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SUDAN – DISPLACED CHRISTIANS ARRESTED AMID ONGOING CONFLICT
The arrest of a group of 95 Christians in Sudan in the first week of October shows how precarious their situation is in the war-torn country. Churches have been looted or used as military bases, and several have been burned down. Many Christians are among the 2.3 million Sudanese who have fled to neighbouring countries and 2.2 million who have been internally displaced. Sudan’s Christian minority faced severe persecution for decades until the ousting of Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist government in April 2019. An estimated 1.5 million people are at risk of famine or already experiencing famine, as a result of Sudan’s civil war.
PRAY that our brothers and sisters, who may have suffered abuse and ill-treatment during their imprisonment, will recover from their ordeal, and that any still being held will be released. Ask the Lord to guide and protect displaced Christians in Sudan and those who are refugees abroad (Psalm 32:7). Pray for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict that will allow Sudan’s humanitarian needs to be met.

MIXED BLESSINGS IN RWANDA
In recent years the government of Rwanda, a nominally Christian country, has introduced laws that it hopes will improve the appearance and function of churches. These laws largely concern two main issues. First is the tightening of building requirements regarding such things as appearance, building standards, noise and hygiene. The other aims at improving preaching and organisation through requiring all church leaders to have formal theological qualifications. As a result of these requirements, hundreds of churches have been forced to close and tens of thousands of believers have nowhere to worship regularly. Various Christian ministries inside and outside the country are doing their best to meet these demands, but the regulations have had a devastating effect, especially in the country’s poorer rural regions. [Source: New Life]

CONGO: NEW GROWTH AMID TERRORISM
In the rainforests of Congo (the DRC) lie hundreds of abandoned homes and entire villages whose former occupants have been forced to flee. This is because of attacks from the more than 100 armed militant groups that have terrorised the region for decades. Nominally, the DRC is predominantly Christian, though Islam is a growing influence and some of the militant groups are Islamic. One such group is the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is active in northeastern Congo. The ADF has openly stated its intention to eradicate Christianity and establish Islamic law throughout the region. But Christian leaders respond by saying the country’s youthful population, with a median age of about 16, is fertile soil for the advance of the gospel. In one mountain village where ADF militants set fire to dozens of homes; destroyed a school, a church and a hospital; and murdered 182 people, villagers who had fled years earlier are now returning to rebuild their lives. They have restored the church building, where frontline workers distributed Bibles and ministered to the villagers’ spiritual and emotional needs. Officials commented on what a difference Christians made because they knew how to forgive their enemies. [Source: Voice of the Martyrs]

LIFE-SKILL TRAINING FOR YOUNG WOMEN IN DANGER OF TRAFFICKING
“The women’s sewing project really helps reduce the risk of young Christian girls being sucked into a dark world of trafficking.” A Barnabas partner in South-East Asia emphasises how vital the acquisition of such skills is. At the time of writing, 68 women are receiving training in sewing and weaving. At centres where they receive daily Christian ministry, they are equipped with sewing machines with the aim of them setting up their own businesses on completion of their training. Give thanks for the lives of young Christian women being transformed by this venture and pray for the continued success and growth of this project. [Source: Barnabas Aid]

PASTOR ADVOCATES FOR EVANGELICAL CHURCHES FORCIBLY CLOSED
ALGIERS: Pastor Youssef was born into a Muslim family, and converted to Christianity as a student. Since that time, he has been leading congregations in the Protestant Church of Algeria for over 30 years.  On July 2, 2023, Pastor Youssef was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 100,000 Algerian dinars ($750) for leading the Emmanuel Church in Algeria. Following various appeals, the prison term was reduced to 6 months.
Recently, Youssef shared his experience: “We have had a lot of opposition,” he told the audience. “By 2019, most of the Evangelical churches in our country had been shut down. When the churches were closed, a lot of the Christians felt that something was gone in their Christian faith because the building had been part of their identity.” Despite legal challenges and personal risk, he remains steadfast in his faith, and when asked why he is willing to face imprisonment, he responded, “God knows the number of my hairs on my head, and none fall without His will. We have to accept God’s will, and God’s sovereignty. I try my best, by His grace, to be a good testimony to others.”
Kelsey Zorzi, director of advocacy for global religious freedom for ADF International said during the event: “Despite their small numbers, Algeria has systematically been working to prevent the Evangelical community from being able to simply worship together. Pastor Youssef’s case is one of roughly 50 spurious cases against Christians in the past few years.” [Source: Christian Post]

THE PLIGHT OF YEMEN
Yemen, bordering the Red Sea, is an Islamic country torn by civil war between Iran-backed and Saudi-backed militias. It is one of the world’s most anti-Christian countries, where converts from Islam may be hunted down and killed. Christians, who are few in number and isolated, look for opportunities to meet occasionally and listen secretly to testimonies of local believers on radio. These believers come mainly from the Muhammasheen, or ‘untouchables’ of Yemeni society. They ask particular prayer for their children, especially the boys, who are vulnerable to being kidnapped and forced to serve as soldiers. About two-thirds of all Yemenis suffer from food shortages and severe malnutrition. Christians share in this suffering but they also pray for the time when their country ‘will have peace and people will know more about Jesus and receive Him’. [Source: Barnabas Aid]

2M KOREANS UNITE TO PROTEST COUNTRY GOING SAME PATH AS LIBERAL WEST
2 million Evangelical Christians in Korea are expected to unite for prayer and worship as they take a stand against a law that they fear will ultimately lead to the legalization of gay marriage and take the nation down the same path as liberal Western countries where parents cannot protect their children from gender ideology and Christians can no longer freely live out their faith. In an interview with the Rev  Hyun-bo Son, senior pastor of Segero Church of some 3000 members, and chair of the organizing committee for the event.
Rev Son sees the influence from the West as something that contributes to the erosion of Christian values in Korea. Asked about the upcoming event, Rev. Son explains that “Korea is one of the very few nations that did not legalize gay marriage within the OECD countries.” “We do not hate homosexuals. We are not trying to tell them what to do and what not to do,” he emphasizes. “But if these laws regarding gay marriage get passed in Korea, then the Christian Church cannot stand up for what they believe in, and they cannot say the things that they want to say.” He points to Canada and other countries where stories are coming out of minors being led to believe they are trans and undergoing irreversible procedures with parents not allowed to be involved in the conversation. “Sometimes it’s the case that a 13-year-old will want to change their sex, but the parents cannot say anything about it. The students will get the hormone shots through the school and the parents will not be involved in the process,” he says, adding that Korean churches are opposed to excluding the parents from their children’s lives and education.
Asked what his hope is for the upcoming event, Rev. Son says that similar to other countries, there are challenges within the Church. “I believe that this event will be a very good time for everyone to come together and unite…..For people to see that parents will not be able to be involved in their children’s lives, their education and even when it comes to sex change, if these types of laws are passed. So, through this event, we can show the world that doesn’t care so much about the laws that this is a very important law to fight against.” [Source: Christian Daily International]

– compiled by Guido Kettniss