But it didn’t have to happen this way. Pastor Adrian with A3 says flooding is common in Sri Lanka, which tempts some people not to take flood warnings seriously. That kept many from warning others and taking proper precautions for the cyclone.

Cyclone Ditwah on 27 November, 2025. (Photo by VIIRS image from NOAA’s NOAA-21 Satellite – NOAA View Global Data Explorer, Public Domain)

“In certain areas, the rainfall was about 400 milliliters of water within a single day,” Adrian said. “One of our churches went down completely underwater. And [that] church is situated about 50 feet above the river level. We had never heard of a flooding of this nature before.” 

Adrian serves as A3’s country director for Sri Lanka. He says that for churches in some regions, “I’m unable to contact them by phone or travel to these places because of the landslides. The bridges have been washed away. I don’t think even the government is aware of the scope of the damage that has happened due to the cyclone.” 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 1.1 million Sri Lankans were affected by the cyclone and that over 15,000 houses were destroyed.

Local Christians are working to provide immediate needs — like food, potable water, clothing and shelter. Then will come the long work of rebuilding homes, says Adrian. 

“It’s a huge concern, because our country and our churches don’t have that kind of infrastructure,” he says.

Find your place in the story

Pray for God to bring eternal good from the devastation across Sri Lanka. Pray for hope to be found in Christ.

Weligama, Sri Lanka (Photo courtesy of Devin Woody via Unsplash)

“We are also getting ready to carry out a strong prayer ministry, moving to every district, gathering the believers, praying, because I believe that this devastation has also brought about receptivity in the hearts of people,” says Adrian. 

He says they are also looking to establish medical camps, because waterborne diseases will arise. 

“We are inviting people to contact us and send us teams of doctors and nurses who could come and serve,” he says. “We are also asking churches to stand with us financially, because we will have to provide [much]. It’s almost with some people starting life all over again.” 

Learn how you can partner with A3 to help local Christians bring relief and true hope to Sri Lanka.

Header photo from Galle, Sri Lanka is a representative stock image courtesy of Fredrik Öhlander via Unsplash. 

According to Newman Ministry, some congregations are seeing as much as a 15% increase.

Charlie Kirk speaking at the University of Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Pews are overflowing. Churchgoers are parking on lawns and side streets. Bible sales are soaring, with over one million more sold than this time last year.

Generation Z grew up in a culture saturated by moral relativism and the idea that “your truth” is all that matters. Now, many are realizing they want real. They want authentic. They want Truth.

And people are seeking it in Jesus — the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)

What is Revival?

“I think it’s obvious that God is speaking,” says Stan Key, Minister-at-Large with OneWay Ministries. “It’s not obvious what He is saying. But it’s obvious that through the events of Charlie Kirk’s death, particularly, the whole country is talking about the Gospel in his memorial service. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word Jesus named more frequently than was named there by our religious leaders and our political leaders.”

Critics were quick to question the motives of those who shared the Gospel at Kirk’s memorial service on September 21, which was attended by 100,000 people and viewed by millions more online.

Yet, as the Gospel is proclaimed, the question of motive is addressed by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:18: “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.”

(Photo courtesy of Jon Tyson/Unsplash)

If this is the beginning of a spiritual revival in America, Key encourages believers not to miss what the Holy Spirit is doing.

“A lot of people think revival is enthusiasm. It’s sort of like a pep rally before a big game. ‘Let’s just get everybody in the stands, turn up the music, and have an emotionally charged speech.’ That’s emotionalism. There’s a place for that. I like pep rallies in sports, and I like emotion in worship! I get goosebumps. I sometimes cry. That’s not necessarily revival.

“Revival is when the Spirit of Holiness — the Holy Spirit, the sanctifying Spirit — is manifestly present…. And what does the Holy Spirit typically do? Well, He convicts of sin. He brings people to repentance. There’s a hunger and thirst for God, not for the secondary elements, but for God. The Word of God is present, the spirit of prayer, and the spirit of brokenness.”

Historic examples of spiritual revival in the U.S. include the Asbury Revivals of 1970 and 2023. Key’s wife was a student during the 1970 revival, and Key himself attended soon after.

(Photo courtesy of set.sj/Unsplash)

He recalls, “People just said God was there. It wasn’t about a preacher, it wasn’t about music, it wasn’t about signs and wonders. It was about a palpable awareness that the Spirit of God is here.”

The Heart of Revival and Reformation

At the heart of revival, Key says, must be the true Gospel. “To be candid, I think my generation has had a very muddled understanding of the Gospel. We have tended to understand the Gospel in terms of the plan of salvation. ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. He can forgive your sins, so when you die several decades from now, you can go to Heaven.’ That’s not the Gospel. That’s the plan of salvation.

“I think the first priority of the Church today is, ‘Do we have the Gospel right?’” Key emphasizes, “It’s not about helping us go to Heaven. It’s so we can have the image of God restored in our lives…. The world is under new management. Jesus is Lord. That’s the Gospel.”

(Photo courtesy of Joel Muniz/Unsplash)

In light of the Gospel, how then should we live our lives?

“If we can get the Gospel right, not only will revival come, but reformation will come,” says Key.

Reformation happens when revival takes root in daily life by engaging with God’s Word. Cambridge Dictionary defines reformation as “the act of making an improvement, especially by changing a person’s behavior or the structure of something.”

Whether America is on the brink of revival remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain: People are talking about Jesus.

Put simply, Key says, “Revival is when the life of God comes upon God’s people to bring them to life again.”

Pray for this spiritual hunger to deepen across the United States as people give their hearts and lives to King Jesus.

Header photo courtesy of Mitchell Leach/Unsplash.

Ten people have been killed and at least 1,042 were taken to hospitals, according to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation.

FMI’s Bruce Allen explains, “Anti-government protests in recent days have spread to 32 of the country’s 38 provinces. Across major cities on multiple islands, government buildings [and] police stations have been attacked and burned – some in locations where our FMI-supported church planters serve.”

Protestors are angry with lavish government spending and police abuse. But the protests turned violent after a police vehicle ran over a young motorcycle taxi driver who was not part of the demonstrations.

“Overall, the public feels betrayed and that the government officials and police are being very callous toward them,” says Allen. “The heavy-handed response of the authorities has only really served to incite further backlash from the public.”

Pastor Bakti of Sumatra, Indonesia, expounds the Scriptures to a congregation of about 80 people. (Photo, caption courtesy of Bruce Allen/FMI)

Some pastors fear the unrest could revive the authoritarian policies of the late 1990s, when churches were systematically targeted and destroyed.

Allen says, “In speaking with some of our ministry leaders in recent days because of these protests, they’re sensing that there’s a real possibility that martial law could be imposed within the next few weeks.”

Yet, Indonesian churches are setting an example of peace through prayer.

One regency had recently passed restrictions on Christian worship. But when local pastors were invited to government headquarters to pray for peace, they agreed.

Allen says, “The video of that prayer meeting brought me to tears this morning as I watched. I’m sure that was a very refreshing moment for the church leaders of that regency as well. So prayer is a major point.”

You can link arms with Indonesian believers who are seeking to be a Gospel light. Allen asks, “Pray that the Christian community is a visible demonstration of Christ’s compassion.”

Header photo: Graffiti from anti-government protests in Indonesia earlier this year, March 2025. (Photo by Rafael Christopher and Vanesh De Gabze, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=162786473)

What she found there changed her life.

Aneliya at summer camp. (Photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association)

One evening during worship, Aneliya came forward in tears. She prayed, and believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Later, she shared her story with a pastor — a story marked by pain and abandonment.

Aneliya’s father was drafted to the front lines of Ukraine. Not long after, her mother found another man and left the family, walking away from her two children. Aneliya and her younger brother now live with their elderly grandmother, trying to process trauma far too heavy for their young shoulders.

“She told me that this camp saved her,” the pastor reported. “She experienced spiritual renewal and found hope again.”

According to Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), Aneliya’s story represents the hope many young people found in Christ this summer.

“These stories are of young kids saying they did not know of the love of God. They did not know they could go to heaven. They did not know of the grace of God. They were angry and confused, and now they walk away with hope,” Mock says.

But this ministry took place against a backdrop of war. “The war zone of Ukraine is getting more violent…. The nights are getting worse, the missiles and the drones are constantly coming in and harassing families,” Mock says. “In fact, we were told by one family that when they go to bed at night, they know that they’ll be awakened at 1:30, at 2:00 in the morning, often for four to five hours, and the sirens are blaring [while] they’re in shelters.”

For churches in Ukraine, the response may seem surprising. “What would you do if missiles and rockets were raining down every night?” Mock asks. “And their answer is this: ‘Well, what we’re going to do right now is we’re going to hold a summer camp.’”

(Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

That commitment to Gospel service and encouragement is exactly what SGA exists to support. “The joy that we have is to serve the churches in these embattled countries who are faithfully ministering in their community.”

As summer camps wind down, local congregations are already preparing for the next outreach.

“We might think we’re done with summer camp. We can relax,” Mock says. “They’re already thinking of Christmas outreach. They never stop planning and prepping and ministering to the people in their communities.”

Pray for Aneliya as she begins attending church, and for many more young people across Ukraine who need the peace only Jesus can bring. Ask God to strengthen local churches as they continue year-round discipleship in the face of exhaustion, loss, and war.

Header photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association.

John Pudaite of Bibles For The World (BFTW) says the trend is troubling. “Quite a number of people are being arrested under these laws. Churches are being attacked in the middle of worship, with police in tow. They’ll file false charges or charges of conversion against pastors and some of the worshipers there.”

A Catholic Church in Calangute, Goa. (Photo, caption courtesy of Adriana Rodricks/Unsplash)

The thing is, those charges rarely hold up in court. “They can never prove that the people were gathered…with an intent to convert,” Pudaite explains.

So why push for a tougher law? Pudaite says Maharashtra is looking to change the framing. “They are now trying to position Christian activities not so much in anti-conversion terms but as anti-national. That will be easier, they feel, to prove in court — that this is upsetting the fragile balance…of the Hindu majority in the country.”

Meanwhile, violence against Christians continues to rise. In just the first seven months of 2025, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India documented 334 incidents — almost two per day.

“They know they can go in and attack churches,” Pudaite says. “Even recently, they arrested two Catholic nuns from a public train station and charged them with trafficking and anti-conversion laws.

“We are seeing the government of India just using the letter of the law down to the ‘nth’ degree against Christian organizations, just trying to find any little slip up and turning it into a major issue. In the process, the work of some wonderful organizations is being terribly restricted or completely eliminated from India.”

If Maharashtra’s law passes, India’s already tight space for religious minorities could shrink even further. For churches on the ground, the fear is that Sunday mornings will bring not just worship, but a knock on the door.

Pray for believers in India to stand firm under pressure. Ask God to protect church leaders from false accusations and give them wisdom.

You can also support BFTW here as they serve the Church in India and strengthen believers in the face of persecution.

Header photo courtesy of BFTW.

According to Pete Noor of Set Free Ministries, spiritual bondage is stifling discipleship in churches across America. And unless something changes, sermons will keep hitting walls instead of hearts.

Noor says, “I wonder how many preachers are coming up with these wonderful sermons and wonderful teachings — [yet] what percentage of their congregation is able to even take in what they are preaching because they’re not free yet? They are bound by some lie or sin that they believe. Until they’re free, they can’t take things in.

“You can only disciple a captive as far as he or she can stretch the chains.”

(Photo courtesy of Terren Hurst/Unsplash)

Set Free Ministries helps individuals find spiritual freedom through Christ. Now, they’re turning their focus toward churches — partnering with pastors to equip congregations with a tool called the Freedom in Christ course.

“What would happen if more and more churches got more and more of their congregants set free first?” Noor asks. “Then their messages, I believe, that are being preached would be so much more clearly understood and applied.”

The Freedom in Christ course is an 11-session journey centered on discovering identity in Christ and breaking free from spiritual lies and sin. Part way through the course is the “Freedom Appointment.”

Noor explains that the Freedom Appointment in this context takes place in a small group setting. “They’ll have group prayers and group declarations together. But then individuals split off into private areas where they can quietly pray to God for Him to continue to reveal to me areas in my life where I’m out of line…so that I can confess, renounce, and repent…. Then they come back together as a group and finalize that step, then go to the next step.”

The idea isn’t new — Freedom in Christ Ministries developed the Freedom in Christ course for churches in Europe and “it’s been effective,” says Noor. “So we’re thinking that this should work very well in the United States as well.”

(Photo courtesy of Jon Tyson/Unsplash)

Set Free is already working with several congregations. Noor says, “We would be happy to talk to more churches. They can contact us for more information. At Set Free, we’d be happy to talk to them, share our experiences, and maybe put them in contact with the resource.”

Click here to contact Set Free about the Freedom in Christ course for churches!

“Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue opening up the eyes of churches so they can understand the freedom that’s available to them and the beauty of walking out of their identity in Christ… and that we can continue to help more and more people find freedom in Christ.”

Header photo courtesy of Vlad Shalaginov/Unsplash.

“It’s sharing the love of Jesus, sharing the person of Jesus with other people,” says Ted Esler, president of Missio Nexus.

But our diverse world is also a fallen world, and it’s easy for churches and ministries to get siloed. That’s one reason Missio Nexus invites missions leaders to a conference geared toward collaboration. Echo: Amplifying the Need for Global Evangelism will happen September 24-26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

“Our superpower is really shared learning, and so that’s what we focus on more than anything else,” says Esler about these conferences. 

For example, he says, a mission agency recruiter might come wondering about mobilization trends. They would have a chance to learn from hundreds of other agencies present.

(Image courtesy of Missio Nexus via Facebook)

“We get together in a room [and then] we can talk about those things and help each one of those ministries lift their ability to serve,” Esler says. “It happens through sharing what they’re learning.”

If you’ve ever wondered what evangelism looks like across different cultures, Echo offers a chance to listen in.

“One of our speakers is a missiologist. She’s been working in Asia and she’s going to bring a discussion about contextualizing — or making the gospel understandable across cultural context,” Esler says. 

Another speaker focuses on evangelism to secular or postmodern people. Still another speaker leads large-scale crusades in Africa, following up with church planting. 

Find your place in the story 

You’re invited to attend Echo if you’re directly involved with Great Commission work, whether in a church context or a ministry with global outreach. Registration details and a full event guide are available at missionexus.org/echo.

“[Missio Nexus is] the association that’s centered on evangelism, discipleship, and planting churches on a global scale,” says Esler. “We tie together all the missionary agencies as well as globally-focused churches into one group to try to increase relationship[s], push new ideas, and focus on collaboration.

“We’re like Lausanne, except most of our effort is aimed [at] helping the Church and the mission agencies from the US and Canada move out and do what they’re doing in collaboration.” 

Header photo courtesy of Missio Nexus. 

But today, bureaucratic restrictions and delays challenge Christians hoping to build new churches. It’s just one of many ways they are treated as second-class citizens. 

“The Egyptian government for a long time had no place for [new churches],” says Erik Ouimette with Uncharted Ministries. “Then a number of years ago, they changed [their] way in response to some heavy persecution from the Muslim Brotherhood and the presidential administration at the time.”

In 2016, Egypt’s parliament passed the Church Construction Law, which ostensibly created a legal path for church licensing. Critics said it still discriminated against Christians. Even so, thousands of churches have been licensed in the nine years since.

“It’s a big deal to license a church,” Ouimette explains. “That means you can call a pastor, pay a pastor; you can be officially recognized and officially protected by the government. In most churches in Egypt, there are police outside if not 24 hours a day, [then] definitely any time that there are people in the building. There’s government-sponsored security in front of the church to protect them. The government is not wanting there to be Muslim and Christian fighting.”

Getting a church in the first place, however, is still far from simple. Corruption and bribery are common obstacles in the process. One church building project Uncharted Ministries is involved with in central Upper Egypt has come to a standstill.

“This church might be many years away from being a church in licensed legality. Or it’s possible the Lord could show up in a beautiful way and get the glory for doing something that right now looks impossible,” Ouimette says. “I would love that to be the story of this church.”

Ancient Egyptian Christian Bible (Photo courtesy of Ben White via Unsplash)

But one thing is certain: if a church is built, a mosque will soon follow. 

“It’s amazing how quickly mosques are not only licensed and approved, but built. They are built like crazy because the money comes in in floods,” Ouimette says. Muslims around the world often sponsor a new mosque construction. “They are leaning into part of the Islamic beliefs, both in the Quran and the Hadiths, that to build a mosque is of highest order.”

He adds, “The very land [in Egypt] where churches are being built, the Muslims in the community view as Islamic land.” 

If you live in the West, chances are your church building is spacious and safe. Ouimette reminds us that such freedom is a recent anomaly, virtually unheard of for Christians in many parts of the world today, and across history. 

“All throughout the 2,000 years of our faith, the label of being a Christian has been an affront to authoritarian government, an affront to other beliefs that say, ‘No, there’s a multitude of gods.’ Or, ‘Oh no, you’ve missed it. Jesus is not who you believe Him to be.’ Thus, from the very beginning, Christians have humbly met in homes, small groups, home churches,” Ouimette says.

“I think our hearts then go out to those who are trying to build a humble church for thirty, forty, fifty people. I think we need to pray into that more maybe than we do.”

Header photo of Kairo Wan, Ash Shamashargi, Egypt is a representative stock photo courtesy of Sophia Valkova via Unsplash.

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association describes the plight of these churchs as a trifecta of difficulties – and living in a war zone is only the start.

“The first part — this is dating all the way back to 2014 and the Orange Revolution — [is that] Protestant churches are seen as Western agents, Western connections,” he says. “Protestant churches are seen as those churches that undermine Russian Orthodoxy, Russian tradition. They are not to be trusted due to their relationship with the West.” 

These believers are often viewed within occupied territories as staunch Ukrainians.

“When these particular churches, or evangelicals continue to hold to their Protestant evangelical identity, and may hold to their Ukrainian identity, their lives are very complicated,” Mock says. “They don’t have access to the same resources, and a lot of these churches are shut down.”

All these factors notwithstanding, these believers still step forward with a sense of God’s calling. Mock says many believers have fled occupied regions, going to Russia, Belarus, or sometimes to other parts of Ukraine. But others stay. 

“That’s the key part that we need to remember when we’re thinking of the believers that are struggling in these occupied territories: if they leave, who will advance the gospel? If people struggle and seek comfort, rather than to be a light in the middle of darkness, who will step up?” Mock says. 

“Even in these occupied areas, the faithful believers recognize that God has raised them up for such a time as this.”

Find your place in the story! 

“It’s very difficult to serve these churches, so the primary thing we do for them right now is we pray. We passionately believe that there’s much power in much prayer,” Mock says. “The greatest tool we have to see a situation transformed is to appeal to our sovereign God, who is the one true God who even allows these difficulties for the purposes of declaring His greatness among the nations.

“I think secondly, we need to appreciate the churches around the exterior of these regions that are also praying, also helping with refugees. We do our best to help them as people flood into their regions looking for answers.”

Learn more about SGA’s Ukrainian relief fund here. 

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association. 

Storly and Kate Michel serve with 4VEH, a ministry partner of Trans World Radio. 

Storly serves as the station director for 4VEH. “People tell me I don’t look 75,” he jokes. “But the reality is, it’s the proof that it’s not me. I wasn’t there [at 4VEH’s beginning]. It’s been God using His servants over time … Haitians and non-Haitians, people coming from all over the place.”

Pray for endurance as believers broadcast critical updates and the hope of Christ.
(Photo courtesy of Radio 4VEH)

Kate says 4VEH was started by an American missionary named G. T. Bustin who felt God leading him to start a radio station, even though he knew nothing about radio. That’s how La Voix Evangélique d’Haïti, or The Evangelistic Voice of Haiti was born.

“People thought he was crazy for even trying to do this, but he was faithful to what God called him to,” Kate says. “And 75 years later, generations of Haitians have come to know the Lord, have grown up serving Him, have become more like Jesus, and are making a difference in their communities and around the world.”

Haitians know how to celebrate! Special church services across Haiti and also the U.S. this summer will be full of lively praise and worship. In Haitian communities they’re even planning soccer tournaments with some of the best teams in Haiti. 

Kate shares another reason they’re excited for these upcoming celebrations: “because we know we’re going to hear from people who are listening, people who are watching 4VEH, and we’re going to hear just how God has moved in their lives.” 

As 4VEH looks back, the team also looks forward. There’s much more ahead as they move to harness digital technologies for wider gospel reach, by God’s grace. 

“We started as a radio station, and we’ve been doing radio for 75 years, but over the years, the way we see it is to use technology as a tool to reach people. So whether it’s radio, television, digital, we will use whatever [is] available and good to reach people where they are,” says Storly. 

“The future for us is exactly that: What do we use today to reach people for Christ?”

Would you prayerfully consider partnering with 4VEH’s mission? Learn how at their website, 4veh.org/en (English). 

“That gift will be used to broadcast the gospel across Haiti and beyond, and broadcast the gospel in a way that is Christ-centered, is compelling and is culturally relevant to the people who are listening,” Kate says. 

“So God will use that to reach people, to disciple them to become more like Jesus, and to help them serve Him in their communities where they are.”

Header photo courtesy of 4VEH.