Mission Network News

Southern Sudanese wave flags and cheer at the Republic of South Sudan's first national soccer match on Sunday, just one day after South Sudan declared its independence from the north. (AP Images/Pete Muller)

As the world's newest country, South Sudan has held the headline spotlight since its July 9 secession from the North. Amid the excitement and concerns over what's to come for the new nation, however, Carl Moeller with Open Doors believes one group has been forgotten.

Moeller explains, "We are rejoicing that there are increased freedoms (and of course more challenges) in the South, but we have to ask the question: What about the Christians in the North?"

Christians have already been fleeing back to the South for fear of what is to come in the North. Open Doors reports that although many Christians are said to have returned to the South voluntarily, some observers have pointed out that they had departed because they could not be assured of their safety.

Summer means camp season for many children, teens and even adults across North America.

This summer, Bible Centered Ministries will host about a dozen camps over an eight-week period in the U.S. and Canada.

CEO Marty Windle says BCM has about 35 camping programs worldwide.

"We have camps that focus on evangelism through the teaching of English. We have camps that are focused on reaching special needs people groups. We have camps in multiple languages. We have camps for young people," says Windle. "In Holland, we have an interesting camp that is designed for people who are over 60 years of age."

Christians working in remote Pakistani communities are facing extreme pressure, according to a Voice of the Martyrs Canada report.

A believer was handing out gospel literature when a group of Muslims threatened him to try to get him to stop. In another city, Christians who work in an evangelist's office are now under investigation, and authorities are watching their mail.

The notorious blasphemy law also comes into play, imposing the death penalty on anyone who defames Mohammed, and life in prison for anyone who defiles the Quran. Many Pakistani Christians have been falsely accused under this law.

Sudanese wait in line to vote on referendum in January

Saturday (July 9) will be Independence Day for the citizens of South Sudan. 

A 2005 peace deal brought an end to the civil war, while promising Southerners the chance to vote for independence. That referendum vote came in January when an overwhelming majority chose to split from Khartoum.

In preparation to become Africa's newest sovereign state, the legislative assembly on Thursday ratified the new constitution for the nation-in-waiting. There's a lot of hope riding on the actual secession.

Open Doors says Eritrean military officials have rounded up another group of evangelical Christians this week.

Authorities arrested 35 believers on Sunday, on suspicion of gathering for worship in Assab, a port city. The group, which included 17 women, was taken to the Adi-Nefase military camp near Assab, a notoriously harsh detention center.  

Open Doors also reports that 25 Christian students from Mai-Nefhi Educational Institution (roughly 12 miles southwest of Asmara) have been released on bail in order to sit for their final exams. They may have been part of a group of students arrested at the beginning of June for "unpatriotic behavior." Sources in the country expect the students to be taken back into custody as soon as their exams have been completed.

An appeal by an Iranian pastor convicted of apostasy has failed.

According to Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs, "The initial reports were that the Supreme Court had upheld the conviction against him, they had upheld the death sentence, and he would be executed."

However, conflicting information has just reached VOM which sheds a whole new light on the case. Nettleton says their partners are working hard to confirm this information: "The reports over the last 24 hours are that, in fact, the Supreme Court did not uphold the death penalty. They sent the case back to the local court in his area where he would have the opportunity to recant, and if he did that, then the death sentence would go away."

Human trafficking is out of control in Ukraine.

More Ukrainian men, women and children have been trafficked abroad and forced into indentured labor or prostitution than in any other Eastern European country since the Soviet collapse.

EFCA's Reach Global missionary Amy Richey says traffickers target the most vulnerable: "The most vulnerable in Ukrainian society today are kids currently living on the streets, and/or kids that are just coming out of the orphanages. Fifty percent to 60 percent end up in some sort of a trafficked situation."

According to Joshua Project, approximately 1 percent of missions funding is given for outreach to unreached people groups. Less than 1 percent of that funding is given for Muslim evangelistic efforts. This staggering reminder comes at a time when outreach to those who claim Islam as their faith is pivotal.

Speaking from Lebanon, the president of the Crescent Project Fouad Masri spoke to Greg Yoder. He says this point in the history of outreach to Muslims is second to none: "The openness has never been this way. It's unprecedented that people are interested in knowing about Christ. God is on the move. We've never seen them open for the Good News, not only in the U.S., but here."

President Barack Obama is bringing home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan within the next 15 months.

The removal of the surge forces leaves just under 70,000 troops in Afghanistan. While President Hamid Karzai welcomed the announcement, it was greeted with less enthusiasm and plenty of skepticism elsewhere. Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA, agrees. "There is not a great deal of confidence in the Afghan security forces to protect religious freedom."

Although President Obama declared that ‘the tide of war is receding,' pulling out while the Taliban is still alive and well can only bring trouble. The U.S. scenario bears a resemblance to Russia's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. 

Despite the persecution and risk associated with assisting believers there, Bibles are being sent to Iran.

Iran ranks second only to North Korea for its poor treatment of Christians, according to Open Doors' World Watch List. Believers make up a tiny minority of the nation and pay dearly for their faith.

And yet amid this severe atmosphere, Christ followers are determined to remain in their country and spread the Word. Their persistence is working, and the home church movement is booming—especially among Iranian youth.

"We just believe this is a tremendous opportunity to put Scriptures into the hands of young believers; the youth in that country are incredibly open to the gospel," says Ken Leggatt with WorldServe Ministries in Canada. "It's an incredibly youthful nation as well," Leggatt adds.

Ghana is known to be a generally "reached" country in Africa. Out of a 24 million population, about 17 million are professing Christians. Unfortunately, like any other "Christian" nation, it doesn't mean that all who claim to follow Christ really do.

It's normal for any mostly-Christian nation to have many believers that are no more than nominal, but what's slightly more disconcerting is when church leadership does not appear to be on board with the gospel. In Ghana, a wave of corrupt pastors are popping up, dabbling in dangerous territory by leading the church astray.

"They are simply not interested in the salvation of the people," a church leader lamented to Ghana Web last month.

Prayers are needed for a badly-beaten Christian worker in India.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India received news late last week of a brutal attack on Anjas, a Mission India partner.

Anjas was on his way to finalize some details for a prayer event one night when five men blocked his motorbike. When one of the men was pushed into Anjas' motorbike, Anjas stopped, and immediately, the five men surrounded him. A mob of 50 quickly joined them.

The mob began to harass Anjas about his work. In the past five years, Anjas has reached 15 villages in central India and leads Children's Bible Clubs. The night before the attack, he had led a prayer meeting where 102 people were baptized.

The mob reportedly confronted Anjas and said: "Why are you converting Hindus to Christianity? Why have you brought these programs and ministries to our village?"

Challenges abound when it comes to international adoption. One such serious challenge is in helping adopted children gain a sense of identity.

Children who have been adopted from other countries may struggle with their sense of identity if they grow up uninformed about their birth heritage. One ministry offers an opportunity for these children as well as their families to take pride in their histories.

Buckner International ministry partner Dillon International has built a solid reputation in the international adoption community on providing top-quality "heritage camps" for adoptees and their families.

In February of 2011, the World Health Organization dubbed Moldova the world's leading nation in per-person alcohol consumption.

Reports show that the average Moldovan consumes 18.22 liters of alcohol annually—three times more than the average of 6.1 liters.

Other former Soviet nations on the list of heavy alcohol consumption included Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Belarus.

The Global Day of Prayer falls on Pentecost Sunday, June 12, this year.  

Pioneers, along with many other groups, is asking believers to take part in the vigil as Christians in almost every country will assemble to pray. Many will gather in small groups in homes, local churches and businesses, but there are also plans in the works for assemblies in large stadiums and other public venues. In some places, television, radio and internet will help to connect and align our prayers.

The challenge: to mobilize an all-year-round prayer movement.