Kathleen Retan with Prisoners for Christ (PFC) says that a few years ago, an inmate named Darryl was receiving discipleship from multiple ministries, including PFC. He decided it was time to take responsibility for gospel ministry in his facility. 

Today, Darryl and a group of fellow believers call themselves Table Time Ministries. The name is a riff on a well-known prison reality in which s the tables in shared spaces are staked out by different people.

(Photo courtesy of Ivan Samkov via Pexels)

“Their emphasis is very much on being models within the prison, models of the way Jesus Christ would want them to act and to live,” said Retan. “This is not just to other inmates, but specifically for staff to see that too.” 

The men in Table Time meet for three hours on Saturdays, sponsored by PFC. Volunteers with PFC lead one hour, but a full two hours are for Table Time’s cell-to-cell outreach planning, Bible study, community, and more.

“When you have the inmate-initiated discipleship, you’re able to tap into a passion for other inmates as well as a shared cultural experience that volunteers can’t match either,” said Retan. “That gives me a lot of hope for what the Holy Spirit’s going to do in this work.” 

This good news is a call to action! Inmates around the world need discipleship before they can become disciplers themselves. That often means a fellow Christian must come to serve them first. 

“So many of us think of the work of the church [as if] it should be done by the pastors and the elders, the deacons, and we sit in the pews,” said Retan. “Well, the inmates can be the same way. They need to have it awakened to them that they need to be the ‘inside church’ themselves and not leave ministry up to the organizations, the volunteers alone.” 

Think God might be calling you to prison ministry? Prisoners for Christ is dedicated to taking the gospel into jails, prisons, and juvenile institutions in more than 30 countries worldwide, including the US. Contact PFC today to learn more and find resources about this work wherever you are. 

The header photo is courtesy of Donald Tong/Pexels.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship evangelist York Moore seems to think so. InterVarsity has partnered with 150 other organizations for the EveryCampus movement.

(Photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship via Becket Law Media Kit)

“We have resourcing event organizations like our friends at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Fouad Masri with The Crescent Project, many kinds of organizations that are providing excellent resources, events, [and] experiences for the college campuses.”

“Then we also have church networks and planting networks — partners like the Foursquare Church that are planting churches all across America.”

EveryCampus’s vision: revival on US college campuses.

“We’re planting campus ministries across the country. We don’t care if you call them InterVarsity or Cru or Blue Polka Dot Christian Fellowship! We just want a Gospel community on every campus in America.”

To that end, EveryCampus is supporting Together 2020, an event that will take place in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 2020.

(Photo courtesy of Together 2020)

Moore says, “We’re hoping to gather hundreds of thousands of young people — primarily college-aged students — for the next great moment in American history.”

Together 2020 is an immersive event that will feature several Christian speakers and worship artists. Students will come for a time of worship, connecting with Scripture, and prayer as they are sent out for Christ among their university peers.

Through these partnerships and collaborations, Moore is encouraged by Christian leaders across America coming together to support the next generation of the Church. Ministries are laying down their own agendas and raising up the only name that does matter — Jesus.

“I’ll go to meetings and one organizational leader will be wearing the shirt of another organizational leader. We’re going to conferences and exhibiting for one another. We’re paying each other’s invoices,” Moore says.

“But here’s the thing. If God is sending a new move, these are the kinds of things that we would expect to see. We would expect to see leaders laying down their own agendas, their own flags for the purpose of something greater. And through this EveryCampus coalition, that’s exactly what we’re seeing.”

(Photo courtesy of Together 2020)

To learn more and register for Together 2020, click here!

You can also get involved with EveryCampus here!

Meanwhile, please join EveryCampus in prayer. Pray for young Christians to have the wisdom and courage to speak Christ’s hope in their classrooms, in their dorms, and with their friends. Ask the Lord to stir a spiritual revival on college campuses in our nation.

Header photo courtesy of Together 2020.

Brunson served as a pastor in Turkey for 23 years until he was arrested a year and a half ago on false charges of terrorism and espionage.

On April 21, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a live interview that if the United States government wants Brunson to be released, they must extradite Fethullah Gulen and hand him over to Turkey. Gulen is a Muslim cleric residing in the United States whom the Turkish government believes orchestrated the failed 2016 coup.

Erdogan declared, “The US is behind [Gulen]…. If you want Brunson, look at the steps you have taken in the past. Why don’t you deport this man in accordance with the extradition treaty?”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Image courtesy of World Economic Forum, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic | Wikimedia Commons)

This isn’t the first time Erdogan has connected Brunson and Gulen. But the US is not interested in a hostage swap. And it seems Erdogan is not in any hurry to lose his Brunson bargaining chip.

Open Doors USA’s President and CEO David Curry says, “[Erdogan] is using this need to have revenge on a political rival as a reason to hold hostage Pastor Brunson in Turkey…. It’s really had a chilling effect on this case with Pastor Brunson because he is essentially an innocent person who has been arrested, we believe, for his faith. He’s obviously not a political actor in any way. So we’re at a bit of a stalemate if this is truly going to be [Erdogan’s] position.”

A question many people have asked in Brunson’s case is, why him?

Curry explains, “A lot of times when we see the rise of religious persecution through the lens of nationalism like we’re seeing here in Turkey, people will say any American who is a Christian is a foreign agent and they will use that as a leaping-off point to make whatever case they choose to make.

“I think people need to understand that Christianity is a spiritual movement. It’s not about Americanism, it’s not about the ideals of the West, it’s not a Western idea, as much as it may have popularity here in the States or the West.

“But people like Erdogan and others are trying to make that case. But [Brunson] is clearly not a political actor, a spy, any of these kinds of things. He is a pastor who has worked in Turkey for many, many years and clearly loves the people there.”

Brunson’s first court hearing was on April 16 and his next hearing is scheduled for May 7. Curry says these latest remarks from Erdogan could definitely affect Brunson’s trial.

“I think this has certainly been their sticking point the whole time they have tried to make this case. It is very, very thin. I think our government has done the right thing and is being very vocal in support of Pastor Brunson. And I think at this point the American people just need to continue to let their voice be heard, that we don’t want American citizens being held hostage for diplomatic reasons essentially, political reasons.”

Andrew and Norine Brunson (Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Two-thirds of the US Senate has signed a petition to Erdogan asking that “justice would be done and Pastor Brunson would be reunited with his family”.

Curry shares, “We are so grateful at Open Doors to see some of the statements of many senators. In particular, Ambassador Brownback has been very on-point about this as has been Senator Lankford from Oklahoma. We need to let our voice be heard to more senators to make sure we are sending all the right political messages and diplomatic messages that the United States government is unified in supporting our citizen who has been unfairly arrested and detained in Turkey.”

Click here for information on how to contact your senator if you are a US citizen.

But the most important thing you can do is pray to our God who is sovereign over the kings of this world.

“Turkey is a country that can go either way and clearly in the last year or two it has become more stringent, more virulent in its Islamic agenda, and more unpredictable, frankly, as we’re moving into dictatorship territory. I think the West has always looked to Turkey for some stabilizing influence, so I think we need to be prayerful about how that government is moving, for the Church there, for the believers there who have some very legitimate concerns.”

Please also be in continued prayer for Brunson and his family, that they would be spiritually encouraged and comforted at this time. Pray also for Brunson’s swift release.

(Header photo courtesy of World Witness)

Open Doors USA is releasing their updated World Watch List Jan 8. (Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Int’l (ODM/MNN) —  Prayer is one of the most important ways to support Kingdom work around the world. Do you know where Christians are persecuted the most severely?

Open Doors will release its 2014 World Watch List (WWL) of 50 countries that are the worst persecutors of Christians on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 during a press conference in Washington, D.C. Open Doors is an international ministry which has been supporting and strengthening persecuted Christians for almost 60 years.
The press conference will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. at the National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 529 14th St. NW. “The annual World Watch List has raised awareness of the plight of persecuted Christians for many years,” says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. David Curry. “It is important to get this information available to the
public so it can look beyond the headlines and be a voice for those who are often voiceless in places such as North Korea, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Nigeria.”

For the past 11 years, the hermit communist country of North Korea has topped the list. North Korea was in the headlines last week with the removal from power and execution of Kim Jong-Un’s uncle Jang Sung Taek. Following North Korea on the 2013 WWL were Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Rounding out the top 10 were Iraq, Somalia, Maldives, Mali, Iran, Yemen and Eritrea.

Religious freedom expert speakers at the press conference include veteran journalist Dr. Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, head of Strategy and Research for Open Doors International; Dr. David Curry, CEO/President of Open Doors USA and Dr. Paul Marshall, senior fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and author of more than 20 books.
The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. The WWL is the only annual survey of religious liberty conditions of Christians around the world.

Please pray that this list would continue to bring awareness and action for Christians around the world.

Evangelist Andrew Palau, son of evangelist Luis Palau,
explained this partnership and service with the local churches: "Really,
the Season of Service is one of the many elements of the festival; it's when
the spiritual leadership in a city decides to come together for a season to
share the Good News and to express unity of the body."

Just this past weekend, nearly 4,000 volunteers came
together in Yakima Valley, enhancing and multiplying the work of the local
churches in the area.

Season of Service takes place for two to three months in advance of each Luis Palau Festival.

Palau said these acts form a great relationship between the
local churches and the city: "The churches go to the mayors of
these cities and say, 'We're coming together for this time. What can we do to
help you?' It's a great partnership between the church and the business and
civic leaders."

Through this, they began to break down stereotypes and unite
believers from various backgrounds and regions in a common purpose.

Ultimately, the recipients
of these services see the love of Christ in action. Season of Service lives out Matthew 5:17 —
"Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good deeds and
honor your Father who is in heaven," as well as Jeremiah 29:7 — "Seek the peace
and prosperity of the city to which I have taken you into exile. Pray for the
city because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Would you like to volunteer for Season of Service during one
of Luis Palau's festivals? Palau said the next festival is coming up on
September 11 in San Diego, California. Next, they head to Uganda for the Love
Kampala Festival, then to Chile, and finally to Phoenix, Arizona next year.

Click here to get started.