Religious Freedom
Fearless Faith: Christian Leaders in Tajikistan
“Evangelical churches in our country are not very numerous, but we aspire to impact our society and we are grateful to School Without Walls for their help in this,” shared Arash (name changed), a national School Without Walls (SWW) coordinator for Tajikistan, speaking to 80 young Next Generation Christian leaders at a Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) conference last week. Tajikistan is over 90% Muslim, and Christians who openly share their faith risk persecution from their families, in the educational system, and from employers. Therefore, the goal of the conference was to pass on a vision of influential Christianity to these young Tajik Christians and to inspire and teach them how to be witnesses for Christ and transform their society through treating their workplace as a mission field. Bahram (name changed), a university student, shared how the conference’s message impacted him: “It’s not easy being a Christian in our…
Impacting Uzbekistan for Christ
Even though Christians in Uzbekistan often suffer religious persecution at the hands of local authorities, the School Without Walls (SWW) coordinator in the capital city of Tashkent, and a group of SWW graduates, organized a round table discussion on the Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) for 35 young professionals from four different churches. The lack of religious freedom in Uzbekistan makes NGPLI even more relevant in that context, as traditional means of sharing the Gospel are very risky. “I’m prepared to go out of my way to help my clients resolve problems with our product. I do my work well and respect my clients. They see this and value it,” shared Shahrat (name changed), a Christian businessman who spoke about the impact his faith has had in his professional context. “I never hide my faith, and my good relationship with my clients allows me to share the Gospel with…
Shaping the Culture: Christian Professionals in Kyrgyzstan
“When I first started working, I had to choose whether to be an accountant or a teacher, and I chose to be a teacher, because I wanted to impact young people’s lives,” shares Nargiza (name changed), a math teacher from Kyrgyzstan who attended Mission Eurasia’s Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in November. “My parents were also teachers, and my father was considered a master at his craft. From them, I learned the value of hard work, and from the Bible, I learned that my work should be glorifying to God. There is a great need for the gospel in the intellectual environment that I work in, and the best way to respond to this need is by talking with people. God has entrusted me with my students, and I believe He has called me to use my job for ministry, which is a great responsibility….
Faith Under Fire: Turkmenistan’s Courageous Believers
Rahim (name changed for safety) is the pastor of an underground church in Turkmenistan that some of our School Without Walls (SWW) students attend and partner with to spread the gospel throughout their country despite increasing persecution of Christians. Rahim has a miraculous faith journey that began in the days of the Soviet Union: Rahim was born in 1979 during the height of the Soviet era. In 1993, when Christians were still able to openly preach the gospel in Turkmenistan, Rahim attended a screening of The Jesus Film at a local church. After watching the film, he repented and joined the church! However, a few years later, religious freedom in Turkmenistan came to an end and Christians started suffering harsh persecution. All foreign missionaries were expelled and many Christians fled the country. Rahim’s church was also forced to close. At this time, Rahim was 18, so he was drafted into…