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(China)–SARS, headlines today’s news, as more than 500 people have died as a result of the respiratory disease. That disease has affected missions outreach and adoptions in China. Bethany Christian Services[1] facilitates such adoptions. Bethany’s Dawn Dean. “We did have a slight travel delay imposed by our travel services that we work with in Beijing. That has since been lifted. And, new invitations are now going out to parents, however as you might guess we’re all waiting to see if anything changes in the next few weeks.” While the interest in Chinese adoptions has been steady, Dean says many more Christian families are needed. “We believe in expanding God’s kingdom with the adoption of children into Christian families. So, yes, it is very important to Christian families – some consider this an answer to prayer, others consider it a calling from God to put a child in their home.”

(Haiti)–Elsewhere, voodoo, practiced in Haiti since the late 18th Century, is now recognized as a religion on a par with other faiths in the country. That means voodoo ceremonies have equal standing with Christian ones. Men For Mission’s[2] Gene Bertolet (birt-oh-LAY) says this creates urgency for those involved in ministry. “We’re coming up on 2004 and the current president wants to rededicate Haiti to Satan for another 200 years. At least, he wants to make it the national religion and wants to dedicate it to Satan.” Bertolet explains that because of the mindset in Haiti, Men For Missions approached him to take on the role of ‘offensive prayer coordinator’ in their evangelistic project ‘Operation Saturation’. “The ‘offensive’ referring to taking on some of the forces in Haiti that historically have militated against missions and against missionaries and, of course, against the Gospel. It’s spiritual warfare.”

(International)–A new type of missionary is being recruited to go to the field. President of CB International[3] Hanz Finzel explains. “For years we’ve thought, if you’re really going to be a long term missionary you’ve got to go to Bible college or seminary. But, we’re finding today, in the closed countries it’s actually a liability to have a degree from a Bible college or a seminary. And, in the closed places, which are often the most needy places where the least evangelized are, we’re looking for a whole new generation of Christian professionals who have a skill to offer that can get them in the door.” Finzel says CB International is looking for people that have been successful in industry, small business, education, or the medical field. “Perhaps they want a shift in career later in life. Moving from what we call success to significance. We’re definitely looking for these kinds of people, with marketplace skills, that we can place in restricted access countries.”

(Russia)–Next, with the purchase of a local AM station in St. Petersburg, Russia Far East Broadcasting Company[4] looks forward to reaching into the ‘Northern Capital of Russia’. FEBC officials hope the Christ-centered broadcast will reach some five million people in St. Petersburg and surrounding towns. The emphasis of the ministry will be on evangelism and building a bridge between the community and churches modeled after FEBC Moscow’s outreach. Pray for the staff as they launch this new ministry.

(USA)–And, in America’s inner city, the word to live by is ‘survival’. The challenge is demonstrating the reality of hope in this environment. Here’s Life Inner City[5] works to train believers to sensitivity in their response. Their program, ‘Summer in the City’ has a two-fold approach, involving 10 cities across the United States. First, it gives college students an eight-week exposure to different kinds of urban ministry opportunities in a cross-cultural setting, and, secondly, it also gives existing outreaches added manpower.

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=BCS [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=MFM [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=CBI [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=FEBC [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=HLIC ———————————————————————

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