HCJB World Radio ve spolupráci s indonézskými přáteli pracuje na zprovoznění místního křesťanského vysílače na ostrově Roti a v Kupangu v Západním Timoru. Zařízení bylo odesláno z technické základny HCJB v Elkhartu v Indianě.

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

Pakistani police arrested one suspect and seized a "huge" cache of explosives in Karachi on the weekend, declaring that both were linked to grenade and car bomb explosions outside a Bible Society shop on Thursday, Jan. 15. Shamim Ahmed, 25, a militant of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, was arrested Saturday in a middle-class neighborhood of eastern Karachi. Information obtained by interrogating Ahmed led police to a bomb-making factory in Karachi's Mehmoodabad district where they discovered a store of heavy ammunition, detonators, grenades and two large bombs ready for use. More than 13 people were injured in last Thursday's blasts, occurring 15 minutes apart shortly after 3 p.m. outside the Karachi branch of the Pakistan Bible Society. "The people who are doing this are not friends of Pakistan," said Bible Society Director Anthony Lamuel. After touring the bombing scene with Lamuel and Anglican Bishop John Alexander Malik, the governor of Pakistan's Sindh province promised that damages caused to the reading room and the adjacent cathedral compound would be repaired at government expense. (Compass)

'LETTER OF DECISION' LEADS TO CHURCH CLOSURES IN INDONESIA

Muslim groups are taking advantage of Letter of Decision No. 137, issued by the Indonesian government in 2002, to close four churches and prevent new churches from obtaining buildings in Jakarta. The government document allows for churches in the city to be closed -- even if they have the required government permit -- should people in the surrounding community object to their existence or location. In late 2003 Muslim fundamentalists urged several communities to protest against churches in Jakarta, resulting in four church closures. Rev. Frans Simbolon, leader of Bethel church in Pahlawan Revolusi, said that Islamic leaders pressured him to sign an agreement for church closure even though the church had been operating for seven years. A week before the church was to close its doors, militants held a demonstration in front of the building. They carried gasoline cans, ready to burn down the church if the congregation did not comply. Churches meeting in hotel conference rooms, restaurants, shops or community halls have also reported intimidation from Islamic groups. (Compass)

* HCJB World Radio is working with local Indonesian partners to establish local Christian radio stations on Roti Island and at Kupang in West Timor. Equipment was sent from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind.

IRAQI MUSLIM LEADERS CALL FOR CEASE IN ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS

A call by more than 200 mainly Muslim intellectuals and political leaders from Iraq to stop attacks on Christians and cease forcing women to wear the veil was published Sunday, Jan. 4, on an Arabic website. The call was directed at Muslim clerics, the Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Authorities. They specifically called upon Islamic religious leaders to issue fatwas forbidding such "atrocious crimes against humanity and the Islamic religion." The declaration said "horrific" crimes had been committed against women in forcing them to wear the veil, but worst of all was the "terrorizing of our Christian brothers," intimidating them to become Muslims. The new head of the Chaldean Church, Patriarch Emmanuel III, said that Muslims and Christians had lived side by side for "countless years in love and charity," but that they were now subject to attacks from extremists coming in from Saudi Arabia and Iran. He added that if legislation is enacted according to Islamic law, Christians would suffer. The Iraqi Governing Council has nearly finalized a transitional constitution that would have Islam as one of its sources of law, but not the sole one. Freedom of religious practice for non-Muslims and equal rights for women would be guaranteed. This is another welcome sign for Iraq's Christians, but it remains to be seen whether Iraq's conservative Shi'a community would accept such a constitution. (Barnabas Fund/Assist News Service)

GRAND CANYON BOOK CONTROVERSY SPARKS THOUSANDS OF E-MAILS

A controversy surrounding a new book being sold at bookstores in Grand Canyon National Park that offers a creationist view of how the canyon was formed has generated between 6,000 and 7,000 e-mails to the National Park Service. David Barna, the Park Service's chief of public affairs, says the controversy centers on the book, Grand Canyon: A Different View, suggesting that the natural wonder is only a few thousand years old. That claim has a number of prominent evolutionists, most of whom claim the canyon is millions of years old, demanding that the National Park Service remove the book from bookstores. The book is the 2003 work of Tom Vail who collected essays from 23 contributors, most of whom hold earned doctorates in science. "We recognize there are a diversity of viewpoints and beliefs," Barna said. "It' s not unusual to find books in our store dealing with how our parks were created from a native American viewpoint." The book has been moved from the bookstore's natural sciences section to the inspirational reading section, and its status at the park is still up in the air. Grand Canyon's superintendent, Joe Alston, has sought guidance from Park Service headquarters in Washington. Meanwhile, the book has sold out and is being reordered. Vail's book was unanimously approved by the park's new-product review panel comprising park and gift shop personnel. (Assist News Service)

MISSIONARY TEAM BRINGS GOSPEL TO REMOTE GROUP IN RUSSIAN ARCTIC

An unreached people group living in the remote Russian arctic recently heard the gospel for the first time through an outreach called "The Expedition," sponsored in part by Russian Ministries based in Wheaton, Ill. The expedition team traveled 150 miles above the Arctic Circle to the Yemal region. "We were able to preach to those people and tell them about Jesus whom they hadn't heard about," said mission spokesman Sergey Rakhuba. Team members distributed "shoeboxes of love" and presented the gospel through a special program, complete with music. Rakhuba said there was a "great openness" to the gospel, and everyone they talked to was positive about the message. Pastor Anatoly Marichev from nearby Salehard is taking responsibility to follow up these people. He is also raising funds to build a church/ministry training center that will be used not only to worship but also to facilitate the training of young leaders to reach the area for Christ. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across Russia with a variety of radio ministries. The mission has been sending gospel broadcasts across the country via shortwave since 1941, first from Quito, Ecuador, and now from the U.K. In the early 1990s the ministry began "planting" local radio ministries in Russia and now works with partners in more than a dozen cities. In 2000 HCJB World Radio helped launch the first Christian Russian radio satellite network (operated by Christian Radio for Russia), reaching across Euro-Asia. Downlinks have been installed with more than 26 partners in Russia alone.

MEGA-CHURCHES IN U.S. USE 'BUSINESS TACTICS' TO GROW

It's no longer business as usual for a growing number of large churches in the U.S. That's the observation of a leading business magazine, which said mega-churches -- defined as Protestant congregations that attract at least 2,000 worshipers a week -- "aren't so different from corporations." Forbes magazine recently looked at the business ventures of several mega-churches. The 23,093-strong World Changers Ministries in College Park, Ga., pastored by Creflo Dollar, operates a music studio, publishing house, computer graphic design suite and has its own record label. The 18,500-member Potter' s House in Dallas, pastored by T.D. Jakes, has a record label, daily talk show, a prison satellite network with broadcasts in 260 prisons, and a twice-a-week webcast. The 25,060-member Lakewood Church in Houston pastored by Joel Osteen recently leased the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal and spends $12 million annually on TV airtime. "Welcome to the mega-business of mega-churches where pastors often act as chief executives and use business tactics to grow their congregations," Forbes reported. "This entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the explosive growth of mega-churches." The magazine noted that the growth has a higher purpose -- to spread their faith to as many people as they can. Scott Thumma, faculty associate at Hartford Institute for Religion Research, added, "In our society growth equals success. And religious growth not only equals success, but also God's blessing on the ministry." There were just 10 mega-churches in the U.S. in 1970. By 1990 this number increased to 250, and today there are more than 740. Average weekly attendance at mega-churches is 3,646, up 4 percent from a year earlier. (Charisma News Service)

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