An increased number of protests have been directed toward the Federal
Communications Commission after recently limiting the amount of preaching
that a public television station can air. Several U-S congressmen filed a letter of
protest to the FCC Chairman saying that the policy that was implemented amounts to
an unconstitutional restriction of religious speech in the United States. Officials with the
National Religious Broadcasters say if the FCC decision is upheld as many as 90
stations would have to comply.
News Archives
Next, Trans World Radio is celebrating a major broadcast milestone. TWR’s
Richard Greene says they are now broadcasting over 14-hundred hours of Christian
programming each week in 155 languages. “This is a major milestone for us because
every new language which we add to our broadcast schedule that means somewhere,
someone in the world is able to listen to the good news of Christ in their own language,
one that they can understand. And so we are very excited.” Bible teaching programs
are aired from 13 primary transmitting sites worldwide, by satellite networks, over
local stations and via the Internet. Greene says they expect their growth to continue.
“Each region has a goal to add new languages so that more people can be brought into
a personal relationship with Christ. And so those languages are especially in areas of
the 1040 window.”
We begin today’s newscast in Saudi Arabia where 15 Christians were arrested
for worshiping Christ in the privacy of their own homes. Terry Madison of Open
Doors Ministries says the arrests took place January 7th. Madison says this isn’t a
surprise for that Muslim nation. “They have, for a number of years, topped our biannual
world watch list where they list the most repressive countries in the world toward
Christian belief and toward believers. And, this event is an indication that they have not
changed that policy.” Five of those in custody are under 12. Madison says we need to
pray that God will use the remnant of Christians who are there. “It’s difficult to
suppress the Holy Spirit. And when people are in fellowship as the Christians in Saudi
are, you have to believe that the Lord is using them by the manner of life, the fruits of
the spirit and the other evidences of a transformed life that somehow the message gets
out.”
Next, while the number of children around the world is growing at an incredible
rate, Evangelism Explosion is taking steps to reach them for Christ. Sam
Lamerson is the Director of Kids E-E. Lamerson says because we live in a
post-modern culture, it’s important to reach people when they’re young. ” We realize
that many people, by the time they’re 20-25 years old their presuppositions are already
settled. And, it’s much more difficult to share the Gospel with them. And, so we feel
that we want to get to them before those presuppositions against absolute truth and
against the Bible set in.” According to Lamerson Kids E-E clinics teaches two groups
of people how to share the Gospel. “Kids E-E has as its primary focus teaching adults
to share the Gospel with kids and teaching children to clarify the Gospel in their own
minds so that they can go out and share it with others.” All of the Kids E-E clinics are
held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
A special North American ministry is providing inexpensive needed supplies for
missionaries. International Aid of Spring Lake, Michigan is operating the Mission
Resource Center, a place where missionaries can obtain hundreds of products for a
minimal service fee. Available items include clothing, food, medications, Bibles, books
and personal and home care products. During the past fiscal year nearly five-thousand
missionaries took advantage of the center.
Next, Ethiopians are taking a hands on approach to seeing their countrymen
come to Christ. Through the Kale Heywet (KAH-lah HAY-wah) church more than
four-thousand Bible colleges and five seminaries have been established. SIM
Missionary Tim Brannagan doing some of the training. “Between 1974 through the
early 90’s it was under a communist regime in which the church pretty much had to go
underground, and so there’s a real dearth of leadership, but now we’re training up a
new generation of leadership for the church there in Ethiopia.” Brannagan says these
Christians are committed to seeing that every Ethiopian hears the Gospel. He says it’s
not just classroom instruction. “We’re just as concerned with training toward the heart
or Godly character. And so, much of our teaching takes place out of the classroom
and having training take place on weekends and unreached people groups and on
different assignments that we give them to travel throughout the country.
We begin today’s newscast in Moldova where Christian relief agencies are
essential to meeting the needs of the poor. Poor economic conditions in that
former Soviet Block Country means the government can’t help orphans and homeless
children. Mission without Boarder’s Moldova Director Christy Mocan explains. “The
government has a very low income because there’s no production going on. So, the
government is facing a serious cash flow problem. So, because of that, they are facing
a difficult time in meeting the needs of the orphanages for food.” Mocan says Mission
without Borders is providing food to help meet the need. He says that’s when they’re
able to share the Gospel. “For them, when they see our way of life, they say, wow! we
want to be like you. and, that’s when they become Christians. And, they in turn go
back to the orphanages and they become our missionaries.”
We turn next to war torn Liberia as many Christian organizations are gearing up
to help the needy there. Feeding Starving Children International is working with
the West African Children Support Network. The Network’s John Lykkin says while
food is needed, there are other necessities. “We have diverted our focus right now into
just providing the basic life sustaining necessities for most of these people. When I say
basic life sustaining necessities we’re talking about basic clean drinking water, latrines
and showers for these villages.” By providing for those needs, many hearts are opened
to the Gospel. Lykkin says they will be able to do this more easily in the months ahead.
“This was one of the milestones that was accomplished early this year. We have
managed to get non-governmental organization status for the West African Children’s
support network in addition to duty free privileges for any relief supplies that would be
coming in.”
United States Football fans are the targets of an evangelistic outreach. With the
playoffs underway and the Super Bowl right around the corner Sports Outreach
America is providing Super Bowl outreach kits for people hosting Super Bowl parties.
They contain a 12-minute video, Super Bowl edition Sports Spectrum magazines, a
planning guide and more. Over the past seven years the materials have reached more
than one-point-eight million people, leading more than 45-thousand people to Christ.
Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, a Christian relief and development
group ranks high among non-profit groups. International Aid of Spring Lake,
Michigan ranks 95th on the list compiled by the New Jersey based NonProfit Times
magazine. I-A also ranked as the 10th largest relief and development agency in the
country. Last year I-A supplied more than 74-million-dollars in emergency relief, which
opened doors to share the Gospel to the hearts of the hurting in seven major disaster
zones.
