DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #34

News from Norway, Brazil, Australia and Worldwide

In this issue:
Norway: 'That's My work!' - US evangelist returns home
Brazil: 'Operacao Janela Fortaleza' trio
Brazil wakes up to missionary call
YWAM: Global effects
UK/Australia: Reconcilation tour

Norway: "That's My work!" - US evangelist returns home

Here's a quick follow-up to the immense positive reaction to our recent Norway reports: In connection with the revival among members of the New Age movement in Trondheim, we heard of a North American evangelist who wanted to travel to Trondheim "to help out a little". Having arrived in Oslo, he wanted to travel to Trondheim the following day. That night, he sensed God telling him in a dream "Don't go to Trondheim. That's My work, you will only do harm." The sensitive evangelist obeyed, and returned home. Sometimes less evangelism is more.

Source: name and address withheld

Brazil: "Operacao Janela Fortaleza" trio

Hosting three large evangelical Christian events at once was a novelty for the Brazilian city Fortaleza. At the end of August 1998, a large evangelistic project, a Brazilian missions conference and YWAM's biannual "Leadership Consultation" with attendees from some 100 nations were held in the city under the title "Operacao Janela Fortaleza" (Operation Window Fortaleza).

Fortaleza is a modern port with a population of 2 million and capital of Brazil's northeastern state Ceará. French (in 1557) and Dutch (in 1624 and 1630) missionaries tried to set up missionary work in Fortaleza, but were soon driven away. The first evangelical Christians in Brazil, Robert Kalley and Ashbel Simonton, arrived 230 years later. The well-known Brazilian newspaper Veja described Fortaleza as a center of gang activity, with some 200 youth gangs with over 8,000 members involved in gang warfare, drug dealing and other criminal activities having a strong influence on public life. The city is also known as the Brazilian center of child prostitution.

Brazil wakes up to missionary call

1200 leaders from all over Brazil, including 400 from Fortaleza, met in a 5-day world missions conference to discuss Brazil's contribution to mission and involve local churches more in the foreign missions movement. During a public address in the local stadium, some 500 people committed themselves to full-time missions work.

New evangelistic unity

For the first time, 300 local Christian churches joined for a long-term evangelistic project. Teams from "Impact World Tour", an evangelistic group from the USA, had already visited over 300 schools, three universities, the hospital and the jail. Christian athletes in so-called "teen-attract teams" targeted youths with skateboard champions, to help them appreciate the value of human life and social justice. The local government opened all the necessary doors, and the mass media brought frequent and positive reports. Around 100,000 of the several hundred thousand people who attended events in the stadium from 29-31 August showed interest in becoming Christians. According to AD 2000's missions leader Luis Bush who attended the events as an observer and speaker, it is important to recognise that the events took place during a clear economic crisis - the Brazilian stock exchange index lost some 40 percent of its value in the preceding 6 weeks.

YWAM: Global effects

According to missions veteran Don Richardson, YWAM is the world's largest missions agency, with over 12,000 full-time staff. Around 250,000 youths take part in missionary outreaches from YWAM's over 650 bases. On top of those are 30,000 short-term students and volunteers who work for up to 18 months. Luis Bush names some principles which "the world could learn from YWAM": seek God and wait to hear and understand his voice before acting; readiness to obey God, rather than filter out his voice in a process of critical analysis and conceptual discussion; the work of Dream Facilitators, who recognise and develop the gifts and callings of young people; the readiness to join in with that which God is already doing, and all this in a spirit of passion, worship, partnership and great openness for God's new spiritual paths and paradigms.

Source: Luis Bush, AD 2000

UK/Australia: Reconciliation tour because of "blood guilt"

An increasing number of English Christian leaders and intercessors have been seeking God's answers to the country's spiritual condition over the last few years. Although there have been promising breakthroughs and moves of revival, large parts of the English population have remained relatively untouched. It is now increasingly recognised, according to an internal report, that the relative lack of fruit is connected with England's 'blood guilt': the British Empire was built with the Bible in one hand and a gun in the other. The conclusion is that repentance is necessary. A number of representatives of English Christians are now planning to travel to Australia, to apologize for the sins of the British against the Australians. A clear apology for the brutal suppression of the indigenous population, the deportation of British convicts, the recruiting of young Australians as 'cannon fodder' on the fronts during the First World War to protect British troops, and the out-manoeuvering of Australia as a trading partner following the start of the European Common Market. From 7-24 September, a team of 40 prayer leaders led by Roger Mitchell and Brian Mills will travel to Australia and Tasmania to express repentance and the desire for reconciliation.

Source: Brian Mills and others.

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