*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy ZDE (klikněte).

Hungary's school year began Monday, Sept. 2, with more students than ever attending church schools. At a ceremony to mark the opening of a new year at Calvinist College in Papa, Hungarian President Ferenc Mádl suggested that the growth of church schools was the most important development since the collapse of communism in Hungary in 1989. "The rapid spread of church schools was one of the most important achievements of the free and independent Hungary in the past 12 years," he said. Government figures indicate Christian schools account for about 6 percent of the country's educational system. Mádl said he "appreciated the sacrifices" of millions of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries who "often were forced to fight with even the post-communist authorities for recognition of Reformed schools." He said that church schools "strengthen the spirit that gives priority to the pursuit of knowledge, faith and morals." Mádl explained that this was the best way for pupils to "learn to appreciate what is good and true" in a country that for decades suffered under an atheistic ideology. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio's partner station in Oradea, Romania, airs three hours of Hungarian programming to Hungary each week. Oradea is home to one of six stations in the Radio Voice of the Gospel, a cooperative effort with the Evangelical Alliance of Romania and the Romanian Missionary Society. HCJB World Radio is also working with local partners to plant a radio ministry in Budapest.

CHINESE CHURCHES FLOURISH DESPITE REPORTS OF CRACKDOWN

Despite reports of a recent crackdown against Christian in China, churches in the country continue to multiply. "Our purpose for this upcoming trip is to learn from the new Chinese Church leadership what their vision is for the church in China within the next 10 to 15 years," says Erik Burklin of China Partner Ministry (CPM). "The Chinese church is in a crossroads right now. In the registered churches, they're really struggling through this whole process of theology and construction." CPM continues to concentrate on training leaders, Burklin adds. "We keep hearing that people are being baptized. . . . Churches are packed full. Therefore, there is a huge need for additional training for church leaders and pastors. The number of people who are coming to know Christ is in the thousands, so we can't keep up with discipling them and really getting them grounded deeply in the Word." (Mission Network News)

ROYAL FAMILY IN BENIN EAGER TO DISTRIBUTE BIBLES

Chiefs, kings and queens in West Africa are taking the Bible to their people. Rochunga Pudaite of Bibles for the World recently addressed a gathering of royalty in the country of Benin. "I was asked to address them on the subject, 'Unity and Peace Among the nations.' At the end of the meeting they all asked me if they could all have copies of the Bible because I had quoted the Bible so frequently. So we got 7,000 Bibles, and before I knew it all of the Bibles were taken!" The conference had representatives from 12 nations. Pudaite says many of the participants made additional requests. "And they're all asking for more Bibles. They asked, 'If we need more Bibles for our area . . . .can we write to you and get extra copies?' I told them that as long as they were willing to distribute them, I would be willing to try to fulfill their request." (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio worked with the Council of Protestant and Evangelical Churches of Benin to help put a Christian station on the air in Cotonou in 1998. The station broadcasts the gospel in French, English and seven tribal languages. Partner ministry SIM also records programs in eight languages at studios in Parakou. Programs air on local stations across Benin.

GERMAN CHURCH ATTENDANCE UP SLIGHTLY AFTER YEARS OF DECLINE

After decades of decline, attendance is again picking up in German mainline Protestant churches. The latest figures released by the church headquarters in Hanover reveal a slight increase in the year 2000. In 1999 just 4 per cent of the 26.6 million church members worshiped on an average Sunday; the following year the ratio edged up to 4.2 percent. In 1995 the figure was 6 percent. Attendance at mainline Protestant churches still lags far behind the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical denominations such as Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals. More than 16 percent of the 26.8 million Catholics in Germany usually attend mass. In evangelical churches the figure can be as high as 80 percent. In total, 6.1 million Germans go to church on Sundays (4.5 million Catholics and 1.6 million Protestants), accounting for 7.4 percent of the total population--still outpacing total attendance at soccer games. (Evangelical News Agency IDEA)

CHRISTIAN TV CHANNEL BEGINS BROADCASTING FROM ISRAEL

Europe's foremost Christian broadcaster, GOD TV, has begun 24-hour-a-day transmissions via satellite from the Holy Land. This follows the move of the ministry's broadcast center to Israel from the U.K. in July. "This is the most significant step we have taken since the inception of the GOD Channel in 1995," said GOD TV cofounder Rory Alec. "The Lord has propelled us toward this moment of destiny. Never before has God released His Word as He is doing right now, and the Holy Land is at the center of it all." GOD TV moved its broadcast facilities to Israel so the ministry could take advantage of new opportunities to use satellite technology that spans the globe. (GOD TV)

'MORAL' MOVIES EARN DOUBLE THOSE WITH 'IMMORAL' CONTENT

An annual study of the box office statistics of the top 250 movies reveals that moviegoers not only are flocking to G and PG-rated movies, but that they also want movies with strong moral messages. The study, sponsored by the Christian Film & Television Commission, analyzed the content and box office averages of more than 500 movies in 2000 and 2001. The study indicates that movies with "very strong moral content" earned an average of $48 million in 2001, more than twice as much as movies with "very strong immoral content or very strong pagan, humanist, socialist or occult content" which earned an average of $23 million in 2001. (Assist News Service)

FREE BOOKLET: Order your own copy of HCJB World Radio's new 20-page booklet, "God Keeps Opening Doors," by e-mailing your name and mailing address to doors@hcjb.org . You'll also receive a free bookmark.

*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy ZDE (klikněte).

Chaldean nun Cecilia Hanna, 70, became the latest Christian martyr in Iraq when she was killed savagely Aug. 15 in what the Chaldean News Agency calls a "disgusting crime. She was knifed down savagely and her head was then severed from the rest of her body by a group of thugs while she was staying in the Chaldean monastery at Palestine Street in Baghdad. She was killed not because this old and kind human being did something wrong, but for being a Christian in a land roaming with Muslim fanatics." Hanna was born in the Chaldean town of Araden in northern Iraq, and began serving with the Order of Heart of Jesus as a young woman. She joined the long list of Chaldean Christian martyrs on the day marking the 98th anniversary of the establishment of the order. The news agency is calling on the Iraqi government to "follow through its investigation with the Arab Muslim suspect who has been arrested and to find his accomplices and to make public the results of that investigation." The agency also urged Iraqi authorities to "take the necessary measures to control the rising tide of Muslim fanaticism in Iraq and to reconsider its policies of appeasement of that movement." (Assist News Service)

JERUSALEM'S BULGING TEMPLE MOUNT COULD BE EXPLOSIVE PROBLEM

A bulge in the wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims, has introduced a new and potentially explosive element into the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, reports The Washington Times. Jerusalem's mayor and Israeli conservationists warn that some of the huge stone blocks lining the southern wall of the Temple Mount are shifting and could crash down on worshipers unless the affected section is dismantled and rebuilt. However, Muslim religious authorities deny that there is any danger of collapse and reject the Israeli warnings as a "politically motivated attempt to establish Israel's authority over the Mount." Although Israel maintains overall sovereignty of the site since reuniting the city under its control in 1967, the Temple Mount is under the effective control of Muslim religious authorities who administer holy sites. If the wall collapsed on Jewish people, the Muslims would "celebrate and say it is Allah's judgment on them," says professor Rafael Israeli, a Muslim expert at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "The real problem would begin when Israel moves in to rebuild it." The Temple Mount is considered Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina. (Religion Today)

ADVENTIST BAKERY IN NORTH KOREA FEEDS 25,000 CHILDREN DAILY

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in North Korea reported last month that its bakery has been completed and is producing enough bread rolls to daily feed 25,000 children living in the region of Pyongyang, the capital. Located in central Pyongyang, ADRA's bakery employs 35 women and produces 50,000 bread rolls daily. These go to 95 orphanages and kindergartens in 10 districts of Pyongyang and Sariwan. "Famine conditions throughout North Korea for several years have caused widespread food shortages," says Byron Scheuneman, senior vice president for ADRA International. "This bakery is the most recent of ADRA's food initiatives in the country which have included shipments of food, seeds and vitamins, and construction of more than 100 solar kitchens." (Adventist News Network)

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT KEY TO SOLVING AFRICA'S AIDS CRISIS

Millions of children are at immediate risk in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique due to a crippling combination of drought, hunger and HIV/AIDS. As the humanitarian crisis unfolds across Sub-Saharan Africa, World Vision is taking a public stand to raise awareness of the plight of the people. "We want to make a statement that Africa's problem with HIV/AIDS is really our problem as well," said World Vision's Brian Peterson from Malawi during the ministry's eight-country AIDS Cycling Relay which began in Mozambique and will end in Durban, South Africa. "They cannot do it on their own. We believe it's a biblical mandate to be engaged in this crisis. It's probably the greatest crisis we will face in our generation." Peterson says the cycling relay also gives a visible platform to the work of the gospel. "It's an incredible opportunity to show the compassion of Christ. One government official got up and said, 'If the church doesn't step forward and be a part of the solution, we're really not going to get the job done.'" (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio is working to battle the AIDS crisis in both Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The ministry's Vozandes Hospital in Quito operates an AIDS clinic, and the education department recently produced a series of TV spots that urge prevention of AIDS through Christian values such as fidelity and abstinence. HCJB World Radio also sends short-term ministry teams to South Africa on a regular basis to help at Hope Community Center, an HIV/AIDS ministry of Fish Hoek Baptist Church in Cape Town.

GOSPEL REACHES VIOLENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN ARGENTINA

Argentina's continuing economic depression is giving rise to violence in some neighborhoods--so much so that some Argentine gospel workers dare visit them only during daylight, and even then they risk their own safety. "It is very common to hear gunshots," said Daniel Hurtado, the leader of Grace Mission based in Buenos Aires province. "It's also common for people to die every day from the violence. Many of the people who gather at our meetings have family members in jail for homicide." Despite the dangers, Christian workers continue to reach people with the gospel such as a woman called Pocha. "My life was a total disaster," she said. "I screamed and fought with my neighbors all day long. I believed in anyone or anything, and always grieved over the fact that my biological parents never loved me. I accepted the Lord in 1983, but stopped going to church a few months later. In 1999 I began to attend home meetings of a friend who is a member of Grace Mission. Now I know I have a loving Father in heaven who loves me and fills the void that was in my heart. Many believers make me feel accepted. They pray for me when I have problems or experience spiritual testing." The ministry also used to reach a wide area via radio until its transmitter broke down. (Christian Aid Mission)

* The ALAS Latin American satellite radio network, operated jointly by HCJB World Radio and Trans World Radio, reaches 17 countries with Christian Spanish programming on more than 107 transmitters. These include radio outlets in three cities of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Jujuy.

NOAH'S ARK TO BE RECREATED FOR DISPLAY IN BULGARIA

A recreation of Noah's Ark will be built in Bulgaria as a tourist attraction. "Troy has its Trojan horse, Romania has Dracula, we will have our Noah's Ark," said historian and project leader Nikolai Kanchev. He told reporters that the 368-foot-long wooden vessel will be built in the Black Sea coastal resort of Slanchev Bryag. The display, to be opened in 2003, will also feature actors playing the role of Noah and his family. "Of course, there will be pairs of different animal species chosen by Noah," Kanchev added. The Black Sea is thought by some historians to have been where the Great Flood described in the Bible took place about 7,600 years ago. The BBC quoted explorer Robert Ballard, who discovered the remains of the sunken Titanic, as saying during an expedition to the Black Sea that his team was "looking for evidence of settlements where people had been living before the flood." He added that "flooding occurred all over the world 7,600 years ago, but this was the flood of floods." Other experts believe that Noah's Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat in Turkey, the highest mountain in the region. The project is part of an effort to boost the tourist industry in a country continuing to recover from decades of communism. (Assist News Service)

FREE BOOKLET: Order your own copy of HCJB World Radio's new 20-page booklet, "God Keeps Opening Doors," by e-mailing your name and mailing address to doors@hcjb.org . You'll also receive a free bookmark.

*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy ZDE (klikněte).

*Ve spolupráci s rádio FEBA vysílá HCJB World Radio jednou týdně na krátkých vlnách své programy do východní Indie, a to ve dvou místních nářečích: Chattisgarhi and Mundari. Kromě toho vysílá HCJB pro Indii denně na krátkých vlnách devadesátiminutové programy v angličtině z ecuadorského Quita. HCJB také zkoumá možnost rozmístit křesťanské vysílače přímo v velkých indických městech.

A fire destroyed the main studio at SAT-7's new media center in Cairo, Egypt, just 71/2 months after the facility was opened. The blaze in the new regional television production studio took place early Wednesday, Sept. 4, and the cause is still being investigated. No injuries were reported. "At 2 a.m. security guards found smoke coming out through the air conditioning system, and the fire department was called in," said Terry Ascott, SAT-7's international chief executive officer, from his office in Nicosia, Cyprus. "They used a lot of water to put out the blaze, destroying everything inside the studio, including the new lighting grid, some monitors and sets. But no cameras were lost as they were in a separate storage area overnight." J.B. Kump, regional director of SAT-7 North America, explained that while the facility was insured, there will be uncompensated losses. "Full damage is not known, but the damage to equipment alone has been initially estimated at than $400,000," he said. "Additionally, there is extensive water and smoke damage to the facility and equipment." SAT-7 is an Arabic-language, satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa. The ministry is works with more than 30 partner organizations and local churches in countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Kuwait. (Assist News Service)

CANADA ACCEPTS IRANIAN FAMILY'S APPLICATION FOR ASYLUM

Canadian immigration officials have accepted an Iranian family's application for asylum that they have been seeking since fleeing to Turkey three years ago. The application from Mahmoud Erfani and his family was accepted Aug. 29 just four months after their initial application was rejected. The Erfanis left for Turkey in 1999 to escape persecution that they have faced since converting from Islam to Christianity 21 years ago. Since arriving in Turkey, they have sought refugee status with the United Nations. In June 2001 a church in Toronto pledged full support for the family if they would be accepted in Canada. However, they faced rejection by both Canada and the U.N., saying there was "no evidence" of religious persecution. In April 2002 the family's application for asylum in Canada was rejected. Following that decision, they compiled evidence of persecution of relatives still in Iran as well as harassment by an Iranian since they fled to Turkey. Canadian immigration officials said they would formally grant the family permanent residency in Canada pending complete mandatory medical examinations. "We are so grateful!" Erfani said, while expressing concern about the health of his wife, Atefeh, who is in a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis. (Voice of the Martyrs)

TAJIKISTAN AUTHORITIES STOP CHURCHES FROM MEETING IN HOMES

The pastor of an evangelical church in Chkalovsk on the outskirts of the city of Khojand in northern Tajikistan said that the town officials are preventing church members from meeting in her home. "When our religious community was registered a year ago, the authorities imposed the condition that we should rent a building from them to use as a church," pastor Asya Shumarkova said. "At present, the building we are renting is not very suitable. Therefore, we've held some of the services in my own private home. However, the local officials decided that the meetings in my private home are against the law." The Korean Protestant Philadelphia Church in Chkalovsk is facing similar problems, said Mariana Tsoi, assistant to the church's pastor. "The authorities registered us on condition that we rented a certain building from them for use as a church." Although Tajikistan's religion law permits meetings in private homes, it has been superseded by a government decree, which, according to Chalovsk's chief public prosecutor, has not been enforced until recently. Local observers say the tightened controls are aimed primarily at the country's Muslim organizations but have rebounded on Christians as well. (Keston News Service)

* HCJB World Radio is bringing words of hope and encouragement to people across Central Asia via radio. Together with partners, Christian broadcasts go out in Dari, Hazaragi, Pashto, Turkmen, Tajik, Southern Uzbek and Uzbek. These include all five major languages spoken in Afghanistan.

OPPONENTS OF LOCAL CHURCH IN INDIA DESTROY BUILDING MATERIALS

A missionary working with an indigenous church planting ministry in India reports that materials he had painstakingly gathered for the construction of a new church building were destroyed by enemies of the gospel. Poor believers in the local congregation in Maharashtra state had sacrificially given 15,000 rupees (US$300) to purchase roofing materials for their new structure. With those funds, the missionary bought 50 corrugated metal sheets and framing timbers to put up the superstructure for their new church building and laid them on the site for start of construction. That night opponents to the gospel came and burned everything that could be burned, rendering the metal sheets scorched and warped. It would have been the first church structure in that place. The missionary and local believers now live in fear. (Christian Aid Mission)

* In partnership with FEBA Radio, HCJB World Radio airs weekly Christian programs to eastern India via shortwave in two languages: Chattisgarhi and Mundari. HCJB World Radio also broadcasts 11/2 hours of English programming daily to India via shortwave from South America. The ministry is investigating potential opportunities to help launch local Christian stations in key cities across India.

BAPTIST WORLD AID ASSISTS IN KOREAN FLOOD RELIEF

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, is helping with relief efforts following typhoon Rusa which hit the Korean peninsula on the weekend of Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The most powerful storm to hit the area in 43 years left at least 150 dead in South Korea and scores of people missing or dead in North Korea. Heavy damage was also reported. The aid agency has launched a special appeal to assist Korean Baptists and other partners in North Korea as they seek to bring relief to those in need. (Baptist World Aid)

SPIRITUAL IMPACT OF 9/11 ATTACKS WANING IN U.S.

The spiritual well being of the U.S. is being questioned with the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks less than a week away. Barna Research indicates that nine out of 10 Americans say the attacks had "no lasting impact" on their faith. That doesn't surprise John Myers with Life Action Revival Ministries. "People really don't have a fear of God," he says. "There's not a deep spiritual interest in most people that we talk with." Myers says if change is going to happen in America, it must begin at the local church level. "That's why our ministry's emphasis is revival in the individual heart of the believer, in the individual life of the church. Then the world is going to look on it say, 'Hey, there really is something different about Christians,' and they're going to have a desire to have that in their own life." Life Action's 2002 revival ministry begins this weekend. (Mission Network News)

FREE BOOKLET: Order your own copy of HCJB World Radio's new 20-page booklet, "God Keeps Opening Doors," by e-mailing your name and mailing address to doors@hcjb.org . You'll also receive a free bookmark.

*HCJB World Radio spolu s evangelijními sbory v Kampale a FEBA Radio vysílají v Ugandě evangelizační pořady na dvou místních FM vysílačích. HCJB World Radio také spolupracuje s Jesus Focus Ministries na provozu FM vysílače o výkonu 500 W v Masace. Vysílání probíhá v angličtině a v jazyce Lugunda.

*Nejnovější zprávy v originální anglické verzi jsou vždy ZDE (klikněte).

Far East Broadcasting Co. (FEBC) in South Korea reports that devastating typhoon Rusa damaged two of their stations, forcing the ministries to shut down temporarily. A spokesperson for FEBC, based in La Mirada, Calif., said, "HLAZ, the FEBC station on Cheju Island, was able to broadcast via a generator after electricity went out. But when the water rose in the generator building, the station went off the air for approximately 12 hours. Another station, HLDY on the northeastern coast of Yeongdong, was the hardest hit as the station was off the air for 36 hours. The FEBC-Yeongdong vehicle and the cars of two staff members were submerged. In addition, the station's storeroom flooded and an estimated $5,000 worth of CDs, books and supplies were ruined." Typhoon Rusa is the most devastating storm to hit the Korean peninsula in 40 years. Its path of destruction left 25,000 people homeless while killing more than 150 people. Many are still missing. Roads and bridges were destroyed as well as tens of thousands of acres of farmland. FEBC first began broadcasting to the area in 1956. FEBC operates two international AM stations and seven local FM stations in South Korea. (Assist News Service)

ACQUITTED DEATH ROW PRISONER FLEES PAKISTAN

Christian prisoner Ayub Masih fled his native Pakistan and arrived in an undisclosed country in the West on Wednesday, Sept. 4, after being imprisoned for six years on blasphemy charges and facing the death penalty. Despite being acquitted and released on Aug. 15 by Pakistan's Supreme Court, Masih's life remains under constant threat from Muslim extremists. "It is the result of prayers of the body of Christ and the grace and mercy of God the Father," Masih said of his release. He also appealed for the release of other Christian prisoners who are on death row after being convicted of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed. Masih, 31, was arrested and jailed in 1996 in his village of Chak about 120 miles southwest of Lahore. He was convicted and sentenced on April 27, 1998, on the verbal testimony of a Muslim neighbor who claimed Masih had blasphemed Mohammed by praising Salman Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses. Local Christians, however, said the accusation was made because of a property dispute. (Assist News Service)

BLIND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN CUBA MAY FACE 6-YEAR JAIL TERM

Juan Carlos González Leiva, a blind, 27-year-old Christian human rights activist imprisoned since March, has learned that he could face up to six years in prison. His wife, Maritza, was told that he will be charged with "acts of disrespect towards Fidel Castro, public disorder, resisting authority, and disobedience," reported the Coalition of Cuban American Women. The prosecutor's office in Ciego de Avila is recommending that he be given a six-year prison sentence. A trial is planned for mid-September. González, president of both the Cuban Human Rights Foundation and the Brotherhood of the Independent Blind People of Cuba, was arrested along with several other human rights activists March 5 in Ciego de Avila. He was severely beaten by government security agents and suffered a blow to the head, requiring four stitches. González and a number of other human rights activists were arrested when they gathered at a local hospital to draw attention to the plight of a journalist who had been admitted there after being attacked by Cuban police. González is being held without charges in a remote prison in Cuba's Holguin province. He has repeatedly accused the Cuban government of psychological torture and withholding of medical treatment. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

UGANDAN REBELS RELEASE 3 KIDNAPPED CHILDREN

Late last month Food for the Hungry reported that a rebel group had kidnapped several of the sponsored children they're working with in Uganda. This week two girls and one boy were returned home after spending nearly a month in captivity with a rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army . One sponsored child remains in the hands of the rebels. Many families are living in fear and continue to pray for God to work in the hearts of the terrorists (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio, together with the Evangelical Churches of Kampala and FEBA Radio, broadcasts the gospel locally in Uganda on two FM transmitters. HCJB World Radio also worked with Jesus Focus Ministries to put a 500-watt FM station on the air in Masaka. Programs air in English and Luganda.

NEW PROGRAM IN ECUADOR RESULTS IN 75 NEW CHURCHES IN ONE YEAR

What do welders, taxi drivers, bakers, restaurant owners, artists, fishermen, students, lawyers and housemaids have in common in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil? "People from all of these walks of life plant churches," reports Commission magazine. "It was easy to describe church growth in Guayaquil until July 2000," says Southern Baptist missionary Manuel Sosa. "In the preceding 40 years, one new church was planted each year." Missionaries with the International Mission Board were looking for a new approach because they wanted to see more people coming to Christ. The group prayed and discovered that a number of members in existing churches were interested in planting new churches, but they didn't know how. "So we developed a program that we call, La Iglesia en Tu Casa (the church in your house)," explains Carlos Pérez, a student and church planter in Guayaquil. "House churches give people the opportunity to experience a Christian church in familiar surroundings." After publicizing the program via radio, more than 30 men and women began attending a 34-lesson course starting in July 2000. After four weeks of study, participants were encouraged to start their first church, says missionary Ed Ridge, "After only one year, 75 new churches were started with more beginning each week," he says. "It's like popcorn -- every week new house churches are starting." (Friday Fax)

* HCJB World Radio operates a local FM station in Guayaquil known as HCJB-2. The station will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Nov. 1. This is one of the ministry's many media outreaches in Ecuador with broadcasts going out via AM, FM, shortwave and satellite.

FREE BOOKLET: Order your own copy of HCJB World Radio's new 20-page booklet, "God Keeps Opening Doors," by e-mailing your name and mailing address to doors@hcjb.org . You'll also receive a free bookmark.