DAWN Fridayfax 1997 #34

DAWN News from China, India, Worldwide, Spain, USA

China: government afraid of house churches

According to International Christian Concern on 19 August 1997, the Clinton administration has been asked to join worldwide Christian protests against the imprisonment of pastor Xu Yongze who has been held in prison by the Chinese government for 5 months without trial. Xu is the leader of one of the fastest-growing House Church movements in China. ICC reports that the Chinese government fears Xu's movement, which currently number 10 million members and is growing, despite the fact that its members must meet secretly in houses. Xu has been threatened with the death penalty once before, but was released after the intervention of the American State Department.
Source: International Christian Concern

India: Hindu priest becomes a Christian

"Filled with religious pride and zeal for the rituals and forces he controlled, the Hindu priest was certainly far from open for the gospel," according to a report from the mission agency 'Gospel for Asia' on 19 August 1997. But that did not discourage Abraham, one of the agency's Indian missionaries, from explaining the gospel to him. "The priest protested and argued, but I could see that he was struck by what he heard. He finally accepted an invitation to come to a service, in which his pride was broken: he recognised God's love for him and decided to follow Jesus from then on," says Abraham.
Source: Gospel for Asia, fax (91)-473-630273; Postbox 4, Thiruvalla, 689105, Kerala, India

Jesus film: more than 1 billion viewers

According to a press release from Campus Crusade for Christ on 18 August 1997, more than 1 billion people had seen the Jesus film by July 1997. Berry Fiess of the Jesus Film Project reports that 1,120,977,663 people in 219 countries have seen the film, which is currently in use by 680 mission agencies and denominations, and is currently available in 410 languages, with another 220 in preparation. These figures mean not only that more than 85% of the world population are able to watch and understand the film, but also that the film is by far the most translated in cinema history. Campus Crusade reports that around 56 million people have decided to follow Jesus after seeing the film. More than 2 million legal video copies have been distributed around the world, and Paul Eshlemann, the project's director, says that black market copies of the film have also increased the circulation. "Our greatest aim," according to Eshlemann, "is that every person will have had the chance to see the Jesus film by the end of the millennium. There is no reason why we should not reach that aim."
Source: Campus Crusade for Christ International.

Spain: national Christian TV channel in preparation

Various Christian churches in Spain are preparing to open the nation's first Christian TV channel, according to Bob Twaddle of CBI (Conservative Baptists International, USA). Land has already been purchased in Madrid, on which a studio for producing high-quality Christian programmes will be built. These programmes will also be available for use in other Spanish-speaking countries. The channel will also broadcast programmes from the USA and South America. The preparations have already begun, and with a network of 20 transmitters, the programmes will be able to be seen throughout the country. "Up to now, we didn't even have a national radio programme, and now we have this amazing opportunity," says Twaddle.
Source: CBI, Tel. (1)-630-2603800, e-mail: cbi@cbi.org

Generation X's contribution to mission

Described by many as negative, unable to concentrate and without commitment, Generation X is perhaps seen completely differently by God. "Generation X," says Hans Finzel of CBI, are born between 1965 and 1985, children of the Baby-Boom generation. What can Generation X'ers do to help missions? Here are some points made by Michael Schwartz, publisher of VOX Magazine (Caleb Project), in Denver, Colorado:
1. Generation-X'ers are relationship-oriented. We appreciate relationships, family and friendship; we are not loners, but need fellowship and teamwork.
2. We want to be real. We are used to the hard realities of daily life, and are cynical if someone comes along with cheap answers. We try to link daily life with the realities of the Bible, and are honest to ourselves and others.
3. We are creative. We grew up with TV, video games, movies and computers, and are always on the lookout for that which is fresh, creative and new. We're not bound to the past, but like to develop our own solutions for age-old problems.
4. A view for the whole. We see life as an integral whole, and recognise that the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual are united in Christ.
5. A humble, flexible position. We are a broken generation, we have experienced broken families and broken dreams. We have adapted and stood up, prepared to go into a broken world.
Source: Michael Schwartz

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