Meanwhile, church leaders in Argentina say a prayer effort is responsible for seeing many come to Christ. According to the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, because of a hunger for souls, Christian leaders launched a series of prayer walks focusing on the Patagonia region. In two weeks, churches and mission groups saw 261 people come to Christ in this rural area. In addition, workers also recorded numerous rededications, requests for baptism and commitments to mission service.
News Archives
We begin today in Jordan where the people are looking to King Hussein’s successor to become a pivotal force for peace in the Middle East. Words of Hope’s Lee DeYoung says Hussein’s legacy was striking and hopeful. “Just the fact that you do have people who otherwise would seem to be very opposite and, in many ways, enemies, says a lot for his influence. Perhaps by focusing on what has made him such a noted figure, we can always pray that the Prince of Peace will touch people’s hearts in some new way.” DeYoung says the changes in store could lead to peace, both physically and spiritually. “Initially, one would think that his [King Hussein’s] departure from the scene may create quite a void and make things more difficult in the future. But, it’s all in the Lord’s hands, perhaps the mutually shared grief might be used by the Holy Spirit to bring about the kind of dialogue that King Hussein was a champion for.” In the meantime, Words of Hope continues broadcasting the peace of the Gospel over the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Christians are providing for the physical needs of Ukrainians as a way to share the Gospel in that former Soviet block country. Cara Denney is with Eastern European Outreach and is living in Kiev. She says the poor economy and harsh winter is taking a toll on families. Denney says that’s why they’ve started a child sponsorship program. “It’s more than just sponsoring that one child. The gift of 25-dollars the amount that an American family might spend to go out to pizza once could feed a whole family. The exchange rate of dollars to the local currency is very good right now.” Denney says the sponsorship program helped lead one Ukrainian father to Christ as his wife prayed for their children. “Right as she began to pray the phone rang and it was the Eastern European Outreach director for her area calling to say that and American sponsor had decided to sponsor their two children. It was an immediate answer to prayer and right then the father gave his life to God.”
New Hope International continues its work in the Slovakian public schools. Two years ago, Christian teachers and students came up with “The Peer Program” which targets fourteen to eighteen year old students. The teens learn how to help and counsel their peers through evangelistic means. New Hope is aiming at getting similar groups going in five-hundred schools over the next three years.
Meanwhile, despite reports of more openness to religious freedom, thousands of Bibles have been burned in Cuba. Open Doors report the burning took place near a military unit in Managua, after officials denounce the Bibles as “subversive books.” After being loaded on trucks, the Bibles were taken to a dump and set on fire. Open Doors was expelled from Cuba in 1995, but officials say that won’t stop them from sending scriptures to ministries authorized on the island.
Next, the increasing violence against Christians in India is forcing another mission organization to postpone an event. Mission India has rescheduled its annual “Third World Seminar” for November. Agency President John DeVries says the recent murder of an Australia missionary, the attack on 12 Indian church planters, and the concern for the safety of ministry partners prompted the postponement. It was scheduled for February 23rd. Despite the postponement, other indigenous ministry continues uninterrupted.
(BROOKS :13) The Luis Palau Evangelistic Association is excited about an outreach that will target an entire state in the U-S. The event’s being called “Mission Maine” and it begins April 6th. Gary Losey is the Senior Crusade Director for the event. Losey says this is an historic event in the U-S. (LOSEY :12) We’ve done (these) types of things in other countries of the world where it’s been a national crusade or whatever, but we’ve never done like a state-wide crusade such as we’re doing in Maine in the United States to this point. (BROOKS :06) Losey says while the first evangelistic meeting is still almost two months away, evangelism classes have already been held. (LOSEY :23) We had nine different sessions across the state and we actually trained 3,000 people in friendship evangelism. The whole friendship factor is so important in our crusades. Most of the people that come to a crusade event come only because they were invited so we’re challenging people now to target people in prayer and that also becomes their invitation list.
(BROOKS :21) Meanwhile, the need for missionaries in Papua New Guinea is great, because of requests for new ministry by tribal groups in that South Pacific country. New Tribes Mission officials say the Roa (row like “cow”) people are asking them to begin translating the Bible into their language. The Igom (ee-GAHM) people have also made a request. They’re asking New Tribes to send missionaries to teach them about Christ. Agency officials say there’s a great spiritual thirst, but not enough missionaries to fill the need.
We begin today in Ecuador where the government has called for a national day off in an attempt to diffuse a national strike today. HCJB’s Jim Ferrier explains the strike was called on the second anniversary of a former president’s ouster. That has tensions boiling. “Several social groups there have organized a multi-faceted protest against the government’s economic policies. So the military has been activated to try to keep protesters from blocking major highways with burning tires and 12-thousand police officers will be trying to limit damage by strikers.” Ferrier says although HCJB’s broadcast and hospital workers were officially advised to stay home, many of them will do whatever it takes to report to work because… “It lets them [the people] know that our people take the ministry very seriously, that they care about the country…and have been doing for almost 70 years there, reaching out to the people of that country to say we love you and Jesus is the answer for what this country needs.”
Bible Translators are asking people to pray as they begin contacting an Aztec people group for the first time in two years. Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Dave Mason says these people haven’t been open to them, so they’ve held off making contact with them until now. Mason recently discovered a Mexican church has been working with the group for some four years and believes there may be some believers there. Mason hopes to make contact with them Saturday.
