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Holy Land

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Children at a Barnabas-funded Christian school in Bethlehem

If things remain like this, there’ll be no Christians left in Gaza.” With these words a Christian woman living in the Gaza Strip in July 2012 voiced her concern for the future of Christ’s people in the Holy Land. The land where our Lord Jesus Himself lived is not an easy place to be a Christian. Competing claims to the territory mean that it has long been a site of violent uprisings and instability, and many Christians are caught up in a conflict that is not their own.

In the 1950s, 90% of Bethlehem’s population were Christian, but today, the Christian population is estimated at only 30%. The economy of Bethlehem is heavily dependent on the tourist trade, but after the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) began in 2000, tourist numbers dropped. Many Christians were employed in the tourist trade and therefore lost their jobs. Tourism has now begun to pick up in Bethlehem, and more Christians have employment. But despite this, living conditions in the Bethlehem area are not easy, and Christians can also face discrimination and other pressures.

Christians in Gaza, who are thought to number only about a thousand, have been under the Islamist yoke of the militant group Hamas since 2007. Although the Christian presence is officially tolerated, under Hamas several of their shops and schools have been vandalised, and they are regularly harassed and intimidated. No arrests have been made by the government, and crimes against Christians go largely unreported. Christian leaders also receive warnings in advance of Christian holidays against any public display of their faith.

Messianic Jews, who number around 20,000, can experience violence and harassment from Orthodox Jewish groups as well as official discrimination. One Christian woman who emigrated to Israel in 2011 had her citizenship revoked after six months because of her affiliation with Messianic Judaism.

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christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

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  • Christian teacher detained in Egypt over allegations that she insulted Islam has been released on bail http://t.co/8pcQreBswV Fri, May 2013 16:59

  • Vibrant #Christian education in the birthplace of Jesus http://t.co/NZ1UqmxQnQ http://t.co/9bTAAHAMan Fri, May 2013 11:04

  • Barnabas Aid Int. Director Dr Patrick Sookhdeo shares first-hand accounts from Syrian Christians he met last week http://t.co/s2fM6yo7aB Thu, May 2013 16:25

  • Editorial: Rising tide of Islamism in North Africa threatens #Christians http://t.co/1xmmgmXXR0 Thu, May 2013 15:02

  • Third #Christian community in 50 days attacked by Muslims in Pakistan: “teach the Christians a lesson” http://t.co/jylRCScZW5 Thu, May 2013 11:13

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  • The Sudanese authorities have intensified their crackdown on Christian activities by targeting Christian-run schools. Two of these in the capital, Khartoum, have been ordered to close. One is a primary school that the authorities discovered was not teaching Islamic studies or separating boys and girls. The other provided English-language lessons for 500 adults; three of its staff had been arrested and interrogated over suspicions that they were evangelising Muslims. Pray that Christian work and witness in Sudan will continue despite the increasingly crippling restrictions being imposed upon them, and that the Gospel will spread there. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 6 hours ago

  • An upsurge of arrests and deportations of Christians in Sudan has further unsettled the country’s vulnerable Christian minority. In January three Christians of South Sudanese origin were detained and then ordered to leave the country because of their involvement with churches and a Christian radio station. The following month a group of at least 55 Christians were detained without charge, falsely accused of receiving money from foreign countries. Dozens of expatriate Christians have also been deported. Pray that this frequent and severe harassment will stop, and that the churches of Sudan will be allowed to worship and serve the Lord in peace. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, May 2013 00:00

  • “We have reached here with the help of God. We shall live well with God’s help in our land.” A Christian woman gave thanks as she arrived in South Sudan after escaping from discrimination and oppression in Muslim-majority Sudan, thanks to the Exodus project sponsored by Barnabas Aid. Give thanks to the Lord that more than 3,500 Christians have already reached the safety of the Christian-majority South by plane and bus. Pray for His blessing upon them as they settle into their new lives, and pray too that others will be able to join them soon. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Fri, May 2013 00:00

  • Pray for 14 Christians in Nghe An, Vietnam, who were sentenced in January to between three and 13 years in prison on charges of subversion against the state. Their lawyers complained that the Christians had been subjected to torture, including sleep deprivation, and coerced into confessing crimes that they had not committed. Some of them had apparently been detained by police at random, some at a church service. During the two-day trial, thousands of Christians staged a protest against the arbitrary and illegal arrest of innocent people. Pray that the sentences will be revoked and the Christians released, and that the authorities will stop harassing and bullying the Christian community. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

  • “The decree is intended to provide the tools to end the house-church movement entirely.” Nguyen Van Dai, a Christian lawyer in Vietnam, added his voice to a chorus of concern among church leaders about Decree 92, which provides new guidelines for regulating religious practice in the country. The decree imposes harsh and complex new criteria that churches must fulfil if they are to obtain legal status; these will make it almost impossible for unregistered groups such as house churches (which have not been recognised by the government since 1975) to do so. Even if a congregation manages to fulfil all the conditions, the minimum period it will have to wait for recognition is 23 years. Pray that the churches in Vietnam will withstand this attempt to stifle their witness and will not only survive but thrive. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00

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