Recent peace agreements in Sudan have created a fresh opening for Christian outreach in the non-Muslim southern part of the country, says SIM’s Steve Strauss. While churches in southern Sudan have been brutalized by two decades of civil war, the ministry’s national partners in Ethiopia and Nigeria have sent in missionaries to help Sudanese believers get back on their feet. “They’re actually going to be training school teachers in [the region], helping Sudanese schoolteachers be better equipped to train their own children and adults who haven’t had a chance for education, and then working with the southern Sudanese church in evangelism and discipleship as well,” Strauss explains. The ongoing violence in western Sudan’s Darfur region hasn’t hampered SIM’s work, but Sudan’s future hangs in the balance. Strauss asks prayer for the church to be built up. “The work in southern Sudan will be with people who are from an animistic background, some of them nominal Christians,” he says. “Other stronger Christians are helping them get a much more thorough grounding in their faith, and sharing the gospel with those that don’t know the Lord yet.” (Mission Network News)

PHILIPPINE ARMY CAPTURES MUSLIM SUSPECTED IN BURNHAM KIDNAPPING

The Philippine Army says it has captured a suspected Muslim militant accused in the 2001 kidnapping of American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham. The militant, known as Abu Omar, is also accused of deadly bombings in the southern Philippines. A third American who was kidnapped with the Burnhams, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf rebels. Martin was killed during an army commando mission a year later in which his wife, Gracia, was wounded and rescued. In her book, In the Presence of My Enemies, Gracia identifies Omar as a militant who spent 11 months among their rebel captors. (AgapePress/Associated Press)

PRO-LIFE GROUP LAUNCHES WEBSITE FOR ‘DEATH ROE SURVIVORS’

The Texas-based pro-life group called Life Dynamics has launched a project called “Death Roe Survivors” along with a website called DeathRoe.com. It targets the new generation of pro-life supporters born after the controversial Roe v. Wade decision of Jan 22, 1973, that legalized abortion. The site provides pro-life supporters “with a forum to express their views,” says Life Dynamics President Mark Crutcher. “One of the things that we’re seeing is that these people are telling us they see themselves as survivors of abortion.” Website visitors have begun referring to themselves as the “unchosen.” People in this generation understand that “even though their mom might not have considered abortion, she could have,” Crutcher says. (Agape Press/Life Dynamics)

UPDATE: COMMITTEE REVIEWS SRI LANKA’S PROPOSED ANTI-CONVERSION LAW

Sri Lanka’s parliament recently appointed a special committee to review a proposed bill to outlaw “forcible conversions.” The move to revive anti-conversion legislation came along with attacks in early April on churches and Christian sympathizers, including a mob attacking a Methodist church during Sunday worship. The proposed bill penalizes anyone found converting others “by force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means” with prison sentences of up to five years and/or stiff fines. Along with religious tensions, military activity between the government and northern separatist groups has also escalated, threatening to draw the nation into civil war. (Compass Direct)

BIBLE LEAGUE ANNOUNCES PLANS TO EXPAND INTO CHILE

The Bible League (TBL) announced that it will expand into Chile, the ministry’s 55th country worldwide. The church in this Latin American country is growing, and there is a great need for Bibles, says TBL’s Scott Thunder. “Believe it or not, there are about 3 million Christians in Chile, and only 120,000 Bibles a year get into the country.” Thunder says Chile is strategic because God’s Word brings healing and transformation. “Every country’s going to be strategic for us,” he says. “We don’t want anyone to be left out. If anyone wants a Bible, our ministry is involved in making sure that they can get one placed into their hands. It’s always exciting when you have a brand new country open up and begin to see change in people’s lives and change in the local communities.” (Mission Network News)

* ALAS, HCJB World Radio’s Latin American satellite radio network, provides Christian Spanish programming to more than 89 downlinks in 17 countries. These include outlets in 17 cities of Chile that are part of the Radio Armonía network.

Copyright ăHCJB World Radio 2006