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Increasing violence in Nigeria claims thousands of Christians, destroys churches Nigeria (MNN)–We begin today in Nigeria’s Plateau State where a religious feud has brought war to some of the most peaceful areas. Bloody clashes led to the deployment of troops to hotspots where chaos has ruled in the five years since the end of military rule. Open Doors'[1] Dr. Carl Moeller. “A group of approximately ten thousand Muslim extremists have taken it upon themselves to eradicate the Christians from that region of Nigeria. According to some of our friends there, we’ve seen up to fifty-thousand displaced persons, Christians mostly, as the result of the Muslim extremists.” Moeller urges prayer for Christians to find strength to endure persecution and become stronger in their faith in the process. “Christian workers in Northern Nigeria are suffering constant harassment. It’s extremely dangerous to evangelize in this area. Pray for the boldness and courage of the evangelists to do the work in the northern part of the country.” Full Story: http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5875

SIM missionaries survive a night of terror. Nigeria (MNN)–Meanwhile, the SIM[2] team in Nigeria is recovering after a robbery and abduction just one week ago. Armed robbers entered the compound at Kent Academy in Miango near Jos. When they left, they took the safe and abducted one of the SIM missionaries. He was returned without injury after some hours. Please pray for this SIM family and their children, as well as a Nigerian couple who were also traumatized. Pray for wisdom for the SIM leaders and for calm and peace to return. Full Story: http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5874

Peace keeping efforts in Ivory Coast have an impact on Bible teachers. Ivory Coast (MNN)– The first UN peacekeepers are in Ivory Coast, after an anti-government protest sparked deadly violence a little over a week ago. The insurrection further hampered a troubled peace process and has cost the continent dearly. For New Tribes Mission’s[3] Stanton Donmoyer, their biggest loss came when the fighting interrupted their Bible teaching programs. “It has taken two years away from working with the people. Where we do have some churches established with new believers, there’s not been able to be a very active discipling ministry carried on while our folks have been out of the country.” Donmoyer says they were forced to evacuate their teams. However, the peace efforts are good news. “There are moves towards getting the peace established and stability to come back to the region. But, we believe things are stable enough that our folks can return to the country, though there are areas where they will not be able to return.” Full Story: http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5872

Record attendance on Easter Sunday anticipated in Jackson, Mississippi. USA (MNN)–Next, Palm Sunday brought the opportunity for outreach in Mississippi. Riding on the popularity of the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”, Jarvis Ward, of Mission America, put together a test model distribution for the International Bible Society’s[4] Gospel of Luke. “They would be distributed with the Sunday newspaper–by going with the newspaper carriers, getting into a home. So, even though it be 93-thousand homes, we believe that as the book is passed around, you’re talking about double that amount, maybe even triple that amount who would be exposed to God’s Word.” Along with the Scripture portion, there is an invitation to attend a local church service on Easter Sunday. “The response, we hope, would be measured by attendance at church, in terms of visiting a local church over the coming weeks, or even months, for that matter. So then, the actual follow up is done by individual Christians who make up the membership of local congregations.” Full Story: http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5873

Bible League launches new ministry in Miami. USA (MNN)–And, people are hungry for the Gospel in Miami. Hector Lavalle, is Regional Director for the U.S. Hispanic Ministries for the Bible League.[5] He’s working with area pastors and representatives to partner the League with local ministries and reach out to South Florida’s Hispanic community. South Florida is one of the largest Hispanic areas in the United States, second only to Los Angeles. Plans are also in the works to expand in Chicago, New York, and the Texas border area. Full Story: http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5871

[1] http://mnn.gospelcom.net/media/group.php?agencyAb=ODM [2] http://mnn.gospelcom.net/media/group.php?agencyAb=SIM [3] http://mnn.gospelcom.net/media/group.php?agencyAb=NTM [4] http://mnn.gospelcom.net/media/group.php?agencyAb=IBS [5] http://mnn.gospelcom.net/media/group.php?agencyAb=BLG

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