RICHMOND, Va. – Staff of the International Mission Board showed their enthusiasm while hosting a group of fifth and sixth graders from Southern Hills Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The children visited the IMB headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, as a reward for completing eight mission projects during the 2020-2021 school year. The eight projects included interviewing a missionary, writing a report on a country, writing a book report on a missionary biography and learning key … [Read more...]
New strategies emerge as Japanese churches face future without pastors
Japan’s population is aging. Almost 30% of its population is 65 years old and older. This statistic is affecting church planting, church health and church growth. International Mission Board missionaries and Japanese Christians must answer the question, “Who will lead the next generation of believers?” Scott Bradford, a missionary in Tokyo, said the average age of local pastors is between 60 and 70 years old. Many pastors are in their 80s and don’t feel they can retire because there is … [Read more...]
Persecution persists as gospel spreads
Kingdom growth is always met with deep spiritual warfare for Aquila*. For him this includes active and imminent threats to his life. “Please pray for us!” Aquila asked the prayer team in a September 2020 message. He had heard that an extremist group was coming to the area where he lived. Because of his gospel witness, Aquila found himself on this group’s “top 10” hit list. He was fearful for his life and his family. He’s been on this list for seven years, yet his gospel witness hasn’t … [Read more...]
Japanese hunger for hope on the horizon
TOKYO, Japan (IMB) – More people died by suicide in Japan in October of 2020 than died from COVID-19 in the previous months of 2020. In 2020, Japan reported 16.7 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Concrete walls enclose home-like prisons where Japanese men and women suffer in silence. Already small apartments became prison cells because of COVID’s sentence of solitary confinement, with the hope of parole like an ever-setting sun on the horizon. Pandemics have no due process and exacerbate … [Read more...]
Journalist hears the gospel in prison
James*, a pastor in a war-torn country, went to prison for two years. His crime: sharing his faith. But even imprisonment couldn’t stop him from telling the story that had changed his life. Prison in the area where he lives looks a lot different than it does in the U.S. The government isn’t obligated to give its citizens a fair trial. No legitimate reason is even required for taking a citizen to prison; they can hold someone for as long as they want. If no one from the outside meets … [Read more...]
Evangelical groups to host 1 million hours of prayer during Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO (BP) – Several evangelical organizations, both internationally and in the U.S., are partnering together in an effort to cover Japan with 1 million hours of prayer during the 30 days of the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic games. “Japan1Million,” a movement started by a partnership between the Japan International Sports Partnership and the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, encourages Christians around the world to sign up for one-hour prayer slots during the Tokyo games. Those … [Read more...]
Christians count the cost and carry their cross
Adam*, a national believer, knew death was coming. He told Jonathan, an International Mission Board worker, he would be killed. His days were numbered, and though he didn’t know the number of days, he knew what God had called him to do. Six months before his death, Adam was in a difficult place in his spiritual life. In one of their Bible studies, Jonathan and Adam read in Luke 14:25-34 how Christians are called to count the cost and carry their crosses. “No one builds a tower without … [Read more...]
Haitian turmoil increases hunger for Gospel, Christian workers say
THOMAZEAU, Haiti (BP) — Near anarchy in Haiti surrounding the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse has escalated the risk of starvation but has also increased a hunger for the Gospel in some areas, according to Christian workers in the country. “Persecution in whatever form typically produces faith. And it’s interesting, with the lack of persecution sometimes faith is a little weak,” said David Vanderpool, a surgeon who leads LiveBeyond, a Gospel, medical and humanitarian group … [Read more...]
IMB joins Japanese Christians for Olympics outreach
TOKYO, Japan (IMB) – Every four years, athletes and spectators descend on the cities hosting the Olympic games. Historically, volunteer teams from U.S. churches have also journeyed to the Olympics and played active roles in both the Summer and Winter Olympics ministry strategies of IMB missionaries and national partners. IMB missionaries in Tokyo, Japan, developed evangelism and outreach plans utilizing both volunteers and Japanese churches and believers. These plans required adapting, … [Read more...]
Missourian urges prayer amid Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO, Japan – For the first time in 20 years, Chesterfield Community Church Connections Pastor Jeff Wells won’t attend the Summer Olympic Games. Ever since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Wells has ventured across the globe to proclaim the gospel to international crowds gathered for the games. Both in summer and winter, he never missed the games, and the experience drastically changed his life. Not only did it foster a love for missions in his family, but it also expanded … [Read more...]
Indigenous people in Colombia sustained by Send Relief funds
COLOMBIA (IMB) – Through the efforts of Send Relief and the vision of an IMB team, a displaced Indigenous people group in Colombia has found a means of survival and financial stability. Meghan Aranda, an IMB journeyman, serves in Colombia among Indigenous people along the coast, including the Zenu. Toward the beginning of her two-year term, Aranda attended a workshop hosted by Send Relief in Panama. The purpose of the workshop was to provide practical tools to equip or start … [Read more...]
IMB workers in Stockholm to release multimedia Scripture project
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (IMB) – When Eric Haney stepped onto the train platform after a long night of music rehearsal in Stockholm, Sweden, his eyes were drawn to the wall of posters advertising music groups and concerts. It was all black, with what Eric describes as the “saddest looking people I’ve ever seen.” That wall represented the whole reason Eric and his wife, Anissa, came to Stockholm 11 years ago and what has inspired their latest project “Stories of Hope.” Stories of Hope is a … [Read more...]
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