[2026 Ramadan] Day 10 A Mission Outpost Rising with the Spirituality of the Early Church’s Martyrdom: Georgia! Azerbaijan!

<Georgia>

Georgia is the second country in the world to officially recognize Christianity as its state religion. Throughout its long history, despite numerous invasions and persecutions, it has preserved its faith. Geographically and missionally, Georgia holds a strategic position, bordering Russia to the north, Türkiye to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Armenia to the south.

Islam makes up 10.7% of Georgia’s population, consisting mainly of the Azeri Turkic people and the Adjara people. The Azeri people are Shi’a Muslims who primarily live near the border with Azerbaijan. Living as Muslims within a Christian nation, they hold even more firmly to their Muslim identity.

As Ramadan begins, banners celebrating Ramadan are hung throughout the streets, and people encouraging fasting can be seen. Among the children who attend worship, some are also fasting. While many participate in Ramadan due to family and social pressure, we pray that this season would instead become a time for them to encounter Jesus. Centered around the cities of M and R, ministry is taking place through workers who are serving house churches and the next generation.

E-sister, who attends youth worship, is an Azeri Muslim teenager. Her father has gone to Europe in search of work, and she lives with her mother and younger sister. One day during worship, she disrupted the service and said, “God is one, and Jesus is not the Son of God.” When asked, “Then why did you come here?” she replied, “Because I like this place.” Embracing her, we said, “You’re always welcome to come if you want. Still, I will pray that you come to believe in Jesus.” From that point on, she began to love attending worship and started praying in the name of Jesus.

When this verse was shared and she was asked, “Would you like to pray to receive Jesus?” E-sister received Jesus with grace. We praise the Lord who is doing a new work in the life of this young sister. Though they live with a Muslim identity, we hope that as they come to know Jesus through the gospel and grow in faith, they will rise as a generation transformed by an encounter with Christ.

The Adjara people are an ethnic Georgian minority of about 300,000 living in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, bordering Türkiye along the Black Sea. Though ethnically and linguistically Georgian, they converted to Islam during Ottoman rule in the 16th–17th centuries. In many families, Orthodox Christians and Muslims live together through marriage, and often parents and children follow different religions. They do not interfere with or evangelize one another. In fact, even Orthodox Christians sometimes observe Ramadan fasting with their spouses. Most Adjara people keep Ramadan and long to visit Türkiye, which they consider their spiritual homeland, after the fast ends.

Türkiye actively influences Adjara Muslims by dispatching imams and impacting youth and young adults. Intelligent and devout Muslim youth are selected as scholarship students, provided tuition and living expenses, trained in Islamic theology in Türkiye, and then sent back as religious leaders in Georgia. There is an urgent need for faithful workers who can serve them with the gospel so they are not taken captive by false Islam.

Georgia has a strong sense of religious pride rooted in its long Orthodox tradition. However, only priests are allowed to read and study the Bible, leaving laypeople unaware of Scripture-based faith and the Great Commission. As a result, Muslims in Georgia have rarely heard the gospel from Orthodox Christians.

Yet we give thanks that the Lord is raising up evangelical churches in Georgia with a missionary calling, enabling workers to proclaim the gospel to Muslims in this land. Under the image of a “Christian nation,” many have lived without ever hearing the gospel, clinging to Islam as their ethnic identity. Now, they will find their true identity not in false Islam, but in the truth, and come to Jesus Christ, their Savior.

[Today’s Prayer]

Have mercy on the Azeri Muslims who, as minorities within a Christian nation, feel excluded and become more tightly bound to the Islamic community due to linguistic, cultural, and religious barriers. Grant them salvation, and establish communities of transformed believers who have encountered Jesus, the true Truth.

As Adjara Muslims continue to live under the influence of Türkiye and the legacy of Ottoman rule, break the false bondage of Islam. Send faithful servants of God who will lead them from falsehood to truth through an encounter with Jesus, raising them up as proclaimers of the gospel.

May the evangelical churches of this land rise with the spirituality of the martyrs, unite with neighboring evangelical churches, and faithfully fulfill their role as a mission outpost preparing the way for the Lord’s return.

<Azerbaijan>

Azerbaijan is the land associated with Minni in Jeremiah 51:27—a people summoned to overthrow the Babylonian Empire.

Although Azerbaijan originally practiced Zoroastrianism, after the Apostle Bartholomew preached the gospel and was martyred, it became one of the first regions in the Caucasus to accept Christianity. Later, under Arab rule, it became Islamized. Today, 95% of the population is Muslim, evangelical Christians make up only 0.05%, and the population is about 10 million.

Due to prolonged conflict with Armenia, most citizens live with deep wounds, pain, hatred, and bitterness caused by war. The younger generation especially suffers from trauma and aftereffects of war. Yet the government largely ignores these struggles and focuses instead on rebuilding reclaimed disputed territories.

Islam in Azerbaijan today is largely secular, with little religious devotion. As the major holiday of Novruz Bayram coincides with Ramadan, people celebrate Bayram while also observing Ramadan. Still, during Ramadan, many can be seen going to mosques, praying, fasting, and participating in Islamic rituals. During this time, young people often grow thirsty for truth, reading and searching through various religious books.

Recently, Azerbaijani youth have become skeptical of Islam and are drifting into secularism and materialism. Amid the flood of information through platforms like YouTube, instead of seeking true truth, they immerse themselves in ideologies they personally prefer. Many also resist any form of religion or deny the existence of God altogether, and the number of atheists continues to grow. In this season, the youth of Azerbaijan desperately need the gospel.

During this Ramadan, a spiritual breakthrough must take place among Azerbaijani youth. We long for this land and its young people to rise through the power of truth alone. We also hope that the land borders, closed since COVID, will reopen and that all spiritual doors in Azerbaijan will be opened.

During Ramadan, one young man we met was earnestly searching for truth. Just as the Ethiopian eunuch went to Jerusalem to worship and, led by the Holy Spirit, met Philip, when we approached this young man and shared the gospel, he listened intently—as if he had been waiting.

The next day, he contacted us again, asking to learn more. After reading John 3:16 again and again, he received Jesus with deep emotion. Hallelujah! He now reads the Bible and prays every morning and night. During Ramadan, there are many souls like him who are hungry for truth.

Through our prayers, Jesus will seek them out, lead them to meet people of faith like Philip, and shine the light of salvation among the Azeri people.

[Today's Prayer]

1. The youth of Azerbaijan carry hatred, resentment, wounds, and fear stemming from the long war with Armenia. We hope they come to know Jesus' love, that their wounds and misunderstandings may be resolved and healed. Pray that as they hear the gospel, their eyes, ears, and hearts may be opened to understand Jesus' love and the path of salvation. Specifically, drive away the spirit of the world and the spirit of Islam that binds the youth of this land! Renew Azerbaijan solely through the Gospel!

2. During Ramadan, meet Azerbaijan's Muslims through dreams and visions! May they now confess Jesus not merely as a prophet, but as the returning Messiah and Creator. The global church needs workers to preach the gospel to them. Raise up those who will preach the gospel and make them hear it. Visit them through dreams and visions, so that multitudes may turn to Jesus Christ! Especially during Ramadan, raise up the next generation and the youth of this land!