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The Church in Cambodia is growing steadily with 8% each year, in particular in the animist countryside. The key element? Christians really care about others. In Cambodia over 85% of the population is Buddhist. Pagodas, monasteries and monks dressed in red or orange are everywhere. In many villages this Buddhism is interwoven with animism, which means that people believe in natural spirits. In a large tree in a prominent place, on a hill or in a river, spirits can dwell. People have to keep them as friends, otherwise things will go wrong. The number of Christians is steadily increasing in these largely animist villages. Bible translators Kees Jan and Mirjam Bos from the Netherlands worked for Wycliffe under the Kuy for fifteen years. The Kuy are an ethnic minority group with its own languag...

Did you know that so far 1,500 nurses across 44 countries lost their lives while on duty in the Covid-19 pandemic? That is the same number of nurses who died in the First World War! Healthcare workers make enormous sacrifices these days. Take the army of Catholic nurses and nuns that serve the sick in the pandemic, often risking their own lives. Hundreds of women’s congregations throughout the world are involved. They are armed with two powerful weapons: prayer and love, reports Joel News. In Italy, the Daughters of St. Camillus, whose vocation is to dedicate themselves to nursing the sick and the elderly, have been in the trenches since the start of the pandemic. The Camillians run five important Italian hospitals in Rome, Trento, Treviso, Brescia and Cremona. Lancy Ezhupara, Secretary-Ge...

Endale is a ‘digital missionary’. He uses WhatsApp for evangelism and discipleship among students. WhatsApp is a great tool to start spiritual conversations and train people. Endale started organizing WhatsApp groups for about 20 people at a time, recording his voice and sending it to them as they listen and reflect in the group. So far, he has trained nearly 300 digital missionaries, Joel News reported. Together they use WhatsApp to share the Gospel in one-on-one conversations. They have reached more than 3,000 people, with nearly 100 people receiving Christ and going through a follow-up and discipleship process in WhatsApp. As a result, they started a church for the new believers named ‘the Church of God’, which meets entirely on the messaging app. Yes you read that right: a WhatsApp Chu...

All Nations International helps church planters in Africa and Asia to start and develop businesses as a vehicle to bless their communities and spread the Gospel of Jesus. So far, over 1,000 businesses have been started in 45 countries. Dutchman Jonathan Fokker, who serves as the international director of All Nations Business For Mission, explains the approach in Joel News: “First we identify reliable local partners to work with. Then a team of trainers facilitates a five-day consultation called Pioneer Business Planting. This training is focused on extending the reach of the Gospel while creating financial sustainability for church planters and other leaders/believers. The intended outcome is a viable legitimate business that provides a product or service that does not currently exist in t...

Many years ago while in prayer I experienced a prophetic vision. In my imagination I was taken to a green valley in the middle of Spring. A small river meandered through the blooming meadows. In the middle of this valley, a bit hidden, was a small chapel. It was an idyllic sight. Then this word came to me: ‘Redig the wells!’ At that time I was not sure what to make of it, but I sensed a conviction that God was speaking. It launched me on an unexpected journey that provided many new insights and discoveries. The valley with the small chapel wasn’t just a product of my imagination, it really existed. One day, while on a hiking trip, I found it, next to a meandering river. It turned out to be a chapel dedicated to Willibrord, a Celtic missions pioneer in the 7th century, who became the foundi...

The Olmos prison in Argentina used to be notorious for murders, satanic activity and violent riots. Today, however, you can hear inmates and guards praising and worshipping God. This all began with one man’s obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In the mid 80’s Pastor Juan Zuccarelli felt called to prison ministry and applied to become a prison guard, as that was the only way in. He soon gained the trust of the prison authorities and was allowed to hold a first crusade where 300 prisoners attended and 100 were saved. These converted prisoners were granted their own cell blocks where they were able to have times of prayer, fasting and Bible studies which produced amazing results. Eventually they took over the entire floor, which was previously known as the ‘Elephant’s Floor’. It wa...

Lee McClelland, pastor of The Ark Church in Belfast, ended up in hospital, diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus. He had a difficult time and recounts: “I had a night of hell and cried out to the Lord to somehow encourage my heart. In the isolation ward no pastor, friend of family member is allowed in, but the following day God sent a cleaner. He was like a ray of sunshine.” Watch McClelland’s moving testimony (and make sure to sign up for more stories): [embedded content] Join Our Telegram Group : Salvation & Prosperity  

Several years ago, a week before Christmas, a Somali refugee family in the Netherlands was attacked by racists who threw heavy fireworks at their rental house. The attackers left a nasty note with a picture of right-wing politician Geert Wilders and a threat: ‘White is better! Own people first! Foreigners need to move out! This is only the beginning!’ Of course the refugee family was scared to death. A young Christian pastor who heard about the attack was provoked by this injustice. He put out a message on social media asking people to show this family their love and support by sending them flowers. Within days the refugee family received so many flowers from all over the nation that their whole house was surrounded. One of the flowers had this little note: “Most people are good. Unfortuna...

How can Christians respond effectively in times of crisis? Church history can teach us an important lesson – to keep calm, to care for others, and to focus on God’s Kingdom. In the years 165 AD and 251 AD two devastating epidemics – smallpox and measles – swept through the Roman Empire. It was lethal. During the 15-year duration of the epidemic, from a quarter to a third (!) of the empire’s population died from it. The epidemics weakened the Roman military and societal structures. So many people died that cities and villages in Italy and in the provinces were abandoned and fell into ruin. How did the tiny Christian church in the Roman Empire respond to this existential crisis? They made up only 0.08% of the population, which is comparable to today’s Christian population of Afghanistan, whi...

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa, something remarkable happened. In Manenburg, one of Cape Town’s most dangerous townships, warring gangs started working together in an unprecedented truce to deliver much-needed food to people under lockdown. Andie Steele-Smith is a former investment banker and businessman from Australia who now works as a ‘gang pastor’ in Manenburg. He has led murderers and drug lords to cooperate amid the pandemic on a new distribution network for soap and emergency food delivery. It all started five years ago when he joined a small church plant in a township near his house in Cape Town. “I was asked if I would run a Bible study. They said, ‘No one ever has. Everyone has been too scared.’ So I set up a barbecue and started cooking. I invited six young men, and...