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Today’s Headlines:

Attackers Critically Injure Turkish Christian Distributing Bibles Persecution of Chinese Christians Heightens Need for More Bibles Turkmenistan Proposes Even More Restrictive Religion Law Native Christians in Syria, Turkey Reach Out to Iraqi Refugees Food for the Hungry Founder Dies of Illness at Age 78 * Historic Exhibit in Illinois Highlights HCJB World Radio Co-founder

Today’s News Stories:

ATTACKERS CRITICALLY INJURE TURKISH CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTING BIBLES A Turkish convert to Christianity who was severely beaten for distributing New Testaments last week has slipped into a coma and is in critical condition. Yakup Cindilli, 32, was hospitalized on Thursday, Oct. 23, after a savage attack by three individuals who inflicted heavy blows on his head and face. Both Cindilli and a colleague, Tufan Orhan, were reportedly distributing New Testaments in Orhangazi in northwestern Turkey at the time of the attack. An Oct. 26 article in the national Milliyet newspaper reported that the two men were beaten for “doing missionary propaganda.” Local police have identified and apprehended three suspects in the crime, all jailed by order of the public prosecutor reviewing the case. One of the suspects, Metin Yildiran, is president of the local chapter of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). A right-wing political party accused of “neo-fascist” activities during Turkey’s violent 1970s, the MHP has historically linked its platform with an Islamic-tinged version of nationalism. (Compass)

PERSECUTION OF CHINESE CHRISTIANS HEIGHTENS NEED FOR MORE BIBLES As persecution against underground believers in China continues, World Help wants to assist Christians who don’t believe they can worship freely as a registered congregation. “Everything you hear about oppression in China is true,” says World Help’s Eric Vess. “You can have provinces where Christians operate openly with the knowledge of the government — officials simply ignore them. But in other places in China Christians are being arrested, beaten and even killed, and buildings are being burned down by authorities. This is all happening all at the same time.” World Help is raising funds to provide 1 million Bibles for Chinese believers. He calls this a “drop in the bucket” as China has between 60 and 100 million Christians, and most do not own a Bible. (Mission Network News)

TURKMENISTAN PROPOSES EVEN MORE RESTRICTIVE RELIGION LAW The Central Asian country of Turkmenistan plans to make its harsh state restrictions on religion even tougher. The draft religion law reportedly proposes penalties for breaking the law that will lead to criminal, not administrative, punishments. The new law also requires religious groups to “coordinate” contacts with foreigners with the government, and to gain permission before receiving foreign support such as funding and religious literature. Turkmenistan already has the harshest state controls on religion of any of the former Soviet republics, but Justice Minister Taganmyrat Gochyev says harsher controls are necessary to address security concerns. Places of worship have already been demolished and police routinely break up religious meetings. Believers have been beaten, threatened, fined, sacked from their jobs, imprisoned, had their homes confiscated, been sent to a remote area of the country, and deported from Turkmenistan. (Forum 18 News Service)

NATIVE CHRISTIANS IN SYRIA, TURKEY REACH OUT TO IRAQI REFUGEES In the past few months refugees from Iraq have fled into Syria and Turkey, bringing practically nothing with them, but bearing the emotional scars of war. Many come from Christian family backgrounds. About 40 percent of one group from Baghdad comprised children under the age of 16. All told heart-wrenching accounts of family members they were forced to leave behind. Christian families in Syria have generously opened their homes to these homeless Iraqi families and sometimes as many as five families share a single house. Times were hard for Syrian believers even before they were faced with the enormous task of caring for refugees. Gifts from donors in several indigenous ministries supported by Christian Aid have helped to ease the financial burdens of caring for the influx of needy families. Funds have been sent to ministries as far away as Pakistan where Iraqi refugees have gone after passing through Iran. In addition to providing food, water and blankets, ministries are sometimes offering medical assistance to people suffering from major health problems. “We are sharing a huge burden,” one leader, who is pastor of a small church in Syria, said. “The problem is bigger than what we have, but we believe that the Lord is giving us a unique way to serve Him.” (Missions Insider)

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY FOUNDER DIES OF ILLNESS AT AGE 78 Dr. Larry Ward, founder of the international relief and development agency, Food for the Hungry, died Saturday, Oct. 25. Bedridden recently due to poor health, Ward was 78. He founded Food for the Hungry in 1971 and served until his retirement in 1984. Eleven national organizations, including Food for the Hungry, provide financial support to its international office in Bangkok. Nearly 2,000 field staff work alongside poverty-stricken families to implement its many relief and development programs in 37 countries. Focusing his ministry on the poor, Ward was often first on the scene at natural disasters around the globe. He is remembered as an “extremely compassionate person who showed the love of Christ by helping those in need.” He is survived by his wife, four grown children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. (Mission Network News)

* HISTORIC EXHIBIT IN ILLINOIS HIGHLIGHTS HCJB WORLD RADIO CO-FOUNDER HCJB World Radio co-founder Clarence Jones, along with the urban ministry of Paul Rader and the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle, are highlighted in a new online exhibit at the Billy Graham Center Archives on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.

The exhibit, which became available Saturday, Nov. 1, uses photos, drawings, documents, audio clips and motion pictures to tell part of the important story of evangelism in the early 20th century. The interactive exhibit is called, “Jazz Age Evangelism: Paul Rader and the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle, 1922-1933.”

The Tabernacle was a fixture in Chicago during one of the city’s most turbulent and creative eras. Although its ministry lasted less than a decade, it had a continuing influence on people and institutions, thanks to Rader’s vision for using popular culture and modern technology to present the gospel.

The Tabernacle staff — Clarence Jones among them — was among the first people to use radio for evangelism. Radio Station HCJB first went on the air from a tiny 200-watt transmitter in Quito, Ecuador, on Christmas Day, 1931. The exhibit includes actual sound clips of some of their broadcasts along with photos of Jones and his wife, Katherine, and a letter he wrote to her. “We hope this exhibit recaptures some of the innovation and vigor of Paul Rader and the group he brought together,” said Paul Ericksen, director of the archives.

The webpage also contains a searchable online database of four collections of materials about Jones, says Wayne Weber, reference archivist at the center. “The collections are in the museum located at Wheaton College, but copies of specific items are available to order for a nominal fee,” he said. The collections include hundreds of photos and documents about Jones and HCJB World Radio — along with sound clips. To access the Billy Graham Center webpage, visit http://www.wheaton.edu/BGC/archives. (HCJB World Radio)

CORRECTION: The Wylie Woods Conference Center, a Presbyterian camp in the San Bernadino Mountains that was destroyed by Southern California’s wildfires last week, was incorrectly identified as a Lutheran facility in the daily news update of Thursday, Oct. 30. The conference facilities belong to the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii Presbyterian Church (USA).

FREE WORLD WALL MAP: Full-color, 22-inch by 34-inch world wall map. To order, e-mail your name and mailing address to .

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