DAWN Fridayfax 2002 #22

Ethiopia

10 million Christians already?

The church in Ethiopia continues to grow. The persecutions continues, too. In March 2002, a Muslim mob attacked a Christian church in the east-Ethiopian city Asaita. Mission agency Open Doors reports that the mob leaders had planned to burn the Protestant Mekane Yesu church to the ground, but that the police arrived in time to prevent them. Following the damage, the services were held in a tent until the important repairs were completed. They have now returned to the building for services. According to observers, the violence was caused by the Christians' social ministry: "Most Protestant churches have active programmes for supporting the poor, which cause tension in the Muslim and even Ethiopian Orthodox population," reports Open Doors. It has recently been estimated that the number of Protestants and Evangelicals in Ethiopia has grown from 3.5 million in 1985 to 10 million today.
Source: Open Doors, Rainer Killus, e-mail info@offenegrenzen.de, www.offenegrenzen.de

India

New churches in Christian south

"Christian churches and groups in Christian southern India are cooperating strategically," reports church growth adviser Joshua Pillai. During a conference in Tiruchi, Tami Nadu, from 16-18 April 2002, evangelist Sadhu Chellappa, pastor Rathnam Paul, church planter Victor Choudhrie and Joshua Pillia spoke to 350 pastors about the chances of planting house churches in southern India, which is strongly influenced by traditional churches. In India's north, house church movements are spreading so quickly that they have become one of India's fastest-growing movements. Victor Choudrie, whose has been directly or indirectly involved in planting thousands of house churches in the past 6 years, stated that along with a change of mentality, a completely different method must be used to plant house churches, because their dynamics are very different from traditional church forms. "I worked as a missionary in northern India for 20 years, and another 10 years in southern India, but I now recognise the mistakes which resulted in relatively little fruit," said one senior pastor after the seminar. "The conference," says Pillai, "was an eye-opener for many pastors, who can now confidently approach the task of planting 50,000 new house churches in the next 10 years." Pillai's research on the subject was published at similar conferences in Hubli and Bangalore, where pastors are now considering strategies for planting 70,000 new churches.
Source: Joshua Pillai, e-mail subi@satyam.net.in

Egypt

Miraculous light leaves tracks

The nightly lights on the St. Mark's church in Assiut drew hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and was reported around the world. The BBC and CNN sent correspondents to report on the events. "Months after the miraculous lights disappeared in November 2001, the impact can still be felt," says pastor Andrea Xandry from Zurich, who himself witnessed the appearances. "The impact is due not only to the many 'silent healings', but also to the many Christian families who housed pilgrims despite their already cramped houses." A non-Christian, angered by the supposed fake miracle, travelled to Assiut to investigate. He was so convinced by the peaceful appearances that he brought his entire family, telling them "This is a wonderful message from God." Many considered the light to be a sign of Jesus, the Light of the World. Every night, thousands hugged, danced and sang for joy in the streets around the church, and discussed the appearances. Despite the large crowds, the police never had to intervene.
Source: Andrea Xandry, e-mail xandry@bluewin.ch

Switzerland

Young mother healed of cerebral apoplexy

"During a Christian seminar near Zurich, Christians recently prayed for a young mother who suffered a brain haemorrhage while cycling, and fell," reports pastor Daniel Hari. Nobody knew how long the woman had been lying on the ground before she was found. In hospital, she was put into an artificial coma for three weeks, because the pressure in her brain would have otherwise been too high. The top of her skull was removed and frozen; every attempt to bring her back to consciousness had to be aborted, and she was very close to death. The doctors considered it very unlikely that she would survive the pressure in her brain. "One week ago, I heard the good news," says Hari. "The young mother is completely healed, and 'talks like a book'. She can remember everything she heard while in the coma, whether boring or interesting. Today, her father told me 'The doctors considered the pressure in her brain too high that she would survive the consequences. Many Christians prayed for her, and she now asks serious questions about Christianity.'"
Source: Daniel Hari, e-mail hari@alpha-omega.ch

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