In recent years, Saudi Arabia has issued tourist visas, wanting to be open to the West. Allen says, “I expected to see a bit more opulent wealth in the country from all their petroleum dollars. But that’s not what I saw.” For instance, about a third of all the cars he saw had significant dents.

Allen says, “I’m realizing that one of the reasons they’re opening up to the West is they want to develop tourism and business opportunities. Because they realize that the oil industry for their country is going to dry up soon.”

Local churches

Allen moved around the country freely, interacting with many different people. Everyone greeted him in a friendly manner. He saw fewer women out and about, and those he did see had to wear black veils.

Allen encountered underground churches for foreign workers in the country. He visited three congregations, each with 15 to 30 people.“Some of the congregations that I visited were meeting in a rented apartment building. They converted the living room of that flat to be the worship center. One of the bedrooms in the apartment became the pastor’s office.”

“It’s convenient, but also means that the churches are small.”

Saudi believers must be even more careful, as the government forbids citizens from leaving Islam. Allen hopes to meet more of these people on future trips. “Because if FMI wants to come in and develop partnerships with indigenous church planters, it’s going to take some time to build relationships and trust. We first need to identify the key leaders of Saudi Christians.”

Ask God to give FMI wisdom about future ministry in Saudi Arabia.

(Header photo courtesy of Abdullah Shakoor from Pixabay)

Kazakhstan’s entire government resigned after the protests spread across the country. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has imposed a state of emergency, a ban on mass gatherings, and a curfew. The unrest began after a sharp hike in fuel prices. Early reports say dozens have been killed and thousands injured in the violence.

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association explains underlying tensions. “There are a few people in the country who have benefited greatly from the development of Kazakhstan, mostly from oil and natural gas, and then there is a mass majority of the people (which constitutes a lot of the people that are part of the churches we serve) that are quite poor.”

SGA partners

The country is experiencing an internet blackout, making it difficult to get updates from local partners. Mock says, “SGA works with several faithful local churches. We support a seminary and Bible Institute there, as well as working with missionary pastors. We help churches minister to over 2,700 orphaned children. In all of the 25 regions of Kazakhstan, we are involved in helping the churches there.”

“Our hearts are broken that they’re going through this chaos.”

Pray that the love of Christians in Kazakhstan would point many to Jesus. Mock has seen the witness of these churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. “They responded immediately by reaching out to many people that were distant from God. They wanted people to find their hope and contentment in Christ. And so now in these difficult days, the Lord has positioned his Church.”

The header photo shows the protests in Kazakhstan on January 4. (Photo courtesy of Esetok, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The documents, known as the Pandora Papers, detail how these figures hid wealth in various offshore accounts. In many cases, they siphoned money away from their impoverished people.

Wissam Nasrallah with LSESD says the papers exposed many Lebanese officials. “Lebanon topped the list for the country with the most offshore companies. According to the Pandora Papers, it was 346 companies for such a small country. One that is completely bankrupt. It’s disgusting. It’s outrageous. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, his predecessor Hassan Diab, central bank governor Riad Salameh, all are putting their wealth in these offshore companies.”

Banking system

Ever since Lebanon’s banking system collapsed in October 2019, Lebanon’s banks have been illegally holding people’s savings hostage. Meanwhile, the politicians continue to freely transfer money out of the country. Nasrallah says, “Between 2019 and today, more than $6 billion have been taken out of the country through wire transfer. And these obviously belong to politicians and those who are super connected.”

Hardworking citizens get left in the dust, Nasrallah says. “When you walk around Beirut today, or around Lebanon, it’s heartbreaking. There’s no electricity, no gas, no medicines. It’s a country that has completely collapsed by every measure.”

Being a light

Those governing Lebanon have no incentive to change a corrupt system they benefit from. Nasrallah says, “We’ve realized that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for our country. We’ve also realized that we need to be the light within the tunnel. Please pray that we may be the light we’re called to be during such a time.”

Ask God to give renewed strength to LSESD’s team. They battle exhaustion and discouragement every day as the crisis continues.

The header photo shows LSESD staff giving help to refugees. (Photo courtesy of LSESD on Facebook)

We connected with Joseph Vijayam, CEO of Olive Technology, at Urbana ‘18, to talk about how for-profit business can meet for-others missions.

Distribution vs Creation

Vijayam says that the Church has traditionally focused on Jesus’ call to generosity.

“The Church has done a phenomenal job of distributing wealth, of serving the needs of the poor, the widow, the sick, and the dying by taking the wealth of those who are members of the Church and giving it to those who are in need all around the world.”

But Vijayam says that’s not the end of the story. Distributing wealth is crucial to the Gospel’s message of mercy, but the Church needs to create wealth, too.

“The creation of wealth is actually what enables us to send people to the field. It also enables us to send help to people who are in need, so the Church needs to also embrace that as a calling.”

Answering a Call

Joseph Vijayam (Photo courtesy of  InterVarsity)

What’s more, sometimes the call to wealth creation is an individual one. Just as all people are called to evangelism but some specialize in it, Vijayam says some people are called specifically to the world of business. Some are called even more intentionally to entrepreneurship.

“An entrepreneur, someone who founds a business, is someone who is not only creating wealth for himself but also for others, for those who work with him or her, and they’re doing it over multiple generations,” he says.

This allows entrepreneurs to create “engines of wealth creation” fueled by Jesus-centered concepts.

“I think that it’s very important that the Church encourages people who have been given that calling, as long as they can be really clear about why they’re creating this wealth, that this wealth comes from God, and that we give it all back to God and His work.”

The Missions Field of Business

But business isn’t just gets missions going; it can be a mission field in itself. Vijayam thinks a good Kingdom-centered business model measures the impact it has. That can be economic prosperity for the community, a push for a socially just culture, or spiritual growth in businesspeople.

“There are many different ways in which the business itself is a field for ministry with the people you work with, the vendors, the supplies, everybody,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)

The Next Generation

Vijayam says the Church needs to encourage young Christians interested in business.

“Yes, you can be a tentmaker or you can be a person in the workplace and impact the people around you, but when you create a business, you have much more freedom and flexibility on how you can run the business and how you can show God’s love through the business, especially if you’re the business owner, if you’re the entrepreneur,” he says.

Business means reaching a wider audience with the Gospel, sponsoring the work God is doing, and helping fuel generosity and material assistance.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and Vijayam says there is a temptation for business to become about the accumulation. But he also believes that a focus on Christ and a communal effort on the part of the Church could see the provision of resources, guidance, and mentorship to potential Christian businesspeople.

Check out Olive Technology right here.

Find out what InterVarsity is doing for the next generation here.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Pastor Igor Sokolov with Slavic Gospel Association leads a congregation in a Muslim area of Russia. When Yuri came to the church and experienced the saving grace of Christ, his story touched the heart of Pastor Sokolov.

Yuri used to be on top of the world. He led a gang that controlled many plants and factories in Russia, and he even had many state officials and structures under his power. Yuri owned an expensive Mercedes with a safe full of money. Even 15 years in prison did nothing to lessen the amount of influence he had over his affairs.

Eventually, Yuri started to abuse drugs and became very dependent. He realized he couldn't continue to lead his gang in this state and stepped down, suggesting they find a new leader. All seemed well until the very next day.

While walking home, Yuri heard a gunshot. A bullet sliced into his back, through his shoulder blade and by the grace of God just barely missed his spinal cord. Yuri blacked out, but woke up alive in the hospital. He realized that the very ones who used to be his loyal followers had quickly turned against him. It apparently wasn't enough to simply let him step down as gang leader. Yuri knew too much. The members of his own gang had conspired to kill him.

The doctors did not want to damage Yuri's spine, so they left the bullet in his back rather than remove it. He was furious, and from that day began plotting revenge on the person who fired the bullet.

Yuri was eventually released from the hospital and immediately started to seek out his attempted murderer. When he found out who it was, Yuri took two guns and set out to get revenge.

But the Lord had other plans. Apparently as Yuri approached the house of the man who had tried to kill him, he suddenly heard a voice. "Yuri, forgive him." At first, Yuri was confused and had no idea who or what was speaking to him. He kept walking, but the voice only said louder, "Forgive him!"

Then, Yuri saw the man he had come to kill. In that moment, going against everything his mind screamed at him to do and everything he had prepared for, Yuri did not fire. He simply looked at the man, and said, "I do not know why you shot at me, but I forgive you." Yuri then walked away, leaving a very shocked man.

Afterward, Yuri began thinking a lot about God, and he started attending Pastor Sokolov's church. He learned about Christ's love and sacrifice, and after a period of time, Yuri decided to repent. He was walking into the church, when suddenly he couldn't take another step. Yuri fell to his knees in the street and asked Christ to forgive him and come into his heart.

Since then, Yuri has been growing in the knowledge and faith of Christ. Pastor Sokolov is so grateful to have Yuri as an active member of his congregation.

Unfortunately, the affects of a sinful lifestyle are now taking a toll on Yuri. Currently, he is in the hospital struggling with tuberculosis and HIV. He still attends Sunday services and men's Bible study meetings.

Please pray for Yuri as he deals with hospital bills and failing health. Pray also for those from Yuri's home church who are coming around him in this difficult time. Pray that he would rest in the Lord.