DAWN Fridayfax 1997 #8

DAWN News from Colombia, China, USA, Holland

Colombia: saved and integrated: 60,000 in 6 months

"This morning, more than 7,000 people arrived to pray at 5am", says Todd Lugli, one of pastor Cesar Castellanos' assistant pastors at the MCI church in Bogota, Colombia. He has just described one of the secrets of MCI: persevering, enthusiastic prayer. This independent church, founded eleven years go and based on the house-church or cell model, had grown to 18,000 visitors in 1994. In July 1996, the church had 40,000 regular visitors, and set the target of growing to 10,000 house-churches by the end of 1996; with a an average of 10 people per house-church, that would mean a total of 100,000 visitors. that seemed rather ambitious even to us at the Friday Fax, but we have just heard that the result was exactly 10,648 cell groups and around 100,000 visitors at the end of 1996. With that, MCI has become one of the fastest growing Christian movements in the world. According to pastor Cesar Castellanos, 89% of the people who make "a decision for Jesus" in the church services and house-churches can be integrated into the church. In March 1997, the church will start services in the City Coliseum of Bogota, which has space for 20,000 people. The church's aim for 1997 is to grow to 30,000 house-churches. If they reach their aim, around 200,000 people will have been newly integrated into the church, which is more than he total number of Protestant church visitors in Switzerland.
Source: MCI, pastor Todd Lugli, fax (+57) - 1 - 2696172. E-mail: 104721.2000@compuserve.com

China: 8 million baptisms a year

Hong Kong's pastor Dennis Balcombe recently said that over 8 million people become Christians who are baptised in China each year. He says that the motto of the Chinese Christians is "woe to me, if I do not preach the gospel." One example:
China: at 14, too young to doubt
The 14 year-old "Anna" (name changed) was saved in inner Mongolia. Full of excitement, she wanted to immediately go to preach the gospel, but, because of her age, she was put together with another Christian 20 years older than herself. Been to travelled and reached when I could. One day, they started talking with a farmer on her field, who told them that she had no time, but, rather emotionally, said "go into the house and speak to the old woman line in bed." Anna went in and spoke of the Gospel with the old bedridden woman, who constantly nodded as though she understood what she was hearing. Suddenly, the farmer came into the house and shouted at Anna "she can't hear you, she is deaf!" but Anna replied "No, she hears me. Jesus can heal people, and he healed her!" The farmer was not satisfied, and said "if Jesus can really heal people, then make him heal her of her disability. She hasn't been able to get out of bed for years." Excited, Anna replied "Yes! Yes! Of course he can heal her!" She ran to the old woman, took her hand and slowly pulled her to stand up. When she was upright, the old woman started to slowly walk around! Because of the miracle, the whole family decided to become Christians, and has a house church in their home.
Source: Dennis Balcombe, China Report January 1997 FAX (852)-23972576; E-mail: revival@hk.super.net

USA: from Pensacola up the East coast

The number of people being saved in the Brownsville Assemblies of God in Pensacola is not decreasing. According to Rick Ridings (Belgium), 90,000 have been saved there in the last 18 months. Pastor Yonggi Cho of Seoul, South Korea, said that he prayed for America years ago, but feared that it was "too late" for America. God spoke to him, though, telling him to pray for revival. He says that as he looked at a map of America, his attention was drawn to a small and little-known place called Pensacola, and that he had the impression that God was showing him that a revival would start there and later move like a fire up the American East coast.
Source: Rick Ridings, e-mail 73173.1734@compuserve.com

Holland: 40-day fast planned

Christians in Holland are calling for a 40-day fast. Marc van der Woude (Utrecht) tells us that the time of fasting is planned for the period between 25 March and 5 May 1997. He hopes to have 1,000 people fasting, with the aim of revival in Holland.
Source and information: Marc van der Woude. e-mail: mvdwoude@xs4all.nl

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