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Today’s Headlines:

HOMEMADE BOMBS EXPLODE AT 5 MORE CHURCHES IN BAGHDAD MUSLIM MILITANTS IN NIGERIA THREATEN TO KILL CHRISTIAN NURSES ROUNDTABLE NOTES IMPROVED RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN EURO-ASIA LOCAL CHURCH PARTNERS MULTIPLY EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS IN EAST AFRICA 10-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN WEBSITE ATTRACTS 9 MILLIONS HITS EACH MONTH INTERNET BOOSTS OUTREACH TO LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH

Today’s News Stories:

HOMEMADE BOMBS EXPLODE AT 5 MORE CHURCHES IN BAGHDAD Blasts rocked five Christian churches in four Baghdad neighborhoods early Saturday, Oct. 15, as a string of violent incidents marred the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Homemade bombs detonated at the churches in a series of explosions from 4:20 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time, causing damage but no casualties. A CNN crew was at the scene of one of the bombings — the Roman Catholic St. George’s Church — where they saw extensive damage. Soldiers believe 60 pounds of explosives was used in that attack. St. Jacob’s Church, St. Joseph Church, St. Thomas Church and the Church of Rome were also struck. Although most Iraqis in the country of 26 million are Muslims, Christians number about 700,000. Muslims sometimes link Iraqi Christians to the U.S.-led coalition because some work in Iraqi government ministries or for groups set up by coalition authorities.

The head of a ministry that serves persecuted Christians worldwide says the future of Iraq’s churches is being threatened as believers continue leaving the country. Kidnappings, written threats, bombings and murders by Muslim terrorists are driving thousands of Iraqi Christians out of their homeland. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, says while it is understandable that many Iraqi Christians fear for their lives, the exodus is leaving a spiritual void in the country. “Without a strong Christian presence in Iraq . . . [Muslims will try to] move the country basically towards an Islamic theocracy,” Moeller explains. “And that is, of course, something that will create more instability in the Middle East and not true democracy.” While many believers are fleeing Iraq, Moeller says others are choosing to stay and minister to their countrymen. The upcoming elections set for January will be pivotal in determining the future — not only of Iraq as a nation, but also of churches in that country, he says.

So far 110 Christians have been killed in Iraq. In other recent attacks, four churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul were blown up in a coordinated series of car bombings in August, killing 12 people and injuring 61 others. In September another Baghdad church was bombed. There have also been mortar attacks on community centers, shootings of Christian shopkeepers and kidnappings of businessmen for extortion. The violence has prompted about 45,000 of Iraq’s Christians to flee the country. (CNN/Religion Today/Agape Press/WorldWide Religious News)

MUSLIM MILITANTS IN NIGERIA THREATEN TO KILL CHRISTIAN NURSES Muslim militants have threatened to kill Christian nurses serving at the Federal Medical Center in the town of Keffi, in central Nigeria’s Nasarawa state unless they stop conducting Christian worship services. An undated letter received by the hospital’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Nurses (FCN) — also delivered to hospital management — stated, “We are making it abundantly clear that our thirst for your heads/blood is mounting daily if you continue with your worship services in the hospital unabated.” The letter carried no names and was simply endorsed by a group calling itself “Islamic fundamentalists.” The group said that it has a strong presence in the hospital and would do everything possible to deal with all Christian health workers there. The letter reportedly caused panic at the hospital and prompted institutional authorities to ban all Christian worship activities. The letter also contained a summons for the nurses to meet with hospital management. These latest developments have underscored growing tensions between Nigeria’s Muslim hard-liners and Christians who refuse to accept the Islamic penal code. Nigeria’s central government has been struggling to regain control in Muslim-dominated areas. (Compass/BosNewsLife)

* HCJB World Radio, together with partners In Touch Ministries, SIM and the Evangelical Church of West Africa, began airing weekly half-hour programs to Nigeria in the Igbo language in 2000. In 2003 weekly broadcasts were added in two additional languages, Yoruba and Hausa. HCJB World Radio also has helped plant radio ministries in five cities with more in the planning stages.

ROUNDTABLE NOTES IMPROVED RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN EURO-ASIA On Tuesday, Oct. 5, representatives of the U.S. State Department and Congress co-hosted the annual Roundtable on Religious Freedom in Europe and Eurasia. These roundtables bring together faith-based organizations, human rights groups, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, congressional staff, and government officials to review recent developments. Participants highlighted partnerships involving government, non-governmental organizations and multilateral organizations. Panelists discussed problems in Uzbekistan related to religious expression and registration of religious groups, and praised some recent improvements in Turkmenistan while noting that the environment still is challenging for many groups. The situation in both these countries in Central Asia is being “closely monitored.” No countries in Europe-Eurasia are now listed as “countries of particular concern” in the department’s International Religious Freedom Report, and conditions in Western and Central Europe are generally better for religious practice. However, restrictive registration rules in some countries still keep some smaller groups from receiving the same benefits that mainstream faiths enjoy. Most attendees agreed freedom of religion has improved in Russia; however, recent Russian clampdowns on media and certain non-governmental organizations have raised concerns that human rights and freedoms in general are becoming increasingly restricted. (Religious Media Agency)

LOCAL CHURCH PARTNERS MULTIPLY EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS IN EAST AFRICA Team members of an evangelistic ministry called Evangecube are multiplying their efforts by partnering with local churches in East Africa. “It’s really [an intentional effort] by going in and partnering with existing churches to help equip them to evangelize their communities and establish new churches,” Sheets says. “We were recently part of two pastors’ training conferences — one in Nairobi, Kenya, and one in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” One man took a team of 30 men from Nairobi into western Kenya to hold training sessions. “They partnered with 15 churches around that community. Within a week more than 6,940 people came to the Lord through one-on-one [witnessing]! These weren’t just people who came to the Lord and then fell off. In partnering with those 15 churches, they were able to funnel these people into discipleship [programs].” One of Evangecube’s goals is to help East African believers plant 50 new churches, Sheets says. (Mission Network News)

10-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN WEBSITE ATTRACTS 9 MILLIONS HITS EACH MONTH ChristianityToday.com, the online website for Christianity Today International (CTI) that recently marked its 10th anniversary, has become one of the largest Christian sites on the Web with 43 channels, more than 50,000 pages and approximately 9 million page views each month. “Ten years ago we had no idea how revolutionary the Internet would be nor how it would impact CTI’s ministry,” says John LaRue, vice president of research and development. “We now provide fresh daily content that touches millions of Christians at nearly every point in their daily lives.” ChristianityToday.com is built on content from Christianity Today magazine and each of its 10 sister publications, including Today’s Christian Woman, Marriage Partnership and Leadership Journal. Keith Stonehocker, executive vice president of research and development, added, “The Internet has become the largest source of new subscribers for our print magazines, providing more than 100,000 new trial subscribers this year.” Visitors can subscribe to more than 25 free e-mail newsletters that provide news from each channel and keep readers informed of what’s happening throughout the website. The newsletters service more than 800,000 subscribers with 2.5 million newsletters sent out each month. (ChristianityToday.com)

INTERNET BOOSTS OUTREACH TO LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH The Internet is widely acknowledged as the new missions front to be explored. Through it, ministries are able to reach thousands who need resources and tools that they otherwise could not access. OC International’s Tim and Annette Gulick are spearheading an Internet ministry in Mexico. “We are, in short, providing resources and training materials for people that work with youth in Latin America,” Tim says. “This is all through the website, as well as through CD’s that we distribute, through friends and through conferences.” Annette adds that everything on the website is geared to Spanish-speakers throughout the world. “Our big project right now is providing an entire course that can be used by seminaries, Bible schools or individuals.” (Mission Network News)

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