North Carolina Baptists were quick to respond when the state’s second-deadliest tornado in 50 years swept through a small community, killing eight people, injuring 20 and destroying dozens of homes. “We are running a small feeding operation and have some disaster relief chaplains in place, and we’ll be assisting the survivors with going through the debris that was left by the storm,” said Gaylon Moss, disaster relief director for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The feeding unit is set up at Riegelwood Baptist Church, about 20 miles west of Wilmington. A 1,000-foot-wide tornado struck Riegelwood early Thursday, Nov. 16, carving a path more than a half a mile wide and almost a mile long. “There was no warning. There was no time. It just came out from nowhere,” Cissy Kennedy, who lives in an affected neighborhood, told the Star-News. The tornado was part of a strong system of storms that moved through the South, leaving 12 people dead in two days. Offering physical aid has opened doors to provide spiritual counseling among survivors. (Evangelical News/Baptist Press)

DRUNKEN MUSLIM MOB VANDALIZES NAZARENE CHURCH IN PAKISTAN

Armed, drunken Muslims struck two greeters at an evening service at a church outside of Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 12, then returned to pelt the building with stones and bricks. Led by Zulifiqar Akbar Jutt and Asif Ramzan, 10 men broke fluorescent lights and a cross on the outer gate of the Church of the Nazarene in the village of Talab Sarai.

Pastor Rafiq Masih told the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) that the Muslim men began to hit greeters who had earlier stopped them from harassing Christian women. The congregation of about 40 families quickly exited the church, halting the attacks. The Muslim men “had every intention to use the firearms,” said CLAAS coordinator Wasim Muntizar. “But because the Christians didn’t respond angrily, the situation did not get worse.”

After fully assessing the damage to the church and interviewing many villagers, the CLAAS team went to the Manga Mandi Police Station to lodge a complaint, but authorities refused to accept it.

Most local villagers work in the brick kiln industry, and the Muslim kiln owners often force the believers to work on Sundays, so church services don’t begin until 6 p.m. The Christian families are often besieged by Muslims who threaten and bully them; young girls are especially susceptible to attacks and harassment.

Last Christmas during worship a young man threw fireworks into the church, causing a stampede and mass confusion among the congregation. This incident was resolved by talks between the police and the villagers. (Compass Direct News/Jubilee Campaign)

* 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. JONI AND FRIENDS PROGRAM URGES CHURCHES TO REACH THE DISABLED

James Rene of Joni and Friends says his organization is seeking to meet the great needs of the disabled community. “There are 54 million people affected by disability [in the U.S.], and many of them are unchurched,” he said. Studies indicated that 85 percent of churches do not feel equipped or have any kind of ministry or outreach to the disabled. Joni and Friends is helping to fill that gap with its “Through the Roof” training program for churches. Based on the story in Luke 14:21-23 about the four friends who carried their disabled friend to Jesus, the ministry’s goal is to share the vision and the mandate to reach out to the disability community. Plans are to build awareness and training, equip churches with resources and provide leadership and ongoing support. (Mission Network News)

CHURCH OPENS NEW BUILDING FOR CHRISTIAN PUBLIC LIBRARY IN GAZA

On Sunday, Nov. 12, the Gaza Baptist Church inaugurated a new building that houses the Gaza Strip’s only Christian public library. Both Christian and non-Christian books can be borrowed from the large collection of books on the first two floors of the building. About 250 people were present for the ceremony, including some 30 international guests involved with the Christian community in Gaza, Israel. Among those present was Open Doors’ founder Brother Andrew who encouraged the believers. “It’s great to take care of the body, great to take care of their minds by giving them good books,” he said. “But it’s even better to take care of their souls and spread the gospel of Jesus . . . to show them Jesus.” Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller added, “It’s a beautiful building that was built with the investment of the Palestinian Bible Society and others that have invested into a place where the Christian community can have a witness in a hostile environment.” The six-story building also houses a community healthcare facility for women, an outreach center for the church, a guesthouse and a worship hall. The library has helped build the Baptist church’s reputation as positive influence in the community. The library first opened in 1968 with just 200 books. (Open Doors)

METHODISTS JOIN CAMPAIGN TO HELP PREVENT MALARIA IN AFRICA

The United Methodist Church participated in the official kickoff of a malaria prevention campaign called “Nothing but Nets,” reported the United Methodist News Service. The campaign is designed to encourage donations for malaria nets for African families. Bishop Thomas Bickerton said one of the campaign’s most appealing aspects is that fact that “anyone, anywhere” can forge this lifesaving link with children in Africa. “It all fits into the whole issue of eradicating poverty,” added Bickerton, president of United Methodist Communications. “A million people are dying of malaria every year, 75 percent of them children.” Other partners in the campaign include the United Nations Foundation, Sports Illustrated, the National Basketball Association’s foundation NBA Cares, Millennium Promise and the Measles Initiative. (Religion Today/United Methodist News Service)

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The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) announced this week that its latest ministry, “Dare to Be a Daniel,” has reached an important milestone much earlier than expected. Launched last May, BGEA has sent more than 200,000 “Dare to Be a Daniel” training kits free of charge upon request. The program uses the biblical story of Daniel to teach “tweens” (ages 9-14) to live their Christian faith in their daily lives and train them how to share their faith. The program, created by BGEA President Franklin Graham, challenges youths to focus on several keys to Daniel’s success with corresponding Bible verses to memorize. To successfully complete the training, they must recite the verses to their pastor. The training kits also include an interactive CD-ROM containing Christian music, testimonies and the Bible. “Daniel excites me for the courageous ways he took a stand for God. He kept his heart pure and shared his faith,” said Graham. “Through the inspiration of Daniel, this is a unique opportunity for young people to take a stand for Christ in their communities.” (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

MILITANTS IN INDIA KILL PROMINENT CHRISTIAN, ATTACK VILLAGERS

Christians in India continue to be the brunt of attacks from extremist groups as seen in two recent incidents. Earlier today (Nov. 21) two unidentified militants killed a Christian convert from Islam on a busy road in the village of Mamoosa in northern India’s terror-stricken state of Jammu and Kashmir. Bashir Ahmed Tantray, a 50-year-old engineer, was shot dead, apparently by Islamist militants, as he stood at a busy bus stop near his parents’ house in Mamoosa, a local Christian source said. He had accepted Christianity about a decade ago and was an active Christian worker. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, adherents of a Bodo tribal religion in northeastern India’s Assam state forced nine families from their homes for converting to Christianity. The villagers destroyed six of the nine families’ homes, forcing the Christians to take shelter in a primary school. The nine families live in four villages in the Kokrajhar district of Assam.

Their ordeal began when a Pentecostal meeting held in the village of Haldibari on Monday, Nov. 13, infuriated the Bodo tribal people who organized their own religious gathering. At their meeting, the tribal people of Haldibari -- some of them sympathizers of the Hindu extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) -- resolved to force the Christian families out. That afternoon 25 Bodo villagers attacked the homes of three Christian families in Haldibari, and the violence soon spread to the neighboring villages of Moflabari, Jamduguri and Basdari. (Compass Direct News)

* Radio programs in 17 languages air to India from HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave station in Kununurra. The programs are produced at the ministry’s studios in New Delhi, India.

CONVOY OF HOPE HELPS UGANDA REBUILD FOLLOWING TRUCE

A recent truce between the Ugandan government and rebels with a paramilitary group, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has brought a steady ray of hope to countless Ugandans. Missouri-based Convoy of Hope has embarked on a project to provide 30 community center buildings in the region to serve as medical clinics, schools, counseling centers, houses of worship and agriculture stations. “Nearly 2 million people have been left homeless as a result of the war and emotional scars inflicted on the country will take years to heal,” said International Director Kenton Moody. “These centers are the beginning of a provision of hope.” The goal of the centers is to assist people with their basic needs and inspire them to rebuild their homes and reestablish their farms and villages. To help speed that process along, Convoy of Hope is providing seeds, pots, pans and even homes for ministers in the area. (Evangelical News/AG News)

HONDURAN GOVERNMENT GIVES GRANT FOR HEALTHCARE PROGRAM

Through International Aid’s “Befriend a Village” program, work is being done to help the rural, poor villages in Honduras. It began when the government saw how the ministry could help meet people’s crucial needs, said Myles Fish of International Aid. “One opportunity led to another, and it eventually led to the Honduran government offering us a grant to conduct what they call a community-based healthcare program in, then 24 villages, now 38 villages,” Fish said. “It’s an extremely remote, extremely poor area, and the government saw us as a vehicle to provide a level of health services that they could not provide. So they extended the invitation to us, and we’ve taken what they’ve requested and have built on it, several different layers, so that it’s really become a very effective program -- not only to address the health issues in those communities, but for us to have an opportunity to express who we are in Christ and to proclaim the gospel.” The programs have been well-received in the various villages which have a population of between 2,000 and 5,000. (Mission Network News)

* Staff members from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., have worked with local partners to establish radio ministries in three cities of Honduras, Roatan, San Pedro Sula and Siguatepeque.

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING PIONEER DIES AT AGE 89

Australian religious broadcasting pioneer Rev. Vernon Kenneth Turner, 89, died on Saturday, Nov. 18, following a lengthy illness, just two months after his wife, May Elizabeth, passed away. Turner was born in Adelaide in 1917, and he lived there until his family moved to Sydney in 1931.

At the age of 7 he built his first microphone from a wooden Beecham’s Pills box and some mica and carbon granules. He later built much more sophisticated microphones. Before leaving Adelaide, he frequented the local radio stations after school. In 1937 he was accepted by Anglican Archbishop Howard Mowll for training for the ministry at Moore Theological College. After two Sydney parishes, he and his wife spent several years as missionaries in the outback of New South Wales.

In 1938 Turner began his first weekly radio broadcast called “Church News” which continued for many years. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 interrupted his studies that he resumed in 1946 at Emmanuel College at the University of Queensland, the training college for the Presbyterian Church, and he was licensed in 1951. By the late 1950s Turner and his staff were producing 800 weekly programs for 100 commercial stations across Australia. Among them were programs such as “Counsellor,” “Rev Gordon Powell,” “World Church News” and “From the Bible.”

In 1955 he called the first meeting of the Christian Television Association and was its first secretary. Having applied for an FM radio license for Sydney 23 years earlier, it was finally granted in 1978, and 2CBA-FM began broadcasting in March 1979, Australia’s first Christian FM station. Since then the station has operated 24 hours a day, reaching the entire Sydney metropolitan area. His daily program, “Morning Devotions,” aired for more than 20 years until his retirement in 1996. Funeral services are planned for St. David’s Uniting Church in Haberfield Friday, Nov. 24. (Worldwide Photos)

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