![The world is unlikely to meet a target of ending child labor by 2025, which is part of the 17 global development goals agreed [upon] in 2015 at the United Nations.](https://missionsbox.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/gfa-06-12-17-gospelforasia-RT15-04790-230x300.jpg)
LONDON – June 12 marks the annual World Day Against Child Labor. We would like to share news of advances in liberating children from this burden that robs them of their childhood, education, and the potential for a thriving future. Sadly, on a global scale, we cannot. Verisk Maplecroft issued their 2019 Child Labor Index….
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report on the aftermath of acute gender imbalance: Discussing the horrendous reality of 100 million missing women worldwide. One of the stunning stories from Scripture tells about the uninvited woman who crashed a VIP party at the home of an important religious leader. This is a…
GENEVE — “We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones,” said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on…
A local government communications agency in China held a seminar in April to discuss with Communist Party members the “enormous harm” the growth of Christianity is to the atheist nation. The Chinese Christian persecution watchdog China Aid raised an alarm about the event, titled “Christianity’s Enormous Harm on China’s Security,” held on April 22 in the…
YANGON – Reuters journalists, Wa Lone (33) and Kyaw So Oo (29) were detained in Myanmar in December 2017. They were charged and eventually convicted of violating the country’s Official Secrets Act. They were sentenced to seven years in prison. Today, the two men are free after spending more than 500 days in custody. They…
VENEZUELA – This week Venezuela woke up to the news of a civic and military uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by over 50 countries as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president. They called it Operation Liberty, a movement to remove the discredited president Nicolás Maduro from power. Chaos and uncertainty spread through the streets…
WASHINGTON — With its particular focus on China’s oppression of religious and human rights, an independent watchdog group has decried in its annual report the state of religious freedom across the globe. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan organization created 20 years ago, concludes in its Monday (April 29) report that “innumerable…
AMSTERDAM — A Chinese petitioner is on track to be repatriated by the Netherlands back to China, where she will likely face severe persecution and may even lose her life. Chen Yan sought asylum in the Netherlands after she faced persecution for petitioning the Chinese Communist Party. Now, shortly after she protested during Chinese Premier…
LUHANSK, Ukraine – The unrecognized People’s Republic of Luhansk, an independent quasi-state of Ukraine drafted a law requiring all churches`to “re-register” just four years after declaring its independence during the armed conflict of 2014. The February 2018 legislation pertained to all Protestant churches and required them to re-register by October 2018. The re-registration was required…
ASIA – Gospel for Asia released a special report on “Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights.” In addition to being available on the ministry’s website, the report was published in three parts on Patheos. The recurring theme of the report was abuse and indignity suffered by women and children, especially those in developing countries in…
MIDLAND, TX – March 4, 2019 — ChinaAid has released its 2018 Annual Persecution Report, demonstrating China’s sharp escalation of human rights and religious freedom abuses over the past year and providing key examples. The report, published in both Chinese and English, catalogs cases of China’s oppression of Christians and contrasts them to cases documented…
Special report entitled “Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights” conveys GFA’s concerns about the impoverished in Asia. While welcoming an international day of awareness that turns the global focus on issues keeping millions in grinding poverty, missionary organization Gospel for Asia is year-round helping to bring relief to the underprivileged trapped in that cycle. In…
STRASBOURG – The European Court of Human Rights has rendered a judgment against Turkey in the case of Altınkaynak and Others v. Turkey. The court ruled that Turkey had violated the rights of a group of Seventh Day Adventists in 2004 when they attempted to register their religious foundation. Although Turkey ratified the European Convention…
A Special Report published in February 2018 by Gospel for Asia (GFA) revealed that more than 40 million people around the world are currently living in some form of slavery. The report added that 25 million of those are enslaved in Asia and the Pacific. Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights Wherever Poverty and Oppression…
LONDON – Great Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, ordered a review today into the escalation of persecution of Christians around the world. Current estimates are that 250 Christians die every month as a result of persecution-related violence. The aim of the reviews is to determine what the UK can do aid what is now more…
CHENGDU – Last week Chinese authorities detained Pastor Wang Yi and 100 members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Szechuan, China.Bob Fu, the president of ChinaAid, said that “the massive overnight attack . . . represents a major escalation of religious persecution in China.”Former U.S. Senator and current U.S. Ambassador at Large for…
Gospel for Asia Spotlights Special Report on the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human RightsWILLS POINT, Texas—To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, Gospel for Asia (GFA) is spotlighting its special report “Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist.”…
WASHINGTON – On November 15, 2018, the American Law and Justice Center (ACLJ) published a petition to release John Cao, a U.S. pastor imprisoned in China on fabricated organizing illegal border crossing charges. Cao, whose family resides in North Carolina, was arrested by Chinese officials in March 2017 as he crossed the border between Myanmar…
LONDON – The Thomson Reuters Foundation presented its annual Stop Slavery Award to a company that has been previously criticized for partnering with offshore suppliers who employed underage workers and used employment tactics that fall under the definition of slavery and human trafficking. The award was presented to tech giant Apple, not because of the…
KOLKATA – The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) released a 138-page report on October 21, 2018, entitled, “Taking stock: A decade of drug policy.” The report used data supplied by the United Nations compiled to evaluate its progress of its 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action on Drugs. The news on drugs is not…
Global Focus Shines a Light on Group’s Efforts to Equip Girls for a Brighter Future WILLS POINT, Texas — This year’s focus of the United Nations’ annual International Day of the Girl Child, emphasizing the need for better educational opportunities for girls under the theme “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force,” brings a spotlight to…
NEW YORK – Recep Erdogan is the President of Turkey, one of the most complex nations in the world at the moment. His economy is crumbling, he is responsible for holding a North Carolina pastor in jail on bogus charges of attempting to overthrow the Turkish government, and he has made it clear that he…
ISLAMABAD – The Interior Ministry of Pakistan has given 18 international foreign aid groups 60 days to shut down their operations and leave the country. All 18 agencies had filed appeals in response to an earlier notice from the IM. The first agency to report the news was ActionAid, a Johannesburg-based, international that aims to…
WILLS POINT – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified in 1948, seventy years ago. Article 4 of the Declaration says, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” A large number of people in the United States – perhaps most…
SUDAN – Good news is getting hard to find. It just doesn’t seem to be sensational enough to make compelling headlines. Missions Box News is seeking to change that by reporting the good news that Christians should know. Some exceptionally good news has come out of Sudan over the last several days. Sudan is currently…
GFA (Gospel for Asia) shares example of reconciliation to mark International Day of Peace and inspire more peacemakers to prayer and action WILLS POINT, Texas—As political and religious divisions widen and deepen around the world, GFA (Gospel for Asia) hopes that a simple story of reconciliation and forgiveness will inspire more people to pray and…
Gospel for Asia (GFA) calls attention to plight of widows worldwide who need help to face tragedy and overcome the many indignations of widowhood. WILLS POINT, Texas — More than seven years after the United Nations formally called attention to the plight of widows, millions of bereaved women \still find themselves subjected to abuse, humiliation, ostracism…
CHENNAI – Vijay Jayaraj holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia in Great Britain. He is a native of India and a resident of Chennai. In a recent op-ed to published by the Christian Post, he lauded the immediate and substantial aid by Christians following the Kerala…
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report: Hope to Overcome the Challenges of Widowhood Written By Ken Walker of InChrist Communications Accounts of the humiliations, insults and indignations suffered by widows worldwide would make anyone cringe. Gulika, a widow in Asia, experienced helplessness after the people in her village turned their backs on her after…
VIENTIANE – The constitution of the nation of Laos guarantees its citizens freedom of religion. Specifically, it recognizes their “right and freedom to believe or not to believe in religion.” In addition, Laos is “a state party” to the seven core international human rights treaties under which they are obligated to “respect, protect, and fulfill…
GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) have collaborated to publish a new manual of guidelines for a “faith-sensitive approach” by faith-based organizations (FBOs). The 88-page document outlines guidelines by the UN-affiliated Inter-Agency Standing Committee for acceptable approaches for FBOs offering humanitarian responses to people in need around the globe….
ABUJA – The country of Nigeria is an enigma. While, on the one hand, the Nigerian Minister of Health announced today that the country’s efforts to eliminate polio within its borders “are beginning to yield results, considering the fact that we have spent 18 months without a case of poliovirus,” the country stands at the…
GENEVA – June 12, 2018, is World Day Against Child Labor. The annual event is sponsored by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and is intended to “direct attention to the plight of child laborers with the hope of one day being able to end all forms of child labor that may exist in the world…
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – On 27 April 2018, The National Assembly of Mauritania passed a law that makes the death penalty mandatory for anyone convicted of “blasphemous speech” and acts deemed “sacrilegious.” Human rights experts from the UN, the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), and more than 20 NGOs have called upon the…
WASHINGTON, DC – Texas Senator Ted Cruz heads the lineup of speakers and panelists featured at the Capitol Hill Policy Day at the Capitol Visitor Center on June 5, 2018. The conference, sponsored by International Christian Concern, will focus on “the crisis of violence in Nigeria brought about by both Boko Haram and Fulani militants.”…
WASHINGTON, DC – Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council and anchor of the daily radio broadcast Washington Watch, has been appointed to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) upon the recommendation of Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The appointment was announced on Monday, May 14, 2018. Perkins earned a BS…
JERUSALEM – News channels around the globe carried live coverage of the official opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, May 14, 2018. Although the move of the embassy operations is intended to be permanent, the embassy will temporarily use the U.S. Consulate building until another location can be built or acquired and…
“Blessed is he who considers the poor.” – Psalm 40:17 Wills Point, Texas – GFA (Gospel for Asia) – Discussing the scandals of poverty. Nearly everything about poverty is scandalous. The United Nations Millennium Goals include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Faith-based organizations and other NGO’s, major businesses, and UN member states have…
WILLS POINT, Texas – It is no secret that the world is rife with problems ranging from terrorism and wars to hunger and health issues. Many of these and other problems spawn floods of refugees seeking safe harbor from potential harm. Many would consider making a successful journey to a safer place a success. However,…
YANGON, Myanmar – The President of Myanmar granted amnesty to more than 8,500 people incarcerated in prisons around the county. The action was, in part, associated with an annual tradition in celebration of the Myanmar New Year. Among those being released are 51 foreigners, eight political detainees, and two Baptist pastors. The two pastors, Dumdaw…
ALEXANDRIA – A terrorist attack on two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday 2017 left more than 40 people dead and 125 injured. It also made several men, women, and children widows, widowers, and orphans. One of the deceased was Hanan Dreas, a wife and mother of two children ages six and 10. Her husband,…
American pastor Andrew Brunson has been in prison for 18 months in Turkey, accused of ties to an American terrorist. Pastor Brunson had been in Turkey for 20 years before his arrest, in which he was charged with plotting with terrorists for a coup, according to Fox News. He’s also been accused of helping a Kurdish…
GENEVA – A group of five NGOs met with UN officials on 06 March to discuss the recent case of four Malaysian Christians requesting changes on their national identity cards. The federal court in Sarawak refused to rule on their appeal on 26 February (see “Malaysia High Court Dismisses Christians’ Appeal”). The meeting took place…
WILLS POINT, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) is drawing attention to the United Nations’ 11th Annual World Day of Social Justice (WDOSJ) during February, 2018 by producing a Special Report: Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist. The theme of the WDOSJ this year is “Workers on the Move: The…
On Feb. 7, more than 300 children in South Sudan were released from being child soldiers. Al Jazeera news network reports, “The 311 children, including 87 girls, will now begin reintegrating into their communities, the UN mission in the country (UNMISS) said in a statement on Wednesday.” These children lost their innocence at a very…
Sudan is ranked as one of the top five countries in which Christians face the most significant persecution. The war-torn country has been named “A Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department since 1999 due to the persecution of Christians and widespread human rights issues. After South Sudan seceded in 2011 after one…
WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, we reported that confirmation of President Trumps nominee for the position of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large, Kansas governor, Sam Brownback had been stalled in the Senate. The president had nominated Brownback in July 2017. The nomination expired when Congress adjourned for the holidays without voting on the matter. President Trump resubmitted Brownback’s…
LA PAZ, Bolivia – The National Association of Evangelicals in Bolivia (NAEB) has formed a National Energy Commission in response to the inclusion of Article 88.11 in the country’s new Penal Code. “Whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious…
On Dec. 19, the first refugees from Libya arrived in Paris after France made a declaration to help those caught in a present-day slave trade. CNN reported that the French government “stepped up its fight against slavery as the first group of refugees rescued from Libya touched down Tuesday in Paris from Niger.” France is…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Indonesian government extended protection for Christians throughout the country and reduced jail sentences for Christians currently confined in penal institutions. Over 180,000 officers were deployed by the National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) to protect Christians as they gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ. Reports indicate that believers were able…
