DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #16

DAWN News from China, Myanmar, Finland, USA

China: 1188 people baptised in a house church

The director of an international mission agency recently told us that he had received a video of a baptism in a Chinese house church. At dusk, the people arrived at a private house in ones or twos. When everyone was present, the baptism in a tiny basin in the small garden began, and continued until the early morning hours, at which time everyone disappeared the same way they arrived. 1188 people had been quietly baptised.

Source: name and address withheld.
More from China

Myanmar: mobilising 10 percent of the evangelicals and planting thousands of churches

From 25-30th March 1996, 301 delegates from 43 nations met in Yangon (Rangoon), the capital of Myanmar (previously Burma), to work on a strategy for evangelising the country. Around 87 percent of the country's 46 million inhabitants consider themselves Buddhists. Reverend Myo Chit, chairman of the Myanmar Evangelical Christian Fellowship, challenged the delegates "to work together in unity to win Myanmar for Christ". Manila's Chris Balaga, among others, spoke about a national long-term evangelistic strategy at the seminar. Balaga has been one of the leading members of the "DAWN 2000" movement in the Philippines for some years. The attendees agreed on a declaration in which they committed themselves to the following: to pray daily for spiritual renewal in the churches; to submit to the Bible as the sole basis for authority and strategies; to live a life of personal sanctification and to avoid sin in order to serve both Christians and non-Christians; to support the decisive position and function of pastors in all efforts to plant or strengthen churches; to overcome differences, one-sidedness and mutual suspicion among Christians; to plant a church for every 1,000 of Myanmar's population; and to mobilise at least 10 percent of the evangelical Christians to personally engage in cross-cultural mission.

Source: Dr. Alvin Low, ACTS Tel (+1)-719-527-9407
More from Myanmar

Myanmar: Buddhists are saved at a strategy conference

Two Buddhists secretly attended the strategy conference and listened attentively to the sermons and speeches. "Finally," according to Dr. Alvin Low, one of the speakers at the conference, "they were drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit and wanted to learn more about Christianity from one of the pastors present. After explaining the gospel to them, he could lead them both to Christ."

Source: Dr. Alvin Low, ACTS, Tel (+1)-719-527-9407

Finland: "Do what works"

"The most creative powers in Finnish Christianity are those people who are independent on the one hand, but on the other hand know how to maintain relationships with and in the established churches. In addition to the independent and new churches in Finland, " according to Kari Torma, leader of the Finnish DAWN committee in Helsinki, "the established Protestant free churches have recognised and acknowledged church planting as an evangelistic principle. In the Lutheran church, church planting receives 'official mild interest' and unofficial observation of dynamic and successful models." For example, the Lutheran pastor Hannu Vuorinen developed a network of cell groups, which is a relatively new concept for Finland. Torma: "The people who actually change things in the churches can be recognised by their courage to simply and practically do what works."

Source: Kari Torma, Esko Sarkkala, FAX (358) 0-326650

Gospel is in

According to a study by the Gospel Music Association, the Gospel music industry is relatively small, but is currently growing faster than any other music genre. In 1994, gospel music had a turnover of $390 million, 3.3% of the music market. However, since 1991, the sector has experienced an annual growth of 22%, compared with 5% or less in other sectors of the music industry.

Source: The Kansas City Star 26 March 1996

China: Evangelisation and vision with 1MW from Siberia

Two years ago, the Far East Broadcasting Corporation, a radio mission agency, initiated a programme called "China DAWN", with the aim of training Chinese Christians via radio to evangelise beyond their own villages and towns and to plant 1 million new churches in China. A report which we received a few days ago shows clearly that an ever increasing number of Chinese Christians are accepting the challenge and becoming personally involved in evangelisation and church planting. Despite increasing persecution - non-Christians are being encouraged to spy on their Christian neighbours and report prayer meetings - more and more people are being saved and new house churches planted. Russians are involved in the project: the programmes are being sent from a 1 megawatt medium wave transmitter in Blagoveschensk, Siberia.

Source: FEBC

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