russia with orphanages and the local Church.

The Gift of God’s Word

(Photo courtesy of SOAR)

SOAR’s outreach ministry, Baskets of Hope, provides toys, winter gear, hygiene supplies, and school essentials to Russian children who don’t have access to these resources. This year, SOAR missionary Becky Dwinnell brought over backpacks filled with these resources for children in Ryazan, Russia.

Along with the supplies, every basket has a Bible in Russian.

Dwinnell says this Bible is what the children get most excited about from their basket. “They don’t go for the school supplies. The first thing[s] they look for are their Bibles. Each child gets a Bible in the Russian language, and it’s so cool just to see their eyes light up when they get these baskets and are looking for their Bibles,” Dwinnell adds.

These supplies are truly gifts because it is rare for these children to receive new items.

“It’s just like getting a birthday present — you always want to get something new,” Dwinnell says.

These items are all bought in Russia, so the children are familiar with the toys and excited to receive them.

The Need for Supplies

Poverty in Russia remains high. Approximately one-third of the population can’t afford to buy new shoes. This makes it even more difficult for orphans and other disadvantaged children.

(Photo courtesy of SOAR)

SOAR continues to step into places of poverty to help Russian children with both daily supplies and God’s Word.

Dwinnell says SOAR visited a transition home on their last trip for those who have aged out of the orphanages. She got the chance to connect with teens they had visited in previous years.

After talking with the teens, Dwinnell says, “They remembered us and the impact that it had on them to keep following Jesus.”

She adds, “They cherish those Bibles over there.”

If you want to help these children, donate to SOAR here.

Pray for these children as they receive these Bibles and supplies. Pray that they would learn about God’s Word.

Dwinnell says, “Pray for the caretakers. It’s a rough… job that they have. Pray for the caretakers and pray for the children as they receive their Bibles.”

The next project SOAR is working on is Stuff a Stocking, a program to get more supplies to these children in January. Click here to learn more.

Join us tomorrow to learn more about SOAR’s work as they partner with the local churches in Russia!

Header photo courtesy of SOAR.

Counting is under way, but provisional results are not expected until January 6; final results are expected nine days later and the inauguration is slated for January 18.   An uneasy peace feels like the calm before the storm, and there’s precedent for that.   Since 1960, the DRC has never had a peaceful transition of leader.   The specter of violence raised its head in 2016 when President Joseph Kabila refused to quit after his two-term limit expired.  That was followed by delays that put off the election process by two years and a week.

A combination of technical issues, the Ebola crisis in the East and violence clouded the process and pushed the original 2018 election date back another week.   Now, after the polls closed, both sides are claiming victory as the counting continues.   ‘Doubt’, ‘fear’, and ‘despair’ are terms used in the description of this political cycle, and they’re being used by a growing chorus of people who want to be heard.

What it signals is a desire for change; a cry for hope.  That’s been evident to World Missionary Press, which has partnerships throughout the country that are supplying Scripture booklets.

For nearly 60 years, World Missionary Press has been providing valuable Scripture materials for mission organizations and individuals wanting to share the Gospel with others. Over the decades, they’ve come up against many different challenges, but they’ve seen God work miraculously time and again. What’s happened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been no different.

Aside from the politics at hand, Helen Williams of World Missionary Press explains that getting their materials to the DRC is no problem. But after that, the distribution becomes tricky.

“The country is so big and so vast and has so many different languages and when you go up into the northeast, you go all the way up to Goma and the city that kind of grew out of the refugee camp there,” she says.

Unlike in many countries, it’s not the existing religion that’s the major challenge. In fact, the country is primarily Christian, at least by name. Rather, it’s a lack of unity that presents the challenge. Multiple languages and people groups mean they have to be intentional about which translations of Scripture booklets they send. Once inside, there has to be a team dedicated to traveling across the country to get the books where they belong.

But that’s about to change.

“Recently our major partner in DRC which is Every Home for Christ, they have set up four regional points—a south, an east, a west, and a central, to kind of make it easier to get material out. And so, we’ve been asked for shipments for each of these individual sub-directors, if you will.”

(Photo courtesy of World Missionary Press)

Each of these distributor points has requested three million Scripture booklets. This means that World Missionary Press has to print 12 million booklets, in French, Swahili, and so on. However, having these distribution points mean that once the materials arrive in the DRC, overall transportation costs will be less.

“That’s a lot of literature for us to send. But we’re going to. And we’re working on the logistics and the printing schedule to do that. Because DRC has been a country that we’ve had limited exposure, if you will. We’ve had material there, but it’s hard to get it out. And there are so many ministries that ask us for material and getting it to them has been a real challenge so this is a great opportunity for us.”

Given the context of what’s about to happen and the change that could come with it, will you ask God to bless World Missionary Press as they work on this order? Pray for swift production. Ask God to bless each booklet and direct it into the hands of those who are seeking to know more of Him.

And, will you consider walking alongside World Missionary Press so they can resource more countries like the DRC? To do so, click here.

(Header photo by Michelen Studios on Unsplash)

Sadly, not all kids are prepared for the school year. Things like backpacks and pencils are luxuries for struggling families. This is especially true of kids living in refugee camps in Lebanon.

Heart for Lebanon offers informal education to refugee kids through their Hope Centers in Lebanon, and Molly Hawkins says they see the struggle firsthand. In addition to a lack of resources, even the school supplies refugee kids do have often wear down quickly.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“If we come home and we put our briefcase or our purse or our backpack on a clean chair in our nice, clean house in the corner, or even if we leave it on the floor, the conditions we live in are just so much more sanitary than where they live. Things really don’t last as long. They get dirty very quickly, and just with wear and tear, things don’t hold up.”

That’s why Heart for Lebanon is hosting a Back-to-School Match to raise funds for school supplies for refugee kids. Thanks to a generous donor, every dollar given will be doubled, up to $10,000! This is the last week you can give to this initiative!

With the potential to raise $20,000, there is a lot of good Heart for Lebanon can do with that money.

“We love to give out backpacks to all the students at the beginning of the year filled with the supplies they need — so, filled with paper and markers and pencils and workbooks,” Hawkins explains.

“Also, we like to be able to supply things for like art class or when they go to chapel. A lot of times there is a craft that goes along with the story they have heard. Also for gym class, [we supply] the soccer balls and basketballs and just gym equipment in general.”

Many refugees in Lebanon don’t have formal asylum seeker status. This means they are limited in the aid available to them and it’s harder for parents to make sure their family has basic necessities.

“Their parents just don’t have the means to buy anything for them, so whatever we can do that will help [refugee students] learn now and succeed in the future, we want to do that.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon works with approximately 300 refugee students at their three Hope Centers. Every teacher that serves at a Hope Center is a Christian eager to demonstrate Jesus’ love for these kids.

“We believe that God is great and that He is creative, so [we want to] see children develop that part of them and then explain, ‘There is a God that created you exactly the way you are. Look at how creative He is to be able to have made this whole entire world and you. That’s where you get it from. You can use your gift for His glory. You can use your gift to bring other people joy and happiness.’”

In addition to education, a major way they teach refugee kids about God at the Hope Centers is through chapel time. Each chapel covers biblical characteristics and leadership traits. Every month, students learn a biblical value such as generosity or integrity or honesty, and teachers try to emphasize those virtues in the classroom.

Hawkins shares one story of a young female student. “She was super quiet. She never really said anything. She didn’t really ever seem to enjoy anything, especially not chapel.

“One day at the end of class, the teacher handed out papers and asked the students to write what they love the most. Surprisingly, the student wrote, ‘I love chapel. I used to not like it. I didn’t really believe it, but now with your patience and hearing all the stories about Jesus and how much He loves me, I look forward to chapel more than anything else.’”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Hawkins says this message to refugee kids — that they are loved by God and that their lives have meaning — is contrary to what they normally hear.

“We don’t want to just throw them away like other people do. They have a purpose. So these [school] materials will help us to show them how they were made and how loved they are and what they can do.”

Of course, there are always families in every community who need help equipping their children for school. This struggle is not unique to refugee communities.

However, Heart for Lebanon’s Tom Atema says the need in our own backyards shouldn’t stop us from responding to the need outside our borders as well.

“I don’t think it’s either-or. I think it’s both. I think we have an obligation to help people in our own backyard, our own Jerusalem, and then go to Samaria and eventually go to the outermost parts of the world.”

Hawkins adds, “We definitely want people to help locally, but if you have a heart for the Middle East, then we definitely want to talk to you. Really at this moment in time, Muslims are more open to the Gospel than ever before… This is our opportunity to reach out in love and to show them exactly what Jesus did.”

Atema encourages believers to really seize this opportunity and respond to what God is doing in the Middle East — especially among Muslim refugees and this young generation. “The 300 [students] that we deal with is a small drop in the bucket, but we have the capacity to do more. We just need more prayers and investments.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

If you would like to give to Heart for Lebanon’s Back-to-School Match and see your gift doubled, click here!

Then, commit to praying for this ministry. Atema says, “I’m asking for prayer for our teachers, that they’ll have wisdom, they’ll have strength, they’ll have God’s protection as they deal with all the different situations.

“The last prayer request I would have is for the children themselves — that many of them, number one, would come to faith in Jesus Christ. But number two is, as they grow in their faith in Jesus Christ, they will not get discouraged, they will not lose hope, they will not lose that passion that they have — believe me, they have it — of what they want to be, that their dreams will be fulfilled in a positive, God-honoring way.”

(Header photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Three Warriors in the Battle for the Kingdom

Hutchcraft says there are three kinds of warriors it takes to win the battle for souls….

“There’s a picture in the book of Exodus that shows us really how the battle is won. The Jews are going up against the Amalekites. Joshua is leading the army in battle against the Amalekites. Moses goes up on the hill and he raises his arms. Later he explains that he was interceding before the throne of the Lord for them. Aaron and Hur are these two men [who] go up with him to hold up his arms because when he is raising his arms, he is interceding. Their support is really needed for Moses to do what he is doing.

“So really, in that picture we’ve got three kinds of warriors…. You’ve got the Frontlines Warriors, as represented by Joshua and his army. You have the Prayer Warrior on the hill, represented by Moses. And you have the support warriors — I call them the Supply Lines Warriors — represented by Aaron and Hur. It takes all three to win the battle.”

So what does this have to do with ministry and the Great Commission?

Hutchcraft explains, “The missionaries that you know, the warriors that are fighting on the frontlines, they are the Frontlines Warrior fighters. They are, all day, every day, engaged in the battle for souls to carry out our Master’s orders that he says must be fulfilled before he returns.

“Then you have the Prayer Warrior. Wow, is it clear from that story? When the prayer warrior is praying, the frontlines warriors are winning. When they’re not praying, the frontlines warriors are losing.

“Then you’ve got the support of the Supply Lines Warriors. In any battle, you can have the greatest army in the world. But if they don’t have the supplies they need, the ammunition they need, they will lose.”

In Romans 10:14, Paul asks, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”

Of this passage, Hutchcraft points out, “So we’ve got the tellers, we’ve got the people who are out there all day every day – like our own ministry team – telling people about Jesus through every means possible. But that’s not the base of the Great Commission pyramid. The foundation of the Great Commission pyramid; there’s one question [in the next verse]. ‘And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?’”

The Battle from the Supply Lines

The senders in missions are critically important, like the supply lines in a battle.

“I saw an interesting comment by the man who was the former head of Australia’s special forces. He was discussing the issue of funding Christian ministry. But here’s what he said from his military experience. He said, ‘The battles are not won based on tactics. They’re rather won on destroying the resources of your enemy.’ He said that was one of the tasks of the special forces: to go behind enemy lines and destroy their enemies’ abilities to supply the troops who are fighting the battle.”

Sadly, too many Christians today who feel called to the mission field are struggling to raise enough support, to get enough supplies so they can follow God’s call to go.

“So it could be that the battle for souls is being lost, not on the frontlines, but on the supply lines. Because Satan’s special forces no doubt are dispatched to keep the supply lines from sending the supplies, whether it’s to spend it all on ourselves, whatever it is, there must be a way to impede the supply lines getting to the frontlines.”

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

Part of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries works specifically to make the Gospel known throughout Native America, and to empower young Native warriors to be ministers of God’s Word with On Eagles’ Wings. The team with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries prays for the people who support them and the mission of On Eagles’ Wings. Because just as the frontlines are under attack, so too are the people with the supply lines.

“I believe that the battle is won or lost in the throne room of God. D.L. Moody said, ‘Behind every victory, somewhere there is a praying Christian.’ It may be that one of the reasons it’s taken so long for the breakthrough in Native America is because Native people have been kind of invisible to us. We don’t even know about these issues, so they haven’t been prayed for much,” Hutchcraft says.

“The reason there have been the breakthroughs that there are is because there has been a wave of prayer growing for Native Americans. And much of it is focused from the On Eagles’ Wings team.”

‘Do You Know Who You Are?’

To sum it all up from Hutchcraft: “I would just say to someone who is a supporter of Christian ministry, please don’t think you are just somebody who writes checks, that you’re a fan in the stands. No, you’re on the field. You are in the game. And according to God’s Word, you as the sender of the people who proclaim Christ day after day where they are in ministry, you as the sender are at the foundation of the entire effort to get the Gospel out around the world.

“Do you know who you are? Do you know how valuable you are? Do you know what a varsity position you play? Play it well, as the people on the frontlines are. Play your position with all your heart, prayerfully, carefully, generously, in a spirit-led fashion. Because it is that partnership of the Supply Lines, the Prayer Warrior, and the Frontlines Warrior that will change our world and bring back the King.”

Click here to support missions to Native America.

(Photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love)

Haiti (MNN) — Hunger in Haiti is on the heart of many. This is evidenced by the amount of donations given to For Haiti with Love recently to address the many needs in Haiti.

For Haiti with Love runs a burn clinic and a food program for residents in need.

Recently they had the opportunity to buy burn supplies in bulk for an entire year, significantly reducing the overall cost but demanding a higher up-front cost.

For Haiti has the unique opportunity of
ministering to burn victims.
(Photo courtesy of For Haiti)

Eva DeHart of For Haiti says, “People have answered the plea for the money to actually pay for the burn cream. And the reason we needed so much is that we had the opportunity of getting the burn cream in bulk.”

People have been sending food and other supplies to For Haiti with Love as well. The challenge now is getting those supplies to location for distribution.

“As with everything else that you [purchase], it has to be shipped across the United States and then by sea into Haiti,” DeHart explains.

Even the burn cream will cost $1000 to get to Haiti. And a full container of food can cost about $10,000. Altogether it is a big number, but the spiritual and physical impact is worth it.

“Jesus was all about feeding the hungry. In all of His ministry settings…feeding the poor and the hungry was a very important part of the Lord’s ministry,” DeHart says, “When their tummies are growling, they can’t hear you talking about God. But satisfy the physical hunger, and it opens the door to satisfying spiritual hunger.”

DeHart wants supporters of this ministry to remember that they’re not only serving people in need in Haiti. “We want them to remember that when you’re looking into the eyes of the poor, you’re looking into the eyes of Jesus. They are partnering with us and they are literally feeding the hungry themselves. We’re just the conduits that get the product to help deliver the message.”

Want to help? Get connected here. Pray for God to provide the means for these supplies to get to Haiti. Ask Him to provide places for discussion about the Gospel among the people of Haiti.

(Photo by SGA)

Ukraine (MNN) — The nation of Ukraine is in crisis.

Yet even in the midst of bloodshed and being caught in the middle of superpower conflict, faithful Ukrainian churches are reaching out to refugees from the violence and other victims in the love of Christ.

The Slavic Gospel Association has created a Crisis Evangelism Fund to help them seize this opportunity to reach their hurting people with the Gospel!

Since the crisis in Ukraine erupted, evangelical church leaders have been quickly developing plans to meet the needs of refugees and needy families fleeing from violent, high-conflict regions. They have asked for assistance, and SGA needs your help to make it happen.

The crisis response teams being organized will help local pastors who have few resources, and will enable their churches to distribute food aid, Bibles, Christian literature, and other essentials as needed and available.

(Photo by SGA)

Most of all, distressed families and individuals will hear the life-changing Gospel and experience the love of Christ: the only true hope for ultimate peace and reconciliation. The Crisis Evangelism Fund will help Ukrainian Christians make an eternal difference in the lives of men, women, and children whose hearts have been broken by what has happened to their lives and to their country.

SGA ask for regular prayer for those developing Gospel opportunities to reach the lost. SGA founder Peter Deyneka’s motto was: “Much Prayer, Much Power.”

If you feel led, your gifts to the fund can help accomplish many things. As examples, $15 can help provide a food pack which can contain items such as flour, cooking oil, pasta, and other staples. Larger gifts can help in other ways, such as reaching out to refugees with physical assistance and the Gospel, helping crisis response teams from Ukrainian churches to travel and reach out as needs arise in specific locations. Gifts to the fund can also provide Bibles and Christian literature, and support the ministries of missionary pastors whose churches are in the conflict zones.

If you would like to help, click here: www.sga.org/donate.