Christians are among hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees that Pakistan was to begin forcibly repatriating on Tuesday (April 1) to Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban has asserted they will kill any Christian, sources said.
As the younger generation challenges the status quo in Nepal, local churches find their voice, offering hope, and stability in uncertain times. A young Nepali believer, Surendra Bajracharya, writes that this is an opportunity for the church, especially its younger members, to respond to God’s calling and reach out to their peers beyond the church walls—young people burdened with broken dreams in a trembling nation.
Evangelism can become little more than a sales formula, with such evangelists nicknamed "The Jesus Guys" in Asia. This style can inoculate people against Jesus. Mr Huang testifies that a more effective method is to build long-term relationships while sharing biblical values, principles, and truths in a natural setting such as while conducting business.
Traditional churches in China tend to serve a context where poverty and need are typical and the desire for communal support and directive leadership is welcome. China's large upwardly mobile and independent population doesn't need what these traditional churches are offering. A different gospel approach and new forms of church must emerge to meet different needs in rapidly changing urban contexts.
For decades the global missions community has talked about deeper collaboration with local ministry leaders as partners. But self-perception can misread reality. The post-COVID political shifts in China are a reality check, according to a long-term expatriate living through changes that are shattering the illusion that he knew better than the locals about how to advance the gospel in a foreign context. It is a new era for missions, demanding a new depth of humility.
An 18-year-old Christian is still languishing in jail a month after winning bail in all three blasphemy cases against him as a trial court is delaying his release, his father said.
A rash of complaints to police in Indonesia accusing Christians of blasphemy on social media has driven several of them abroad to seek refuge, sources said.
The Korea World Missions Association (KWMA) held a meeting of denominational leaders to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Gospel’s arrival in Korea on March 13-14 at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea. The gathering was organized to discuss the rapidly changing landscape of global missions, as well as mission strategies and plans.
Religious freedom advocates this month strongly condemned deterioration of human rights in Pakistan, particularly continued abuse of the country’s harsh blasphemy laws and forced conversions of minority girls.
In a significant legal victory against forced conversions/marriages in Pakistan, a civil court has annulled the marriage of a Christian woman who was given to a Muslim man as a child and coerced to convert to Islam and marry him, sources said.
A high court judge in Pakistan resigned last week after a media report exposed his alleged close ties with a criminal gang falsely charging Christians and others with blasphemy, sources said.
As the younger generation challenges the status quo in Nepal, local churches find their voice, offering hope, and stability in uncertain times. A young Nepali believer, Surendra Bajracharya, writes that this is an opportunity for the church, especially its younger members, to respond to God’s calling and reach out to their peers beyond the church walls—young people burdened with broken dreams in a trembling nation.
