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Today’s Headlines:

CHINESE AUTHORITIES DESTROY LOCAL CHURCH IN WENZHOU CITY NIGERIAN STATE REQUIRES SCHOOLGIRLS TO WEAR ISLAMIC HEADSCARVES BELARUS RELIGION LAW SLOWS RE-REGISTRATION OF CHURCHES MISSIONARY IN JHARKHAND, INDIA, KEEPS WITNESSING DESPITE THREATS 20,000 YOUNG PEOPLE EXPECTED AT NEXT URBANA MISSIONS CONFERENCE * HCJB WORLD RADIO BRINGS AID TO FLOODED JUNGLE VILLAGE IN ECUADOR

Today’s News Stories:

CHINESE AUTHORITIES DESTROY LOCAL CHURCH IN WENZHOU CITY Authorities in Wenzhou City in China’s Zhenjiang province destroyed a local church building the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 10, reported China for Jesus. At about 8 a.m. more than 40 members of the Public Security Bureau and the local Agrarian Bureau began attacking the church, using blowtorches to cut the iron pillars. When a church member tried to stop them, he was dragged along the floor until his shirt was torn and his back was bleeding. Three women from the church who also intervened were arrested and sentenced to five to seven days in prison. After cutting the iron pillars, officials attacked the church’s walls with large hammers, nearly leveling the facility. “The kitchen and prayer room at the back of the building were ruined. The meeting hall, however, was not all down with its roof still hanging up there, ready to cave in at any moment,” stated a website report. Earlier this year, church members were warned that a “major strike was about to commence against them in a bid to eradicate them once and for all.” Inside sources said this was part of a “systematic nationwide plan” that was being hatched to take out the entire house church leadership in China. In another incident, Shen Yiping, one of the leaders from China Gospel Fellowship, was arrested last week as he took the train from Guangzhou (Canton) in southern China back to his home in Henan province. Yiping faces a harsh prison sentence as he has already been jailed many times for the sake of the gospel. He was last released from prison about two years ago. In a third incident, 14 of the 170 house church Christians arrested in Nanyang county Aug. 28 are still being detained in a local police station holding cell, awaiting sentencing from authorities. (Asia Harvest)

NIGERIAN STATE REQUIRES SCHOOLGIRLS TO WEAR ISLAMIC HEADSCARVES The U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) reported on Sept. 1 that Nigeria’s northern state of Kano has made it “compulsory for all girls attending schools run by the state government to wear the hijab Islamic headscarf, whether or not they are Muslim.” The directive does not apply to private schools or schools run by the Nigerian federal government, but it does apply to all girls, regardless of religion, who attend schools run by the state government. However, the Kano state government has closed virtually all Kano’s Christian schools, so believers have little choice but to follow the order. Most Christian schools were closed in Kano because that they do not meet state-mandated standards, including the order that all schools must employ Islamic clerics to indoctrinate the children in Islam.. A Christian Association of Nigeria communiqu © urged governments of the northern states to “respect Christian culture in the interest of peace and harmony.” (Assist News Service)

BELARUS RELIGION LAW SLOWS RE-REGISTRATION OF CHURCHES Ten months after the highly restrictive religion law came into force and the compulsory re-registration process began, only a small proportion of religious organizations have re-registered. Just 27 of 140 churches have re-registered at the national level, while progress is especially slow for those that must re-register with local authorities. “Things aren’t moving at the local level,” said Sergei Khomich, head of the Pentecostal Union. Since the new law criminalizes unregistered religious activity, re-registration is essential to the continuing legal operation of individual religious organizations. All churches re-register November 2004 or risk being shut down by authorities. (Forum 18 News Service)

MISSIONARY IN JHARKHAND, INDIA, KEEPS WITNESSING DESPITE THREATS The 51 believers of a Gospel for Asia (GFA) church in eastern India’s Jharkhand region continue to be under attack. Villagers have threatened GFA pastor Babuser not to visit their homes with the gospel. Despite this opposition, Babuser remains strong in his faith and continues to hold worship services. One of the new Christians is a former village priest who experienced God’s healing touch. Many in the village were angry when they learned about his conversion; the priest and his family are now afraid to attend church. Someone in the village claimed that all the spirits they worship have departed due to Babuser’s presence. Because of this, they want to drive the missionary and his family away. Babuser refuses to leave the village where God has led him to share the gospel, even if it means losing everything or dying for his faith. (Gospel for Asia)

20,000 YOUNG PEOPLE EXPECTED AT NEXT URBANA MISSIONS CONFERENCE InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is expecting more than 20,000 young people to attend the 20th Urbana missions conference in Illinois Dec. 27-31. The theme for the conference, normally held every third year, is “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done.” Urbana 03 Director Jim Tebbe said he is hoping for three outcomes from the event. “The first thing is in the area of radical discipleship and what it means to live radically as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The second thing we hope to see is that students will be committed to sharing their faith to those who are close to them. And then there’s the traditional call that we have for global and cross-cultural missionaries.” Initial interest in the conference is high with more than 10,000 people already registered. “Young people today have a desire to commit themselves to something that’s greater than themselves, and they are looking for the call of God on their lives,” Tebbe says. Most of the participants have registered online at Urbana.org. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO BRINGS AID TO FLOODED JUNGLE VILLAGE IN ECUADOR Staff members from HCJB World Radio’s community development department traveled to Ecuador’s coastal province of Esmeraldas in mid-August, taking food and supplies to about 100 families affected by massive flooding. They live in the village of Anchayacu along the Onzole River, a 1.5-hour boat ride from the town of Borb ³n in northwestern Ecuador.

Heavy rains prompted unprecedented flooding in the jungle area, causing many to lose their homes and possessions even though the simple houses had been built on stilts. One poor disabled woman recounted how she watched helplessly as her cooking pots floated away.

The local village well, previously drilled by the department’s water projects division, was contaminated by floodwaters. Community development staff later traveled to the area to chlorinate the well and distribute mosquito nets to the villagers, many of who were forced to seek shelter in the local school building. Disaster relief teams from the mission also provided food parcels that were gratefully received by members of the community. (HCJB World Radio)

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