Today’s Headlines:

IBS, SEND THE LIGHT DISTRIBUTORS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO MERGE

‘JESUS’ FILM RECORDS 55 LANGUAGES IN 2006, MORE TO COME IN 2007

8 CHINESE LEADERS JAILED FOR PROTESTING CHURCH’S DEMOLITION

ISLAMIC CLERGY IN SAUDI ARABIA CONDEMN THE LETTER ‘X’

Check out this week’s edition of “World Radio,” a program produced by HCJB Global-Australia. Last week’s guest was former nightclub singer Zorina London, telling about her journey to Taiwan and her involvement in the Overseas Radio and Television Ministry (ORTV). This week’s show features ORTV founder Doris Brougham as she discusses some of the highlights of her amazing career, including playing trumpet with HCJB Global cofounder Clarence Jones! She also played at the funeral of Chiang Kai-shek who led the national government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1975. ORTV has had a tremendous impact on Taiwan and produces one of the country’s most popular magazines (teaching English).

To listen visit http://www.hcjb.org/worldwide/australia/world_radio_programme.html.

Today’s Top Stories:

IBS, SEND THE LIGHT DISTRIBUTORS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO MERGE

The International Bible Society (IBS) and Send the Light (STL) announced today (Tuesday) their intentions to merge the two organizations. IBS is one of the world’s largest translators and distributors of Scripture while STL is one of the world’s largest distributors of Christian literature. “The blending of these organizations is a powerful combination,” said STL Chief Executive Officer Keith Danby. “It’s not often that two ministries can come together with the potential to have such far-reaching global impact for the cause of Christ and the Bible.” Following the completion of the merger, Danby will assume the position of global chief executive officer for the blended organization. The merged ministry will be called IBS-STL and have operations in the U.S., U.K., India, Asia, Africa, Latin America and other parts of the world. “We haven’t yet worked out all of the details,” said David Passman, U.S. chief executive officer for STL. “But we do know that STL and IBS can do more together than apart. This is truly a case of one plus one equals three.” (International Bible Society)

‘JESUS’ FILM RECORDS 55 LANGUAGES IN 2006, MORE TO COME IN 2007

The JESUS Film Project’s impact continues to grow each year with view numbers now in the billions, says Chief of Staff Greg Gregoire. “We’ve gone over 970 languages of the ‘JESUS’ film during 2006. We were able to record an additional 55 languages.” In addition, the team did 11 translations of “The Story of Jesus for Children.” Each new language costs about $35,000 to complete. This year the JESUS Film Project hopes to multiply the number of teams showing the film in India and Africa. “Right now we’ve got 2,300 film teams,” Gregoire said. “But we’d like those film teams to become the equippers of lay film teams. In order to do that we need provide more equipment.” Although the “JESUS” film is now the most widely watched, translated and distributed film in the world, there is still much to be done. “We still have another 500 languages to go. Most of those do not have Scripture in their language,” Gregoire added. “So we’re incumbent upon our translator partners to get into those areas and establish relationships and at minimum get Luke translated so we can do the ‘JESUS’ film.” (Mission Network News)

8 CHINESE LEADERS JAILED FOR PROTESTING CHURCH’S DEMOLITION

Eight leaders of a large Chinese Protestant Church received long prison sentences for demonstrating against the demolition of their large church building last July in Xiaoshan, a prospering suburb of Hangzhou. The Chinese court sentenced the Christians on Dec. 22 after a 12-hour marathon trial. Xiaoshan is reportedly home to tens of thousands of Christians, many of whom are traders or farmers wary of state control.

Pastor Shen Zhuke was sentenced to 3.6 years in prison for “the crime of inciting to resist the carrying out of the law by violence.” The others received jail sentences ranging from one to three years.

At least 20 people were injured in the clash between 500 officers and 3,000 protesting church members in what was one of the largest recent confrontations between police and the underground church. The state-controlled media reported that at least 10 government employees were also injured.

In other news from China, at least nine church members from Henan province remain in custody following a police raid on a Christian gathering at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. The police broke in and proclaimed the gathering a cultic and illegal activity. Eleven Christians were interrogated at the Huifeng police station. Two were released the following day, the others are still being held. (BosNewsLife/China Aid Association)

ISLAMIC CLERGY IN SAUDI ARABIA CONDEMN THE LETTER ‘X’

A group of Islamic clergy in Saudi Arabia has condemned the letter “X” because it is similar to the cross, a hated symbol which is banned in that country. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has issued a fatwa (religious edict) against the “X.” The issue arose in response to inquiries about granting Saudi businessman Amru Mohammad Faisal trademark protection for a new service with the English name Explorer. “Experts who examined the English word ‘explorer’ were struck by how suspicious that ‘X’ appeared,” wrote Youssef Ibrahim in an article published by The New York Sun. “In a kingdom where Friday preachers routinely refer to Christians as pigs and infidel crusaders, even a twisted cross ranks as an abomination.” In response to the turndown, Faisal wrote an article that appeared on several Arabian websites, sarcastically suggesting that the authorities might consider banning the “+” sign in mathematics because of its similarity to the cross. (WorldWide Religious News)

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