DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #38

India

AoG Tamilnadu plans to plant 12,000 house churches by 2010

"The Assemblies of God's initiative 'Decade of Harvest' ends at the end of 1999," writes Subramaniam Pillai, the AoG's Missions Secretary. In the Indian state Tamilnadu alone, the number of AoG churches has risen from 180 in 1990 to 800. A Tamilnadu Dawn Consultation in June 1998 prompted the AoG's leadership to increasingly address planting house churches, according to S.˙Pillai. Together with pastor D.˙Mohan, Rev.˙P.S.˙Rajamoni, Superintendent of the AoG Tamilnadu has set the denomination's aim of planting 12,000 new house churches by the year 2010 in a programme titled "Church Beyond 2000".
Source and information: Subramaniam Pillai, fax +91-44-2301063. e-mail: subi@satyam.net.in

USA

Churches pray for farmers during harvest time

40% decline in accidents

"Farming is one of the most dangerous professions, and everyone who grew up in the country knows of the pain caused by the many accidents and deaths in farmyards," writes Rev.˙Dr.˙Karl Goodfellow from Guttenberg, Iowa. "On top of that, the existence of many small farms is threatened by the competitive situation and low prices for pork, grain and dairy goods in the USA. Harvest time is the most dangerous time for the farmers, so we started a prayer initiative 5 years ago which calls on churches to pray for farmers during the harvest. In the meantime, over 6,000 intercessors in four states pray daily for 60,000 farming families, and we have heard of many miracles, close calls and cases in which the farmers and churches have helped each other," says Goodfellow, who has written a doctoral thesis about the connection between prayer and evangelisation. "In Iowa, farming accidents have declined 40% since the start of the prayer initiative," he continues. Intercessors in the churches are given a list of local farmers, to whom they send letters informing them that the church is concerned about them and will pray for them for 60 days during harvest time. The farmers are not asked to visit the church.
Source and information: Dr. Goodfellow; www.netins.net/showcase/snprayer; e-mail: snprayer@netins.net

Colombia

The other side of the coin

"We believe that today is the start of a new period in Colombia's history." So began the "First Congress for the Unity of the Body of Christ in Iberoamerica". Held from 25-28˙August 1999 in Cali's Coliseum, where Billy Graham also evangelized in 1962, the congress was attended by over 3,200 people. Two days later, a 35,000-seat stadium was so full that people waited outside until the early hours of the morning to have a place. Many Christians believe that Dr.˙Billy Graham spoke a prophetic word in the stadium a generation ago, when he said "When I woke up this morning, I saw three crosses on a hill, and Christ the King standing on another hill. I believe that Cali will experience revival."

Light and darkness close together

35,000 people died a violent death in Colombia in 1998, according to Hector Pardo, President of CONELA, a brotherhood of Latin American evangelical Christians. The number is expected to rise to 40,000 in 1999. One third died in the guerilla war, two thirds through other violence, mainly among young people. At the moment, 3,000 people are being held hostage in the country, mainly by the rebels, who use the income to finance their 35-year-old battle against the government. AD2000's Luis Bush: "On the one hand, we hear again and again of spectacular kidnappings, on the other hand, an ever increasing number of people accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. On the one hand is increasing promiscuity, on the other hand the many testimonies of life-changing encounters with the power of the gospel. On the one hand, Cali is a major center of the drug trade, especially since the increased solidarity between the drug barons and the rebel leaders, on the other hand, there is a wonderful spirit of cooperation between the city's pastors. Violence on the one hand and on the other, the peace of God which many Colombians experience as they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord."

Prayer changes everything

"Our youth will carry not drugs, but the gospel of Jesus Christ from Colombia to all the world," says Juan˙Ortiz, Chairman of the event and President of the Association of Evangelical Ministers of the Valley (ASMICEV). The first non-denominational prayer night in Cali was held in 1996, at which the mayor declared Jesus "Lord over Cali". Pastor Jarro Hernan Rodriguez believed that the spiritual atmosphere over the city changed after Christians prayed while driving seven times around the city in 1996, following the example of Joshua at Jericho. Church growth in Cali is also astonishing: in 1980, the city had 30 churches, 250 in 1990, and today, 1999, 600. 400 of Cali's pastors met again for prayer at the end of August 1999, to ask God and each other for forgiveness and reconciliation. Paul could have been writing about Cali when he said "Where sin increased, grace increased all the more" (Romans 5:20).
Source: Luis Bush, and ASMICEV (Zinnier Quintero), e-mail asmicev@telesat.com.co

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