Gospel.com Blog

In the Trokosi culture of west Africa, animism and ritual fetishes hold sway over the lives of everyone, young and old. In some cases, girls as young as five years are given over into virtual slavery in the service of fetish priests. What does it take to bring spiritual (and in some cases, physical) freedom to a culture accustomed to such practices?

The IN Network has the answer: the Gospel of Christ. They’ve set up a website where you can learn more about the Trokosi and the outreach efforts underway in that culture. You can also watch a short video describing the troubling practice of “fetish priest slavery” and the IN Network’s efforts to replace spiritually destructive practices with the message of Jesus. Take a few minutes to learn about this important ministry, which seeks to bring freedom to a people long gripped by spiritual and physical slavery.

Traditional evangelism–through missionaries, tracts, sermons and the like–has become extremely difficult and often impossible in the Muslim world. But even if traditional evangelism “doors” have been closed there, it doesn’t mean there aren’t “windows” through which the Gospel of Christ can reach people in Arab countries.

The latest issue of the Lausanne World Pulse online magazine has an excellent article by Arne Fjeldstad about the ways that the internet is bringing the Gospel to individuals all throuhout the Muslim world, despite governments and cultures that are actively hostile to Christianity. Internet use in Muslims countries is skyrocketing, and with increased online interaction comes increased opportunities for evangelism:

Several Christian organizations and groups… are evangelizing on the Internet, and many of them receive hundreds of emails and feedback every month. Some sites are hosted within the Arab world while others are based outside the area to secure freedom of speech (and protect against malicious attacks aimed at shutting down the servers). Some ministries have hundreds of people gathered online for Bible studies. Mobile phones are used to share Bible verses, animations, etc. Podcasting is becoming a good tool among many students catching up with the latest lecture online. Although text and picture messages via mobile phones can be interrupted and blocked, they are likely to be less censored because of the overwhelming number of users.

Of course, sharing the Gospel in the Arab world–or expressing interest in Christianity–can still be extremely dangerous in certain countries. Much remains to be done to bring the message of Christ to Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere, but Fjeldstad’s article is an inspiring depiction of a great evangelistic work already in progress, despite countless obstacles.

Spring is here, and summertime’s right around the corner! For many families, that means it’s time to start thinking about a summer vacation or holiday. But how can you keep vacation expenses down to a reasonable level, especially if you’ve got a large family?

Cindy Sumner offers ten tips for vacation savings over at the Mothers of Preschoolers website. Lots of good ideas there, ranging from basic strategies (like avoiding eating out when possible) to more advanced ones (like scheduling airplane flights on off-peak days during the week).

Looking for a challenge worthy of your artistic skills? COMIX35, a ministry that publishes evangelistic comics and trains Christian comic artists, is hosting two unique contests. One of the contests is looking for the best proposal for a graphic-novel adaptation of Josh McDowell’s More Than a Carpenter. The other is calling for a short evangelistic animation for a webpage or cellphone.

Both contests offer a cash reward; entries are due later this year (November for the graphic novel competition; August for the animation contest). If you’ve got a creative streak, take a look at the contest rules and consider crafting a submission of your own!

Samuel Chiang of the Trans World Radio ministry has written an interesting article describing the effects of Asia’s rapid urbanization on TWR’s ministry work there. According to Chiang, the process of urbanization is exacting some difficult social costs throughout Asia, which presents both opportunities and challenges for the work of the church there.

If ever there was a Bible character who went from ‘rags to riches,’ it was Joseph, who began his career in Egypt as a slave and ended as a mighty ruler. What can we learn from his tumultuous life?

That’s the question being asked this week by evangelist Luis Palau in his short daily Reaching Your World devotionals. Each day this week, Palau will be talking about a different lesson to be learned from the life of Joseph. The devotionals are available in audio and text format; if you’re looking for a bit of inspiration with which to start off your days, stop by and take a look!

How do you pray? Have you ever wondered exactly how it is that we’re supposed to approach God in prayer? Is prayer a regular and rewarding part of your life, or is it just something you do without thinking before meals?

Fortunately, the Bible lays out exactly what prayer is and how to go about practicing it. The Bible Prayer Fellowship ministry has an excellent series of online articles that walk you through the seven “prayer basics.”

The “prayer basics” aren’t special strategies with the magic power to get God’s attention–rather, they describe the attitude with which we should approach the act of prayer, as laid out in the Bible. If you’re trying to rekindle a faltering prayer life, or if you just want to learn more about what Biblical prayer really looks like, take a few minutes to read through the prayer basics!

IVPress has recently published Tim Stafford’s book Never Mind the Joneses, which talks about the challenge of raising a family that shares Biblical values. How can parents free themselves of the fear that they’re “doing something wrong” in the way they’re bringing up their children?

There’s a short interview with Stafford at the IVPress site in which he talks a bit about the book; and a related study guide and other resources that should make useful family discussion material even if you haven’t read the book. (IVPress often releases free study guides and author interviews in conjunction with new books–it’s worth checking in from time to time to see what new material they’ve put on their site.)

Arab World Ministries has a great resource for anyone interested in the Middle East or looking for specific prayer requests related to mission work in the Arab world: their library of profiles of the countries of the Arab world.

Eighteen Arab countries each have a one-page profile that includes important facts about the country and five prayer requests for people and programs there. These profiles would make a great addition to your personal or family prayer time.

The Narnia film is back–this time in a special-edition DVD that brings with it the special features and behind-the-scenes tidbits that film fans have come to expect from such releases. Do the extra features and commentaries shed any light on the process of adapting the Christian classic to the big screen?

Hollywood Jesus writer Greg Wright takes a thorough look at the DVD and offers some good commentary of his own on what the extra features offer for Narnia fans:

Here we finally get a chance, in particular, to gain some specific insight into how much of a role Adamson really played in charting the vision for this film—his thinking behind casting, scripting and visualizations. Leading up to the film’s release, we were almost led to believe that Douglas Gresham, or even the dead C. S. Lewis, presided over the production, and that Adamson was just a means to an end. Now we can see that this really was Adamson’s show, and in what ways.

It sounds like the bonus material is a bit hit-and-miss, but that there’s plenty to keep most Narnia fans occupied. Stop by Greg’s Narnia blog and read his full review.