On Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, the country of Guatemala erupted in mass protests all over the nation. The protesters called for the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras who has been attempting to block President-elect Bernardo Arévalo from officially taking office.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, a Palestinian militant group referred to as Hamas crossed Israeli borders and carried out an attack on Israeli civilians. In the initial attack, approximately 1,400 civilians were killed, with hundreds of hostages taken as well. In response, Israel has responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip leaving more than 8,300 Palestinians dead.
In Panama, nationwide protests have also erupted calling for a stop to a mining contract with a Canadian company that, according to many law experts, is unconstitutional. Despite the intention of protesters for peaceful demonstrations, several violent acts have taken place including a deadly shooting that ended the life of two activists.
The world is in crisis, and people are trying to figure out how to respond to it. Especially Christians and the global church. Not only are Christians trying to figure out how to respond, but also what course of action they should take.
Especially for the Christian student, it can be disheartening to observe a world in crisis but feel like there is no way for one to take action. However, as a student, there are several ways that one can act in response to global crises.
The first action would be prayer. The Bible encourages believers to pray in times of crisis. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 34, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
JBU hosts a daily call to prayer through Zoom, from 3:00-3:10. With this call to prayer students can join and expect a call to prayer, a psalm reading, time for silent prayer, and a blessing. Other ministries and churches host daily or global calls to prayer, seeking to gather a body of believers for prayer.
Another way Christian students can respond and take action is to serve and support local or global crisis ministries.
Students might not always be able to financially support these crisis ministries, often hosted by churches or humanitarian organizations. Yet many of these ministries can often benefit from students supporting them and serving them with their time and volunteer work. Lastly, Christian students need to stay informed. There can be no proper response or actions taken if one is not first properly informed on the state of the world.