Volume 5 Issue 38

This Month in NWC we are worshiping for “Andhra Pradesh”. Book your slot for worship. No doubt the nation is going to be shaken during our worship. Be ready and prepare for that.

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Pakistani Christian Teen Beaten to Death by Muslim Classmates

A Pakistani Christian boy was taunted and beaten to death by some of his Muslim classmates, reports The Christian Post. Seventeen-year-old Sharoon Masih faced discrimination, ridicule, and ultimately physical violence which led to his death. Sharoon was singled out by his fellow students because of his Christian faith. The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) reports on what Sharoon endured: "On his first-day, Sharoon was slapped and told to stand outside the class for an entire day for not wearing the school uniform. His parents say he didn't wear the uniform because they simply didn't have the money to buy it.”

Sharoon was also called a “filthy Christian,” a “demon,” and a “chura,” which is a derogatory word for Christians in Pakistan. Sharoon’s classmates also refused to allow him any access to water while he was at school. Then, one day, they beat him unconscious, and he died. "None of the school staff took Sharoon to the hospital [but] some pupils took his dead body some hours later,” reported the BPCA. A candlelight vigil will be held for Sharoon in New South Wales, Australia. The vigil will also raise awareness of Christian persecution in Pakistan.

Sharoon’s mother said he was “a kind-hearted, hard-working and affable boy.”

The Invisible Christians of North Korea: Surviving by God's Grace Alone

If you think North Korea’s dictators are bad for the world, just imagine what it’s like to be a Christian there. Anyone who knows anything about world missions and the global church knows about the Christians of South Korea. According to the Operation World prayer guide, “From the first Protestant church planted in 1884, South Korea now has possibly 50,000 Protestant congregations,” and 15 million Christians of all kinds. It’s also a missionary powerhouse, currently sending more than 21,000 missionaries to about 175 countries. Amazing!

But the Christians of North Korea? They’re virtually invisible—though of course not in the eyes of the Lord Jesus! Operation World says that although no one really knows their true number, there could be as many as 350,000 underground Christians living in the slave state of 24 million people. When you consider that the government there—whether run by the Japanese occupiers during World War II, or the current cult-like, totalitarian leadership—has been trying to stamp out all vestiges of Christianity for about 70 years, that’s alsoamazing. Tragically, and infuriatingly, up to 100,000 of these brothers and sisters in Christ are locked up in harsh prisons or work camps. Where did they all come from, and how do they survive? Well, in answer to the first part, it’s a fascinating story. Did you know that from the late 19th century until 1942, Pyongyang, North Korea’s Orwellian capital city today, was known as the “Jerusalem of the East”?

According to Providence journal, “a Presbyterian medical doctor named Horace Allen … became physician to the king of Korea and received royal permission to proselytize after saving the life of a royal family member severely wounded during an attempted coup. Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries from the United States followed, and along with Catholic and other Protestant missionaries from other countries, they found Koreans to be receptive to their message in large numbers. A quarter of a century later in 1910, Korean Christians numbered over 200,000, two thirds of them Presbyterians and Methodists, in a country of approximately 13 million people.”

If the city of Seoul was receptive to the gospel, and it was, Pyongyang was even more so. Following a series of revivals in and around the “Jerusalem of the East,” by 1910 the region was the most heavily Christian in all of Korea. Of course, most of us know what happened next. After World War II, the communist regime of Kim Il-sung attempted to stamp out all foreign religions, especially Christianity, which was branded a tool of “Western imperialism.” Missionaries were thrown out, churches closed, and many Christians executed for their faith, with many more pouring into democratic South Korea at the end of the Korean War.

So how do those who remain survive? As with all of us, by God’s grace. Today, Open Doors USA reports, North Korea is the most oppressive place in the world for Christians. “Due to ever-present surveillance,” the agency says, “many pray with eyes open, and gathering for praise or fellowship is practically impossible. Worship of the ruling Kim family is mandated for all citizens, and those who don’t comply (including Christians) are arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed. Entire Christian families are imprisoned in hard labor camps.” It’s no wonder that one North Korean Christian lady who escaped continues to pray a simple prayer she learned from her mother: “Lord, Lord, please help!”

And the Lord, through agencies such as Open Doors, is answering that prayer, providing Bibles and emergency relief inside the country as well as to fleeing North Korean Christians. They’re not invisible to Him—and now, I hope, not to us, either.

Two Churches Reopen in Minya with Full Support of Local Community

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on Sunday, September 10, local authorities in Egypt's Minya Governorate reopened St. Mary and St. Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Ezbat Al-Forn and St. Paula Coptic Orthodox Church in Kidwan village. Security authorities routinely close Egypt's churches under the pretext that their existence would spark community controversy. However, the local Muslim community united with the Christian community in advocating for the reopening of Minya's closed churches, leading President al-Sisi to recommend that the security authorities reopen the two churches.

Dahi Abdul Salam, the Muslim mayor of Ezbat Al-Forn, told ICC, "There was no form of objection from the beginning by the village Muslims for our Coptic brothers to pray in their church. We formed a delegation of Muslims from the village; we went to the security leaders and leaders of the intelligence sector where we affirmed our appreciation for the need of our Coptic brothers in the village for a place to pray. We (Muslims) pray anywhere and see that it is the right of our brothers Copts to pray as well."

The reopening of the St. Mary and St. Michael Coptic Orthodox Church occurred 20 days after security officials forced its doors to close. Minya police were present during the Holy Mass and some Muslims attended to offer congratulations on the reopening of the church. The church's priest, Father Paula Bebawy, expressed his thanks for the neighboring Muslims' support. "We are grateful to them because they showed Egyptian citizenship effectively. Every prayer held in the church is good for Egypt and for all Egyptians. We pray in the Mass that Egypt may be blessed. And we pray for our leaders, soldiers, and our borders."

Gratitude was further offered in a statement offered by the Diocese of Minya and Abu Qurqas who specifically thanked President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his response to their pleas and the promise of officials to speedily reopen the rest of Minya's closed churches. The statement also echoed the thankfulness of local Christians for the assistance from their Muslim neighbors.

Russian Anti-Missionary Law Mainly Hampers Christians

Concerns among Russian Christians that the government’s antiterrorism legislation, adopted last year, would take away their religious freedom have been proven true. The Yarovaya Laws, named for the lawmaker who sponsored them, ban proselytizing, preaching, and praying outside recognized religious institutions. Forum 18 counted 186 cases filed since enforcement began, with roughly half the charges against various Christian denominations and individuals or Christian-affiliated organizations. Officials later dismissed only about 20 percent of the cases. Punishments ranged from fines and confiscation of materials to orders for deportation.

Since July 2016, authorities have prosecuted Christian churches and individuals for announcing an upcoming service, conducting home prayer meetings, distributing religious calendars, failure to fully display a church name, and organizing a concert. The law’s vagueness has caused widespread confusion, attorney Mikhail Frolov told Forum 18.

“Believers don’t understand what is permitted and what is forbidden,” he said. “It is possible to sentence people under this for any religious activity.”