Escalating deaths and severe health crises has spurred Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) to call for the Church of the Nazarene to act in the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.), says South Kivu District Superintendent Celestin Chishibanji. NCM is working with “Jesus” film teams to spread the gospel in the region. “It has been a time of joy and emotion for us to see a ‘Jesus’ film team being trained in Bukavu,” he said. “They will start operating [this] week.” The training, which took place between Jan. 25 and Feb. 2, was conducted by Masimango Kilongo in association with Campus Crusade in South Kivu province. Team members have also identified locations for potential new churches in consultation with the district and local leaders. “For example, in Kitutu we already have four compounds and potential pastors,” Chishibanji said. “Around Bukavu we have three plots, and in North Katanga we already have four plots.” The outreach is bringing new hope to people in the area who have been plagued by civil war for years. (Evangelical News)

* HCJB World Radio works with local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to broadcast the gospel on FM stations in Boma, Bukavu and Kinshasa. Programs go out in English, French, Kikongo Fioti, Lingala, Luba and Swahili. Weekly programs in the Songe and Kikongo San Salvador languages also air from local FM stations in the country.

PASTOR IN INDIA RECOVERS FROM SUSPECTED MURDER ATTEMPT

Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohammed, a Christian convert from Islam, is still recovering from what he believes was a murder attempt in the Kottayam district of southern India’s Kerala state. Ciniraj is the head of Salem Voice Ministries which runs orphanages, village schools and adult literacy centers in Kerala. He also pastors a church. On Thursday, March 16, Ciniraj was riding his motorbike past the office of the district collector in Kottayam when a motorized rickshaw rammed into him, fracturing his knee. Though police suspected an attempted murder, they have not visited him again or arrested the rickshaw driver. Three days after the incident, while Ciniraj was still in the hospital, two men carrying weapons attempted to break into his house, apparently intending to attack his family. (Compass Direct)

MUSLIM MILITANTS STEP UP PRESSURE ON CHURCH IN INDONESIA

Muslims in a neighborhood in Bandung, Indonesia, are pressuring the Baithani Pentecost Movement Church to stop meeting. On Saturday, March 18, leaders of the Baithani church met with police officers and were told that local residents were protesting against the presence of the church in their community. In a follow-up meeting a week later, representatives of the church, the local neighborhood, police, military and Muslim clerics met to discuss the issue. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Christians were told that the church “disturbed” the residents. They were also told that the storehouse where the church met would not be attacked as long as it is not used for church activity. The church representatives were asked to sign an agreement to close the church, but they refused. (Voice of the Martyrs)

* HCJB World Radio has worked with local partners to establish more than 14 local Christian radio stations across Indonesia since 2004. Broadcasts from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra also encourage listeners nationwide. In addition, HCJB World Radio has helped with relief efforts since the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake/tsunami and subsequent quakes that devastated parts of Indonesia.

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD FASTEST GROWING FAITH GROUP IN NORTH AMERICA

The Assemblies of God (AG) grew more than any of the other top 20 faith groups last year according to the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. AG reported an increase of 1.81 percent with nearly 2.8 million members, ranking 10th in the nation in overall adherents. The only other groups to show increases among the top 20 were the Mormons with a growth rate of 1.74 percent while the Catholics, with 67.8 million members, saw an increase of 0.83 percent. Four of the largest Protestant denominations showed declines for the year: the Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Presbyterian Church (USA). Three other denominations in the top 10 indicated no increase or decrease. Southern Baptists remain the largest U.S. Protestant group with 16.3 million members. (Evangelical News/Assemblies of God/AgapePress/Associated Press)

MINISTRY SET TO LAUNCH ‘WORLD’S LARGEST EASTER EGG HUNT’

FamilyLife is promoting the third annual World’s Largest Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 15, in an effort to see 1 million children experience the true meaning of Easter. People across the U.S. can sign up individually, or on behalf of their church or community, to host an event featuring “Resurrection Eggs.” The eggs contain objects representing various aspects of the resurrection story and an accompanying booklet explaining the objects inside each egg. The objects include a silver coin representing the 30 pieces of silver and the linen in which Christ’s body was wrapped. The final egg is empty to illustrate Christ’s tomb. For more information visit www.familylife.com/eggs/hunt.asp. (Christian Etailing)

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