Hello friend. Most of us naturally reach for what’s comfortable. We avoid risk, keep our plans tidy, and quietly hope obedience to Jesus will fit neatly inside an easy life—even though we’d never say it like that. 

But again and again, Scripture shows us a different pattern: God calls his people into costly yeses—and meets them there with a deeper joy than comfort can offer.

From places where access to the gospel is limited, to cultures where “Christian” is mostly a label, to whatever decisions sit in front of you this week, the same truth holds true: Jesus is worth more than ease. And wherever obedience feels hard, he is not pushing you out alone—he is walking with you into it.

In today’s edition:

🇳🇪 Limited access in Niger—and how God still strengthens his church.

👣 What it really means to say “yes” to Jesus when it costs you.

🇧🇷 Why Brazil’s “Christian” culture needs deeper discipleship and a steady church.

Limited Access Can’t Stop God’s Work 🇳🇪

Niger is home to more than 24 million people, and the overwhelming majority still has little to no access to the gospel. Islam shapes much of public life, and daily realities—poverty, food insecurity, political instability, and violent extremist threats—press in on families and communities across the country.

In many rural villages and desert communities, Jesus’ name is rarely spoken with clarity or understanding. For those who do follow him, faith can be costly and isolating. Small pockets of believers often live quietly—limited access to Scripture, few mature leaders nearby, and real social pressure if they’re known as Christians. And when instability rises, ordinary ministry becomes even harder: travel is risky, gatherings can be disrupted, and trust can be fragile.

Still, God is not absent in Niger. He is drawing people to himself, sustaining his church in hidden places, and keeping the light burning where it seems least likely. Our prayer is not just for “more information,” but for a living witness—local disciples who know the Word, love their neighbors, and endure with hope.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray for Nigerien believers to be strengthened in isolation—rooted in Scripture, protected from harm, and encouraged with wise, trusted fellowship.

🙏🏼 Pray for unreached communities where the gospel is unknown—that God would send workers, open doors through relationships, and grant clarity and courage to share Christ.

🙏🏼 Pray for stability and peace—that violence would be restrained, families protected, and space created for churches to gather, disciple, and multiply.

Following Jesus When It’s Not Easy 👣

Does saying “Yes” to Jesus mean saying “No” to ease?

It certainly seems that way.

I think about Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

I don’t think anyone heard those words and walked away thinking, “This is going to be easy!” No one heard the word “cross” in that context and thought “comfort.”

But what does this look like in everyday life? This question immediately calls to mind a couple of different conversations I’ve had just this week.

One was with a brother who was burdened for the persecuted church in northern Nigeria. 

He told his wife he thought God was leading them to go on short-term trips and serve our suffering brothers and sisters there. When he shared this with his wife, she immediately said they needed to pray and make sure the Lord was really calling them to do this because she knew there would be much risk involved. So they joined hands with their kids and prayed specifically for God to show them if he was leading them to do this. 

Within hours, he received a completely unsolicited email from someone in northern Nigeria asking him to come over and help them. Today, he is serving the church there at great risk. A couple of his fellow team leaders were just abducted and tortured (and thankfully—and miraculously—released). 

God is working in powerful ways through the work they are doing, but no one would call it easy.

I had another conversation with a brother who, many years ago, found himself in an unplanned pregnancy with his girlfriend at the time. 

He was sharing with me how seemingly everyone was telling them to get an abortion, saying how hard it would be to finish college and have a career with a baby who would be a barrier to that. Knowing that it was the right decision to have this child didn’t make that decision easy. 

But this brother and his wife now work alongside other women and men in the same circumstance, helping them get the support they need to thrive as parents, and the son who was born to them is now thriving with his own children.

Finally, I think about a young adult who grew up a devout Muslim here in the United States. 

A couple of years ago, she heard the truth about Jesus for the first time, and she found herself drawn toward the gospel. But she knew that if she trusted in Jesus as her Savior and Lord, many in her family (and, namely, her dad) would react very negatively. Yet she became a follower of Jesus anyway, and she’s still working through how to best love her family as she’s ostracized from them.

So how is Jesus asking you to say “Yes” to him and “No” to ease? 

Maybe he’s calling you to go short-term—or longer—somewhere else in the world for the spread of the gospel or the building up of the church. 

Maybe he’s calling you to come alongside women and men with unplanned pregnancies, or children, or single parents in need.

Maybe he’s calling you to open your home and share the gospel with your Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, or agnostic friend, neighbor, or acquaintance.

Maybe he’s calling you to take a specific stand for Jesus on your campus or in your workplace.

Obviously, I don’t know all that he’s calling you to do. But I do know this: 

It won’t be easy. And it will be worth it.

So don’t be surprised when it gets hard (see 1 Peter 4:12-19). Yet do be confident that you’re not alone. 

Truly believe that the One who calls you to take up a cross daily has borne the cross on your behalf, and he now lives in you so that you can boldly step into the hard with the supernatural strength, peace, joy, love, and hope that only he can provide. 

According to Jesus in Luke 9:24:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

—David Platt

Beyond Cultural Christianity 🇧🇷

Brazil is a country of striking contrasts—spiritual familiarity and spiritual need, side by side. Many Brazilians identify with Christianity, yet the gospel can be blurred by syncretism, prosperity messaging, or a “Christian vocabulary” that never becomes personal faith. At the same time, Brazil is home to dozens of unreached people groups, especially in hard-to-reach regions where access is limited and long-term presence is rare.

Right now, everyday life is also shaped by climate strain—seasons of “too dry, too wet,” with communities facing drought, flooding, and the ripple effects on food, health, and stability. In that mix, local churches have a unique opportunity: to be known not for noise, but for steady truth, costly love, and humble service.

Pray for Brazil’s church to grow in depth—not just attendance. Pray for believers to be grounded in Scripture, mobilized for mission, and burdened for neighbors who have never heard the good news clearly.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray for spiritual clarity—that cultural Christianity would give way to repentance, faith, and discipleship rooted in God’s Word.

🙏🏼 Pray for unreached peoples, especially in hard-to-access regions—that God would send long-term workers and raise up local believers to make disciples.

🙏🏼 Pray for strength and compassion in seasons of climate pressure—churches serving wisely, families protected, and the vulnerable cared for in Jesus’ name.

📍 Attention Worthy

• The Commission subscribers get a Secret Church discount—use code COMMISSION for 20% off. Join us April 17 for six hours in God’s Word, praying for the persecuted church, and responding for the spread of the gospel in the world’s hardest places.

• Feeling pressure to move faster than faithfulness allows? A missionary shares what he wishes he knew sooner: patience isn’t procrastination—it’s trust in God’s sovereign timing. 

• Paul isn’t the only church-planting template in the New Testament. This piece widens the lens—highlighting models from Timothy, Titus, Priscilla & Aquila (and even Jesus) for the contexts many planters face today. 

• Language learning matters—but God may have already put a “common tongue” in your hand. With about 1.5B English speakers worldwide, this article explores how English can serve the Great Commission (without replacing local languages).