Pray for the missionaries in Venezuela, and for the Christian people who have come to Christ and Christian discipleship by working with missionaries. The Supreme Court of Venezuela recently, in November, 2008, ruled that the rights of New Tribes Mission of Venezuela had not been violated by the resolution issued by the Ministry of Interior and Justice on the 14th of November, 2005 that gave New Tribes Mission of Venezuela ninety days in which to remove its personnel from all indigenous areas. New Tribes Mission of Venezuela believed the government resolution to be unconstitutional and had sought to have it overturned by the Supreme Court. Recently the Supreme Court disagreed and ruled in favor of the government resolution.
One of the missionaries said "This has been disappointing, but we trust God, and seek to work within the context that He provides. We know that it it God who keeps the door open for His Word to continue to be proclaimed."
A recent report by Chris Mitchell, the CBN News Middle East Correspondent gives us hope for the places, like Venezuela, where the government is closing doors to Christian missionaries: "Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ commanded His followers to take His Gospel to the ends of the earth. This command, known as the Great Commission has yet to be completed. But a movement out of China believes the inspiring vision is helping them and Christians worldwide to fulfill that command,possibly within this generation.
The history of the Chinese house church is a powerful chronicle. In 1949, Mao Tse Tsung expelled the Western missionaries and began a campaign to purge China of Christianity. During this long campaign of persecution, many in the West feared that the light of the church would be extinguished. But like a stream in the desert, the church not only survived the harsh conditions, it thrived. Today, it is estimated that there are from 70-million to 100-million Christians in China. Brother Yun says it was like a modern-day book of Acts. Brother Yun told us, 'We just went everywhere. We found people who didn't know about Jesus. We healed the sick, we cast out demons and we led people into salvation of Jesus, and that is what we are doing today.' "During this time, Brother Yun, like many other Christians, was imprisoned and tortured, but his faith remained strong. Brother Yun said, 'It's that God Himself or Jesus Himself in a special way helped me to overcome this thing. It was more like, in myself, in my spirit and in my heart, I have to focus my eyes on Jesus. Think about His suffering for me. And so I was receiving strength from His suffering and that made me strong enough to overcome the persecution.'"
To learn more about how you can help missionaries share the gospel call The Mission Society(800-478-8963.)
One of the missionaries said "This has been disappointing, but we trust God, and seek to work within the context that He provides. We know that it it God who keeps the door open for His Word to continue to be proclaimed."
A recent report by Chris Mitchell, the CBN News Middle East Correspondent gives us hope for the places, like Venezuela, where the government is closing doors to Christian missionaries: "Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ commanded His followers to take His Gospel to the ends of the earth. This command, known as the Great Commission has yet to be completed. But a movement out of China believes the inspiring vision is helping them and Christians worldwide to fulfill that command,possibly within this generation.
The history of the Chinese house church is a powerful chronicle. In 1949, Mao Tse Tsung expelled the Western missionaries and began a campaign to purge China of Christianity. During this long campaign of persecution, many in the West feared that the light of the church would be extinguished. But like a stream in the desert, the church not only survived the harsh conditions, it thrived. Today, it is estimated that there are from 70-million to 100-million Christians in China. Brother Yun says it was like a modern-day book of Acts. Brother Yun told us, 'We just went everywhere. We found people who didn't know about Jesus. We healed the sick, we cast out demons and we led people into salvation of Jesus, and that is what we are doing today.' "During this time, Brother Yun, like many other Christians, was imprisoned and tortured, but his faith remained strong. Brother Yun said, 'It's that God Himself or Jesus Himself in a special way helped me to overcome this thing. It was more like, in myself, in my spirit and in my heart, I have to focus my eyes on Jesus. Think about His suffering for me. And so I was receiving strength from His suffering and that made me strong enough to overcome the persecution.'"
To learn more about how you can help missionaries share the gospel call The Mission Society(800-478-8963.)
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