DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #48

News from India, USA, China, England

In this issue:
India: God sends girl back from the dead
USA: Church attendance increases life expectancy by 7 years
China: Speechless missionary - 500 Buddhists become Christians
England: Youth church Eternity reaches 300

India: God sends girl back from the dead

A 16-year-old girl from a village in the northern Indian state Bihar died - but still had an important mission to fulfill. A team which wanted to show the Jesus film in the village had been brusquely turned away by the village elders, who refused them permission. As the girl's parents were about to bury her, she woke up from the dead and said something amazing: the God of which the film team spoke had sent her back to the village for 7 days to tell them about him. The girl went to search for the team, and brought them back to the village, where they could show the film. Hundreds of people decided to become Christians, and at least 6 new churches were started.

Source: AD 2000 Prayer Track News, Vol 7 No. 4

USA: Church attendance increases life expectancy by 7 years

It may not always be the most exciting event, but attending church weekly demonstrably increases life expectancy, according to a study published recently by the National Science Foundation. People who attend a church, mosque or synagogue each week have a life expectancy 7 years longer than non-churchgoers. The difference in the coloured population is even more marked: up to 14 years. Robert Hummer, the Foundation's Head of Research, says that scientists have considered religion to be an unsuitable subject of study for long enough, and it is only recently that the connections between faith and religion have been investigated.

Source: The Gazette/Colorado Springs, USA, 11 December 1998

China: Speechless missionary - 500 Buddhists become Christians

A chance encounter with a 'speechless' missionary led to the foundation of a fast-growing church in one of China's least evangelised areas. 5 years ago, a YWAM missionary met an old man on her first visit to a Zhuang-the village in southwestern China. The Zhuang-the are China's largest minority group.

Because the missionary could not speak the Zhuang-the dialect, she could only communicate with the old man using Chinese symbols. They started a 'silent conversation', and after a while, the old man indicated his desire to become a Christian. When the missionary returned to Hong Kong, she found a letter from the old man asking her to return to tell him more about the Christian faith. She did, and discovered that he had already gathered 11 friends whom he told about Christianity. At a later visit, there were already 30, and she found a church of 500 on her most recent visit. The members were previously, as most Zhuangs, Buddhist Animists. The old man has become one of the church leaders.

England: Youth church Eternity reaches 300

In 1993, God gave then 20-year-old Mark Meardon a vision to start a youth church in Bracknell in southern England. "I'd had a passion for the kids in Bracknell, my home town, for some time," he says, "but I guess I had to go first to Africa, where God gave me a vision equal to my passion. I decided to start a youth church - we called it Eternity, and we did it with the clear agreement of the Anglican St. Michaels church, in which I grew up. They gave us 100% of their blessing and support. Following an embarrassing start in January 1995, where we realised that events in traditional youth group style didn't work, we started Eternity's Friday evening services with 20 pounds in our pocket and our mission in our hearts. SInce then, we have experienced rapid growth; the evening services have a regular attendance of 300, many of which are not Christians. We decided early on to introduce cell groups on Wednesday evenings where there is more chance for personal contact. These groups have shown themselves to be the ideal place to integrate new Christians, and can be easily multiplied when they grow too large. That way, there's always room for more growth. On Sunday afternoons, we often go as a group to play basketball in the park, where we meet many youths, make new acquaintances, have fun with each other, and explain to others what it means to be a Christian."

Source: Mark Meardon, Eternity, Bracknell.

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