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Today’s Headlines:

MISSION, AID GROUPS REACH OUT TO FORMER ‘CHILD SOLDIERS’ IN UGANDA LEADER CRITICIZES STATEMENT THAT CROSS IS ‘SYMBOL OF OPPRESSION’ MISSIONARIES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO RECEIVE SUPPLIES PROMISE KEEPERS FOUNDER BILL McCARTNEY RESIGNS CONFERENCES GIVE MUCH-NEEDED TRAINING TO PASTORS IN 10/40 WINDOW SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS TO HAND OUT 1 BILLION BIBLE STUDY INVITATIONS

Today’s News Stories

MISSION, AID GROUPS REACH OUT TO FORMER ‘CHILD SOLDIERS’ IN UGANDA Christian missions and aid organizations are reaching out to former “child soldiers” with The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a violent cult-militia that has been terrorizing the predominantly Christian population of the northern Uganda for the past 17 years. The ministries provide care and counseling for escaped and rescued child soldiers and assist with their reintegration back into society. The organizations also run orphanages, schools and clinics, and provide safe havens for children afraid of being abducted. An estimated 20,000 frightened children sleep on the streets of Gulu each night. Uganda is home to more than 800,000 refugees. LRA members are infamous for torturing and maiming their victims — chopping off hands, lips, noses and ears — and crimes including rape, kidnapping and murder. More than 20,000 children have been abducted by the LRA for use as child soldiers and sex slaves in the past 17 years. Eighty-nine percent of all the girls who have been rescued have AIDS. Ugandan Member of Parliament Ben Wacha questions why the Ugandan Army’s “Operation Iron Fist” has failed to bring an end to the terror of the LRA. “How can a few hundred people be more effective than 50,000 soldiers with their tanks and helicopter gun ships equipped with night vision?” he questioned. The Sudanese army is allegedly supplying the LRA with safe haven, intelligence and arms. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio, together with the Evangelical Churches of Kampala and FEBA Radio, broadcasts the gospel locally in Uganda on two FM transmitters. HCJB World Radio also worked with Jesus Focus Ministries to put a 500-watt FM station on the air in Masaka. Programs air in English and Luganda.

LEADER CRITICIZES STATEMENT THAT CROSS IS ‘SYMBOL OF OPPRESSION’ A high-ranking Southern Baptist official is taking issue with a suggestion that Christians do away with the symbol of the cross because some people find it offensive. While an executive of the American Clergy Leadership Conference has called upon Christians to take the crosses off their churches as a gesture of reconciliation because some regard it as a “symbol of oppression and perceived superiority,” mainstream Christian leaders like Dr. Bill Merrill of the Southern Baptist Convention are reacting with dismay. He says it is remarkable that any who call themselves Christians should take offense at the cross. Merrill says the cross is not a symbol of oppression at all, but “a symbol of our deliverance.” The American Clergy Leadership Conference is a spin-off of the Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon. They say peace in the Middle East is blocked by how non-Christians react to the cross. (Agape Press/Religion Today)

MISSIONARIES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO RECEIVE SUPPLIES Officials at Grace Ministries International are praising God for a United Nations helicopter that flew from Bukavu to Kama, Democratic Republic of Congo, recently with more than 1,000 pounds of medicines and supplies. This was the first plane to land in Kama in a nearly a year. Flights have been on hold because of civil war-related violence in the region. The violence has affected missionaries such as Sam Vinton Sr. who has served in the country for more than 70 years. He lost everything when his house was looted. U.N. officials and heads of relief agencies also made the trip to see the more than 10,000 refugees who are occupying the schools and medical facilities in Kama. Outside the town, the situation is still dangerous because of roving bandits. Rebels in the area continue to hold hostage pastor Mukula, vice president of the Grace Churches in Dem. Rep. of Congo. Grace Ministries is opening a Congo Refugee Fund to help some of those who have lost everything, including those who need medical care. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio works with local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to broadcast the gospel on FM stations in Boma, Bukavu and Kinshasa. Programs go out in English, French, Kikongo Fioti, Lingala, Luba and Swahili. Weekly programs in the Songe and Kikongo San Salvador languages also air from local FM stations in the country.

PROMISE KEEPERS FOUNDER BILL McCARTNEY RESIGNS Bill McCartney, president of Promise Keepers (PK), the worldwide men’s ministry that he founded 13 years ago, has announced his resignation effective Oct. 1 to care for his wife and spend more time with his family. McCartney announced his resignation at the board’s quarterly meeting on Monday, Sept. 8. Board Chairman Gen. Alonzo Short will continue serving as interim president, a role he has held since McCartney went on six-month sabbatical in March. McCartney has been on a board-approved leave of absence in order to care for his wife, Lyndi, who is battling a severe respiratory illness. He said his immediate focus should continue to be his family, and eventually to pursue other ministry interests. “The ministry of PK is not finished. It is needed now more than ever,” McCartney said. “I am confident that the Lord will direct and empower the ministry to move forward in strength and support.” The ministry is designed to “ignite and unite men to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ, through the effective communication of seven promises to God, other men, family, church and community.” Since its inception in 1990, more than 5 million men have attended PK conferences. The ministry also includes radio and television programming, Internet, print and multi-media resources, and outreach to local churches. (Assist News Service)

CONFERENCES GIVE MUCH-NEEDED TRAINING TO PASTORS IN 10/40 WINDOW Only 5 to 10 percent of pastoral leaders in developing nations have any formal training for the ministry. Global Advance is trying to increase that number by holding conferences to train and equip nationals to fulfill the great commission. Shibley says the 10/40 Window is still a concern as training is almost non-existent. “We take training to them. Obviously we can’t give them a Bible school education in a single conference, but we can help them in church growth and becoming a missionary sending church.” Even though the conferences can be extremely expensive, spokesman David Shibley says the nearly $30,000 cost is worth it. “We believe it’s still a very cost effective investment because of this multiplication effect. Once you put the vision in a pastoral leader, that is multiplied not only to his congregation but beyond him to those he will train.” The next Frontline Shepherd’s Conference will be held in a restricted country where underground church leaders long for encouragement and vision. As more people come to Christ in these nations, Shibley believes that the world evangelization process will also change. “I believe that we’re going to see some very exciting surprises from the hand of the Lord as to who will really be leading the charge for fulfilling the great commission.” (Mission Network News)

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS TO HAND OUT 1 BILLION BIBLE STUDY INVITATIONS Seventh-day Adventists worldwide plan to distribute an unprecedented 1 billion brochures inviting people to take part in Bible studies in the next 12 to 18 months. Through the “Sow 1 Billion” challenge, people have the opportunity to study in 145 correspondence Bible schools in 130 countries, says coordinator Kurt Johnson. “We have been meeting with the Bible school leaders and directors and talking to them about the need to print Bible lessons, and the need to train church members to work together and be ready for all the requests we receive for Bible lessons,” he says. In the Northern-Asia Pacific region alone, 3,000 volunteers are distributing 58 million brochures this month, says regional coordinator John McGhee. Adventists in this region — including countries such as Mongolia, South Korea and Japan — are encouraged to personally hand out two of the small Bible study invitations each day. (Adventist News Network)

FREE WORLD WALL MAP: Full-color, 22-inch by 34-inch world wall map. To order, e-mail your name and mailing address to or visit http://www.hcjb.org.

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