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Today’s Headlines:

THOUSANDS OF IRAQI CHRISTIANS FLEE HOMES AFTER LATEST BOMBINGS SAUDI COURT FORMALIZES CHARGES AGAINST JAILED CHRISTIAN FROM INDIA IRANIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST 80+ EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS IN RAID TURKMENISTAN POLICE INCREASE PRESSURE ON LOCAL CHURCH BELIEVERS IN THAILAND SET STRATEGY TO PLANT 800 CHURCHES BY 2010 40,000+ CHURCHES WORLDWIDE TO PRAY FOR PEACE OF JERUSALEM OCT. 3

Today’s News Stories:

THOUSANDS OF IRAQI CHRISTIANS FLEE HOMES AFTER LATEST BOMBINGS Recent bombings of Iraqi churches and an attack on a seminary has prompted a new exodus of Christians who are seeking sanctuary in Syria, says Todd Nettleton from Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). He says Iraqi Christians believe they are an “unprotected religious minority” as oppression continues. “Many Christians are also choosing to [flee to] Kurdish areas of Iraq in order to have a better chance to be safe from radical Islamic people who are gaining more control and more power and acting out violently against Christians.” Some observers think the violence is more related to anti-Western sentiment, confusing Christianity with U.S. interests. The issue has forced a change in how ministries are conducted in Iraq. VOM’s distribution and support network is made up of nationals in an effort to avoid attracting unwanted attention. “We have not had Americans in Iraq in the last couple of months,” Nettleton said. “We are working with the Christians there. We’re trying to provide aid to them as well as printed Bibles and other Christian literature.” (Mission Network News)

SAUDI COURT FORMALIZES CHARGES AGAINST JAILED CHRISTIAN FROM INDIA Brian O’Connor, a Christian guest worker from India, appeared before an Islamic court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Sept. 15, nearly six months after he was arrested, tortured and jailed for allegedly “spreading Christianity” in the strict Islamic kingdom. O’Connor was informed for the first time of the legal charges against him, including possession of alcohol and pornographic movies and preaching Christianity. It was unclear whether any attempt was made to produce evidence of the charges. O’Connor reportedly acknowledged that he led Bible studies for expatriate Christians in his home which is illegal under Saudi Arabia’s controversial policies. O’Connor, who has been jailed since March, is one of about 6 million foreign workers in the country, most of whom are not Muslim. Middle East Concern (MEC) reported that he “led study sessions for Catholic immigrants from different countries.” AsiaNews, a Catholic news service, joined an international campaign Friday, Sept. 17, in an effort to pressure the Saudi government into freeing O’Connor. (Compass/Assist News Service)

IRANIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST 80+ EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS IN RAID Iranian police invaded the annual general conference of Iran’s Assemblies of God Church Thursday, Sept. 9, arresting at least 80 church leaders who were gathered at the church’s denominational center in Karaj, 20 miles west of Tehran. Each individual was reportedly questioned separately by security officials who had a specific list of questions. By evening, the authorities had released all the arrested Christians except for the 10 pastors among them. The location of these 10 men is unknown, and their families have not been allowed any contact with them. All of the evangelicals who were released were ordered not to attend church services. “This is the biggest crisis for evangelical believers in the country since three Protestant pastors were murdered 10 years ago,” said another source. (Compass)

* HCJB World Radio, in cooperation with FEBA Radio, broadcasts weekly Christian programs to Iran via shortwave in the Luri language. There are less than 100 known believers among the 4 million Luri speakers in Iran and Iraq.

TURKMENISTAN POLICE INCREASE PRESSURE ON LOCAL CHURCH Police have apparently launched another major crackdown on a Baptist congregation in the town of Balkanabad in western Turkmenistan, threatening church members that if they meet for worship again they will be fined. Baptists in Turkmenistan reported that an officer from the criminal investigation department arrived at the home of Nikolai Matsenko on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 20. After questioning him about the church’s activity, the officer warned him that if any further services take place in his flat he will be fined. Later that evening, another police officer arrived at the home, presenting himself as the new local policeman and declaring that he had come to get to know him. At 11 p.m. the following evening, a group of people again knocked on the door. One of them introduced himself as the local policeman (although this was not the same man as the officer who had arrived the previous day). Police officers reportedly visited several other church members in the town, including new converts, at the end of August. One young man was forcibly dragged from his home to the police station. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Back to the Bible to air Christian Turkmen programs. Twice-weekly broadcasts began airing from an undisclosed site outside of Turkmenistan in 2001 and moved to daily programming in 2003.

BELIEVERS IN THAILAND SET STRATEGY TO PLANT 800 CHURCHES BY 2010 Thailand’s first-ever missionary strategy conference earlier this year resulted in commitment to plant a new church in each of the country’s 800 districts by 2010, said Steve Spaulding, Asia coordinator for the Dawn Movement. Participants also set a goal to establish a “Christian presence” in each of the country’s 8,000 sub-districts and a “Christian witness” in each of the 80,000 villages. The national plan unites Thailand’s three different Protestant streams — the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand, the Church of Christ of Thailand and the Baptists Association — under the Thailand Evangelism Commission. The congress, with the motto “Get together, go together, gain together,” also marked the 175th anniversary of Christianity in Thailand. There are more than 4,000 Christian churches in this nation of 63 million people. Cooperative church-planting projects in some provinces have seen encouraging results. (Friday Fax)

40,000+ CHURCHES WORLDWIDE TO PRAY FOR PEACE OF JERUSALEM OCT. 3 More than 40,000 churches worldwide have confirmed that they will take part in the annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem Sunday, Oct. 3, said Rev. Robert Stearns, co-chairman of the event to be held near the Knesset parliament building in Jerusalem, Israel. “Our website (http://www.daytopray.com) has received 1 million hits in the last three weeks alone with new city, state and national coordinators being added daily. We are expecting millions from around the world to be praying on the first Sunday of October, and thousands to be at the prayer gathering in Jerusalem,” said Stearns in a press release. “This is a grassroots movement. . . . We have confirmed participation in 50 nations.” Pat Robertson, a leading evangelical figure, will be the keynote speaker at the gathering in Jerusalem. (Assist News Service)

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