A glimpse in to what God is doing through your prayer for this region.
In recent months I was asked to facilitate a few prayer events focusing on the whole region of North Africa. Preparing for those prayer events helped me take time to reflect on what God is doing in this region of the world. I stand amazed! God is a good God and He is doing good things!
In Egypt, despite or maybe because of all the upheavals, the Egyptian Church has continued to grow in their love for and heart to reach their Muslim brothers and sisters both in Egypt and in other nations in North Africa. It was Egyptian workers in Sudan and Libya who were sharing boldly and suffering (even to death) because of it. The prayer movement in the Egyptian Church has continued to grow in recent years as our brothers and sisters gathered in their tens of thousands to intercede on behalf of their nation. Praise God that He hears and answers their prayers.
Our hearts break for Libya. When Ghaddafi was removed from power there were some reports of the house church movement growing. However, the increasing lawlessness and civil war in Libya has made it very hard for the small church once again. We know that God is working in hearts and lives all across Libya, and we pray for the day when His Church will burst forth with joy!
Tunisia has seen a steady growing Church develop. Having permission to meet in public church buildings makes a big difference to the open growth of the Church. There have been many opportunities to share with Tunisian people hungry for change, real faith, and struggling to find their feet in the post-revolution years. The Tunisian church has been involved in organising a number of national church events which have been very encouraging. The Pray4Tunisia prayer initiative has exploded in the post-revolution years. We look forward to the fruit of all these prayers!
Algeria has been experiencing revival for the last 30 years (post their revolution of that era) and the Church now numbers over 100,000 people! The Church was recognised, given permission to meet in public buildings, then experienced persecution and Churches were closed down, but then re-opened as the Church continued to grow, only to be shut down again etc. Despite the hurdles of intimidation the Church continues to move in signs and wonders, boldly telling of the power of Jesus to heal, deliver and save! In recent years the Algerian Church has also been growing in their heart for missions and to take the Good News across North Africa.
Morocco has also seen a definite increase in openness to the Gospel message, with more opportunities to share and the message of Jesus being more readily received. Access to the internet has been an enormous open door in Morocco in the last 5 years and a number of Moroccan Christians are involved in a host of on-line outreaches, struggling to keep up with the amount of questions being sent in by seekers. One website offers the Jesus film in one of the Berber languages and recently reported there are 3,500 downloads each month!
Mauritania, despite being a very hard nation to live in, reports an 8% annual church growth according to Operation World. The Church is very small, but it IS growing!
When I stopped to review the region of North Africa, I was struck by how much is happening! Even 10 years ago, we would not have expected to see what we are seeing today. This is so deeply encouraging and I am convinced its because of the hours of prayer that have been sown into this part of the world. Please keep praying! Let’s even increase our devotion to prayer to see God’s Kingdom come in ever increasing measure.
On our website we’ve recently added a “sign-up” button for each nation across North Africa. By clicking on this button you are simply indicating your commitment to pray for that nation. We don’t send you any more emails or instructions for how to pray. That info is available through our facebook page, twitter feed, and regular posts to the website. Are you committed to praying for North Africa? Please sign up to show this. It will encourage us and we hope you too!