AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

* MANY STILL UNREACHED IN CHINA

* WORLD BANK SAYS WORLD ONE SHOCK AWAY FROM FOOD CRISIS

* THE CHANGING FACE OF THE CHURCH

* MUSLIMS KILL AT LEAST 100 CHRISTIANS AND BURN OVER 40
CHURCHES IN NIGERIA

* PERSECUTION AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN

* ALGERIAN CHURCHES ORDERED TO CLOSE THEIR BUILDINGS

* 165 KILLED IN SOUTHERN SUDAN

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MANY STILL
UNREACHED IN CHINA
An official survey in China reports that the total number of
Protestant Christians in the country now stands at 23 million. The
 ¢â‚¬ËœBlue Book on China Religions’ published by the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences is the result of over 60,000 questionnaires sent out
to more than 300 counties across China. The survey stated that 73% of
Christians had joined the church since 1993. It reported that one
million people are added to the official church each year. The survey
did not include the vast number of Christians in unregistered house
churches.

Asia Harvest has also been seeking to collect information on the
number of believers in China, inclusive of the vast house church
membership. Their information indicates that the church in China has
multiplied   24 times since 1949 and now consists of at least 103
million believers. They estimate that there are 9.1 million new
Christians each year or 25,000 each day. The province with the
highest proportion of Christian believers is Zhejiang in eastern
China where an estimated 18.5% of the population follow the Lord
Jesus. The largest number of Christians live in Henan province in
central China – 14.6 million or 14.7% of the population.

The area with both the smallest number of Christians and the
lowest proportion is still Tibet where only 9,000 people out of 2.8
million have put their trust in Christ. The majority of these are Han
Chinese rather than Tibetan. Asia Harvest comments: “Despite the
spectacular growth of the Church in China, only 7.6% of people in the
country are Christians. More than 92 out of every 100 people remain
lost and hell-bound, perishing outside of the kingdom of God. House
church leaders   have told us how ashamed and burdened they feel that
so many of their countrymen have yet to know Jesus as Lord.”

Give thanks to the Lord for the spectacular growth of the Church
in China. Pray that it will continue and that many more would come to
know Christ. Lift up the Tibet region to the Lord and the other areas
where the proportion of Christian believers remains very low. Pray
that fellow Christians in other provinces, may experience a growing
heart for the lost and be willing to go to those areas where many
still wait to hear the Gospel. Asia Harvest estimates that 34 million
Chinese Christians still do not have their own copy of the Bible.
Pray that many more Bibles might be made available so that all
Chinese may have the opportunity to read the Word of God.
Source: Intercessors
Network
———————————————–
WORLD BANK SAYS
WORLD ONE SHOCK AWAY FROM FOOD CRISIS
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the global economy is “one
shock away” from a crisis in food supplies and prices. Zoellick
estimated 44 million people have fallen into poverty due to rising
food prices in the past year, and a 10 percent increase in the food
price index would send 10 million more people into poverty. The
United Nations FAO Food Price index jumped 25 percent last year, the
second-steepest increase since at least 1991, and surged to a record
in February. Zoellick was speaking in Washington at the end of the
spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, G20 finance chiefs, who also met in Washington, pledged
financial support to help new governments in the Middle East and
North Africa. Zoellick said such support was vital. “The crisis in
the Middle East and North Africa underscores how we need to put the
conclusions from our latest world development report into practice.
The report highlighted the importance of citizen security, justice
and jobs,” he said.   He also called for the World Bank to act quickly
to support reforms in the region. “Waiting for the situation to
stabilize will mean lost opportunities.”

At the Washington meetings, turmoil in the Middle East, volatile
oil prices and high unemployment were also discussed. IMF chief
Dominique Strauss-Kahn raised particular concerns about high levels
of unemployment among young people. “It’s probably too much to say
that it’s a jobless recovery, but it’s certainly a recovery with not
enough jobs,” he said. “Especially because of youth unemployment…
there is now a risk that this will be turned into a life sentence,
and that there is a possibility of a lost generation,” he
said.

Please pray:

* for the Lord would impart wisdom to financial administrators in
order to produce sound economic solutions.

*   that jobs will be created to aid families in need of financial
help.

* especially for those who have been seeking employment and need
economic assistance.
Source: Intercessors for
America
———————————————–
THE CHANGING FACE
OF THE CHURCH
Most Presbyterians expect that financial hardship will prevent an
increasing number of Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) congregations to
be led by full-time pastors. Instead, hard-pressed churches will rely
more on commissioned lay pastors, supply pastors, informal pastoral
leaders, or no pastoral leaders, instead of by ordained ministers
serving as full-time, installed pastors. According to the November
2010 Presbyterian Panel survey on congregational leadership, most
Presbyterian members and elders have this expectation even though
they believe every congregation should have a full-time, installed
pastor.

Eighty-two percent of members and 72% of elders  ¢â‚¬Å“strongly agree ¢â‚¬ 
or  ¢â‚¬Å“agree ¢â‚¬  that it is important for every congregation to have such
pastoral leadership. However, only 43% of pastors and 36% of
non-pastoral ministers feel the same way. Currently, less than half
of PCUSA congregations have a full-time pastor.  ¢â‚¬Å“Presbyterians in the
pews want every church to have a full-time pastor, but they think
fewer congregations will be able to afford one in the future, ¢â‚¬  said
Perry Chang, administrator of the Presbyterian Panel.  ¢â‚¬Å“Ministers, on
the other hand, are more open to different pastoral leadership
arrangements. ¢â‚¬ 

Almost all members and elders (93%), pastors (98%), and non-parish
ministers (95%)  ¢â‚¬Å“strongly agree ¢â‚¬  or  ¢â‚¬Å“agree ¢â‚¬  that, in the future,
fewer congregations will be able to afford a full time ordained
minister. About two-thirds of members and elders (69%) and 87% of
pastors and 82% of non-parish ministers believe that congregations ¢â‚¬â„¢
inability to pay salary and benefits currently accounts for    ¢â‚¬Å“a great
deal ¢â‚¬  or  ¢â‚¬Å“quite a bit ¢â‚¬  for why some congregations don ¢â‚¬â„¢t have ordained
ministers.   A Majority in each group believe it is good that
congregations have the option of calling as a pastoral leader, a
person who is also employed in work outside of parish
ministry.

More members and elders (35%) than pastors (9%) and non-parish
ministers (7%) believe congregations lack pastors because seminaries
are graduating too few people. More pastors (45%) and non-parish
ministers (41%) than members and elders (29%) believe some
congregations are without pastors because they are located in areas
where the spouse of a potential pastor might have difficulty finding
a job. Every three years the PC(USA) ¢â‚¬â„¢s Research Services assembles
representative samples of Presbyterian church members, elders and
ministers who respond to questions on different topics each quarter
for the year following.
Source: Presbyterian News
Service
———————————————–
MUSLIMS KILL AT
LEAST 100 CHRISTIANS AND BURN OVER 40 CHURCHES IN
NIGERIA
International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that Muslim rioters
killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches
in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as
president of Nigeria. The rioters even destroyed the homes of many
Muslims who supported President Goodluck. The Muslim attackers allege
that the election was rigged and General   Buhari, a Muslim, is the
rightful winner. Yet, impartial observers have called the election
the fairest in decades and reflected the will of the Nigerian
people.” It is difficult to know the full extent of the damage and
casualties could be much higher than announced.

The situation began to calm once security forces were deployed and
enforced a 24 hour curfew. Christian minorities living in northern
Nigeria have faced repeated bouts of violence and discrimination at
the hands of the Muslim majority.   Since the introduction of Sharia
law in northern Nigeria in 2001, tens and thousands of Christians
have been killed. ICC says Christians in northern Nigeria are being
killed and their churches and property destroyed for voting for the
candidate of their choice. They ask why should churches be burned
when it is only and issue of politics?

 ¢â‚¬Å“Why should Christians be killed just because someone won an
election?   Goodluck is not the president just for Christians; he is
the president for every Nigerian. Why should Christians suffer
because he won the election? ¢â‚¬  said one Christian leader.   Jonathan
Racho, ICC ¢â‚¬â„¢s Regional Manager for Africa, said,  ¢â‚¬Å“We are very saddened
by the violence against Christians and their property. Disputes over
elections shouldn ¢â‚¬â„¢t be allowed to lead to religious violence against
Christians. We have repeatedly seen Muslims attack and kill those of
other faiths at the slightest provocation. We urge Nigeria to fully
investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to
justice.”

Source: Intercessors
Network
———————————————–
PERSECUTION AGAINST
CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN
A  Christian teacher in Gujranwala was taken into custody after being
falsely accused of violating the blasphemy law.   Muslims staged a
violent protest, demanding the man be released so they could
publically hang him. Persecution continues in Pakistan as Muslims use
the vague and religiously biased blasphemy law to target Christians
for arrest and murder. The Christian teacher was falsely accused of
burning a Qur’an. While the reason for the false charges of blasphemy
are not yet known, it is possible that Muslims were responding to a
call from al-Qaeda leader, Ayman   al-Zawahiri to wage jihad (holy
war) in Pakistan.

In his book, “The Morning and the Lamp,” al-Zawahiri describes
Pakistan as an “apostate” nation and says Muslims must rise up and
make it totally Islamic.   As might be expected, many Christians are
greatly concerned. Persecution is on the rise and Muslims seem to be
getting more militant. In January 2011,   Punjab Governor Salman
Taseer was assassinated after describing the blasphemy law as a
“black law.” Two months later, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian and
Minister of Minority Affairs, was murdered after attempting to repeal
the blasphemy law.

Please pray for:

 ¢â‚¬ ¢ the Lord to surround Christians in Pakistan with holy angels who
will war on their behalf against satanic schemes. Pray for Him to
keep them safe from every attack of the enemy.

 ¢â‚¬ ¢ Christians to be strong and courageous, remembering they have
not been given the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, love and
a sound mind

 ¢â‚¬ ¢ the plots, ploys and plans of the enemy to be revealed and
soundly defeated. Pray for the spirits of violence, terror and death
to be bound and annihilated. Ask the Lord to release His judgment
against evildoers.
Source: Windows International
Network
———————————————–
ALGERIAN CHURCHES
ORDERED TO CLOSE THEIR BUILDINGS
Mustapha Krim, president of the EPA (Protestant Church of Algeria),
was requested to come to the police station in Bejaia on Sunday May
22nd. At the police station he was informed of the decision of the
governor of the province of Bejaia that;  ¢â‚¬Ëœall buildings designated
for the practice of religious worship  ¢â‚¬“ other than Muslim  ¢â‚¬“ will be
permanently closed down ¢â‚¬â„¢. This notification came as a total surprise.
Krim shared  ¢â‚¬Å“We have to prepare ourselves for this situation ¢â‚¬ . The
 ¢â‚¬ËœMinisterial Directive ¢â‚¬â„¢ speaks about all the churches in Algeria, but
Mustapha Krim is especially concerned about the seven churches and
several house groups in the province of Bejaia.

The statement refers to  ¢â‚¬ËœOrdinance 06-03 ¢â‚¬â„¢, the religious law that
was passed in March 2006, restricting non-Muslim worship. Mustapha
Krim informed Open Doors that he went to Algeria ¢â‚¬â„¢s capital Algiers,
together with other leaders of the EPA, to have a meeting with clerks
of the Minister of Religious affairs on Monday 23rd.   During the
conversation the employees of religious affairs contacted the
Ministry of Interior by phone to get more clarification, but to
Krim ¢â‚¬â„¢s surprise, the clerks of the Ministry of Interior seemed not to
know anything about the statement related to the closing down of
church buildings.

In reaction to this an Open Doors spokesperson said:  ¢â‚¬Å“it is
uncertain what consequences this will have for other churches in the
country. The statement reads  ¢â‚¬Ëœall parts of the country ¢â‚¬â„¢ but I doubt
the governor of Bejaia can speak for other provinces as well. ¢â‚¬  In a
Tuesday May 24th e-mail, Algerian believers ask Christians from all
over the world to pray and fast for this situation; for the church
leaders and the churches. The e-mail further says that despite the
notification,  ¢â‚¬Ëœour brothers and sisters will maintain their times of
worship ¢â‚¬â„¢.
Source: Intercessors
Network
———————————————–
165 KILLED IN
SOUTHERN SUDAN
A recent clash between South Sudan’s army and rebel militias has
resulted in 165 deaths.   The wave of violence sweeping the new nation
is threatening to destabilize it before it can achieve formal
independence next month. Violence has been reported in nine of South
Sudan’s 10 states in 2011, reportedly killing close to 1000 people
and displacing 100,000. Violence has undermined the peace process and
analysts warn the oil-producing south risks becoming a failed state
after independence, which would destabilize the whole region.” Among
the factors involved in the violence are oil and corruption. South
Sudan produces about 75% of Sudan’s oil.

Leaders in South Sudan accuse the government of North Sudan of
backing militias in an effort to stall the independence process.
Rebels, on the other hand, claim the government of South Sudan is
corrupt. “The closer southern Sudan gets to independence, the more
unstable the region appears,” notes one journalist. “Numerous
southern Sudanese rebellions have broken out after the referendum on
independence was approved in January and President Salva Kiir
Mayardit requires much wisdom, discernment, and new strategies to
successfully guide his nation through the process of
independence.”

Please pray for:

* the Lord to arise and do battle for this fledgling nation. Pray
for Him to accomplish His will and purpose for South Sudan.

* the spirits of violence, mayhem and terror to be bound. Pray for
the Holy Spirit to move throughout Sudan, bringing peace and hope to
the people.

* the Christians in this mostly-Christian nation to seek the Lord.
Pray for unity in the Body of Christ and for them to devote
themselves to prayer.
Source: Windows International
Network