VOODOOISTS IN BENIN ATTACK NATIVE MISSIONARIES, KIDNAP 2 CHILDREN

MISSIONARY IMPRISONED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA FOR WITNESSING TO MUSLIMS

FIRE ‘SEVERELY DAMAGES’ CHURCH MINISTRIES INSTITUTE IN UKRAINE

‘GOD SQUAD’ HELPS BUILD MORALE OF U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ

COWBOY CHURCH NETWORK BEGINS 11TH CONGREGATION IN 2 YEARS

Today’s News Stories:

VOODOOISTS IN BENIN ATTACK NATIVE MISSIONARIES, KIDNAP 2 CHILDREN The location of two children of a native missionary couple in Benin abducted several days ago from their home by voodooists remains unknown. Some fear that the children may be used as human sacrifices to a voodoo god. They were taken when a local voodoo chief and his followers attacked the family during the night, beating the father and other local Christians and destroying the village church building, the missionaries’ house and several other converts’ homes. The couple have served among the Fon tribe in a remote village for one year, winning 25 people — most from voodoo backgrounds — to the Lord and starting a small fellowship. On the night of the attack, a voodooist district chief arrested the husband and other local converts and demanded that they leave the village or reject Christ. When the Christians refused to do either, they were beaten, stripped and threatened. His wife managed to escape and fled through the jungle until she came across a person on the road who took her to another village. Upon hearing her story, a local Christian rushed 14 miles to the nearest police station. Officers didn’t arrive on the scene of the crime until the husband had been severely beaten and the children kidnapped. He and three other Christians are in critical condition in a local hospital. (Christian Aid Mission)

* HCJB World Radio worked with the Council of Protestant and Evangelical Churches of Benin to help put a Christian station on the air in Cotonou in 1998. The station broadcasts the gospel in French, English and seven tribal languages. Partner ministry SIM also records programs in eight languages at studios in Parakou. Programs air on local stations across Benin.

MISSIONARY IMPRISONED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA FOR WITNESSING TO MUSLIMS Strategic World Impact (SWI), based in Oklahoma, has learned that one of its workers is being held in a prison in Southeast Asia. Steve Dawson, a leader of SWI’s Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART), said in an e-mail report, “I received news that a friend of mine, Rick R., is being held in a Southeast Asia prison for his faith in Christ.” SWI Field Liaison Officer Pat Madden added that Rick, an American missionary, was imprisoned for witnessing to Muslims. Rick is married and has a child. “He was a tremendous help to us during our recent outreach mission to Sumatra in the aftermath of the tsunami,” Madden said. Rick is being interrogated by police and could be sentenced up to five years in prison for this offense. (Assist News Service)

FIRE ‘SEVERELY DAMAGES’ CHURCH MINISTRIES INSTITUTE IN UKRAINE Fire caused “severe damage” to the Church Ministries Institute (CMI) in Odessa, Ukraine, an outreach operated by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE), Saturday, April 30. No one was injured in the blaze. CMI President John Taylor said the fire was reported at about 6 a.m. “Within 10 minutes I had arrived at the institute and called the fire department,” he said. “I tried to enter the building, but the smoke was already too thick. The fire trucks arrived, and three firefighters entered the building with gas masks and a water hose. They eventually left the building just minutes before an explosion (caused by oxygen fueling the hot smoky air) tore through the building. Following the explosion, fire erupted in one corner of the building. Within an hour, firefighters put out the flames, but damage was already extensive.” The fire damaged three of the first-floor offices and destroyed the basement wing containing he Odessa Christian Academy, a school for missionaries’ children. The one-year-old computer network server was spared as was the CMI library containing one of the most complete Russian theological collections in Euro-Asia. ABWE spokesperson Donna Messenger said the fire will only cause a temporary setback to the strategic ministry. “I think that it’s going to tie a lot of people together,” she said. “Tragedy has a way of doing that I think.” The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but it appears to have started in the basement storage area. (Mission Network News/Association of Baptists for World Evangelism)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local churches to establish radio ministries in Kiev and four other cities in Ukraine. Staff members are working with local partners to put Radio Emmanuel, a 500-watt FM station, on the air by June. Stations in three Ukrainian cities are also affiliated with New Life Radio, a Russian satellite radio network started with HCJB World Radio’s help in 2000. In addition, daily programs air to Ukraine via shortwave.

‘GOD SQUAD’ HELPS BUILD MORALE OF U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ A Navy chaplain and his assistant are helping Marines and sailors in Fallujah, Iraq, in the ongoing war against terrorism. Navy Lt. Matthew Weems, flanked by his religious program specialist Petty Officer 2nd Class Aaron Neely, are key weapons in the effort to maintain good morale among the 800 troops in the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, Regimental Combat Team-1. “We’re here to give encouragement to the Marines and sailors, and to provide for the free religious expression of all in the command,” said Weems, a graduate of the Arizona Campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Nicknamed the “God Squad” by the battalion, Weems, 33, and Neely, 21, provide more than weekly religious service. They also perform baptisms; conduct the battalion’s morale, welfare and recreation program; and provide counseling. The two men regularly attach themselves to convoys and patrols through the city to establish a rapport with the troops in addition to the time they spend at the battalion’s bases. Maintaining visibility with the troops within the city allows Weems to empathize with their situation and makes him more approachable. (Religion today/Baptist Press)

COWBOY CHURCH NETWORK BEGINS 11TH CONGREGATION IN 2 YEARS The Carolina Cowboy Church which opens in Midland, N.C., on Thursday, May 5, is one of 11 “cowboy churches” organized by Pastor Jeff Smith and the Cowboy Church Network in less than two years. Smith says he “gets a kick out of sharing the gospel, saddle to saddle.” He has figured out a solution to the problem of not being able to get cowboys to come to traditional Sunday church services. He takes church to them. Smith rented the local bull riding arena and invited every cowboy he could find. In the first year attendance surpassed 100, and more than 80 people made professions of faith. A typical Cowboy Church service opens in an outdoor arena with a horseback presentation of flags and the national anthem. Baptism takes place on a flatbed trailer where new believers are immersed in the horse trough. The preacher, dressed in boots, jeans and a cowboy hat, stands in the dirt, his Bible in hand, and preaches without notes. “When Jesus came to earth he did not come in the robes of the religious leaders,” said Smith. “He came in the garments of the people. Jesus was culturally relevant. His goal was to ‘seek and to save that which was lost.’ [We use] the model Jesus has given, to go to the people with the gospel.” (Assist News Service) * * * * * * * * * * * * * Harold Goerzen HCJB World Radio 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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