DAWN Fridayfax 1995 #24

News from France, Pakistan, Switzerland

New co-operation in France

"For the first time in many years, it was possible to bring charismatic and non-charismatic Christian leaders together around one table to pray and discuss a common evangelistic goal. It's almost unbelievable!" That was the comment made by Paris' Charly Cleverly, an Anglican vicar about a strategy conference which has just finished. Cleverly moved from England to Paris in 1992 with his wife Anita, to help the French Reformed Church plant churches. The main problem of their church in North-East Paris, which began in the same year with only a few couples, is lack of space.

65 representatives of state- and free churches and mission organizations met in Chantilly near Paris on 13th & 14th June 1995 to discuss a common long-term evangelistic strategy for France. The result was a national initiative called "AUBE 2000..." based on the DAWN strategy. (AUBE is French for "dawn".) The strategy is based on strengthening and multiplying local churches with the aim of saturating France with the gospel. Mission research performed by ARC's Jean-Marc Lepillez shows that there are 2364 Protestant churches with a further 659 satellite churches in 52 denominations. Lepillez says that the aim must be to found lively Christian churches in all of the 4307 towns and cities with over 2,000 inhabitants and 33,000 villages with fewer.

The new President of the French Evangelical Alliance UK, Claude Grandjean, and "idea" editor Charles Guillot welcomed the initiative, which will be administered by the EA. The leader of the "AUBE 2000..." committee is Daniel Schaerer (Paris), who is also leader of Youth With A Mission in the French-speaking world.

Source: "AUBE 2000...", D. Schaerer, Fax (33) 75045130 Tel 75047804

"Jesus appeared to me in a prison cell!"

The Pakistani Christian Rehmat Masih, once a happy father and farmer, barely survived an attack by Islamic fundamentalists in April 1994. He and the illiterate Salamat Masih were accused of writing "blasphemy" on the walls of a mosque. Despite the fact that both Christians were pronounced innocent by the appeal court in Lahore at the end of February 1995, the Sunni group "Jamat-e- Ahl-e-Sunnat Pakistan" and the "Mutehida Ulema Committee" have put up a reward of 1,3m Rupees (around L25,000) for their murder. Rehmat Masih has now received asylum in Germany. In interviews, he says that Jesus appeared to him in a dream: "I prayed, read the Bible and then went to sleep. Early in the morning I had a dream which made me shake with fear. I saw a man on a white horse, a man with a white beard and a sword in his hand. He said 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you. You won't be here long." In his opinion, "it was clearly Christ. He heard my voice and came to speak with me. I am convinced that I met Jesus in my cell. He told me 'Don't worry, I will save you' - and that has now happened."

Source: CSI, Christian Solidarity International, Tel. (41) 1- 9804700 FAX 9804715

Just as in Abraham's time: "impossible" pregnancy

When the angel of the Lord told Abraham, then 99, and Sarah "in a year you will have a child," they could hardly believe it - and yet Isaac was born exactly a year later.

The Swiss family W., personal acquaintances of the editor, has a similar story. The couple told us that doctors considered a pregnancy impossible without an operation. In October 1994, the husband was reading Abraham's story in Romans 4, and had the impression that it was speaking directly to him, as though God was promising him that they would have a child in one year's time. "That was too good to be true!" In early 1995, friends from abroad called to say that while praying, they "had the impression" that Mrs. W. was pregnant. A pair of Christian counsellors had a similar prophecy in a prayer meeting soon afterwards. On 3 March another friend called to ask if they were going to have a baby, because one of her friends had called to say that "God had told her to pray for the W.'s unborn baby." Encouraged by so many hints, Mrs. W. went for a pregnancy test the following day. The result: positive! Doctors say that the baby is healthy, and in the 5th month. The probable date of birth is in October 1995 - exactly one year after God spoke to Mr. W. through the story of Abraham.

Source: name and address withheld.

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