DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #24

DAWN News from Panama and India

Panama: Already more than 15 percent evangelical

"No, it wasn't easy to bring together the Christian leaders of Panama, 'The bridge of the world', as it calls itself," said the organisers of a significant meeting of Panama's Christian leaders. After several attempts, 600 leaders from literally every one of the country's regions and denominations met for the first DAWN Congress between 30 April and 3 May 1996. Research presented at the congress showed that the country has 2,500 local churches and that 15.2 percent of the 2.7 million inhabitants are Christians. The research also showed that the evangelical churches are growing at an average of 9% per year, which is one of the highest rates in Latin America. Many denominations have already set their own church-planting aims. According to the Bible Society, the New Testament is already available in the languages of all six of the indigenous peoples, none of which is unreached.

The churches have now decided to evangelise the 7,000 villages which still do not have a Christian church. The first, mid-range, aim is a common target of planting a total of 2,500 new churches by the year 2000, followed by another 2,500 by 2005. When this goal is reached, 30% of the population will be Christians.

According to pastor Osman Soto, General Coordinator of the "Panama 2000" movement, it took almost a century to plant the first 25 churches in Panama. In 1960, there were 35 unreached people for every Christian; by 1990, the ratio had shrunk to 1:15; now, 1 in 6 (15.2%) is an evangelical Christian. The congress emphasised that Panama will have an increased role in world mission, particularly sending missionaries into the 10/40 window.

Source: Osman Soto, Berna Salcedo, Fax (+1) 719-548-7475 Tel. 548-7460
More from Panama

Billy Graham and DAWN: cooperation in Panama

A global evangelistic association and a global church-planting strategy movement worked together for the first time in Panama; the Panama Congress (above) was organised by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, DAWN Ministries and the "Panama 2000 Movement".

Panama is the 28th country in which churches have set a common church-planting target based on the DAWN strategy. The global total of churches planned to be planted in connection with this strategy has now reached 2,801,416. Jim Montgomery, DAWN Ministries' President, remarked "Churches need those who are called and gifted to reach the masses with the gospel. And evangelists need the denominations and local churches. Single pastors cannot win the attention of a whole country in a week; an evangelist can. But an evangelist cannot evangelise, integrate the newly-saved into a local church make disciples week for week and year for year on his own."

Source: Jim Montgomery, Dawn Ministries Fax (+1) 719-548-7475 Tel. 548-7460

India: new Prime Minister invites evangelist Bonnke

India's religious pendulum may be swinging in a completely non-Hindu direction: what many saw as the fulfilment of a fundamentalist Hindu dream, the election of a BJP government, was soon dashed when Prime Minister Vajpayee stepped down and was replaced by the United Front's Deve Gowda. Not only did Gowda, the new Prime Minister, speak at CFAN evangelist Reinhard Bonnke's recent event in March 1996 in Bangalore, but he has also invited Bonnke to visit India annually to evangelise.

Source: various southern-Indian church leaders and CFAN, fax (+49) 69-4787820
More from India

Tamil Nadu: New CM close friend of evangelical bishop

Anyone who has visited Tamil Nadu knows the face of Karunanidhi, the old head of the DMK (Dravida Munetra Kazhagam) party, which looks from countless posters. Karunanidhi celebrated a glowing comeback in India's recent elections. The previous Chief Minister, Mrs. Jayalalitha was unceremoniously thrown out of office ("never before has an Indian state minister descended to such a level of naked corruption, favouritism and self-glorification" - Tamil Times, May 1996). What many do not know: Karunanidhi is not only a close friend of the Evangelical Church of India's bishop Esra Sarguman, but also regularly visits the evangelist and ex-bank director D.G.S. Dinakaran ("Jesus Calls", Madras) to pray and discuss. Rajendran, CSI-pastor and theologian, commented "Karunanidhi reads and quotes the Bible more than many Christians!"

Source: Rev. Rajendran, Tamil Times etc.

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