Today’s Headlines:

IRANIAN PASTOR’S DEATH PROMPTS MUSLIM CURIOSITY

BELARUS OUTREACH CONTINUES 20 YEARS AFTER CHERNOBYL DISASTER

POLICE BREAK UP CHURCH MEETING IN TURKMENISTAN

ISRAEL CHURCH WINS BATTLE TO BUILD

Today’s Top Stories:

IRANIAN PASTOR’S DEATH PROMPTS MUSLIM CURIOSITY

Islamic Extremists recently stabbed to death the pastor of a Christian house church in Iran. Pastor Ghorban Tourani died after being invited to attend a meeting of Turkmen religious leaders. He accepted in hopes of sharing Christ with them, but was instead pressured to convert back to Islam. A participant in the meeting later contacted him claiming a desire to learn how to become a Christian and setting up a private meeting. The man failed to show and the pastor was attacked on his way home. Voice of the Martyr’s Todd Nettleton reports many hard-line Muslims in the area are now curious about Christianity as a result of the leader’s death. “We’ve been told that his story has now spread throughout the ethnic Turkmen community in Northern Iran,” Nettleton notes, “and many Turkmen people are asking questions about Christianity. They are asking about Pastor Ghorban and why a man would be willing to die for his faith in Jesus Christ.” (Agape Press)

BELARUS OUTREACH CONTINUES 20 YEARS AFTER CHERNOBYL DISASTER

Twenty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, the country of Belarus continues to suffer. Global Aid Network Chief Executive Officer Duane Zook says “60 percent of the nuclear fallout fell on Belarus. As a result, 21 percent of the population was affected, and 23 percent of the land was contaminated.” For the last 12 years the ministry has sent thousands of volunteers and millions of dollars worth of humanitarian aid to orphanages and hospitals in Belarus. “What we’ve been doing is working real closely with the churches there to help them open up doors and communities to extend the love of God in both word and deed,” he says. As GaiN continues its outreach ministries, Zook says funding is an ongoing need along with medical specialists in cardiology and cancer to work with Belarusian doctors. (Mission Network News)

POLICE BREAK UP CHURCH MEETING IN TURKMENISTAN

Police in Istanbul, Turkmenistan raided a Christian house church meeting on Wednesday, May 3. The group’s Christian materials and personal items were confiscated and the 13 members were detained for two-and-a- half hours while being forced to reenact their meeting on video. The raid occurred just hours after U.S. officials recommended that Turkmenistan be labeled one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. The house church’s unregistered status is technically breaking the law, but registration is extremely difficult and restricted to congregations of over 500 members, by default eliminating most new Christian groups. While being detained, house church members boldly requested the official’s help in registering their church group. (Compass Direct)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Back to the Bible to air Christian programs in the Turkmen language. Broadcasts began in 2001 and have been aired daily since 2003.

ISRAEL CHURCH WINS BATTLE TO BUILD

The Grace and Truth Christian Congregation, a Reformed and Baptist church in Israel, is moving forward with construction of their own church building. This is believed to be the first Israeli Christian congregation to build its own church facility. The approval for the building plan was strongly contested by Orthodox Jews, going all the way to the Supreme Court for final okay. Grace and Truth Elder David Zadok recently returned from a trip to New Zealand and Australia where he visited reformed churches to raise awareness for Israel and seek funds to complete the building project. To protect the property against vandalism by Orthodox Jews, it is guarded 24 hours a day. The cost of legal fees, security, insurance, rising prices, changing demands by the authorities and related expenses has made it impossible to afford the completion of the worship center. (ASSIST News Service)