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[EDITOR’S NOTE: The article below was submitted by Deaf Bible Society.]

International (DBS) —Deaf Bible Society (DBS), a non-profit organization that supports Bible translation work in Deaf communities around the globe, has a straightforward mission: God’s Word in Every Sign Language. But DBS faced some obstacles to this mission related to language and training. First, it was unclear exactly how many sign languages existed. Second, many Deaf people who worked to translate the Bible into their own sign languages did not have enough training. Third, there was a shortage of skilled consultants and translation resources in sign languages to support quality checking for the parts of the Bible being translated into various sign languages.

DBS took action to collaboratively address these barriers for Deaf Christians working to translate God’s Word. In July of 2018, DBS launched the Institute for Sign Language Engagement and Training (ISLET), a team with expertise in translation, curriculum development, and linguistics. The Institute’s aim is to research sign languages, provide training to translators, and raise up more consultants to support the sign language Bible translation movement.

ISLET conducts language research to address the question, “How many sign languages exist around the world?” In partnership with other non-profits involved in Bible translation, ISLET has developed Aveditz, a collaborative research tool that compiles information about all of the known sign languages of the world. This makes it easier for people to see which Deaf communities have access to the Gospel in a language they understand well, and which communities still need to be engaged. ISLET also partners with local Deaf communities who want to study their sign languages and answer questions like “How many sign languages are used in our country?” or “Could our community understand a Bible translation filmed in a far-away city?” By engaging in language research, ISLET helps DBS and its partners measure progress in seeing God’s Word made available in every sign language.

In addition to language research, ISLET trains Bible translators working on sign language projects. In late summer of 2019, ISLET is launching the Josiah School of Translation. Through this program, Bible translators will develop practical skills to support their translation work including principles for interpreting the Bible, administrative skills, translation principles, the linguistic structure of their sign languages, and advanced video production skills. Each of these areas will equip translation teams to produce Bible translations that fully communicate the richness of God’s Word in ways that are most meaningful to Deaf communities. Over the course of three years, teams will receive six months of training, positioning them to thrive in the long term.

Finally, ISLET prepares qualified translation consultants to provide accessible support and feedback to Deaf translation teams. Before any video of a translated Bible portion can be published, it must go through a quality checking process guided by a translation consultant. If there are no consultants available for this checking, new translation projects cannot start, and active translation projects are delayed. Currently, one of the biggest roadblocks to sign language Bible translation work – impacting teams from Asia to the Americas – is the shortage of consultants who are proficient in at least one of the world’s sign languages. ISLET is developing training and assessments that will equip consultants to provide quality support to translation teams. Additionally, ISLET is collaborating with other Bible translation stakeholders to develop specialized software that supports the Bible translation task and improves communication between consultants and translation teams.

By innovating and engaging with Deaf communities, ISLET’s work fosters academic rigour and bolsters Bible translations that are grounded in the realities of each language context and communicate clearly to Deaf communities. Addressing Bible translation barriers related to language and training brings Deaf Bible Society one step closer to seeing God’s Word in Every Sign Language, accomplishing the Great Commission call of DBS and its partners.

Header and story images courtesy of Deaf Bible Society.

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(Map courtesy Wikimedia/CC)

Update: We have just received word that Wayne, Autumn, and Joseph have been deported and crossed the border into Thailand Thursday afternoon.

Laos (MNN) – Lao authorities detained three Americans in the Luang Namtha province and seized their passports 10 days ago, accusing them of ‘disseminating religion’ without proper approval.

Todd Nettleton is a spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs USA. “The three Christians were a part of a team that was traveling from a ministry that’s based in Wyoming, a ministry called Vision Beyond Borders. They were detained, apparently handing out Gospel-related materials.”

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, VBB identified the three Americans by their first names only: Wayne, Autumn, and Joseph. As of this writing, the trio remains in a guest house in Luang Namtha, according to Radio Free Asia. Of the charges, that’s yet to be determined. Nettleton says, “My understanding was this was not Bibles, but rather mp3 players with the Scripture recorded as well as other Scripture recordings that they were giving out.”

From Where Does The Pressure Come?

On the issue of ‘disseminating religion’, Nettleton explains, “The law is that the government wants to control the distribution of Christian materials. Bibles are not sold in bookstores. They’re not available to the general public. At a government-sanctioned church, you can get a Bible. So a group from America that is just freely distributing Christian materials is going to get the attention of the Lao authorities.”

Nettleton says this case has a couple of unusual elements to it. First, “A lot of the persecution that happens, happens at the village level. If somebody becomes a Christian, the other people in the village may say ‘we don’t want any Christians in our village because that might anger the spirits of our ancestors, so if you’re going to be a Christian, you’re going to have to leave.’”

Second, “It appears that the US Embassy there in Laos is involved in the situation, so the US government is aware of what’s going on and is working on behalf of these three Christians. At this point, probably the most significant thing we can do is pray.”

(Photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs Australia)

It could be the involvement of the US Embassy that kicked things into a more high profile situation since persecution doesn’t typically come down from the national government level. “It’s interesting to see Americans be detained and see that escalate up to the national level of ‘why are these Americans being held? What’s the charge against them?’”

However, there’s another issue to consider. “The other question obviously, from a ministry standpoint is, what happens to other Christians that they may have connected with, or spoken to, even met on the street in Laos? Will there be some repercussions for those believers. We pray that that’s not the case.”

A Call To Action

In a press release, Vision Beyond Borders says it “exists to serve the persecuted church in closed nations around the world. It directly supports Children’s Homes for orphaned and impoverished children, Safe Houses for women against sex trafficking provides refugee relief supplies for the Middle East, provides Bibles to impoverished and oppressed Christians, and supports pastors and mission work in closed countries.”

The ministry came to the defense of the three detained Americans and added the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1 which states:

Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.

Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

VBB calls for the release of Wayne, Autumn and Joseph, and further asserts, “The government of Laos is acting in direct contradiction to the Universal Declaration. This is part of a larger pattern of serious oppression against Christians and other minorities in Laos as documented by the 2017 International Religious Freedom Report 2 .”

As the situation is still unfolding, Nettleton urges us to “Pray for these three Americans that are being detained. We can pray for the protection of any Lao Christians that were their contacts or were working with them.”

Headline photo courtesy Open Doors USA

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Palestine (MNN) – Christians in the Arab World are typically the minority population. This includes in the Holy Land where Christ was born. However, it does not mean Arab Christians fall in line with the politics of their Western brothers and sisters. One particular area—the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Many Christians specifically in Israel and Palestine and even countries such as Jordan are actually of Palestinian nationality. However, these Christians are a minority because of both their religious and their citizenship.

Read about Palestinian Christians here.

Israeli/Palestinian Conflict Politics

George, an Arab Christian associated with Program for Theological Education by Extension, says there are situations where Christians from the West come to the Arab World and try to convince their Arab brothers and sisters of their own political stance regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Often, these political views pushed onto the Arab Christians lack a deeper understanding of the complexity of the conflict and how it affects the rest of the Arab World.

Palestine (Photo courtesy of MissyKel via Flicker)

“Israel is a complicated issue in our area…the religious and the political level. So, they need to separate between serving God and their stance towards Israel. If there are, let me say, missionaries who want to come and serve God or people who want to serve God but [they believe], they have some kind of, let me say, special belief about Israel, they need to come keeping this faith for them,” George says.

“I mean this does not help us if they believe [Israel will or the people of Israel will restore the land an all of this]… Let them keep this belief for them because if they want to come and convince us of this or talk about it to the government or any of these things, this will hurt us more than really helping us.”

Shifting Mindset About Israel

George is not asking anyone to change their political stance but to be aware of the context surrounding it. Promoting a pro-Israel stance comes across as political and damages the Gospel message in the Arab World context. Also, some Arab Christians disagree with the pro-Israel view for theological reasons. George says politics is not religion, and in the Arab World these two need to be separate. Religious work needs to be conducted without a political agenda.

(Photo courtesy of Anton Mislawsky via Unsplash)

“We have our reasons, theologically, [not] politically [for not being pro-Israel]. And in addition to that, [Christians] need to remember that…the first century, those Jews who did not believe in Jesus were cut out of, were cut [out of] Jesus,” George says.

“Whoever wants to benefit from Jesus, faith is the way to do this. So, he needs to understand it. I mean the Jews and Gentiles need to be saved in the same way which is through Jesus, faith in Jesus. So, whether you love Israel or do not love it, Jesus is the way for Jews and Gentiles and this did not change. It will not change.”

George recommends for Christians who have a heart for Israel to perhaps consider outreach in Israel rather than pursuing a political stance internationally. Second, trust God. Pray for God’s hand in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as well as for the global Church to stand with its family in Christ, not against it. Finally, pray for God’s love and truth to penetrate the hearts of those who don’t know Him.

Header photo courtesy of Anton Mislawsky via Unsplash.

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Middle East (MNN) — Winter is coming to an end. For many refugees in the Middle East, it’s been a season of extra difficulties and worries about survival.

“Winter in general in the Middle East is very hard, cold, windy. [There are] many storms [and] heavy snow, especially in Lebanon,” Tent Schools International’s Rawan Haddad says.

Refugees must prepare themselves while they’re in the camps, she explains. However, some things are out of their control and they cannot provide for their families.

“[There’s] not enough heating, power, food, and water. This winter brings heavy rains and floods in the Jordan and Lebanon camps. The water enters the tents and damages everything. We heard last year about refugees freezing to death, especially the babies.”

Haddad says relief agencies are working to provide refugee families with shelter, food, and water, but the need is endless.  Also, due to the cold and distance, winter forces many children to stop attending school.

“The school for the kids there are far away from where they live. They have to walk miles to arrive at their schools in the cold, rain, and snow, or they need to ride a private van to take them to school, and that costs their parents money.”

Since classrooms are poorly heated, kids stay cold and wet and can get sick. As a result, most children stay in their tents, trying to stay warm and healthy.

Tent Schools is setting up their schools inside refugee camps to provide refugee kids with education and a warm place to go during winter months.

“We at Tent Schools do our best to put schools close to their tents, bringing them safety, love, warmth, a meal, good school supplies, and the most important thing; compassionate Christian teachers.”

Tent Schools’ programs implement daily Bible studies with their students. In turn, they request prayers for their family members, friends, and their country.

Haddad says teachers often don’t know if children have given their hearts to Jesus or not. On their papers, “they can’t change their religion because it’s really [a] danger for them to do that.”

If children have become Christians, they often have to keep it a secret. However, even if children remain Muslims at heart, Tent Schools’ teachers are helping them learn how to love and care for others.

(Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International via Facebook)

Furthermore, teachers are developing positive relationships with students’ parents.

“They always visited them and shared together [about] their struggles, feelings, dreams, and prayed with them,” Haddad says. “We know that God is working [in] the hearts of these families.”

Though winter is coming to an end, Tent Schools needs your help to prepare for the future. Put worries of survival for next winter at ease for refugees by helping to establish tent schools in camps.

Be a financial partner with Tent Schools, starting here.

Also, continue praying for refugees around the world. Pray for the Lord’s provision and protection, and that He would instill an undying hope for the future in their lives.

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(Photo courtesy of Raphael1/Wikimedia CC)

International (MNN) –Google the phrase ‘anti-Muslim’ on a news website and you’ll get a page full of political stories from around the world, along with a smattering of terms like ‘Islamophobia’ and ‘hate speech’.

The rise of terrorism and extremism is hard to deny. It’s increasingly difficult to separate the issues of national security from religion. It’s a topic fraught with controversy and high emotion. Chris Ruge, Prayercast director and overseer of the project ‘Love Muslims’ says Islam is an ideology. Taken to the extreme, you see violence.

Ruge says there is a distinction between Muslims and terrorists but observes that much of the divisive dialogue and rhetoric seems fear-driven.

“We’re not dealing with people, necessarily, who desire our demise–although some do. There are people all over the world who would wish us ill, but that doesn’t mean that we need to be afraid because the reality is that God loves those people.”

Relentless Love

(Screen capture courtesy of Prayercast)

Leaning hard on that truth, there’s a question that remains: “If we don’t love Muslims to Christ, who will?” Ruge reminds us that God transformed terrorists before. “This is Paul—he looked an awful lot like this amazing evangelist like Billy Graham and yet the reality is that before he was ever that, he was Saul, and he looked an awful lot more like Osama bin Laden. He was a persecutor of the Church and he had blood on his hands.”

With the advent of the Islamic State (ISIS) and its subsequent rampages throughout the Middle East and North Africa, its fighters gained a fearsome reputation. Then stories began trickling out of some of these fighters having dreams and visions of Jesus and finding themselves profoundly affected.

It’s because people were praying.  Ruge shares one piece of advice given to him by a friend who counseled him on forgiveness and restoration of a broken relationship.  He said,” ‘It’s almost impossible to dislike or hate someone who you are actively praying for.’”

Fanning The Flame

(Screen capture courtesy of Prayercast)

Ruge took that to heart and started thinking about ways to help other Christians actively, knowledgeably and passionately pray for Muslims, despite a growing anti-Muslim sentiment.  Enter: ‘Love Muslims’.

“’Love Muslims’ is creating over 130 different videos, short videos to lead us in prayer. Every one of those videos is built on testimony or a prayer by a former Muslim who is now a follower of Jesus.”

‘Love Muslims’ is a counter-culture movement, since the vocabulary that comes with ‘Islamophobia’, ‘hate speech’ and ‘anti-Muslim’ usually includes words like ‘bigots’, ‘racists’ and ‘hypocrites’. Strong language deserves a strong response, but one in a context that reflects the hope of Christ.

Encouraging The Hope

‘Love Muslims’ launches at the beginning of Ramadan.  It’s a symbolic way to say that Christians are praying for Muslims in time on the calendar when they are most receptive to hear from God, where they’re actively fasting and seeking after hearing from God. Ruge says, “More Muslims have turned to follow Jesus in the past 15 years than in the previous 1400 years combined.”

From May 5 through June 4, “We are going to be leading a 30-day prayer journey, through the month of Ramadan.  When people sign up, we’ll send an email each day as a reminder. We’ll be releasing a brand new video, never seen before, every day during the month of Ramadan.” Click here to sign up.

Headline photo courtesy Venca24/Wikimedia CC

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Jordan (MNN) – There comes a point when the lines between ministry and work get blurred, and when they do, casualties occur. The same thing happens when ministry becomes an idol or expectation rather than an honest heart search and a conviction to serve others.

How?

By unintentionally harming the people the Christians came to serve. George, an Arab Christian living in Jordan associated with Program for Theological Education by Extension, shares his thoughts.

“Some people from the West try to save us, but this has two problems. The first one is really the one who works in the heart is God himself. So when they try to help us out of our problems and many difficulties, persecution and all of this, they can’t,” George says.

“They may stop some kind of persecution, difficulties that we face, but really, they cannot change the hearts of those who cause this persecution. It’s God who can really change the situation. But in addition to that…some of those who try to save us sometimes unintentionally create more problems.”

When Serving is Damaging

One example—religious freedom. Freedom of religion in the Arab World varies from country to country and some organizations have taken it upon themselves to defend religious freedom in the region. However, despite their good intentions, this can be problematic.

(Photo courtesy of PTEE)

Because of the way some of these organizations choose to support religious freedom, specifically for Christians, they have insulted governments and caused more problems. Christians these organizations were trying to defend become greater targets in their countries. Furthermore, as George has said, these organizations cannot change hearts; only God can.

Rather than attempting to change life as they know it themselves, Arab Christians like George are trusting God. But when people do help, George wants them to be aware of how their actions and words could impact the local Christians and hurt them. A piece of advice he offers—be respectful to the culture, the people, and the government. Even the Bible, in Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Timothy, talks about submission to governing authorities.

Learn About the Local Culture

Second, get educated. Learn about the complexity of the situation impacting local Christians. Ask local Christians about their experiences, listen to them and learn from them. If Christians do not listen to the local body of Christ, their mistakes will negatively impact those they are trying to help.

“When some of them have some political position, stances, and they try to in a way convince us as Christians here or convince the government of these stances, this also does not help us. Let’s really try to separate politics from religious freedom. Politics and religious freedom, although they are in a way connected, are not the same thing,” George says.

Working vs. Serving

Finally, George says when Christians, particularly from the West, come to work alongside the local church, they need to serve, not save. Many Westerners have come to the Middle East, and other regions, with a savior mentality rather than an intention to serve. This has also dealt damage to the local Church.

(Photo by Stefanos Orovas on Unsplash)

“We welcome everybody who wants to come and help us. There are a lot of things that we need help with here in the area. If they want to come and help us, we need it. We cannot deny that we need it,” George says.

“The thing is that sometimes they think that they are here to save us., that we are just ignorant and we know nothing and yeah, there are many things that we do not know and we need to learn, but this kind of mentality does not help us.” Some of those who came from the West [are] trying to lead, and they make the ministry be centered around them. If they leave, the ministry does not continue. They make programs and they ask locals to come and help in their programs instead of seeing that we need them [in the] ministries [we have] in the area.”

“They can add some input into it instead of creating something and attracting others to be the [center of this new thing].”

When Serving Helps

There have been situations where outsiders create a ministry that becomes central to the local community. But then when they leave, so does the ministry. George asks for Christians to search their hearts and ask themselves why they are leaving their home country. Is it really to humbly serve others and walk alongside a local Church to build it up, or are they traveling to a different country to ‘save’ it?

“Leaving your country in itself does not mean that you are serving God, even if it’s religious work. Religious work does not mean it [is] ministry, it means work sometimes. This is something related to the heart,” George says.

Christians should search their hearts before traveling abroad not because local Christians do not want help from their brothers and sisters, but because they want the help to be pure, honest, and God-honoring.

PTEE’s History

George says PTEE has had non-Arab Christians serve with the ministry in the past who really had a heart for serving and building up the local Church. These Christians made a positive impact on the seminary program and the community, but they also served with honest hearts and open ears.

(Photo courtesy of PTEE)

“Some Western workers come and make…their communities here in the Middle East instead of serving the locals and serving the local churches and helping in whatever way needed…They need to be aware of this when they come to serve, not work…they need to have this mentality and they need to be part of…at least the church community,” George says.

PTEE was established in 1981 by Arab Christians and Western Christians living in the Middle East. They saw the need for on-location, Biblical, theological education at the seminary-level which was not accessible to Arabic-speaking Christians living in the Arab World. Together, the foreign Christians and the local Christian leaders, through God, took the by-extension seminary from an abstract idea into a reality. Today, PTEE is run by Arab Christians for Arab Christians.

However, George says the seminary has room for foreign Christians who fit a specific skill set in administration, some academia, finances, and other areas.

Responding Through Prayer

Would you walk alongside PTEE and reconsider how you choose to engage with the global Church? Search yourself through prayer and also by asking, why do I want to help? Ask God to shape your heart.

“They need to make sure they come remembering that as Jesus left everything, we at least need to make our work and ministry centered around Jesus himself and around the people [that] to whom we are going,” George says.

“This is ministry to God, not to themselves.”

Header photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash.

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Let me give you my recommendation.

Choosing a college can be a daunting task.

If you are going into ministry, you don’t just have to decide the college, but you have to decide the type of college. And there are all kids of options out there.

You have to consider majors, locations, costs, student activities, school reputation and more in order to make one of the biggest decisions of your life. It was a while ago, but I remember making that decision myself. And, then making it with my daughters not too long ago.

But, if God is calling you to ministry, there’s a whole new set of questions you will likely ask yourself. You’ll be considering the school’s view of Scripture, denominational affiliation, areas of expertise, and how your time spent in college will be used for kingdom purposes.

Since I blog here at The Exchange, let me share my thoughts on why you should consider Wheaton College for your undergraduate degree.

First, Wheaton College is continually ranked one of the top colleges in national publications both in academics and affordability. With its long history of training some of the world’s most known religious leaders like the late evangelists Billy and Ruth Graham and missionaries Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Wheaton College has demonstrated its commitment to educational excellence and solid Christian values.

That’s one of the reasons I love working here.

If you are planning to go into ministry, let me also tell you about the degree in the school where I serve as dean. It is the B.A. in Christian Formation and Ministry.

So, here are some reasons to choose a Christian school, and some reasons to consider studying with us.

First, I think there is value in studying at an evangelical school.

When you’re deciding if a Christian …

Continue reading…

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India (MNN) — Believers are closely monitoring India’s elections. According to Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton, the outcome will shape India’s religious landscape.

Right now, persecution is at a record high under Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. To these individuals, “India is a Hindu nation. One-hundred percent of Indians should be Hindu,” Nettleton describes.

“If you’re a Christian, a Muslim – if you’re anything other than a Hindu – they want you to change your religion and leave. And, they are actively attacking minority religious groups.”

Milan Vaishnav, who directs the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, D.C., describes a similar threat in this conversation with NPR:

One of the important things this election is going to determine is India’s future as a secular republic that embraces pluralism and adheres to the founders’ notion that India’s unity is strengthened by its diversity.

Troubling signs

The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
(Photo credit: Dennis Jarvis/Flickr)

Religion has been a driving issue in South Asia since 1947, when the British empire divided India and Pakistan along religious lines. Though Hinduism has been and still remains India’s majority faith, the country’s guiding document – its constitution – establishes a space for non-Hindu religions.

As Mumbai journalist Sunny Peter describes,

For a nation that was torn apart by religious strife at the time of its independence, it is crucial to maintain a delicate balance. Maintaining this among the various religious denominations is the Indian concept of secularism. In India, secularism means equal respect for all religions by the state — unlike the Western principle which implies the separation of state from religious institutions.

Problems arise when individuals or groups disrupt this “delicate balance.”

VOM’s contacts say discrimination is the norm for India’s Christian population. Common tactics include legal action – using loopholes to force church closures, for example – and physical violence.  Nettleton says the RSS – a radical arm of the BJP – is using whatever means possible to “crack down” on non-Hindu religious activity. More about the RSS here.

“If they can come in and say, ‘hey, the building codes don’t allow you to have public gatherings here’ they’ll use that. But, they’re also sending mobs of people with sticks and beating Christians, beating pastors.”

Last week, election officials temporarily banned Modi’s “right-hand man” from the campaign trail for hate speech aimed at Muslims. As noted here, statements about religion and caste often take center-stage during election cycles even though Indian law strictly forbids it.

How to help

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors)

First and foremost, please pray for the nation of India and its leadership. There’s a lot at stake over the next six weeks as millions of Indian citizens cast their votes.

“Is their government going to be actively opposed to Christianity, opposed to the Church, for the next four years? Or will it be a more moderate government that might actually respect the religious freedom that’s promised in India’s constitution?”

Pray also for the protection of individual believers and Christian communities throughout India. The second phase of voting begins Thursday, and the potential for violence remains high.

“There’s a lot that could go wrong,” Nettleton observes, referring the sheer size of India’s voter population and the logistics involved with casting and collecting ballots. “There’s a lot that could erupt into trouble and even violence. So, pray for a peaceful election process. Pray for God’s will to be done in the results…

“We certainly hope for a government that will respect the rights of Christians [and] the right, even, to tell a Hindu about Jesus.”

Header image depicts a voter’s hand. Voters in India receive a mark when they’ve cast a ballot. Photo credit: Incredibly Numing/Flickr/CC.

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India (MNN) — Many churches in the U.S. are planning their Vacation Bible School summer outreach.  If you’ve ever been involved in VBS, you know how much spiritual impact it can have.  According to The Barna Group, nearly half of all commitments to follow Jesus Christ are made before the age of 13.

Mission India’s 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs are kind of like VBS for kids in India. This month, Mission India has a matching grant that will double every dollar given to its 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Normally, $1 sends one child to a 10-Day Children’s Bible Club. However, between now and April 30, $1 will give two kids a 10-Day Bible Club experience.

It’s not often you can make an eternal difference with just $1.  Erik Morsehead with Mission India says these 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs are often the first place these boys and girls get to meet Jesus.

“In these VBS-like settings, they learn how to worship and pray and get to hear all about the love of Jesus and how Jesus comforts them and wants to live with them and be a part of their lives.”

Mission India’s Bible Clubs also provide a safe space for the kids to just be kids and feel loved. Morsehead explains many of them come from broken homes.

“They come from abusive families and families that are involved in addiction and have financial issues — just a lot of mess. So, for 10 days these kids can come and hear about hope and hear about grace and hear about love that is never-ending.

“It’s a powerful two weeks and the Gospel is just surrounding and immersing within these kids.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Once a child attends a 10-Day Children’s Bible Club, he or she will often transition into one of Mission India’s Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs which meet every day after school.

It’s a unique opportunity to spiritually pour into a child long-term, and the impact doesn’t stop there.

“Oftentimes, we see these kids actually be catalysts for total transformation within their families. I’ve read countless stories and shared countless stories before of how one child goes to a 10-Day Bible Club or a Year-Long Bible Club and he or she goes back to their family and shares the hope of Jesus with their family and their family accepts Jesus!”

Click here to donate to the India’s Children 2019 Matching Challenge with Mission India!

Morsehead says, “Our prayer is that these kids would come to the safe place that we provide, that they would hear the message of Jesus, and they would come to know their Lord and Savior. [Pray] also that they would take that back to their homes and communities and be catalysts of change and of hope and of grace.”

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

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Haiti (MNN) — We recently shared about Mission Aviation Fellowship’s (MAF) new airstrip in Haiti. This airstrip has opened the door for local ministry, humanitarian work, and medical access on a remote part of La Gonave Island.

Pastor Carl Harris and First Baptist Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania sponsored the MAF airstrip, but their investment went beyond the monetary. This body of believers has established deep relationships and linked arms with the Haitian people in a way that reflects the beauty of God’s Church today.

Pastor Harris says their story starts in 2010 following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti. He was watching the news and felt prompted to get his passport and shots and go to Haiti. He ended up on La Gonave — a place with several remote villages that are, in many ways, forgotten.

“There is no running water [and] no electricity. In fact, most of the island doesn’t have water or electricity. It’s only in Anse-a-Galets they have some intermittent water lines and electricity. But the rest of the island is pretty much in the dark.”

Pastor Carl Harris in Haiti. (Photo courtesy of MAF)

Seeing the plight of the Haitian people on La Gonave moved Harris’s heart. Since then, he has been to Haiti 15 times, often bringing people from First Baptist Church and other local Gettysburg congregations with him. Two families at First Baptist Church are from Haiti themselves and have traveled with the church teams.

Over the years, they brought construction groups, teachers, and medical teams to Haiti. In January, their doctor treated nearly 600 patients. Some of the more remote villages on La Gonave haven’t had a doctor visit in several years.

The healthcare disparity was evidenced in one of Harris’s interactions with a Haitian couple.

“I asked the wife, ‘Where is your husband today?’ She said, ‘Well, he has had a toothache for about two weeks. He finally decided today that he was going to go to the town and find the guy who owns a pair of pliers and they were going to extract the tooth.’”

Harris says, “This is just life in these villages. They don’t have a lot of medical attention or help and it’s very hard.”

To get to the far side of the island takes around four hours by truck over difficult terrain. World Vision established a pharmacy-clinic in the remote area, but it wasn’t being used. The building was on 25 acres owned by a local woman named Albertha.

“A buddy on my team said, ‘Wouldn’t that be great if there was an airstrip here? People could be life flighted [or] medevaced off this part of the island. Nurses and doctors and dentists would come to the region.”

That’s when they got an idea. Harris met with Albertha and she agreed to allow an airstrip on her land.

(Photo courtesy of Paul O’Brien with MAF)

Harris had already been in contact with MAF, an aviation ministry that partners with organizations to reach remote and isolated people. MAF makes flights into Anse-a-Galets, the only airstrip on La Gonave at the time. Together, they were enthusiastic about establishing an airstrip in La Source, the far side of the island.

The next step was to get to work. “When we come to these areas, we like to hire Haitians,” Harris explains. “We work with a foreman and we hire laborers. We give them a fair day’s wage, which is often a welcomed thing on the island. We’ve heard reports that like 80 percent are unemployed.”

In November 2016, Harris and a Haitian man from his church named Clotaire went to Haiti to start the airstrip. They hired 150 Haitian workers and began preparing the land with digger bars, sledgehammers, axes, and machetes.

Leveling the land was a monstrous task that required breaking down rocks the size of cars and moving them by hand. Then they brought in and spread topsoil. It was a two-years-long process requiring six trips for the project.

Finally, the La Source airstrip was ready and waiting for approval from the government. “When we were there in January, the Haitian government had not approved it.

“But a day before we left, which was January 23^rd,…I got a text message [from MAF] saying, ‘We’re going to come and fly you guys off the airstrip!’ It had been approved for humanitarian flights!”

Harris gets choked up as he says, “That was just a great highlight for me. Hundreds of Haitians had worked on this all by hand. No trucks or tractors or anything like that. It was all digger bars and crowbars and just a labor of love.”

La Source Airstrip (Photo courtesy of MAF)

The labor of love also came in the form of financial support from First Baptist Church. The body of believers there gave their own time and money, held yard sales, and sold food — everything from ribs and chicken to ham sandwiches and pizza — all to raise money for the airstrip.

“We just love the Haitian people and we feel their love and we know that we’re just an encouragement to them. That’s the main thing to me. These things kind of come and go, but it’s the relationships to say, ‘You know what? You guys aren’t alone.’”

Harris says the dear friendships they have made along the way have been the most rewarding aspect of this project.

“To be in this relationship with La Gonave Island and these half dozen pastors and these four villages has just been a beautiful blessing to me and to many of my people in other churches that have gotten involved.

“The Haitians, they have very little and life is hard, but there is a joy of the Lord. There is a peace about them. I know they are having some rough times right now in Port-au-Prince, but there are some really precious people who love the Lord, who love each other, and to see God at work is a really invaluable opportunity and it accelerates your growth.”

There are many things you can do to support the Body of Christ and ministry work in Haiti. First, pray for Haiti.

Harris says one thing the country could really use is wise and just leadership. “My prayer would be that God would raise up some men and women of integrity, honesty, [and] that have a love for the people but also have a love for doing what’s right.”

Then, as you pray, ask God if He would have you get involved in a more tangible way in Haiti. Harris says this often simply looks like supporting the work of ministries and churches already on the ground.

“I’m sure there is a lot of opportunity for new ministries, but I think there are a lot of churches that are established on the ground. They are doing good work, they have great pastors, they have great congregations, and they just need somebody to come along and say, ‘Is there a little something we can do?’… Let them say, ‘Here is a little something you can do.’ Hire some of their foremen [and] their members and get dirty with them! Labor with them. Let them know you love them. Then go back and build on that relationship.”

The journey that connected First Baptist Church with La Gonave Island and led to this new airstrip was not an easy one — but it was beautiful and enriching. Harris offers this final challenge to Christians willing to be tools in God’s hands:

“I think there are things God calls us to do that maybe get us out of our comfort zone and cause us maybe to take a risk. We do that in His strength. The risk is really trusting Him more than our routine and our own comforts. In doing that, we find…new possibilities, new victories, [and] new realities that you can’t fabricate in any other kind of way.”

Header photo courtesy of MAF.

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Denominations that support and enhance the biblical mission of the local church will thrive. Those that don’t will continue to decline.

There are only two forms of the church that ultimately matter.

The universal church and the local church.

Everything else is an add-on. Including buildings, furniture, styles of music, types of preaching, curriculum, and the subject of today’s article, denominations.

I’m not against denominations. I’ve been in one my whole life and it’s been a blessing to our church and to me personally.

But, like church buildings, pews, choir robes or skinny jeans on the worship leader, it’s a temporary condition that has a limited life-span.

As I’ve traveled around the world over the last several years, I’ve ministered in churches of almost every denomination and non-denomination. By doing so, I’ve learned a lot about the state of denominations today.

Here are 14 of my observations:

1. We are in a post-denominational culture.

It’s not coming. It’s here.

Like hymnbooks and pews bolted to the floor, there are still a lot of denominations around, but they’re becoming less common, especially among younger, newer churches.

Also like the changes from pews and hymnbooks to portable seats and video screens, this is not all good or all bad.

Whether we like it or not, the Baby Boomers are likely to be the last generation that will care, commit to, or fight over denominational labels. (More on that in point 12.)

2. Denominations are still extremely helpful, especially for small churches.

Big churches have the size, the money and the infrastructure to operate independently far more easily than small churches.

Plus, as I’ve pointed out in Small Church Essentials, bigger churches have a lot more in common with each other than small churches do, so they have a greater ability to lean on each other …

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Sudan (MNN) — It’s a new week in Sudan, but is it the start of a new era? Protesters don’t think so. Their demands for civilian rule continue, even though President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year reign is over.

A few days ago, the Sudanese army ousted Bashir and announced a three-month state of emergency with mandatory curfew. They also officially disbanded the government.

Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton tells us, “This is a very significant change – simply to have him (Bashir) out of power. Now, the challenge [is] ‘ok, what comes next?’

“The military rulers who toppled Bashir are the same ones who’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him over the last 30 years. So, if they’re the ones in charge, how much of a change will we likely see?”

Demonstrators ask the same question. Mistrust of army rule keeps protestors in the streets, despite military warnings.

Bashir’s out, what now?

Bashir is no longer leading Sudan, this much is true — but all other details remain in flux.  Initially, Defense Minister Awad Ibn Auf took the helm following Bashir’s removal. However, he stepped down the following day when protestors met his appointment with resistance.

Over the weekend, Ibn Auf’s replacement — Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan — removed the mandatory curfew and called upon demonstrators to “help us restore normal life.” As noted here, talks between protest organizers and the military council took place on Saturday.

Are these signs of real change, or merely a temporary appeasement?

“There [are] so many questions at this point in time and all of this, obviously, affects the Church,” Nettleton notes.

“As new leadership takes power, what protections do they put in place for religious minorities? Do they adopt the same Islamist policies of the previous government, in the case of Bashir? Or, do they put in some legitimate protections for religious minorities?”

(Photo courtesy of VOM)

Christians withstood severe persecution under Bashir.  More about persecution in Sudan here.

“He (Bashir) is the one who masterminded the attacks on Christians in South Sudan. Bashir’s government has been openly anti-Christian, anti-Church. They have promised to make Sudan a Muslim nation.”

How will life change for Christians now that Bashir is gone? “This military leadership, what protections [will] they put in place for non-Muslims in Sudan?” Nettleton adds.

“All these are questions that we’re asking; they’re questions that certainly our Sudanese brothers and sisters are asking… at this point, we just don’t know the answers to them.”

Arab Spring 2.0?

A month ago, MNN questioned Nettleton about parallels between Sudan’s uprising and Algeria’s protests and the likelihood of a second Arab Spring movement. Sudan’s coup occurred roughly 10 days after Algeria’s, leading others to ponder the possibility.

Collage of Arab Spring protests (Credit ليبي via Wikimedia Commons)

The atmosphere is similar to that of 2011: a frustrated public floods the streets demanding change, and they refuse to take “no” for an answer. On Friday, protests continued in Sudan despite military warnings, and they began anew in Algeria.

However, some key differences set the movements of today and 2011 apart. As described here, the military is still in firm control in both Sudan and Algeria. Compare this to Egypt in January 2011 – “Days of Rage” protests showed the world how quickly mass crowds of people can take power into their own hands.

The outcome in Algeria and Sudan is far from certain, yet The Jerusalem Post presents another reason to pause before describing this unrest as “Arab Spring 2.0”:

One reason that Algeria and Sudan may have less impact than the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011 is that neither of these countries are at the heart of the Arab world. Egypt’s 2011 revolution, and the second revolution in 2013 that removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power, were important because Egypt is important. It’s one of the traditional centers of the Middle East and the home of Al-Azhar University, a center of learning, media and power.

Furthermore, Nettleton notes, “a lot of this (in Sudan) is economic frustration… people couldn’t afford to put food on their table. That kind of frustration will send people out into the streets…

“I would watch the economics of the region before we say there’s going to be more of this.”

Prayer needed

Amid the ongoing uncertainty and chaos, one thing is sure – your prayers are absolutely vital.

“This kind of upheaval can be a time of danger. It can be a time where violence potentially breaks out, so pray for the protection of our brothers and sisters there.”

Pray that leaders who honor religious freedom will rise to positions of power in Sudan.

“Whatever the new government looks like,” Nettleton concludes, “let’s pray that people who respect religious freedom are in positions of influence in that government.”

You can also provide medical supplies, Bibles, Action packs and other assistance to persecuted Sudanese Christians through VOM.

Header image is a United Nations photo of 2010 protests in Darfur, Sudan.

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