NewsBytes - May 2010

OM International

CONTENTS:

TROUBLED CONGOLESE TURNING TO CHRIST
BOMB ATTACK IN IRAQ SERIOUSLY INJURES CHRISTIAN STUDENTS
CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN KILLED
INDIAN CHRISTIANS FEAR FRESH VIOLENCE
SIERRA LEONE’S 90-DAY FAST
INDONESIA: ‘BOOM’ IN CHRISTIANITY
CHINA: CHRISTIAN CHOIR WINS GOLD
HOW MANY CHRISTIANS IN CHINA?
GHANA TRIBAL PRIEST FINDS CHRIST
MINISTRY TO STREET KIDS IN SENEGAL
TOP RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HOT SPOTS (WORLD)
A QUARTER OF IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN U.S. UNREACHED
NEW ALLIANCE AGAINST VIOLENCE TO WOMEN (WORLD)
RADIO: LISTENING, LEARNING & LIBERATING! (WORLD)
66 MILLION HEAR GOSPEL THROUGH 100 WEBSITES (WORLD)
NEW SAT-7 CHANNEL IN TURKISH (MIDDLE EAST)
IN FACT: WORLD ABORTION RATE

RESOURCES:
* Global Day of Prayer * Children’s Websites * William Carey Library * Refugee Sunday

1. TROUBLED CONGOLESE TURNING TO CHRIST

Increasing rebel violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers in 2 months’ time, has opened people to the gospel. Sam Vinton of Grace Ministries International (GMI) says their 2-year-old evangelism program "Reaching Congo Students" has seen phenomenal response. This year 3 teams showed "The GodMan" DVD in 43 different villages, and 1,129 people (mostly students) responded. GMI has also taken OneHope's DVD "The GodMan" into hundreds of rural villages along with evangelism training for the local church. More than 100 adults were saved in house-to-house tract evangelism; a total of over 14,000 people altogether making professions of faith. GMI is pursuing a strong follow-up of new converts using prepared booklets. [MISSION NETWORK NEWS, 6 May ‘10]

2. BOMB ATTACK IN IRAQ SERIOUSLY INJURES CHRISTIAN STUDENTS

At least 50 Iraqi Christian students are receiving hospital treatment following a bomb attack on May 2 outside Mosul that killed at least one person and has forced nearly 1,000 students to drop classes for the rest of the semester. Nearly 160 people were injured, some severely, in the blasts targeting 3 buses full of Christians travelling from villages to the University of Mosul for classes. Sources told Compass that lately there have been indications that Islamic extremists intend to increase attacks against Christians in more sophisticated and targeted ways. There were no warnings of the Sunday blasts. [COMPASS DIRECT, 5 May ‘10]

3. CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN KILLED

A man burned for refusing to convert to Islam died of his injuries on March 22. Arshed Masih and his wife Martha were assaulted outside a local police station after their employer, a wealthy Muslim family, demanded that they convert or face ‘dire consequences.’ Martha Masih remains hospitalised after being raped. The couple’s 3 young children witnessed the atrocities against their parents. Also in March, 6 Muslims killed a Christian with multiple axe blows for refusing to convert, after growing resentful of his more-successful potato business. [RELIGION TODAY/BosNewsLife, 23 March ‘10]

4. INDIAN CHRISTIANS FEAR FRESH VIOLENCE

Daily reports of persecution or violence against Christians in Karnataka, home to the modern city of Bangalore, are stoking fears of an attack on the scale of 2008’s explosion of sectarian violence in Orissa. Then around 75 people perished, thousands of homes and churches were torched and over 50,000 made homeless. Revd Mannepalle Mohan Rao, general secretary of the Karnataka Baptist Convention, believes a sharp rise in attacks on church workers and properties and state control by the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2008 could lead to an orchestrated attack. [BAPTIST TIMES, 16 April’10]

5. SIERRA LEONE’S 90-DAY FAST

In 2009, Ernest Bai Koroma, the Christian president of Sierra Leone, called his nation to a 90-day fast. At the end of that season, in a full stadium ceremony attended by both Christian and Muslim leaders, he dedicated Sierre Leone to God. This year he called for a second 90-day fast, starting April 20 and ending July 19, 2010. Muslim leaders were said to be very supportive for the prayer initiative. The country’s population is about 60% Muslim, 10% Christian and 30% with indigenous beliefs. Only 35% of people are literate and 70% live below the poverty line. [JOEL NEWS INTL., 14 April ‘10/CIA FACTBOOK]

6. INDONESIA: ‘BOOM’ IN CHRISTIANITY

Christian communicators from across Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region recently gathered to discuss the value of an association for greater effectiveness in proclaiming the Gospel in the largest Muslim country in the world. Indonesia has almost 240 million people, and is composed of about 17,000 islands, only 6,000 of which are inhabited. While 88% (215 million people) are Muslim, Hinduism and animism are also prevalent. The Christian population is estimated to be between 15-20%, but a recent TIMES magazine report says in spite of controls there is a boom in Christianity, with much of the growth from Pentecostal and evangelical conversions. Jakarta hosts newly built megachurches with 4,500 worshippers and Indonesian cable TV beams 24-hour Christian channels. [ASSIST NEWS SERVICE, 9 April ’10, TIMES, April 26 ‘10]

7. CHINA: CHRISTIAN CHOIR WINS GOLD

Newspaper China Daily reports that a Christian choir from a poor minority village in Yunnan province is on its way to conquer the nation. The choir was formed 70 years ago when the villagers received the gospel. The missionaries built schools and a medical clinic, and taught the people hymns that helped them to stand firm during the ‘cultural revolution’ when all Bibles were burned and church services banned. Today, of the 447 villagers, some 80 percent are Christians. When an astonished government official accidentally heard the Xiaoshuijing Miao village choir perform, he encouraged them to participate in a chorus festival. Their amazing skills and sophisticated pieces won them the gold medal. Says Long Guangyuan, the choir's conductor, "As Christians, we take each performance as preaching the gospel.” [JOEL NEWS INTERNATIONAL, 23 March 2010]

8. HOW MANY CHRISTIANS IN CHINA?

A new, comprehensive survey in every city and region including Hong Kong and Macau has been released by Asia Harvest. China’s population is 1.4 billion. Total Protestants (including 3-Self Patriotic Movement [TSPM] and house church members), 82.4 million, and Catholics, 21.1 million. Since it is generally agreed that there were only 750,000 Protestant believers in the country in 1949, this is astonishing growth. [ASIA HARVEST, www.asiaharvest.org]

9. GHANA TRIBAL PRIEST FINDS CHRIST

Sex slavery is rampant among tribal religions in Ghana. In a system commonly referred to as Trokosi, girls are given to tribal priests as payment for sins. "Trokosi" means wives or slaves of the gods. Recently, Every Child Ministries (ECM) liberated 55 slaves of the "thunder god" after leading a priest to Christ--a process that took five years. Says ECM’s co-founder Rouella Rouster, “He has come to the point where he was willing and even anxious to leave his idolatry and his priesthood and come out as a believer." Rouster says his conversion led to the release of the slaves. Also, "This priest convened all 63 other priests who were under him and urged all of them to follow Christ, too.” She added that many of the released women have also come to faith. [MISSION NETWORK NEWS, 8 April’10]

10. MINISTRY TO STREET KIDS IN SENEGAL

A Christian ministry in Senegal is caring for Talibe street boys who have been given up by their families to a marabout or Muslim spiritual leader. Tens of thousands of these boys are abused, forced to live in terrible conditions and sent to the streets to beg for long hours. At the age of 12 they are no longer the responsibility of the marabout and many are left to the streets. A Christian drop-in center offers a place for the boys to wash, play, and eat. They also hear the gospel. If the children decide to follow Christ and give up their life on the streets they are cared for by the ministry, while learning skills and receiving schooling in math and French. [HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/BARNABAS AID]

11. TOP RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HOT SPOTS

‘Voice of America’ reports that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cited 13 countries in its annual report for severe violations of religious freedom: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. "The annual report documents how, in many countries, religious communities continue to experience severe persecution," said Leonard Leo, chairman of the commission. The panel also recommended Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba and Egypt be closely monitored for increasing violations. [RELIGION TODAY, 3 May ‘10]

12. A QUARTER OF IMMIGRANT GROUPS IN U.S. UNREACHED

The U.S. receives immigrants from 202 countries worldwide, but despite swelling numbers many are being neglected in evangelism efforts. According to a report by LifeWay Research released in March, about 25% see no outreach and another 26% receive the attention of only 1 or 2 organisations nationwide. "Things are changing in the U.S. and Canada," said Ed Stetzer, LifeWay director. "By 2050, there will be no majority race or ethnicity in the United States. The nations of the world are living right here, yet many are not hearing the gospel in an intentional, organised way. We can do better." Immigrants from Mexico, South Korea, Cuba and China are the most reached within the U.S., with increasing efforts focused on people from Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. [CHRISTIAN POST, 30 March’10]

13. NEW ALLIANCE AGAINST VIOLENCE TO WOMEN

A new alliance to bring together Christians from around the world to end violence against women is due to launch in June 2010. Called ‘Restored,’ Co-Directors will be Mandy Marshall and Peter Grant, who will stand down from his present role as International Director of Tearfund, a leading Christian relief and development organisation. Tearfund will ‘incubate’ Restored over the next 3 years, and host the new alliance as it builds up its own capacity and identity. [CHRISTIAN TODAY, 3/10]

14. RADIO: LISTENING, LEARNING & LIBERATING!

For 10 years Feba Radio’s ‘Spotlight’ programme has won young adult listeners in the two-thirds world who are learning English as a foreign language. Not only does it help people with their English but it gives quality content on issues like health and ethics, sharing a Christian worldview. Spotlight Listener’s Clubs are bringing people to the Lord! HCJB Global recently took over UK production, where it’s hoped that churches will use clubs to serve immigrant communities by providing a venue for listener discussion groups. [HCJB WAVELENGTH 3/10, spotlightradio.net]

15. 66 MILLION HEAR GOSPEL THROUGH 100 WEBSITES

Global Media Outreach (GMO), a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ Intl., presented the gospel of Jesus to over 66 million people around the world through its 100-plus websites in 2009. In December, the 10-millionth person of the year indicated a decision for Jesus. GMO has over 4,100 online missionaries who responded to more than 1.8 email requests for follow-up coming from websites in 100 languages. [www.ichristianlife.com/site/PageServer]

16. NEW SAT-7 CHANNEL IN TURKISH (MIDDLE EAST)

SAT-7 has announced the launch of its new channel, SAT-7 TURK, fulfilling a dream of broadcasting Christian programming in the 3 primary languages of the Middle East: Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish. Until recently, Turkish broadcasts were carried for a few hours per week on the Farsi channel. The new channel aims to eventually broadcast 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. SAT-7 reports that when given a chance, Turks will readily watch a satellite channel like SAT-7 TURK, one that cannot be censored. According to SAT-7, there are approximately 100 million Turkish language speakers in the world. [SAT-7]

17. IN FACT:

Forty-six million abortions take place worldwide each year, 4 million in Russia alone. 75% of pregnancies in Romania end in abortion. Sixty-four countries have declining populations. [Life International]

RESOURCES:

Global Day of Prayer: 23 May 2010. www.globaldayofprayer.com
FOR CHILDREN: This Voice of the Martyrs website shows children how other kids face challenges to their faith, with country profiles, culture-related games and recipes, videos and free activity books to download. http://kidsofcourage.com
Global Eye website introduces primary and secondary age kids to areas of the world and development issues like water shortages. With teachers’ notes. http://www.globaleye.org.uk
William Carey Library: Hundreds of missions-related titles from over 75 publishers, all at discount prices. http://missionbooks.org
June 20th is WORLD REFUGEE SUNDAY. Download free resources from refugeehighway.net and increase awareness of the 42 million forcibly displaced people and refugees in the world today.

NEWS BYTES is compiled monthly by Debbie Meroff of OM International, based in London, England. Material may be freely copied and forwarded. Items do not necessarily reflect OM’s position and questions should be directed to the original news source. For a free e-mail subscription send a ‘subscribe’ message to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it