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Today’s News Headlines:

MISSIONARIES WORKING IN BUDDHIST REGION OF RUSSIA BRANDED AS ‘SPIES’ MUSLIM INFLUENCE GROWS IN ZIMBABWE AMIDST CORRUPTION, FAMINE 150 INDONESIAN PASTORS ATTEND SEMINAR ON ‘PREPARING FOR PERSECUTION’ 3,000 COME TO CHRISTIAN RADIO RALLY IN KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA LARGEST LUTHERAN DENOMINATION IN U.S. TO CUT BUDGET BY $1.2 MILLION INITIATIVE URGES U.S. BELIEVERS TO REACH THEIR NEIGHBORS FOR CHRIST

News Stories:

MISSIONARIES WORKING IN BUDDHIST REGION OF RUSSIA BRANDED AS ‘SPIES’ Foreign missionaries working with Protestant churches in Russia’s Kalmykia Republic have been barred from entering the region after being branded as “Western Spies.” Kalmykia is a traditionally Buddhist region in southeastern Russia. Members of the Lord’s Love Evangelical Church and the Salvation Army have been attacked in the local state press as “spies who frequently operate within various missionary organizations, hiding behind lofty charitable ideals.” Commenting on efforts by the Salvation Army, Christian & Missionary Alliance and Mission Aviation Fellowship to overturn entry bans, the newspaper stated, “This goes to show how greatly intelligence agencies are interested in their presence in Kalmykia.” The article also described the Salvation Army as “one of the most powerful totalitarian sects in the world.” Meanwhile, local officials met with Buddhist and Russian Orthodox leaders in Kalmykia April 1 to discuss “concerns” about the growing influence of religious communities they deem “untraditional.” Officials expressed concerns about “incorrect trends” within Buddhism while Orthodox leaders were worried about the presence of Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists and Pentecostals. Adventists were reportedly “cleared out” of the settlement of Iki-Burul, and Russians in the previously Baptist-dominated town of Yashalta were returning to Orthodoxy. Despite the pressures on believers, local authorities continue to seek the aid of Protestants to help the poor and assist with anti-drug programs. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio has been sending gospel broadcasts across Russia via shortwave since 1941. In the early 1990s the ministry began working to “plant” local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners in a dozen cities. In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch the first Christian Russian radio satellite network (operated by Christian Radio for Russia) which reaches from Eastern Europe to Siberia. Downlinks have been installed with more than 26 partners across Russia, and many more are planned.

MUSLIM INFLUENCE GROWS IN ZIMBABWE AMIDST CORRUPTION, FAMINE While international attention has been on the Middle East, famine and hunger are plaguing much of Africa. Bible Pathway Ministries is focusing on Zimbabwe where the government is accused of corruption in the aid distribution effort, and many countries in the West have stopped shipments. Pastor Alphus says this has caused other problems. “We have Libya coming into Zimbabwe, giving us gasoline and oil in exchange for land. That, of course, comes with strings attached. Mosques and Islamic schools are being erected. The government is shifting its attention now from what was a church environment and focusing on this Islamic inflow.” Local churches are helping with people’s physical and spiritual hunger, distributing food to the poor and handing out copies of God’s Word. (Mission Network News)

150 INDONESIAN PASTORS ATTEND SEMINAR ON ‘PREPARING FOR PERSECUTION’ In the heart of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, and a few miles from a training camp of the Muslim extremist fighting force, Laskar Jihad, Open Doors held its third seminar this year on “Preparing for Persecution” in Madiun, East Java, March 18-20. More than 150 pastors attended the gathering. “The seminar was very beneficial for equipping us pastors to face suffering,” said pastor Nathan Sandjaja. “In Indonesia we feel that more and more pressure will come in the future.” Thirty percent of Sandjaja’s 1,500-member church in Madiun is comprised of Christians from a Muslim background. “Before the seminar, we were a bit afraid, but afterwards we were more bold and more prepared to see God work no matter what may come,” he said. Called “Standing Strong Through the Storm,” the seminar is a ministry of Open Doors. Staff members share the lessons of the persecuted church worldwide, giving a biblical perspective on persecution, practical advice on how to avoid unnecessary persecution and instruction on how to fight persecution when it happens. The material contains examples of how churches grow even in the midst of severe persecution. Nine more seminars are planned throughout Indonesia this year. About 12 percent of Indonesia’s 220 million people are Christian; 85 percent are Muslim. (Open Doors)

3,000 COME TO CHRISTIAN RADIO RALLY IN KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA While anti-Christian sentiment is common in Indonesia, a Christian radio rally in that predominantly Muslim country ran without a hitch. “To our surprise 3,000 people showed up for this rally in Kalimantan,” said Far East Broadcasting Co. President Jim Bowman. “Towards the end of the conference, of course, they gave an invitation . . . for the people to express their interest in becoming Christians, and [organizers] were amazed when 300 people did,” he said, adding that there weren’t enough counselors available to pray with all the new believers! Bowman says there is a message for Muslims on Christian radio. “Muslims do trust and do listen to Christian advice because the gospel — more than most religions and belief systems in the world — has a lot to say about love and healing relationships and this is such a need in the world in every family regardless of culture and regardless of religion.” (Mission Network News)

LARGEST LUTHERAN DENOMINATION IN U.S. TO CUT BUDGET BY $1.2 MILLION The largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. will cut its operations by $1.2 million and eliminate nine staff positions to balance against lower-than-expected income. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced that six full-time employees will lose their jobs, and three vacant positions will be eliminated. In addition, three contracted positions will soon expire. The ELCA’s church council, which acts as a board of directors, approved the cutbacks on April 5. The 2003 budget dropped to $83.6 million after cutbacks totaling $1.7 million. Rev. Charles Miller, the church’s administration executive, blamed the cuts on the “harsh realities of the struggling domestic economy and a projected drop in income.” Church departments have been asked to cut their budgets by $555,000 through travel cutbacks, decreased office expenses and leaving vacant positions unfilled. Some of the cuts will come by eliminating ELCA financial support for the “Protestant Hour” radio program and cutting a church subsidy to The Lutheran magazine. The announcement comes shortly after the Presbyterian Church (USA) reduced its 2004 budget by $3.1 million. (Religion Today)

INITIATIVE URGES U.S. BELIEVERS TO REACH THEIR NEIGHBORS FOR CHRIST Mission America Coalition (MAC) is launching an initiative called “Turn on the Light America,” Monday, April 21, in an effort to encourage believers to pray for their neighbors and lead them to Christ. “There has never been a better time than now to bring the light of salvation through Christ to America’s darkened neighborhoods,” said MAC President Wayne Pederson in a press release. “We want to encourage and train individuals to pray for, care for and share the gospel in their own communities. The initiative will also bring ministries together for the purpose of developing cooperative evangelism efforts on a city, state, regional and even national scale.” The coalition represents more than 210,000 local churches and 350 national ministries. (Mission America Coalition) This e-mail was scanned by RAV Antivirus. (http://www.ravantivirus.com)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 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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