POLICE ARREST 9 CHRISTIANS AFTER HINDU MOB ATTACKS CHURCH IN INDIA

KAZAKHSTAN OFFICIALS BEGIN ENFORCING PROPOSED RELIGION LAW

MUSLIM LEADERS IN INDONESIA PUSH FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ISLAMIC LAW

SGA EXPANDS PASTORAL TRAINING, CHURCH PLANTING INITIATIVE IN RUSSIA

NAVAJO NATION IN U.S. EXPERIENCES WAVE OF REVIVAL

Today’s News Stories:

POLICE ARREST 9 CHRISTIANS AFTER HINDU MOB ATTACKS CHURCH IN INDIA About 200 Hindu activists attacked a church in Moti Chowk, a village in central India’s Chattisgarh state Tuesday, June 6, while services were being held. Police then arrested nine church members and charged them with “disturbing the peace.” The nine Christians were kept in prison for two days before being released on bail. Meanwhile, the Hindu activists called for a social boycott against the Christian community in the village, preventing them from using the community well or buying food supplies in local markets. Three days earlier, 13 Christians in Hathod, Chattisgarh, were summoned to a village meeting and asked to renounce their faith. Seven Christians who refused were held in the district jail. Police made it difficult for the Christians to be released on bail, saying that the bail amount must be raised within the village. However, fellow villagers who sympathized with the Christians were afraid to post bail because of the social influence of the village headman and Hindu activists. (Compass)

KAZAKHSTAN OFFICIALS BEGIN ENFORCING PROPOSED RELIGION LAW Authorities in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan have begun enforcing the country’s proposed Freedom of Religion Act even before it goes into effect, says Warren Janzen, general director of Send International. “There are some local officials within Kazakhstan who are already acting on that law as if it has been approved and are enforcing it,” he said. “We have reports of one pastor of an unregistered church being arrested, and one registered church in Almaty which was forced to close because of potential violations of this act.” Janzen added that if the bill passes, “it could limit our ability to do church planting and work in Kazakhstan. We could possibly see some persecution. We could see some restriction for new visas and missionaries going into Kazakhstan. And the people we have in place already may be either dramatically restricted . . . or even forced out of the country.” (Mission Network News)

MUSLIM LEADERS IN INDONESIA PUSH FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ISLAMIC LAW Following the deadly May 28 bombing in Tentena, Indonesia, both Muslim and Christian leaders have expressed concern about corruption and violence in the country. Some Muslim leaders believe the best solution is the nationwide implementation of sharia (Islamic law). Congresses held in Jakarta in 2004 and Sulawesi in March 2005 recommended that sharia principles be introduced through a revision of Indonesia’s criminal law. Meanwhile, provincial councils are including more sharia principles in local bylaws. In some provinces, governors have restricted freedom of worship for Christians. (Compass)

SGA EXPANDS PASTORAL TRAINING, CHURCH PLANTING INITIATIVE IN RUSSIA Joel Griffith of the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) says the ministry is continuing to move forward with the Antioch Initiative. “It’s basically an evangelical strategy that provides for development of a systematic and effective evangelistic movement in Russia,” Griffith explains. “The main priorities are to train pastors, worship leaders — and especially church planters — who can then be supported financially for effective ministry.” Russia has four Antioch locations: Ufa, Orel, Volgodonsk and Ivanovo and has plans to develop five more. Through a Strategic Bible Institute, Bible, music and other ministries have taken place or are in progress in Ryazan, Kirovo-Chepetsk, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Krasnodar. Each city has been assigned to a coalition of partnering evangelical churches in North America. “Once these cities are identified, we help that local church become sort of like a ‘mother church’ to be able to send out people to plant other churches in the region,” Griffith says. (Mission Network News)

NAVAJO NATION IN U.S. EXPERIENCES WAVE OF REVIVAL Ministry leaders are saying that some communities of the Navajo nation are experiencing a move of God that is “comparable to the miracles recorded in the book of Acts.” Ray Saragosa, missions pastor of New Song Fellowship in Denver, Colo., has taken ministry teams to Arizona communities in the Navajo nation seven times. “The only big name involved in this revival is God, and it is sweeping the Navajo nation,” he said. Examples of the miracles that are taking place include entire families coming to Christ, crack houses becoming houses of worship, and even a dry well being filled with healing water. The Navajo Nation is the largest of the 275 reservations and 500 federally recognized tribal governments in the U.S. Daniel “Larry” Furcap, a Navajo native who was raised on a reservation and senior pastor of Whippoorwill Fellowship Church, said a “full explosion of revival” is happening in his area. Furcap has seen the church grow to135 members from just eight since he became pastor in 2000. (Charisma Now) * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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