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Today’s News Headlines:

* FIGHTING FAILS TO STOP HCJB WORLD RADIO’S MINISTRIES IN C ”TE D’IVOIRE SIGNING OF SUDAN PEACE ACT COULD LEAD TO EVANGELISTIC OPPORTUNITIES PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE IN MOSCOW HELPS SAVE LOCAL BAPTIST CHURCH U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT’S RELIGIOUS LIBERTY REPORT ‘LACKS CLOUT’ BILLY GRAHAM DRAWS RECORD CROWDS AT CRUSADE IN TEXAS NEW HIGH-TECH MINISTRY EMPHASIZES BUILDING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Today’s News Stories:

* FIGHTING FAILS TO STOP HCJB WORLD RADIO’S MINISTRIES IN C ”TE D’IVOIRE Despite ongoing unrest in the West African country of C ´te d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) since a failed coup attempt on Sept. 19, the situation in the main coastal city of Abidjan is “still quite normal,” says Lee Sonius, director of HCJB World Radio’s Sub-Saharan Africa region, who returned to Abidjan with his family about two weeks ago. “All schools are open and businesses are running,” he says. “However, some missionaries have left and are leaving while others are staying. We hope we can stay and have no plans to leave at this point.” Frequence Vie (Frequency Life), a partner radio ministry operated by SIM and partner churches in Abidjan, “is still on the air and doing a great job,” Sonius adds.

The U.S. Department of State has ordered the departure of all U.S. government personnel in non-emergency positions along with family members from Ivory Coast. The Department of State also warns U.S. citizens against travel in the country, especially in the northern cities of Bouake and Korhogo which remain under rebel control. HCJB World Radio missionaries Larry and Linda Burk are back in Abidjan after being evacuated by helicopter from Korhogo where they were helping to install an antenna for another partner station.

In the latest skirmish, French troops fired teargas at demonstrators trying to storm their base in Ivory Coast earlier today in a sign of growing tension since last week’s cease-fire to end a month-long rebel war in the country, reported Reuters. Soldiers from the former colonial power finished deployment between rebel and loyalist lines in an effort to end the fighting that has left hundreds dead, driven tens of thousands from their homes and terrified the fragile region. But in Abidjan, protesters opposed to the cease-fire besieged the French base to demand the handing over of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara who is accused by many government supporters of links with the rebels. The rebellion has heightened tension between Ouattara’s Muslim north (where many of the rebels come from) and tribes from the mostly Christian south. Ouattara has been hiding with the French since the coup attempt on Sept. 19 that blew up into a rebellion in the world’s leading cocoa producing country. He says President Laurent Gbagbo’s security forces tried to kill him. (HCJB World Radio/Reuters)

SIGNING OF SUDAN PEACE ACT COULD LEAD TO EVANGELISTIC OPPORTUNITIES President George W. Bush signed the Sudan Peace Act Monday, Oct. 21, putting pressure on the Sudanese government to seek an end to the country’s civil war. World Vision’s Serge Duss says the legislation could place sanctions on Sudan if the country fails to seek peace. “The first would be to oppose any international financial loans to the government of Sudan. The second would be to downgrade or suspend diplomatic relations. The third would be to deny Sudan access to oil profits. And the fourth would be to seek U.N. security council support to impose an arms embargo.” Duss says this could be the key to more effective evangelistic outreach. “There’s no better way to share the gospel by either by proclamation or deed than when there is peace in a country. So this will be significant in terms of our being able to share the gospel in many different ways.” (Mission Network News)

PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE IN MOSCOW HELPS SAVE LOCAL BAPTIST CHURCH A local court in eastern Russia’s port city of Vanino has ruled against liquidating an independent Baptist church in the city, marking a significant victory for the observation of legal precedent in such cases. Court documents show that the decision was related to the ruling by Russia’s Constitutional Court earlier this year that allowed the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army to remain open. The local department of justice of the eastern Russian region of Khabarovsky Krai had sought liquidation of the Baptist church in Vanino for failing to re-register by the Dec. 31, 2000, deadline as stipulated by Russia’s 1997 law on religion. When the case was finally heard on Aug. 29, however, Judge Tamara Afanasyeva ruled against liquidation. The court’s written ruling, which the Vanino Baptists eventually obtained, confirms parishioner Inna Vaulina’s assumption that the local court had decided in the church’s favor due to the earlier ruling by Russia’s Constitutional Court. The ruling on the Vanino Baptists came into effect on Sept. 9. (Keston News Service)

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT’S RELIGIOUS LIBERTY REPORT ‘LACKS CLOUT’ The State Department’s latest report on international religious liberty is an important accomplishment, but it is a “less effective instrument of U.S. foreign policy than it could be,” says Felice Gaer, chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “Although the annual report demonstrates a great amount of work, in some places it is not complete, muffles legitimate criticism and comes to questionable conclusions.” Gaer offered her observations about the report in a hearing before a House of Representatives subcommittee. “The report did not include a sufficient explanation of policies that the State Department is implementing to advance religious liberty,” she told the subcommittee. The International Religious Freedom Act, which was enacted in 1998, requires the president to take specific actions against governments designated as countries of particular concern. Under the law, he is provided a range of options, from diplomacy to economic sanctions. The president also has the authority to waive any action. (Religion Today)

BILLY GRAHAM DRAWS RECORD CROWDS AT CRUSADE IN TEXAS Despite declining health, 83-year-old evangelist Billy Graham preached a series of powerful messages during his four-day Metroplex Mission at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, Oct. 17-20. This was his 412th crusade in 55 years of ministry. Event organizers observed that his preaching, which got stronger each night, was the “most powerful it had been in the last five years.” Despite congested traffic and torrential rains the first two days, crowds set consecutive stadium attendance record crowds of 82,000 and 83,500 on the weekend with thousands more being turned away each night. About 15,500 people spilled onto an overflow area in the parking lot on Sunday after gates were closed 45 minutes before the program began. More than 11,000 people made commitments to Christ during the crusade. Bruce Hardy, vice president and general manager of Texas Stadium, said the crowd beat the old attendance record set by Christian singer Carmen who drew about 71,000 at a concert in the mid-1990s. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “These were the best behaved young people I’ve ever seen.” Graham brought a message of hope about God’s love and forgiveness. “I came for one reason and that’s to preach the same gospel that I did [when I was here] 31 years ago,” he said. The evangelist, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and underwent a series of brain operations to drain fluid two years ago, reaffirmed that he will decide about future ministry after returning home. “It’s in God’s hands,” Graham said. More than 25,000 volunteers from 1,000 churches representing 37 denominations from throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area worked together to help make the event a success. (Assist News Service/Seattle Post)

NEW HIGH-TECH MINISTRY EMPHASIZES BUILDING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS With its motto, “Any Road, Any Load, Any Time,” Overland Mission is a 3-year-old ministry that some view as revolutionizing mission work. Describing journeys similar to those found in Acts, founder Philip Smethurst says missionaries have witnessed the salvation of whole villages, people being set free from demons and a “outright miracles” during expeditions to Sub-Saharan Africa and South America’s Amazon basin. But unlike the first missionaries, these are equipped with high-tech tools such as global positioning systems, satellite phones, inflatable boats and expedition trucks. The ministry stresses building relationships, discipling converts, working alongside local churches and establishing Bible schools in developing countries. (Charisma News Service)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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