EDITOR'S NOTE: Leo Endel is the executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention. A small group of us met Friday night at Layton Avenue Baptist Church in Milwaukee to remember the life and ministry of Kathy Gariety. Along with two other International Mission Board (IMB) medical workers, William Koehn and Dr. Martha Myers, Kathy was killed 20 years ago when a Yemeni man slipped into the Baptist Hospital in Jibla, Yemen. He said he killed them “because they were preaching … [Read more...]
Report: Russia has attacked at least 270 religious sites in Ukraine
NASHVILLE (BP) – Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has included increased violence against religious leaders and widespread attacks on religious sites, according to a recently issued report. The Ukrainian-based Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF) reported at least 270 houses of worship, religious educational institutions and sacred sites such as cemeteries were either destroyed or damaged during the first five months after Russia began its assault in late February. The report … [Read more...]
Volunteer teams vital to reaching desert people group
By Rory Bennet “God will do what He says He will do, and I want to be a part of it,” Vera says with confidence. This confidence is forged from years of seeing victories from God’s faithful hands at work among people who are resistant to the truth of the gospel. Vera works in one of the most desolate places, deep in the desert, where nearly the entire population is Muslim. IMB missionary Vera must be strategic in how she works among the people, meeting practical needs to build … [Read more...]
Believers in Brazilian village endure persecution, church grows stronger
SBC Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church set for Nov. 6: Resources, including photos, videos, stories and a bulletin insert, available at imb.org/persecuted. By Mitchell Heinz BRAZIL – What would you do if you were summoned to a meeting where you were given an ultimatum — recant or lose your job? This is what happened to Leo and Annie, new Christians from an Indigenous tribe in northeastern Brazil. They worked as schoolteachers in their community for several years. But now the … [Read more...]
Aftab’s journey reveals plight for many persecuted Christians
SBC Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church set for Nov. 6 Nights are the hardest. Really, anytime he’s alone in the apartment is hard. He’d much rather be with people or be busy at work. Time alone reminds him of his family – his wife, daughter and two sons. He hasn’t seen them in person in nine years. He blinks back tears when he talks about them. When Aftab fled his home country, he thought he’d only be gone for a few weeks, possibly months. He can hardly imagine that it’s been this … [Read more...]
Indonesia, Malaysia major blasphemy prosecutors in southeast Asia
WASHINGTON (BP) – Christian convert Muhammad Kace, serving a 10-year prison term in Indonesia for blasphemy, was convicted of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in hundreds of YouTube videos after his conversion in 2014. Kace is among at least 67 Christians and others arrested in 2020 under Indonesia’s blasphemy laws in prosecutions that have increased dramatically since Indonesia’s transition to democracy in 1998. Indonesia is among seven Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) … [Read more...]
USCIRF report: Religious liberty deteriorates in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (BP) — The Taliban’s return to control of Afghanistan headlined the examples of religious freedom deteriorating in multiple countries last year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its annual report issued April 25. For the first time in more than two decades, USCIRF – a bipartisan panel established by federal law in 1998 – recommended Afghanistan’s inclusion on a list of the world’s most egregious violators of the right to believe and … [Read more...]
Christian witness to China camp horrors now in U.S.
WASHINGTON (BP) – A Christian who was imprisoned for 10 months in western China is now in the United States as a witness to the notorious “re-education” camps being operated by the Communist regime of the world’s most populous country. Ovalbek Turdakun, his wife and son arrived in the United States April 8 after a lengthy, successful effort to avoid deportation back to China that was aided by allies in the United States and other countries. Ovalbek is the first Christian to speak out … [Read more...]
Baptists gear for decades-long trauma care response to Ukrainian refugees
WARSAW, Poland (BP) – Years after Russia’s bombs stop exploding and loved ones are eulogized, displaced Ukrainian refugees may still need counseling and intervention to deal with the loss. Southern Baptist churches, ministries and entities are already on the ground in Europe training churches and ministers in trauma-informed care, leaders told Baptist Press. “Typically on average, we’ve heard it may take two to three generations to find some deeper levels of healing and restoration,” … [Read more...]
Brazilian village church grows stronger despite persecution
BRAZIL – It came down to choosing a job or Jesus for new believers Leo and LouAnne from the Indigenous KDD tribe in northeastern Brazil. They worked as schoolteachers in their community when they were summoned to a meeting with 60 community leaders. They gave Leo and LouAnne an ultimatum – either recant and abandon their faith in Jesus or lose their jobs. The leaders said they could not follow Jesus and continue to work at the school. “They were angry and hateful toward us,” LouAnne … [Read more...]
Broken for Bucha: Southern Baptist response teams overflow with compassion
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains descriptions of war violence that some readers may find disturbing. The descriptions are from one refugee’s account to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team volunteers. We do not have a way to contact him further. BUCHA, Ukraine (IMB) – Overcome with emotion, Iaroslav covered his face and the torrent of tears with one of his hands. His other held a piping-hot cup of coffee. At the border of Romania and Ukraine, Southern Baptist volunteers provided this … [Read more...]
Gunned down seminary dean in Ukraine was trying to walk to safety, friend says
BUCHA, Ukraine (BP) – Evangelical seminary dean Vitaliy Vinogradov was fleeing Russian occupation of Bucha, attempting to walk 10 miles to safety in Kyiv, when Russian forces killed him and left his body on a local street, a close friend and ministry associate told Baptist Press. Vinogradov had been missing since March 6 when he left his Bucha home attempting to walk to the office of All Together!, a Christian pro-family ministry in Ukraine where he served as a board member, said All … [Read more...]