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Police in the East African country of Eritrea continue to pressure believers who associate with churches not recognized by the country. On Friday, March 18, Kidane Weldou, senior pastor of Muluwengel Full Gospel Church in Asmara, was snatched by police from the streets of Asmara. His car was later found abandoned nearby. His whereabouts and whether or not any charges were pressed is unclear. Other senior figures from the same church have been in custody for almost 11 months.

The evening of Sunday, March 13, security police arrested 16 Protestants for watching a Christian video together in the town of Adi-Kibe. All members of the Kale Hiwot Church, they were put under custody at the local police station. The following day two older women in the group were released after paying fines, but the other 14 remain jailed, although no official charges have been filed against them.

Meanwhile, police released the last 30 members of a group of 131 Sunday school leaders and children who were rounded up on Saturday, Feb. 19. The children were attending classes at an Eritrean Orthodox church in the capital Asmara when they were detained. They were taken to a police station where their names and addresses were registered, and children as young as 2 were held for three hours.

The Eritrean government closed down the country's independent Protestant churches in May 2002, declaring their places of worship illegal and forbidding home gatherings. The country's four recognized "official religions" are Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Lutheran and Islam. Those caught praying, studying the Bible or worshiping outside the umbrella of the three allowed Christian groups continue to be jailed and tortured, and some have been incarcerated in metal shipping containers or underground cells.

The U.S. State Department added Eritrea to it s list of "countries of particular concern" last September for its flagrant violations of religious freedom. Eritrean officials categorically deny ever-increasing reports of the harsh government crackdown underway against Protestant churches. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide/Compass)

HINDU EXTREMISTS IN INDIA ASSAULT RAJASTHAN CHRISTIANS

Hindu extremists have violently assaulted several Christians in Rajasthan, India, in recent weeks. Bajrang Dal volunteers attacked eight members of the Friends Missionary Prayer Band on Sunday, March 13, and falsely accused Pastor Arthur Joel, a Christian orphanage director, of child abuse in early March. Two other Emmanuel Mission workers, Pastor Vaalu and his wife who is eight months' pregnant, were brutally assaulted on a public bus in late February. Demonstrators have also called for the closure of many Christian institutions across the state. Locals say the attacks are a strategy to push forward the enactment of anti-conversion laws, an intention announced by the state government on Feb. 23. (Compass)

GERMAN EVANGELICALS REMINDED TO FOCUS ON HOLISTIC MINISTRY

Gary Edmonds, the former Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), has called for a closer combination of evangelism and social responsibility. Speaking at the annual meeting of the German Association of Evangelical Missions (AEM) in Rehe March 1-3, he warned evangelicals not only to concentrate on the salvation of souls, but reminded them they should also seek to address physical needs. Edmonds pointed out that Jesus wanted not only to impact the lives of individuals but also politics, culture, the economy and the media. According to Edmonds, a holistic understanding of mission has a positive effect on the development of nation states. German evangelical mission agencies are focusing increasingly on social responsibility, according to the annual report presented at the AEM meeting. AEM Chairman Detlef Bloecher welcomed the change. "Evangelicals are rediscovering their own heritage -- to combine evangelism and social responsibility," he said. (IDEA)

YOUNG LIFE AUSTRALIA INITIATIVE SEEKS TO BOOST CHURCH ATTENDANCE

Young Life Australia is launching an initiative called "Crossing the Divide" that seeks to partner with churches and connect with young people in an effort to elevate youth church attendance. The Australian Census and the National Church Life Survey (2001) shows that only 5.7 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 19 are present in church, and 40 percent stop attending services by the time they finish high school. "These figures do not paint a healthy picture for the future of the church," says Glyn Henman, chief executive officer of Young Life Australia. Established in Australia more than 30 years ago, Young Life seeks to connect with young people where they are at, Henman said. "Our premise is that we need to reach out to the 93.7 percent of young people who do not attend church and may never do so. We use fun and humor as tools to connect these young people to the unchanging gospel message. Therefore we seek to create a sense of need for the gospel in their lives." (Young Life Australia)

* HCJB World Radio-Australia began operating a shortwave station called "Voice of the Great Southland" in January 2003, reaching across the Asia/Pacific region with programs in 11 languages. Additional languages, transmitters and antennas will be added as resources become available. Studios at the office in Melbourne are used to record programs in English as well as Oromo, a language spoken in Ethiopia.

MEDICAL AMBASSADORS SEND RELIEF TO TSUNAMI DISASTER AREA

Medical Ambassador International's Paul Calhoun says his organization has been able to help many victims of the tsunami in Sri Lanka. "We've been able to deliver 212,000 food packets, and assist more than 3,300 families. There have been about 1,000 temporary shelters given out, and we're in the process of rebuilding hundreds of permanent homes." Calhoun said the most exciting phase of their program has yet to come -- community health evangelism. "We not only work with the physical need, but we train the villagers themselves to be able to share with members of their community the hope of the Redeemer." (Mission Network News)

AID AGENCY HELPS REVITALIZE JAMAICAN FISHING VILLAGES

In remarks made at the opening of the South Africa, African Union, Caribbean Diaspora Conference, Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson called for the removal of obstacles to eliminate poverty and disease in his country. Leaders are looking for ways to help the poor find a way to support themselves and Food for the Poor (FFP) hopes to be part of that effort. Angel Aloma of FFP says their organization launched a program that helps rebuild whole fishing villages. "We revitalize a whole community by buying them four larger [fishing] boats," he said. In addition, FFP builds sheds with freezers where the catch can be stored. FFP staff members also teach the crews how to go deeper into the sea for better catches and are teaching the trade to young people. The project partners with local churches, following Christ's model of teaching people to be "fishers of men." (Mission Network News)

* Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., worked with Tarrant Baptist Church in Kingston to install a 500-watt FM transmitter, antenna and studio.

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