Barnabas Gifts 2014 2015 by Barnabas Fund

barnabas gifts ... ... Gifts of Love for the Persecuted Church

Barnabas Fund Gift Catalogue www.barnabasfund.org 1

2014-2015

Contents Welcome ........................................................................... 3 How we help ..................................................................... 4 What did your gifts achieve last year?........................... 5 Where we helped.............................................................. 6 Special feature: Assisting displaced Christians in the Middle East .........8 Basic needs ............................................................................................9 Water ....................................................................................................10 Disaster relief ........................................................................................11 Medical care .........................................................................................12 Gift form ........................................................................ i-iii Gift cards ......................................................................... iv Victims of violence ................................................................................13 Convert care .........................................................................................14 Small businesses ..................................................................................15 Leadership training ...............................................................................16 Christian workers ..................................................................................17 Christian resources ...............................................................................18 Church buildings ...................................................................................19 School-place sponsorship .....................................................................20 About Barnabas Fund .................................................... 21 Commendations .............................................................. 22

Welcome Dear Friend, I am delighted to present to you the Barnabas Fund gift catalogue for 2014-2015. Here is an opportunity to present a gift of love to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for their faith. This catalogue offers many options for gifts that you, your small group or your church can make to help Christians suffering discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world. These range from relief from natural disasters to the provision of food and other basics for the needy; from help for converts and victims of violence to sponsorship of schoolchildren and start-up costs for small businesses; from training and support for leaders to funds for resources and buildings. On page 8 you can also read about how to help displaced Christians from northern Iraq and Syria who have fled from the brutality of ISIS. Please prayerfully consider your response to the needs set out in this catalogue and give what you can, and please also encourage others in your congregation or fellowship to do the same. Single and regular gifts Single “one-off” gifts help to support vital ministries and also make attractive alternative presents for friends and family. Why not give a Barnabas gift as a birthday or Christmas present this year?

Regular gifts help us to minimise our overheads and so maximise the amount we can send to support persecuted Christians. They also allow us to plan ahead with more confidence and to respond quickly to new and urgent requests. Gift cards If you choose to support one of our projects as an alternative gift, we will supply you with a delightful thank-you card, which you can send to the person on whose behalf you have made the donation. Please turn to page iv of the pullout gift form for further details. Paul encouraged the Christians in Galatia to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). May you know God’s rich blessing as you consider how to identify yourself with the plight of our persecuted brothers and sisters. Please pray for them as you read their stories. Yours in the service of Christ,

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo International Director

How we help

Basic needs

food and other essentials supplied through local churches

Christian workers

Leadership training equipping the ministers of Christ

spreading the Word, strengthening the Body

strengthening Christians through self-sufficiency

Small businesses

Christian education

Convert care

Victims of violence

Church buildings

support for those who turn to Christ

Water

digging wells, ensuring supplies

helping Christians who suffer violence or injustice for their faith

Christian schooling for Christian children

enabling ministry on firm foundations

Medical care

clinics and life-saving healthcare

Christian resources

resources for growth and encouragement

Disaster relief

emergency aid in times of calamity

What did your gifts achieve in...the last year?* ...

In contexts of pressure and persecutionâ&#x20AC;Ś

â&#x20AC;ŚBarnabas Fund supported:

20,181 Christians who were victims of violence

264 evangelists and 137 pastors

6,165 Christian children leadership training in Christian schools or for 27,472 Christians educational programmes in 27 countries

6 safe houses and helped persecuted Christian converts in 9 countries

912 Christians with small-business and income-generation projects

37 water projects, including wells and hand pumps

5 clinics or care centres

â&#x20AC;ŚBarnabas Fund provided:

emergency disaster relief to 13,406 Christians

resources for the construction or repair of 397 homes for Christian families and 27 churches

resources for the construction and repair of 7 other Christian ministry buildings

food and other basic needs for 116,383 Christians

122,000 pieces of Christian literature *From 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 5

Where we helped*

Algeria Argentina Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bangladesh Brazil Bulgaria Burma (Myanmar) Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad China Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Germany Ghana Greece Guinea-Conakry Holy Land India Indonesia Iran Iraq Kazakhstan

Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Mali Moldova Nepal Niger Nigeria North Korea Pakistan Philippines Russia Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Solomon Islands South Africa South Sudan Sri Lanka

Sudan Suriname Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States of America Uzbekistan Zimbabwe

* Some of the countries where Barnabas Fund supported projects from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. Projects in Western countries are usually assisting Christians from places of persecution. 7

Assisting displaced Christians in the Middle East

Special feature

ou no longer have to feel powerless when watching distressing news coming out of the Middle East about Christians. Besides praying, you can help our suffering brothers and sisters by donating to our Middle East Fund. This will bring clean water, food, medicines, clothes and other essentials to hundreds of thousands of Christians from Iraq and Syria who have been forced to flee their homes to escape the brutality of ISIS and other militants. Some of the displaced believers have taken refuge in public buildings, but many have nowhere to go and are stranded in streets and open fields.

ISIS marked Christian homes in Mosul with the Arabic letter N that stan ds for “Nisrani” (Nazarene i.e. Christia n)

$14

$30

pays for a hygiene kit for a displaced Iraqi Christian family

provides a food basket for a displaced Iraqi Christian family, to last approximately ten days

Reference number: 00-1188 (The Middle East Fund) 8

At the time of writing, ISIS is in control of large tracts of northern Iraq and Syria. Christians are fleeing from the north-eastern region of Syria as ISIS continues to seize towns. In Iraq, 200,000 Christians are on the move after ISIS seized the Nineveh region, traditionally the homeland of Christians in Iraq. A Syrian pastor said in thanks to Barnabas Fund, “[Your support] was a clear declaration to all people that Jesus Christ is there for them during their toughest and darkest times.” Will you stand with these displaced Christian believers and help them through the severe trial they are now facing?

Food for survival

Basic needs

hy not start supporting one of our food programmes by donating to the Feeding Fund? We are currently providing food on a regular basis to Christian families in Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan. For many, the food can be a real life-saver. One of the families in Pakistan is headed by Munir and Ruqqiya. “The food from Barnabas Fund is a big support,” said Munir. “I can feed my children and am very thankful.”

A Christian woman in Pakistan carries food she received from Barnabas Fund

$10

$36

will provide a Christian child refugee from Burma (Myanmar) with food and hygiene products for one month will feed a family in Bangladesh for one month

Munir has struggled to find sufficient work to support his family since his wife was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2008. They live in hiding and in continual fear of attack by Muslim extremists. Sadly, Ruqqiya’s release and acquittal by the High Court in 2012 has not decreased threats. With all those concerns, the monthly food packages ensure that the family do not have to worry about their children going hungry. “Many people would not give me daily labour work because I am a Christian,” said Kuru in Bangladesh about the problems his family faced after converting from Islam to Christianity. “I knew Jesus suffered a lot, therefore I am also ready to suffer. I am praying for those who are regularly supporting the food programme.” We also frequently send short-term support to Christians who are temporarily in need.

Reference number: 00-636 (Feeding Fund) 9

“With joy you will draw water” (Isaiah 12:3)

Water

hen Christians are a despised, impoverished minority, they may lack access to life’s most essential resource: water. We help provide wells to make sure needy communities have a clean, constant supply. Muslim-majority Bangladesh is one country in which Christian communities can struggle without access to water. The entire north of the country suffers severe water shortages between March and July, and Christians are often prevented from drawing water from public wells by Muslims.

Barnabas has prov ide congregations in Pa d nine needy kistan with hand pumps

$38

$311

twenty-five gifts of $38 paid for a tube well for 15 Christian families in Sri Lanka

provides a hand pump for an impoverished Christian community in Punjab, Pakistan

Reference number: 00-635 (Water Projects Fund) 10

Thanks to the wells that Barnabas is helping to build in Bangladesh, believers do not have to rely on public resources. “We are very happy and give thanks to our God,” said one Christian whose church now has its own well. Before the well was built, the congregation had to carry the water they needed for long distances. Supporting our water projects helps to radically improve the lives of suffering believers, and can also lead to other, unexpected blessings. When Barnabas helped to build a well in a Central Asian village in 2013, the Christians allowed local Muslims to use it for free. The Muslim neighbours, surprised at this kindness, developed a more positive attitude to the church, and persecution in the area lessened.

A helping hand when disaster strikes

Disaster relief

“I

give thanks to God for this gift that has fallen from heaven. I thank all the donors from my heart. May God bless them abundantly!” Soumana is one of more than 1,000 disasteraffected believers from Niger’s vulnerable Christian minority who were going hungry until Barnabas stepped in to provide food aid. Because of droughts and occasional flooding, Niger endures almost constant food insecurity.

Barnabas provided food for Christians displaced by flooding in Chad

$59

$85

paid for a 50kg bag of rice for a hungry, drought-affected Christian family in Niger

provided a needy family in Pakistan with food and hygiene supplies following flooding

As Soumana’s joyful words show, receiving emergency aid from Barnabas makes a huge difference to Christian lives blighted by natural disaster. When believers are a hated minority, they sometimes miss out when aid is distributed. Barnabas Fund is there to support them, both in the short term and for longer periods where necessary, to make sure they do not suffer more severely than others around them. A gift to our Disaster Relief Fund not only helps us provide aid, from food and medicines to new livelihoods and new homes; it also helps show devastated believers that, although they may have lost everything, they are not alone in their distress. “Thank you very much”, said Khurshid, a Pakistani Christian who received flood relief. “We were hungry and looking help from God … Then we were given good news of Barnabas Fund, who are always near to poor Christians in Pakistan.”

Reference number: 00-634 (Disaster Relief Fund) 11

Life-saving medical aid

Medical care

our gift to our Medical Fund can mean that an impoverished Christian facing great pressure can get that check-up or medicine or life-saving operation. Many Christians around the world are so poor, through marginalisation and persecution, that they have no resources to fall back on when they have an accident or fall sick. Our Medical Fund steps in at such times to help pay for their doctor’s or hospital fees.

A child in South Sudan receives a check-up

$10

paid for a Christian’s treatment at a clinic in Baghdad

$65

covered the daily medicines dispensed at a mobile clinic in South Sudan

Reference number: 00-671 (Medical Fund) 12

In Egypt, a mobile clinic brought medical services to hundreds of Christians in remote areas of Upper Egypt with help from Barnabas Fund. These impoverished believers, for whom access to medical care has become more difficult since the Arab Spring, only had to pay a nominal sum to receive treatment. The same ministry also provided medical care to 200 Christians in Egypt suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney failure and heart disease. A mobile clinic in South Sudan was able to provide a worried Christian father with health education and a regular supply of milk and vitamins for his newborn son last year. The child’s mother had died when the little one was just one week old. A doctor wrote, “The relief on the father’s face that he was not alone in caring for his son was a beautiful sight.”

Gift Form To make a Gift of Love for the Persecuted Church, please use the following forms. You can either set up a regular donation, or make a single donation to the General Fund or to one or more of the projects whose reference numbers are listed throughout the booklet.

Simply fill out your contact details below and then fill out p. ii for single donations or p. iii for regular donations. If you would like us to send you a gift card(s) following your donation, please also complete p. iv with details of the wording required.

When complete, please pull the form out of the catalogue and send it to your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on the back cover).

I / We would like to help the persecuted Church:

GOL 2014

(Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms / Rev / Dr/ Other.......................) (Please Circle)

Name �� Address �� Postcode �� Telephone �� Email ��

Donation Options

GOL 2014

Please supply your address on p. i and send us all four pages Please return this form to your nearest Barnabas Fund office (addresses on p. iv). I / We would like to help the persecuted Church: Here is my/our gift of $ ................................................. Please use it: where it is most needed (General Fund) or for ________________ (give reference number of project to be supported)*.

I would like to give a gift of $......................................................................... * I enclose cash or a cheque payable to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Barnabas Fundâ&#x20AC;?. Please debit my

Visa

Mastercard

Card No. Expiry date

Name on card ..........................................................................................................................

I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me an Automatic Payment bank form. I will donate through internet banking (Barnabas Fund Account 02 0562 0046270 97) Please send me a gift card for this donation (see p. iii of this booklet for details).

To make a credit card donation please phone the BFNZ office on 09 280 4385 or visit www.barnabasfund.org

*If the project chosen is already sufficiently funded, we reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project of a similar type. Barnabas Fund NZ Charities Commission Reg. No CC37773 ii

A Lasting Legacy to the Persecuted Church

any people have savings and assets that for good practical reasons they cannot share during their lifetime. A bequest to help the persecuted Church in your will enables you to express a desire to be generous that you may not have been able to put into practice in any other way. Please consider remembering Barnabas Fund in your will.

Gift Cards If you choose to support a Barnabas Fund project as an alternative gift for a friend or relative, we can supply you with an attractive “Thank you” card, which you can send to the person on whose behalf you have made the donation. Please fill in the details as you would like them to appear on the card and please complete your name and address on p. i. Please write clearly.

A A Gift of Love for the Persecuted Church

“Dear .................................... A gift of $.................. has been received on your behalf from ......................................................................................................... This gift will assist Christians who are persecuted for their faith. With many thanks on behalf of the persecuted Church” Please state your preferred card choice (see right): ____ Tick here if you do not want the amount to be stated on the card Tick here if you do wish details about the project to be included on the card

If you would like more cards, please photocopy this page or attach a separate piece of paper with the details for the extra cards and send it with your donation. You can also call your nearest Barnabas Fund office with the details and pay by credit card over the phone.

A Gift of Love for the Persecuted Church

C A Gift of Love for the Persecuted Church

If you would like to have the card sent directly to the recipient, or if you would prefer to receive blank cards and fill them out yourself, please contact your national office (address details on back cover). iii

New Zealand PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz UK 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org Australia PO Box 3527, Loganholme, QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org Scotland Barnabas Fund Scotland, PO Box 2084, Livingston, EH54 0EZ Telephone 07772 846389 Email scotland@barnabasfund.org

www.barnabasfund.org

Barnabas Fund NZ Charities Commission Reg. No CC37773

International Headquarters The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside the UK Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland PO Box 354, Bangor, BT20 9EQ Telephone 028 91 455 246 or 07867 854604 Email ireland@barnabasfund.org Singapore Cheques in Singapore dollars payable to “Barnabas Fund” may be sent to: Kay Poh Road Baptist Church, 7 Kay Poh Road, Singapore 248963 Germany German supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt. Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”. If you would like your donation to go to a specific project of Barnabas Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund International Headquarters in Pewsey, UK. Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder e.V. Account number: 415 600 Bank: Evang. Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart Bankcode (BLZ): 520 604 10

Help to survive, support to heal

Barnabas supports Christian orphanages in Burma (Myanmar) where Christian orphans displaced by violence receive protection and loving care

$22

$34

paid for a blanket for a Christian displaced by violence in South Sudan pays one monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living expenses and school fees for a Christian girl at a rescue home in Kenya

Victims of violence

hen believers are violently targeted because of their faith, the consequences are devastating. Christian victims of attack suffer physical injury and psychological trauma. Many see their homes and churches destroyed, or are forced to flee. Others are arrested, imprisoned or even executed. However they are affected, Barnabas Fund provides the support that targeted Christians need. For example, this year we provided survival kits, containing food, basic household items and a Bible, to Christian families displaced by violence in the Central African Republic. All 589 families had lost at least one member in attacks by the Islamist Seleka rebels. As well as meeting immediate basic needs, we help with medical expenses, safe houses, trauma counselling and rebuilding destroyed homes. Giving to this work helps us to reach out to Christians such as the families who lost breadwinners in the horrific bombing of All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in September 2013. By providing monthly financial support, Barnabas has been ensuring that the families have enough to eat. Our support also allows the bereaved believersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; children to continue attending school as their families rebuild their lives.

Reference number: 00-345 (Victims of Violence Fund) 13

Standing with converts

Convert care

“Y

our support has made a significant impact in my life,” wrote Rose, a young woman in Uganda. The help she received from Barnabas Fund through our Convert Fund enabled her to obtain a diploma in secretarial studies at Kampala University after turning to Christ. “I [now] have a hope which had eluded me for over two years when I could not go to school,” she added. Like many other converts from Islam experience, Rose’s family disowned her, leaving her and abandoned and destitute at a young age.

Rose is now using her sec retarial skills to assist a pastor in startin ga in her Muslim-majority hom church e town

$18

paid for two weeks’ ministry training for a Turkish convert from Islam in Bulgaria

$46

covered tuition fees in teacher training for one month of a convert from Islam in Uganda

Reference number: 00-113 (Convert Fund) 14

Here is an opportunity to show love to more Christian converts from other religions. Many have lost everything in order to gain Christ. Your help will not only transform their circumstances, but will also send them a message of solidarity and care during difficult, and often lonely, times. In Burundi, twelve converts, who are marginalised by their Muslim neighbours, were each given a cow. The milk from the cows is now providing income for them. Your gift could provide safe accommodation for converts in danger, small business start-up funds for those in need of an income, education, pastoral care or meet many other needs.

Road towards self-sufficiency

Small businesses

ou could be instrumental in enabling marginalised Christians to have a livelihood. By providing training and tools for their trade, we enable converts to start a small business and earn money to provide for their families. Sudha, a Christian widow in Sri Lanka, received a sewing machine to re-start her sewing business. She lost everything during the civil war. Her husband was killed and she and her children ended up in a camp for displaced people. After the war, Christian widows like Sudha did not receive adequate assistance from the government.

A Christian woman in Niger kneels beside the goats she received from Barnabas Fund

$48 $129

can pay for a goat to generate income for a Christian pastor working in a Muslim-majority area of Sierra Leone provided for a sewing machine and a year’s training in sewing and literacy for a Christian woman in Pakistan

Reference number: 00-356 (Small Business Start-up Fund)

The gift from Barnabas Fund has changed her circumstances. She said, “I am happy that I can stay at home and earn money for taking care of my kids.” In some contexts, a simple, but effective gift like this can provide the means for survival. When Christians are refused entry to the workforce, then starting a business can provide the solution to bringing in money for their family. It can also enable Christian workers to support themselves. “From the pair of goats I received last year, I now have five,” a pastor in Sierra Leone said. The two goats, farming tools and seeds, and training in animal rearing and farming that 80 pastors received are enabling them to work and live in poor, rural, Muslim-majority areas of the country. You could help another pastor in Sierra Leone become self-sufficient.

Leadership training ... for ministry...under pressure C

Leadership training

hurch and ministry leaders in contexts of persecution need to be well trained to help their congregations stand firm in the face of discrimination, hostility and even violence. But many have had little or no opportunity to have even basic Bible training and cannot afford the costs. Barnabas Fund enables faithful servants of God to be trained in theology, Christian leadership skills and also in specific skills needed for their particular contexts.

Christians in Kyrgyzstan study at a three-day conference for church leaders

$30

$63

pays for evangelism training for an impoverished pastor in Sierra Leone

enabled a church leader in a repressive country in South-East Asia to attend a three-day Christian leadership training course

Reference number: 00-430 (Leadership Training Fund) 16

For example, in several Central Asian countries, believers in unregistered churches face harassment by the state and legal penalties for taking part in Christian activities. Christian leaders are particularly vulnerable to being harassed by the authorities and particularly need to be strengthened and equipped for the ministries to which the Lord has called them. Barnabas-funded leadership training courses are helping needy Christian leaders in Central Asia to grow and develop their knowledge and skills. Zarina, who attended a two-year Biblical training course in Tajikistan, gained an improved understanding that she can now share with others. Zarina said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now I know how to explain to people many spiritual things from the Bible.â&#x20AC;? A contribution to our Leadership Training Fund is a gift that keeps on giving. As leaders share what they have gained with their congregations, they in turn are strengthened and encouraged by Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Word.

... Ministering...to God’s people

Christian workers

powerful way to strengthen the persecuted Church is by enabling pastors and evangelists to focus on their work. One pastor, church-planter, evangelist or church worker can provide spiritual encouragement and nourishment to many more persecuted Christians, and can help the Church flourish, even under intense pressure and obstruction. By contributing to their living costs, you are freeing them up from having to go out and earn money for their family. Instead, they can focus their time on much-needed pastoral and other spiritual work.

A pastor in Pakistan preaches to his congregation

$50

$85

can support a church-planter in Kenya for one week

contributed towards an evangelist’s monthly upkeep in rural China

Reference numbers: 00-477 (Pastors’ Support Fund), 00-478 (Evangelists’ Support Fund)

Members of a congregation in a Central Asian country feel they are now receiving good spiritual leadership since their pastor started receiving support for 85% of his needs from Barnabas Fund. Severe persecution by the authorities means that the church members, who are converts from Islam, cannot meet all together. Instead, the pastor visits them secretly as 25 home groups. Before receiving the support, the pastor only had time to visit each group once a month at most. But now he can visit each home group every fortnight, and sometimes more often, to lead their services. He now also holds a fortnightly meeting with all home group leaders. Currently, Barnabas Fund is supporting 48 church-planters in Indonesia who have started small churches in impoverished, rural, Muslimmajority areas. Your contribution would be a great encouragement to them and can help them stay and succeed. 17

Resources to strengthen and encourage

Christian resources

“I

have prayed all of these 38 years to receive a Bible in the Lisu language. Now today my prayers have been answered.” Barnabas Fund has the privilege of providing Bibles for Christians who would otherwise have no access to the written Word of God. As these words from a Christian man in Burma (Myanmar) show, receiving a Bible from Barnabas is often the answer to years of prayer and longing.

Barnabas provides Christian magazines in Central Asia, for both children and adults

$3 $16

paid for one song booklet for a Sudanese Christian

covers the production costs of ten Christian children’s magazines in Central Asia

Reference numbers: 00-360 (Christian Literature Fund); 00-362 (Bibles and Scriptures Fund); 00-479 (Resources Fund) 18

In Burma, as in many other places, the publication of Bibles and other Christian literature is restricted. In other countries, publishing resources to help Christians grow in their faith is forbidden altogether. Sometimes, believers are forced to leave their Bibles behind when they flee from anti-Christian violence. Others are simply too impoverished to access the resources they need. Persecuted Christians benefit greatly from resources that help them to walk closely with the Lord and understand the suffering they are experiencing. As well as Bibles, our literature and resources funds help provide other Christian literature, DVDs, and television and radio programmes. A viewer of a Christian television programme in Egypt said, “These shows are like the breath of air that keeps us, especially women who can’t leave their houses … God bless you.”

Building a brighter future for persecuted congregations

This new church building in India brought great joy to the congregation

$10.90

$42

paid for 100 bricks for rebuilding a destroyed cemetery wall in Bangladesh

paid for one steel sheet for the roof of a church building in Russia

Church buildings

aving a safe, secure place to meet is particularly important for congregations at risk of persecution. But in many countries, Christians are very poor because of discrimination, and they cannot afford to buy, build, or repair their buildings. In others, repressive laws prevent them from doing so. Sometimes churches are closed or destroyed, and Christians may be prevented by law from meeting to pray and worship in private homes. Sometimes local people refuse to rent premises to Christians for worship. One congregation in India was bereft of a place to meet for five years. The dedication of its new building, constructed with help from Barnabas, was celebrated with joyful singing and dancing. The new church symbolises hope and restoration, as the previous church was destroyed by Hindu extremists during violence in Orissa state. Barnabas is continuing to build churches in India; other recent building projects have taken place in Bangladesh, Uganda, Pakistan and Central Asia amongst others. A gift towards Barnabas Fundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work to build churches for needy Christians represents much more than bricks and mortar. In providing churches and other ministry buildings, we give downtrodden congregations back their dignity, enable them to meet with peace of mind and vastly improve their potential for ministry.

Reference number: 00-637 (Church Buildings Fund) 19

Learning in...safety, growing in... faith

School-place sponsorship

“I

trust you Lord, that you will be able to pave the way for me to continue my schooling. You have said not to worry.” Benaria, a faithful Christian teenager in Indonesia, prayed this prayer when her parents told her that they were too poor to continue paying her school fees. Her prayer was answered when she was admitted to a Christian school funded by Barnabas.

This young boy from a Christian family in the Holy Land is one of 6,126 children receiving a caring, Christian education at Barnabas-funded schools

$36

$515

on average per month funds a school place at a Christian school for a needy Christian child per student paid for a school building extension in South Sudan

Supporters who give regularly will receive a card with the name and photograph of one child and a twice-yearly newsletter about the project. Reference numbers: 00-514 (School-Place Sponsorship Fund) 00-794 (Christian Schooling for Christian Children) 20

The dilemma faced by Benaria’s parents is one that often confronts Christian parents impoverished by discrimination. When believers live as a hated minority, they may have to choose between feeding their families and paying for school places. Even when Christian children can go to school, they often face harassment and unfair treatment in the classroom. Some are even deliberately failed in their exams. Barnabas Fund’s School-Place Sponsorship programme enables Christian children in nine countries to learn in a loving, Christcentred environment. At the schools we support, children are encouraged in their faith while receiving a quality education from caring teachers. Giving the gift of a school place, which costs an average of $36 per child per month, can give a Christian child the chance to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy for good. Barnabas also helps with school buildings and other projects to enable Christian children to get Christian schooling.

About Barnabas Fund ... ...

As part of the family of God, Barnabas Fund stands with our Christian brothers and sisters around the world, including the West, where they suffer discrimination, oppression or persecution as a result of their faith. In this way we witness to the love of Christ and build His Kingdom.

1. We encourage prayer for the persecuted Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials. We believe in the power of prayer to change peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives and circumstances, either through grace to endure or through deliverance from suffering. 2. We channel money from Christians through Christians to Christians. Donations from individual Christians and churches are forwarded to local ministries and Christian organisations in contexts of persecution, mainly in Muslim-majority environments, to bring about practical and spiritual transformation in the lives of suffering believers. We fund projects that have been developed by local Christians in their own communities, countries or regions. Thus we act as equal partners with the persecuted Church, whose leaders often help to shape our overall direction. 3. We tell the untold story about the plight of persecuted Christians and speak out on their behalf, making their needs known to Christians around the world and to governments and international bodies. We seek to tackle persecution at its root by making known the aspects of religious and secular ideologies that result in injustice and oppression of Christians and others. We also equip Christians in the West to meet the challenge that other religions pose to the Church, its mission and society.

We believe in the clear Biblical teaching that Christians should treat all people of all religions and none with love and compassion, even those who seek to persecute them. We carry out our vision and purpose accordingly, but we will not compromise what we believe the Word of God teaches.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.â&#x20AC;? Galatians 6:10, NIV emphasis added 21

Commendations I have followed the work of Barnabas Fund for many years and heartily recommend their vision of bringing hope and practical aid to Christians under persecution around the world. Barnabas Fund has played a key role in bringing home to Christians in Britain the reality of life for brothers and sisters in many other countries. In so doing, Barnabas Fund encourages informed prayer and channels aid to where it is desperately needed. I have always been deeply impressed by the calibre of research which underpins Barnabas Fund’s advocacy and ensures the appropriateness of the aid it provides. Also, from my own experience of working with persecuted Christians in many places, I know that their priority request is always for prayer – and I greatly value this emphasis in the work of Barnabas Fund. Baroness Caroline Cox

Iraqi Christians are facing danger and destruction on every hand. But Barnabas Fund has been our faithful brother for many years, bringing help when we felt forgotten, bringing hope when we felt ready to despair. I thank God for Barnabas Fund which is a lifeline for the Church in Iraq. Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod Syrian Orthodox Church

Not only did Jesus say, ‘Do good to those who persecute you’, he emphasised coming to the aid of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. Barnabas Fund is taking Christ’s command seriously and putting it into practice. It has my wholehearted support. Professor Graeme Clark AC

I have been associated with Barnabas and its ministry to the persecuted Church in Africa and around the world for many years. I fully endorse their ministry as they champion the cause of the persecuted Church. I strongly urge you to support Barnabas projects with the suffering Church. The Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola Formerly Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria

An increasing number of suffering and persecuted Christians around the world need a voice to speak for them and a hand to reach out and help them. Barnabas Fund provides both and I am honoured to be associated with its ministry.” The Rev. Peter Grainger Pastor at Large, Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh

I have benefited much from the sane, well-informed, reliable and brave resources coming from Barnabas. They help the church respond wisely and faithfully to challenges facing our brothers and sisters around the world. Ajith Fernando Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka

Barnabas Fund has no hidden agenda. Its transparency captured almost all Syrian church leaders and helped them to work together for His glory and by His grace. Barnabas Fund’s work in Syria is very effective and efficient, very fruitful and productive, specific and significant. Dr Jany Haddad Senior Baptist church leader, Syria Professor of Surgery, Founder and President of the Armenian Christian Medical Association, Founder and President of Living Hope for Families ministries

Barnabas Fund’s financial and prayer support has a marvellous impact on the lives of families through the feeding programme. The financial assistance provided to Christian workers has brought enthusiasm; the churches are growing numerically and in maturity. Children’s education has also improved, and there is more outreach to the non-churched communities. Yunis Lal Din Brethren leader, Pakistan

New Zealand PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz

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UK 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org Australia PO Box 3527, Loganholme, QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org Scotland Barnabas Fund Scotland, PO Box 2084, Livingston, EH54 0EZ Telephone 07772 846389 Email scotland@barnabasfund.org

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