DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #9

DAWN News from Czech Republic, Europe, Worldwide, Kenya

Czech Republic: Revival in a Brethren church

After his conversion, the well known ex-ballet dancer Ewald Rucky started to lead a small church with 35 members in Libarec, near the Czech border with Poland and Germany. The revival started with a fight: Rucky says that God called the church to repent of their own sins and to admit the country's guilt before God. As they started spiritual warfare, an occultist suddenly telephoned and told them "we are going to do battle with you, because our astral points in space had to move and we were given your name!"

The church continued to pray intensely despite arson attacks, traps and fist fights. In the house of the occultist who had called, a fire started after a gas explosion and destroyed the entire occult library - no people were hurt. Suddenly another occultist appeared at the door and confirmed everything that the church already knew about the occultists' plans against the church and admitted "your power is stronger!"

Today the Moravian church in Libarec has 500 members and is the second largest free church in the country. Since the start of democracy in 1989, that one small church has become seven, with support ministries, a primary school with kindergarten, and a mission school. The Czech Republic has 10.4 Million inhabitants of which about 1.5 percent are evangelical Christians.

Source: H.P. Vogt, Fax (+41) 71 525407

"Hope for Europe" grows

Hope for Europe, which many Christian leaders see as the spiritually darkest continent, is growing. "Hope for Europe", a pan-European strategic cooperation of networks such as the Evangelical Alliance UK, the Lausanne Movement, YWAM, DAWN and other groups, is working towards re-evangelising Europe. 30 leaders of European networks met for a "European Round Table" in December 1995 in Vienna.

It is clear from the reports that "hope in Europe is growing". According to Jeff Fountain, YWAM's European director, this can be seen in the national evangelistic projects such as "Hope for the Balkans", "Hope for Sweden", "Hope for Scotland", "Time for Faith" (Norway), "FocuSuisse" and so on.

The Evangelical Alliance UK's prayer week in January had the motto "Jesus - Hope for Europe". In February 120 of YWAM leaders met for their annual strategy conference in Italy. The reports of church-planting in Albania, openness for the gospel in Serbia, and the number of people eagerly joining new bible study groups in Kiev's, high-rise blocks are also signs of hope for Europe, according to Fountain.

As well as a meeting for politicians in Brussels in May, theologians will also address the topic "Jesus, hope for Europe" with John Stott.

Source: Jeff Fountain, Hope for Europe, 100041.3322@compuserve.com

When a sect becomes a church

On 23 September 1995 the "Worldwide Church of God" (WCG) mourned the death of their leader, Joseph Tkach, who was the successor of the sect's founder Herbert W. Armstrong. His son, Joseph W. Tkach, Jr., takes his place as leader. Since Armstrong's death in 1986, according to a Christian apologetic group in the USA (CRI), the movement "of around 92 000 members has distanced itself from all of its founder's sectarian teaching and turned to fundamental Christian truth such as the trinity, the divinity and identity of the Holy Spirit, salvation through grace by faith alone, and the authority of the Word of God over experience".

"As we emerged from our hole", says Tkach Jr., "we encountered several Christian sect hunters, who made the process 10 times harder. A number of Sabbath-keeping groups have observed the development of the Worldwide Church of God and asked 'how did you do that? How do we do it?'"

The movement says that in 1995 they made many of their staff redundant, limited the distribution of their magazine 'Plain Truth' and developed strategies for evangelising the unsaved in their own ranks.

Source: Hank Hanegraaf, Christian research international (CRI) Fax (+1) 714 855 9927

Kenya: Hindu delivered of demonic bondage

"Our vision is to bring the gospel to Asians in Africa in an Asian and not western way", according to Emil Chandran, one of the leaders of ASCKEN, an evangelistic network of churches and groups in Nairobi, Kenya, at an international conference of mission researchers held by the Lausanne Movement in London from 20-23 February 1996.

Mano Chandran, part of the ASCKEN group reports: "A Hindu woman who we knew suddenly had sharp pain in her chest last year. The doctors could find nothing, so as a precaution treated her for acid indigestion and potential stomach ulcers - without success. As we prayed for her as a group, she suddenly had the impression that she was being chased by an elephant, a dog, a bull and a wild-looking women wearing a sari and carrying a spear. As we prayed, she felt better, but showed distinct signs of demonic bondage. For example she spoke with a strange voice. After seven days of prayer, during which some of us fasted, she threw herself on the ground and said 'Jesus, I put myself in your hands!' Another Hindu, who had seen the entire process, was also saved and has been baptised. Our group has been strengthened by the experience, and 15 more Hindus have been saved."

Source: Mano and Emil Chandran, ASCKEN, Day Star university, P.O.Box 18811, Nairobi, Kenya.

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