search

North Carolina-based global humanitarian organisation Operation Blessing sent a relief team on 4 September to Nassau, Bahamas, to bring emergency aid after Hurricane Dorian’s devastation.

Dorian ripped through the Bahamas destroying or severely damaging over 13,000 homes. The death toll is still unknown.

A woman was divorced by her Muslim hus-band after he discovered she owned a Bible, it was reported in August.

The husband of the 32-year-old mother of two children discovered that his wife was a Christian and owned a Bible. He demanded that she reveal who had given it to her.

Theologians from Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda gathered as the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Theological Resource Network.

They met in Kampala, Uganda from 10-13 June to consider developing moral leadership in church and society. They also studied Paul’s emphasis on nurturing character in young leaders based on the biblical gospel of Jesus.

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) returned to Plano, Texas, 17-19 June to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its formation under the leadership of Archbishop Bob Duncan.

The Assembly theme was ‘Discipleship: Renewing Our Call to the Great Commission’ with cross-cultural mission and church planting very much to the fore. Over 1,100 attended, including ten Anglican Primates, Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi of Jos, Nigeria and General Secretary of GAFCON, and representatives from some 23 countries.

Robert Bruce, a Scottish missionary to Iranian Muslims in the late-19th century, wrote home to his supporters: ‘I am not reaping the harvest; I scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing the soil; but I am gathering out the stones. That, too, is missionary work; let it be supported by loving sympathy and fervent prayer.’

For many years, Iran was one of the most difficult regions of the world to reach with the gospel. In 1979, with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the ruling monarch Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was overthrown. In his place an Islamic Republic was birthed, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Sharia law became the law of the land, and Muslim clerics became the heads of state.

Burundi is a country of 12 million people to the south of Uganda and Rwanda. The Anglican Church of Burundi was started in 1935 by the Church Missionary Society and Ugandan and Rwandan missionaries. It is known for standing on three pillars : evangelism, medical services and education.

The Church, now numbering about 1million members, has been able to grow and make an impact from its foundation up to today because of the influence and fruits of the East African Revival Movement. This movement emphasises the love of God and love of one another, salvation, walking in the light with one another, and staying in fellowship as brethren.

Following consistent efforts to reach Spanish-speaking Latin America, Christianity Explored (CE) announced in April that 1,250 people have been trained in mission using the course.

That figure represents an average of 100 evangelists in nine countries: Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Chile.

War-torn Abkhazia, a partially recognised republic of Georgia, has seen a number of children coming to Christ in recent months.

Many in the area are involved with crime and suicide attempts are frequent. Children also live under the spiritual oppression of the pagan traditions. In such conditions, the teenage club at the church is a beacon of light for teenagers in the town. It is a place for children to develop, learn new things, and spend quality time together.

On 11 February, Baldaeus Theological College (BTC) opened its new semester with a simple worship service and a few local pastors.

The message given at the service addressed the importance of producing Bible-learned servants of God whose lives reflect the holiness and goodness of God in character and conduct.

3,200 teenagers and adults from all over Europe (and beyond) came together to TeenStreet (TS) 2018 in Oldenburg for a week full of worship, Jesus, passion, life and fun.

As different as all the countries, cultures, backgrounds and churches might be, one thing connects everyone at TS: they know Jesus and want to grow closer in their relationship with him.

One hundred people plus Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Church in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, were arrested over the weekend of 8-9 December.

Sensing that arrest was imminent, the pastor drafted a letter, asking that it be made public two days after his arrest. In it he expresses his ‘disgust’ for Communist persecution of Christians, but says he is not interested in changing the country’s social system. His goal is to bear witness through non-violence and to denounce violations of religious freedom. God will bring down the Communist regime. The church has existed for thousands of years, but no political power has lasted thousands of years.

In December, the Revd Dr Andrea Zaki joined the South Sinai Governor to lay the foundation stone for the first evangelical church in the Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Dr Zaki, President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, said the church will seek a holistic mission by serving everyone equally.

Zambesi Mission (ZM) celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017.

It was established in 1892 as a self-supporting, self-propagating mission in Malawi (formerly Nyasaland), a place then described as ‘beyond the habitation of white men’.

Many churches in the UK have been using the various evangelistic courses developed by Christianity Explored Ministries for several years. There are an increasing number of countries who now have access to them in their native languages.

Following the launch of Christianity Explored (CE) in Albania in May, the evangelistic course has had a major impact across the nation.

For a new believer in northern India, it’s not uncommon to be baptised at midnight, not because it’s more meaningful by moonlight, but because the cover of darkness offers more safety in a region where Christians increasingly face persecution.

For a new believer, gaining ultimate freedom in Christ often means losing other freedoms, like drawing water from the community well or walking down the street without fear of being beaten. Amazingly, churches are growing where many of the 400 million people are in desperate poverty and most have never heard of Jesus.