Meanwhile, Shelter Now International reports that 85 homes for the refugees are ready in time for the Balkans winter and the additional supplies continue. However, roofing materials are slow in coming and additional money to purchase wood, or donations of lumber for building the rest of the homes is still needed. SNI hopes to begin building homes in Kosovo as well as continue sharing the hope of Christ with the refugees.
News Archives
The people of the Balkan region will be on the receiving end of a project that will help introduce them to Christ. World Hope’s Joel Samy says they’re spearheading an effort release the booklet, God Cares About Your Cares. He says the indigenous church has requested… “Two-million copies of the God Cares About Your Cares booklet, which is a clear presentation of the Gospel message with an invitation at the end and a prayer where individuals can pray to ask God into their lives. This is truly an unprecedented endeavor.” Samy says they’re in the process of raising money to assure the Gospel is presented to all who are willing to hear. “We’re looking at a cost of 100-thousand dollars to print two-million copies. And, that comes out to five-cents, five American cents, a nickel a copy.”
Next, an evangelical mission group is helping the local economy, while supporting pastors financially in the Philippines. Action International’s Marvin Graves says while the church is growing there, the need for full-time pastors is great. “Many church planters work in poverty conditions where few financial resources exist to support their work. So, unfortunately too many pastors leave the ministry to support their families. So, the Lord has provided some land with some buildings on it, some equipment so that we can make hand-made paper.” Graves says they’re using the revenue to support pastors. “Many of these pastors have had to go into part time employment because they don’t have enough money. Each month, many of them are receiving 30 to 50 dollars a month only that they’re receiving. So, they’re not able to spend full-time in the ministry.” This project, which is also adding employment to the community, could end that practice.
We begin today in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, which has been the target of international attention recently. Terry Madison of Open Doors says they are concerned for the Christians who have been caught in the country during the bombings. “There’s at least 40 believers who were left behind that we were unable to help get out before this more recent fighting started. But, that is the body of Christ there. And, it has been, for 45 years, our purpose to strengthen Christians where they are. Not that they will flee or leave, but they will stay where they are planted and be the authentic representative of Christ.” Madison says in spite of the dark times, evangelism is bringing hope and light. “People search and reach out for a God whose name they may not know, and when they find Christians who have a balance and a purpose and a focus in life, it’s very attractive. And so, in some of these satellite states where former Soviet pressures have been released and now there’s different kind of Islamic pressures, the Christians are standing tall.”
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.
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.
