China: church leaders and churchgoers detained
14 Dec 2018
In Beijing, police have detained dozens of churchgoers and leaders of Early Rain Church in Chengdu, one of China's most prominent Protestant ‘house’ churches, in the latest government action against unregistered religious groups. Members of the church have been unable to contact pastor Wang Yi, the church's founder, or his wife, and church groups on the instant messaging platform WeChat have also been blocked. China's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party. The law requires that all places of worship register and submit to government oversight, but some churches have declined to register, for various reasons.
Egypt: extremist attacks church workers
14 Dec 2018
Wielding an iron bar in one hand and holding a Quran in the other, a 22-year-old Muslim extremist shouting ‘Allahu Akbar - death to the apostates’ broke into an eastern Cairo church in an early morning attack on 11 November. He assaulted staff preparing bread for morning communion. After injuring two people with his weapon, he was overpowered by church members who restrained him until police arrived. He showed no remorse in police custody, shouting, ‘Give me your gun so I may kill them. If you don’t, you’d be an infidel like them.’ Egyptian churches are becoming targeted more frequently. On Palm Sunday 2017, suicide attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandria claimed the lives of 50 and injured 90. Pray for the protection of all Christians from such attacks, especially at Christmas.
Kenya: end police abuse of power
14 Dec 2018
Hundreds of millions of the poorest people in the developing world are abused by police who extort bribes and brutalise innocent citizens, or are held in abusive pre-trial detention. In many countries, parents teach their children to run from the police to stay safe from harm, rather than running to them for help. Recently IJM received a prayer request from the Kenya team which facilitates dialogues with the family members of victims of extrajudicial killings. These dialogues create an opportunity for communities to share the realities of police abuse, bringing attention to the issue and creating an opportunity for leaders to recognise the need for change and improved policing. Please pray that the stories of these families will inspire leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure that corrupt police no longer abuse their power, but protect the citizens of Kenya.
Pakistan expels Christian charities
14 Dec 2018
After a two-year battle to re-register their work, World Vision has been expelled from Pakistan, along with Catholic Relief Services and 16 other organisations, for ‘deliberately spreading disinformation’ and ‘non-compliance’. World Vision has handed over responsibility for poverty-reduction and health programmes to the state and has complied with a 60-day deadline to leave. They regret the effect that the cessation of their work will have on the vulnerable communities where they worked, but respect the Government's decision as to who may work in the country. They have worked in Pakistan for thirteen years, helping 800,000 youngsters. They are currently discussing the possibility of re-starting work under new legal frameworks which the government may introduce at a later date. Catholic Relief Services, a charitable arm of the US Catholic Church, had been helping provide food, education and clean water in Pakistan since 1954.
At our recent Watch + Pray gathering, we had a strong sense to pray for our prodigals.
Tens of thousands of people have prodigal family members. Christmas can be a hard time. The Dictionary describes a prodigal as someone is profligate, a big spender, and extravagant. It describes the son in the well-known parable – does it also describe the Father – who threw a great extravagant feast and gave presents to his errant son? Was he the prodigal Father? You can probably empathise with this man, who loves his son but has not seen him in many months and is worried about his adventure in the big wide, but often dangerous world.
As a Father, Mother, sibling, child of a prodigal you know the deep ache as you pray for them to come back to Jesus. Expect more from God, prodigals are on His heart. Ask that God will give you the words you need to help open the conversation. Ask for your relationship to strengthen so that you will draw closer together. Hear God’s promptings on when to open things up and when to be silent. Pray for the future.
We are spending a lot of time in Isaiah 61, where the spirit of the Sovereign Lord anoints us to preach the good news. Pray for that anointing with your prodigal. But go beyond this as they hear and respond to the good news the people in Isaiah 61 turned into oaks of righteousness. Such a picture of stability and strength. More than that they move on to Rebuild, Restore and Renew the broken places. It’s our conference focus in 2019. This is our hope and expectation that many of those called to rebuild, restore and renew will be restored and released prodigals on fire for the gospel.
So let’s keep praying. Let’s keep listening to God and let’s expect the goodness of God to breakthrough.
Father God, we pray You will call our prodigals home and give them a clear revelation about Jesus this Christmas. Put a longing in their hearts to come back to You and prepare them to serve You and grow in understanding who You are. Mend and restore broken relationships.
Steve Botham, Director of World Prayer Centre
Preachers at the Bethel Church in the Hague have been holding a round-the-clock service for over a month to stop a family of Armenian asylum seekers being deported. The family has lived in the Netherlands for nine years, integrated into the community, and made friends. But a court ruled on 25 October that they must return to Armenia. A centuries-old tradition states that authorities cannot enter a church while a service is taking place, so a service has continued since 26 October. The Tamrazyan family - mother, father, two daughters and a son - are staying inside the church, and therefore avoiding immigration authorities. The family’s asylum issue is still unresolved. The Dutch ‘children's pardon’ grants asylum to children who have lived there for over five years while their asylum application is processed. This action also calls attention to the fate of 400 children in similar circumstances.
‘I’m not afraid of anything now’
07 Dec 2018
Sami, a young boy from Aleppo, told his story during a day of filming for the SAT-7 children’s show Family of Jesus. ‘We came to Tartous for a vacation seven years ago, and then the war erupted. We had to remain here because our home was flattened to the ground. Many homes in Aleppo suffered the same fate. We’ve been here for seven years now. Thank you (SAT-7) so much for this day, I enjoyed it so much. We had so much fun. We learned about Jesus. He is with us wherever we go. He answers our prayers. We mustn’t be afraid because He is with us. When we face problems, we ask Jesus to calm the storm. He can silence all the storms, even the war. I’m not afraid of anything now with Jesus.’
Child homelessness at Christmas
07 Dec 2018
Shelter, a Christian charity ministering to vulnerable young people, says it is ‘scandalous’ that over 130,000 youngsters across Britain are expected to be homeless this Christmas season. Alastair Welford, the founder of Nicodemus, a Christian charity in Warwickshire with similar aims, said the figure could be an underestimate. He added, ‘When you think of the number of churches in this country, if 20% of them started little homeless projects - little marginalised youth projects with some support from us - it would be incredible’. 9,500 children will spend their Christmas in a hostel or bed and breakfast; others will be in local authority emergency accommodation. London is worst affected by child homelessness.