DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #26

News from China, Benin, Germany, Brazil, Worldwide

In this issue:
China: Women play a dynamic role
Benin: Our pastor, the President
Over 130,000 Messianic Jews
'Prayerlift' for Berlin
Brazil: Every Christian home a church

China: Women play a dynamic role

Following a visit to China this summer, missionary Hans Wilhelm reported on the 'dynamic role' which women play in church growth in China: "A house church of 10 people grew to 600 in 9 years. The spark which ignited the growth was a woman called Sun, who used to be a devout Buddhist. After becoming a Christian, she explained the gospel to her family, then neighbours started coming to her apartment. Despite only being a new believer herself, she knew what to do: after visiting another church early in the morning, she repeated what she learnt to those who gathered in her home. Another woman was and is the driving force behind a church which grew from 13 to 1,000 in only a few years."

Source: Hans Wilhelm. E-mail: HansHMWilhelm@aol.com

Benin: Our pastor, the President

Matthieu Kerekeou, ex-Marxist and now Christian President of the west African nation Benin, expressly welcomes evangelistic television broadcasts in his land. Peter Darg of the US's Christian Broadcasting Network reports that "people call Kerekeou the pastor-President. Whenever he speaks in front of people or cameras, he preaches the gospel." CBN is preparing a weekly programme in cooperation with the national television network.

Source: CBN

Over 130,000 Messianic Jews

According to research conducted by David Bogosian, Research Director of the 'US Center for World Mission', there are 14,785,000 people who consider themselves Jews, spread across 81 countries. 17 nations have a Jewish minority of over 50,000. Most Jews are of Hebrew descent, but there are others such as the 50,000 black Jews, called Falashas, originally from Ethiopia and now living in Israel. More than 10 million Jews live outside Israel, mostly in Christian nations. 60% of Jews speak neither Hebrew nor any of its dialects. Bogosian reports that studies show that 75% of Jews are no longer practising, many having become secular or atheists. This trend has opened the way for many Jews to believe in Jesus. According to Bogosian's calculations, there are currently some 132,000 Jews who see Jesus as their Messiah, saviour and coming king.

Source: David Bogosian, USCWM

Germany: Come and help us: 'Prayerlift' for Berlin

Kerstin Hack of the mission mobilisation group AIMS writes: "50 years ago, the Berlin airlift had the world's attention. The political enemy had blocked all land routes, so Berlin received all its supplies via aircraft for one year, from June 1948 to June 1949. From apples to toothbrushes and from coal to cows and even a power station, everything was flown in - a total of more than 2 million tonnes of aid. This unprecedented effort was decisive in retaining West Berlin's political freedom. Today, the city's spiritual situation is similar to the political situation then: it is a city of central importance in the midst of a spiritual battle. The government's return to the city in 1999 and the related business growth will only serve to strengthen Berlin's key role as a trendsetter in Germany, Europe and the whole world. Overcoming the city's spiritual, political and social problems requires much prayer and is a huge challenge for the city's Christians. We invite Christians from all over Germany and from other nations to stand for Berlin in prayer during this important phase. Intercession teams are invited to come to Berlin to pray with local churches for the city from June 1998 to June 1999. God's desire is that Berlin, contrary to its history, would be a blessing for our nation and others. In order that this may be fulfilled, we ask you: come over and help us!"

Source and information: Kerstin Hack, AIMS DEUTSCHLAND, Postfach 450 129, 12171 Berlin. Tel: (+49) 030-76890445; Fax: (+49)-030-76890448. E-mail: 100711.2622@compuserve.com

Brazil: Every Christian home a church

In June 1998, representatives of 22 denominations and 19 mission organisations met in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for an event organised as a joint venture between the AD2000 Movement and the DAWN-related project "Brazil 2010". Following the event, they released a joint declaration, stating: "We are at the start of a mobilisation process; our churches are not yet strategically enough placed. We are ready to commit ourselves to God, Brazilians and the Christian church. In the past, many Christians have worked in isolation, sometimes even in competition with each other. For this reason, we encourage a humble attitude; old barriers should be torn down. We accept the common vision and goal of planting at least one church in each neighbourhood of every town and village so that there is statistically at least one church per 1,000 of the population. This means that 180,000 new churches must be planted by the year 2010, and a Christian cell group for every 100: every Christian home should become a church!" The declaration contains a number of suggestions, including the following: "We want to train all Christians in this vision, and encourage them to not only be a positive example with their life, but to develop a lifestyle compatible with this vision. We want to develop appropriate teaching material, and build a team to research and publish relevant facts, and to study the effectiveness of existing plans. We encourage lasting prayer and fasting, partnerships, and to consider the value of Christian buildings, and to invest in people rather than structures. We challenge all churches to become a force of transformation in society."

Source: LarryStephKraft@xc.org

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