Kabardino-Balkaria will Rise Up as a House of Prayer!

Located in the mountainous Caucasus region in western Russia, the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic is an autonomous federal republic of Russia consisting of two main people groups, the Kabardins and the Balkars. Except for the Russians among them, the primary identity of these two beautiful peoples is predominantly folk Islam, a mixture of shamanism and Islam that is honestly quite confusing even to the very people who practice it.

Kabardino-Balkaria has recently been more influenced by secularism, as young people love money and worldly pleasures more than religion and live a life indifferent towards God’s existence. Moreover, the socialist system requires people to work to live and eat, but there is a simultaneous shortage of jobs, resulting in a generally poor, tired population and many broken families.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
(Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV)

A small number of churches made up of Russians and Korean immigrants are suffering from COVID-19 outbreaks, but all the while, the number of people who are eagerly seeking the Lord is increasing. Young men and women came to pray for and preach the gospel in Kabardino-Balkaria, and missionary training has been carried out too. Now, young people from the nearby regions of Tatarstan and Crimea have even come to worship and evangelize together with the church of Kabardino-Balkaria. Hallelujah!

Sister T, a Kabardin, was bullied at school after her parents got divorced ever since she was little. She said, “When I cried to Allah and sought his help, he did not answer me, and ever since, I’ve been living with confidence that there is no Allah.” But at age 18, Jesus met Sister T, who was living in disbelief, through His people, and gave her faith and peace! Hallelujah! God, who made and loves the Kabardins and Balkars, will bring forth a great prayer revival here, and He will receive and answer the prayers of His people! Amen!

Dagestan, God’s Hope!

The gospel was preached in the Republic of Dagestan through the apostle Bartholomew’s disciple, Elisaeus, and the early churches. However, since the Arab military invasions of the 7th century, various ethnic groups became Islamized, and during the 18th century Caucasus War, Dagestan officially allied with Islam. Religion was banned under the influence of communism in the 20th century, but the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an enormous resurgence of support for Islam in Dagestan. Although Dagestani identity is strongly influenced by their history with Islam even until today, many believe in Islam blindly and never even read the Quran in their lifetime.

When Ramadan begins, pictures related to Ramadan are posted all over social media, and people take pride in fasting and observing. While many seek desperately to reach Allah through fasting and deeds, some celebrate Ramadan simply as a religious custom.

⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(Galatians 5:4,14, NKJV)

God loves this land! The local church of Dagestan is experiencing a great revival through the guidance of Holy Spirit. A local leader, Pastor A, was martyred by an Islamic armed group recently. Despite these attacks, the young generation of Dagestan has not only kept their faith and continued to gather for worship, but they have even continued to send fellow disciples to other cities to plant new churches.

Hallelujah! Nothing in the world can stop the work of the gospel. House churches are continually being planted, and many are professing faith in Jesus Christ. May many more local churches be planted and unite together to worship for the nations every week, praying together for the revival of this land and the restoration of the nations! Amen!

Ingushetia will Give Birth to New Life!

The Ingush people are the smallest and poorest within the federal republics of Russia, and was the people group that experienced the world’s fastest mass conversion to Islam. During World War II, they were forced to migrate to Russia, but there were territorial conflicts and disputes. Even a few years ago, they lost more territory to the Chechens, and, while the people protested, in the end the media and the Internet were controlled, and their voices were muted. They now continue to experience the pains of alienation.

Ingushetia is one of the only autonomous states in the world which has officially been recorded as 100% Muslim. Ingushetia is like a spiritual highway whose construction has not even begun. However, the people seem very open. One brother greeted a Brother K, shaking his hand and saying to him,“Jesus loves you” as usual, then proceeded to ask and talk about Jesus. The two also talked about Islam, but it did not cause a conflict in the conversation. Rather, it became a time of grace to share and get to know each other and the Word of God.

One sister met two sisters at the park who had many self-harm marks on their wrists. After talking for a bit, these sisters revealed that they had great spiritual hunger but no hope in living any kind of successful future. When the sister preached the gospel to them and sang them a praise song to bless them, the two sisters were so grateful, saying through tears that they felt so happy.

For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

(2 Corinthians 6:2, NKJV)

Though there has long been no known church, no Christians, no Bibles, and no missionaries in Ingushetia, God is doing His work here! Even when the global church was largely unfamiliar with the people of Ingushetia, the Lord has never forgotten them. He is making history in this land even during these end times. This is the time for Ingushetia to receive grace! This is the day of salvation for the Ingush people! May Ingushetia give birth to new life and bring revival to all nations! Amen!

Chechnya, the Special Force of the Gospel, will Go the Last Frontiers!

Chechnya is the ethnic people group that has lived the longest in the Caucasus Mountains, but after losing the Caucasus War against Russia, which happened in the 18th century, it became a federal republic of Russia. During Stalin’s days, the Chechen people were persecuted, massacred, and forced to migrate in brutal conditions, resulting in many deaths. Thus, their antipathy toward Russia grew even greater. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chechnya declared its independence, but two wars with Russia had destroyed 90% of its capital city of Grozny, left most Chechen men dead, and left the people mostly as orphans and widows. After that, Chechnya continued to fight for independence through terror, but the dream of independence never came true.

The Chechen people now look for their identity in Islam. The Chechen president considers himself a leader of Islam, building large mosques in many cities and villages, emphasizing Islamic education and clothing, and working toward making Chechnya a completely Islamic Republic.

Currently, Chechnya has virtually overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to other regions of Russia, they have been following quarantine regulations much more strictly. In February, they announced that people no longer need to wear masks in public. The streets are busy again, and people are actively coming and going, and Islamic activities have also picked up momentum again. Young people are searching for truth.

Most religious meetings are organized by young Muslims, but the church is longing to meet and preach the gospel to the Chechens too! Living as a Christian in Chechnya is challenging, because there is persecution, but the church of Chechnya is starting to take steps of faith with the global young generation.

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
(Hebrews 10:39, NKJV)

The people of Chechnya are faithfully keeping Ramadan. While spiritual battle is the fiercest, we pray that the souls of those who participate in this tradition will be freed from the lies of Islam, meet God’s people, and come to confess that they are the disciples of Jesus Christ! We believe that Chechnya will rise up and lead a revival as a special force of the gospel, going to the last frontiers! Amen!

Prayer Requests

Kabardino-Balkaria
May the church of this land hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to them. Let them become the house of prayer that the Lord is looking for, so that with the same spirituality as the early churches, let there be revival that will lead to the gospel reaching all nations! Among the people of Kabardino-Balkaria, may the wisdom and knowledge of God be full. We pray that they will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and that they will love and worship Jesus Christ alone!

Dagestan
Lord, have mercy upon the souls of Dagestan, who think that they can receive salvation through their deeds. We pray that they will receive life through the grace of Jesus Christ! Through Ramadan, may they realize that Islam is a lie. Allow them to come before the truth of the gospel. Let the local churches of Dagestan that have experienced martyrdom rise up during these end times with obedience to the calling of God! We believe that they will be used to preach the gospel to all nations! We intercede especially for the young generation to overcome the authority of Islam and the world with faith. Lord, would You raise them up like the morning dew and use them to bring the final revival to all nations!

Ingushetia
The time to receive grace has come for the Ingush people. This is the day of salvation for the Ingush! Lord, remember this little nation that has been alienated from the world. They have received so much pain, so we pray that You will heal their pain! Allow salvation to come upon them by leading them before You. Change them, Lord, to become a nation that will give birth to new life! Amen!

Russian troops said they have killed 200 people by air raiding a base of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a Sunni extremist terrorist organization previously based in eastern Syria.

According to the Associated Press (AP), an American news company headquartered in New York City, on April 20th, Russia’s defence ministry said that the day before, on April 19th, Russian fighter planes attacked two terrorist positions near Palmyra in eastern Syria.

The Russians claimed that the air raid killed about 200 IS terrorists and destroyed 24 vehicles and 500 kg of ammunition. According to Russia, the camp they bombed served as a gathering point for terrorist attacks across Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Syrian civil war monitoring group headquartered in London, UK, told AP, “It seems that the Russian army had air raided before the 5th Syrian Army Corps set out to clear the IS remnant in the desert of Holmes.

“This attack killed 26 IS remnants,” they added. “The Russian air raid could be retaliation for IS claiming earlier that they killed two Russian soldiers in that desert.”

Syria was divided into government troops versus rebel terrorists after the “Arab Spring,” a civil uprising in 2011, that led to a civil war in Syria that has lasted for over 10 years now. In addition, in 2014, IS issued a recruitment call based in Syria and Iraq, and much of eastern Syria was quickly taken as IS territory. Since then, the US, Turkey, and Russia have gotten involved in the war too, resulting in even more violence, chaos, and tragedy for Syria.

IS was officially defeated in March 2019, when Baghuz, their last resistance headquarters, was captured. However, IS remnants are still lingering throughout Syria, Iraq, and several other Middle Eastern countries, occasionally causing violence.

Source: Yonhap News 

¹³ The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.

(Psalm 33:12-13, NKJV)

Due to this 10-year-long Syrian civil war, Syria has experienced a countless number of deaths, casualties, and tragedies. Lord, Your heart must be torn into pieces as You watch IS terrorists and other nations killing so many people. When You heard that Russia claimed to have killed 200 IS soldiers, Your heart must also have grieved for those who didn’t know You. We believe that You desire even terrorists to repent and come back to You.

Lord, allow this cycle of killing and death to be broken in the land of Syria! Let all the remnants of IS repent before You, and may they rise up as soldiers who will now give their lives not for Allah but for the gospel!

We also pray for the churches of Russia and all the other countries that have gotten involved in this war, that they may not use the topic for political purposes. During this time, allow the global church to arise and embrace the Syrian people with Your aching heart for them! Would You raise up the global church to serve the souls of the people of Syria with Your love!

Syria will declare Jehovah their God! Young generation of Syria, rise up as God’s inheritance and as soldiers of God who will receive the nations as your inheritance! Amen!

The Tatar people are ready to raise the northern army of the last revival and will ignite all Russia and the Russian minorities! Regarded historically as the most courageous of the Eurasian nomads, the people of the Republic of Tatarstan have always been a strong people. Their peak power was during the period they helped Genghis Khan build the massive Mongolian Empire in the early 1200s AD.

However, the country faced tragedy during the last Crusades of that century. The practice of the Latin Church forcing pagans to be baptized or die resulted in more than a million Tatars being killed by crusaders in the frozen Volga River. Through these massacres done in the name of Jesus, this nation has suffered a tragic misunderstanding of the cross of Jesus Christ. Even today, the evangelization rate of the Tatar people is just over 0.1%. For them, believing in Jesus means supporting the Crusades that happened against their people.

Islam, which was thoroughly trampled and deprived of its former majesty by the Crusades, became the primary religion and identity of the Tatar people even to this day. Islamic movements even influenced an entire renovation of the capital, Kazan, which is also called the third capital of Russia.

The Tatar people live not only in Tatarstan, but also in Russia and the minority regions Bashkortostan and the Crimean Peninsula. The people of Bashkir are ethnically unique from the Tatar, but in fact, some of the Tatar tribes, who saved their lives by betraying their own people and making peace with the crusader states, have today become Bashkirs and now live in Bashkortostan.

The Crimean Tatar people living on the Crimean Peninsula also went through a recent period of suffering and turmoil. Independence activists such as Ahn Jung-geun and Yun Bong-gil actively campaigned for the region’s autonomy until the 21st century. However, in 2014, the Crimean independence movements came to an end when the Crimean Autonomous Republic was transferred from Ukraine to Russia after 70 years of struggle for independence.

The brutal and harsh rule of the Russian authorities, such as gruesomely executing independence activists and dumping their bodies on the road, quickly broke the will of the Crimean Tatar people for independence and turned them to the superficial pro-Russian side. The leaders of this people struggled to find their true identity as they turned to Islam for their political platform.

The landscape of Ramadan in Tatarstan is very unique. Shops are always open as usual, and only the few older people fast. Even some young people regard celebrating Ramadan as old-fashioned and losing its relevance. Though Islam once brought an age of enlightenment to this land, with its appealing education and values, Ramadan in this land seems to have no power presently. However, it still has the potential to unite the Tatar people under an Islamic identity again.

Although they eat food in broad daylight, girls who usually never wear hijabs confirm their identity by covering their heads with hijabs during Ramadan. Even those who have denounced Islam still tend to celebrate Ramadan as a cultural gesture. They seem to be delivering a message from Satan that “the Tatar people are still mine, no matter how many years pass by.”

Through their broken history, the Tatar people have come to suffer heavy societal consequences. Tatarstan today has the highest suicide rate of any republic or country in both Russia and Europe, and the divorce rate is close to 95%. They seem to be stuck in a cycle of confusion, heartbreak, and death. What the Tatar people really need is the eternal kingdom of God.

However, God has already established the church here! And that is enough to overturn the fate of this nation and even all the earth. As the faithful brothers and sisters who serve this land preach daily, Jesus has called many young people from this land who were wandering aimlessly through life to follow Him. Despite family persecution and social pressure, young people who have decided to follow Jesus, who is the Word of God, are now discipling each other and advancing the kingdom of heaven every day.

The Tatar church is now preparing to form a third branch. As we see Muslim-background believers now fasting and praying to Jesus with tears for the redemption of their people, we see how God has always been more powerful than the grips of Islam. He has allowed the Tatar people to join in the glory of sending missionaries to two other people groups. Even after returning, they have begun the race of faith for the revival of all of Russia!

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
(Ezekiel 37:9-10, NKJV)

God has continued working in Tatarstan even through the COVID-19 pandemic! The young generation of Tatarstan now proclaim daily, “300,000 missionaries in Tatarstan and Russia!” This revival, initiated by the Lord, will cover all of Russia very soon! Amen!

Prayer Requests

1. During this Ramadan period, when Islam wants to reinforce its spiritual authority once again, would You meet many sincere young people who have been chosen as disciples of You, our Lord Jesus!

2. As Your church prays and strives for the gospel to reach all of Tatarstan, may they receive more of the Father’s heart for this land, and would You give them spiritual leadership and authority that they may not lack in the battle against darkness.

3. May Your Tatar disciples put off their old selves and weaknesses and grow in maturity according to the character of Jesus, to do all they can to love each other without envy or contention.

4. May the Holy Spirit be poured out upon those who are serving, that revival may come to every heart and family in Tatarstan. Through the Tatar church, raise up Your brave army that will go to the ends of the earth for the gospel! Amen!

The Azeris are a large, unreached Turkic people group with a population of 10 million in the country of Azerbaijan, about 30 million in Iran, and about 45 million diaspora in Russia and Turkey. Less than 0.1% are evangelical Christians, and over 95% believe in Islam. However, only about 5% of Muslims are devoted to the faith, while most believe in Islam simply as part of their ethnic identity.

Ramadan here is observed as forced fasting among families as well as personal observance. In recent years, the number of people who call themselves pluralists and atheists and young people who are opening up to other religions is increasing rapidly.

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, more than a thousand confirmed cases were reported in Azerbaijan, and regulations that allowed citizens to go out only 2-3 hours daily were implemented. The control of the state also has continued. Around October last year, there was a war that lasted for a month due to territorial disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and there were casualties, grief, and despair.

But the Lord is bringing new things through all these situations! The ministers who serve this land are giving more and more energy to follow the Lord and make disciples, giving thanks to God for the opportunity to meet people and friends even in the short time of 2-3 hours. Actually, more and more people are already responding to the gospel and confessing faith in Jesus since just last year.

The young people of faith are confessing that they want salvation to come to Azerbaijan and to all nations! They do not let go of the Word or the commitment to share and evangelize, even in bad weather or difficult situations, and they go everywhere to witness the gospel!

We hope that the truth will be proclaimed to more and more souls during this Ramadan period, and the work of the Holy Spirit will take place, leading many to the only way to eternal life. May we meet more young people whom God has chosen to respond to the gospel, so that an explosive church planting movement that has never been seen before may arise from Azerbaijan!

“Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”
(Psalms 2:8, NKJV)

Prayer Requests

1. Lord, thank You for allowing the time of salvation to come upon Azerbaijan! The fear of the pandemic and the power of death seem to overshadow them, but thank You for allowing many to respond even more positively to the gospel through this! Throughout the Ramadan period, Satan is trying to bind them to darkness, but we proclaim that Islamic power, secularism, and pluralism will all collapse! May the gospel be witnessed to them faster than the power of darkness and death. May the days of Your grace and the day of salvation be proclaimed throughout Azerbaijan! May we see those who are saved being added day by day!

2. The day of salvation has been proclaimed in Azerbaijan! All those chosen by the Lord of Azerbaijan will come to Him! Lord, raise up a community of faith that breaks all the powers of darkness during this Ramadan period! Let us advance toward all nations with Azerbaijan through unstoppable worship and prayer! May the global church be awakened with the vision of God, so that we can advance to the ends of the earth, together, following the flames of the Holy Spirit and the light of the nations in these last days! Amen!