DAWN Fridayfax 1997 #47

DAWN News from Colombia, Thailand, India, USA

Colombia: Children preach, adults are saved

"On Sunday, we had an unusual time in our church of 1,000 in Bogota: in the two services, around 60 people decided to become Christians, and nobody could leave without having seen God's glory," reports Amanda Shirley from Colombia. "The unusual thing about the services were the guest speakers: an 8-year-old boy preached in the first service, his 11-year-old sister in the second. They also led the worship together with their younger sister. It was beautiful. The children spoke about God in such a personal and trusting way that you could not tear yourself away. The boy spoke about Chronicles: Israel's victories during David's time, the fight against Goliath or during Gideon's time had nothing to do with the size of the population or the number of soldiers, but with the amount of trust they put in their great God. I think we can learn much from children: how God uses us depends on the depth of our relationship with him, not our IQ. He can use us all much better when we realise that we can't do it alone."
Source: Amanda Shirley, e-mail: a-shirle@uniandes.edu.co

Thailand: prayer offering for king and country

Thai Christians responded to the incredible devaluation of the Baht (the Thai currency), the political chaos and other economic difficulties with a 40-day period of prayer and fasting. Sidney Worapong, son-in-law of the well-known Christian leader Dr. Phaitoon Hathamar, believes that this unique event in the history of the church in Thailand could lead to a revival. The much-loved king is a living symbol of safety in the midst of troubles for many Thais, he says. Christian leaders in Thailand's 4 most important cities have united for a 40-day period of prayer and fasting, which will end on December 5th, the king's birthday. They want to pray for the spiritual and physical well-being of their nation. On December 5th, they will have an audience with the king to bring him their prayers as a gift and investment in the country.
Source: Worapong Sidney Jariyaphruttipong, fax(66)-2-392-9805

Northern India: 500 churches for Jammu and Cashmir

Life is hard in Jammu and Cashmere: political dialogue shows its limits, there are border skirmishes with Pakistan and China, armed violence, young children are kidnapped to be trained in terrorist camps, the tourists have stopped coming, the economy is shrinking, and many hundreds of thousands have left the area. Jammu, a city of over 6 million where parliament is held during the winter, welcomes visitors as the city of temples. It has a special temple in which the whole Hindu pantheon of 33 million gods has a statue or at least a stone. But more and more Hindus are asking who is protecting whom in the city, as they see the tragic history and daily murders. "Only the gospel has the answers to the problems in J&C," as Jammu and Cashmere are known, say the state's 4-5,000 Christians. In a recently-published survey organised by Operation Agape (Ludhiana, Punjab), Rev. Sana Dutta and his team found that there are some 103 full- or part-time pastors and Christian workers in the entire state. Around 33 organisations and movements are working in J&C, but 4 whole districts are still without a single Christian church: Bagdam, Kargil, Kupwara and Pulwama, all in Cashmere valley. The research showed that there are now 167 churches in J&C, with an average attendance of 23.5 as of November 1997.
Some 70 pastors and Christian workers from Jammu and Cashmere met for a strategy conference in pastor Kanna's St.Pauls CNI church in Jammu, where the wife of J&C's Chief Minister is a member of the congregation. Not all news from J&C is negative: the growth rate of the new and mostly evangelical churches has apparently dramatically increased: almost as many new churches have been planted in the last 2 years as in the 5 years preceding. The attendees at the Jammu & Cashmere Harvest Network conference set an aim of 500 Christian churches in J&C by the end of the year 2000, which would be a tripling of the current number.
Source: Dr. Alex Abraham, Tel/Fax (91)-161-609061, with others

USA: Strategic partnership between Campus Crusade for Christ and the Southern Baptists

During a meeting on 5November 1997 in Richmond, Virginia, the Southern Baptist's Missions leadership decided to integrate graduates of Campus Crusade for Christ's courses and programmes in their church-planting strategy. The aim is to combine the excitement and energy of the world's largest student movement with the church-planting expertise of the Southern Baptists' missionaries, according to the report. "We are in a new phase of mission in which we recognize how much remains to be done. A single organization cannot hope to achieve everything," said Bailey Marks Sr., Vice President of Campus Crusade for Christ. "Many students who have worked overseas with Campus have difficulty finding opportunities to be active after returning home. Through the many openings with the Southern Baptists, we can integrate 99% of those students who do not assume a leadership role in Campus." They are now able to find opportunities in local churches, says Marks. Jerry Rankin, Missions' president of the Southern Baptists, called the agreement "one of the most important evangelistic developments in recent years." "Church members have asked us when we will finally start cooperating," said Jerry Sharpless, Campus' Director of International Missions. "I am convinced that the spirit of partnership will accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission a hundred fold," he said.
Source: Southern Baptists/Campus Crusade for Christ

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