Azerbaijan September Mission Focus

Tuesday 22 nd September At this months Mission Focus we looked at the country of Azerbaijan. We started with a quick quiz on whether we knew much about Azerbaijan We also looked at what life was like for Christians in Azerbaijan We used the Joshua Project and Operation World for statistics

Introduction 1.Secular State 2.But mostly Muslim 3.Majority is Shi’ite Muslims 4.Wealth Divide 5.Looks toward the West 6.In-between Russia and Iran

Map

Christianity In Azerbaijan 1.Are there any Christians in Azerbaijan? 2.What is life like for the Christians in Azerbaijan? 3.Is it possible to evangelise?

Joshua Project 1.Number of people groups-39 2.Unreached people groups-24 3.Total unreached - 9,213,000 4.% Professing Christians-2.7% 5.Evangelical-0.2% 6.Largest Religion - Islam (84%)

Operation World We looked at 10 challenges/issues for prayer…

1) Politically volatile nation 1.Armenia 2.Russia 3.Iran 4.Turkey Military spending at all time high Pray for safety of Christians

2) The economic boom 1.Famous for their oil 2.Scheduled to dry up by 2025… 3.In Baku many have luxury items 4.Outside the capital is there is little sign of wealth Pray that rich and poor can turn to Jesus

3) Christianity Association with… 1.Russia imperialism 2.Armenian hostility 3.Western World Pray that the gospel can stand by itself

4) Azerbaijani Believers 1.Numbers are increasing 2.Most still of foreign ethnicities Pray for next generation of Christian leaders Pray for training and bible schools

5) Opposition Churches continue to face intimidation However there is basic freedom to share the gospel

6) Registration laws In 2010 laws passed to make any ‘faith group’ register through government Many seen as a threat Issues of teaching children and producing literature. Churches can only meet where they are registered Process highly obstructive

7) Nagorno-Karabakh An Armenian enclave 1990 war 1.Pray for conflict to be avoided 2.Pray for the proclamation of the gospel

8) Expatriate Christians Proselytism is illegal But still opportunities for ‘Tentmakers’ They can still show the love of Christ Azeri Church welcomes foreign believers Pray for gospel opportunities through this

9) The Unreached 1.Most Azerbaijani towns and villages 2.The poor and unemployed 3.The Caucasus peoples 4.The Indo-Iranian speaking minorities

10) Christian Ministries 1.Christian Literature (Growing collection of Christian books, including bookstores) 2.Bible Translation (Available in North/South Azeri, problems for local Caucasus languages) 3.Christian Radio / Audio (Lack of radio programmes) 4.The Jesus Film (Available in 6 local languages)

DVD We watched a 10 minute DVD produced by Release International about Azerbaijan It gave a clearer picture on the challenges faced by Christians

DVD Prayer Points 1.That Christians will be able to meet together in freedom 2.That churches would have success in getting registered 3.For Protection for pastors and evangelists 4.For work for Christians who can be rejected by employers because of their faith

Next Mission Focus… Tuesday 27 th October Jairah Funds