GOSPEL FOR ASIA TO LAUNCH FIRST CHRISTIAN TV NETWORK IN INDIA

U.S. ANNOUNCES RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS ACCORD WITH VIETNAM

2 HIGH-RANKING SALVATION ARMY OFFICERS DENIED ENTRY INTO RUSSIA

KYRGYZ BELIEVERS OPTIMISTIC NEXT GOVERNMENT WILL BOOST OPENNESS

COMPASSION OF SRI LANKAN CHRISTIANS LEADS TO POSITIVE CHANGE

Today’s News Stories:

GOSPEL FOR ASIA TO LAUNCH FIRST CHRISTIAN TV NETWORK IN INDIA Gospel for Asia (GFA) announced that it will launch the first Christian television network to be based in India. The 24-hour-a-day network will broadcast Christian programming on three separate satellite channels once it becomes fully operational, said GFA President K.P. Yohannan. “We have been praying about these opportunities for so long — to reach the masses in the 10/40 window region,” he said. “No one is currently providing this type of outreach from the subcontinent.” The network will be called AY TV, which stands for Athmik Yathra (spiritual journey). Initial efforts call for the ministry to air 16 hours of programming beginning this fall. The satellite footprint for the new network will be massive, Yohannan said, covering Asia, the Persian Gulf and parts of Africa. “Our goal is to focus 70 percent of the programming on evangelization and 30 percent on discipleship,” he said. “We want to see people reached with the gospel message.” (Assist News Service)

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U.S. ANNOUNCES RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS ACCORD WITH VIETNAM Vietnam has dodged sanctions for religious freedom violations by reaching an accord with the U.S. Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khawill will make a historic visit to Washington, D.C., at the end of next month, and this will be one of the issues on the agenda. Vietnamese authorities also have agreed to look into releasing religious prisoners and allowing closed churches to reopen, said Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors. However, the country introduced a religion law six months ago that “bans any religious activity deemed to threaten national security, or national unity,” he said. “That law was put into effect only six months ago, so what we read and what we see might be two different things.” Dykstra urges believers everywhere to pray. “The new ordinance was used to prohibit unregistered church services in private homes. [Just last week] a private prayer service [in a] house church was disrupted by the police. That’s why we’re very skeptical of what they’re saying right now,” Dykstra said. Last year the U.S. classified Vietnam as a “country of particular concern” for violating religious freedoms. The administration had been urged in March to impose a travel ban on Vietnamese government officials accused of committing religious persecution. (Mission Network News/Associated Press)

2 HIGH-RANKING SALVATION ARMY OFFICERS DENIED ENTRY INTO RUSSIA Two high-ranking British and Danish Salvation Army officers were recently denied invitations to enter Russia “in the interests of state security.” Maj. Robert Garrard and Col. Karl Lydholm had previously worked and traveled extensively in Russia, and the two were planning to attend a congress to celebrate the elevation in status of the Salvation Army’s operations covering Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine from “Command” to “Territory.” This would allow greater independence from the church’s London headquarters. Col. Barry Pobjie, who serves at the Salvation Army’s Moscow headquarters, said denying the two men entry to Russia only hurts the country. “The Russian people are the victims — the Salvation Army and other churches play a vital role alongside the state authorities in tackling the AIDS epidemic here, as well as the trafficking of women and child homelessness. These issues are so great that we would like to think all assistance would be welcomed.” Pobjie described the two men as “very fine Salvation Army officers” and called the accusations against them as “ludicrous — this is directed not against these individuals but the organization as a whole.” (Forum 18 News Service)

KYRGYZ BELIEVERS OPTIMISTIC NEXT GOVERNMENT WILL BOOST OPENNESS A revolution in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan two months ago paved the way for what believers hope will be a unifying election on Sunday, July 10, says Interserve’s Karen Dominguez. Nine presidential candidates are vying for the presidential seat, and Christian workers are watching the elections with great anticipation. “We are actually hoping for a more open government that would be elected,” she said. “The previous government was very open to Christian activity. We are not expecting a change for the negative. We are actually hoping for a change for the better.” Dominguez says that since the ministry launched Camp Adonai in Kyrgyzstan four years ago, it has become a great evangelistic tool, and she hopes the outreach will continue. “Close to 1,800 children go through this camp [ranging in age from] 10 to 18. They study the Bible, and they have games and crafts and sports that are all coordinated with the daily themes. About 50 percent of the campers are non-Christians. It’s exciting because more than half of them become Christians while they’re at camp.” (Mission Network News)

COMPASSION OF SRI LANKAN CHRISTIANS LEADS TO POSITIVE CHANGE A wave of compassion from Sri Lankan Christians, who have faced opposition from the Buddhist majority, is impacting the tsunami-ravaged southern Asia nation. The devastation of the December 26 tsunami has provided opportunities for the body of Christ to help. “After the tsunami, God changed everything,” said Angela Mudalige. She and her husband, Yogesh, pastor of an Assemblies of God church in Ambalangoda in southwestern Sri Lanka. Neighbors who used to eye the couple’s church with suspicion — and even joined in persecuting its members — are now receiving relief supplies from them. Within two weeks after the disaster, five families came to Christ and began to attend the church. Seeing the congregation’s compassion for the town’s suffering, a community Buddhist leader who formerly threatened Yogesh with reprisals if he did not stop preaching the gospel came in tears asking how he could help. The couple’s enthusiasm for ministry is being revived by the changing attitudes in the city. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

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