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From broadcast studios, to conference halls, to subways, streets, and park benches... Rich Homeres and Bobbi Hamlyn have traveled across our country for years, meeting and interviewing people of all walks of life! With a heart for uniting people in the joy and oneness we have in Christ, they strive to share stories far and wide, to encourage, inform, and point listeners to our Savior.
Program Insights
Current Program:
Conley Owens - The Dorean Principle
Conley Owens is a pastor, a software engineer at Google, and the author of the book “The Dorean Principle - A Biblical Response To The Commercialization of Christianity.”
The Dorean Principle offers a fresh look at the Bible’s guidance on ministry fundraising and exposes common practices that run afoul of its instruction. Conley presents a robust synthesis of Jesus and the apostle Paul’s theology, concluding that “ministry should be supported, not sold.” Drawing from his experience as both a pastor and an engineer, he provides practical solutions to the challenges that lie at the intersection of money and ministry.
He is the husband of one wife and the father of seven children. He enjoys cooperative games, couch surfing, casual skateboarding, and other peculiar activities. He has been a member of Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church since 2010, and a pastor since 2019.
To order your free copy of the book “The Dorean Principle” go to his website at thedoreanprinciple.org.
Past Programs:
Patrick Hudson - Pure Life Ministries
Patrick Hudson described how he was living a life of denial walking is sin even though he was a church member. He went on to share how he sought help and counseling through Pure Life Ministries and is now serving their helping others.
Pure Life Ministries has been a pioneer in dealing with sexual addiction and its consequences for over 35 years. During that span of time thousands of people have found freedom through their counseling programs and teaching materials.
To learn more about Pure Life Ministry go to website at: purelifeministries.org.
Jeff Grider - Hollywood Actor
Being an actor in Hollywood and being a Christian can often be compared to oil and water - they don’t mix. We’re visiting with a person who was that actor who the Lord changed during his acting career. He’s Jeff Grider who we met in Time Square in New York City.
On our podcast he was asked to explain the type of life he lived and witnessed while working in the film industry and how the Lord entered his life.
Clare Effiong - Esther’s Aid
After working as a diplomat for the Nigeria Mission to the United Nations in New York for 16 years, Clare Effiong thought it was time to give back in a different way.
Back in 1999, she founded Esther’s Aid for Needy and Abandoned Children, a nonprofit organization. In 2000, the Nigerian native went to Rwanda without knowing anyone there and was appalled by what she’d seen. Over the last 15 years, she said, the organization has helped feed, clothe, shelter and educate more than 8,000 children.
“In Rwanda, if you have one meal [a day], that’s a luxury,” she said.
Her organization has helped open a primary school for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The school, which was initially an all-girls institution, was so well-received that it was soon after opened to boys as well. Effiong has opened a bakery, called Heavenly Bakery, which has employed many natives and helps the local economy. She also established a training program that helps the community members get involved in fields such as catering, sewing, farming and hospitality services.
Will Graham
Will Graham is the grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham. Will is the third generation of Graham’s to proclaim the Gospel under the banner of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Will has shared the hope of Jesus with more than one million people across six continents since beginning his evangelistic ministry in 2006.
In addition to his evangelistic outreaches, Will serves as vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and as executive director of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, N.C.
In 2018, Will portrayed his grandfather, Billy Graham, in the motion picture “Unbroken: Path to Redemption” (about Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini).
Also in 2018, Will wrote his first book – a devotional titled “Redeemed: Devotions for a Longing Soul” published by Thomas Nelson. The book featuring stories centered on the life-changing power of a relationship with God.
Will describes his desire to serve Christ. “I’m not trying to be the next Billy Graham; I’m just Will Graham. I have a burden in my heart to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If that’s to an arena full of people or one person on the street, I will do whatever God is calling me to do.”
Arne Brillinger - Sharing His Faith in a Wheelchair
Arne Brillinger was a Lutheran school principal and teacher for 25 years, and a foster care group homes administrator. His ministry changed when he became mobility impaired and was confined to a wheelchair and lived in a nursing home.
But, that didn’t stop Arne from being a witness for Christ.
He saw buses and taxi’s that had signs on them advertising various goods and promotions. And he said “I can do that!” So he decided to place signs on his wheelchair that talked about various aspects of Christianity.”
So, on his powered wheelchair off he went from city to town silently bearing his faith wherever he went.
Join us on our Podcast as Arne shares some of his experiences that he’s had while simply going to a grocery store or traveling on public transit.
Lee Webb - Ligonier Ministries
Lee Webb is the announcer on the program “Renewing Your Mind” and the VP of Broadcasting for Ligonier Ministries
Lee Webb is known for his tenured career in television journalism. He now serves as the daily host of “Renewing Your Mind.” He is also an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
Renewing Your Mind is an outreach of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization founded in 1971 by Dr. R.C. Sproul. We know that God uses his Word to change lives. In Romans 12:2, Paul tells Christians to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind." That is the aim of the program. Ligonier Ministries is committed to faithfully presenting the unvarnished truth of Scripture, helping listeners to know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it and how to share it.
Mel Mulder - Beyond Intelligent Design
Dr. Mel Mulder, Has served as a medical surgeon, is an author and host of the program “Beyond Intelligent Design.” His program is a science and creation feature designed to show that the Bible is accurate and that it is our only source of truth aiding in ones discovery of science and the Bible.
Dr. Mulder has served as the Physician-in-Chief at a 250 bed hospital, was the Medical Director of the Ohio Permanente Medical Group, and was also on the Cleveland Clinic's Board of Governors.
From his earliest childhood, Dr. Mulder has always been fascinated with origins. In his role as Medical Director, he was involved with diagnostic and therapeutic radio-isotopes, genetic diseases, stem cell therapy, congenital anomalies, and organ transplantation. On short-term surgical missions, frequently with his family, he visited geological sites in Africa, Israel, Asia, and Central America, touring also Alaska's glaciers, Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Mount St. Helens.
Delighting in nature and nature's God, Dr. Mulder stresses three fundamental doctrines recounted throughout the scriptures: creation, de-creation, and re-creation.
Bob Butts - Truth For Life
Bob Butts is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Columbia College Chicago. He worked for Moody Broadcasting before joining Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. He has been the Executive Vice President of the ministry since 1997. Alistair credits Butts, a longtime attendee of Begg’s Parkside Church in Cleveland, OH, for coming up with the idea in 1992 that his preaching should be featured on a Moody Radio program. He tells the amazing story of how God answered the prayers of the elders of his church to broadcast Alistair’s message from 1 to 1,800 radio stations worldwide.
Ken Ham - Answers in Genesis
Australian born Ken Ham, is the CEO and founder of the ministry Answers in Genesis.
A biblical apologist, Ken gives numerous faith-building talks to tens of thousands of children and adults each year on such topics as the reliability of the Bible, how compromise over biblical authority has undermined society and even the church (which is seeing a massive exodus of young people), witnessing more effectively, dinosaurs, “races,” and so on.
In May of 2007, Answers in Genesis opened its high-tech Creation Museum and education center in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Then in 2016 they opened The Ark Encounter, a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark.
Answers in Genesis derives it’s name from its purpose of upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1.
Ken Ham is the author of many books, as well as being heard daily on the radio feature “Answers in Genesis.”
Brain Bush - Christian News Correspondent
Brian Bush is a Middle East Christian news correspondent who has lived in Jerusalem for over 25 years.
While on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land he met his wife who lived there. He tells how he not only had an interesting courtship with her before her father gave his permission to marry, but how the Lord had plans for him to stay in Israel.
Brian gives us a firsthand perspective of life in the Holy Lands. He shares how there’s been a steady exodus of the Christian population and explains why they’re leaving it’s birthplace.
Gospel Singer Miss Lillie Knauls
O Happy Day! Do you remember that song? We’ll if you lived in the late 60's and early 70's it was a gospel song sung by the Edwin Hawkins Singers that made it to the top of the charts in the U.S. and around the world. And our guest in this series of podcasts is one of those singers in that choir, who herself has been used mightily by the Lord. She’s Lillie Knauls.
Miss Lillie as many know her by, with her radiant smile and her hats, has been a regular singer featured on the Bill & Gloria Gaither Homecoming television program, videos, and tours.
She’s traveled extensively across our country and has sung in many of the most prestigious venues throughout the world.
Miss Lillie has also been a Dove Award recipient for “Traditional Gospel Album of the Year” with her album, “Past and Present.”
Operation Christmas Child
“The count down happens and the cheers just erupt everywhere. They jump up with joy! They jump up with smiles...”
Even amid a global pandemic, “Operation Christmas Child” is actively involved wanting to collect more shoeboxes than ever before, because now more than ever, children need hope!
We’re visiting by phone with Dana William, the Media Relations Assistant Manager for Samaritan's Purse about their outreach with “Operation Christmas Child.”
Pastor Carter Conlon - Time Square Church, New York City, NY
Carter Conlon is the General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc. in Manhattan, NY. He joined the pastoral staff as associate pastor in 1994 at the invitation of founding pastor David Wilkerson, author of the internationally-acclaimed book, The Cross and the Switchblade, and was senior pastor from 2001 to 2020. Times Square Church is an interdenominational church with the blessing of being located right in the heart of Times Square in Manhattan! With the area teeming with locals and tourists from around the world, the church averages over 10,000 people in attendance, representing over 100 different nationalities! Times Square Church also recently welcomed 900+ home satellite fellowships worldwide as it continues to expand its reach.
From the very beginning, Pastor Conlon's heart has always demonstrated a passion for prayer. On one occasion God prompted Conlon to call together the churches of New York City to congregate for one hour of prayer on the streets of Manhattan.
Conlon was resolute in his faith and believed all things were possible with God, even a prayer meeting in the middle of Times Square, at the “crossroads of the world!” As a result, “Prayer in the Square” was birthed, and Christians from all denominations assembled on Broadway! This phenomenon grew from 10,000, to 20,000 to 50,000 each consecutive year. Conlon and the Times Square Church choir continued to lead this event that was attended by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who declared Sunday to be Prayer in the Square Day!
Pastor Conlon continues to actively serve on the Board of Directors for World Challenge (a ministry founded by David Wilkerson) and Summit International School of Ministry. Pastor Carter is married to Dr. Teresa Conlon, President of Summit International School of Ministry, and an associate pastor at Times Square Church in New York City.
The Conlons have three children and eight grandchildren.
Don’t miss his 2-part podcast posted on this site as you will surely be very blessed- and challenged! - as he shares his inspirational passion for prayer, outreach, and our Savior Jesus Christ in these turbulent times!
Evangeline Rodriguez - NYC
Evangeline Rodriguez was born in the Philippines and migrated to the U.S. when she was 19 years old. She and her family settled in the New York City area in 1979 where her brother lived.
Evangeline was able to secure a job with a major firm on Wall Street where she worked for 10 years.
Her spiritual background was Catholic, going to church on Sundays and casually holding to the traditions of her faith. At one point, she ran into a very difficult time domestically, as she was going through a divorce. But it wasn’t until her son became very sick in the hospital, suffering with seizures, that she talked with God. For the first time, she cried out to Him – for healing mercies for her son. She promised God that she would change her life from the so-called worldly “Good Life” that she had with her friends on Wall Street, to a committed one to Him.
Find out how God completely changed Evangeline’s life – even now, as she lives, and works in the medical field, in the New York City area, which was once the epicenter of the Coronavirus in the U.S. Listen-in as Evangeline shares her story from her heart in her own passionate words on our podcasts!
Johan Schep’s Story - A Dutchman in Israel
Johan Schep, a Dutchman from Holland who has hungered to be free and as nomadic as a Robinson Crusoe adventurist, gives us a look at his story:
“I'd like to tell something about myself. I was raised on a farm in a family of 9 children. We grew up in a secure home and I enjoyed my carefree youth in Lexmond.
My little brother, who always slept next to me, died at the age of four. Then, my parents decided to emigrate to Brazil when I was 11 years old. From that time, my life became very restless, painful and shaky. We lived in Brazil for nearly two years. It did not go very smoothly. I was sick for half a year and was operated on by a runaway Nazi doctor. My mother almost died of blood loss with her last birth.
Despite all this, we have experienced the protection of the Lord God, and came back to Holland safely, and with an illusion less.
Until I was 21, I helped build a milk and grocery delivery business together with my father.
I longed for freedom, but it cost me a stomach operation before I packed my things and went around the world.
I came to Israel in 1973. War broke out after three weeks, and I was very active. I have even removed cows from a minefield!
After the war, I went out into the desert, and there I discovered that I wasn't even close to being free. It was during that time that I built a hut, and found my Bible that my mother had hidden in my backpack. By reading the Bible, I knew I had to make a choice! I found the answer in Galatians. I came to the Lord Jesus!
I gave my life to Jesus, and I knew there was a job waiting for me to tell others about Him…”
This is just a glimpse of Johan’s adventures! To hear much more, and see how God has used him in mighty ways, tune in to our podcasts and hear it directly from him, as he shares his own story…
Jew to Christian - Joe Jacowitz
Joseph Jacowitz has been the pastor of Christ Bible Church, Pleasanton, CA, since 1990. He has a Bachelor's degree in Pastoral Theology. He and his wife Sherry have been married for 40 years and have five children and eight grandchildren. He is the President of FirstLove Ministries.
Joseph Jacowitz was born in 1955 in New York City into a conservative Jewish family. He grew up blocks from the boardwalk and seashore of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. He talks about he life as a Jewish boy in route to study in rabbinical school to serve in the Jewish faith. But he took what he thought would be a momentary detour to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. He became an officer and served as a marksmanship instructor.
He shares how while serving in the Marines that God was working in his heart to reveal Himself to him and his true calling for his life by meeting his Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, as his Lord and Savior!
Pastor Joe, as he’s now referred to, went on to become a pastor of a church and founder and president for a worldwide outreach called First Love Ministries.
Brother Stephen
Meet Brother Stephen on our podcast, who’s sharing his story and heart for the Lord as he’s preparing to go into full-time ministry as a pastor! He’s a member of the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley in Morgan Hill, CA.
Brother Stephen also shared with us the part of his journey when he was invited by his pastor, Dr. Paul Nelson, to join him on a mission trip to the Philippines with a group from First Love Missions.
He said that it was his first time traveling overseas – not only to visit a foreign country, but to travel on a mission for the Lord!
He also explained that the trip had a special connection for him in that his ethnic background on his father’s side is Filipino.
They visited the Island of Luzon and then held their meetings in Manila.
For Stephen to go to serve the Lord in a country that was foreign to him, but yet has ancestral ties, and knowing his Dad’s love for the Filipino people, made the trip very special to him – a most pivotal point in his spiritual walk, and life! To learn more about Brother Stephen and his passionate journey with the Lord, check out our series of podcasts with him!
Leigh Prater - Dad, Pastor, Missionary
Sharing from his heart on our Podcast is Leigh Prater, an Associate Pastor at Beth-El Baptist Church in Morgan Hill, CA. He ministers to his congregation under the leadership of Senior Pastor Greg Tomlinson.
With an intense passion for sharing the Gospel, Pastor Prater has also served in the mission field, visiting Ethiopia, Argentina, Philippines, and Siberia; and also spending several months reaching out to all those who crossed his path in India!
He says, “There’s nothing like it, and some of the best times of my life have been in foreign countries just sharing God’s Word, and remembering their faces! -And, [there are] people coming up to you saying, ‘I really want to know, I really want to know what this means!’
A guy that’s dressed in Muslim garb comes up to you and says that in India!” And Pastor Prater went on to say that “you share the Word with them... so that they might be saved by hearing the Word of God!” (Romans 10:17 - “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”)
He also made it a point to share that pastors need encouragement as well as their congregants! So, please remember to pray for your pastor, and to pray for Leigh and his ministry, as well.
And be inspired as you meet this brother in the Lord, and hear about all the different ways God uses him to share His Love and His Word, as you listen to Pastor Leigh’s story on our Podcasts! Let us help you to stay connected! - through the unique stories on “Connections with Rich and Bobbi”!
Behind the Berlin Wall
How would you feel if you went to bed on a Saturday after a beautiful summer day, thinking all was well, and suddenly awoke to turmoil on Sunday morning?
That’s exactly what happened to the German people living in Berlin on August 13, 1961.
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire barricade, followed by a concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep those in West Germany from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.
People who had traveled to East or West Germany for the weekend found themselves trapped and separated from family and friends.
The barricade blocking the two sectors of Berlin was a sudden event that happened without warning. At midnight, the police and units of the East German army began closing the border between the two German States, and shut it down completely on the following morning – the 13th of August, 1961. This marked the beginning of the construction of the Berlin Wall. East German troops and workers started tearing up the streets that ran alongside the border, to make way for the movement of vehicles to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 97 miles, to divide West and East Berlin.
Then, large concrete blocks were put in place, to convert the fence into a strong wall. When the Berlin Wall was under construction, armed soldiers were assigned to guard it, with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to destroy it. To make the wall stronger, fences and other obstacles were built alongside the inner German border between East and West Germany, and minefields were included in the design of the construction.
The wall separated East Germans from friends, families, and jobs in West Germany, leaving them to face food shortages, government persecution, and severe punishment for escape attempts. It was not until nearly three decades later, on November 9, 1989, that the communist government collapsed and the borders reopened, resulting in a joyful celebration of cheering, singing, reunions, and the destruction of the once-feared wall!
This is the world that Hans Shapp grew up in, living in East Germany. Don’t miss his story in a podcast on our site, as he explains not only how it felt to live in a divided family in the East under Communist rule, but how it was to experience a move to freedom in the West – or was it true freedom?!
Pastor Mike Orlicky
In October, Pastor Orlicky with be celebrating his 30th year of ministry. 28 years of his service for the Lord has been at the Coastside Baptist Church in Half Moon Bay, California, approximately 22 miles south, along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco.
He share that he was led to the Lord by the person who ended up becoming his father-in-law. He remembered saying, “there are two things I’m not going to do in my life, ‘I’m not going to go into the ministry, and I’m not going to marry a pastor’s daughter!”
Mike, at the time, was in construction as an ironworker and recalls being up on the iron putting in some metal purlins thinking, “I don’t really think I want to be doing this the rest of my life. I really feel God wants me in the ministry.”
Well, God did have other plans for his life to serve Him as a pastor and marrying a pastor’s daughter as Isaiah 55:8 says: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD.”
Listen to our podcast’s of three pastors telling their very different paths that God has led them on to full-time service for Him.
Dr. Paul Nelson, Pastor
Paul S. Nelson received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Arizona State University in 1982. He has authored numerous scientific articles in peer reviewed journals, and is the inventor of six U.S. patents. He is founder and President of Nelson Biotechnologies, Inc., a nucleic acid chemistry company located in Morgan Hill, CA. Dr. Nelson fulfilled requirements for and received a Master of Theology in 2002. In 2003, Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley ordained him to the gospel ministry and subsequently as Associate Pastor. He lectures at the Pacific Institute for Religious Studies in Apologetics, and has written the book entitled, "The Song of the Suffering Servant." Paul has been married for over 32 years. He is the father of three children, and grandfather of four.
Pastor Arthur Lyle Mellon
Pastor Arthur Lyle Mellon is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Hayward, California. His church started from his home as a mission outreach of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley, in Morgan Hill, CA, under the shepherding of Dr. William R. Downing and Dr. Paul Nelson. It later grew into a regular Bible Study and then was commissioned as a church.
The Lord led Pastor Mellon on a variety of vocations before calling him into the ministry. He served in the military in “special forces” at various U.S. Embassies in Latin America and the Middle East. After leaving the military he finished a doctorate in business administration and education and went to seminary.
But, with all that training and education he felt that something was still missing. He says, “I was a minister for five years before I was save.” It was through the words of another preacher that the Lord used to catch Arthur’s attention. He read where Charles Spurgeon said, “How terrible it must be to offer life to others and not have it yourself.”
God is now using Pastor Mellon to faithfully proclaim the Gospel, not just in part, but by presenting the whole counsel as we’re told in Act 20:27: “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
Join us over the next few podcasts as we visit with various pastors about their ministry and how God has called them to service.
Linda Eve - from the Killing Fields to True Freedom in Christ
Cambodia is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. Tourists are now traveling to Cambodia, as the country welcomes visitors from all over the world.
But, that’s not the way it always has been. It fact, between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia was one of the most dreaded countries on earth. This is the period when the Khmer Rouge Communist party overran the country, ruling it with an iron-hand, suppressing the population.
During this four-year period of terror, millions of lives were affected through the combined result of political executions, starvation, and forced labor. The worst of all was the uncovering of the “Killing Fields” - a Cambodian genocide, where a staggering number between 1.7 to 2.5 million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime.
A person that Christ preserved through this reign of terror was Linda Eve. She tells her heart-wenching story of how, close to fulfilling her life’s dream of becoming a doctor, she was taken out of medical school, and forced to work for years in the labor camps in the rice fields of Cambodia, until the Lord made a way of escape!
Matthew Costa and CityTeam Shining God’s Light in the Inner-City
The area that’s described in our podcast with Matthew Costa is a district in San Francisco called “the Tenderloin.” The Tenderloin is one of San Francisco's roughest neighborhoods, with crime, alcohol, drugs, and an outsized homeless population. But it also boasts a real community of nonprofit organizations, families, artists, and activists who are proud to call it home! One such organization is called CityTeam, where Matthew sought help.
CityTeam is a Christian organization that has a long history of service in the Tenderloin. It’s been helping to transform lives, with many going from jail, like Matthew, or living on the streets, to becoming productive members of society - a ministry that’s seeking to live out Christ’s call to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Just like how CityTeam helped Matthew, their programs offer a variety of resources to meet needs and to provide real help and hope, such as by serving hot meals, providing housing, and conducting a learning and career center.
To find out more about CityTeam and their work in the Inner-City, go to their website at https://www.cityteam.org/san-francisco.
Also, check out our podcast series with Teddy Feldmann, as he tells his inspirational story of coming from a turbulent upbringing, to living as an addict on the streets, to going through CityTeam’s programs, to serving the Lord as the Community Outreach Coordinator for CityTeam! The episodes can be found on most any social platform such as itunes and Spotify, as well as in our podcast archives on this connectionswithrichandbobbi.com website!
Mali
Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa, which means that it is a country that is totally surrounded by other countries and the only way in or out is through those other countries, not by sea.
Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi). The population of Mali is 19.1 million. 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. The country's economy centers on agriculture and mining. Some of Mali's prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt.
Mali is 90 percent Muslim, and Christians make up just 2 percent of the population.
Mali is listed as 29th on Open Door’s World Watch List of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for their faith.
Open Doors reports:
Last year, northern Mali saw a rise in violent incidents, including attacks and kidnappings. While the majority of Malians traditionally practice a relatively tolerant version of Islam, increasing radicalization continues to pressure and physically harm the lives of Christians and their churches. This radicalization has led to intensifying violence against Christians -- from jihadist groups, such as Al Qaeda, and from criminal organizations that have allied themselves with radical Islamic rebel groups. In the northern region, evangelistic activities are especially risky and could lead to attacks by radical Muslims.
With the proliferation of jihadist groups like Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, the vast territory of Mali not under effective government control is becoming a sanctuary for Islamic militants who are a threat to the security of the entire region. Located in one of the hotbed regions for jihadists, the situation in Mali is part of the overall rise of Islamic militancy in the entire region.
How Christians are suffering:
In Mali, Christians are experiencing an increase in violence and hostility, especially those who openly share their faith. Believers from a Muslim background particularly suffer the trauma of rejection and intimidation from their families. Plus, traditional and cultural norms mean that many Christian women and girls are subjected to sexual abuse, forced marriage, under-age marriage, and are denied access to modern education. Christian missionaries operating in Mali live under the constant threat of abduction, and some have been kidnapped by jihadists, with some still being held hostage today.
Pray for Mali:
Thank the Lord for the presence of His witnesses in Mali, as our brother shares on our podcast! Thank God that the government allows for freedom of worship and doesn’t try to limit official religious freedom.
Instability and Islamic oppression continue in Mali, and it is affecting the entire region. Pray for peace to be restored in the country. Pray for wisdom and great accountability for the government and its international partners as they work to restore peace.
Also, please pray for Christians evangelizing in the north , that God would protect them from being attacked , and/or abducted by radical Muslims. Pray for those that have been kidnapped and are still being held by jihadists. Pray for much grace and courage for the church as they live out their mission in Mali.
One Christian brother in Mali tells his story:
Be sure to tune in to our podcast to hear from a West African brother about how the Lord led him from being a “good Muslim” in a Muslim family in Mali, to becoming a believer in Jesus Christ! Hear how he and others courageously use their religious background to reach out to Muslims in love with the Gospel!
The Final Race - The Life Story of Eric Liddell
“He That Honors Me, I Will Honor”
If you were good enough to qualify for the Olympics and were chosen to go, and you were even the favorite to win gold, would you still compete if running on the day of the race went against your religious convictions?
Sound far-fetched? After all, this is the Olympics! Only the best in the world come home with gold!
Well, this was exactly the decision that Eric Liddell made.
As a member of the British Olympic Team for the 1924 Paris Olympic Games, he refused to run in the qualifying heats of the 100-meters because they were held on Sunday, a day that he reverenced as the Lord’s Day, which is to be honored.
Author Eric Eichinger, in his book, “The Final Race,” describes Liddell’s decision this way:
“...Upon hearing the news in the early fall of 1923 - months before the Summer Olympics - that the opening 100-meter heats were set for a Sunday, Eric knew without question what his response would be. He would not run on the Sabbath - even for the Olympics. End of discussion.
Eric’s deep-seated reverence for the Sabbath was rooted in the seriousness of his missionary upbringing, cultivated in the rigidity of his boarding school... In Eric’s thinking, it stood to reason that mankind should adhere to one of God’s earliest commandments. But, even to Christians of his day, Liddell’s practice was in the minority and seemed like foolish extremism to non-Christians and those of weak belief.”
At the Summer Games, as Eric Liddell entered the Olympic track for the 400-meters, a race that he was not expected to enter or to win, but that did not take place on a Sunday, Eichinger writes:
“Eric’s visible advantages had been all but removed, but he had an undetectable edge few others could see, let alone understand. He ran not only for Britain, but first and foremost for God. No matter what transpired during the race - whether he won or lost - Eric knew he already possessed an eternal peace that surpassed understanding.”
Prior to his big race Eric was handed a note that he didn’t read right away, as described in the book, “The Final Race:”
“Eric went through his usual warm-ups and stretches, and he gentlemanly shook the hands of all of his opponents before the start. Before digging his starting stance in the cinder, he removed the note, and - before one of the biggest moments of his life - read,
In the old book it says, “He that honours me, I will honour.’
Wishing you the best of success always. (1 Samuel 2: 30)
Eric Liddell’s conquest of winning gold became a reality, not only by winning the 400-meters, but by accomplishing his victory by setting a new world record time!
This true story was depicted in the Academy Award-winning movie, Chariots of Fire,” and captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of viewers. But for Pastor and Author Eric Eichinger, who has had an uncanny connection to Eric Liddell, it was just the beginning of Eric Liddell’s fascinating and inspiring life story, as he describes with passion in our podcasts - listen and be blessed!