Today’s Headlines:

EVANGELISTIC PUSH IN UKRAINE RACING TO BEAT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

15 HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIAN CANDY MAKER IN PRISON

CHRISTIAN LEADERS STRESS ROLE OF CHURCH IN BATTLING AIDS PANDEMIC

CAMEROON BUSINESS DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM HELPS FUND CHURCH WORK

Today’s Top Stories:

EVANGELISTIC PUSH IN UKRAINE RACING TO BEAT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

A major evangelistic effort is under way in Ukraine in an attempt to reach the country for Christ and to plant as many churches as possible before the 2009 presidential elections. The Don Betts Evangelistic Association (DBEA)

began its efforts Aug. 7-13 with a citywide crusade in Zaporizha. Approximately 12,000 people attended with 1,500 making professions of faith. Christian basketball camps, children’s ministries in orphanages and schools, and lay preaching in local churches and streets round out the evangelistic push. DBEA’s plans include three major crusades in 2007 with simultaneous crusades in 500 cities across Ukraine in conjunction with the Ukrainian Baptist Union and other Christian leaders in Kiev. The urgency stems from concerns that Russian Orhodoxy will be named Ukraine’s national religion after the 2009 elections while banning all other Christian evangelical activities. (Don Betts Evangelistic Association)

* HCJB World Radio worked with local churches to establish Radio Emmanuel, a 500-watt FM station, in Kiev in June. Two additional outlets in Kiev and one in Dneperpetrovsk are also affiliated with New Life Radio, a Russian satellite radio network operated by Christian Radio for Russia with HCJB World Radio as the principal partner. In addition, weekly Ukrainian programs air to the country via shortwave.

15 HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIAN CANDY MAKER IN PRISON

A group of about 15 Hindu extremists in southern India’s Karnataka state entered a jail to attack Christian businessman Chetraven Rajan on Friday, Aug. 4, beating him severely. Rajan, a candy maker who had long been involved in Christian and social work among the Dalits, was arrested on charges that he compelled his wife to commit suicide. Albert Lael, organizing secretary of the All India Christian Council, said that Rajan’s wife committed suicide a few months ago after he fired his worker, identified only as Murugeshan, with whom she was supposedly having an affair. Murugeshan then twisted the story, prompting Hindu extremists to accuse Rajan of having his own affair that led to his wife’s suicide. Jail officials initially denied registering Rajan’s complaint against his attackers despite the fact he could identify most of them. He was moved to a different facility and given medical care after Christian groups insisted on his protection. (Compass Direct)

CHRISTIAN LEADERS STRESS ROLE OF CHURCH IN BATTLING AIDS PANDEMIC

Christians are stressing the role of the church in battling the worldwide AIDS pandemic as the 16th annual AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada, this week. Best-selling author/pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, spoke to more than 500 participants attending the Ecumenical and Interfaith Pre-Conference on the weekend. “The solution to eliminating the threat of HIV/AIDS is not education, it is transformation,” Warren said. He believes Christians are “uniquely prepared” to tackle AIDS with “the largest distribution network; the biggest pool of volunteers (representing 2.3 billion people); local credibility, the longest record of caring — more than 2,000 years; moral authority to carry out its mission; and the power of God. I make no apology that the church can lead the way in the name of Jesus Christ.” Other Christian leaders have stressed the church’s role of loving the victims. Bruce Sonnenberg, president of He Intends Victory based in Irvine, Calif., challenged Christians worldwide to “open the doors of your churches and your hearts to people with HIV.”

CAMEROON BUSINESS DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM HELPS FUND CHURCH WORK

While the African nation of Cameroon enjoys relative political and social stability, Global Advance is using the nation as a platform to launch growth initiatives to help the indigenous church become more self-supporting. The formation of the Kingdom Business Network in Douala, Cameroon, and the recent Marketplace Mission conference have as their goal to disciple influential business people to help them see their purpose in the kingdom of God. Global Advance’s David Shibley says Cameroon has a vigorous church-planting program and is sending missionaries from Cameroon to other French-speaking African nations and beyond. Global Advance workers Hal and Martha Rahman added, “This network of Christian businesspeople who have been trained at our marketplace mission conference are now helping to fund that church-planting initiative throughout Cameroon and beyond.” Each group member is now actively discipling other businesspeople throughout the region. (Mission Network News)