Barnabas Aid September-October 2011

THE AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH www.barnabasfund.org

september/october 2011

Christians in South Asia A pattern of world persecution

IN THIS ISSUE Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12 Information, sermon outline, resources and more inside

Welcome from the Director

Contents

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Project News

Desert bursts into life in Egypt

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Christians in South Asia

Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

6 Poster 7 Introduction 8 Regional profile 13 Testimony 14 Focus 16 Project update 18 Sermon outline 20 Bible study 21 Resources

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Operation Nehemiah

Equality commission promotes freedom for Christians

Newsroom

Independence at last for South Sudan

In Touch

Sales and sports raise funds for Barnabas

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted. Thank you for your understanding.

Front cover: A Christian woman in India, where Barnabas Fund are building houses for homeless Christians Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version®.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used in this publication. Barnabas Fund apologises for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any further information regarding copyright. © Barnabas Fund 2011

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“Persecuted... but not destroyed” The Church in South Asia According to tradition, it was the Apostle Thomas who first brought the Gospel to India, starting seven churches in the south and setting up a cross in each of the seven towns. He is said to have converted 13,229 people, including two kings and seven village chiefs, not so much by his preaching as through the holiness of his life and the miracles he performed. He is believed to have been martyred near Mylapore, where Hindu priests killed him because he refused to worship the goddess Kali. Thomas is known for his doubts, but the New Testament shows that he was actually a disciple who loved the Lord deeply, and the fruit of his evangelistic work in India has endured for two millennia.

There are indications that Thomas may also have been to the north-west of the subcontinent. Whether he did or not, historical records show that, by the late 2nd century, there were Christians in the region that is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. A precious artifact for today’s Pakistani Christians is a small cross discovered in a field near Taxila in 1935 and believed to date back to the 2nd century. It is for them tangible proof that Christianity is part of the heritage of their homeland. By the early 4th century there was an organized indigenous Church in the Indian sub-continent.

While the Church in south India has had a continuous existence to this day, Christians in the north did not fare so well. From the 11th century onwards, they began to face severe difficulties from a succession of Muslim invasions. The southward move of the Muslim armies was eventually halted in 1344 by an alliance of Hindu states, but by this time Christianity had probably been largely eliminated from the centre and

north. Certainly by the time the first Western missionaries arrived, there had been no Christian presence there for many generations.

We can rejoice in the Lord that there are now national Christians in every country of South Asia, even in Afghanistan. Yet life is not easy for them. They face pressures from militant Islam, the rise of fundamentalist Hinduism, and a form of Buddhism that is no longer a religion of peace but has become a religion of violence. In some countries they also face pressure from the rise of nationalism and communism. Like the apostle Paul, they are “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

In the midst of such pressure, the Church continues to grow; yet, like Thomas, they are uncertain of the future, asking their Lord the way (John 14:5). In reply, the Lord Jesus promised Thomas not a road map but a relationship with Himself (John 14:6). And He will hold their hand and lead them into the future as, again like Thomas of old, they continue to affirm Him as their Lord and their God (John 20:28).

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo International Director For more information on the early history of the Church in the Indian sub-continent see A People Betrayed by Patrick Sookhdeo (Christian Focus Publications and Isaac Publishing, 2002). To order this, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop, or contact your nearest Barnabas office (addresses on back cover).

Project News Thank you for supporting your persecuted Christian brothers and sisters around the world. Your gifts and prayers are a great encouragement to them and are changing their lives and situations. In these three pages we have space to mention only a small selection of the many projects we are supporting.

Please pray as you read.

Egypt: desert in bloom “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.”

Isaiah 35:1

The current unrest in Egypt has not deterred a large-scale income-generating project in Egypt from forging ahead thanks to a £38,394 (US$62,007; €44,000) grant from Barnabas.

After drilling a well, our partners transformed more than 80 acres of desert into green farmland where animals feed and fruit trees are grown. They now have a successful farm where they breed rabbits, chickens, sheep and cows.

Drilling a well in Egypt to transform the desert into farmland

The farm is situated in a region of high unemployment, and 80 to 100 Christian workers are now employed there after receiving on-the-job training. The enterprise is selfsufficient. And they sell their juice, meat products and eggs in a small market shop.

Egyptian Christians often find it hard to get work because of the discrimination they face.

Project reference 11-926

Cows, chickens and lambs are bred at the farming enterprise in Egypt, which is now self-sufficient

Shelter for Christian children from Burma

“Ben”, a 13-year-old Christian boy from Burma tells us about his harrowing experiences Project reference 75-821

Many Christian children from ethnic minorities in Burma witness horrific brutalities at the hand of Burmese soldiers, who sometimes will take the young ones and force them to become child soldiers or porters. Desperate to keep their children safe, parents are forced to take them to Christian-run children’s homes because the villages where they live and work are too dangerous.

“Ben”, a 13-year-old Christian boy at one of the homes supported by Barnabas, says, “I still have a father, but no mother any

more. My mother died of malaria in the jungle while we were in hiding. I have seen Burmese soldiers coming to villages and do bad things to our people, I was always very scared.”

The children are safe at the homes and can receive a Christian education. Despite the great hardships the children have experienced, the general atmosphere at the shelter is positive. A recent grant of £5,940 (US$9,587; €6,782), for one that Barnabas supports, covers, amongst other needs, food, medicine and the salaries of two caretakers, a nursery teacher and two cooks for six months.

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Project News

Russia and Pakistan: Bibles in their own language “I didn’t think that a religious book could be so interesting!” a Bashkir woman exclaimed after reading part of the Bible in her own language. She continued, “I have tried to read the Quran several times but it is impossible to understand it. This book, however, is easy to read.”

produced for the first time. Thanks to a grant of £4,000 (US$6,459; €4,562) from Barnabas 260 pastors, all working amongst the poor, were given a copy of each book.

One of the pastors said, “It was my great desire to get this Bible but could not

because of financial constraints; I am therefore very delighted to get this Bible.”

Project reference 00-362 (Bibles and Scriptures Fund)

Barnabas is making it possible for the Bible to be translated, sometimes into new languages, and distributed. A Bible institute in the Russian Federation received total grants of £7,300 (US$11,888; €8,290) for a Bible in the Tajik language and a New Testament in the Bashkir language. The Tajik Bible is almost complete and will soon be printed. The New Testament in Bashkir, a language spoken by 1.6 million people in the Russian Federation, Central Asia and the Ukraine, most of whom are Muslims, is due for completion in 2012.

A pastor who works amongst the poor in Pakistan receives his own copy of the Urdu study Bible

In Pakistan an Urdu study Bible and a synopsis of the four Gospels have been

Emergency aid for East Africa and Niger “We are so moved by your concern for us... it has been getting worse by day.” A Kenyan Christian leader wrote this to Barnabas Fund as the food crisis due to the serious drought in East Africa grew more intense.

Barnabas Fund is helping Christians in the region through local churches, and at the time of writing we have sent grants totalling £93,391 (US$152,544; €106,713). In Ethiopia we have provided wheat flour; a 25kg sack costing £10 feeds a family for a month. In north-east Kenya we have funded maize, rice, beans and cooking oil for families, nutritious food and medical care for under-fives, and bore-wells.

Over in West Africa, the low rainfall in Niger often causes severe food shortages in the months just before harvest-time. With our grants totalling £265,928 (US$433,000, €303,200) churches in Niger distributed bags of rice and millet and tinned fruit and vegetables to 3,408 families in rural areas.

Project references 25-359 (Horn of Africa) 38-568 (Niger)

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Bangladesh and Armenia: help in tough seasons Winters can be surprisingly cold in Bangladesh, leaving impoverished Christians unable to sleep at night because of the extremely low temperature. Barnabas assists with grants to provide blankets for Christian families. Our most recent grant was £6,006 (US$9,693; €6,857).

Lakhhi, a widow who with her children has suffered greatly from the winter cold since her husband died, started crying when she received a blanket. Our local contact reports that she then raised her hands to bless Barnabas Fund and gave thanks to the Lord.

A freak cold summer in Armenia in 2011 ruined many crops and forced people to forage for plant roots just to feed their children. Barnabas Fund provided a grant of £51,128 (US$58,372; €58,372) to help feed 400 Christian families for four months in northern Armenia. The cost per family per month was £128 (US$206; €146).

A young Christian woman in Bangladesh receives a blanket to help her through the cold winter Project references 04-854 (Bangladesh) 79-719 (Armenia)

Project News

Christians learn how to stand up for their rights A conference made possible through a grant from Barnabas of £8,903 (US$14,522; €10,113) brought together 24 Christian leaders, lawyers and human rights activists from eleven countries in South and SouthEast Asia where Christians face severe persecution. At the conference they received innovative training on how to be pro-active in standing up for their rights. They were shown how effective advocacy and media

Group discussion at a conference where church leaders, Christian lawyers and human rights activists from Asia learned how to stand up for their rights

communication can prevent the implementation of unjust laws, and even persuade governments to take positive action.

Afterwards, one of the participants related, “This seminar was an eye-opening experience and a great challenge. I believe God is preparing us for the future. I would like to share what I have learned with other Christian leaders in my country.”

Rubina Bibi, who was acquitted from blasphemy charges with the help of a Christian legal centre in Pakistan

Barnabas also funded a similar conference for about 25 lawyers and church representatives from Central Asia, where they learned how to defend themselves better in matters such as church registration, an issue which is often used to harass and persecute churches in the region.

court cases. In just one example, Rubina Bibi, a young mother of three, was declared not guilty of defiling the name of Muhammad after four and a half months in jail. If found guilty she would have been sentenced to death. Our latest grant was £20,000 (US$32,279; €22,831), which contributed not only to the daily running costs and legal aid of the organisation but also to the support of their two safe houses, one for converts from Islam and one for Christian girls and women.

Barnabas also supports a Christian legal centre in Pakistan, which helps defend Christians facing harassment and false accusations of many kinds. In 2010 they defended Christians free of charge in 121

Project references 41-645 (Christian legal centre, Pakistan) 85-924 (Conference for South and South-East Asia)

Enabling pastors and evangelists in former Soviet states Last year a missionary couple from a Central Asian country, who received £1,237 (US$1,996; €1,412) from Barnabas Fund for their upkeep, moved to a remote, Muslim-majority region of their country where the Gospel may never have been preached before.

not have their own water connection, and every time they needed clean drinking water, they had to fetch it several hundreds of yards from their home.

With a grant of £1,259 (US$2,033; €1,437) from Barnabas they were able to construct a well in their garden. The water source has

greatly helped them in their everyday life.

Now they can grow vegetables such as tomatoes, garlic and strawberries.

Project references 00-478 (Evangelist Support Fund) 00-635 (Water Projects Fund)

They directly started witnessing to their neighbours and telling them how they had once been Muslims themselves, and how a newborn faith in Jesus Christ has completely changed their lives. As a result 20 people and four families all turned to Christ, among them the family of a local mullah. Because of great hostility from Muslim neighbours and local authorities, the missionaries visit the new converts secretly at night.

Ernest and his family, all converts from Islam, live in a village in the Crimea, Ukraine. He leads a small but very active fellowship of 15 believers, most from a Muslim background. Ernest’s family did

Ernest and his family can now grow fruit and vegetables in their garden in the Crimea BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

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Christians in South Asia A pattern of world persecution

SUFFERING CHURCH SUNDAY 2011-2012

www.barnabasfund.org

DATE VENUE

TIME

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12 There are many different sources of anti-Christian persecution. Violent extremism is gaining ground within several of the world’s major religions. Militant communism remains a potent force in some countries, and zealous nationalism is destabilising various others. These forces often see Christian communities as their enemy, and turn their anger upon them, with very destructive results.

A pattern of world persecution All these elements are found in the region of South Asia, where God’s people are a beleaguered – though also bold – minority. Their sufferings are made worse by the poverty and instability that afflict so many countries, and by the natural disasters that can wreak terrible devastation without warning. Thus the region is a model or microcosm of anti-Christian persecution throughout the world.

For this year’s Suffering Church Sunday we focus on the Christians of South Asia and the pressures and persecutions that they face. You may like to choose a Sunday in November (or another month if this is better for your church’s calendar) and use the material in the following pages for a special service or meeting on this theme. As you read, please remember our suffering brothers and sisters in your prayers.

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Homelessness: weapon and wound of persecution

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Project Update

To order

Barnabas supporting homeless Christians in South Asia

The resources listed on pages 21 and 22 are available free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover) or from our website, www.barnabasfund.org/scs.

Regional Profile South Asia: a microcosm of world persecution

Testimony From violent persecutor to fervent evangelist

Focus

Sermon outline on John 13:31-38 “Love one another as I have loved you”

Bible study on John 13:31-38 For use in home groups or personal study

Resources Poster, PowerPoint and other materials for your service

BARNABAS BARNABAS AID AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 2011

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Regional Profile

South Asia: a Microcosm of World Persecution

“ W e are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Five powerful ideologies hold sway over the various nations of South Asia and severely oppress local Christians.

Indeed, most of the different forms and sources of persecution that beset God’s people throughout the world can be found in this region. The poverty endemic to the region and the proneness of many areas to political turmoil or natural disasters make our brothers and sisters still more vulnerable. Yet in some countries the churches are growing and flourishing, or maintaining a bold witness in face of persecution.

five million in Pakistan, but in some countries their numbers are tiny.

In this Regional Profile we will examine the acute challenges faced by Christians in South Asia, as a way of surveying the main religions and philosophies that cause so much suffering and distress to our Christian family all around the world.

The region is also politically unstable.

Pakistan and Bangladesh have endured repeated political upheavals over several decades, with assassinations and military coups. The long civil war in Sri Lanka ended only in 2009; the conflict in Afghanistan drags on and on. Nepal and the Maldives have recently moved to multi-party systems after years of autocracy, and the long-term effects of these changes remain uncertain.

An unstable region South Asia covers a huge area of some two million square miles. It is home to more than 1.6 billion people, and among these, Christians probably number only about 80 million (although the figures for some countries are disputed). The vast majority of them live in India, but this is much the largest nation in terms of both territory and population, and even here they are a small minority. There are nearly 8

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The economy of India is booming, but its rural poor and urban slum-dwellers still run to hundreds of millions. In the other countries of the region poverty is also widespread. Bangladesh and Nepal are among the world’s poorest nations; most people in Bhutan and the Maldives live at subsistence levels; the economies of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have been severely affected by war. Even in the larger nation of Pakistan much of the population are impoverished.

Some countries are particularly liable to natural disasters. Bangladesh, with its low-lying land, has suffered devastating floods and cyclones; thousands of people died in Cyclone Sidr in 2007. Sri Lanka has recently been affected by a severe drought that created desperate poverty in some parts of the country, and then by torrential monsoon rains

that devastated the same areas. The appalling floods that swept through large parts of Pakistan in July and August 2010 affected more than 17 million people and destroyed at least 1.2 million homes. Also the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 struck the coasts of the region, causing thousands of casualties in Sri Lanka and India.

Five repressive ideologies Within this large area, in which Christian minorities struggle to maintain their worship and witness in the midst of such grave instability, five ideologies dominate the various societies. Sometimes they are in competition with each other; sometimes they work in uneasy alliance; but everywhere they are bad news for the churches.

Islam (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Maldives) Islam is the majority religion in four of the South Asian countries, commanding the adherence of between 90 and 100% of their citizens. Pakistan and Bangladesh were created as homelands for South Asian Muslims. Although they began their existence as secular states, the former was made an Islamic republic in 1956 and a theocratic state in 1973, while the latter adopted Islam as its state religion in 1988. Afghanistan is

Regional Profile

The dominance of Islam in these nations poses immense problems for their Christian minorities.

Students at a Bible college in Bangladesh that Barnabas Fund has supported

Legal penalties. As in many Muslim-majority countries, Christians are liable to harassment and discrimination through the legal system.

The most notorious example of this problem is Pakistan’s “blasphemy law”. Under its provisions, desecration of the Quran carries the punishment of life imprisonment, and defiling the name of Muhammad incurs a mandatory death sentence.

The law is often exploited to settle personal scores and grudges, and Christians are especially vulnerable to malicious, false accusation. Although no-one has yet been executed for blasphemy, many of those charged have spent months or years in custody while their cases are considered, and some have been murdered by zealous Muslims.

Extremists in Bangladesh are demanding the introduction of similar laws there.

Discrimination. Social, political and legal discrimination against Christians is widespread in these countries, where, as in most of the Islamic world, they are regarded as second-class. In Pakistan Christians are generally mistrusted, suspected of siding with the “Christian” West against their own country. Their educational opportunities are limited: they are given no instruction in their own faith and face many difficulties in obtaining university places. Most are from the poorest stratum of society, and many can get only the most menial jobs.

Anti-Christian discrimination in education and employment is common also in Bangladesh, while in the Maldives the existence of non-Muslims is barely recognised. The constitution expressly forbids them from becoming citizens, and a government minister has declared, “All Maldivians are Muslims.” The small number of indigenous Christians are ostracised and carefully watched.

Violence. Violence against Christians has been characteristic of Islam almost from the first, and the South Asian countries see their share of this. In Pakistan individuals and whole Christian communities have been brutally attacked and their property destroyed, and in Bangladesh several Christians, including some evangelists, have been martyred in recent years. In war-torn Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s violent insurgency has destabilised much of the country and cost so many lives, Christians are at particular risk of violence.

An Afghan martyr for Christ A recently released video shows the beheading of an Afghan Christian, Abdul Latif, by the Taliban in Herat Province. One of the killers says, “All praise be to our creator almighty god that he helped and blessed the holy warriors... so that we can implement the commandment of god on this infidel ... he is punished according to the commandment of god so that it is a warning to other infidels.” They shout “Allahu Akbar” (“god is great”) over and over again during the murder, and they bring an execution notice to hang on the wall.

Ill-treatment of converts. All schools of Islamic law prescribe the death penalty for adult, male Muslims who choose to leave their religion. This “apostasy law” makes many Muslims in South Asia very hostile to Christian converts from Islam. Television footage of baptisms in Afghanistan in 2010 triggered a frenzied anti-Christian response, with leading political figures calling for the execution of converts. A number of Christians were arrested, and at least two were held for some months.

Forced conversion. Islam is a missionary faith, and Muslims’ zeal for converts is sometimes expressed forcibly. This form of persecution is particularly severe in Pakistan, where some Muslim men abduct Christian girls, force them to convert to Islam, and then marry them. One estimate puts the annual number of forced conversions to Islam as high as 500 to 600.

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

also an Islamic republic, and in the Maldives Islam is the only recognised religion.

Christian victim of the blasphemy law Aasia Bibi (46), a Christian mother of five, is currently on death row in Pakistan. She was falsely accused in 2010 of insulting Muhammad and was prosecuted and convicted under the blasphemy law. If her appeal fails, she faces execution in November. Two prominent politicians, one Muslim and one Christian, who have taken up her cause have been assassinated during 2011.

The Maldives adhere strictly to sharia law, and although the 2008 constitution introduced many democratic changes, it contained no guarantee of freedom of religion. In Pakistan too elements of sharia have been implemented, and it has a significant place in the legal and taxation systems and in public life generally.

The husband of Pakistani Christian Rukhsana Abass was murdered by a Muslim for not picking up rubbish quickly enough BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Regional Profile Buildings. In the Maldives there are no places of worship for non-Muslims, and Christian worship is allowed only in one’s own home. A bill that criminalises the public practice of non-Muslim worship, and the construction of non-Muslim buildings, won almost unanimous support in parliament in 2009, although it has not yet been passed into law. There are no church buildings in Afghanistan either except in one embassy, and in Pakistan they are easy targets for attack.

Natural disasters. Following the floods in Pakistan in 2010, local church leaders expected that hardly any international aid would reach the Christian minority. Before long a Pakistani national newspaper reported that displaced Christians were often excluded from receiving healthcare or food, as they were not being registered and therefore “supposedly do not exist”.

Hinduism, Nationalism, Communism (India, Nepal) India and Nepal both have large Hindu majorities of around 75%. From 1960 until 2006 Nepal was officially designated as a Hindu kingdom, with Hinduism as its national religion. Following years of political instability, an interim constitution established the country as a secular state in 2008, but Hindu extremists want to turn it back into a Hindu nation.

India is a secular and democratic state, but it too faces a challenge from Hindu extremism, which in this case is linked to an aggressive, strident form of nationalism. The Hindutva (“Hinduness”) movement is striving to make India a single, culturally and religiously “pure” nation, and to return it to a supposed golden age when it was uninfluenced by “alien” cultures. It is particularly hostile to religions that it perceives as “non-Indian” because they entered the country from outside. Christianity is the primary target, because it is wrongly viewed as a colonial imposition, despite the fact that Indian Christians believe that it was the apostle Thomas who first brought the faith to their country.

Communism, specifically Maoism, also has a significant place in these two countries.

The militant Naxalite movement is active in many parts of India, waging a long and violent campaign in pursuit of a communist state. A prolonged Maoist insurgency in Nepal helped to provoke the recent political changes, and the current government is dominated by Maoists.

These three ideologies, and the alliances and conflicts between them, frequently place Christians in their firing line, especially in India.

Evangelism and conversion. The success of Christian evangelism in both countries, and the conversion of many Hindus to Christianity, has made this a very sensitive issue. In India the concern has been exploited by Hindutva supporters. In seven states its political wing has secured the

A Hindu temple in Nepal (Source: Ralf Lotys, Wikimedia Commons) 10

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introduction of anti-conversion laws that restrict the freedom of non-Hindus to share their faith. They impose penalties for converting people by “force”, “fraud” or “allurement” but in some places are used to prevent legitimate Christian evangelism.

In Nepal Hindu extremists are also very suspicious of the churches because of their recent growth. Converts to Christianity face social ostracism from their communities, and occasional hostility, discrimination or even violence. Christians suspected of encouraging conversion can be reported to the authorities, and may be fined or imprisoned. Proposed new legislation by the Maoist government threatens further to restrict evangelism and undermine freedom of religion and expression.

Discrimination. The Hindu caste system dictates people’s occupations and often their economic circumstances. Most Christians are of low social status, and many are Dalits, who are seen as lower than the lowest caste.

Corruption is rife in the police and courts, and it is difficult for Christians to get justice. Many offences against them are inadequately investigated, and often no-one is prosecuted or convicted. Their unwillingness to play the system dishonestly counts against them.

When Hindutva supporters become dominant in an area, anti-Christian discrimination is likely to become worse.

Violence. Assaults on Christian individuals and churches in India by Hindutva supporters are frequent and widespread.

Pastors and local evangelists are particular targets. But in recent years there have also

No justice in the courts A recent report about the authorities’ investigations into the mass violence in Kandhamal, Orissa State in 2008 illustrates how hard it is for Indian Christians to obtain justice, even for serious crimes against them. The state government acknowledged 52 fatalities, 38 of them Christians, during that period and the earlier violence in 2007. But the report showed that the authorities had made no attempt to record as murder those cases where victims did not die at the scene. When these are included, the number of Christian dead stands at 91. Only 20 cases had been brought to date, and there had been only one conviction for murder.

Regional Profile demanded that all Christians leave the country or their homes would be destroyed.

It is not only from Hindu nationalists that Christians in India are in danger of violence. The Naxalites, who are strongly anti-Christian, threaten the stability and security of a large area of rural India, running from the border of Nepal to the state of Andhra Pradesh and known as the Red Corridor. They also threaten the growth of the churches by infiltrating Christian communities.

Buddhism (Sri Lanka, Bhutan)

This evangelist in Kandhamal, Orissa State, India lost his home and possessions in anti-Christian violence

Grim day in Karnataka In a single day in December 2010 there were four attacks by Hindu extremists on Christians in the Indian state of Karnataka. Fifty Christians were threatened and terrorised when extremists attacked their church in a Bangalore slum. Four more were beaten up and dragged from their church buildings in the district of Shimoga. The assailants then had their victims arrested by police on charges of trying to convert Hindus. Another church in Bangalore was surrounded by a group of 40 extremists, throwing stones and shouting anti-Christian slogans.

Buddhism is dominant in Sri Lanka and Bhutan and is practised by more than 70% of the population in each country. Although it is not officially the state religion of Sri Lanka, the constitution does give it “the foremost place”, and as a result it is protected and promoted. The government of Bhutan is headed by a Buddhist monarchy, and Mahayana Buddhism is said to be the state’s “spiritual heritage”.

Only Buddhism and Hinduism are officially recognised in Bhutan, and the practice of other religions is technically illegal.

Despite a long history in Sri Lanka, Christians now number only some 8% of the population. In Bhutan the proportion is much smaller. Buddhism has a reputation for being peaceable and non-violent, but it is not notably tolerant of other religions. In both countries Christians are seriously disadvantaged in various ways.

An Indian Christian leader said that Christians in the state were living in a “climate of fear, persecution and harassment”. Earlier in the year a Hindutva supporter in the Karnataka legislature vowed to “weed out” the seeds of Christianity.

Discrimination. Sri Lanka has a powerful Sinhalese Buddhist lobby that exploits the special status given to Buddhism by demanding privileges for itself at the expense of the Christians. Although this pressure has not yet generated antiChristian legislation, there are reports of discrimination against Christians in taxation, employment and education.

Some Christians are also very poor and have to work in appalling conditions on tea and rubber plantations.

Violence against Christians is rare in Nepal, but in May 2009 a bomb exploded in a large church in the capital, Kathmandu, during morning service. Three worshippers were killed and several others injured. Hindu extremists claimed responsibility and

In Bhutan, the legal system is based on Buddhist precepts, and non-Buddhists are pressured by the majority, both officially and unofficially, to conform to traditional Buddhist values and norms. Again, there are also reports of discrimination in education.

Conversion. The Sinhalese Buddhist lobby in Sri Lanka also campaigns for legislation to control religious conversion, though so far they have not succeeded. Complaints against allegedly unethical or forced conversions have been lodged by some Buddhists, though Christians believe that these are directed against legitimate evangelism.

Although the constitution of Bhutan does not prohibit or restrict the right to convert or evangelise, some Christians are sufficiently concerned about interference from the authorities that they hold their meetings discreetly, especially in rural areas. They may be prosecuted if their activities are adjudged to be promoting “feelings of enmity or hatred” between different religious groups.

Imprisoned for showing films on Christianity In October 2010 Prem Singh Gurung was sentenced to three years in prison in Bhutan for screening films on Christianity. Gurung was arrested and was found guilty of “attempting to promote civil unrest” after local residents complained that he was showing Christian films in two villages.

Two other Christians, who helped Gurung by bringing a portable generator to provide electricity for showing the film, were forced into hiding as police accused them of involvement in the offence and sought to arrest them.

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

been some major outbreaks of mob violence against entire Christian communities. In Orissa State many Christians were killed and thousands left homeless in two sets of attacks by Hindu nationalists in 2007 and 2008. In September 2008 there was also a series of 37 anti-Christian assaults in two or three days in Karnataka State, which were clearly organised and planned in advance.

Since the Hindutva party came to power in Karnataka that year, there have been more than 200 anti-Christian incidents.

This Pakistani Christian benefits from one of Barnabas Fund’s feeding programmes BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Regional Profile Violence. Buddhist extremism in Sri Lanka is expressed in organised opposition to some churches, especially in rural areas and places seen as Buddhist preserves. Christian buildings and church leaders are sometimes attacked. The Sinhalese Buddhist movement wants to impose its identity on the whole country, and some of its members are prepared to use force.

Anti-Christian violence in Sri Lanka In early 2010 a mob of about 150 people, led by three Buddhist monks, attacked a church in Germanwatte, Pugoda, in the Gampaha district. They destroyed furniture and threatened the pastor with death unless he stopped Christian worship in the area. Some of the attackers spat in the face of his elderly mother.

Shortly before, two Christian community centres and a prayer centre were damaged by mobs. A church hall that had been used for prayer and worship was attacked in Bandarawela, in the south of the country. Then around 200 people stormed a community centre built by a local Christian church, in Mawathawewa in the north of Sri Lanka. Armed with rods, the mob destroyed the brand-new building and warned villagers not to intervene or call the police.

Buildings. In Bhutan Christians are generally free to worship in private homes, but church buildings are officially not allowed. In early 2011 it was reported that the Bhutanese government was considering recognising Christianity officially, and this status would give the churches the right to construct buildings for worship. However, only one Christian organisation was likely to be recognised, which would be expected to represent all Christians, and the government’s intention might be to give itself more power to regulate Christian activities.

War and natural disaster. The Sri Lankan civil war was prolonged and bitter, and it ended only in 2009. It has left a malign legacy of violence and deprivation. Hundreds of thousands of people, some of them Christians, were displaced from their homes and took refuge in temporary camps. Many Christians are living in temporary huts, or

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in makeshift tents and shelters, and as members of a despised minority they are finding themselves overlooked in the building process.

Torrential monsoon rains in May 2010 brought devastation to large areas of west and south-west Sri Lanka, where around half the country’s Christians live. Then further floods between December 2010 and February 2011 ravaged the centre and east of the country. Thousands were made homeless and put at risk of disease and snake bites.

These floods followed a severe drought the previous year that had created desperate poverty among Christians in the region.

Again, their low status in society gives them less defence against such disasters.

Serious floods devastated central and eastern Sri Lanka in early 2011. Barnabas Fund sent aid

Helping South Asia’s Christians So here in a single region, albeit a vast one, are all the main causes of the pressure and persecution endured by Christians around the world. South Asia illustrates the rise of extremism among Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. It shows how nationalism is developing as a reaction against the influence of the West, foreign interference and globalisation. It reveals the continuing

presence and power of communism, despite the dissolution of the former Eastern bloc.

And it demonstrates the destructive impact of these repressive ideologies on Christian communities, especially in contexts of economic hardship, political turmoil and natural disasters.

Yet despite these immense difficulties, God is wonderfully at work in South Asia. The churches of India have seen remarkable growth in the last few decades, as evangelists and church planters have founded thousands of new congregations.

Christians in Nepal have increased rapidly in numbers: until 1950 they were not even officially allowed to live there, and now there are over half a million. Church growth has also been reported in Bangladesh, and among some Sri Lankan denominations.

Many of our brothers and sisters patiently endure their sufferings year after year in faithfulness to the Lord.

Barnabas Fund is providing assistance to various projects run by local Christians to help needy believers and strengthen the churches in their life and witness. These include feeding programmes, incomegeneration projects, theological training, supplying Bibles and resources, support for pastors and evangelists, funding for Christian schools, provision of safe houses for converts and for Pakistani Christian women, legal aid for those suffering injustice, and many more. At present we are also working to provide simple homes for thousands of homeless Christians in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For more details on this project, please turn to pages 16-17.

Please also remember the Christians in South Asia in your prayers, asking the Lord to strengthen them to maintain their witness to Him in the face of hardship and distress, and that their sufferings will be relieved.

Barnabas sponsors Christian education for the neediest Christian children in India

Testimony

persecutor to fervent evangelist “As a disciple of Jesus, I must spread His Word regardless of the sacrifices and the personal difficulties I have to endure.”

These rousing words were spoken by “Mustafa”, an ardent Christian with a Muslim background who is working as a missionary in Islamic areas of East Africa after attending a three-month discipleship training course for converts from Islam, which was financed by Barnabas Fund.

A couple of years earlier Mustafa had been a militant Muslim, believing in jihad and supporting Islamic terrorism throughout the world. His commitment even drove him to lead a Muslim youth gang in destroying a church building in September 2008 in his home town.

But Mustafa’s Islamic beliefs were challenged when his sister, who had emigrated to Saudi Arabia to work for a wealthy Saudi Muslim family, was murdered by her boss. He was perplexed that a fellow Muslim in an Islamic holy land could butcher another Muslim believer like that.

Also his sister was going to send him money for helping him expand his business of selling bicycle spare parts, and now he would not get it.

Enraged, Mustafa decided to consult his sheikh to seek some sort of justice within the Islamic community and compel the Saudi man to compensate the family. But the sheikh supported the Saudi man’s actions, saying, “A woman must always be under the mercy of a man. If that Saudi man killed your sister, it must have been for a justifiable reason.”

Barnabas Fund supports evangelists and converts in East Africa

The sheikh’s response infuriated Mustafa even more. He stopped attending the mosque and began to question and even to hate Islamic practices. Life became meaningless. In this disillusioned state, he was given an evangelistic DVD by some evangelists. After watching the message of the Good News, he decided to follow Christ.

The missionaries discipled him further, and in May 2010 Mustafa was baptised.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Soon afterwards, Mustafa felt great remorse for having led Muslim youths to destroy a church building. The destruction had been very costly for the congregation; one and a half years later they were still worshipping in the sweltering heat of the open air. He gathered his courage and went to the pastor and congregation to confess his mistakes and ask for forgiveness. The congregation welcomed him warmly, and he started worshipping in that church, which has since relocated to a new building.

Because of his remarkable growth in Christ, Mustafa was selected, together with 39 other Muslim-background Christians, to attend the three-month training course in discipleship at a Bible institute nearby.

Mustafa graduated in March 2011 with the highest marks.

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011 – 12

From violent

Now he has gone back to his business and spends 36 hours per week witnessing to others who are still Muslims, a seemingly impossible task but one that is gradually bearing fruit. The skills he acquired from the training greatly help him to carry out his discipleship work effectively and be a good manager and leader.

Mustafa testifies, “Missionary work is not easy but that’s not a reason for not doing it.

We should all be doing the work of an evangelist, making people followers of Jesus. He wants us to help as many people as possible to find salvation in Him. To be a disciple of Jesus means that you must study His Word and live the Word.”

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Focus

Fleeing for their lives – and left homeless “When will they come to kill us, Daddy?” asked the children of an Egyptian Christian leader as the family faced growing uncertainty during the revolution in February 2011. The Christian community in Egypt found themselves under threat as the political uprising brought increased instability. Fearing for their safety, Christian families living in mainly Muslim villages fled their homes.

An entire Christian village in Kaduna State, Nigeria, was burned to ashes by a mob of 300 Muslim militants on 18 April 2011. The attackers arrived armed with various weapons and torched the village as the Christians ran for their lives.

Sadly these events are not unusual in countries where Christians are a vulnerable, despised and persecuted minority. Rumours or small disagreements can lead to mob rampages; homes and businesses owned by Christians may be torched and Christians beaten and even murdered to settle disputes. The Christian community is often associated with the “Christian” West, so members of the majority religion take out their anger against the West on the nearest available substitute – their Christian neighbours.

Western military initiatives in the Muslim world, or individual actions such as the burning of a Quran far away in the USA, can result in a violent backlash against local Christians in Muslim countries.

Sometimes the violence is spontaneous, but other times it appears to have been planned and deliberately stirred up.

In addition to such persecution, factors such as war and natural disasters, or even persecution by their own relatives, can force Christians to flee.

the mainly Christian South. Churches and homes were demolished, and there were reports of kidnappings, forced labour and massacres. Displaced people from the South fled to the largely Islamic North.

In January 2011, the South of Sudan voted overwhelmingly for independence, which became reality on 9 July. But fighting and “ethnic cleansing” in the disputed border region blighted the run-up to independence, forcing thousands of people, including Christians, from their homes and creating a humanitarian crisis. Troops and tanks of the Khartoum government in the mainly Muslim North overran the contested Abyei region, causing more than 110,000 people to flee to the south, where the majority are living in unsheltered and basic conditions.

But it is not only ethnic tension that produces national division, leaving Christians homeless. As demonstrations against the Syrian government intensified in 2011, Christians came under increasing pressure to join the uprising. In the village of

Hala, Muslim residents issued an ultimatum to their Christian neighbours either to join the demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime or to leave.

Government-sponsored action In some countries, Christians suffer for their faith at the hands of the government, military, police and justice systems. Secular regimes such as the one in Burma (Myanmar) may use the majority faith as an ally in the oppression of their Christian community. Most Christians are members of the non-Burman ethnic minorities. They are treated by the ruling military junta as if they were enemies of the state. The army will attack the mountain villages that are home to the Christians, killing any inhabitants who do not manage to escape in time. They then set fire to the villages or plant landmines around the homes and the bodies to kill anyone who tries to return. Those who run end up camping in the surrounding jungle, and many die there from snake bites, disease or starvation.

War and civil unrest Christians are often caught up in civil war and fighting when their country is in a state of political upheaval. In Gaza and the West Bank, Christians are caught in the middle of a conflict not of their making. This, together with other pressures, has caused many to emigrate.

Decades of civil war ripped the country of Sudan apart and left some five million people homeless as the government attempted to impose Islamic sharia law on 14

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Thousands of people, mainly Christians, fled from decades of fighting in Sudan and lived in extremely basic refugee camps

Focus Many Christians experience persecution from their families when they choose to follow Christ. In Central Asia, “Alima” was told by her mother-in-law that when her husband died, she would be turned out of her house unless she renounced her Christian faith and returned to Islam, the faith into which she had been born. She refused, and she and her five children found themselves without a roof over their heads.

Christian villagers in Burma (Myanmar) flee from persecution on foot, taking only what they can carry

Direct persecution In other countries, thousands of Christians are displaced owing to direct targeting of their communities. Up to 3,000 Christians were forced from their homes following allegations of blasphemy against local Christians in April 2011 in Pakistan. In Egypt, anti-Christian violence is increasing and sometimes entire Christian communities have had to flee their homes; in November 2009 chaos erupted as a mob of up to 3,000 Muslims went on the rampage, attacking Christians and setting fire to their homes, shops and cars to settle a personal dispute.

Perhaps the most shocking example of displacement is Iraq, where the Christian community is undergoing a mass migration.

Christians have faced mounting hostility since the Gulf War of 1990-1, as they are seen to be linked with the West because of their faith.

They have become the target of threats, bombings, kidnappings and murder, forcing hundreds of thousands of Christians to leave their homes and flee to neighbouring Syria, Jordan or Lebanon. Today, the Christian community in Iraq is estimated at less than a third of its size in 1990, meaning that over a million have left their homeland.

Natural disasters Where Christians are in the minority, they may suffer disproportionately when natural disasters occur. Poverty often leaves Christians living in homes that are poorly constructed and therefore even more vulnerable to destruction. In countries where Christians are despised, rejected and persecuted, they may be neglected in the distribution of aid, including the provision of materials to help them to rebuild their homes and lives.

Many Pakistani Christian families had their homes completely destroyed in the terrible floods of August 2010. After water poured into his lifelong home, Joseph Bashir said, “On my present salary, even in 50 years I cannot rebuild by house.” Younis Masih had built his home with his own hands over 25 years. Tragically, the house collapsed under the strain of the gushing waters.

Barnabas working to rehome the homeless In the Bible God is presented as the refuge of His poor and needy people, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat

(Isaiah 25:4), and this protection is part of His provision for them in the age to come (Isaiah 4:5-6). But the Bible also tells us that we have a responsibility to provide for other members of God’s family who do not have a roof over their heads (Isaiah 58:7), including those who are persecuted for their faith.

Barnabas Fund provides emergency funding when our Lord’s family find themselves displaced, homeless and struggling to survive. As well as feeding programmes and education projects, we have also provided emergency funding for families in Nigeria who have had to leave their homes following horrific antiChristian violence, and in Iraq we have financed the construction of 40 apartments for Christians who have sought security in the north of the country.

In Central Asia, Barnabas funded the purchase of a new home for “Alima” (see above). The house has four rooms, a kitchen, a bathhouse and a vegetable garden, and the family can keep livestock.

A report received from the pastor of her church said, “The family is very happy and rejoice because they have their own house and they thank you very much for this. It is as a new life for them.”

Currently we are also working with a number of partners in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India to build homes and churches for hundreds of Christians who are homeless because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please turn to pages 16-17 to find out more about these important projects, and how you can help.

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Family persecution

Fifty-six thousand Christians were left homeless when Hindu extremist mobs torched entire villages in Orissa, India in 2007 and 2008. Violence has continued spasmodically ever since

In Orissa, India, Christian families could do nothing but run for their lives into the jungle when Hindu extremists descended on their villages at Christmas 2007 with guns, knives and home-made bombs, shouting slogans such as “Only Hindus to stay here – no Christians to stay here!” Eight months later, attacks began again and continued almost unabated for two months. Thousands of homes were burned to the ground and hundreds of churches and church buildings were destroyed. Those who survived the onslaught of violence and wanted to return to their homes were told, “Come back as Hindu or don’t come back at all.” Over 56,000 Christians were left homeless.

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Project Update

Brick by brick:

building homes and churches in South Asia

New houses being constructed for homeless Christians in India with help from Barnabas.

They are built close together in this particular location to protect them from elephants Kuhe, a Christian widow, and her three children are living in a primitive tarpaulin tent. They have been there for over a year. Her meagre earnings as a labourer are not enough to support her children.

Two years ago, when she and her husband fled from their home in northern Sri Lanka to escape the violence from the civil war, her husband was killed by artillery fire. Kuhe saw him suffer and die in agonising pain, and because of the ongoing shelling around her, she had to leave his body behind without a burial.

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in Sri Lanka, they may find themselves overlooked in the building process.

dump. They are now living in a primitive tent camp outside the city without access to electricity or clean water.

In India and Pakistan, this tragic story of extended homelessness repeats itself. Despised or ignored by their own society, Christians are languishing in sub-human conditions.

Building homes

Appalling living conditions

In Orissa State, India, around 56,000 Christians became homeless in 2007-08 when Hindu extremists set fire to Christian homes and churches, or forced Christians to leave unless they would convert to Hinduism. After all these years some are still living in makeshift huts in the jungle.

Thousands of Sri Lankan Christian families are living in makeshift tents and shelters without direct access to clean water and sanitation. Even though the civil war ended in 2009, many still have nowhere permanent to live. And since Christians are part of a despised minority

In Islamabad, Pakistan, 250 poor and vulnerable Christian families became homeless in 2009 following a housing dispute and ended up living in tents along the centre of a highway. The only water supply ran beside an open pit latrine and waste

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Moved by the desperate need of Christians in these three countries, Barnabas Fund launched a major campaign this summer to raise awareness and funds to build proper homes and churches for our brothers and sisters in South Asia. Local Christian partner organisations will then construct the homes.

Building costs are extremely low compared to those for a house in the West. Just ÂŁ700 (US$1,100; â‚Ź800) can provide a simple but good-quality one-room brick home, with a cement floor, tin roof and toilet and including a toilet, for a Christian family in India. An overhanging roof at the front of the house creates a veranda for cooking.

Project Update

Fundraising ideas for your church Want to start a brick by brick campaign in your church?

Here are some ideas.

Lego house: members of the congregation “buy” a brick

Find someone who is willing to lend about 60 or 70 lego or duplo blocks. Write amounts on the blocks: say, £50, £20, and £5 and some £1 to get the children involved. Station a lego board with a sack of the blocks on a table near the coffee corner or another place where people meet together informally. Add a sign and hang up a house-building poster nearby.

Tell the congregation about the project during the services and challenge them to buy a brick. A church member can then symbolically “buy” the lego brick at the price that is on it and place it on the board. Everyone can see a small house slowly going up.

Homeless in Pakistan “Without a proper home we feel insecure and vulnerable.”

Seventy-year-old Khazan expresses the fears and concerns of many of the 250 Christian families with whom he lives in a tent camp in Pakistan. He and his 65-year-old wife Basharian have been without a proper home for over two years.

Camp out in your church building

Life in the camp is squalid and desperate. The only way to cook meals is over a small fire after collecting wood from the forest. For clean water all the Christians must go to one tube well outside the colony. Washing is done inside their tent. Mosquito bites are causing many illnesses, especially amongst the children. Their tents are not resistant to the heavy rains during the monsoon season.

A four-room house in Pakistan with kitchen, bathroom, toilet and shower, including electricity, can be built for £2,500-£3,000 (US$4,000-5,000; €2,800-3,400). In Sri Lanka, a basic home with indoor kitchen, toilet and water supply costs £3,500 (US$5,700; €4,000), while at a typical cost of £6,000 (US$9,800; €6,800), a new church building for worship can be provided.

Can you help us build these homes and churches? Why not get your church involved through prayer and giving? Any gift, however small, will help.

Be homeless yourself for a night by camping out in your church building. Ask members of the congregation to sponsor your homeless night.

More details at www.barnabasfund.org. For free leaflets to hand out at your church, please contact us by phone or email (contact details on back cover).

Some homeless Christians in Sri Lanka are currently living in temporary shelters

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Khazan and his wife Basharian in front of their tent

“One night they came to our house and told us to become Hindus if we wanted to continue staying there. They had targeted to kill my father and brothers. With fear we all fled to the forest. They followed us in the night searching to catch and kill us. We had to run away from the forest and came to [a town] where we stayed in a relief camp... Our house is completely burnt down and our belongings are no where found, we have no place to stay.”

Smrutilata, a girl from Orissa, India

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Sermon outline

“ Love one another as I have loved you” John 13:31-38

The following sermon outline can be used at a Suffering Church Sunday service or meeting. It can be read out as it stands, though you may want to add some illustrations of your own. Alternatively it can be used as a framework for your own ideas and applications. Some helpful commentaries are recommended on page 20.

“Tears of joy made them unable to speak, because their situation was very bad and they felt that the Lord had answered their prayer.

They thanked you and prayed for you.”

This is how suffering Christians in Burma responded when they received a supply of rice, through a grant from Barnabas Fund.

They had been persecuted for their faith in Christ. They had been so neglected by their government after a devastating cyclone that they found themselves in desperate need. But now, through the love of their Christian family, their joy was renewed and their need supplied.

When Christians suffer for their faith, the love shown to them by Christian brothers and sisters is immensely important. Just knowing that members of their Christian family care about them helps to encourage and strengthen them in their trials.

Younis is a Pakistani Christian whose home was destroyed in last year’s devastating floods. It had taken him over 25 years to build, because he is so poor. When Barnabas Fund provided a new house, he rejoiced and said, “The Lord brought us brothers and sisters from far to help us in our time of need. We are full of joy and very thankful.”

Another Pakistani Christian flood victim, Lal, commented that he was happy that the new house he had received from Barnabas had come from “his own people”.

Of course, the encouragement of knowing they have not been forgotten is only one part of the picture. The practical help can transform their lives now and bring hope for the future. In the love they receive from other Christians, they experience the love of God in Christ.

Christian children sit amid the devastation caused by the cyclone in Burma

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Again and again the Bible calls Christians to love one another, to care for those who belong to the family of believers. Jesus

Sermon outline

This passage from John’s Gospel is part of Jesus’ farewell teaching to His first disciples, and it includes His command to them and to us to love one another. It shows us why we are to love, whom we are to love, and how we are to love.

Why must we love?

(John 13:31-32)

After Judas has gone out to betray Him, Jesus declares that the time has come for Him to suffer and die. When He is lifted up on the cross out of love for others, He will give glory to God by showing His love to the world. So God will then give glory to Him in turn, by raising Him up to heaven.

Younis, a Pakistani Christian pictured here with his family, rejoiced to receive help from other Christians after his house was destroyed by floods ready to die for each other.” People of other religions are impressed to see Christians loving one another; it is a bad witness if we are not seen to care for our own people. John tells us elsewhere to love not just with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18).

So, for Jesus, the way to glory was the way of suffering, as He laid down His life in love.

And as it was for Jesus, so it is for us. We must express that love in the costly service of His people – including those who suffer for their faith. In this way we show God’s love to the world, and God will raise us up to be with Jesus in our turn.

So our love for one another as Christians must be practical and visible, modelled on Jesus’ care for us. Our persecuted brother or sister in another country has been loved

by Jesus; so we should share our love with them. And He has loved them by meeting their greatest need, for salvation; so we should try to meet their lesser needs, for hope and aid to relieve their hardships. This is how we express our allegiance to Him; this is how we show to the world His power to change our lives.

How should we love?

How can we love?

Jesus gives His disciples a new command: they are to love one another just as He has loved them. God’s people are told to love one another in the Old Testament, but Jesus restates this command in two new ways. First, the love that He commands is based and modelled on His love for His disciples. It is a response to that love and it reflects that love.

Jesus tells His disciples that He is with them for only a little while longer. They will look for Him, but for now they cannot come where He is going. At this stage in the story they cannot follow Him in His death or into His glory. They cannot yet make a proper response to Him; they cannot yet love each other enough. But Jesus does not say that they will never find or follow Him.

(John 13:34-35)

Secondly, the love that Jesus commands belongs to the new age of salvation that He has begun. When His disciples keep this command, everyone will know that they really are followers of Jesus (verse 35). Their love for one another shows to the world how Christ has transformed their lives. It proves the reality of their Christian discipleship.

An early Christian writer noted how the pagans of his day used to say of the Christians, “Look how they love one another and how they are

(John 13:33, 36-38)

Peter’s exchange with Jesus follows from this statement. Peter wants to know where the Lord is going, and asks why he cannot follow Him now; he claims that he will lay down his life for Him. But Jesus suggests that Peter is not yet ready to walk His path: for now he is just not capable of dying for Jesus or entering His glory; for now he just cannot offer that kind of love to his Lord. In fact, He is about to do the exact opposite, by denying Him three times before the cock crows.

But later, says Jesus, Peter will follow Him to the place where He is going. After Jesus has been crucified and lifted up to heaven, Peter will be able to offer that love, and to lay down his life for his Lord. Jesus’ death and His entry into glory begin a new age, when His disciples will be empowered by the Spirit, and then they can walk His path of love and self-sacrifice.

As Christians today, we live in this new age.

We are now able to fulfil Christ’s command to love one another, to give of ourselves to help other Christians in need; and we are now able to follow Him to glory. We can do this because of His death and exalting to heaven, and in the power of the Spirit whom He has given us. Until He had died and ascended, the Holy Spirit could not come with His power (John 16:7).

Conclusion

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011 – 12

explicitly commands us to love one another in John 13:34 and 15:12. Yet we do not always make this love a high priority.

Perhaps we do not realise how important it is. Perhaps we are not sure how to do it.

Perhaps we think we do not have the ability to do it. Sometimes it even seems we find it easier to love non-Christians than our fellow believers.

So love for other Christians matters because it is the path to glory for us, as it was for Jesus. It involves caring for one another after His example. And it is possible – because He has died and gone into heaven to enable us to follow His example.

Christians in many parts of the world are suffering poverty and discrimination, harassment and persecution, because of their faith in Jesus. We can relieve their pain and even transform their lives by our prayers and gifts and encouragement. And as we have seen, the Gospel commands us to care for them, and it gives us the best of reasons to do so. What then is our proper response?

It must be to love them – to “love one another”, as Jesus has loved us and as He commands us.

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

Bible study

Loving our Christian family John 13:31-38

This study looks at the same passage as the sermon outline (p. 18-19). It can be used before or after hearing the sermon, or separately. If it is used without the sermon, it may be helpful for the group leader to read through the sermon outline beforehand.

The section at the end entitled “Digging deeper” is intended for those who would like to explore the passage in more depth and in its wider context.

Introduction 1. What stories have you heard of Christians being persecuted for their faith? How did you react to them?

2. How important do you think it is to love other Christians? What, if anything, stops you from making this a high priority?

(See also question 13 below.)

Read John 13:31-32

7. How can we express this love for one another in practical ways? How might we show it towards Christians who suffer badly on account of Christ? Why is it important for our witness to non-Christians?

Read John 13:33, 36-38 8. Jesus says that His disciples cannot follow Him where He is going. What does it mean to follow Him? (See verses 31-32.) Why do you think the disciples cannot do so at this point?

3. To what event is Jesus referring in these verses? (See John 12:32.) What is He going to do for God, and what will God then do for Him? (See also question 14 below.)

9. When will Jesus’ disciples be able to follow Him? What will enable them to do so, when they could not before? (See John 14:16-17.)

4. How are we to follow Jesus on His journey to glory? (See 1 John 3:16.)

What does this mean for how we relate to other Christians?

10. What does a life laid down for others look like? How do you think we can draw on the resources God supplies for us to live like this?

Read John 13:34-35

Conclusion

5. What is Jesus’ command* to His disciples in these verses? In what way/s is this a new commandment?

11. Try to sum up what you have learned from this passage. Why should we love other Christians? How should we do it?

And how can we do it?

6. What basis and model does Jesus give us for our love for one another? And what impact will it have on those who witness it?

12. Share one action that you can now take in response to this teaching. Can you do something to help persecuted Christians?

Digging deeper

13. In the Gospels, whom does Jesus call us to love? (If you get stuck, look up Mark 12:30-31; Matthew 5:44; John 15:12.) Which of these people do you find it easiest / hardest to love? Why? 14. Look up some of the references to “glory” in John’s Gospel. (See 1:14; 2:11; 11:4; 12:41; 17:4-5, 10, 22, 24.) What is Jesus’ “glory”? What does it mean for us to glorify God? 15. Think about what happens to Peter later in the Gospel. (See John 18:10-11, 15-18, 25-27; 20:1-10; 21, esp. verses 15-22.)

Compare Jesus’ words to him in chapter 21 with those in chapter 13. How are they different, and what has made the difference?

16. The first letter of John contains lots more teaching on loving our fellow Christians. Look at one or both of the key passages (3:11-18; 4:7-21). What do they add to John 13:31-38?

Further reading For further explanation of this passage, please see the following: C.K. Barrett, The Gospel according to St John, 2nd edition. London: SPCK, 1978, pp. 449-453.

George R. Beasley-Murray, John (Word Biblical Commentary), 2nd edition. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999, pp. 246-248. *The Greek word agapao is used many times in John’s Gospel to refer to the sacrificial love of God and of Jesus, and to the love of His disciples in response to that love.

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Resources Suggested songs for your service n n

Our Father in heaven

n

Thank You that You are the Lord who provides and that You meet all our needs, in ways that we often do not recognise.

n

We pray for all those who are suffering harassment, discrimination and persecution for their faith in You, O Lord. We pray that You will give them daily strength to endure their pain, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. Today, we think particularly of those who have been left homeless because of persecution and violence. We pray that they will remain steadfast in their faith and seek Your face in their trials, and that You will meet them in their time of need.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember to give thanks for all that You have provided for us and to remember our responsibility to provide for other members of Your family.

We give thanks for Your faithful people in South Asia, who endure so many different forms of persecution from all sides. Thank You that Barnabas Fund is working to provide houses for Christians in that area, and we pray that You will give clear direction in how You want this work to be carried out.

In Jesus’ Name Amen

Suffering Church Sunday offering Thousands of Christians in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have lost their homes owing to war, persecution and injustice. Living in squalid conditions without proper homes, they are vulnerable, despised and unable to help themselves. You can read more about this project on pages 16-17.

Our Heavenly Father calls us to provide for other members of His family who do not have a roof over their heads (Isaiah 58:7). Will you help our brothers and sisters who are homeless and who suffer because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Please consider taking up a Suffering Church Sunday offering for our major initiative to provide housing for Christians in South Asia: Project reference 00-977

n n

Almighty Sovereign Lord (Phil Lawson Johnston, Songs of Fellowship 18) You are my hiding place (Michael Ledner, Songs of Fellowship 625) Guide me O Thou great Jehovah (William Williams, Songs of Fellowship 148 / Mission Praise 201) We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender! (Edith G Cherry, Songs of Fellowship 587 / Mission Praise 735) The king of love my Shepherd is (Henry Williams Baker, Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard 126) Blessed be Your Name (Matt Redman, Ultimate Collection)

Original songs from Barnabas supporters We are grateful to two Barnabas Fund supporters who have provided us with songs they have written and given us permission to publish them.

Steve Giles from Brisbane, Australia has written a song, entitled “Western Christians and the suffering Church”. The voice and guitar recording of his song, and accompanying PowerPoint, are available as a meditative song to play to your congregation and can be found on the Barnabas Fund Suffering Church Sunday DVD 2011-2012.

The lyrics of Gordon Churchyard’s song “Prayer for those in prison” have been reproduced below. Mr Churchyard, a Barnabas Fund supporter from Somerset, UK, wrote the hymn to encourage members of his congregation to pray for those who are in prison because of their love for Jesus Christ. The piano score for this hymn can be found on the DVD or downloaded from our website (www.barnabasfund.org/SCS).

Prayer for those in prison We pray for those in prison, Shut in for their belief!

Great God of freedom – grant that they Will never lose their faith: O send your angels to them To comfort their distress; And may your Holy Spirit’s love Flood through their hearts to bless!

Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011-12

A prayer for Suffering Church Sunday

Raise up the shining vision Of Jesus on His Cross, No freedom then – just blood and pain – And all seemed dark and lost; But death’s dark prison opened On Easter’s radiant morn, And Christ the Lord stepped out to life.

From death the great First-born!

So strengthen those in prison Till they too shall be free, No prison wall will bar the way To their eternity.

We pray for those in prison, Shut in for their belief!

Great God of freedom – grant that they Will never lose their faith!

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

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Christians in South Asia: Suffering Church Sunday 2011 – 12

Resources Prayer-andresponse card The Suffering Church Sunday prayerand-response card includes the prayer (above) and a response form. These cards are a great resource for distribution to your congregation at your Suffering Church Sunday service. They are available to order free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office – please order as many as you need!

Order your free suffering Church Sunday resources The following resources are available free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover) or from our website (www.barnabasfund.org/scs), or please use the order form below. n A3 version (approx. 300x420mm) of the poster (see page 6), to advertise your Suffering Church Sunday service. n P rayer-and-response cards (see above), including the “Prayer for Suffering Church Sunday” and a response form. n S CS 2011-2012 DVD containing a recording of Steve Giles’ song “Western Christians and the suffering Church” and accompanying reflective PowerPoint, and the piano score for Gordon Churchyard’s hymn “Prayer for those in prison”. n P owerPoint presentation to accompany the sermon on John 13:31-38 (see page 18). Available on the DVD and to download from our website. n N EW FOR SCS 2011-2012! A4 cards to highlight the problem of homelessness among Christians in Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan.

I would like to order the following free resources: (please indicate quantities in boxes)

A3 poster “Christians in South Asia”

DVD

A4 cards

Prayer-and-response cards

Copies of the Suffering Church Sunday issue of Barnabas Aid (Sept/Oct 2011)

Name:

(Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Rev, Dr)

Address:

Postcode:

Email: Name of church: Send this form to your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover). Resources can also be ordered or downloaded from www.barnabasfund.org/scs.

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BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Operation Nehemiah

in brief Your actions bring change News Islamists call for British Operation Nehemiah would like to thank all those supporters in various parts of the world who provide us with feedback on various aspects of our global campaign and news of what they are doing to help. We are reproducing below two of these letters from the UK, which show how simple actions can make a difference. Please do keep them coming.

Raising awareness of halal meat “I ... wrote to the two local butchers. One did not reply but the other phoned to say that he had unwittingly been purchasing poultry from an outside supplier which is halal. He stated he was not happy with this discovery and intended to review the matter.” E & M Smith, Bristol

Challenging the media “After reading your booklet [The Way Ahead] that evening there was an Agatha Christie drama on Channel 4. In the first scenes there was swearing. It was 8pm. I phoned the

complaints number and left a recorded message. The next day I was personally phoned and thanked and told my comment would go to the drama producers... It made me realise some good people in these departments are waiting for your comments. I was careful also to say some good points and that Agatha Christie never had a swear word in any of her many books. I also felt that many of us should phone the BBC after Songs of Praise and say how much we enjoyed and valued the programme. Let us be quick to praise any good programme, especially Christian, and say so.” E. Long, Bexhill

Mega-mosque update In many parts of the world, including Africa and the West, large mosques are being built in areas where there are not many Muslims, as symbols of the presence and superiority of Islam. But sometimes the plans can be frustrated. Here is one recent example from an English suburban town.

Thank you to all those supporters who have been praying about the plan to build a huge £3 million mosque in Camberley, England. The Muslim group behind the plan, who hold extremist views, have had it finally dismissed by the local authorities.

If the plans had been approved, the mosque would have had two 30-metre minarets overlooking the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and towering above the parade ground and the adjacent St Michael’s Church. The proposal raised serious security concerns, especially in view of the frequent royal visits to Sandhurst. The controversial plans to knock down the listed Victorian school currently used as a mosque and build the mega-mosque were initially approved by the council’s planning committee.

Local news from around the world Operation Nehemiah invites you to look out for and send us any relevant newspaper articles, posters, local authority publications or material produced by Islamist groups in your country or region to help in our

research. Local newspaper reports are especially helpful too, as they often provide information that does not always reach mainstream media and is not so easily accessible to us.

“emirates”

Muslim minorities in Western countries tend to be highly concentrated in certain areas. For example, in Australia the Sydney suburbs of Auburn and Lakemba are home to large Muslim populations. In Britain some neighbourhoods are almost 100% Muslim, and an Islamist group has now called on Muslims to create enclaves in major cities where sharia will one day be implemented.

Dewsbury, Bradford and Tower Hamlets, London, have been suggested by the group as “emirates” where Muslims can live by sharia outside British law.

According to the group, it is an obligation for Muslims to call for sharia to be implemented wherever they are in the world. The report encourages all Muslims to live amongst other Muslims and to trade amongst themselves where possible. It also advises Muslims to set up Islamic schools that teach the Islamic curriculum, and not to go to non-Islamic courts for arbitration.

Equality Commission says Christians should have right to follow conscience The UK’s equality watchdog has determined that Christians should be given greater freedom to follow their beliefs in the workplace.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that judges had interpreted the law “too narrowly” in cases where Christians had claimed religious discrimination and that it is proposing “reasonable accommodation” to help employers manage religion in the workplace.

For more information on these stories and other Operation Nehemiah news updates, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/ operation_nehemiah.

Request ACTS for the new school year!

Would you or your church like to support your local school in the teaching of Christianity at primary level? For a donation of £250, Operation Nehemiah is offering a pack worth over £470 to donate to a UK primary school of your choice. The pack contains reference books, posters, wall charts, animated DVDs, activity workbooks, Bible story books, fiction and lots more items for primary level. Call 01672 564938 today for more information or visit www.barnabasfund.org/operation_nehemiah/ACTS.

Mission Statement: Operation Nehemiah is committed to maintaining Christian values of freedom of conscience, speech and religion for the next generation in church and society.

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

23

Newsroom

Pakistan: Call to ban the Bible An important Islamic political party has called for Pakistan’s Supreme Court to ban the Bible, describing it as “pornographic”. A leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, made the appeal at a press conference at a mosque in Lahore on 30 May. Farooqi claimed that “blasphemous” portions had been added to the Bible, which, he said, charged some prophets with “a variety of moral crimes, which undermine the sanctity of the holy figures”. He said such “insertions” strongly offended Muslims, who hold all prophets and holy books in high esteem.

He said that if the Supreme Court did not respond by banning the Bible, Islamic clerics would formally petition the court, and added that the move was an act of revenge against the desecration of the Quran by a church in Florida.

Pakistani Christians have strongly condemned the call, and there are fears that this attack on the Bible signals an intensification of persecution against Christians in Pakistan, where Islamists are said to have become more extreme in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s assassination.

Pakistani Christian students engaged in a Bible study. Turn to page 4 to read how Barnabas Fund is helping to supply Bibles to Christian leaders in Pakistan

Egypt: Court ruling allows Christian reconverts to register faith Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has made a significant ruling that will allow Christian reconverts to have their religious registration officially changed back to “Christian”.

The ruling applies to those who were registered – on their birth certificates and/ or national ID cards – as “Christian” but whose religious identity was changed to “Muslim”, either because they converted to Islam as adults, or as a consequence of a parent changing his/her registration, or because of a clerical error. It means that those who return to Christianity having converted to Islam will be officially identified as Christians rather than Muslims. This is particularly important for Christian women and girls, as there are many tragic cases of abductions and forced conversions in Egypt. Christian girls are being kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam, and forced into marriages with Muslim men. Since the revolution in

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BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

January, there has been a surge in disappearance of Christian girls; one church leader said in July, “More than two to three girls disappear everyday in Giza alone... The cases that are brought to public attention are few compared to what the numbers actually are.”

Religious registration affects many important areas of life including marriage, inheritance, education and church attendance. ID cards must be presented in order to perform everyday acts such as travel or registering a complaint at a police station. The ruling does not apply to converts to Christianity who were registered as Muslim at birth.

Egyptian Christians have been campaigning for this court ruling since 2004; several

similar verdicts, issued in 2008, have not been implemented. A more recent ruling was blocked by the State Council’s fatwa committee, which said that each case must be reviewed individually by the court.

Lawyer Peter El-Naggar was optimistic that the court order would be executed this time. But a senior Church leader was more sceptical, saying, “The problem is with the authorities who refuse to implement the court orders issued in our favour.”

Despite this rare piece of good news, there is still an air of unease among the Christians in Egypt as Islamist parties gear up for the elections later this year.

Newsroom

Sudan: Dawn of independence brings violence Fighting in Sudan’s border region blighted the longawaited independence of the predominantly Christian South and threatened a return to the deadly civil war that tore the country apart from 1983 to 2005.

Troops and tanks of the Khartoum government in the mainly Muslim North overran the contested Abyei region on 21 May in what was described by South Sudan as an act of war. Violent clashes had broken out between Northern and Southern forces over the fertile region, which both sides claim as theirs. As Northern forces dropped bombs on villages, more than 110,000 people fled south, where the majority remain, living in basic conditions without shelter.

Further conflict broke out in the key northern oil state of South Kordofan, which borders both the South and Abyei, on 5 June. The Northern government carried out its threats to attack any Southern forces that remained in the area by 1 June, using aerial bombardments, house-to-house executions of suspected opposition sympathisers and rape as their weapons. Nuba Christians have suffered in both the air strikes and ground attacks, and there are reports of Muslim militia shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“god is great”) as they opened fire on Christians gathered for worship. A new church in Kadugli, the main town of South Kordofan, was burnt down and looted. A senior church leader described the violence as a “policy of ethnic cleansing”.

Southern Christians are looking forward to greater freedom and peace, following independence on 9 July, but there are indications that life for Christians in the North will become more restrictive and dangerous following the split. President Omar al-Bashir has declared that the North will be 100% Arab and Muslim, and has made clear his intention to reinforce its hard-line Islamic character.

Senegal: Churches looted and torched Christians have been attacked and eight churches looted and torched in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, as aggressors took advantage of political unrest in the country to vent their hostility. The churches were targeted over a two week period following a declaration of war

by Muslims against “new churches”. A church leader said this was because of the visible growth of these churches in Dakar.

The anti-Christian violence broke out as rioters took to the streets to protest against President Abdoulaye Wade’s controversial plans to change the country’s constitution. Dakar city centre was cut off as demonstrators set fire to vehicles and threw stones at riot police, while other violent protests were staged elsewhere in the city and in other Senegalese towns.

With tensions already high in the city, one neighbourhood erupted, and the crowd took out their anger on the Christians. One church was set upon by a group of men and young people during the morning service on Sunday 26 June.

The worshippers were driven out and pelted with stones as they escaped before the steel-structured building was fire-bombed. The following day, the mayor ordered that the building be “cleaned up”; the steel and scrap iron, valuable commodities in Senegal, were taken away by truck, leaving nothing but a raised concrete platform where the

pulpit had been. The building had seated around 400 people.

Such anti-Christian violence is almost unheard of in Senegal, despite its being a predominantly Muslim country (91%), but aggressive Islamist groups funded by Saudi Arabia and Libya are making inroads, threatening the tolerant status quo.

The concrete platform (foreground) where the pulpit once stood is all that remains of this church in Senegal which once seated approximately 400 people

Ivory Coast: Christian brothers crucified Two peasant brothers were brutally crucified after “the example of Christ” on 29 May by forces loyal to the new Muslim president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara.

The pair, from the village of Binkro, were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes.

They were falsely accused of hiding weapons in their village, and although they repeatedly denied any involvement, their pleas were ignored. After crucifying them, Ouattara’s men took them on an extensive search of Binkro, but found

only a store of medical equipment and supplies. The seriously wounded pair were then taken to prison in Oumé.

Raphael Aka Kouame died of his injuries that night; incredibly his younger brother, Kouassi Privat Kacou, survived the ordeal.

This is just one of the many atrocities that have been committed in fighting between rival supporters of Ouattara and his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo, who was ousted following the disputed presidential election in November 2010. Christians are seen as supporters of Gbagbo and have been caught up in the conflict.

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

25

In Touch

Supporting Barnabas through sales and school sports “We are aware that our privilege [of worshipping and spreading the Good News] brings responsibility to help those who need our prayerful and practical support.” These are the words of Pat Wells, Acting Head/Chair of Governors of Emmanuel Christian School in Leicester. The 26 pupils aged between 4 and 13 ran a combined marathon in June and raised £147.60 for Barnabas Fund. Each child ran as many circuits round the track as he or she could manage in 15 minutes. Their distances were then added together, giving just slightly more than a full marathon distance. Pat says the children always had in mind to give a donation to Barnabas Fund to help the persecuted Church in different areas of the world.

The children from Emmanuel Christian School, Leicester, who ran a combined marathon and raised money for the persecuted Church

A Carnival Day in Shrewsbury was the scene for more fundraising for Barnabas. Maire Juvonen-Shah raised £212.24 through a stall at the Carnival on 18 June and a plant sale at her church. Ms Juvonen-Shah sent us this photograph of her and a friend at the stall, which won a trophy for the best charity stall at the carnival.

Maire (r) and her friend at the Barnabas stall at Shrewsbury Carnival

We are always grateful to receive news of ways that you have been fundraising for Barnabas Fund. Please keep sending us details of your events and how much you raised, and we will try to publish them as and when we have space in our magazine!

Electronic communication from Barnabas Fund Fund.

A lot has changed in the way we communicate with our supporters at Barnabas and le accessib more it make to website our ed redesign have we year, last In the informative. The “News” section is updated regularly to keep you informed of the ever-changing situation of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Further tabs allow you to navigate around “Our work”, and find out about different ways that you can “Act” for and “Donate” to Barnabas Fund.

The best way we can inform our supporters of a crisis and an urgent need for donations or prayer is through email, and we now send a weekly email round-up of the latest news affecting Christians around the world.

If you would like to receive news and prayer information about the persecuted Church by email, please visit our website www.barnabasfund.org, go to the bottom left section, enter your name and email address and click “Subscribe”.

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BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Resource to focus your prayers Each month, we produce an information sheet with up-to-date news on the suffering Church, to aid with your prayers individually and in your prayer groups, and for inclusion in your church magazine (A4 or A5 sizes available for easy use in magazines of different sizes.) Barnabas Fund’s Prayer Focus Update covers events from around the world, providing a snapshot of antiChristian violence and persecution to guide you in praying for our suffering brothers and sisters.

This invaluable prayer resource is available free of charge and can be sent via email or post at the beginning of each month. To receive a copy regularly, please contact your nearest national office (addresses on back cover). You can also download a copy of the latest Prayer Focus Update or previous updates by visiting www.barnabasfund.org/prayer.

The aid agency for the persecuted Church Please send the following resources (indicate quantity required):

Yes, I would like to help the persecuted Church Here is my gift of ______________________

A 3 poster “Christians in South Asia”

SCS 2011-2012 DVD and PowerPoint presentation

Prayer-and-response card

opies of the SCS edition of C Barnabas Aid (Sept/Oct 2011)

Gift Aid Declaration (Applicable to UK tax payers only) I authorise Barnabas Fund, registered charity no. 1092935, to treat all donations I have made since 6 April 2007 and all subsequent donations as Gift Aid donations until I notify you otherwise.

Please use my gift for

Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund)

Other ___________________________________________*

Signature ______________________________________ Date ____________ If you have previously signed a Gift Aid Declaration for Barnabas Fund, you do not need to sign again. To qualify for Gift Aid, what you pay in income tax or capital gains tax must at least equal the amount of tax reclaimed on donations to registered charities in the tax year. Please inform us if you change your name or address or stop paying tax.

I enclose a cheque/voucher payable to “Barnabas Fund”.

Mastercard American Express Please debit my Visa Maestro CAF card /other charity card

Name

(Mr,Mrs,Miss,Ms,Rev,Dr)

Address

Number Maestro issue number

or issue date

/

Postcode

Telephone

Email

Expiry date

/

Signature ______________________________

I do not require an acknowledgement of this gift.

I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me the appropriate form. (UK supporters may use the Direct Debit form below.)

Alternative Gift Card To make an alternative gift for a loved one, please contact your national Barnabas office.

Mag 09/11

Please return this form to Barnabas Fund at your national office or to the UK office.

Addresses are on the back cover. Barnabas Fund will not give your address or email to anyone else.

Phone 0800 587 4006 or visit our website at www.barnabasfund.org to make a credit card donation. From outside UK phone +44 1672 565031.

Registered Charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536 *If the project chosen is sufficiently funded, we reserve the right to use designated gifts either for another project of a similar type or for another project in the same country.

Supporters in Germany: please turn to back cover for how to send gifts to Barnabas Fund.

DIRECT DEBIT for UK supporters who would like to give regularly

Mag 09/11

Mag 09/11

I/We want to bring hope and aid to the persecuted Church by a regular gift, to be used where it is most needed (General Fund) or for ________________________________*(give reference number of project to be supported) Name

(Mr,Mrs,Miss,Ms,Rev,Dr)

Address

I would like to give a regular gift of £__________________________________ (amount in words) __________________________________________________ Starting on 1st / 11th / 21st _________________ and then every month/quarter/year (delete as applicable) until further notice.

This Direct Debit is a new one / in addition to / replaces an earlier Standing Order / Direct Debit in favour of Barnabas Fund. (delete as applicable).

Postcode

Instruction to your bank or building society to pay by Direct Debit Please fill in the whole form including official use box using a ball point pen and send it to: Barnabas Fund, 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Name and full postal address of your bank or building society

2 5 3 6 4 5

Reference (Barnabas Fund to complete) Instruction to your bank or building society: Please pay Barnabas Fund Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured to by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Barnabas Fund and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my bank/building society.

DD18

Name(s) of account holder(s) Bank/building society account number

Service User Number

Branch sort code

Signature(s) Date

*If the project chosen is sufficiently funded, we reserve the right to use designated gifts either for another project of a similar type or for another project in the same country.

The Direct Debit Guarantee This Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.

If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit Barnabas Fund will notify you 14 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.

If you request Barnabas Fund to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.

If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Barnabas Fund or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from from your bank or building society.

If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Barnabas Fund asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

The Barnabas Fund Distinctive The “Barnabas Fund Distinctive” What helps make Barnabas Fund distinctive from other Christian organisations that deal with persecution?

We work by: n directing our aid only to Christians, although its benefits may not be exclusive to them (“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, emphasis added)

n acting as equal partners with the n inform and enable Christians in the West to respond to the growing challenge of persecuted Church, whose leaders often Islam to Church, society and mission in help shape our overall direction their own countries n acting on behalf of the persecuted Church, to be their voice – making their n facilitate global intercession for the persecuted Church by providing needs known to Christians around the comprehensive prayer materials world and the injustice of their persecution known to governments and international bodies

We believe: n we are called to address both religious and secular ideologies that deny full We seek to: n channelling money from Christians religious liberty to Christian minorities n meet both practical and spiritual needs through Christians to Christians – while continuing to show God’s love to n channelling money through existing n encourage, strengthen and enable the all people structures in the countries where funds existing local Church and Christian n in the clear Biblical teaching that are sent (e.g. local churches or Christian communities – so they can maintain their Christians should treat all people organisations) presence and witness rather than setting of all faiths with love and compassion, up our own structures or sending out n using the money to fund projects even those who seek missionaries that have been developed by local to persecute them Christians in their own communities, n tackle persecution at its root by making n in the power of prayer to change countries or regions known the aspects of the Islamic faith people’s lives and situations, either n considering any request, and other ideologies that result in through grace to endure or through however small injustice and oppression of non-believers deliverance from suffering n aiming the majority of our aid at Christians living in Muslim environments

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

How to Find Us You may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses: UK (for general mailing queries) 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org Registered charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536 For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry address above.

Australia Postal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org Germany German supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt. Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”. If you would like your donation to go to a specific project of Barnabas Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund office in Pewsey, UK. Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder e.V. Account number: 415 600 Bank: Evang. Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart Bankcode (BLZ): 520 604 10

Jersey Le Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GB Telephone 700600 Fax 700601 Email bfjersey@barnabasfund.org New Zealand PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org International Headquarters The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org

barnabasaid the magazine of Barnabas Fund Executive Editor Steve Carter Published by Barnabas Fund The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org © Barnabas Fund 2011. For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the International Headquarters address above.

The paper used is produced using wood fibre at a mill that has been awarded the ISO14001 certificate for environmental management.

www.barnabasfund.org

To donate by credit card, please visit the website or phone 0800 587 4006 (from outside the UK phone +44 1672 565031).