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Azerbaijan
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I Have Prayed
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Capital: Baku
Border Countries: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran. The Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchikvan is bordered by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Azerbaijan, a small country that straddles Southwest Asia and Europe, is a land of unrealized promise. The promise of wealth from undeveloped petroleum resources has gone largely unfulfilled. This former communist country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, which brought the promise of freedom. At that time, most Azerbaijanis returned to their Islamic roots. Today they have a tainted view of Christianity, because "Christian" Russian imperialists and Armenians have warred against them for years over territory. In this sense the promise of freedom has been largely tainted by mistrust and prejudice. Outreach among Azerbaijanis is challenging due to government restrictions against "religious propaganda." Meanwhile, people across Azerbaijan have never heard the Gospel.
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Azerbaijan's population is 8.5 million. Though 95 percent of Azerbaijanis consider themselves to be Muslim, manypossibly more than 10,000have begun to follow Jesus. One evangelical pastor has a vision to train Azerbaijani believers to serve as missionaries in neighboring countries. In the midst of an oppressive environment, God is at work in ways that will bring true fulfillment and freedom to Azerbaijan.
People of Islamic background who become Christians often lose their jobs after professing their new faith. They also experience persecution from family and friends. GEM workers have reached out to these Christians by offering training in how to start a small business and by doing construction projects for churches and ministries. These interactions forge lifelong relationships, and Azerbaijani believersmany of whom feel isolated and alonereceive the support they need. Azerbaijani believers are asking for help in all areas of ministry, including leadership training for Azerbaijani missionaries. One layperson wants to open a tea house to do business as ministry. Is God calling you to serve in this challenging environment?
  1. Pray for evangelical churches as they face challenging restrictions from traditional religious groups and political influences.
  2. Pray that God will overcome the negative stereotypes that many Azerbaijanis have about Christians.






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