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Today’s Headlines:

VIETNAMESE HOUSE CHURCH LEADER ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT THOUSANDS OF INDONESIAN CHRISTIANS MAY FACE HUNGER, GENOCIDE AZERBAIJAN BAPTISTS PROTEST ARREST OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY LEADER RELIEF MINISTRY HELPING CHRISTIANS IN LIBERIA RETURN TO NORMALCY ‘JESUS’ VIDEO MIX-UP IN GERMANY TURNS EMBARRASSMENT INTO BLESSING * HCJB WORLD RADIO BEGINS FIRST BROADCASTS TO UNREACHED GROUP

Today’s News Stories:

VIETNAMESE HOUSE CHURCH LEADER ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Prominent Vietnamese house church leader Nguyen Hong Quang narrowly escaped injury from a motorcycle accident staged by police on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in a clumsy assassination attempt. Following a 24-hour imprisonment on Monday, Dec. 8, he subsequently launched a prayer and fasting vigil for 48 pastors who had been arrested Friday, Dec. 5, for distributing Christian literature at the Southeast Asia Games in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Quang is urging the government to release all of the church leaders. “The government has two choices,” he said. “Either they shoot me so I can meet the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, or they resolve the issue of freeing the churches so they can worship the Lord.” Quang threatened to organize street demonstrations unless the government releases the detainees. In other recent incidents, Le Thi Thanh Tuyen was arrested, bound and beaten in the Ben Nghe police station in Ho Chi Minh City where she was held for 24 hours before being released on Dec. 6. The next day four evangelists were arrested and beaten on Dong Khoi Street in the heart of the tourist area. Evangelist Dang Quoc Tuan, one of the four, was stripped of his clothes and beaten on the street by about 10 policeman before being taken to the Ben Nghe police station. (Assist News Service)

THOUSANDS OF INDONESIAN CHRISTIANS MAY FACE HUNGER, GENOCIDE A leading human rights group appealed Wednesday, Dec. 10, for food supplies and medical aid for thousands of persecuted Christians in Indonesia amid fears they will experience hunger and genocide this Christmas season. The Barnabas Fund reported that “missiles, bombs and bullets often light up the sky, of Poso City and nearby areas on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi,” which has seen a recurrence of anti-Christian violence. While thousands are believed to have fled the region, many villagers are still trapped in their homes following a spate of Islamic attacks on Christian towns and individual Christians in the Poso area. Analysts have linked the violence to growing anti-American sentiments since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. An intercepted Muslim document reportedly urged supporters to “mobilize the masses to destroy the Christians. . . stun them with sudden and simultaneous attacks. . . kill their important leaders.” In the most recent violence, two Christians were gunned down as Islamic militants raided the church service they were attending. The attackers apparently also hit the pastor’s wife who was speaking at the time. She and two others are being treated at Ampana Hospital, church sources say. In addition, 20 “well-armed men descended upon the predominantly Christian village of Kilo Trans, west of Poso.” They reportedly killed the village chief and a close member of his family. Similar attacks and bomb explosions have rocked other villages where dozens of Christians have been killed in recent weeks. (Assist News Service)

AZERBAIJAN BAPTISTS PROTEST ARREST OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY LEADER Baptists in Azerbaijan have protested the arrest of Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, secretary general of the Azerbaijan chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association. In a statement to the government, llya Zenchenko, president of the Union of Evangelical Christians Baptists of Azerbaijan, criticized the arrest of Ibrahimoglu. He has supported the Baptists in their struggle for freedom at the Azeri Baptist Church, the release of Bibles there and the freedom of their pastor to lead the church he started. Zenchenko described Ibrahimoglu as “God’s servant whose voice sounded in the protection of the weak, looking for help and restoration of justice.” While Baptists in Azerbaijan normally avoid politics, Zenchenko said, “It is extremely important now to speak up, not only for Ibrahimoglu, but for all of society. God will judge not only those who are lawless but those who keep silent in the face of it.” (Baptist World Alliance)

RELIEF MINISTRY HELPING CHRISTIANS IN LIBERIA RETURN TO NORMALCY While continued fighting and famine have marred peacekeeping efforts in Liberia, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee spokesman Jacob Kramer says the ministry is helping war survivors return to normalcy. “For us it’s the challenge to work toward the demobilization of these people . . . getting them into a resettlement program . . . getting them out of the refugee camps and back to the villages . . . and seeing that agriculture is restarted.” Kramer explains that the hope of the gospel can be read through people’s actions. “Churches are everywhere in Liberia,” he says. “They’re well aware of God’s saving grace. But they have a problem connecting it to a deed and a value system. Through our presence there, and in our meetings with them, we were able to bring that connection between the gospel and everyday living.” (Mission Network News)

‘JESUS’ VIDEO MIXUP IN GERMANY TURNS EMBARRASSMENT INTO BLESSING After Christians had distributed about 30 “Jesus” videos in the German village of Lampoldshausen (near Stuttgart), the local parish began receiving disturbing telephone calls. Half a dozen recipients found that the video was in fact pornographic. Rev. Frithjof Schwesig said that volunteers swiftly collected all the distributed videos and checked the 270 others still in stock. To their dismay they found that one in three contained a sex film. The parish had ordered the “Jesus” videos from Campus Crusade for Christ in Germany. According to the ministry, a video copy company in Munich had inadvertently mixed up the orders. The outreach program to 300 households in Lampoldshausen was re-launched after volunteers double-checked all the videos. Then what had started as an embarrassment turned into a blessing as the mishap raised public awareness for the evangelistic outreach program. “Another positive side effect was that “some of those who ordered porn got a ‘Jesus’ video,” Schwesig said. Campus Crusade for Christ delivers “Jesus” videos to about 20 to 30 outreach programs in Germany each year. This was the first time such a mix-up occurred. (IDEA)

* HCJB WORLD RADIO BEGINS FIRST BROADCASTS TO UNREACHED GROUP For the first time, the 1 million speakers of a major language spoken in the North Caucasus region of Russia can hear Christian radio broadcasts in their own language. HCJB World Radio began airing weekly programs in the language Monday, Dec. 1, from a shortwave facility outside of the area. The name of the language and other details are omitted for security reasons.

“This is a historic moment for the mission and the answer to many people’s prayers over several years,” said a spokesman from the Euro-Asia region.

HCJB World Radio President Dave Johnson said he was “delighted” to see the introduction of the broadcasts after overcoming many hurdles in the last 10 years.

Those who speak the language live primarily in the North Caucasus (between the Black and Caspian seas) and are among of the world’s least-reached people groups with only a handful of known believers. Their predominant religion is Islam.

“With so few believers and unrest in the area, it was a real challenge to find a native speaker who was willing to produce programs,” Johnson said. “The people who speak this language can only find the answers they’re looking for in Christ.”

The programs are produced with the understanding that the listeners have little or no interest in Christianity and would never listen to an evangelist or enter a church.

“Through radio we can reach more people over a longer period of time, building up their confidence,” said a mission spokesman at HCJB World Radio’s international headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. “We’re not going to see immediate results. But Christian radio is probably the only practical way to reach them with the gospel.”

With this language on the air, Kituba is the only dialect on the HCJB World Radio’s original list of “World by Radio” languages that still needs Christian broadcasts.

Through the World by Radio challenge (formerly called World by 2000), HCJB World Radio has worked with Far East Broadcasting Co., Trans World Radio, SIM, FEBA Radio and others to add Christian broadcasts in more than 110 “megalanguages” — those with at least 1 million speakers. Today less than 70 of the world’s 372 megalanguages still are without Christian broadcasts.

Meanwhile, work is progressing well on Kituba, a language spoken by 4.2 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We have a producer, programming material and a sponsor, but we’re still looking for a local station in the area from which to air the programs,” said a ministry spokesman. “I’m confident that a site will be found within the next year.” (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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