Barnabas Aid September/October 2008

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER �008

Faith Costs: Suffering Church Sunday 2008 • What if...it was you and not them? • Resources for YOUR church inside

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

I was hungry

and you fed me

I was thirsty I was homeless

and you gave me a drink and you gave me a room

I was naked I was sick

and you took care of me

I was in prison

and you gave me clothes and you came to visit me

5751 Aid mag sept-oct UK.indd 1 30/7/08 15:41:34

2 BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

Some would say the dream of Barnabas Fund is impossible. For 1400 years Christians have, more often than not, suffered under Islam.The Church has faced daily inequalities and discrimination, outright persecution - even death, whether individual martyrdoms or genocide. Converts from Islam are condemned to be executed as traitors. Much of this suffering is enshrined within the sources of Islam, the Qur’an and hadith, and codified in the shari‘a, Islamic law. Can the law of Islam ever change? Today, Christians in Iraq face annihilation, while in many other countries they sink further to the lowest strata of society. Their governments are becoming anti-Western, anti-Christian. Christians find themselves caught up in wars not of their making, betrayed by Western politicians and military, sometimes even by the Western Church.

Can change come? Or is that an impossible

dream? Is it only a dream to long for a time

when wrongs will be righted, when all

Christians will be able to worship freely,

converts will be accepted, and the yoke of

Islam and other nationalisms which oppress

God’s people will be broken? Is it only a

dream to imagine a time when Christians

are fed and clothed, cared for in their

sickness, set free from prison? I believe this

is a dream that comes true in Christ. “As

you did it to one of the least of these my

brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Yes, persecution will never go away, for the

Bible says that everyone who wants to live

a godly life in Christ Jesus will be

persecuted. The Bible speaks of growth,

development and spirituality, born of the fire

of suffering and oppression. If burdens are

not lifted now, that dream will ultimately be

realised in glory, where there will be no

more death or mourning or crying or pain.

This issue of Barnabas Aid focuses on Suffering Church Sunday, a Sunday in November when, as we worship, we remember the plight of our brothers and sisters. Some of their needs are summarised in Matthew 25:35-36, and we put the spotlight this year on the first one, hunger.

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,” says our Lord. What a privilege to be one of those who do exactly that, who help to make the dream come true. Barnabas Fund is the aid agency for the persecuted Church, but we can only fulfil our God-given task because of the gifts and prayers of tens of thousands of Christians around the world. The dream is not impossible if each of us does our part.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo International Director

FROM THE DIRECTOR

An impossible dream?

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

3Projects Getting aid to Burma

6 Faith Costs Resources for Suffering Church Sunday 2008

25In Touch Cycling for the suffering Church

24Campaign Update Last opportunity to gather signatures

At

the time of

writing 29,338

have signed our

Save Iraqi

Christians

petition

The cover shows six ways in which Barnabas Fund has helped needy Christians suffering for their faith.

Top left: Feeding needy Christians in Iraq Top centre: Water filters for Christian families in Pakistan Top right: Re-building homes of Christians after Cyclone Sidr, Bangladesh Bottom left: School clothes for needy Christian children in India Bottom centre: Medical care for Christian famine victims, Burkina Faso Bottom right: A Barnabas Fund representative visited three Christian women serving a prison sentence in Indonesia because of their Christian children’s club

6 Poster

7 Send off for…

8 Information file

14 Testimony

16 Sermon outline

19 Small group Bible study

20 Challenges and activities for youth groups (and others)

22 Prayer, songs, other resources

Contents


7BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

FAITH COSTS SuFFerIng CHurCH SundAy November 2008

Contents

Information file: Persecuted Christians and the Global Food Crisis – facts, figures and testimonies

Sermon outline on Matthew 25:31-46 “Little Actions Remembered in Eternity”

Ideas and challenges for youth groups (and others too!)

All the following resources are available free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office. You can also download some of these resources from our website www.barnabasfund.org/scs

• Large version (A2 size, approx. 40x60cm) of the mini-poster on the opposite page to help you advertise your Suffering Church Sunday service.

• Short DVD presentation (traditional and contemporary options) on the theme of “Faith Costs”.

• Prayer-and-response cards (see page 22 for an illustration of the card) which can be distributed to everyone attending the service so they have something to take home with them.

• On our website you will also find a powerpoint presentation to go alongside the sermon, a song about the persecuted Church written and sung by Claire Hazzard, an Australian singer/songwriter, and links to Suffering Church Sunday resources from previous years.

More resources for your Suffering Church Sunday

Page 8 Page 16 Page 20

God at work in Zimbabwe: an eye-witness account from a Barnabas Fund representative who went into Zimbabwe to help feed the hungriest there

Bible study on Matthew 25:31-46 for use in home-groups or personal Bible study

Prayer, songs and how your church can give practical help

Page 14 Page 19 Page 22

Contempt and discrimination from society at large very often lead to poverty. The Lord Jesus asks us to care for our brothers and sisters in need, and this year’s theme for Barnabas Fund’s Suffering Church Sunday centres around the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46. It looks at our responsibilities towards those in the Christian family who experience daily that “faith costs”.

In the following pages, you will find resources and ideas you can use for your Suffering Church Sunday service. Choose a Sunday in November (or another month if your church calendar is already fully booked) and use the “Faith Costs” resources to remember our Christian sisters and brothers who suffer poverty, hardship and persecution because they believe in Jesus Christ.

What if it was you?

In many countries around the world, believing in Jesus Christ can cost you your status in society, your education, your job, your livelihood, your

freedom and sometimes even your life.

BARNABAS AID SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

Information file

Persecuted Christians and the Global Food Crisis The worst global food crisis for a generationWe are in the midst of the worst food

crisis the world has seen for 30 years.i

Food prices are spiralling out of control.

The price of wheat has doubled in less

than a year, and the price of rice (the

staple food of half the world’s population)

has tripled in an 18-month period. In

some countries, milk and meat prices

have more than doubled. It is little wonder

that there have been food riots and food-

related violence in at least 14 countries.

Even rich nations are feeling the

inflationary effects and, for those

who are already desperately poor, higher

food prices mean less to eat and

greater hunger.

Experts have pointed to a number of

reasons for the global food crisis, starting

with poor harvests, for example in

Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The multi-year

drought in Australia is a major cause of

higher wheat prices. Then there is the

growing world population and the surging

demand in China and India for meat

(which needs grain to feed the cattle and

poultry). Biofuels now use up 20% of corn

and rapeseed production in developed

countries. Economists point also to the

damage done by subsidies and trade

barriers which have distorted food prices

for many years.

What is poverty?

Definitions of poverty vary greatly.

According to the US Census Bureau, in

2002, 46% of American households

defined as “poor” owned their own home,

which typically had three bedrooms and a

garage. Thirty percent of “poor” American

households owned two or more cars, and

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Information file

Transforming lives of Christians in Zimbabwe South African Christians, who went into Zimbabwe to deliver food to the poorest of the poor with support from Barnabas Fund, talk about the joy and thankfulness of Zimbabwean Christians

“…to see how God provides for His people is a testimony in itself. How they survive outside of God is difficult to understand…”

“… to see the joy in the people’s faces when we arrived with the food is such a wonderful blessing…”

“…People cry for joy and I also become very emotional when I see people rejoice and thank God for the food…”

“…they took up an offering at a Sunday meeting to bless us with! This blew my mind. They have nothing yet they cheerfully give – to us! We came there to bless them and we got blessed instead…”

76% of them had air-conditioning.ii In the UK the official “poverty line” is currently defined as an income of £145 (US$290; €181) per week for a single person, or £332 (US$664; €415) a week for a family with two children.iii The Joseph Rowntree Foundation announced on 1 July that a “minimum income standard” in the UK is £13,400 (US$26,800; €16,750) before tax for a single adult, or £26,800 (US$53,600; €33,500) for a couple with two children. This figure was designed to cover more than food, clothes and shelter, giving people the “opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society”.iv All these definitions look at poverty in a relative way, and basically highlight inequality within a nation.

What about inequality across the world as a whole? It is estimated that 40% of the world’s population have to survive on slightly more than 3% of the world’s income.

An absolute definition of poverty might be to consider how many people do not have enough to eat, i.e. eat less than the human body’s daily requirement. This figure is estimated at 854 million people.vi

The World Bank uses two reference poverty lines to estimate poverty worldwide: living on less than US$2 a day, and living on less than US$1 a day. It estimated that in 2004 around 2.5 billion people lived on less than $2 a day (40% of the world’s population) of whom just under 1 billion people (15% of the world’s population) lived on less than $1 a day.vii In Ethiopia, 78% of the population lives on less than $2 a day, with 23% living on less than $1 a day.viii

The New Testament distinguishes two kinds of poverty, described by different Greek words. The term penichros refers to a simple lifestyle, working for one’s daily bread. By contrast the term ptochos means extreme poverty or destitution. In penichros basic needs are met, but in ptochos they are not.

In 2001 it was estimated that 260 million Christians lived in absolute poverty, ptochos, comprising 13% of the worldwide Christian population. Around 43 million of these lived in south and south-east Asia, where many Christians are discriminated against or persecuted.

Discrimination creates povertyThere are many contexts in which Christians are a despised minority, and suffer discrimination in daily life. The effects of this can often keep them trapped in poverty. In countries like Egypt and Pakistan, Christians are often given low grades or failed in exams, simply because they are Christians. In Chin state, Burma (Myanmar), Christian parents are promised education for their children if they will convert to Buddhism.

Education is key to helping Christians out of poverty, especially education in Christian-run schools. Barnabas Fund is currently supporting 3,613 Christian children in 16 Christian schools or educational projects in Sudan, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the Holy Land.

When it comes to seeking a job, Christians in such contexts are disadvantaged, not only by their possible lack of qualifications despite studying hard, but also by the fact that they are Christians. Many employers are reluctant to give work to Christians, or to promote them as they do their Muslim colleagues.

Transforming lives of Christians in PakistanMunir Masih and his wife come from a village in Pakistan where about 99% of the inhabitants are illiterate and have never been to school. They moved with their children to Rawalpindi, one of Pakistan’s major cities, in the hope of finding work there. As permanent jobs are almost impossible to find for people with no education, they had to work as day labourers, taking whatever job they could find. After a while, Mr Masih began helping out as a welder at another man’s business. Their situation changed dramatically when their family was put on the Barnabas Fund feeding programme. Because of the monthly food parcel, Mr Masih managed to save up part of the little money the family earned and was able to start his own small welding business.

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Information file

In India, many Christians belong to the Dalit people, the lowest level of the Hindu caste system, previously called “untouchables”. In order to help Dalits, they are given special quotas of places in educational institutes and government jobs but only if they are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. Christian and Muslim Dalits are not eligible for these special quotas.

In February 2008 the Pakistani government introduced a scheme designed to lift Pakistan’s poorest households out of poverty. It offers savings on five basic food stuffs to 6.8 million of Pakistan’s poorest families. However, Christian families have been excluded from joining the scheme, even though many of them suffer from extreme poverty. Although the fund is contributed to by all taxpayers, only Muslims can benefit from it.ix

When natural disasters occur in places where Christians are discriminated against in everyday life, they are often discriminated against in aid distribution as well, at least if the aid is handled by local people. After the devastating tsunami of 2004 Christians in India (Hindu majority), Sri Lanka (Buddhist majority) and Indonesia (Muslim majority) all experienced discrimination. In Aceh, the most Islamic part of Indonesia, some Christian victims of the tsunami were told they could only receive aid if they would convert to Islam.

Persecution creates povertyViolent persecution can often lead to immediate and severe poverty. When Christian-owned houses, fields and shops are burned by angry Muslims in Egypt, compensation is almost never given. The Christians lose their homes and/or livelihoods. It was very unusual when, after two incidents of anti-Christian violence in the small Egyptian town of Isna in December 2007, the Christians received compensation for the damage to their property; this was thanks apparently to the provincial governor, who is the only Christian governor in the country.

When Christians in Orissa state, India, suffered a series of coordinated attacks

over Christmas 2007, more than 700 Christian homes were burned, 35 Christian shops vandalised and 95 churches destroyed. The state government offered some financial aid for the victims, but many homes which were completely destroyed were assessed by the state authorities as “partially damaged” and therefore received only a fraction of the compensation they should have had. Nothing was given for rebuilding destroyed churches.

In Indonesia’s West Papua province, the burning and destruction of Christian villages is performed by the country’s own military forces. There is then no possibility at all of even thinking of government compensation. Likewise in Burma, where the army forcibly relocates the non-Burman ethnic minorities (who include most of the Christians in Burma) far away from their fields, these subsistence farmers are deprived of their food source and left to forage, beg or starve unless they can find work in a town.

Another direct link between persecution and poverty occurs in the Palestinian Territories. Our partners report that Muslims often tell each other not to use the Christian-run shops or patronise other Christian businesses. The aim is to impoverish the Christians by making their businesses fail.

In Iraq, since the 2003 war, Christians have become subject to various kinds of extortion from Islamist militants who extract money in various ways. One method is to demand the payment of

Transforming lives of Christians in PakistanArshad Wicky has three children and lives in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Arshad’s parents were extremely poor, so they could never afford to send Arshad to school to get an education. Because of this, Arshad found it difficult to get a decently paid job. Usually, he went out in the morning to find work for the day to earn a little money to feed his family. Often, he would return empty-handed. One day, Arshad’s wife fell seriously ill. Unable to afford the medical treatment, Arshad could do nothing but watch her die. He was left with three school-aged children to look after, no permanent job nor any financial security. But then Arshad and his children started to receive a monthly food parcel from Barnabas Fund. These parcels changed their lives: they can now be assured that they will have food to eat, and moreover, Arshad’s children can now go to school. This will ensure that they will be in a much better position to provide for themselves and their families once it is time for them to get a job.

Many Christians in Maluku, Indonesia, live in wooden houses like this

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If work is available, it is often the lowest paid and most dangerous. As many as 40% of Pakistani Christians work as “sweepers”, cleaning the streets and sewers.

Many Barnabas Fund projects seek to enable Christians to support themselves with their own small businesses or church-run businesses. This can involve training in skills or providing the start-up capital they need.

Sometimes anti-Christian discrimination is made official in the law or constitution.

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jizya, the traditional Islamic tax on non-Muslims. The Christians are told they must either pay up, or convert to Islam, or leave, or be killed. Another method is kidnapping. Christians are the preferred targets of Iraqi kidnappers. The Christian community rallies round to try to raise the ransom, so the kidnapping is profitable. It is also safe because Christians are unlikely to retaliate. Furthermore, when four Iraqi Muslims who specialised in kidnapping Christian doctors and pharmacists were arrested in December 2007, they claimed to believe that, according to shari‘a, taking money from Christians is legitimate. Thus the well educated and formerly relatively affluent Christian community of Iraq has been reduced to poverty. “Our bank in Baghdad is the Christians who finance us,” is the blood-chilling joke of some Iraqi extremists. As such intimidation and violence forces more and more Iraqi Christians to flee, their houses and businesses are left behind for Muslims to seize. “Don’t bother to buy houses from Christians,” Muslims in some parts of Iraq have been saying, “Soon they will go and you can just help yourselves without paying.”

Most of the Christians who flee Iraq have ended up in neighbouring Syria or Jordan, where they cannot find work, at least not legally. Internally displaced Christians, who have moved to the relatively stable

Information file

When Muslims from a nearby village attacked the Christian village of Horale, Maluku, Indonesia, on 2 May 2008, 120 houses were burnt. This picture shows some of the empty plots of land where wooden houses have been burnt to ashes. Houses built of less flammable materials survived

Christians from Horale sought refuge in the jungle

This West African woman came to know the Lord Jesus through a dream. She was then miraculously healed from 16 years of sickness, having previously spent everything on witch doctors to no avail. Her Muslim husband threw her out of the home, along with their eight children. Many converts find themselves homeless and destitute because of their faith in Christ

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Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, are likewise without jobs, and Barnabas Fund is assisting many to support themselves through small businesses such as rearing sheep or chickens or keeping bees.

The cost of conversionThose who have left other faiths to follow Christ often face extreme hardship, including economic hardship. This is especially true for those from a Muslim background. They may be thrown out of the family home. They may be dismissed from their job or expelled from their place of study. Students whose families used to support them financially may find themselves suddenly without any money

The cost of ministryChristian leaders in places such as China and Central Asia are often fined for various “crimes” such as holding worship services in their homes or in unregistered churches. In Uzbekistan, fines for a first offence are between about £300 (US$600; €375) and £600 (US$1,200; €750). This may seem small to some readers, but in Uzbekistan, the government’s minimum monthly wage is only £6 (US$12; €7.50) and the average wage is between £50 (US$100; €62.50) and £100 (US$200; €125) a month.

When Christian leaders are imprisoned, their families often suffer because of the absence of the bread-winner. Barnabas

Fund is currently supporting the wives of two imprisoned pastors, one in Uzbekistan and the other in China.

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Information file

Transforming lives of Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria “I would like to thank Barnabas Fund for caring about our little brothers who are suffering just for being Christians. May God bless you all.” A senior church leader in Syria who organises food distribution with support from Barnabas Fund.

“...we are living in a very bad, needy situation. This is a gift from the Lord Jesus and it is His grace that gives us a light of hope in the midst of our crisis.” Azadouhi, Iraqi Christian refugee in Syria. She and her family receive help through the feeding programme.

“The relief aid materials and items which we are receiving on a monthly basis... have a very good impact on all of us, and each member of our family... May the Lord bless all who are supporting us in such situations.” Sevan, Iraqi Christian refugee in Syria. She and her family receive a monthly food parcel through the feeding programme.

neediest. Some of these feed Iraqi Christians in Iraq and Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria and Jordan. Others feed Christians in Egypt, Sudan, the Holy Land (West Bank and Gaza), Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Together these feeding programmes helped at least 40,000 Christians in the year to June 2008.

But the needs are growing increasingly acute as global food prices rise.

• In Syria, 1kg of rice used to cost 25p (US$0.50; €0.32). Now it costs £1.00 (US$2.00; €1.26). Inflation in Syria affects not only foodstuffs but also rents as the huge influx of refugees has pushed up prices.

• In Egypt, flour prices have increased greatly, making bread unaffordable for many. People queue for hours, missing work or school, to buy the government subsidised bread which remains cheap but is not available in some places.

• In the West Bank, some students are dropping out of their courses because of the increase in food prices and transport costs. Barnabas Fund not only helps to feed needy Christians but also supports Christian university students.

• In Pakistan, flour cost 11p (US$0.22; €0.14) per kg in October 2007. By April 2008 it had almost doubled to 20p (US$0.40; €0.25) per kg.

• In Zimbabwe, inflation is running at an incredible 2.2 million so that money loses its value overnight. In any case there is practically no food to buy in the shops and very little produced on the farms. Starvation is a reality.

Conclusion The current food crisis does not look likely to diminish in the foreseeable future. Impoverished Christians in areas of anti-Christian discrimination are likely to become increasingly marginalised as competition for resources grows. Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” (Matthew 26:11). He also

Transforming lives of Christians in ZimbabweSouth African Christians, who went into Zimbabwe to deliver food to the poorest of the poor with support from Barnabas Fund, talk about the needs they saw

“…we met families that are in such dire need: - one woman sold her

Iraqi Christian refugee children at a food distribution in Syria

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Feeding hungry Christians in times of inflationIn places were Christians are extremely poor, Barnabas Fund supports a number of long-term feeding programmes where aid is given through local churches to the

commanded His followers to love their brothers and sisters in practical ways.

Despite current economic pressures, Christians in Western countries still have so much in material terms, and our responsibility to care for our fellow believers remains. Barnabas Fund’s role, as ever, is to channel aid from Christians through Christians to Christians, and in particular to provide food for the hungry.

n Project reference 00-636 Feeding Fund

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Can you give a gift or set up a regular donation (standing order in the uK) to help feed needy Christians?


Information file

Transforming lives of Christians in PakistanShenhaz, her husband Ryast and their seven children, aged from 6 to 20, live in Missan Kalar village in Pakistan. Ryast is away from his family most of the time because he works as an army cleaner. One day, Shenhaz

discovered that she had a tumour in her abdomen weighing half a kilo. Although the operation only costs £12 (US$24; €15), Shenhaz could not have afforded it were it not for the extra food ration her family was receiving from Barnabas Fund. If Shenhaz and her family had not been part of the feeding programme, the family would have been in a very precarious situation: with Shenhaz too ill to work, the family would have been dependent on only one income, and thus would have been forced to go into debt to simply keep from starving.

bed in order to buy her last bag of maize meal.We were able to give her some food…”

“…Last Sunday three guys came to me after church and said they had not had food for a week because they couldn’t buy any even though they had money in their pockets…”

“…We handed out food parcels to

the people in the church. There were some that had walked more than 10 km just to get a parcel. There were old grannies with walking sticks that had walked such a long distance – just for a small parcel of food. The people in the church believed that it was a miracle that we were even there, because of the unrest…”

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Endnotesi Anthony Faiola, “The New Economics of Hunger”, The Washington Post, 27 April 2008; Kaushik Basu, “How to solve the global food crisis”, BBC News, 28 April 2008, http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7365798.stm (viewed 20 June 2008)

ii Poverty in the United States: 2002, U.S. Census Bureau, issued September 2003, http://www.census/gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty02.html (viewed 8 July 2008)

iii “Poverty: Facts and Figures”, Channel 4 News, 10 June 2008, http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/poverty+facts+figures/2279382 (viewed 23 June 2008)

iv A minimum income standard for Britain: what people think, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1 July 2008, http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2226-income-poverty-standards.pdf (viewed 8 July 2008)

v Frances Moore Lappe, “Just Who’s Doing the Hoarding?”, 1 July 2008, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-moore-lappe/just-whos-doing-the-hoard_b_110107.html (viewed 9 July 2008)

vi http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/pr.nsf/stable/press_food_aid

vii Shahoa Chen and Martin Ravallion, Absolute Poverty Measures for the Developing World, 1981-2004, Development Research Group, World Bank, March 2007, http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Capacity/Chen%20&%20Ravallion%20(2007).pdf (viewed 8 July 2008)

viii Human Development Report 2007, United Nations Development Programme, http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_ETH.html (viewed 8 July 2008)

ix “Christians excluded from latest Pakistani anti-poverty drive” http://www.claas.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID-130

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Testimony from Zimbabwe

Every time I go into Zimbabwe I cannot imagine how things could get any worse. Then I go again and realise just how much the situation has deteriorated since my last visit. I was born and grew up in Zimbabwe and to see my old homeland, the breadbasket of Africa, disintegrating before my eyes is sometimes too much to bear.

On my latest trip (May 2008) I was accompanying a Barnabas Fund sponsored food run into the country. I saw the evidence of a savage and violent regime desperately trying to cling to power at all costs while the nation starves to death. I went into shops and clinics and was horrified by the absolute emptiness of the shelves. I saw houses and cars that had been burnt out. I met with farmers (black and white) who had been violently forced from their farms. One farmer was so badly beaten that he had been in a coma for three weeks. I met with Christians who have gone into hiding in fear of their lives. I spoke to a pastor whose three colleagues had been poisoned and killed because they dared

to speak out against the government. I was shown torture camps. I met with 4- and 5-year-old orphans whose parents had been killed because they voted against the ruling ZANU-PF party. I went into rural villages and witnessed the devastating effects of famine. I asked after a village elder, who was also a pastor, whom I had met on an earlier trip, just a few weeks previously. I was told that he had fallen ill due to malnutrition and had died. He was 32 and apart from his mother (pictured on the front of the March-April 2008 Barnabas Aid magazine), he had been the oldest person in the village. Zimbabwe now has the lowest life expectancy in the world.

God At Work In ZimbabweAn eye-witness account by Barnabas Fund’s co-ordinator for Africa

Waiting to help unload the food

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Testimony from Zimbabwe

Heroes of the faithYet despite the injustice and suffering that exists in this beautiful country, every time I visit Zimbabwe I am filled with hope and am truly blessed. I have seen God’s hand and provision shining like a beacon in such dark and seemingly hopeless circumstances. On my last trip we were witness to so many miracles and met so many heroes of the faith that it is difficult to list them all. We were stopped by secret police on numerous occasions and yet the only time they searched our vehicle was when we had already dropped off the food. I met with a pastor who had taken 23 orphans into his home. Another pastor supports 900 orphans. How they manage to do this in such dire conditions remains a mystery to me. I saw families who were harbouring 30 or more people who had been victims of political violence (many of whom were beaten, burnt, raped or had limbs cut off).

I saw the love of Christ demonstrated in so many ways. One family, who had been arrested and released, returned to the police station with all the food that they had for the month as a gift to those who were persecuting them. Two policemen were so touch by this act of absolute love that they gave their lives to the Lord. I saw fruit trees bearing fruit all year round so that starving Christians can have food. I heard of bags of flour miraculously lasting weeks. I saw churches so committed to the Lord that miracles and healings take place daily. Every one of these people I have mentioned is supported by food supplied by Barnabas Fund.

“An organisation called the Barnabas Fund”Just a few days before my trip I gave an interview to a UK Christian radio station that broadcasts into Zimbabwe. It was a message of hope to the people of Zimbabwe from the supporters of Barnabas Fund. I said that the people of Zimbabwe are not forgotten and that there are those who care deeply for them and are praying. I also said that we are aware of their suffering and are providing food and help to those in most need. This

station is usually jammed by the Zimbabwe authorities. However, for just 15 minutes over a two week period the jam was inexplicably lifted. Those 15 minutes just happened to be the 15 minutes of my interview that had been pre-recorded.

One elderly lady I met out there came up to me (not knowing who I was), and said that she had just heard the most amazing words of encouragement from an organisation called the Barnabas Fund. She could not believe that people as far away as the UK and the US were committed in prayer for them and were even sending food. When I told her that I was the person in the interview she nearly fell over.

How we helpBarnabas Fund has been involved in providing food aid into the country since the beginning of 2008. We work through a network of churches in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Basic food staples are bought in bulk in South Africa and placed into food packs of about 22.5 kg each. Ordinary men and women of various churches, who feel burdened by the situation in Zimbabwe, then load these packs into their own cars and head off to Zimbabwe. Once in Zimbabwe they meet up with a contact who escorts them deep into the rural areas where the packs are distributed through local churches. Each pack is designed to subsidise the nutritional requirements of a family of up to 10 for a month. However, in many parts

of Zimbabwe this is the only food that they will have for that month. Through this system we are able to take about 800 packs or about 20 tonnes of food a month into Zimbabwe.

In June 2008 President Robert Mugabe announced that all foreign aid agencies must stop operating in Zimbabwe. I asked the church elder in South Africa who started this feeding programme what he thought of this announcement. He replied:

“We have to be faithful as much as ever in GOD and what we believe is the right thing to do. We must not fall into fear. Before the sun rises, they say it is the darkest hour and it seems as if that dark hour has come. I am determined in GOD to not stop unless He says so.”

Because Barnabas Fund does not function in Zimbabwe as an official aid agency, we are able to continue our feeding progamme even when others cannot. We owe thanks to and need to continue to pray for those brave South Africans who, compelled by the love of Christ, volunteer to travel secretly into Zimbabwe in such dangerous and unstable circumstances to deliver food. Barnabas Fund is committed to continuing our work through the churches of Zimbabwe, not only providing food aid but also enabling people to farm more effectively and thus support themselves.

n Project reference 91-721 feeding n Project reference 91-751 effective

farming – training and start-up costs

Carrying home a bag of food

Zimbabwean Christians kneel in prayer around a newly planted field, asking God to heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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1.Introduction

This passage, often called the parable of the sheep and the goats, is one of the most misinterpreted parts of the New Testament, yet one of the most vital to guide Christians to know the Lord’s priorities in their daily life. Jesus is teaching that how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ, that whether or not we meet their basic needs, will form the basis of how we are judged by the Lord. It completes the fifth and final discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. After recording these words of Jesus, Matthew moves on to the story of the Passion - our Lord’s suffering, death and resurrection. Although often called a parable, this teaching only has three elements of parable to it: the shepherd, the sheep and the goats (v.32-33, perhaps based on Ezekiel 34). All the rest of the teaching is literal and straightforward, not disguised in the picture-language of a parable. Indeed we are left in no doubt about the meaning of the three elements of parable. The shepherd himself is identified as the Son of Man seated in glory on His throne in heaven, the King, while the sheep are the righteous (v.33,34,37) and the goats are the unrighteous.

What our Lord is describing in this passage is the Last Judgment, with all the angels present and all the nations gathered, and the separation of the sheep from the goats.

Matthew’s Gospel has been described as “pre-eminently the Gospel of judgment” and many other passages within it speak of separation.1 We are presented with a most sobering picture of human need and how we respond to it. It is a passage which is terrifying in its implication, for Jesus, in addressing six areas of need, relates them directly to Himself. How we respond to our brothers and sisters is directly related to how we respond to Jesus. To reject our brothers and sisters, not to meet their needs, is to bring His stern disapproval, making us the goats. To accept them, to minister to their needs, means we are the sheep.

The great misinterpretation of this passage has been to think that Jesus is looking at our care for the whole of humanity, rather than, as He says specifically, His own brothers and sisters. This has been a cause of considerable debate, with some arguing, particularly in the present period, that this passage speaks of our concern for the world’s poor. Others, especially the historical commentators, argue that Jesus is referring in this passage to the faith community, His followers.

2. Christ and His little ones

Jesus outlines six areas of human need, which His disciples would face and which are common to all humanity. He asks us to help even “the least of these brothers of mine” (v.40). a) Food

For Jesus’ first disciples, life was fraught with uncertainty. Following Him and being involved in His ministry meant forgoing work by which they could have derived income. This made them dependent on

others, vulnerable. Food was an essential requirement if they were to have the strength to follow their Master, indeed for life itself. In our day and in the West, we have almost forgotten this. In the words of Australian Christian song-writer Claire Hazzard, “I eat my food for taste or comfort, not for hunger” (see page 22), and countless cookery programmes on TV reinforce this idea. But there are many Christians today who cannot take for granted their daily bread. When Barnabas Fund started providing monthly food parcels for needy Christians in Pakistan, they were so happy that they did not have to go to bed hungry any more. (See boxes, pages 9 and 10)

b) Water

In countries where rain is plentiful and clean water readily available, it can be difficult to understand the importance of water. For Jesus and His disciples, living in the Middle East, it was a precious commodity, especially during the heat of the day. Water was life. The Bible uses the powerful imagery of water to speak of spiritual life also. The Old Testament describes streams flowing in the desert and Jesus spoke of Himself as living water.

Some Christians are deprived of access to water because of their faith. An elderly man in Bangladesh who converted from Islam to Christianity was banned by the other villagers from using the village well. Twenty-two Vietnamese Christian families who were expelled from their village in Lao Cai Province, leaving all their possessions behind, found land on which they could settle and grow food, but no source of clean drinking water.

c) Shelter

In Western societies, homes have become far more than shelter from the

Sermon outline

Little actions remembered in eternityMatthew 25:31-46

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Sermon outline

Little actions remembered in eternityelements and from those who may attack us. They are a property investment and an opportunity to show off our status, taste and wealth. Some people have more than one. For the first disciples they were essential protection, as they are for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.

When 120 Christian homes were burned to the ground by angry Muslims in Horale, Indonesia, on 2 May, the Christians had nowhere to go but the jungle (see pictures on page 11). A pastor in Belarus, where Christians are persecuted under a communist dictatorship, was told he must demolish his own home in Minsk or the authorities would do it for him.

d) Clothing

In our fashion-dominated culture, clothes have little to do with survival. Living in homes and workplaces where temperature is carefully controlled, we do not have to protect ourselves from scorching daytime heat or bitter cold of night as Jesus’ first disciples did. But some of our brothers and sisters have only rags or – as for some Christians in South Sudan during the recent civil war - nothing at all. Barnabas Fund provides clothes for Christians who have lost everything in natural disasters or incidents of persecution, such as the attacks in Orissa, India, last Christmas. It also provides school uniforms to enable needy Christian children to go to school.

e) Health care

In Western countries in the twenty-first century we are greatly blessed in terms of health care. Even the worst of hospitals far exceeds the care which was available 100 years ago. Britain celebrates this year the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the National Health Service, an institution which is often disparaged, but how

greatly it would be appreciated by many impoverished Christians who, barely able to afford food, cannot begin to pay for medical care when they are sick.

Jesus, the Healer, fully recognised the needs of the sick. Barnabas Fund provides medical care, for example, in northern Iraq where many Christians have fled from the anti-Christian violence in Baghdad and Basra. Here Barnabas Fund provides two mobile clinics which travel around the region to care for sick Christians.

f) Prison

Prisons in the West today deprive you of your liberty for a while, but all the above five needs are met. In our Lord’s time, as in many places today, this was not so. Without someone to visit and bring you the basic necessities, you would really suffer. An email to Barnabas Fund on 27 June told of a young Uzbek Christian in jail for being a pastor’s assistant: “The investigator gave his father written permission to meet with him but his father couldn’t even pass his clothes to him.”

Barnabas Fund supports a ministry which helps Southern Sudanese women (mainly Christians) who are in prison in North Sudan, providing them with clothes, blankets, medicines and Bibles. Most of these women are in prison either because they have failed to cover themselves as required by shari‘a or because, as refugees and war widows, they have run up debts they cannot repay.

A visitor also brings great comfort and consolation to the prisoner. David Shestakov is a church leader serving a sentence in a labour camp in Uzbekistan, many miles from his home. Barnabas Fund is not only supporting his wife but also helping her with the costs of making the long journey to visit him.

3. Christ and His brethren

The message of the sheep and the goats has often been misunderstood in recent times. The early Church, however, took the words of the Lord Jesus at face value: “Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (v.40)

They recognised that He was saying that the kindnesses referred to are those which His followers did to their fellow-believers. This is how commentators have historically understood the phrase “brothers of mine”. The sheep and goats are not being separated on the basis of their actions towards mankind in general but on the basis of their care or neglect of other Christians.

Dr R.T. France explains that the phrase “the least of” is linked to the expression “little ones” which Jesus uses many times in Matthew’s Gospel to mean all His disciples or followers. A clear example of this use of the term occurs in Matthew 10:42 where Jesus says that “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward”. Incidentally, this is another verse where Jesus encourages His followers to care for each other. Our Lord’s little ones, the least of His brethren, are the defenceless ones, the oppressed, the despised, the weak, the vulnerable, our brothers and sisters scattered across the world in situations of great need and persecution. These are the little ones we have a mandate to care for.

This is not a message which we often hear today, but it is what the Bible says. It chimes with Jesus’ command to His

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Sermon outline

disciples to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35). If we read the Bible with our eyes open to God’s priority we see how many other places there are where He tells us to care for our own Christian family.2

This does not mean that Christians should ignore the needs of non-believers, for throughout Christian history Christians have had a noble part to play in meeting the needs of suffering humanity. They have established many worthwhile endeavours. However, as Paul points out in Galatians 6:10, although we must do good to all, our priority should be the household of faith.

4. Christ and us

Harold K. Moulton writes about the implications of brotherhood in Christ:

“It means that we cannot evade responsibility for our fellow-Christians. If we disclaim our family relationship, we are acting like Cain towards Abel, or the older brother towards the prodigal. It means that brotherhood must be personal and individual, that it must embrace the whole Church, and that it must be world-wide.”3

Jesus describes how both the righteous and the unrighteous were amazed at how

their conduct was viewed by the King, how important to Him were the humble unexciting duties which had been either performed or neglected. It seemed strange to the righteous that these small favours and kindnesses, which the doer had probably forgotten almost immediately, had been remembered by Christ, had been treasured up by Him to be mentioned on the Day of Judgment. It was these little tasks of day to day living which, Jesus says, proved that they were His true disciples. The righteous evidently felt that they had accomplished so little; yet to the Lord their loving care of their fellow-believers was all important.

So let us be encouraged that the smallest of our actions, the smallest of gifts, to help our brothers and sisters is seen and remembered by our Lord.

Some might ask whether there is a contradiction between this passage and the teaching of the Apostle Paul on justification by faith (Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 3:20-24; Romans 5:1-2). As Paul makes clear, we are not saved by our righteous works but by faith in Christ. The reason for the difference between the passages becomes clear when one considers the different contexts and audiences. Paul was writing about how people could become part of the Body of Christ. Matthew is recording words spoken by Christ to guide those who are already His followers about how to live and behave while they wait for His return.

We need to remember that Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins. Despite our failings and weaknesses,

He accepts us and destines us for glory. It is in gratitude for what He has done that we obey His command to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters and then go to the rest of the world.

A powerpoint presentation to accompany this sermon is available to download from

www.barnabasfund.org/scs

Endnotes1 Other examples in Matthew’s Gospel are: separating wheat from chaff (3:12), sincere people from hypocrites (6:2,5,16), wise builders from foolish (7:24-27), wheat from tares (13:30), good fish from bad (13:48-49) and profitable servants from unprofitable (25:14-30). This Gospel also records many other scenes of judgment such as the unmerciful servant (18:23-34), the labourers in the vineyard (20:1-16), the wicked tenants (21:33-41), the wedding guest without wedding clothes (22:1-14), the faithful and unfaithful servants (24:45-51), the wise and foolish virgins (25:1-12).

2 Here are some: Song of Songs 1:6; Matthew 10:42; Acts 2:44-45; Acts 11:28-29; Romans 15:25-26; Galatians 6:10; Hebrews 6:10; Hebrews 13:1; James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:11,14,16-17; 1 John 4:7,11-12

3 Harold K. Moulton, The Challenge of the Concordance, London, Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1977, section on “Brotherhood in the New Testament”, p.63

I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! Matthew 25:40 (New Living Translation)

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Small group Bible study

1. In this passage, Jesus describes

Himself in three different ways

(v.31,32,34). What are these titles or

descriptions, and what are the

implications of each?

2. We are described as sheep or goats.

What are the general characteristics of

sheep and of goats? (Which are docile

and obedient? Which have “attitude”?

Which harmlessly graze the grass?

Which browse destructively on trees

and shrubs?)

3. Which particular characteristic is used

by the shepherd (King) to separate the

sheep (righteous) from the goats

(unrighteous)?

4. Read verse 40. Is the King looking at

whether His disciples cared for humanity

in general or for other Christians?

5. Can you think of other parts of the

Bible where we are told to care for our

fellow-believers? (If you want some

verses to get you started, try dipping into

this list. Song of Songs 1:6; Matthew

10:42; Acts 2:44-45; Acts 11:28-29;

Romans 15:25-26; Galatians 6:10;

Hebrews 6:10; Hebrews 13:1; James

2:15-17; 1 John 3:11,14,16-17; 1 John

4:7,11-12)

6. How often do we have opportunity to

feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit

Christians in prison etc? Do we take

those opportunities? If we do not have

the opportunity to do it personally, what

other possibilities are there for helping our

needy brothers and sisters?

7. Sometimes people who need our help

are ungrateful. Sometimes we feel too

tired or there are other things we would

prefer to do instead. Can the words

of verses 40 and 45 help us in

these situations?

8. Christ’s command to “Love your

neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27) is so

well known that many people who know

nothing else of His teachings can quote it,

and rightly interpret “neighbour” as

everybody. So how does this fit with the

verses which tell us specifically to love

our fellow Christians? (If in doubt, turn to

Galatians 6:10.)

9. How do the sheep react when the King

praises them? (v.37-39) Why do you think

they are so surprised? What can we learn

from Isaiah 55:8-9 about the Lord’s

viewpoint and priorities?

10. We have seen that small favours and

kindnesses to other Christians are

treasured up by the Lord for the Day of

Judgment. How should this affect our

attitude to Christians (perhaps including

ourselves) who, in human terms, may not

seem to have “accomplished” much or

may not have been very “visible” in their

Christian ministry? See also Matthew

7:21-23.

11. The goats are not sent away for

having committed sins like murder, theft

or adultery. Their sins are “sins of

omission”. In the words of a traditional

prayer of confession, they had “left

undone the things which [they] ought to

have done”. What can we learn from this?

12. How wonderful it is to think that we

have the Lord Jesus Christ for our brother

(v.40). There are other verses where this is

mentioned. Divide up these examples

among the members of the group and,

after a few minutes, let each person in

turn read out their verse and then share

with the rest of the group their thoughts

and feelings. Matthew 12:50; Matthew

28:10; John 20:17; Hebrews 2:11-12;

Hebrews 2:17

13. The Bible recognises that we all sin

and fall short. How then can anyone be

righteous, like the sheep who are

welcomed into the Kingdom? (Read

Romans 3:20-24.)

14. So, if we do not earn our place in

heaven by good deeds, why does this

passage say they are so important? (Clue:

think in terms of proof, evidence, results,

fruit. Read John 13:35 and 1 John 3:14.)

Digging deeper 15. Our passage describes the Last Judgment.

Read Revelation 20:11-15 and see what more we

can learn about this serious subject.

16. The King tells the righteous that the Kingdom

they will inherit has been prepared for them (v.34).

But the eternal fire to which the unrighteous are

sent has been prepared for the devil and his

angels (v.41). What is the significance of this

difference?

17. What does Jesus say in this passage about

the ultimate fate of those who do not put their

faith in Him, as proved by their actions? (v.41,46)

18. Matthew’s Gospel has much else to say about

separation and judgment. Some examples are

given in note 1 on the opposite page. What do

these add to our understanding?

The Sheep and the GoatsMatthew 25:31-46This study look at the same passage as the sermon outline (pp.16-18). It can be used either before or after hearing the sermon, or quite separately. However, if used without the sermon, it may be helpful for the group leader to read through the sermon outline beforehand. The main study is questions 1 to 14. The section at the end called “Digging deeper” is intended for those who would like to explore some of the more challenging aspects of the passage.

Something to try at homeThere are very few hymns or songs on the theme of caring for our fellow believers. Maybe some in the group would like to try and write one for the group to sing next time you meet. You could choose a well known tune and put some new words to it. Or else write both words and melody.

Barnabas Fund would be glad to receive any such songs. Please send to your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover) or to [email protected]

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Ideas and challengesFA

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something to think about…One in ten Christians around the world face disadvantages, poverty, harassment, violence or persecution because they believe in Jesus Christ and refuse to deny Him. Have a look at the Faith Costs DVD (available to order free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office). Think about the different types of persecution Christians in other countries suffer.

Think about what you would do if, where you live...

...following Jesus meant people looked down on you and treated you like dirt?

...being a Christian meant that you often did not know whether you are going to have anything at all to eat for the next day?

...being a Christian meant you were thrown out of your home, not allowed to go to school and unable to get a job?

...someone offered you a lot of money to buy anything you needed – if you only rejected Jesus?

...following Jesus meant doctors would refuse to treat you when you’re ill?

Would you stick to your faith – no matter what the cost?? There are many Christians out there who daily have to face decisions like the ones above. Yet they refuse to give up Jesus. Here are a few examples:

Irfan from Pakistan is 12 years old. His father goes out every day looking for work – often he cannot find any because he has never learned to read or write. His mother works as a cleaner in a Muslim home. Irfan has never been to school. Together with his five brothers and two sisters, he works at home as a kite maker to help his parents earn enough money so the family can have something to eat.

“Rebekah” lives in a village south of Iraq’s capital Baghdad. She has three brothers. Her father used to work as an electrician. After the 2003 invasion he lost his job and began selling electrical items like light bulbs, adapters and hotplates at a stand. There was less and less money but Rebekah’s family managed to get by. But then, Muslim extremists began targeting them. Rebekah heard how they demanded money from her father; her brothers were beaten up several times; her mother was insulted and eventually, her father’s little shop was burnt by the extremists. Rebekah and her family fled Iraq, leaving everything they had behind.

thoughts, ideas & challenges

for youth groups (and others too!)

“Moses” is from Amman in Jordan. He grew up in

a Muslim family. One day, he watched the film “The

Passion of the Christ”. After seeing this film,

Moses began asking questions about Jesus, even

though his family was not happy about this at all.

When Moses’ dad found him reading the Bible, he

took it from Moses and threw it away. Despite this,

Moses decided that he wanted to follow Christ. He

went to a church to get baptised, but the minister

was too scared and refused. Things got really

difficult when Moses’ boss fired him after finding

out that he had become a Christian, and refused to

give Moses his final salary and any reference.

Moses went to Sudan, but there it was even worse.

He was insulted, arrested and beaten. His flat was

broken into and someone wrote “maseehi baleed“

(Christian fool) all over his car windows. In fear of

his life, Moses fled to a Western country.


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Refugees use sticks and scraps of plastic to construct makeshift shelters at a refugee camp near Nyala in South Darfur. (Source: USAID)

doing somethingHave a look at Matthew 25:31-40. In this passage, Jesus asks us to care for those Christians who are not as well off as we are. He says that we should give them something to eat when they’re hungry, give them something to drink when they’re thirsty, invite them in when they’re lonely or homeless, give them clothes if they don’t have any, help them when they’re sick and visit them when they’re thrown into prison. With its many different projects, Barnabas Fund is doing exactly that. We support many projects all over the world to help

1. Let people know Many people just don’t know that there are Christians in other countries who are poor, despised and persecuted because of their faith. Get some information together (there is a lot of information in this magazine, and you can also have a look at some of the older issues of Barnabas Aid and at our website www.barnabasfund.org) Write it on cards or sheets of paper – one for each country or person. Then put them up where many people can see them (for example, on a big map on the wall). Another idea is to attach the cards to helium-filled balloons. The balloons with the cards can then be released inside the building (you can say a prayer for each country as you release the balloon) and they will float to the ceiling and remain there for about a week as a reminder.

2. Tea box Can be done either at church (if you have coffee and tea afterwards or before) or at home. Put up a collection box and put in 10p (or more) every time you have a cup of tea/coffee/squash to drink. See how much you get together in 10 days!

5. Ready, steady, cook Get together the food that makes up a Barnabas Fund food parcel in a particular country. Invite friends and family and see who can come up with the most creative meal. See what your guests are willing to pay for the individual creations...

4. “Buy one, give one” meal Organise a meal or dinner, either at home or at church. Calculate the cost per person. People then buy a ticket for the meal and also give the same amount as a donation. A good idea is to put

together a typical food parcel which Barnabas Fund distributes to poor Christian families (have a look at the previous pages for some information on that) and put up the cost for it as well. See how many food parcels your guests can provide for families in Pakistan/ Zimbabwe/Egypt.

£17 = family’s food

parcel in

Pakistan


parcel in

Zimbabwe


parcel in egypt

6. Sponsored shack sleep over Get your youth group together and try to build one of the shacks you can see in the picture of a Darfur refugee camp above (this might be the only home many poor people have!). Organise a sponsored shack sleep over (possibly in your church building). You can even invite people to join your group for an evening meal – perhaps made from a typical food parcel.

A typical selection of foods in a food parcel for Iraqi Christian refugee families in Syria

3. Loose change challenge Take up an offering at church to help persecuted Christians – ask people to give any loose change less than £1 which they are carrying around in their pockets, handbags, purses...If you count the money, you can see what the money we just carry around in our pockets could buy in countries such as Pakistan, Zimbabwe etc.

17p = 1kg of flour in Pakistan

18p = 1kg of potatoes in egypt30p = a bottle of milk in egypt90p = 1/2 kg of tea in Pakistan£1 = 1kg of rice in Syria – it used to cost 25p!£7 = 1 sack of lentils in Sudan

poor and persecuted Christians. There are feeding programmes in countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. There are projects which help poor and despised Christians to start small businesses so they can earn some money. There are projects to help Christians who have been affected by natural disasters and have been left out when help was distributed. And here are some ideas how you can help us do something for those who find every day that faith costs:


Prayer and songs

A Prayer for the Persecuted ChurchHeavenly Father,

You have asked us to take care of Your children who suffer hardship. We pray that You will open our eyes to see the needs of our brothers and sisters and that You will put compassion in our hearts. Help us to share the good gifts You have given us with others and act according to Your will.

We lift up to You those who have to pay the price for following You. May Your love and Your presence surround them at all times. May they take heart and be at peace because they know that You have overcome the world. We thank You for their faith, that despite persecution and hardship, they place their trust in You. We pray that their faithfulness will inspire us to follow You more closely and surrender all to You.

In Jesus’ precious Name,

Amen

Original new song “You”A Barnabas Fund supporter in Australia, singer/songwriter Claire Hazzard, sent us one of her latest songs (due to be released at the end of 2008) which speaks directly about our responsibility to the persecuted Church and ties in perfectly with this year’s theme for Suffering Church Sunday. Claire’s passion is “to challenge the mediocrity of westernised Christianity and to encourage believers to take seriously Jesus’ call to true discipleship”. We have printed the lyrics here, and you can download and listen to the song on our website www.barnabasfund.org/scs. It is a great song to start off or end your Suffering Church Sunday service.

You For the persecuted church

Well I know I spend a bit too much on clothes And I must admit I care a bit too much about my hair And it’s true I eat my food for taste or comfort not for hunger I am sorry that I live my life as if you were not there

When you, you wonder if you’ll wake each day And you, you gather secretly to pray And you, you know that death’s a part of living And you are my sister and my brother So maybe I could pray a little harder

A picture of you flashes through my mind As I think about the way you live and die each day But I am so comfortably removed from your situation It is not hard to forget about the price you pay

© Claire Hazzard 2008

Suffering Church Sunday offeringYou can help us to care for our Lord’s “little ones” – our brothers and sisters in Christ. Barnabas Fund provided means to feed over 40,000 Christians in the year to June 2008. With your help, we will be able to feed even more. Please consider taking up a Suffering Church Sunday offering, either for our general feeding fund or for feeding Christians in particular countries:

Feeding Fund (00-636) Iraq (20-246) Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan (20-383) Egypt (11-220) Holy Land (65-377) Pakistan (41-331) Darfur, Sudan (48-511) Zimbabwe (91-721)

Suggested songs for your serviceLord, speak to me that I may speak (Frances R. Havergal, Christian Worship 484)

Help us to help each other, Lord (Charles Wesley, Methodist hymnbook 717)

Beauty for brokenness (Graham Kendrick, Songs of Fellowship 664)

Brother let me be your servant (Richard Gillard, Songs of Fellowship 54)

Who can sound the depths of sorrow? (Graham Kendrick, Songs of Fellowship 604)

From heaven you came (Graham Kendrick, Songs of Fellowship 120)

Blessed be your name (Matt Redman)

So come (You have taken the precious) (Tom Davis & Kevin Prosch, Songs of Fellowship 1138)

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Prayer and songs

Prayer-and-response card – something for people to take home after the service

This card, which includes the prayer opposite and a response form, is available to order free from your national Barnabas Fund office. Please order as many free copies as you need as the cards are a very good resource for distribution to your congregation on Suffering Church Sunday.

Order your free Suffering Church Sunday resourcesThe following resources are available free of charge from your national Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back page) or from our website www.barnabasfund.org/scs Please use the form below to order.

n A2 version (approx. 40x60cm) of the mini-poster on page 6, to advertise your Suffering Church Sunday service.

n Prayer-and-response cards (see illustration on this page), including the “Prayer for the Persecuted Church” and a response form, for people to take home with them after the service.

n DVD presentation “Faith Costs” (traditional and contemporary versions, approx. 3.30min) to show during your Suffering Church Sunday service.

n Powerpoint presentation to accompany the sermon on Matthew 25:31-46 (see pages 16-18). Only available to download from our website.

n New song “You” by Claire Hazzard, Australian singer/songwriter: a song for the persecuted Church. Only available to download from our website.

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

A2 poster “Faith Costs” DVD “Faith Costs”

Prayer-and-response cards Copies of the Suffering Church Sunday issue of Barnabas Aid (Sept/Oct 2008)

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 from www.barnabasfund.org/scs or downloaded.

23


Campaign update

Although the general situation in Iraq now offers some glimmers of hope, the position of Christians is as difficult and dangerous as ever. Iraqi Christians continue to flee the country, selling their last possessions in order to escape the violence and danger of their home country. Those Christians left in Iraq are mainly the ones who are either too old, too ill or too poor to leave.

Iraq has now reached the top of the list

of countries producing refugees, ahead

of countries such as Somalia and Eritrea.

All the while the European Union are still

debating whether to open their doors to

Iraqi refugees and whether any decision

to grant asylum should be based on

religious affiliation or not. While the

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in

Germany wants to give precedence to

Iraqi Christians, others, such as the

German Social Democratic Party and

representatives of the UNHCR (United

Nations High Commission for Refugees)

oppose this “selective acceptance” of

refugees. Their reluctance to grant

preferential refuge to Iraqi Christians

stands in sharp contrast to the many

personal testimonies of Iraqi Christians

who either have themselves faced

harassment, kidnappings, violence and

severe persecution at the hands of

Islamic militants or know someone who

has.

Last opportunity to gather signaturesIn the light of these developments, we

again urge you to add your voice to

Barnabas Fund’s petition campaign to

“Save Iraqi Christians”. The campaign is

coming to an end on Tuesday, 30

September. At the time of writing, we

have a total of 29,338 signatures received

at Barnabas Fund offices around the

world. This includes signatures from

countries as diverse as France,

Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India,

Israel, Mauritius, Monaco, Norway,

Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain

and Uganda.

We would like to thank all of you who

have signed, asked others to sign and/or

have written letters to MPs or elected

representatives to help raise awareness of

the plight of our Iraqi brothers and sisters.

Once we have received all the signed

petition sheets, the petition will be

presented to the governments in the United Kingdom and various other countries.

If you have not signed the petition yet and also if you know of other people who would like to sign, please do so now and send the signed petition sheet back to your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on back cover).

To get more petition sheets please contact your national Barnabas Fund office or download from our website www.barnabasfund.org/iraq

A church in northern Virginia, USA, has held a successful benefit concert on behalf of the Barnabas Fund. The Church of the Apostles in Fairfax hosted professional singers and musicians who generously donated their time to perform songs “sponsored” by members of the audience. Donors gave a set amount (or more) for a song of their choice.

The church was converted into an elegant, relaxed concert setting, complete with candlelit tables, food and drinks. The event was open to the public and drew a significant crowd. Barnabas Fund’s US Executive Director, Rev. Julian Dobbs, spoke on the plight of the Iraqi Church, while during the concert a slideshow played with images of Iraqi Christians and project information.

All told, over US$14,630 (£7,315; €9,144) was raised for the Save Iraqi Christians Campaign. Many thanks to the organisers, performers and sponsors!

A special thanks goes to...

Professional singers and musicians perform pieces “sponsored” by members of the audience in a concert in the Church of the Apostles, Fairfax, Virginia, USA, in order to raise money to help Iraqi Christians

At the time of writing 29,338 have signed our Save Iraqi Christians petition

We, the undersigned, have put our names to this document in order to express our concern for and solidarity with the

Christian minority of Iraq, who since 2003 have suffered increasing harassment and persecution from religious

extremist elements within their homeland Iraq. Their government seems unable to protect them.

Anti-Christian violence and threats are now on such a scale as to constitute ethnic cleansing, even attempted

genocide, and a large proportion of the Christian population have now fled the country to seek refuge elsewhere. We

call on our national government to take serious note of the plight of Iraqi Christians, to provide aid and relief for the

refugees, and to give refuge to some of them, enabling them to settle here in our country.

Save Iraqi Christians

SignatureName and address

Postcode Country

PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED PETITION FORMS TO BARNABAS FUND AT YOUR REGIONAL OFFICE BY 30 SEPTEMBER 2008

United Kingdom9-10 Priory Row, Coventry, CV1 5EXTel: 024 7623 1923 Fax: 024 7683 [email protected] outside of the UK:Tel: +44 24 7623 1923Fax: +44 24 7683 4718

Registered Charity No. 1092935 Company Registered in England 4029536

AustraliaPostal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganhome, QLD 4129 Tel: 07 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax: 07 3806 [email protected]

JerseyLe Jardin, La Rue a Don, Grouville, Jersey, JE8 9GB Tel: 700600 Fax: [email protected]

New Zealand14A View Road, MT EdenAuckland 1024Tel: 9 630 6267 Fax: 9 630 [email protected]

USA6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101Tel: (703) 288-1681Fax: (703) 288-1682 [email protected]

PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS CLEARLY BELOW

Please join the SAVE IRAQI CHRISTIANS campaign by signing the petition below, showing your agreement with the above

statement and your commitment to helping Iraqi Christians. Barnabas Fund will keep you informed by sending you news

of the situation of Iraqi Christians as well as campaign updates, which will include ideas of how you can continue to be

involved in the SAVE IRAQI CHRISTIANS campaign.

iraq petiton.indd 3

20/12/07 14:17:06


“There are no people as wonderful and with such depth of faith that I have ever met like the Iraqi Christians. There are no people I have ever seen suffer like the Iraqi Christians. Faced with poverty, destitution, threats, kidnap and murder they are desperate. The world looks on and does nothing for them. “I urge you to support the petition of the Barnabas Fund to encourage the West to really do something for our brothers and sisters in Iraq. The time for talking has passed; the time for action is now. Please be part of this by supporting this petition as I do wholeheartedly.”

Canon Andrew White Vicar of St George’s Anglican Church, Baghdad President of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East

“I strongly support the petition for Iraqi Christian refugees”Baroness Caroline Cox

“The plight of the Christian community of Iraq has gone largely unnoticed. Their situation is desperate. Urgent action is needed. Barnabas Fund petitions on other issues have made a real difference and brought change for the better for persecuted Christians. I now urge you to sign this petition to show your solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Iraq and as refugees in surrounding countries.” Dr Patrick SookhdeoInternational Director, Barnabas Fund

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In touch

On Easter Monday, 24 March,

Robert de Berry, a UK trustee of

Barnabas Fund and vicar at St Mark’s,

Kennington, London, and his son Barney

braved the cold and the snow when they

set out on a sponsored bike ride. They

cycled 65 miles on a zigzag journey from

Cambridge to London, raising over

£13,500 (US$27,000; 116,875). Half of

the amount they raised went to support

the work of Barnabas Fund; the other half

of the money was used for youth work at

Robert’s church.

At the beginning of June twelve

motivated cyclists from Knoll Farm

Christian Mission in Wimborne, Dorset,

UK, went on a sponsored cycle ride round

part of the Isle of Wight to help starving

Christians in Zimbabwe (project reference

91-721). A mother of six and her two

oldest teenage daughters, a 61-year-old

pastor and two fathers with two teenage

children each were amongst those who

cycled 55 miles from Yarmouth through

Brighstone, Niton, Ventnor, Shanklin,

Godshill, Newport, West Cowes and back

to Yarmouth. Unlike Robert and Barney,

the group enjoyed lovely weather

throughout the cycle ride, and “all

completed it without puncture or incident”,

as one of the organisers reports. The total

contributed by friends, church members,

work colleagues, neighbours and families

came to £1,098.20 (US$2,196; 11,372).

At the end of June, Canon John

Bowers of West Kirby, Cheshire, UK,

started off on a sponsored cycle ride from

Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela to

raise money for the Cana Girls Rescue

Home in Kenya (project reference 25-

663). In a letter, Canon Bowers describes

the experience of his “pilgrimage” by

bike: “Pilgrimages are not meant to be

easy. Certainly, cycling the 420 miles on

busy and quite narrow roads from Lisbon

in Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in

Spain in the blazing sun and head-on

wind for six and a half days is tough but

amazingly rewarding. Rewarding

spiritually and with an important practical

outreach benefitting the Cana Girls

project in Kenya, encouraging the pilgrim

when the pressure is on.”

Together with the money from his last

sponsored cycle ride in 2007, Canon

Bowers has now raised well over £23,000 (US$46,000 128,750) for the Cana Girls Rescue Home. This home provides refuge for Christian girls and women who, in the context of some traditional African religions, often face the danger of forced marriages to much older men, polygamy and female genital mutilation (“female circumcision”).

Abig “thank you” to all of you! The hard work of the cyclists and the generosity

of the sponsors are such a blessing to our brothers and sisters in need.

Cycling for the suffering Church

A group from Knoll Farm Christian Mission in Wimborne, Dorset, raised over £1,000 on their sponsored cycle ride to help feed starving Zimbabwean Christians

Robert and Barney de Berry braved the snow in late March and cycled 65 miles to raise money for Barnabas Fund

We, the undersigned, have put our names to this document in order to express our concern for and solidarity with the

Christian minority of Iraq, who since 2003 have suffered increasing harassment and persecution from religious

extremist elements within their homeland Iraq. Their government seems unable to protect them.

Anti-Christian violence and threats are now on such a scale as to constitute ethnic cleansing, even attempted

genocide, and a large proportion of the Christian population have now fled the country to seek refuge elsewhere. We

call on our national government to take serious note of the plight of Iraqi Christians, to provide aid and relief for the

refugees, and to give refuge to some of them, enabling them to settle here in our country.


SignatureName and address

Postcode Country

PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED PETITION FORMS TO BARNABAS FUND AT YOUR REGIONAL OFFICE BY 30 SEPTEMBER 2008

United Kingdom9-10 Priory Row, Coventry, CV1 5EXTel: 024 7623 1923 Fax: 024 7683 [email protected] outside of the UK:Tel: +44 24 7623 1923Fax: +44 24 7683 4718

Registered Charity No. 1092935 Company Registered in England 4029536

AustraliaPostal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganhome, QLD 4129 Tel: 07 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax: 07 3806 [email protected]

JerseyLe Jardin, La Rue a Don, Grouville, Jersey, JE8 9GB Tel: 700600 Fax: [email protected]

New Zealand14A View Road, MT EdenAuckland 1024Tel: 9 630 6267 Fax: 9 630 [email protected]

USA6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101Tel: (703) 288-1681Fax: (703) 288-1682 [email protected]

PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS CLEARLY BELOW

Please join the SAVE IRAQI CHRISTIANS campaign by signing the petition below, showing your agreement with the above

statement and your commitment to helping Iraqi Christians. Barnabas Fund will keep you informed by sending you news

of the situation of Iraqi Christians as well as campaign updates, which will include ideas of how you can continue to be

involved in the SAVE IRAQI CHRISTIANS campaign.

iraq petiton.indd 3

20/12/07 14:17:06


In touch

Harvest celebrations – thanking God for His provisionAs harvest time is approaching many of us will be planning harvest celebrations in our churches. This is a great opportunity to remember our sisters and brothers around the world who suffer material hardship because of their faith in Jesus Christ. You might want to consider taking up a thanksgiving offering to support Barnabas Fund’s “Feeding Fund” or choose a particular feeding project (see below) to share the blessings which God has poured out on us with our poor Christian sisters and brothers in countries where they are persecuted for their faith. This year’s Suffering Church Sunday resources (pages 6-23) focus on poverty and hunger, so they could be useful for a harvest service too.

Feeding projects: Feeding Fund (for all feeding projects) project reference 00-636 Feeding Iraqi Christians in Iraq project reference 20-246 Feeding Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria and Jordan project reference 20-383 Zimbabwe feeding project reference 91-721 Pakistan feeding project reference 41-331 Egypt feeding project reference 11-220 Holy Land feeding project reference 65-377 Darfur, Sudan, feeding project reference 48-511

A reminder to our British supporters who donate to Barnabas Fund via internet bankingCould we please remind those of our supporters who donate money via internet banking and are UK residents to include your postcode as a reference in your donation? This will make identification much easier and quicker. Also, if the money is meant for a particular project, please give the project number so your gift can be put straight to the project it was intended for.

Giving regularly – helping Barnabas Fund to plan effectivelyRegular donations are very important to the work of Barnabas Fund as they are cost-effective and make it easier for us to plan ahead. Knowing that a certain amount will be available helps us to plan more effectively for the projects we fund and also to respond quickly to new requests coming in from the persecuted Church. Also, regular gifts are by far the least labour-intensive gifts to process. They are quick to set up and, once set up, they require only very little administration. This maximises the amount of your gift sent to the projects supporting Christians in need. UK supporters can use the form opposite to set up a standing order.

Please consider giving regularly by setting up a standing order, as ultimately this is the most effective way of helping our persecuted brothers and sisters all over the world.

All the feeding projects listed above need regular ongoing support.

Come and visit our UK exhibition standsBarnabas Fund will be having a stand at the following events. Please do come and visit.

20 - 26 September: Bognor Regis Bible Week, Royal Norfolk Hotel, Bognor Regis, West Sussex 25 – 28 September: Christian Resources Exhibition, Harrogate

“ harvest time is approaching …a great opportunity to remember our sisters and brothers who suffer material hardship because of their faith in Jesus Christ”


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

Please use my gift for

Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund)

other ___________________________________________*

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

Please debit my visa mastercard American express

maestro CAF card /other charity card

Number

maestro issue number or issue date /

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 Standing Order form below.)

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

STANDING ORDER For UK supporters who would like to give regularly

Please use these gifts by Standing order for

Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund) other _________________________________*

To: (name and address of your bank)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Post code: _______________________

Sort Code ____/____/____ Account Number __________________

Account name ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please pay barclays bank, Canary Wharf branch, Canary Wharf, 2 Churchill Place, London, e14 5rb, for the credit of barnabas Fund account no. 904 669 72 sort code 20-26-46

£ ___________ (amount in words) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Starting on (date) _________ and then every month/quarter/year (delete as applicable) until further notice.

From (Name) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Address) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ Post code ____________

Signature __________________________ Date ____/_____/____

This Standing order is a new one / in addition to / replaces an earlier Standing order in favour of the barnabas Fund (delete as applicable)

Please quote reference (to be completed by barnabas Fund) ____________________________________________________________________________________

Please send this form to Barnabas Fund and not to your bankIf you are a UK tax-payer please complete the Gift Aid Declaration above to enable us to reclaim the tax on your standing order payments.

barnabas Fund is a registered charity no. 1092935, and a company registered in england number 4029536

* We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded.

Gift Aid DeclarationI authorise barnabas Fund, registered charity no. 1092935, to treat all donations I have made since 6 April 2002 and all subsequent donations as Gift Aid donations until I notify you otherwise.

Signature _________________________________________ Date _____________

(Applicable to UK tax payers only)

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.

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

Address

Postcode Telephone

email

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*We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded. Supporters in Germany: please turn to back cover for how to send gifts to barnabas Fund. mag 09/08

DVD “Faith Costs”

Copies of the Suffering Church Sunday issue of Barnabas Aid (Sept/Oct 2008)

A2 poster “Faith Costs”

Prayer-and-response cards

Please send the following resources for Suffering Church Sunday (indicate quantity required):

The aid agency for the persecuted Church

How to Find UsYou may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses:

UK 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 [email protected] Registered charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Mike Penny For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry address above.

Jersey Le Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GB Telephone 700600 Fax 700601 Email [email protected]

New Zealand 14A View Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024 Telephone 09 630 6267 or 0800 008 805 Email [email protected]

www.barnabasfund.org

© Barnabas Fund 2008 For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the International Headquaters address above. The paper used is produced using wood fibre at a mill that has been awarded the ISO14001 certificate for environmental management.

Australia Postal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email [email protected]

USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email [email protected]

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

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 [email protected]

Barnabas Aid The magazine of Barnabas FundPublished 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 [email protected]

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

The “Barnabas Fund Distinctive”

Barnabas Fund was established in 1993 with the aim of providing practical help to Christians in Muslim contexts. Since that time our ministry has grown and we now bring hope and aid to the persecuted Church in over 50 countries.So what helps to make Barnabas Fund distinctive from other Christian organisations which deal with persecution?

• We support only Christians. (“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.)

• The majority of our aid goes to Christians living in Muslim environments.

• We help by channelling money from Christians through Christians to Christians.

• Our primary method of providing help is by sending money.

• The money is used to fund projects developed by local Christians in their own countries or regions.

• The money is channelled through existing structures in the countries where funds are sent (e.g. local churches or Christian organisations).

• We do not set up our own structures or send people (Western missionaries). Instead we seek to encourage, strengthen and enable the existing local Church and Christian communities – so they can maintain their presence and witness

• No request is too small to be considered.

• We aim to meet both practical and spiritual needs.

• We are equal partners with the persecuted Church, whose leaders often help shape our overall direction.

• We seek to tackle persecution at its root by making known the aspects of the Islamic faith which result in injustice and oppression of non-Muslims.

• We believe we are called to address the Islamic faith – an ideology which denies full religious liberty to Christian minorities – while continuing to show God’s love to Muslim people.

• We seek to inform and enable Christians in the West to respond to the growing challenge of Islam to Church, society and mission in their own countries.

• We believe in the clear Biblical teaching that all Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love and compassion, even those who seek to persecute them.

• We believe in the power of prayer to change people’s lives and situations, either through grace to endure or through deliverance from suffering. We therefore seek to facilitate global intercession for the persecuted Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials.

• We act as champions for the persecuted Church, to be their voice –making their needs known to Christians and the injustice of their persecution known to governments and international bodies.

Documents

Barnabas Aid September/October 2008