Next, a new radio broadcast targeting India is bearing fruit already. According to Insight For Living their new Malayalam (MAH-lay-AH-luhm), Telagu (TEHL-ah-goo), and Bengali language broadcasts went on the air at the beginning of the year. As we reported a few weeks ago, they have already received 280 letters. However, 159 letters came in response to the Malayalam program alone. In fact, 51 of those were from new believers. Pray that the broadcast ministry will continue to change hearts.
News Archives
Headlining today’s news, ministry leaders say freedom of religion isn’t coming with reformers who were elected to parliament in Iran. While the reformers, loyal to President Mohammed Khatami, are pledging wide-ranging reforms, Iranian Christian International’s Abe Ghaffari says they won’t affect Christians. “Anyone who abandons Islam, shares the Good News of Christ with the Muslims, these kinds of actions are punishable. I think we’re a long ways from expecting any liberalization in those areas. For example westerners going there and doing any missionary activity.” Ghaffari says despite the persecution, Iranians are coming to Christ. “There are over 100,000 secret believers who have mostly come to Christ through radio programs, through mailings of literature. We do believe that the spiritual interest is great. What is not great is the freedom.” Pray that doors will open for evangelism as reforms take place in Iran.
Meanwhile, a mission agency specializing in agriculture is helping the people of Ecuador deal with a struggling economy. Farms International’s Joe Richter says Ecuador is their newest project and they’re helping the Quichua Indians through income generating projects. “Farms comes along side the church in places of deep poverty. It helps families out of poverty by providing a project that will produce an income. In Ecuador our first project will be green houses. These green houses enable farmers to extend their growing season.” Richter says the program requires participants to tithe to the church. “Our hope for the Quichua church is that they will learn to be self-supporting. We believe the church can be tremendously strengthened. We believe that evangelism can only happen when there’s a strong indigenous church.”
Christian publishers are excited about the first World Christian Book Fair hosted by Christian Book Sellers Association of India. The event was held recently in Bombay. International Bible Society’s Steve Johnson says they participated in the event, which was risky. “It’s becoming more and more hostile toward Christianity. And, so this book fair was of particular significance because it enabled the exhibitors to showcase their materials in an environment that in many ways is becoming more hostile toward Christianity. So, they are real opportunity to help equip believers in India for more effective discipleship and evangelism.” Johnson says 50-thousand people visited the book fair. He says literature is a key tool in evangelism in India. “I think it’s absolutely true that the more resources that are made available and the more publicity these resources receive in India the more believers in India will be involved in greater evangelism and outreach. The Indian culture cherishes literature.”
And finally, 30 Christian radio stations from the state of Michigan joined together yesterday to help encourage people to be a lighthouse in their community. The Lighthouse Movement’s Paul Dozeman says the goal of the Lighthouse Movement is to… “Mobilize Christians, putting them into their neighborhoods in a form of prayer evangelism, where we talk to God about our neighbors before we talk to our neighbors about God. And so, that’s the Lighthouse Movement. It’s mobilizing Christians to be effective in their neighborhoods to be that shining light.” Lee Geysbeek is the General Manager of Radio station WCSG in Grand Rapids. He says this is the first event of it’s kind, but it’s catching on. “There are states around the country that are looking at what we’re doing today to learn from and to hopefully model.” People from every part of the state called, sharing their commit to prayer evangelism in Michigan.
We begin today in Nigeria where new outbreaks of violence have erupted in Kaduna. The riots between Christians and Muslims came over demands for the introduction of Islamic law. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Mark Kelly says during the riot, a seminary student was killed and the mob breached the wall of the Baptist Seminary compound. “People are waiting to see how things develop right now. There are news reports that there was additional violence in the city. Nigerian Baptist leaders have been able to come back to the campus. They discovered that the administration/academic buildings, the chapel all were burned, but part of the campus are still intact.” Kelly says the tensions are growing, and the believers need support. “There are a lot of tensions between ethnic groups as well as religious groups, and it would be awfully easy for this violence to spread to the rest of the country…people are asking that we pray that lives will be spared, that the violence will end quickly.”
Next, persecution against Christians continues in Vietnam. Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton explains the latest event that has many Christians on their knees. “Voice of the Martyrs has learned that the last Assembly of God church building in the nation of Vietnam has been destroyed. Before 1975 when the communists took over Vietnam there were 10 Assembly of God Churches and nine we taken over or destroyed kind of in the years after revolution.” According to Nettleton, the evangelical church has been forced to go underground, however evangelism is flourishing. “In the countries where Voice of the Martyrs works the church is growing in spite of these types of situations. It’s a little different breed of Christian because they’re tested by fire from early on in their spiritual walk. And, so you get a quality of Christ that is really on fire for Christ and on fire for others to hear the Gospel.”
There’s been a breakthrough for the “JESUS” film project in Indonesia. The organization reports that a coordinator was looking for a way to broadcast the dramatized audio version of “JESUS”, but felt that few radio stations would consider it. However, an unexpected introduction to two radio station managers led to a network of contacts with all the radio stations in south Sumatra. The end result: “The Story of Jesus,” aired on 22 of the islands’ 28 stations and reached thousands with the Gospel.
Meanwhile, materialism in Spain is making it difficult for evangelism. CAM International’s Joe Ciluffo (sihl-OO-foh) just returned from that country. Ciluffo says they use friendship evangelism to reach the lost. He says they desperately need committed workers. “We need experience men and women have been in ministry, that are not looking for a pat on the back, that are not looking for results over night, and that are willing to come here for the long haul. Don’t come if you’re only planning on a year or so. We need someone who’s willing to give a great deal of time to ministry here.” Ciluffo says even the Catholic Church is struggling. “There isn’t an interest in God at all. It’s sort of a society that is so moving toward materialism that God meets no need in their lives, apparently. So, even the Catholic church is finding it very difficult. Attendance is really low. So, whether you’re a Catholic or a protestant there’s still a lot of bearers into reaching people for Christ.” Ciluffo says while the process is slow and the fruit is small, people are coming to Christ.
We begin today in Mozambique where torrential rains and windstorms battered parts of Mozambique yesterday, already hit by its most devastating floods in 30 years. SIM’s Dr. Paul Hudson says the flooding has displaced up to 300-thousand people. Hudson says the local churches are finding ways to help those in need. “The church is there not just to provide only spiritual food, but really to be hands and feet and to show the love of the Lord. So, what they’re doing is actually saying how can we practically, not just help rebuild our own homes, but how can we rebuild our communities. And, in the process show the love of Christ and work with young people and preach the word.” While a specific relief plan is being developed, Hudson is asking people to respond now. “The responses would be prayer. We will be developing a project. I can’t give you specifics of the project yet, but there will be needs for funds for that.” Pray that many will come to Christ because of it.
