The Turkish government made a historic U-turn in state policy this past weekend, issuing an official decree inviting Turkey’s Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim their long-confiscated religious properties. Last Saturday’s decree comes 75 years after the Turkish government seized hundreds of lands and buildings owned by its Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Jewish communities. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the surprise decision last Sunday in Istanbul, addressing a large gathering of Istanbul’s non-Muslim religious leaders. Invited as the honoured guests for an iftar (breaking the fast) meal near the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Erdogan declared, ‘The times when citizens in our country were oppressed for their beliefs, their ethnic heritage or the way they dressed is over.’ Acknowledging past injustices inflicted on those of different faith groups, he vowed, ‘Those days are over, no citizen is superior to another.’

Praise: God for this bold decision by the Turkish government. (Pr.16:33)

More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/turkey/article_116880.html/

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in Syria live in camps just inside Turkey, but nowhere in the Islamic world has a refugee camp for the Christians of one country been built across the border in a neighbouring country. Now Turkey is building a small city in Midyat that will hold between 3 and 30 times the number of Syrian Christians currently taking refuge in Turkey. Syri of refugees. Eliye Kirilmaz, chairman of a local church board said the monastery cannot cont inue to bear the strain of displaced Syrians. ‘We have 30 employ ees, teachers, caretakers, gardeners and kitchen staff, among others. Moreover, we owe a large sum to the local electricity company; have not been able to pay for electricity over the winter. We are not throwing out any refugees but we simply can’t afford it anymore.

Praise: God for the witness of the Church to those in the region of Midyat. (Ps.22:24-26)

More: http://blog.godreports.com/2013/05/why-is-turkey-building-a-tent-city-for-thousands-of-syrian-christians/

The prayer strategy that has been evolving over recent years is now beginning to come into focus as different ministries, organisations and networks run according to how the Lord has been leading them. Follow the link for some of the main things already in place.

More: http://www.prayerforum.org/towards-2012/

An indigenous ministry in Togo works with members of the Tem people. They are an under-reached Muslim tribe of more than 400,000 people. Despite threats and harassment the ministry continues to preach the Gospel on a radio programme that is broadcast in the local language. Its School of Missions graduates some 40 students annually who are trained to evangelize and provide for the practical needs of the Tem people and other ethnic groups in the region. The ministry has also started over 200 house churches in Togo and has seen spiritual breakthroughs in some of the tribal villages.

Praise: God for these humble dedicated brothers and sisters who are successfully reaching the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ. (Mk.13:10)

More: http://www.godreports.com/ministry-updateview/1566

Tourism in Greece may be way down because of the uncertain economic situation and the highly publicised anti-austerity demonstrations. But this has not prevented 320 volunteers from around the globe descending on the Alexandroupolis in the north-eastern corner of Greece. They will be part of Operation Joshua, a Hellenic Ministries project to distribute modern Greek New Testaments, both audio and printed, to 125,000 households. Operation Joshua began on 17 July and continues through to 25 July. Teams of people from young teens to senior citizens are participating in this special effort to bring the hope of the gospel to a beleaguered nation. Not only will they be bringing the message of hope to the Greeks but also 17,000 Turkish Bible packs will be distributed to the Islamic villages on the Turkish border.

Praise: God for Operation Joshua and pray that the thousands of Bibles will bear much fruit. (Jn.15:8)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/thousands.to.receive.bibles.in.greece/30314.htm

Bringing the Gospel to the Middle East is a risky enterprise, but the Bible Chip, developed by Bible League International and the Digital Bible Society, reduces this risk significantly. It’s a small data card of the size of a stamp that contains several Bible translations, audio files, hundreds of books, and over 200 hours of video on evangelism and discipleship, all in Arabic. It’s programmed not to leave any traces on a PC or mobile phone. Wagih Abdelmassih, pastor of the Agape Arabic Christian Centre (AACC) in London, calls the Bible Chip an answer to prayer. He distributed thousands of copies to Arabic speaking visitors to last summer’s Olympic Games. While printed Bibles would not be easily accepted, the Bible Chip turned out to be a much wanted gift. During one-on-one conversations a total of 12,600 Arab Muslims received a Bible Chip. Source: Joel news

Praise: God for the opportunities we have to use digital media to spread His Word. (2Tim.2:8-9)

More: http://digitalbiblesociety.com/DBS2010/english/index.htm

The UK has seen 150 Prayer Spaces in schools this year and the movement is crossing borders with schools in Germany, Australia and Uganda catching the vision. The Prayer Spaces in School website is full of amazing testimonies and the following are just two of them. ‘The feel of this room is so peaceful - does not feel as though I am at school! Let’s you escape + just contemplate about yourself, others + life. We do not allow for us to take time to do this at school. Thank you for touching so many girls lives + allowing them to contemplate + be themselves.’ and, ‘Much of what we do in school is on a horizontal level in terms of human to human but to actually get a chance to stop and think about that vertical relationship, about humans and our relationship with God. It's a privilege really. It's just wonderful to be able to do it for the children.’

Praise: God for the 24/7 prayer movement and may communion with God continue to be an important part of the lives of our school children. (1Ki.8:28)

More: http://www.24-7prayer.com/features/1905

The unique UK prayer movement Hallowed is launching a series of inspiring and challenging programmes set to start on Revelation TV's Church In Focus series (UK Sky channel 581) from Friday May 13, at 8:30pm. ‘The show will include interviews with Christians from different backgrounds, including a doctor, a florist and a businessman, who will talk about how everyone is more powerful when they begin to pray and they will be more effective in what they’re called to do,’ said founder of Hallowed Kalpana. She added: ‘It’s not just pastors but ordinary men and women who need to pray, because that’s what we’re trying to impress on the church. Prayer is not an exclusive ministry to intercessors or exclusive to pastors. It is the ministry of the whole church.’ Kalpana founded Hallowed in 2009, when she felt God call her to gather Christians from across the UK to pray for the nation. More details about Hallowed go to: www.hallowed.org.uk

Praise: that this initiative will lead to many discovering the truths of the Christian faith. (Ep.1:18)

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11050059.htm

Christian theatre groups have put together Olympics-inspired productions to help churches get the most out of the Games next summer. The original productions have been produced by Saltmine, Lantern Arts, Riding Lights and Act4. Saltmine's production, In Their Shoes, explores the roots of the modern Olympic movement and will tour in 2012 in collaboration with a Muslim theatre company. Churches are being encouraged to use the productions to engage with their communities during the London 2012 Olympics, either by hosting them in their churches or by taking them to their local schools. David Willson, chief executive of More than Gold, the umbrella organisation for church outreach during the Games, said: ‘We hope churches will host at least one of these productions and take them to schools and young people as well’.

Praise: God for these ideas and pray that the church would make full use of them. (1Jn.3:18)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/theatre.productions.to.help.churches.reach.out.during.olympics/28307.htm

Faith Comes By Hearing has added five new language recordings to their catalogue of Audio Scriptures this month. Combined, these five languages represent more than 169,000 people who now have God's Word in audio available in their heart language. The new releases are: Ayta Mag-antsi - Philippines; Kandozi - Peru; Kebu – Uganda; Quichua - Northern Pastaza - Ecuador/Peru; Terena – Brazil. These recordings are possible because of the dedicated work and partnership of many translation ministries and Bible Societies around the world. Our catalogue of Audio Scripture features a total of 667 languages, but changes regularly with new additions every month. Notably, New Testaments in 94 languages have been added in just the last 12 months. Spoken in almost every country in the world, these recordings as a whole represent a potential outreach to more than 5 billion people - or in other words, two-thirds of the world's population. This unprecedented access via the Digital Bible Platform continues to expand rapidly. 

Praise: God for this opportunity to harness technology to spread the Word. (2Th.3:1)

More: http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/word-god-667-languages-and-counting