DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #39

News from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Zambia, India, USA

In this issue:
Ethiopia: Three things accompany awakening
Bangladesh: Cell churches amid unreached people groups
Zambia: Growth through indigenous Christians
India: Openness and divine appointments
USA: 2,000 people baptised by fire hose

Ethiopia: Three things accompany spiritual awakening

The "Presbyterian Church USA" sent a report from the continuing spiritual awakening in Ethiopia's Mekane Yesus church. "A few years ago, a church with space for 400 people in its building grew to some 10,000 members. They decided to split into 4 churches of 2,500. I asked the church leaders for their opinion on what caused the growth", writes American missionary Jim Milley. "'Three things,' came the answer, 'a revival, led by the Holy Spirit and accompanied by signs and wonders; the emphasis on small house groups in which the Christian families meet, and the fact that most of the Christians are actively involved in church life and evangelistic ministry.'"

Source: Worldwide Ministries Division, Presbyterian Church USA

Bangladesh: Cell churches amid unreached people groups

A number of tribes in Bangladesh belong to the 'unreached people groups'. Among them are the Khiang and Khumi, which live in the jungle some 600km (400 miles) from Dhaka, the capital. Since 1995, two Christian workers have planted seven churches among the Khiangs, now with a membership of 300, according to a report from the "AD 2000 Unreached Peoples Group". Another worker has planted three churches in Khiang villages. A network of cell churches support the work financially and in prayer, and provides further missionaries for the work.

Source: AD2000

Zambia: Growth through indigenous Christians

Between 1983 and 1993, Christians churches in Zambia grew by more than 1 million members. The economic crisis, poverty, unemployment and the AIDS epidemic gave rise to a spiritual hunger which moved many people to become Christians. In 1991, President Frederick Chiluba declared Zambia 'a Christian country'. "The Christian church has grown more in recent years than in the time from independence from England in 1964 until around 1990," he says. Missionaries say that the greatest growth has taken place in the last 5 years through the planting of hundreds of churches. Serenje, 250 miles northeast of the capital Lusaka, is a good example: in 1986, the town had 25 Baptist churches, today there are 123. "I have no idea why this is happening," says Thomas Waddil, missionary with the Southern Baptists. "We have no strategy for church growth, it just happens through a series of divine coincidences. The Zambian Christians start the churches; we tell them not to wait for us. They have caught the vision, and we see the result: growth." Frank Kilpatrick, President of a theological school in Lusaka, says "The churches grow because the local Christians have a clear vision for church planting and evangelisation. Evangelists who come to Zambia to hold large rallies have far less positive influence as the local churches' long-term work."

Source: Christiandailynews, Religion Today

India: Openness and divine appointments

As the bus slowed and stopped on the roadside, the 30 passengers thought that their journey to the southern Indian metropolis Bangalore was over. 14 of the passengers were American Baptists returning home after taking part in a short term evangelistic outreach in Davangere, a city with a population just under 1 million. During their house to house evangelism, they had been frequently insulted and stoned, and had dogs set on them. Near the end of the outreach, Steve Nichols, one of the participants, asked God for 'divine appointments'. A few hours later, following the bus breakdown, he was sitting on the ground in a straw hut with its 20 inhabitants, speaking to the elder about Jesus with the help of two translators. The man interrupted him in mid sentence. Two hours before, they had seen the Jesus Film in television, and now a foreigner had arrived in his house to tell him and his family about Jesus. He wondered what that meant. Nichols 'led them all to Christ'. And the bus? It had still not been repaired. While the broken fan belt was being replaced, two team members spoke with four women sitting under a tree. Another 10 people came out of the bushes and joined them. When the Christians finished explaining the gospel, 5 wanted to know more and were prepared to pray with the missionaries for the first time. The bus driver was one of them.

Source: Baptist Press

USA: 2,000 people baptised by fire hose

The elders of "The United House of Prayer for All People", a Pentecostal denomination with some 3.5 million members, have introduced a new and possibly very American form of baptism. The Washington D.C.-based church planned to 'baptise' some 2,000 new Christians by fire hose on a church parking lot in Charlotte, North Carolina on 11 October 1998. The fire hose would be connected to the hydrant and set to a fine spray, 'to prevent injuries'. "It's not the method of baptism, but the faith in the baptism which counts," says C.B. Gibson, one of the denomination's leaders. The denomination was founded in the USA in 1919 by C.M. Grace from the Cape Verde Islands, and is known for its brass bands and unusual buildings. The Charlotte church building is intended to remind people of Noah's Ark, complete with elephants and gorillas painted on the walls, as a visible sign that the church has space for everyone in need.

Source: United House of Prayer for All People

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