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JULY/AUGUST 2012THE AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
www.barnabasfund.org
IN THIS ISSUE
Food andeducation
 
to sustain andstrengthen
The Church
caring for ourChristian family
Distinctive
the calling ofBarnabas Fund
 
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willhelp ChristansgrowntrknowledgeofHim.
 
IsacPublishing, paperba,vi +122pp, ofr
 
erc£.99 
 
incdingpostage(RRP £7.)
 
To order either of these books, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop. Alternatively, please contact yournearest Barnabas fund of
fi
ce (addresses on back cover). Cheques for the UK should be made payable to“Barnabas Fund”.
STOCK NOW AVAILABLE! e  r  F a it h  
 
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hymns, prayers andwordsofwisdomadencourageen. Spend a year with these great heroesof ofaithandallo  God to touch your life.
Isaac Publishing, paperback, vi + 386pp, of er prie.9  including postage (RRP £11.99)
£5.99£9.99
Front Cover:
Galatians 6:10 (NIV)To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted. Thank you for your understanding.Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version
®
.Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used in this publication. Barnabas Fundapologises for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any further information regarding copyright.© Barnabas Fund 2012
The paper used in thispublication comes fromsustainable forests andcan be 100% recycled
 
WELCOME FROMTHE DIRECTOR
T
he early Christians in Rome were renowned
because they cared for all their own poor andneedy and also for other people’s. While their
care for outsiders brought them persecution,their care for their fellow Christians was admired.
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth in the late 2nd century, wroteto thank the Church in Rome for the aid they had sent to his
church. “From the beginning it is your custom to bestowyour alms in all places, and to furnish subsistence to manychurches. You send relief to the needy, especially to thosewho work in the mines; in which you follow the exampleof your fathers.”
A few years later, Tertullian noted how the non-Christians would comment with astonishment about the
Christians, “See how they love one another.”In the following century the pagan Emperor Julian(361-363) commented that “these impious Galileans notonly feed their own poor, but ours also; welcoming them
into their agapae [love feasts], they attract them, as children
are attracted, with cakes.”The early Christians sought to ful
fi
l the teaching of Matthew 25:31-46, in which our Lord Jesus, in His storyof the sheep and the goats, commends those who provide
practical care for even “the least of these brothers and sisters
of mine” (verse 40).
This must be one of the most frequentlymisinterpreted verses of our age. To whom is Jesus
referring? Does He mean the poor of the world, the sick,the disabled, the homeless? Or does He mean Christians
who are poor, sick, disabled, homeless or otherwise in
need? A number of modern Christian leaders are teachingthat Jesus was referring to the poor of the world. But inthe past the overwhelming majority of Christian scholarsand theologians understood Jesus’ “brothers and sisters”
as Christian believers, and this view is still widespread
today. It is better grounded in the language of Matthew’sGospel, where Jesus refers to His disciples as His brothersand sisters (e.g. 12:49-50).So in this story we are taught to prioritise care for
the Christian community. This is in line with the newcommandment that Jesus gave His disciples in the lastfew hours before His death, “Love one another” (John
13:34-35), which supplements the command to “Love yourneighbour” (Matthew 22:39). It is also supported by Paul’s
injunction in Galatians 6:10 that we should “do good toall people, especially to those who belong to the family
of believers”. Not either/or, but both/and, with the prioritygiven to our Christian family.
We live in a day of growing needs. The poor aregetting poorer. It is right that governments, nations and
agencies, both Christian and other, should work tirelessly torelieve their needs and bring about a more just and equitable
world.But what of the Christian poor, and especially theChristian persecuted, whose needs are also growing in our
world today, as they experience increasing marginalisation,
discrimination, harassment and violence? As Christians
we have a Biblical duty, a Gospel warrant and Christian
compassion to assist our “brother or sister in need”, as
1 John 3:17 refers to them. To neglect them is to neglectChrist’s followers, which is to neglect Christ Himself.Just as the early Church were known for their love
for each other, this should be the hallmark of our faith
today too.Dr Patrick SookhdeoInternational Director
Contents
See How They Love One Another
4 
Compassion in Action 
Literacy and smallbusinesses for Christians inPakistan
11
Feeding Update 
Relieving urgent needs inPakistan and Egypt
15 
Campaigns 
Write to your MP aboutreligious freedom
8 
Newsdesk 
Christians at risk in Sudanand South Sudan as warlooms
12 
Spotlight 
An aid agency with adifference
16 
Biblical Re 
fl 
ection 
Doing good to all…especially Christians
PULL- OUT 
Equipping the Church 
What does the Bible sayabout the Church?
14 
Learning from the Persecuted Church 
A Muslim woman meets theliving Lord
18 
In Touch 
Motorbiking for thesuffering Church; BarnabasPersecution Updates
8 1118 
3BARNABAS AID
JULY/AUGUST 2012
3BARNABAS AID
JULY/AUGUST 2012
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