DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #03

News from USA, Siberia, Nigeria, Spain, Indonesia

In this issue:
USA: Baby-Boomer pensioners could set off a new wave of missionaries
Siberia: guarded baptism
Nigeria: when even book-burning doesn't help
Spain: mission by Internet
Indonesia: youth revival

USA: Baby-Boomer pensioners could set off a new wave of missionaries

Last year, members of baby-boomer generation loudly celebrated their 50th birthday. Characterised in the 80's as ambitious, materialistic yuppies who have achieved early financial security, they are now thinking about retirement. They will be the richest generation of pensioners ever, as well as the youngest and healthiest. Many of these early-retirees could have 20 or 30 productive years ahead of them, and many are now re-thinking their priorities; the emphasis on material success is being replaced by the desire for spiritual importance. Their children are in college or at university, and the 'new old' have plenty of time on their hands. That means that a whole new population group is available as missionaries. For this reason, a number of mission agencies have developed the so-called 'Finishers Project', with the aim of enabling 'boomers' to have a second career as missionaries. According to Nelson Malwitz, Chairman of the Finishers' Project, a demographic study carried out by the Wall Street Journal shows that around 4.6 million Americans qualify as financially secure evangelical 'boomers. Missions writer James Engel believes that around 10% of the evangelical boomers are missions-minded. If only 10% of this group, 1% of the evangelical boomers, would become self-financed missionaries, 40,000 new missionaries would be available between 2000 and 2020, says Malwitz, who considers himself part of the group. He continues: "Generalisations are never any good, but because I myself belong to this group, I think I can say that many of us will soon have no more need to prove ourselves. We've reached a point where we are ready to say 'Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it!'" He believes that this situation required humility from both the mission agencies and the potential second-career missionaries. "But this is God's project. He will be able to make use of it, just as he does with his other plans and projects."

Source: Nelson Malwitz, 10 Old Sherman Turnpike, Danbury, CT 06810, USA

Siberia: guarded baptism

For a year, the 16 prisoners waited inside the walls of their prison in Blagoveschtschensk in East Siberia's Amur region, before receiving permission to seal their new life in Jesus Christ with baptism. Early one autumn morning, they were taken to a lake, where they were baptised and took communion - surrounded by guards with guns and dogs.

Source: Campus für Christus Switzerland, fax (41)-1-2717819

Nigeria: when even book-burning doesn't help

Many Nigerian Moslems have come to believe in Christ through the book "Who is this Allah?". Since the book's publication in Nigerian in 1990, Islamic leaders have been putting pressure on 'Fireliners International', the publishers, and have been visiting many Christian bookstores to buy all copies of the book, then burning them. Despite the many hindrances to its spread, the publishers receive many letters each week from Moslems who have come to believe in Christ through the book.

Source: FrontierScan

Spain: mission by Internet

What do a Spanish doctor, a group of Chilean youths, a spiritually seeking Venezuelan teacher, a Spanish university pastor, a lonely Costa Rican and an Argentinian Catholic priest have in common? The answer: http://www.intercom.es/cursos, [no longer active] - for many, simply a jumble of letters, but for others, an electronic address in the global internet. The site, set up 20 months ago by a small 'electronic mission team' in Barcelona, Spain, now registers over 500 internet users from all over the world each month, of which on average 80 order the offered e-mail Bible study course. Several new churches have been set up as a result of this work, which grew out of a traditional missionary Bible correspondence course which had established a broad network of contacts throughout Spain.

Source: Cursos Biblicos por Correspondencia, Barcelona

Indonesia: youth revival

A few weeks ago, Bram and Dianne Manusama, preachers at Melbourne's Westside Assemblies of God, attended a pastors' conference in Ambon, part of Indonesia's Maluku group of islands. "Many travelled to the conference by boat," says Bram. "On the last day, a significant act of reconciliation between the pastors took place, with many repenting for the divisions between the churches. Many pastors knelt before the elder founding pastors of the region's Pentecostal movement to ask for their blessing. On the final evening," he tells us, "a revival started amongst the youths, who were so touched by the Holy Spirit that many spontaneously started to cry, were unable to stand, knelt or threw themselves to the ground. Around 400 youths came forward for prayer, where they pledged that they would lead a holy life, devoted to the Lord." Dianne, Bram's wife, says "Bram didn't get to preach that night. Many prophets speak of a coming revival amongst Indonesia's young generation. Perhaps we are already starting to see some of it."

Source: Bram and Dianne Manusama

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