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Today’s Headlines:

CHURCH BUILDING BURNED FOLLOWING POLICE RAID IN RUSSIA SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN MACEDONIA DENIED REGISTRATION RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS’ PRAYER GROUP IMPACTS OREGON COMMUNITY CHINESE CHURCH EXPERIENCES RAPID GROWTH, GREATER ACCEPTANCE 4,000+ COME TO CHRIST THROUGH LUIS PALAU CAMPAIGN IN FIJI BILLY GRAHAM RECOVERING, PREPARES TO PREACH AT 2 FALL CRUSADES

Today’s News Stories:

CHURCH BUILDING BURNED FOLLOWING POLICE RAID IN RUSSIA On Aug. 21-22 representatives from the International Union of Churches of the Evangelical Christian Baptists were scheduled to hold an annual service in a tent in the town of Lyubuchany, a few miles south of Moscow. Website reports indicate that the meetings had been held in the area for more than 10 years. Since the meetings were of a religious nature, they did not fall under the regulations requiring approval from local authorities. However, on Friday, Aug. 20, the owner of the land, V.L. Chekanov, was called to the police station where he was asked to explain the nature of the meeting. That evening hundreds of police moved in on the site, including officers with machine guns and gas masks. Authorities dismantled the tent and the furnishings, verbally abusing those present and injuring one man who had been taking photographs. Three weeks later, the hostility escalated when the building where the local church was meeting was torched by a group of vandals. The church was meeting in a house on the property of Sergei Kareev who lived nearby. At about 3:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 13, the family heard the sound of breaking glass and found the building on fire and a group of people gathered. When the family shouted at them, the group ran away. A few days earlier some of those responsible for the attack in August had been seen in the woods near the Kareev property. An arson report was filed by police only after the insistence of church members. (Voice of the Martyrs)

SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN MACEDONIA DENIED REGISTRATION The Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia has again submitted a registration application, but this is “unlikely to succeed,” said Cane Mojanovski, head of the government’s committee for relations with religious communities. “Such communities will never get registration.” He said the law allows only one organization for any one faith, and only the Macedonian Orthodox Church can exist in the country. Metropolitan Jovan, who heads the country’s Serbian Church, has been convicted of inciting religious hatred. He complains that the state is “in league” with the rival Macedonian Church. “They do not let us perform services, they harass me with these trials and they do not let foreign Orthodox priests enter or travel through Macedonia.” An interior ministry blacklist reportedly contains the names of more than 20 Serbian Orthodox bishops who are banned from entering Macedonia. (Forum 18 News Service)

* HCJB World Radio’s local partners in Macedonia air a weekly 15-minute television program in the country. Radio programs, originally aired from Ecuador via shortwave in the early 1990s, are temporarily off the air. Local radio broadcasts are expected to resume later this year.

RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS’ PRAYER GROUP IMPACTS OREGON COMMUNITY A prayer group consisting of a dozen elderly Christian Russian immigrants is touching lives in Portland, Ore., interceding for any and all who ask. Employees of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), where Ukrainians and Russians gathered for senior citizens’ services, noticed how fervently the group prayed, The Oregonian reported. Through word of mouth, the prayer group took on a life of its own. The members, who belong to Ukraine Bible Church, Solamita Church and other Russian-speaking churches in Portland, regularly honor outside prayer requests, said Lisa Buffington, IRCO’s senior and specialized services manager. Years ago in Russia and Ukraine, the Pentecostal Christians were fined, ostracized and threatened with prison because they prayed. They gathered secretly in houses or remote rural areas, but still communist police found them. Vasiliy Bosovik, 73, said that as a former pastor he had to keep a low profile back home. But Bosovik and others found refuge in Portland about a decade ago. The prayer group’s leader, Sergey Safonov, 73, learned to say “God bless America” in English so he could say it to every American he met. “This country gave us bread and salt,” said Safonov, referring to a familiar Russian expression. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

CHINESE CHURCH EXPERIENCES RAPID GROWTH, GREATER ACCEPTANCE The church in China is seeing tremendous growth and increased government acceptance, says Erik Burklin of a ministry called China Partner. There are now more than 40 million Christians in China. In many places where the government had torn down homes and churches, authorities are giving permission for people to rebuild. In October a new church building that seats 1,800 will be dedicated in the city of Linchuan in the Jiangxi province. China Partner has been involved in the building project and is excited about this opportunity, Burklin says. While the situation is improving in China, the church still has great needs for training and equipping its leaders. “One of the most needed aspects of the fast-growing Chinese church is for additional pastors to be trained and equipped to do the ministry,” he said. “So many people are accepting Christ all across China. In some provinces it’s stronger than others, but overall the church is exploding.” (Mission Network News)

4,000+ COME TO CHRIST THROUGH LUIS PALAU CAMPAIGN IN FIJI More than 4,000 people made commitments to Christ at the close of the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association’s recent FijiFest 2004 celebration in Suva, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 10-11. An estimated 10 percent of the country’s 850,000 people were touched by the event. In addition to the crusade, ministry teams reached out to the community with various projects. Many were involved in cleaning up neighborhoods, repairing infrastructures and helping out at hospitals, jails, schools and villages. Also under the banner of FijiFest, three medical teams from Window of Hope treated more than 2,400 people, and business and leadership forums were presented by the Sentinel Group and Kingdom Business Forum. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio worked with partner EBM International to establish FM radio stations in two cities of Fiji: Pacific Harbour (1996) and Suva (1999). Both stations broadcast programs in English and Fijian.

BILLY GRAHAM RECOVERING, PREPARES TO PREACH AT 2 FALL CRUSADES Rev. Billy Graham confirmed his plans to preach at consecutive crusades in Kansas City in October and Los Angeles in November following a recent house call by his longtime primary Mayo doctor and local physicians. Doctors reported that the evangelist is progressing well — nearly one month ahead of schedule — and has recovered rapidly in the last few weeks from two serious falls that resulted in surgeries performed earlier this year, a hip replacement and a pelvic fracture repair. “I feel better than I expected to at this point, and I am thankful that God has strengthened me for continued ministry,” Graham said. “I appreciate everyone’s prayers on my behalf, and I look forward once again to bringing a message of God’s love and forgiveness to the people of Kansas City and Los Angeles.” Graham will preach at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City Oct. 7-10 and at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., near Los Angeles Nov. 18-21. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

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