Evangelicals Now
Christian news worldwide
magnifying glass Search archives
home Home check the archives Archives Subscribe Subscriptions Advertising Information & booking of classifieds Adverts Find a local evangelical Church Find a church for the search engines and extremely curious! About us Contact us Site Map
Printable
Version

Briefings

Around the unreached world in six booklets

BRIEFINGS:
India
The Arab World
The Silk Road (Turkey, Iran and Central Asia)
The Rim of Fire (Indonesia and the Malay-speaking Muslim World)
The Poorest of the Poor (the peoples of the West African Sahel)
Children in Crisis
All by Glenn Myers
OM publishing. 64 pages.
£3.99 each

This handy series of booklets provides an introduction to the church in certain parts of the unreached world. They are factual, but also very readable, giving a brief historical review of the way the church has developed. The material is well re-searched, and includes insights from church leaders and missionaries.

They were written between 1998 and December 2000, and so one might be concerned about their relevance today. However, as their analysis is based on a historical review, coupled with local knowledge, they do continue to be applicable.

Take, for example, the booklet on India. This starts with a brief history of Christianity in India. Then it looks at the present context by reviewing four aspects of Indian life: community, poverty, corruption, and the impact of globalisation, all of which are significant today. After the author reviews their impact on the Christian community, he gives his reflections.

The Arab World (covering the Arabic-speaking world) looks at the history of the region and how Islam developed. It then focuses on why fundamental Islam developed and grew. And this is very relevant today not only for the Arab world, but also to help British churches understand how to relate to local Muslim communities.

The Silk Road looks primarily at Central Asia - its history, the growth of the church, and its needs and prospects in the context of Islam and economic development, as well as a brief introduction to the development of the church in Turkey, and Iran.

All the booklets contain a list of resources which are useful for further research, and a page of items for prayer, which would be ideal for a prayer meeting.

Sadly, many in our churches today are poorly informed of the church in these areas of the world, dependent on what the media happens to provide. So these resource booklets are very helpful. Their style, content and length make them ideal for house groups, or for those who want to be informed for prayer.

Suneel Shivdasani

Suneel works with the UK Christian charity South Asian Concern in Sutton, Surrey and is particularly involved with the Sindhi community.