Lithuanians Flock to Receive Christ | 309 | Report 20

After working 15 years with Campus Crusade for Christ (Agape) in Lithuania, Renata Ramanauskaite was amazed to see 28,000 people come out to hear the Gospel message in the last weekend of October, and then watch hundreds make commitments in three different services, at Franklin Graham’s Vilnius Festival of Hope. “Even for Christians, it’s hard to believe that God can work in this way,” Renata said. She is part of the microscopic percentage of evangelical Christians in Lithuania, a country of 3 million where only one-tenth of one percent (3,000) are believers. But after seeing nearly half that number come to Christ making first-time decisions, she can only imagine what might be ahead. But there was icing on the cake for her: on the final night, as she was counseling a 32-year-old Russian woman to accept Christ, she discovered she had been invited by her sister whom Ramanauskaite had led to the Lord two years ago and was now impacting her family. “God can change hearts. Miracles can happen,” she says.

Source: Charisma News

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 8:4-9

PRAISE: the God of miracles for His salvation. Pray that new converts may be nurtured in God’s Word.

A Challenge to Extreme Mission | 309 | Report 19

The 10th Ibero-American Area Wesleyan Missions Conference and the 2nd Ibero-America Wesleyan Fellowship, took place last October, with representatives from thirteen countries gathering in the heart of Medellin, Colombia, a city of 3.5 million people, to hear the call to Extreme Missions, the theme of the Conference.

JIBACAM, the Ibero-American Wesleyan Mission Board, in corporation with Global Partners and the Atlantic District, has been partnering with Cuba since January 2010 and it was especially moving to hear a superintendent from Cuba share about evangelism and growth of The Wesleyan Church in his country. The closing night of the week-long celebration was marked by colourful cultural presentations and music. Rev. Juan de la Cruz Piñeros, pastor of the Bogota North Church, the second largest Wesleyan church in the world, called on the 400 people present to make an “Extreme Impact” on the world by God´s Grace.

Hearts were awakened. Many people of all ages went forward to commit themselves to God’s calling on their lives. A young lady from Costa Rica plans to give one year of service in China. The conference went on record to explore opening ministry of The Wesleyan Church in Bolivia in 2012, and help revitalise ministry in Venezuela. God moved in a mighty way to bring missional focus to the movement.

Source: Global Partners; Wesleyan Life

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 19:28-30

PRAISE: God that the challenge to mission saw such great response. Pray that the Ibero-American nations may become a mission force to the world.

Evangelicals Booming in Ethiopia | 309 | Report 10

The speed of evangelical Christianity’s growth in Ethiopia is becoming faster than almost anywhere else around the world. In the 1994 census just a little under 10% of the Ethiopian population was evangelical. But only 13 years later, in 2007, almost 19% of Ethiopia was recorded as evangelical in the census. This means, that the proportion of evangelical Christians has almost doubled in Ethiopia in 13 years!

Evangelical churches are being built everywhere, in every town and every village. The churches and their media products have also created a growing and flourishing music and video industry. The two main anti-evangelical resistant populations in Ethiopia have always been the Tigre-Ethiopians and the Somali-Ethiopians, but brave missionaries are now going to them too!

For centuries the dominant religious forces have been Orthodox Christians and Sunni Islam. But, if evangelicals continue their current growth trends, they could be the majority religion in Ethiopia by 2042!

Source: Timma Times, Ethiopia

BIBLE STUDY: Revelation 21:3-5

PRAISE: God that Ethiopia is responding to Christ. Pray that it may be a true and faithful Church.

9/11 Increased New Yorker’s Faith | 308 | Report 31

According to research by the Barna Group, various measures of faith showed increases since 9/11 in New York. Weekly church attendance, for instance, was lowest in 1999 and 2000 (31 percent), but has steadily grown to 46 percent today. Bible reading, grew from some 29 percent to 35 percent. Barna said, “Whatever the combination of causes, the residents of the New York City region are more spiritually active, more likely to be ‘churched,’ and more committed to Christ than they were a decade ago.”

Source: Christian Today Australia

BIBLE STUDY: Judges 4:1-3

PRAISE: God He uses tragedy to bring people to Himself. Pray for a faith in Christ that changes lives.

UK: Hundreds of Youth Find Christ | 308 | Report 29

33,000 delegates attended Soul Survivor and Momentum youth conferences this summer; organisers say more than 1,500 youngsters became Christians. Soul Survivor Director Mike Pilavachi, said, “Once again we have been humbled by how God has met with us and moved among us… One of the highlights has been seeing so many come to faith and hearing their stories. One youth leader told me he’d brought seven staunch atheists to Soul Survivor, four of whom gave their lives to Jesus before the end of the week; in contrast to many of the negative reports about teenagers in our nation, many have told me they want to make a positive difference and serve their communities.”

Source: Prayer Alert; Soul Survivor

BIBLE STUDY: Ezekiel 36:25-28

PRAISE: God and pray that the work He has done in these young lives will strengthen and bear fruit.

Cambodia’s War in the Heavenlies | 308 | Report 19 & 20

Present day Cambodia boasts a growing population of nearly 15 million people. Life for these people in the last 40 years has been an enormous struggle, as they contended with civil war and invasion by Vietnam. However, in the last 10-15 years, Cambodia has been moving forward away from the “killing fields” of the 1970s towards a brighter future. Following the decimation of their culture, infrastructure, social structure, and government, a new reconstruction has begun.

But it will take real spiritual transformation for healthy new bonds of trust to form among the people. As a result of the strife, Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Over one third of the population lives on less than 30 UK pence a day. Part of the problem is that the country’s policies and history of instability do not foster trust among businesses and foreign investment. Only 37 percent of Cambodia’s adult population is functionally literate, families are fractured, and malnutrition is widespread, while drug-addiction and human trafficking are common.

Buddhism is the national religion of Cambodia. The Khmer are not forbidden to convert to other religions; however, at a local level, social pressures are an obstacle to conversion. In some rural settings, villagers blame Christians for bad luck and unfavourable weather conditions. Families often feel rejected when a family member becomes a believer.

The first Evangelical missionaries didn’t arrive until 1923 when two Christian and Missionary Alliance families were able to enter the country. Response to the Gospel was slow, although by 1935 there were Christians ministering in 11 of Cambodia’s 14 provinces. However, new believers were often persecuted. The church has grown significantly in the last 15 years. From a small remnant that survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, it is now estimated by Operation World that there are approximately 471,000 believers, almost three per cent of the population. The church is young and enthusiastic with a natural flare for evangelism. Although written resources are scarce, there is a wealth of indigenous songs and hymns of worship.

Such rapid growth presents challenges in the areas of discipleship and leadership. Many of those who profess faith in Christ seem to fall away at the first sign of difficulty. Most of Cambodia’s cities, towns, and district centres now have a church. But the rural areas where most of the people still live have little Christian witness. There are significant
Christian populations among a few of Cambodia’s tribal people such as the Jarai; but many of the other people groups have few or no believers.

Source: Global Prayer Digest; Operation World; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 2:1-12

Report 19 – PRAISE: God that greater stability has enabled the Church to grow in most of the cities.

Report 20 – PRAY: That the spiritual yoke that has bound the people for centuries will be broken and that the Church may be a beacon of light and hope.

Christian worship Grows in Qatar | 307 | Report 4

Christianity in the Islamic state of Qatar was once an underground religion, but today it thrives, thanks in part to people like the Rev. Bill Schwartz, an Anglican priest, and a former missionary to the Mddle East. In a section of Doha, in an expanding development that has come to be known as Church City, Schwartz is overseeing the construction of an Anglican Centre where more than 10,000 Protestant Christians from 37 denominations already worship, and many more are waiting for building work to be completed.

The land for Church City was provided by the Emir of Qatar. “None of the citizens of Qatar are Christians,” said Schwartz. “Even so, there are hundreds of thousands of (foreign) Christians who have found employment and have made a life here, and our churches are overflowing.”

“What we’re establishing… is what will be the foundation for the relationships of Christians and Muslims in this country for the next 50 or 60 years… We’re seeing God’s blessing and we’re all rejoicing,” said Schwartz, who is one of only two clergymen licensed to conduct Christian weddings.

Source: Episcopal News Service

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 17:32-34

PRAISE: God for the witness of so many foreign Christians in Qatar. Pray that Qatari citizens may hear the Name of Jesus and be saved.

Japan: Church Grows, Amid Relief | 307 | Report 2

It’s been over four months since Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami. The billions of dollars in damage sent the country into a deeper recession as many jobs were lost, and businesses were left crippled by the disaster. But Joe Handley, President of Asian Access, a ministry that supports the local church in Japan, has been in Fukushima, and says of all the relief groups in the region, the greatest response has come from Japanese churches.

“It’s just unbelievable the amount of love Japanese churches have mobilised to reach out and help clean up at this time… Networks are forming… Churches from across denominations are saying ‘God is calling us for such a time as this…’ Previously taboo, the Japanese are now more open to talk about spiritual things, including the Bible. This is truly a new hour spiritually…”

Handley says one congregation in the devastation zone has had many opportunities to share Christ. Handley continues, “They’ve lost their own homes. They have no food. They have no clothing, but, they are having spiritual conversations with people and I have heard countless stories of people coming to Christ through that church and other
churches.”

Source: Joe Handley, MNN; Joel News International

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 2:42-47

PRAISE: God that a nation so hostile to the entry of the Gospel has been softened by the love of God.

Does the Church’s Future Lie in Asia? | 307 | Report 1

“In Singapore I saw the future of Christianity, and it has a definite Chinese flavour,” writes columnist Lee Grady. “In church I saw hundreds of young people (many first-generation converts) on their knees. These kids were dead serious about following God. I preached in seven services… and every meeting was filled with high school and college students as well as young adults… more than half of the church’s leaders were in their 20s or younger.”

In Singapore, the number of evangelical Christians has been steadily rising in recent years. Many new Christians come from Buddhist backgrounds. Grady continues, “What I saw in Singapore filled me with hope for the future of the global church, for three reasons:

1. They are taking world evangelism seriously.
2. They understand the importance of the Holy Spirit’s power.
3. They are investing in the next generation…”

“These young people, many of them bright professionals, are now being trained to take their faith into the marketplace, or on the mission field… I believe it’s obvious we’ve entered a new season in which the Asian church will set the pace… The nations of Asia are positioned to be 21st century Antiochs…”

Source: Lee Grady, adapted by Joel News, Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Revelation 19:6-10

PRAISE: Christ, He is preparing His Bride. Pray that we will be humble and learn from Asia, and that they will stay humble and avoid our mistakes.”

Turks Attitude to Christians Changing | 306 | Report 31

More than a thousand years of bitter wars with “Christian” Europe has made conversion to Christ – for a Turk – almost an act of treachery. However several developments in recent years have helped Turkish assumptions about Christians change. After the 1999 earthquake and the economic hardships of 2001, the small Christian community was able to help in very substantial and practical ways. Also the government gave legal status to a fellowship in Istanbul and another in Izmit, which has given confidence to many small churches. Although only numbering a few thousand, the Turkish Church has now become a visible reality.

Source: People International

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 5:38-48

PRAISE: God that a witness to Christ is being established in this once closed land.

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