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Vulnerable Christian minorities in Iraq and across the Islamic world are living with the fear of reprisals from Islamic extremists who associate them with the 'Christian' West. Hundreds of Christians died in such revenge attacks following the war in Afghanistan eighteen months ago. In Iraq, Christians are most vulnerable, says a report from The Barnabas Fund. Christian leaders fear it would only take one small spark -- an aggressive anti-Christian sermon preached in a mosque, or an argument between a Christian and a Muslim neighbour -- to trigger violent attacks on churches and Christian homes. To date thankfully no such incidents have occurred despite the pressures on the Iraqi people at the end of the first week of war. The Barnabas Fund reports that many Christians have left Baghdad to return to their ancestral homelands in the north of Iraq until the war is over. Others have fled into Syria. "The churches, however, will stay open, regardless of what happens, to guarantee at any time shelter for all" says Archbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman. Christians in Baghdad have been sheltering in churches, finding support, encouragement and prayer at this most tense and dangerous time. One church has sustained broken windows and minor damage as a result of bombing. The Barnabas Fund says that in the 12 years since the end of the first Gulf War the Christian population of Iraq dropped dramatically from 1.5 million to 700,000 as Christians fled the country under the combined pressures of Saddam Hussein's regime, U.N. sanctions and hostility from their Muslim neighbours. (Assist News Service)

EVANGELISM EXPLOSION NEEDS TRAINING COORDINATORS IN CHINA

As war continues in Iraq, a spiritual battle continues in China. Thousands of people are coming to Christ, so training is needed to help new believers carry on in the battle for hearts in this country. Evangelism Explosion is asking people to pray that God will provide new Chinese leaders in different parts of China to be provincial Evangelism Explosion training coordinators. Evangelism Explosion has a goal of having trainers in every Chinese province by 2008. (Mission Network News)

NEARLY 1 OF 3 IN AFRICA WILL DIE OF AIDS, STATISTICS SAY

The latest statistics out of Africa indicate that nearly one in three people will die of AIDS or related complications. Those numbers are creating an urgency for African countries who are seeing whole adult generations decimated by the disease. Book of Hope's Rob Hoskins sees the issue as a heart problem. "The real solution to the AIDS problem in Africa is not medical. We want to try to help as much as we can to find cure, to pray for those that are [finding a cure], to encourage drug companies to provide drugs at a lower cost, but all of those are reactionary measures." Hoskins explains they're targeting youth with their programs and books because they want to help nip the problem in the bud. "This next year, we'll distribute literally millions of copies of the Book of Hope in Africa. This is right in the school systems, handing them the Word of God. All of our books in Africa are to help combat AIDS through the sharing of how abstinence and controlling your lifestyle is the best way to avoid AIDS." (Mission Network News)

JAARS PRAYER RETREAT FOCUSES ON SPIRITUAL GROWTH

A special retreat focusing on intercessory prayer will encourage spiritual growth in Wycliffe Bible Translators. Earl Adams helped organize the event for JAARS, under the theme "Developing Intimacy With God." "The primary focus here is personal development, personal prayer life and ministry. Spreading this influence through the individuals that are here for this time of the retreat, out to the various home countries where they serve." Because of the number of personal demands on time, Adams says believers experience a personal prayer time shortage. "The Lord is our resource. Testings are going to come whatever our calling and ministry in life and those testings may be enhanced perhaps all the greater in cross-cultural situations so that whatever the test may be our resource again ultimately is in our personal faith, confidence, walk, trust with the Lord." JAARS speeds Bible translation by providing quality services for Wycliffe Bible Translators and others. (Mission Network News)

MIGRANT WORKERS PRESENT CHALLENGE TO CHURCH LEADERS

Linguistic experts believe the Hispanic population's growth explosion in the United States makes the country the third largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Migrant workers make up a good portion of this community, which presents a unique challenge for church leaders, according to CAM International's Gene Purvis. "Immigrant-level Hispanics are very shy people; they're fearful of this culture, especially of our religious perspective. They come from a specific background, and they are told that this country will take away their religion and substitute a different entity in its place." Purvis says working with the immigrant population proves to be its own challenge because that forces church leadership to be flexible. It is also why CAM networks Hispanic congregations across the U.S. "As those people move around within the country, then we have a place for them to go to, and we have outreach in different cities that can continue to minister to the mobile population. It also is extremely important as people move back into their countries of origin." (Mission Network News)

* APOYO TRAINING MINISTRY HOLDS FIRST WORKSHOP IN RUSSIA

More than 25 church leaders gathered in Oriol, a city about 200 miles south of Moscow, for the first pastors' workshop in Russia to be led by Apoyo, a joint training ministry of HCJB World Radio and Leadership Resources International.

Bible teacher Andrés Ralek traveled from Argentina to lead the training Feb. 24-27 along with Apoyo staff member Craig Parro and Bob Whitney from Slavic Gospel Association. "Using the book of Titus as a basis, we taught the inductive method of Bible study, sermon preparation and pastoral ministry," Ralek said.

Response from the participants -- only three of whom had any formal Bible training -- was positive as they appreciated the opportunity to immediately put into practice the principles they were learning rather than just taking notes.

"The most useful thing was the very personal way we taught the pastors, giving them freedom to ask questions and share their ideas," Ralek explains. "They were very encouraged about how to study and prepare a sermon. They realized that they need to put much more time into preparation, studying deeply the passage that they're preaching on."

Ralek added that while the education of the Russian participants was comparable to those he has taught in South America the last four years, their desire to learn was "much greater" than the South American pastors. Each participant also received copies of four books: a Bible dictionary, concordance, commentary and book on sermon preparation.

Apoyo leaders are now working on a potential partnership with Slavic Gospel Association to expand pastoral training across Russia. (HCJB World Radio)

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