*HCJB World Radio přináší alespoň rozhlasem slova naděje a povzbuzení lidem celého Afghánistánu. Společně se svými partnery vysílá na krátkých vlnách ve třech nejvíce užívaných místních jazycích – v turkmenštině, v uzbečtině a v jihouzbečtině.

*Tato a další zprávy jsou (pouze v aktuální den) v originální anglické verzi zde.

Christian ministries in the Middle East are on heightened alert since the assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in the Gaza Strip last weekend. However, Joshua Youssef of the international broadcasting ministry, Leading the Way, says the threatened instability won't affect his organization's approach. "Governments are aware of our radio broadcasts and are not necessarily supportive of them, but they allow them to exist. We do our programs in a very culturally sensitive way. We don't involve politics in any way -- we don't involve any kind of political discourse. It is solely lifting up the name of Jesus." Programs in Arabic and English air across the region from high-powered AM stations in Monte Carlo and Cyprus. Youssef says staff members are taking appropriate security measures as the crisis grows. Meanwhile, plans are also being made to expand the broadcasts. "We broadcast three nights a week, and we'll be going to a fourth night at the beginning of April. We're actually going to step up our follow-up, and we're working with several organizations in this part of the world to ensure that this happens." (Mission Network News/Leading the Way)

DESPAIR PLAGUES AFGHANISTAN DECADES AFTER DESTRUCTION OF CHURCH

Afghanistan's only church was built in Kabul in 1970 and bulldozed in 1973 after Islamists complained of the growing number of converts. When the order was given for missionaries to be expelled and the church bulldozed, German businessman Hans Mohr who had purchased building materials for the church, uttered what turned out to be a prophetic word to the mayor of Kabul. "If your government touches that house of God, God will overthrow your government," he warned. The day the church was razed, the four-decade-long monarchy was toppled in a coup. Chaos has reigned in the 30 years since. Afghanistan is plagued with violence, unrest and despair. It is a land of warlords, hunger, suffering, oppression, illness, addiction, destruction and grief. Even though Afghanistan has a new president and a new constitution, it still has no religious freedom. The constitution, signed into law Jan. 26, 2004, stipulates that "no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam." The land and its people are in desperate need of the transformation only God can bring. (Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin)

* HCJB World Radio is bringing words of hope and encouragement to people across Afghanistan via radio. Together with partners, Christian broadcasts go out via AM in three of the country's major languages, Turkmen, Uzbek and Southern Uzbek.

TEMPLE PROSTITUTES IN INDIA BECOMING 'MAIDSERVANTS OF CHRIST'

Work by local missionaries in India is bringing the light of Jesus Christ to temple prostitutes and their families in several the country's states. Women who serve as "maidservants" of the Hindu gods usually begin their profession as temple dancers, but often become prostitutes because of the money they can receive from patrons. Government programs instituted to stamp out this practice have failed due to lack of motivation and alternative employment for the ex-prostitutes. National missionaries who question prostitutes at yearly temple festivals find that the women initially pretend to be enjoying what they do, but when further questioned they often cry and express their hopelessness and despair. Aware that earning a livelihood needs to be addressed, the missionaries provide monthly food and medical support for the women who abandon their former work. Some ministries have purchased sewing machines in order to teach these women how to stitch clothing to earn a living. At the same time, the women are taught the gospel of Christ and His power to transform their lives. As a result, many former prostitutes are now radiant Christians, and some are preparing for Christian marriage. Children of the former prostitutes are being instructed and cared for by Christian teachers. Much remains to be done since thousands of temple prostitutes are still enslaved by this practice, but through the efforts of Christian workers, many are becoming "maidservants of Christ." (Missions Insider)

* "The Voice of the Great Southland," the shortwave station operated by HCJB World Radio-Australia, airs more than 44 hours of weekly English programming across India. Daily Urdu programs went on the air in July 2003, and since then programs have been added in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Nepali and Chattisgarhi. Most of the programming is produced at a studio and follow-up center established in New Delhi in 2003.

'THE PASSION' PROMPTS 10,000 COMPUTER USERS TO VISIT WEBSITE DAILY

Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," has brought attention to a new website, TheLife.com. The website is the work of Truth Media, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Truth Media's Karen Schenk says the ministry has seen an incredible response to the website. "In the last 30 days we've seen an average of about 10,000 visitors a day coming to the website. The day after the movie released it hit a peak of about 19,000." A chatroom is a major part of the website. "We were seeing about 30 to 35 people on that chatroom all day long," says Schenk. "We scrambled and put together 24-hour moderation for that chatroom and have seen quite a few people being led to the Lord in one-to-one discipleship." Truth Media uses the Internet for evangelism regularly, but Schenk has never seen such a high volume of response to its website. "People in several different countries have asked for the right to translate some of our material. As the movie is released in other countries, people there will be either linking to our site or translating our materials." (Mission Network News)

SURVEY: 86% OF TEENS WHO SIGN PLEDGE CARD ENGAGE IN PREMARITAL SEX

A teenager's environment is a key factor in determining whether he or she will stay true to a pledge to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage, says a co-founder of a worldwide abstinence ministry. "Everything in our culture is geared toward the sexual failure of our teenagers," says Jimmy Hester, co-founder of True Love Waits and director of youth publishing at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Hester's comments came following the results of a study (released March 9) of young people (ages 12 to 18) who were re-surveyed six years later. Eighty-eight percent of those who had signed a pledge of abstinence indicated they engaged in sexual intercourse before they were married. Since LifeWay launched True Love Waits in 1993, more than 2.4 million young people have signed commitment cards, promising to abstain from premarital sex. Weeks of study and discussion precede the public signing ceremony. In AIDS-riddled countries such as Uganda, South Africa, Guyana and Kenya, more than 30 True Love Waits clubs have started to support teens in their abstinence decisions. (Religion Today/Baptist Press)

SPORTS MINISTRY EYES PRO TENNIS TOURNAMENTS AS 'HARVEST FIELDS'

A small sports ministry is serving up the gospel during the second largest tennis tournament in the U.S. Scotty Paschal, founder of the International Christian Tennis Association (ICTA), is leading an 11-member short-term missions team (featuring tennis players and their families, coaches and volunteers) that shares Jesus at the NASDAQ-100 Open tennis tournament in Miami March 24-April 4. Approximately 270,000 people are expected to attend the event, featuring many of the world's top tennis players. Paschal, a longtime tennis coach and instructor, said the ministry has a booth at the tournament site. "We have many tracts, Bibles and videos to hand out," he said. "The main core of what we will do is share the gospel. We won't be chasing people with Bibles or anything. We will provide a source for people to come to with any questions they have about Christianity, and we have Bible studies planned for the players." Paschal formally launched ICTA in September after walking away from a job as the general manager of a local tennis club. "I resigned last August while attending the U.S. Open because I had placed the tennis club ahead of my calling that God had placed within me," he explained. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service)

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