News From The Nations

News From the Nations We curate missions-related news items from around the world.

Reading these stories can fuel our prayers for the unreached and provided a backdrop for our conversations with the Lord about where He would have us focus our missions efforts.

We encourage you to read these articles with your eyes open to God's work and an expectant heart, listening for His direction.

Image courtesy of Saiba Rahman. Used by permission.

Dramatic Conversion from Islam to Christianity in Central Asia

By Frank Johnson on November 17, 2021 0

FROM ADVANCING NATIVE MISSIONS:
Dramatic Conversion from Islam to Christianity in Central Asia
Rastin and Maryam (not their real names) grew up in a Central Asian country that was formally a Soviet republic. Rastin grew up as the son of a nominally Christian Russian mother and an East German father who thought God was a tyrant, punishing those who misbehaved. Maryam was the daughter of an observant Muslim family. Both Rastin and Maryam came to faith in Christ, met each other, married, and now pastor a house church and support themselves through a bee-keeping business. Click the button below to read the rest of the story!

Visit the Advancing Native Missions Website to read the article Dramatic Conversion from Islam to Christianity in Central Asia

Photo courtesy of Advancing Native Missions. Used by permission (personal correspondence).

The Extraordinary Re-Evangelization of Europe

By Frank Johnson on October 22, 2021 0

FROM THE LAUSANNE MOVEMENT:
The Extraordinary Re-Evangelization of Europe
“No other continent (but Europe) has been exposed to Christianity for such a prolonged period and in such an extensive way. Yet just as Europe was the first continent to be Christianised, it was also the first to be de-Christianised … Many see Europe as thoroughly post-Christian or secular, yet the reality is much more complex than that. And out of the spotlight, an extraordinary re-evangelisation of Europe is taking place. Three dimensions of this can be identified: diaspora churches, church planting movements and platforms, and the next generation.”

Visit the Lausanne Movement Website to read the article The Extraordinary Re-Evangelization of Europe

Map courtesy of Wikipedia. Used by permission.

Thor Is Beating the Lutheran Church in a Battle for Believers in the Land of Fire and Ice

By Frank Johnson on September 24, 2021 0

FROM NEWSWEEK:
Thor Is Beating the Lutheran Church in a Battle for Believers in the Land of Fire and Ice
Iceland’s fastest-growing religion is Ásatrú, a revival of the worship of Viking deities. It tripled in size from 2007 to 2017 while the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland that once made up 90% of Iceland’s population in the 1990s but has now fallen to 64 percent of the population.

Visit the Newsweek Website to read the article Thor Is Beating the Lutheran Church in a Battle for Believers in the Land of Fire and Ice

Photo courtesy of Caleb Charters. Used by permission.

While Iceland has been called “the most godless country in Europe,” in reality God has not abandoned this nation of about 300,000 inhabitants. After reading the Newsweek article, read this 2017 article by Gunnar Gunnarsson, the pastor of Loftstofan Baptistakirkja, the only Baptist church in Reykjavik: Europe’s Most Godless Country May Surprise You.

Lebanese Christian with Hearing Loss Becomes a Fisher of Men

By Frank Johnson on September 3, 2021 0

FROM ADVANCING NATIVE MISSIONS:
Lebanese Christian with Hearing Loss Becomes a Fisher of Men
A fisherman who had given his life to Jesus after a missionary explained the gospel to him was in the habit of praying and praising God with a loud voice — because of the hearing loss he had developed from listening to the thunderous noise of the inboard motor on his fishing boat. Not only did God hear Amal’s loud prayers and praises, but Amal’s neighbor Zenab heard as well. And the more Zenab heard the name of Jesus, the more she wanted to know Him. Click the button below to read the rest of the story!

Visit the Advancing Native Missions Website to read the article Lebanese Christian with Hearing Loss Becomes a Fisher of Men

Photo courtesy of Fredrik Öhlander. Used by permission.

Searching for Perfection

By Frank Johnson on March 4, 2020 0

FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY:
From the Bahá’í Faith to Porn to Alpha to Jesus
As Emily Armstrong headed to college at the age of 17, she was a perfectionist, wanted to be an adult, and desired to assert her independence. For her, the ultimate statement of such independence was joining the Bahá’i faith, a religion she believed would ensure perfect order in the world — “no more war, poverty, or racism. One language, one currency, and equality of the sexes.” A “perfect” faith for a perfectionist. she now realizes that “He (Jesus) is our perfection, so I don’t have to be.” Click the button below to read the rest of the story!

Visit the Christianity Today Website to read the article From the Bahá’í Faith to Porn to Alpha to Jesus

Photo courtesy of harmeet9000. Used by permission.

To The Jew First

By Frank Johnson on October 14, 2019 0

FROM THE LAUSANNE COMMITTEE FOR WORLD EVANGELIZATION:
To The Jew First
In a paper written for the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization, convened between September 29 and October 5, 2004 in Pattaya, Thailand by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the Issue Group on Reaching Jewish People with the Gospel provided an excellent 55-page summary of God’s covenant with the Jewish people and His mandate for Jewish evangelism, the status of Jewish believers in Jesus in the world, how Messianic Jews see themselves and various issues which exist within the Messianic community, challenges to the proclamation of the gospel to the Jewish people, and a variety of case studies regarding current practices in the field of Jewish evangelism. Click the button below to read the rest of the paper!

Visit the Lausanne Website to read the article To The Jew First

Photo courtesy of Sander Crombach. Used by permission.

He Found His North Star in the Midst of Dark and Stormy Seas

By Frank Johnson on October 9, 2019 0

FROM ONE FOR ISRAEL:
He Found His North Star in the Midst of Dark and Stormy Seas
#1 New York Times Best-Selling Author Stephen King said this: “Andrew Klavan is the most original American novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” In this video, Andrew tells the story of how he — a Jew once in the grip of despair and depression and very seriously contemplating suicide — came to faith in Jesus Christ in the wake of a 3-word bedtime prayer: “Thank You God.” Click the button below to watch the video!

Visit the One For Israel Website to watch the video When God Found Andrew Klavan

Photo courtesy of Myriam Zilles. Used by permission.

How Digital Communication Facilitated a Wiccan’s Conversion to Christ

By Frank Johnson on October 8, 2019 0

FROM RICH TATUM:
How Digital Communication Facilitated a Wiccan’s Conversion to Christ
The Sharpe Logs represent the fascinating story of Kathi Sharpe — a practicing pagan witch (a Wiccan) who converted to Christ and was discipled through digital conversations with Rich Tatum, a then web project manager with Christianity Today International. These “logs” are just that — records of 53 different online conversations Kathi and Rich had through email and instant messenger over a period of almost an entire year. Although the logs are almost twenty years old at the time of this writing, they still provide tremendous insight into how God can work through digital means to bring people to Himself and raise them up to maturity in the faith. Click the button below to read the rest of the story!

Visit the Sharpe Logs to read the story of How Digital Communication Facilitated a Wiccan’s Conversion to Christ

Photo courtesy of John Schnobrich. Used by permission.