Hello friend. We are not naturally good at waiting. We want to see progress, answers, fruit—something we can point to and say, There, God is doing something. But his kingdom often grows underground before it breaks into view. 

We tend to measure by what we can see, but God is often at work long before anything breaks the surface. He knows how to keep a seed alive while it waits, and he knows how to bring growth in his perfect time.

Let’s trust that what seems hidden to us is never hidden from him.

In today’s edition:

🇹🇯 Why the gospel in Tajikistan still grows, even where new churches cannot open.

🌱 What a waiting seed can teach us about evangelism, prayer, and the work of God.

🇲🇽 How Mexico’s World Cup summer could become a rare moment for bold, hopeful witness.

No New Churches Allowed 🇹🇯

Tajikistan is a small Central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union with deep scars from atheistic rule and civil war, and today it remains one of the region’s poorest countries, heavily dependent on remittances from abroad.  

The government is strongly secular and keeps tight, authoritarian control over religion. Unregistered church activity is illegal, religious materials are tightly controlled, and pressure on believers comes from both the authorities and their communities.

Christians make up a tiny minority, and for many—especially Tajik converts from Islam—following Jesus can bring suspicion, pressure from family, and close state scrutiny. That pressure has only deepened in recent years. 

In 2022, Protestant leaders reported being told that no new churches would be registered, effectively freezing the number of officially recognized congregations in the country. Christians were also warned that children and teenagers could not take part in religious events—minors are generally allowed to attend only funerals.

And yet the gospel has not stopped spreading in Tajikistan. Even where new churches cannot easily open, Christ is still sustaining believers, drawing people to himself, and strengthening the faith of those who quietly and courageously follow him.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray for Tajik believers to stand firm under pressure and be encouraged with wise, trusted fellowship.

🙏🏼 Pray for churches facing registration barriers and state scrutiny—that God would make a way for gathering, teaching, and discipleship.

🙏🏼 Pray for the gospel to spread among Tajik families and communities, even where open witness is difficult.

A seed knows how to wait 🌱

I recently interviewed a Turkish pastor who grew up in a nominal Muslim home. He memorized parts of the Quran for schoolwork, but he never embraced its message. 

By adulthood, he was an atheist and a mountain climber, searching for meaning by scaling some of the highest peaks in the world.

Until one day, he fell. And for the first time in his life, he prayed. He asked God to help. Not long after, a couple of hikers showed up in a spot where few people tread. Now the atheist mountain climber was on a quest to seek the God who rescued him.

He searched out other religions and found them lacking, until he remembered a gift he received a long time ago: When he was a child, a couple of missionaries had given him a book. It was the Gospel of John.

That little book was the start of a new life for Pastor Kerem Koc. Many other believers eventually played a part in his conversion and discipleship, but it all started with a couple of missionaries giving a little kid a short book. A tiny seed that lay buried for years.

Until one day, it took root.

Kerem’s story reminds me of a remarkable fact I once read about seeds: “A seed knows how to wait.”

Hope Jahren, a scientist who studies trees, writes that most seeds wait for at least a year before they start to grow, and that a cherry tree “can wait for a hundred years with no problem.” This is possible for one crucial reason: “A seed is alive while it waits.”

Is that how we think about the seeds we’re planting in Christ’s kingdom?

How often do we speak a word, or pray a prayer, or have a conversation, or invite a friend to church—and it seems like it falls to the ground with a thud? Like it withers where it lands?

Instead, what if we remembered that a seed is alive while it waits? That no seed planted is hopeless or pointless?

Another pastor I once met grew up the Indian son of a Hindu priest. When he was a child, a couple of Christians gave him a Bible as he passed by on the street. He read it in secret—and he loved this man called Jesus. When he came to Christ’s crucifixion, he was stunned. Why would anyone kill a man like this?

For years, he wondered about Jesus and what it all meant. When friends in college invited him to a Christian prayer meeting, he went. The seed was still there, alive and waiting. By the end of the night, he knew he wanted to follow Jesus forever. Today, he preaches the gospel in his hard-to-reach homeland.

The Christians he briefly encountered years before never knew what came of the seed they planted in a little boy who passed by. And neither do we. We don’t know what might come of the conversation we initiate. The comment. The prayer. The invitation. Who knows how God might use them? Who knows how he already has?

This makes evangelism less a strategy and more a lifestyle. Yes, we need to be intentional about seeking specific opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers. We need to be deliberate about gospel conversations. But we also need to live our whole lives sowing seeds in a thousand different ways. 

Sometimes those seeds will fall on rocky ground. Sometimes they’ll get choked by thorns. But sometimes, they’ll fall on soil made good by God’s grace. And those seeds will bear fruit, whether we ever know it on this side of heaven.

Some plant. Some water. But God gives the growth. Let’s spend our days planting seeds and watering the ones that might already be waiting. In fact, sometimes we may not really know whether we’re planting or watering as we go. But God does.

Because a seed knows how to wait. And God knows how to give growth. 

—Jamie Dean

A Summer Stage, A Deeper Need 🇲🇽

This summer, Mexico will co-host the FIFA World Cup 2026, alongside Canada and the United States. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, with Mexico hosting matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The world’s eyes will be on the country, and millions of fans will flood stadiums, streets, and public squares.  

But beneath the energy and excitement is a deeper spiritual need. 

Mexico is often seen as a historically Christian country, yet in many places the gospel is blurred by fear, tradition, and violence. Following Jesus in parts of Mexico can be dangerous, especially where organized crime pressures churches and pastors through extortion and intimidation.  

A global event like this creates a rare moment: nations coming to one place, conversations opening more easily, and local churches positioned to welcome, serve, and speak of Christ. As crowds gather this summer, pray not only for safe matches and joyful celebration, but for visitors and residents alike to encounter something greater than spectacle—the hope of Christ.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray for churches in Mexico to welcome people with wisdom, compassion, and bold gospel witness during the World Cup season.

🙏🏼 Pray for protection and perseverance for pastors and believers serving in places marked by pressure, corruption, or violence.

🙏🏼 Pray that the attention on Mexico this summer would become an opportunity for many to hear clearly that true hope and life are found in Christ alone.

📍 Attention Worthy

• During Secret Church, believers around the world helped fully fund critical gospel work in 10 countries across Asia. Now the next 5—including North Korea—are within reach. Help make Jesus known across Asia today.

• Both Ends of the Rope is a new podcast from Chad Farmer, one of the voices featured in Hard to Reach: Japan. Built from years of ministry in Japan, it offers honest conversations about going, sending, and what it really takes to do both well.

• What happens when churches go quiet about hell? Losing the doctrine of hell doesn’t make our witness gentler or more loving—it hollows out the urgency and mercy of the gospel itself.