DAWN Fridayfax 1997 #23

DAWN News from Brazil, USA, Benin, Uruguay

Brazil: Wake up, Deborah!

At the AD2000 conference In Korea in 1995, Ana Maria Pereira, a Brazilian mother, came up with the idea to call mothers to pray for their children, "for their salvation and for their dedication to the work of the Lord in Brazil and around the world". With nearly 600 children being murdered annually in Rio de Janeiro alone this challenge was taken up by many Christian mothers in the country. There are now 15,000 praying mothers in the growing "Wake up Deborah" movement which is opening the eyes of the church to the need to awaken the spiritual potential within Brazil's youth. "Wake up Deborah" members pledge to pray for at least fifteen minutes a day that their children will not only be saved but become missionaries to Brazil and the world. Participating mothers meet monthly in 600 churches, typically for 90-minute meetings during which mothers and repentant children share testimonies and encourage others not to give up praying for their children. The group bases its work on Hannah's prayer in 1st Samuel , in which she pledges her son to God if He will end her suffering.
Source: Christianity Today, May 1997

USA: Prayer can save you from tornadoes

At around 2:45 pm (14:45) on March 1, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, was hit by a tornado that decimated the town. A clock in the office of the First Assemblies of God Church fell to the floor and spilled its batteries, freezing the moment forever. Mark Overturf, a deacon in the Trinity Temple church, saw the tornado forming, and sat down with his wife in their living room to pray quickly, then ran into their infant son's bedroom in the middle of the house. Both neighbouring houses were extensively damaged, but their home was protected.
Source: General Council of Assemblies of God, 1445 Boonville Avenue, Springfield, Missouri, USA, Tel. (1)-417-862-2781. e-mail: news@ag.org

Benin: new churches among ex-Voodoo followers

"The Fon people have long resisted the Gospel. The tribe is deeply rooted in voodoo spirit worship. This area of Benin, West Africa, is the ancestral home of the voodoo religion," reports the mission agency SIM. That's changing now: at the end of 1996, the baptism of 45 men and women of the UEEB (Union of Evangelical Churches of Benin) was celebrated at Agla in Cotonou, Benin, to the sound of drums, gourds, and rough metal bells. Each of the new believers reported of the changes in their lives since becoming Christians: Edward had been part of a group of men who danced to worship on the voodoo gods. Once he was a victim himself of a curse, which injured his leg, and neither magic nor traditional medicine could help, but he was healed when he decided to follow Christ. One woman told of having problems giving birth. Doctors in the hospital had abandoned her to die, but church members stayed with her and prayed, and she delivered a healthy baby. Another man, Jeremy, told of a life of smoking, drinking and women -chasing which he deserted when he heard Pastor Folley's message at Agla Church, which he visited after being given a tract. There are now over 30 UEEB churches among the Fon people in Benin, according to the mission agency.
Source: SIM USA, P.O. Box 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241, USA. e-mail: webmaster@sim.org

Uruguay: new openness

"The country of Uruguay has long prided itself on being a secular atheistic nation," according to a SIM report. "People there have generally been considered as unresponsive to the Gospel. However, early in 1997, a joint effort in the city of Montevideo resulted in an estimated 1,500 people making professions of faith in Jesus Christ." The project was led by Myron Loss of SIM and Siegfried Klassen of Operation Mobilization, with Campus Crusade, InterVarsity, Athletes for Christ, Midnight Call Mission, several local missions and the Uruguayan Organization of Christian Medical Professionals took part. The mission used classical evangelistic tools such as religious surveys on the beach, pantomimes, personal testimonies, books and tracts and the Jesus film. Most of the young evangelists who took part in the project came to Montevideo from other South American countries. Decision cards and suggestions for follow-up were sent to more than 50 evangelical churches in Uruguay. "The young people who participated in thi s effort also came away with a bigger vision of what God could do through them in reaching out to unevangelized people," says the mission agency.
Source: SIM USA, P.O. Box 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241, USA. e-mail: webmaster@sim.org

USA: More Born-Again Catholics

The evangelical pollster George Barna has found that a growing number of U.S. Roman Catholics "are born-again Christians" according to his definition. According to the survey, 43 percent of the U.S. population agree with the statements "I have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in my life today" and "I believe that after I die I will go to heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior." That's up from 39 percent in 1996 and 36 percent in 1995. Barna says that the increase was due "mostly to a change in the number of Catholics who now meet the born-again criteria."
Source: George Barna

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