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(India)–Violence begins our newscast today in northeastern India where backlash
from an ethnic clash continues. The tensions erupted over a case of mistaken
identity in which 22 Hmar villages burned to the ground and dozens killed.
Bibles For The World’s[1] says they’re trying to help fellow believers. “We,
at Bibles For The World, do not have money like that to give away unless somebody
gives to us. They’ll need to rebuild their houses, and so, we really need some
help along that line. And we also need churches to be rebuilt; many of these
churches burned to the ground.” They say while the fighting can hamper
evangelistic work, there is one other need that is greater. “Many of them
rushed out of their homes without any knowledge of what was happening, so they
left their
Bibles and they need replacements. In fact, when asked what did they miss the
most, they say, ‘Oh, I wish I had my Bible in this critical hour.’ It costs
about 15-dollars to buy a new Bible that is printed in India.”
(Pakistan)–Next, while Pakistan renews its promise to crackdown on terrorists, the region is fraught with Islamic hardliners. Military action in nearby Iraq may have stirred the fervor amongst the groups who have since called ‘jihad’. Evangelist Sammy Tippit[2] decided to follow through with his earlier commitment to teach in Pakistan, despite the highly charged atmosphere. “It was such a blessed time to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Faisalabad, we had hundreds who responded; close to a thousand people in two nights. And then, we had a wonderful meeting in Lahore, on one evening with about four hundred people who made commitments to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And then, the final meetings were held in Karachi where we saw God move and work in a mighty way. Literally hundreds of people prayed to receive Christ.” Please continue to pray for those who are concluding follow up in these areas. By the time the teams return to the United States, they will have recorded sixteen languages for Tippit’s evangelistic messages.
(USA)–A large majority of Americans are generally comfortable with their quality of life at the moment, according to a new survey released by the Barna Research Group. That can lead to increased challenge for evangelistic groups due to complacency. American Missionary Fellowship’s[3] Lee Iseley urges believers to stay alert to the needs in their area. “We have to go into the impoverished areas of our nation, spiritually, and raise the flag of faith and establish ‘beachheads’ for Bible studies.” Iseley says they’re encouraging the average American church to take ownership of evangelizing their community, adding they’re standing alongside to equip and support. “That’s what’s driving us as an organization is that we are moving into a new enterprise called learning communities where we want to go into poor and downtrodden areas of our nation and establish Bible studies with people and raise that flag of faith in our communities.”
(Kenya)–Meanwhile, God is changing lives and sparking an interest among the youth at the Eldama Ravine in Kenya. Workers with Africa Inland Mission[4] are reporting that the youth are taking a new interest in the African Inland Church. They are planning programs aimed at attracting other youth to Christ. The church has also seen several couples express their desire to set their marriages in order by having Christian ceremonies.
(Tanzania)–And, Grace Ministries International[5] team members are encouraged by the news that their high schools in Tanzania, are officially registered with the government. The accreditation is the result of two years of hard work by representative Steve Vinton. GMI continues to pray for those willing to teach and touch lives in their school ministry and are thankful for two more short-term teachers that will be coming in August.
[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=BFTW [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=STM [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=AMF [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=AIM [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=GMI ———————————————————————
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