DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #10

News from Cambodia, Laos, China, Russia and Worldwide

In this issue:
Cambodia: Prince Ranarridh becomes a Christian
Laos: God amidst the Khmu
China: first church among the Shui
China: "A light unto my path"
Grozny/Caucasus: church untouched, 15 Muslim rebels find Christ
447 billion "evangelism hours"

Cambodia: Prince Ranarridh becomes a Christian

Following his deposal, Prince Ranarridh retreated to western Cambodia with loyal troops to build an army. Sophal Ung, a Cambodian Christian leader, visited him there. Ung had served as an advisor to the Prince and Prime Minister for several years. During his last visit, Ung was able to "lead Ranarridh and his wife to Jesus", he reports, along with the fact that 15 Generals and other officers also followed Ranarridh's decision. Ung was then invited to preach to large groups of troops.

Source: Vineyard Berne, Switzerland, (+41) 31 333 15 19

Laos: God amidst the Khmu

Many Christians prayed for an evangelist who had been arrested for preaching the gospel to members of the Khmu tribe. He was publicly chained by government officials, and imprisoned in a pit for four days. Since his release, the Christian church in the village has grown from 100 to 700 members. The government official who wanted to destroy the church died of a sudden heart attack shortly after beating and harassing Christians. His family has also been affected: soon after his death, one of his sons broke both legs in a motorcycle accident, and another fell ill and is near death in the capital. "Through these events, the Khmu have seen God's power clearly demonstrated", says mission agency Asian Minority Outreach. Government officials now think twice before acting against Christians, who now have a much freer hand than before.

Source: Asian Minority Outreach, Fax (+66)-53-281778. E-mail asianmo@cm.ksc.co.th

China: first church among the Shui

In October 1997, some Christians visited three previously almost unreached people groups in China, in order to pray for them. The first fruits of this action are now visible. One team visited the Shui, a people numbering around 380,000 in Guizhou Province, in which only a few Christians were known. Only weeks later, a team of Chinese evangelists visited the Shui and led 15 families to Christ, whom they are now discipling.

Source: Asian Minority Outreach, Fax (+66)-53-281778. E-mail asianmo@cm.ksc.co.th

China: "A light unto my path"

In January 1998, Lan, a Christian in Northeastern China, went to visit her brother with her nephew. Night fell as they were still on the way, and their path was unlit. It was cold and misty, and they could not see a single step ahead. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of them, illuminating a 5-meter wide area, and led them directly to Lan's brother's house. As soon as they entered the house, the light vanished. Upon hearing what had happened, 5 family members decided to become Christians.

Source: Neil Anderson, Sowers Ministry, Fax (+1)-852-2668407; E-mail: anderson@hk.super.net

Grozny/Caucasus: church untouched, 15 Muslim rebels find Christ

A team sent by mission agency OM to Russia returned with the following report: "During the weeks before the Chechnyan war, many Christian churches in Grozny received words from God telling them that a war was about to break out. As a result, around half of the Christians could retreat into safer areas, while others remained in the town during the war. Because the Russians failed in driving all the rebels out of the town, they decided to use a new tactic: first, rockets were used to destroy the upper stories of all the buildings, and in a second wave, the town was bombarded to destroy the ground floors too. Anything left standing would be destroyed in a third wave. A Baptist pastor in the town, who was a bomber pilot in the Second World War, said 'I have never seen such destruction in my entire life.' Despite the massive destruction, one single building remained as by a miracle untouched: the Baptist church. That was also where the town's remaining Christians had gathered. During the attacks, other inhabitants of the town also realised that the church was not being hit, and 53 people also fled there. Amidst the sounds of the attacks, the believers preached the gospel to these people, and all 53 became Christians on the spot, including 15 Muslim rebels."

Source: Debbie Meroff, OMNI (Operation Mobilisation News & Information)

447 billion "evangelism hours"

At the start of each year, David B. Barrett, Professor for Missiometrics at Regent University in Virginia Beach, USA, publishes his "Annual Statistical Table on Global Missions". Barrett, who reaches many of his results through extrapolation and exact estimation, has discovered the following: by mid-1998, there will have been some 1,290 plans for the evangelism of the world since AD 30; 447 billion hours will be spent on evangelism in 1998; there are currently 3,600 Christian radio and television stations around the world; 66 million Bibles and 102 million New Testaments will be distributed this year; 24,600 new Christian book titles will be published, and there are currently 32,500 Christian periodicals. He calculates the annual global income of Church members to be $11,885 billion, of which $206 billion go to Christian purposes. He estimates that there are 409,000 Christian missionaries and 4.86 million "indigenous Christian workers".

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