Momentum is building for the Azusa Street Centennial celebration in California April 25-29, marking the 100th anniversary of the modern Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Tens of thousands of people are expected for the celebration with other events set before and after the official festivities. On Saturday, April 29, the largest one-day compassion-oriented outreach in American history is planned as 30 semi-truckloads of products will be distributed in the neediest neighborhoods of Los Angeles. The day will conclude with two large celebrations in the Sports Arena at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Major charismatic leaders along with key evangelical pastors will be speaking at the event. (Evangelical News)

EVANGELIST: GROWING TENSIONS WON’T STOP EVANGELISM IN IRAN

While Iran’s government says its nuclear program will advance despite stern warnings from the United Nations to the contrary, evangelist Sammy Tippit says tensions generated by the country’s international defiance have had an interesting effect on the Iranians. “There is a great sense of insecurity and instability within the nation,” he said. “I think the instability that is caused by what the political leadership is doing is causing people to try to find answers, to try to look for answers -- people who would not normally be looking for those answers.” Tippit said this means people are more open to the Christian broadcasts his team is preparing for Iran. “My prayer is that somehow there could be a resolution and a solution to all of this in a peaceful means and that [this would result in] a growing Christian community.” (Mission Network News)

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX LEADERS STEP UP PRESSURE ON BELIEVERS

Believers in Axum, Ethiopia, considered the most holy city in the nation’s Orthodox Church, are facing increasing pressure from Orthodox leaders. A local source said the local Full Gospel church -- the only known non-Orthodox church in the city -- frequently experiences harassment, with stones often thrown at the building during services. Mobs severely damaged the church during attacks on March 12 and 17. Following the latest attack, Ethiopian Orthodox leaders ordered their followers to expel anyone from their home who was not a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. At last report, four young women have been expelled and are living inside the church compound for protection. The situation heated up significantly after popular nightclub singer Meseret Negusse came to faith in Christ. Despite repeated attempts to force her to return to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, she has persisted in her newfound faith and each Sunday she comes to church with new converts. (Voice of the Martyrs)

* Staff members at HCJB World Radio-Australia’s studios record Oromo language programs that air to 28 million speakers in Ethiopia and Kenya via FEBA Radio’s shortwave facilities.

PAKISTANI COURT DENIES BAIL FOR CHRISTIAN ACCUSED OF ‘BLASPHEMY’

Naseem Bibi, a Christian woman who was charged with desecrating a picture of Khana Kaba, the Muslim holy place in Saudi Arabia, on Friday, March 3, will continue to languish in solitary confinement as her bail was denied by the court on Friday, April 7. Family members of Bibi have gone into hiding, fearing attacks by hard-line Muslim groups. Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan issued an exclusive statement from her husband, Gulzar Masih. He said her arrest stemmed from an incident when some Muslim protesters were desecrating a Christian cross, burning an effigy of George W. Bush and hurling insults against Christianity. When Bibi intervened, the protesters grabbed her, beat her and “stripped her clothes publicly.” After letting her go, she returned home and hid in a trunk when some Muslims came to her door. They claim they found her clutching a picture of “Khana Kaba smudged with defecation.” They lodged a complaint with police who then arrested Bibi. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio sent two medical teams from Ecuador to Pakistan following the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake that left tens of thousands dead and thousands more injured and homeless. Staff members helped SIM International with relief efforts.

POLL: MOST U.S. CHRISTIANS SKEPTICAL ABOUT BELIEVERS’ RESURRECTION

Most Christians in the U.S. don’t believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity, reported Scripps Howard News Service. Thirty-six percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said “yes” to the question, “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?” Another 54 percent said they do not believe, and 10 percent were undecided. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. “This reflects the very low state of doctrinal preaching in our churches,” said Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “I continually am confronted by Christians, even active members of major churches, who have never heard this taught in their local congregations.” The findings surprised many top theologians since it seems to put Americans in conflict with both the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed which mention the resurrection of the body. (Religion Today)

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