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Today’s Headlines:

VIOLENCE STALLS AID GOING INTO WAR-TORN REGION OF SUDAN KAZAKHSTAN POLICE LAUNCH CRIMINAL CASE AGAIN CHRISTIAN TEACHER NATIVE MISSIONARIES WORK TO BRING AID TO DROUGHT-RAVAGED KENYA MAN LAYS DOWN CACHE OF WEAPONS AT CHURCH ALTAR IN GEORGIA INDIA’S MUSLIMS SHOW SURPRISING OPENNESS TO CHRISTIANITY CONGREGATIONS IN U.S. INCREASINGLY TUNE IN TO ‘VIDEO CAFES’

Today’s News Stories:

VIOLENCE STALLS AID GOING INTO WAR-TORN REGION OF SUDAN Humanitarian aid is being scaled back in western Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region due to growing violence after 20 months of rebellion. Nationwide, civil war in the country in the last two decades has killed 2 million people and devastated southern Sudan. A much-touted peace accord seems to have been forgotten, says Lee DeYoung from Words of Hope. “It seems as if there have been incidents of tensions between people who profess to be Christians. So we pray that trend will not continue and that the peace that might come and bring some stability and development to the infrastructure in southern Sudan might be something that people can celebrate.” Words of Hope continues to broadcast the gospel to the Sudanese and recently relocated a solar studio to be closer to the refugees. Meanwhile, a summit of African leaders has opened in the Libyan capital of Tripoli aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in Darfur, the BBC reported. The leaders of Libya, Chad, Egypt, Nigeria and Sudan are discussing how to end fighting among government forces, militias and rebel groups. Since the Darfur conflict began, more than 70,000 people have died and another 1 million have been forced to abandon their homes. David Nabarro, head of the World Health Organization’s health crisis group, said up to 10,000 people are dying in refugee camps each month. The summit comes ahead of the resumption of peace talks in Nigeria between the Sudanese government and the rebels later this month. (Mission Network News/Assist News Service)

KAZAKHSTAN POLICE LAUNCH CRIMINAL CASE AGAIN CHRISTIAN TEACHER Members of Kazakhstan’s secret police are accusing ballet teacher Vladislav Polskikh from Pavlodar in northeastern Kazakhstan of criminal behavior after openly informing the parents of his pupils that he is a Protestant. The local secret police launched a criminal case against Polskikh on Aug. 19 for “corruption of [children’s] objective interpretation of events and adoption of certain life values” which carries a penalty of either a fine or imprisonment of up to two years. Polskikh said he revealed his Christian beliefs in an attempt to protect himself from charges of proselytism. “My only ‘crime’ is that of not hiding my religious beliefs from the children,” he said. “It is true that I began lessons with the words, ‘With God’s help,’ and said goodbye to the children by saying, ‘God be with you.’ When I found out that some of the parents were unhappy with my professions of belief, I asked them to sign a form by way of insurance, but I achieved precisely the opposite result.” Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, said the form that Polskikh asked his pupils’ parents to fill in was the ostensible reason for bringing the case. The form stated, “I entrust my child . . . to the teacher, V.E. Polskikh. I am aware of the teacher’s religious beliefs, and I do not object to the use of any expressions or images connected with his faith during lessons.” (Forum 18 News Service)

NATIVE MISSIONARIES WORK TO BRING AID TO DROUGHT-RAVAGED KENYA After a poor rainy season, much of Kenya is experiencing a severe drought. More than 2 million people are facing starvation in the country as maize crops and water sources dry up. Indigenous ministries, though suffering from effects of the drought themselves, are working to bring aid to hungry people in the name of Christ. However, they face increasing difficulty as food prices soar and famine spreads. Twenty-six of Kenya’s 74 districts are now drought-ridden. The most acute sufferers are women and children. In the hardest-hit areas, an estimated 35 percent are severely malnourished. Overtaxed public health services provide little relief. Along with malnutrition, drought brings increased risk of disease as rural people crowd around remaining water sources-many of which are contaminated-in unsanitary encampments. Prostitution is on the rise as desperately hungry women try to provide for themselves and their families, causing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Native missionaries in Kenya want to provide food and water for these suffering people, yet many are barely surviving themselves. (Christian Aid Mission)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to install radio ministries in Nairobi (two stations), Mombasa and Tinderet.

MAN LAYS DOWN CACHE OF WEAPONS AT CHURCH ALTAR IN GEORGIA Saying he was led by the Lord to do so, Jerome Harris went to church to lay down his burdens — it just so happens the burden he was carrying was a handful of weapons. The pastor of Mount Hebron Baptist Church in Trinity Gardens, near Mobile, Ala., admits that both he and the congregation were surprised when Harris dropped off his weapons on the altar. Still, Pastor Joe Johnson had the wherewithal to commend Harris and then take care of matters. “I remember asking him, ‘Well, this is a great thing that you want to do, but for the protection of the people . . . let me just check the weapon and make sure there’s not maybe a bullet that’s lodged in the chamber.'” NBC affiliate WPMI in Mobile reported that Harris had more weapons under his shirt that he later surrendered. What was the congregation’s reaction? Harris, 29, was showered with love and was not treated as a criminal, Johnson said. “All he wanted to do was turn his life around.” WPMI reported that the church has invited other members of the community to drop off their weapons — but only if they are serious about making a change in their lives. (Agape Press)

INDIA’S MUSLIMS SHOW SURPRISING OPENNESS TO CHRISTIANITY Mission India’s John DeVries says the growth of the Muslim population in India is now outpacing that of the Hindu population. While the country’s Hindu nationalists could be considered “extremist,” the country’s Muslim population is “fairly moderate,” he says. This has paved the way for a growing outreach. “Ever since 9/11 there have been shockwaves through the Muslim community to such an extent that, in our ministry, we’ve actually formed a department to minister exclusively to Muslims,” DeVries says. Staff members are finding what other mission groups discovered — India’s Muslims are searching for truth and respond quickly when they hear the gospel. “We’re finding a tremendous openness among them, especially literacy for young women. In a couple of cities [more than 2,000] Muslim women are engaged in [our] Bible literacy program.” (Mission Network News)

* “The Voice of the Great Southland,” the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia since January 2003, airs more than 108 hours of weekly Christian programming in 11 languages, including the following languages spoken in India: Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Malayalam, Chattisgarhi, Hmar, Meeitei. Programs in these languages are produced at HCJB World Radio’s studio in New Delhi.

CONGREGATIONS IN U.S. INCREASINGLY TUNE IN TO ‘VIDEO CAFES’ A growing number of churches in the U.S. are “tuning in” to God through “video cafes.” The Washington Post reported that congregations across the country are offering services with TV sermons in which a pastor preaches live in a more traditional service in one room while people in the video cafe see only his talking head on a screen. The success of the technology has allowed churches to start low-cost branches miles from their main sanctuaries without having to find and hire another pastor to do the preaching. Video venues are experiencing explosive growth nationwide. Seacoast Church in Charleston, S.C., records the senior pastor’s sermons Saturday night and delivers the videotapes by bus to eight locations for Sunday services across the city. The video services, launched two years ago, draw a total of 2,000 people — about a third of the congregation. (Religion Today/Charisma 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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