The Great Commission

 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Jesus the Lord, risen from the dead, sent his disciples to a mountain in Galilee in the north of Israel around this time 2,000 years ago. There he commissioned them to go to all nations and make them his followers. Jesus is the almighty God and is also very close to us even today where we accept this challenge and are on His mission.

• Worldwide: Communio Messianica is growing!
  It is great to see how Jesus is building his church in the world dominated by Islam. It is a great privilege for us to live in this time when the truth and light of Jesus Christ is reaching the hearts of Muslims everywhere! For centuries there was virtually no visible fruit of missionary work in the Islamic world. But now so many Muslims are finding Jesus that there is much work to be done discipling these people in the Christian life. CM as a network wants to bring together and strengthen these people in building a new community of Jesus-followers in the Islamic world. Hence the name Communio Messianica - in Arabic "Ummat al-Masih", which is the all-embracing community of those who belong to Christ.

• Nigeria: Ongoing Fulani attacks on Christians, yet Fulani themselves are embracing Christianity
  Radical Islamic Fulani militias have again attacked eleven villages and killed 142 inhabitants in the Nigerian Plateau State. Dozens were abducted and hundreds of villagers fled their burning villages. Allegedly in search of new grazing land, the Fulani attack Christian-populated areas because of their grazing needs. Ironically, they are taking over Christian farming communities and settling there. So far, the Muslim Fulani  attacks have only been against other people groups, but there is a real threat to the growing CM community of former Fulani Muslims. Pray for continued church growth and for resources and opportunities to support these brothers and sisters in their discipleship programmes, diaconal ministry, and missionary outreach among their people.

• Mauritania: Christian leaders arrested
  We have already prayed for the young church in Mauritania. Now two leaders of the young movement have been arrested and charged - one in the north, the other in the south of the country. The Mauritanian government has become even more repressive in recent years. In 2018, the penal code established the death penalty for changing religion and blasphemy. Pray with us that these laws will not be applied to our brothers and sisters!

• Darfur: MBBs spread the Good News
  We had already reported that among the refugees from Darfur, significant numbers of Christian communities have sprung up in the neighbouring states. These black Africans have for decades been harassed by other Muslims from northern Sudan, the so-called Arab Rider Militias. Their villages were looted, women raped, people abducted into slavery. As in many other areas of the Islamic world, there is currently a disenchantment with Islam. Now there is a new development: Displaced Darfuris who have become followers of Jesus are going back to their homeland Darfur in the western part of North Sudan on the border with Chad to tell their fellow tribesmen about Jesus and about the new "Ummah of the Messiah" CM. We pray for good reception for the Gospel and that many Darfuris would become incorporated in the Body of Christ, the “Ummat-al-Masih”.

• Afghanistan: How are the Christians faring?
  Occasionally, the Taliban have shown some leniency towards people who used to work with Western forces, but they show no leniency towards Christians who are considered "apostates from Islam". Many Christians have now fled. They have lost their jobs and homes. Famine afflicts many of Afghanistan's people. Thirty percent of the population is dependent on humanitarian aid. According to reports, despite these hardships, Afghan Christians are positive and convinced that the living Christ is with them, and He will direct their paths. A convert who has remained in Afghanistan with her family reports, "My name is Roya and I had to drop out of school to take care of my sick mother and younger siblings. One day, my mother switched on Mohabat TV (a Christian channel closely allied with CM and broadcasting in Persian/Farsi) while she was resting. We listened with enthusiasm to the various stories from the Bible and watched different programmes on the Mohabat Chanel every day. Eventually, my father and siblings joined us. It was a miracle that my family came together to be spiritually nourished and gave our hearts to Jesus; we even got our own Bible! Shortly after, my dear mother passed away and we were left with much grief and pain. And then the Taliban invaded us as well. We tried to find a hiding place for our Bible, but everything happened so fast - they attacked our house, arrested my father, and confiscated our Bible. Since then, we have not heard from my father, and I am not allowed to leave my house without the company of a male relative. Our other family members are devout Muslims and do not know that we are Christians. They will hand us over to the Taliban if we are discovered. Pray, please pray for my family, for my father to come home and for all of our safety."

• German-speaking region: Gathering and training of potential CM leaders in Europe
  In July there will be a first meeting for this purpose with our cooperation partner in Switzerland, namely for the area of Southern Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Our co-worker in Switzerland writes: "We will hold a training weekend for MBBs who have a vision for evangelism, discipleship, church planting and missions and who want to be a blessing to their environment and the world. We have excellent speakers. Many who work among MBBs in Switzerland are helping practically. The weekend is for MBBs who have leadership potential and want to make a difference. These are multipliers and this is where I see we can be a great blessing to them as CM." The weekend will be held from 29 July 2022 to 1 August 2022. We are expecting 70 to 100 participants. Pray for this important meeting, that God will send us the right people - for everyone to profit, and for us to strengthen the MBB community in Europe.

• Worldwide: Evangelization with CM leader Dr Yassir Eric - in Arabic, Russian and Farsi
  From 4-8 May, a hybrid evangelization with Yassir Eric will again take place at Schönblick in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The events will be recorded for TV and internet and broadcast all over the world with simultaneous translation in Arabic, Persian (Farsi) and Russian (for the Central Asian and former Soviet Muslim-majority countries). Those who participated in the last evangelism series with Dr. Eric, are already excitedly waiting for this new episode. Pray that God will reach and renew the hearts of many Muslims around the world through life-changing faith in Jesus Christ and the power of His forgiveness.

Thank you for joining us in prayer.

Shalom - Peace be with you -

Yassir Eric and staff

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