One Christian died and more than 19 Egyptians were injured Thursday, Jan. 19, when Muslims clashed with security police and set fire to a Christian community center in Upper Egypt. The incident occurred in el-Udaysaat, a town near the city of Luxor, reported Youssef Sidhom, editor of the Egyptian weekly, Watani.

Kamaal Shaker, a Coptic Christian, died of the injuries he received when a mob of 5,000 Muslims attacked the church. They flooded the premises, cut off the street’s electricity and brandished weapons, including small swords, knives, axes and heavy metal chains. Worshipers remained trapped behind the walls of the church as attackers threw torches into the building, setting it ablaze, reported the Egyptian daily Al-Akhbar.

Although local police officers arrived on the scene, eyewitnesses describe as “minimal” the officers’ efforts to break up the mob and shield the churchgoers from further assault. All those injured, including two security guards, were taken to Luxor International Hospital for treatment. Police arrested 10 men involved in the attack, an Egyptian security source told Reuters. (Compass/U.S. Copts Association)

NUCLEAR TENSIONS REGARDING IRAN INCREASE RISK FOR MINISTRY

Nuclear tensions in Iran and global concerns regarding the country are the backdrop for the ministry Interserve as Doug VanBronkhorst recently trained a group of Iranian house church leaders. Countries are looking for ways to halt Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, and the West is putting pressure on the Iranian government, increasing the risk for ministry in the country. “If it were known that these people were meeting with a couple of American pastors for training, it wouldn’t matter if it were, as it was, entirely based on Scripture and related to spiritual, doctrinal things,” he said. “Assumptions would be made that there was something else going on, and they would be persecuted for it.” VanBronkhorst says the church is “alive and well in Iran. It’s doing better in Iran than perhaps in some other Muslim countries. We just sort of saw the tip of the iceberg in terms of the network of house churches that we were able to work with here.” (Mission Network News)

5 ASSAILANTS BEAT, THREATEN TURKISH CHURCH LEADER AFTER SERVICE

Five young men attacked and threatened to kill a Protestant church leader in Turkey’s fourth largest city after Sunday worship services Sunday, Jan. 8. Kamil Kiroglu, 29, was beaten unconscious twice along the street after leaving his church premises in Adana at about 5 p.m. Wielding a long butcher knife, one of the unidentified attackers threatened to kill him if he refused to deny his Christian faith and return to Islam. The four Turks involved in the attack appeared to be in their late teens but were led by a foreigner probably 10 years older who claimed to be from Turkmenistan. At one point, the group’s leader said he was acting on behalf of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. When he regained consciousness, Kiroglu went directly to a nearby police station where officers took him to the hospital for treatment. Pastor Umberto Coello said Turkish security police took the attack seriously, sending many officers to patrol the area of the church the following Sunday. Kiroglu, who supports himself as a translator and interpreter, became a Christian more than four years ago. (Compass)

WINTER OLYMPICS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTREACH, CHURCH GROWTH

The Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, are less than three weeks away, and Christians around the world are gearing up for the event. Operation Mobilization (OM) is one organization planning to be there. “We’re linking together with churches and other Christian organizations and the main emphasis of the outreaches are serving the people of sport and reaching out through literature and video materials to the visitors and the athletes that are going to be there at the games,” said Martin Bateman who heads OM’s Sportlink ministry. “When we go to an event like this we can bring in volunteer workers coming from all sorts of nations.” Bateman is praying for the Italian evangelical church which is small and largely ineffective in evangelism. “Having something like a big event where the Christians can be motivated and come together (like the Olympics) can be a springboard for more ministry and more opportunities.” (Mission Network News)

MINISTRY URGES CHURCHES TO GIVE FINANCIAL TRAINING TO CONGREGANTS

The leader of a financial stewardship ministry says most Christians have a desire to be good money managers but do not always have the training they need to understand God’s way when it comes to handling their financial resources. Howard Dayton, cofounder and chief executive officer of Crown Financial Ministries, says the problem is that most churches only offer people financial advice when it comes to tithing and nothing more. “Many churches have typically focused on teaching God’s people only how to handle 10 percent of their income, the area of giving,” he explains. “It’s a crucial area,” he admits, “but frankly, they haven’t addressed the other 90 percent.” Dayton says some of Crown’s studies of more than 1,000 congregations that have received financial training show many of these churches’ families paying off more than $20,000 in debt within three years after their instruction. He urges all churches to develop a financial training program for their members. (AgapePress)

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