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(India)–We begin today in India where recent anti-conversion legislation has concerned many. There are fears that legislation could be introduced in other states in India. Gospel for Asia’s[1] K-P Yohannan says legislation in the State of Tamil Nadu didn’t have much of an impact on people turning to Christ. “In our own ministry down there in the last several weeks, (we saw) 2,460 people turn to the Lord and they are ready now for baptism. In the last 15 to 17 months, over 20,000 people came to the Lord in that state and were baptized.” Yohannan says most are Dalits, people who have rejected Hinduism. He says the responsibility of the church is great. “Our job is to go and share the Gospel and live among them, making sure they really know what it means to truly be born again. Unless we’re careful, we surely can end up having a really serious problem.”

(Serbia)–Meanwhile, the evangelical church is Serbia is seeing increasing attacks. According to the Bible League[2] , a church in a village northeast of Belgrade has been the target of attacks by those who view it as a cult. Church officials say the attacks started several years ago, but have grown more frequent. Attacks come in the form of vandalism. No injuries have been reported. The Bible League is helping the evangelical church establish new churches, but lack of training, direction and resources are hampering their efforts.

(Guatemala)–Even as CAM International’s[3] Guatemalan radio ministry celebrates a half century of broadcasting, there are challenges they still face. CAM’s Steve Sywulka says one of the biggest stems from government regulations that forced them to install multiple repeaters. That led to this problem: “There are a large number of illegal stations. We call them ‘pirate’ stations, many of which are ‘evangelical’, and again, it’s this matter of teaching. It gives a black eye to the Gospel. There are actually several hundred of these all over the country; they interfere with us all over the country.” Sywulka says the difficulty has not caused them to lose focus, though. “We broadcast in four Mayan languages, as well as Spanish and some English. We also have two daughter stations that broadcast almost completely in other Mayan languages. So, we’re covering about 12 to 14 Mayan languages. The Mayans make up about half the population, divided into 23 different language groups. Obviously, reaching them in their own languages is very important.”

(Peru)–Elsewhere, Global Missions Fellowship[4] works in Peru with existing churches looking to start new churches. GMF’s Mike Jorgenson says they’re recruiting teams to help with evangelism and discipleship. “Our main focus has been using the Evangecube to do evangelism and then we’re also experimenting with medial mission trips. In fact, we have a medial team in Peru this week and another one next week.” Jorgenson explains their mission mobilizes churches, pastors, and lay people to grow outreach through the international church. He adds that the Evangecube is the ideal tool for their ministries. “It communicates the Gospel with pictures and even with semi-literate and literate people that we might encounter, they’ve been able to understand the Gospel very quickly and God uses it to touch their hearts.” Lima, Peru is considered a strategic point for a church planting movement. Please pray for the teams this week and next week.

(International)–And, Christians around the world are being asked to pray for short term missionaries who are heading to the field. Officials with the JESUS Film Project[5] say hundreds of people from the United States, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, Korea and elsewhere will be traveling on short-term trips and many of them will be showing the Jesus Film. Pray that there will be many opportunities to present the Gospel. Pray too, that God will protect them from opposition and as they travel.

[1] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=GFA [2] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=BLG [3] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=CAM [4] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=GMF [5] http://www.gospelcom.net/mnn/media/group.php?agencyAb=JFP ———————————————————————

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