In preparation for Compassion International’s annual “Compassion Sunday” event, thousands of children around the world are joining child advocates in the U.S. and employees worldwide for a day of prayer and fasting Friday, April 28. Local pastors of more than 3,300 church partners are asking the Compassion-assisted children to join in this time of prayer. This marks the first time a coordinated day of prayer and fasting among Compassion volunteers, employees and sponsored children has been set aside. The day of prayer and fasting will be held in preparation for the “Compassion Sunday” this weekend. The goal for this year’s event is 21,000 new child sponsorships. (Compassion International)

CHURCH GROWTH IN ETHIOPIA, SUDAN AMAZES NAZARENE MISSIONARY

Explosive church growth and evangelism in Ethiopia and Sudan has caused Nazarene missionary Howie Shute to call this “the greatest movement of God that I have seen in my lifetime. Churches are planting churches that are planting churches.” The Nazarene south central district (including Ethiopia and Sudan) reported 200 churches in the last one-and-a-half years. In addition, more than 50 Bible study groups are in the process of becoming churches. “There are evangelists on the road and in the bush everywhere, all planting Bible studies and churches,” he said. “They continue despite a lack of money.” The denomination expects to plant more than 400 new churches this year while the Ethiopian leadership has a target of 1,000 new churches. “Pastors and congregations are being persecuted, but they are faithful to God’s call to preach this message,” Shute said. “The great miracle of Pentecost was 3,000 new believers in one day, but we have had 20,000 in one day praying for their sins to be forgiven!” (Evangelical News/www.thehoanaznews.org)

MUSLIM GROUP THREATENS CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION IN INDONESIA

A Muslim community group called Majlis Taklim entered the premises of a Christian social institution in West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, April 9, demanding its closure for the fifth time this year. The Apostolic Nation Building Foundation (ABB) operates from a residential building in West Java’s West Bekasi district. About 70 Majlis Taklim members came to the ABB headquarters and told the foundation to cease all activities, accusing them of running an “illegal church” and trying to “Christianize” the community. Staff immediately called the police, and some officers arrived to monitor the situation and prevent any violence. Majlis Taklim coordinator Radesman Saragih said church members should take the warning seriously or be prepared to face unspecified negative consequences. (Compass Direct)

VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES INCREASE PRESSURE ON HMONG CHRISTIANS

At least 22 Hmong Christian leaders are being sought after by Vietnamese police for evangelizing outside official structures, reported the Center of Religious Freedom. Other worshipers are being threatened to force them to recant; some have been expelled from their homes and villages. The charges are based on original documents and information that the human rights organization obtained from Vietnam. One document titled, “The Plan on Assigning Forces to Fight and Control the Individuals Who Lead Illegal Religious Propagation” lists the names and addresses of 22 Christian leaders being sought by local authorities. In March, Giang A. Teng, a Hmong Christian from Vi Lau village, said police and border guards tried to force him to abandon his faith and to return to his ancestral cult. When he refused, the police expelled him from his home and land. (WorldWide Religious News/AsiaNews)

* RADIO STATION HCJB TO END ENGLISH BROADCASTS FROM ECUADOR IN MAY

Radio Station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, will air its final English-language broadcasts on international shortwave radio from Ecuador on Saturday, May 6, even as the station’s English Language Service shifts its emphasis toward teaching English as a second language. English was one of the first two languages, along with Spanish, to air when the station began broadcasting in Quito on Christmas Day, 1931.

Station Director Doug Weber calls the move a refocusing or “taking some of the resources that we’ve been using on the broadcasts and focusing that into English-as-a-second-language (ESL) things -- programming that will go out on our other (mostly Spanish) outlets.”

This follows a May 2003 refocusing of the station’s outreach from Ecuador that saw English broadcasts and production drastically reduced. “Since then we’ve only been doing English-language transmissions for 2˝ hours a day,” Weber said. “We haven’t received a lot of response from those transmissions, but we have received a lot of response from some of our ESL programs.”

Weber also cited the transfer of English Language Service Director Jeff Ingram to HCJB World Radio’s newest regional office in Singapore where he will assume media management responsibilities. He was the last full-time English-language radio producer, with newer staff concentrating their efforts on ESL follow-up.

“We’ve had a very loyal audience and we’re grateful to them,” Weber said of the nearly 75 years of relationship via the radio. “And we’re grateful to the Lord as well for the opportunity to be able to minister to so many people through our English-language broadcasts for so many years.”

As to possible future changes, Weber said while specific plans aren’t in place, “We are in a process of evaluating all of our ministries in all of our languages to try to determine what are the most effective things that we’re doing and try and put our emphasis on the things that we’re doing well.” (HCJB World Radio)

SIDEBAR: CLUBS GROW OUT OF ENGLISH-LEARNING RADIO BROADCASTS

Sometimes slow is better.

When hearing a new language being spoken, for example, individual words begin appearing if the speaker would just slow down!

That’s the beauty of the “Spotlight” program, an English-language learning program with a speaking rate of 90 words per minute -- well below the average rate of 125-150 words a minute. The program is produced by FEBA Radio and Words of Hope. (For details visit www.radio.english.net.)

When the program began airing on Radio Station HCJB in Ecuador, it soon became popular. English is the language of international business, and many Ecuadorians wanted to learn the language for career advancement. Many wrote to the station asking for program texts so that they could read along as they listened.

Listeners were then given a monthly opportunity to practice speaking English at the Spotlight Listener’s Club in Ecuador’s capital city of Quito. “Our first club had 27 Ecuadorians there,” said Janine Rembas, a volunteer in that early endeavor.

The “club” designation is appealing, but the group lacks many normal club attributes: a formal membership, fees, a club charter and attendance requirements.

What the club doesn’t lack is enthusiasm. Each Wednesday at an English-language church, more than 170 people gather to hear “Spotlight,” then divide into small conversation groups headed by native English speakers who guide the conversation and aid people in expressing themselves in English.

The pacing of discussion and depth of conversation hinges on people’s abilities in English. Some language learners repeat English words printed on flash cards. More advanced speakers talk about their families, their country -- even culture, current events and ethical matters.

“And while we’re at it we discuss Christian values,” Rembas added. “From the club, we invite them to our local English-speaking church.”

“Ivan” not only attends the listener’s club but has begun attending meetings of Bible Study Fellowship on Mondays. He said of the listener’s club, “It’s very nice for me to share with new friends and to learn about Jesus and about helping other people.”

Dozens of other Ecuadorians attend the evangelical church pastored by Len Kinzel, a former program producer on Radio Station HCJB whose habit of scripting his material carries over into his Sunday homilies. Sermon scripts are available to Ecuadorians who attend worship services, with a Sunday school in specialized English offered as well.

Thrilled with his congregation’s new mix of expatriates and Ecuadorians, Kinzel recalls a conversation revealing the spiritual interest of a Spotlight listener. “She said ‘I don’t only want to learn English; I want to learn Bible English.’”

And while two upscale English-language institutes have cropped up nearby (one launching classes with big band music by a live band), his church is still the hotspot of English-learning every Wednesday.

“I think it’s because we’re cheap” the self-effacing Rembas explains. There’s no charge for the program, and she only recently began soliciting donations for the refreshments afterwards . . . . asking 50 cents of those who stay to eat and socialize -- in English of course!

The club has no paid staff, but depends on the efforts of Rembas and co-workers Jeff Ingram and Harriett Knox. The other native English speakers are volunteers: missionaries, students, teachers and several Ecuadorians whose proficiency in English is excellent. Even children have been involved along with the wife of a U.S. diplomat who helped Rembas dream up creative ideas to foster easier learning.

As the club continues to morph into spin-off ministries, interest grows with more than 2,200 people now receiving scripts via e-mail. Building on that growth, Rembas and her team in the English Language Service now offer online downloads of how-to tips for others intent on establishing similar ESL clubs.

People from as far away as Canada and the Dominican Republic have asked about the club’s model, and Rembas offered it as a Christian outreach tool to religious broadcasters gathered in Bolivia.

“I think the reason it took off is because it had a champion,” said missionary Curt Cole who oversees international ministries at HCJB World Radio. He was referring to Rembas. “Janine said, ‘I like this and want to do it.’ And then I think God took it from there and multiplied it.”

At a small meeting of Spotlight listeners a few years ago, that “champion” was on the ropes in her missions career. A struggler in learning Spanish, she even questioned her calling as a missionary. The listener’s club became for Rembas a reason to stay and minister in Ecuador.

“Immediately after that first club meeting, I realized I had found my ministry niche. I could speak in English and meet a real need,” Rembas recalled. “Since then, this little ministry turned into my full-time job here.”

Ingram added, “It’s a testament about God’s willingness to use us.” (HCJB World Radio)

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