Headlining today’s news the list of countries that fail to allow religious freedom
has been released. It’s called the Open Doors’ World Watch list, comprising of
countries where Christians face the most persecution. Open Doors President Terry
Madison. “Saudi Arabia has the distinction, unfavorable as it is, of being the most
repressive regime in the world for Christian faith. And, they have topped this list again
as number one for a number of years in a row.” Madison says Afghanistan is second,
followed by China, Chechnya and Sudan. 82 other countries made the list. He says
churches can use this as a prayer tool. “It’s very helpful for churches to use because
they can pray their way through the list and remember those who are in bonds for
Christ’s sake. We’re really committed to public education, particularly among the
church folk, to realize that even as we enjoy the freedom that we have, that is not what
others around the world share.”
News Archives
Next, among the top ten countries on the World Watch list, most of them are
strongly Islamic. So, evangelism among the Muslim community worldwide has been a
challenge. However, for Arab World Ministries, the light of Christ is being shared
elsewhere. We spoke with one missionary, whom we’ll call “Mark”. His ministry is in
France’s Muslim community. “Mark” says despite the fact that France’s Islamic
population is more open to evangelism, they are faced with many obstacles. “A Muslim
who would become a Christian from a Muslim point of view is a traitor-he’s a traitor to
God, he’s a traitor to his country, he’s a traitor to his family, to his ancestors, to his
history, to all that is good, right and true. Many Muslims who become Christians feel a
lot of pressure to conform to their former religion, to the people around them.”
A Christian television station is refusing to accept a license by the Federal
Communications Commission because of new guidelines attached to it. The new
guidelines, restricting the amount of religious programming, forced Cornerstone
Television to make the move. They said it would jeopardize their ability to carry out
your mission of sharing the Gospel. The guidelines require noncommercial educational
TV stations to devote half of their time to educational materials, excluding preaching
and most church services. National Religious Broadcaster and members of Congress
oppose the guidelines, which could affect 90 other such stations.
We begin today’s newscast in strife torn Indonesia where the Muslim and
Christian conflict continues. After three days of rioting Christians are fleeing the
Island of Lombok (lohm-bahk). Clashes there have claimed two-thousand lives over
the last year. Guy Sire with New Tribes Mission says we’re seeing a fundamental shift
in the country. “Indonesia has always been a Muslim country with an attempt to keep
the government secular. But, what we’re finding now is without a strong powerful figure
in the presidency, Islamic elements are making their bid for control of the country.”
According to Sire, because many New Tribes missionaries are in safe areas of the
country, their work has slowed. “We have a tremendous core of Indonesians that have
gone through our training program there. We still have two families still in the Moluccas
and have not evacuated out. But, we sincerely need more Indonesians, challenged to
reach their own people.”
With the Balkans in ruins, World Servants is making plans to go into twelve
destroyed villages this spring to help rebuild. Chris Clum says not only are they
working to provide shelter, but they also want to give back the future the Serbian
soldiers stole from the Albanians. “One of the things they did in these villages when they
went in is target the schools. They leveled the schools, and in some cases, killed all the
teachers in some of these villages. So, we are going to go back to one of these villages
and work with the people that live there and rebuild the school.” Clum says helping the
Muslim community in this manner will give them a chance to share the Gospel. “It’s a
wonderful open door for us to share our Christian faith by just working alongside them
and helping meet some practical needs really warms their hearts to receive the Gospel.
As we’ve been over there and have begun to build relationships, they begin to ask
questions-“Why are you here?” “Tell us about your faith.””
Elsewhere, a message on the Bible millennium lands a Chinese pastor in jail
again and another chance to share Christ with authorities. Voice of the Martyrs
reports that the Chinese people are to refer only to the “new century” and not use the
word millennium due to it being a Biblical term. Li De Xian was preaching on that topic
when he was arrested earlier this week by local police. Xian says he welcomes the
opportunity as a means to plant seeds and share the Gospel with the PSB authorities.
We begin today’s newscast in the Balkans where American Christians there are
wondering if the arrest of an American soldier will affect their work. The U-S
Army Sergeant has been charged in the death of an 11-year-old Albanian girl in
Kosovo. Joel Samy is President of World Hope and lives in the region. He’s
optimistic. “As we touch base with a number of the Christian organizations on the field
here, they also convey the unsettling aspect of this news. They continue to work
day-by-day feeding, providing hope, sharing the Gospel with those in need. And,
specifically helping the ethnic Albanians in their resettlement program.” Samy believes
the incident won’t have a direct impact on their work. “We certainly know that
incidents like this cause great concern. However, the ethnic Albanian people look at
the whole process in seeing that the Americans are here risking their lives to provide
peace and stability and this certainly will have a ripple affect in the community.”
Next, with the peace talks with Syria at a standstill, the work of repatriating
Jews to their homeland continues. Christians For Israel’s David Sudlow says
even though there have been talks of Israel giving up more land to Syria, those talks
haven’t done anything to affect their Exobus Project. “The immigration from the former
Soviet Union to Israel is up. In fact, our latest report is that we can not meet all the
requests of those who want to leave for Israel.” According to Sudlow, because the
Jewish people have been so mistreated, it opens doors to share the Gospel with them
as they return. “We do have a God given mandate at this time. I believe that with all my
heart that we’re called to come along side the Jewish people and to stand with God’s
Biblical promises for them. To assist them, to help them where ever we can. And, it’s
the cup of cold water in Jesus name that really touches their hearts.”
Reuters is reporting that religious unrest continues to spread throughout
Indonesia’s riot-torn islands. Violence has reached southern Sulawesi, where a mob
of 200 Muslims attacked six Christians. Meanwhile, some leading Muslims have urged
a holy war against Christians in the Moluccas, known also as the spice islands. Please
continue to pray for believers and evangelistic work in this country. Many missionaries
report that despite the trouble, the church remains alive and vibrant.
Meanwhile, Southern Baptist missionaries are encouraged by a report showing
their effectiveness in overseas missions. The International Mission Board’s
annual statistical report for last year showed that with the help of their partners, more
than 360 thousand new Christians were baptized. Record growth was also seen in new
churches and church memberships. Team members continue their commitment to share
with the world the good news of Jesus Christ.
