Další způsoby evangelizace jsou velmi různé a zaleží na denominaci. Například Jižní Baptisté upřednostňují duchovní obnovu Božího lidu, zatímco letniční raději pořádají koncerty. Evangelizace celkově přibývá, soustavné působení ve veřejnosti ale stagnuje, zvláště v malých denominacích.

Hlavní církve (metodisté, luteráni a presbyteriáni) nabízejí širokou paletu společenských aktivit, které však někdy ani neobsahují evangelizaci. Jde například o pečovatelskou službu, obstarávání potravin, misie ve vězení, dárcovství krve, skauting. Jiná církevní společenství na tyto činnosti kladou menší důraz.

Roy Sellers, prezident Ellisonovy výzkumné skupiny, která průzkum prováděla, byl zaskočen tím, jak mnoho potřeb společnosti se setkává s malou odpovědí sborů. „Tento nedostatek priorit má mnoho forem,“ říká Sellers. „Sbor to nezajímá, společnost pomoc nechce, musíme se soustředit na vlastní členy – ale pokud sbor nepracuje směrem ven, jak může růst?“

Průzkum je zahrnut do publikace Ellison Research for Facts & Trends, která vychází jednou za dva měsíce v LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

A recent survey of 811 American pastors revealed that 97 percent of all Protestant churches report being involved in some sort of activity specifically for the purpose of evangelism. The most common method revealed in the study was vacation Bible school which was employed by 70 percent of all churches.

Other methods of evangelism were highly diverse and tended to run along denominational lines. For instance, Southern Baptists prefer revivals while Pentecostal churches are more likely to employ concerts. While evangelism percentages soared, community outreach activities were often neglected, especially among non-mainline denominations.

Mainline churches (Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian) tend to offer a wider variety of community programs not necessarily involving evangelism. That would include activities such as daycare services, food pantry and food collection, prison ministries, blood drives, or Boy Scouts or Girls Scouts. Other churches tended to put a lower priority on community outreach.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research who conducted the study, felt it odd that so many community needs were not met with churches reaching out. “This lack of priority takes many forms,” Sellers said. “The congregation isn’t interested, the community doesn’t want our help, we want to focus on our own people -- yet if churches are not consistently reaching outside their own walls, how are they to grow?”

The survey was conducted by Ellison Research for Facts & Trends, a bimonthly publication of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. (Religion Today/Baptist Press/Agape Press)

250 MILLION CHRISTIANS FACE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN 2007

The latest summary of the world’s persecution hotspots by the watchdog group Release International indicates that as many as 250 million Christians worldwide will face persecution and repression in 2007 because of their faith in Jesus. The report, published in the U.K. magazine Inspire, found four distinct “zones” where most persecution takes place: Islam, Communism, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, persecution is growing fastest in the Islamic world. Release sees Saudi Arabia as a great example of this. “There’s a conspiracy of silence around Saudi,” said Release Chief Executive Officer Andy Dipper, “probably because the West wants their oil and their money. But this is a government that hands out the death sentence for its own citizens who want nothing more than the freedom to choose their own faith. And while Saudi Arabia bans all Christian literature, it spends billions of dollars each year propagating Islam around the world.” Meanwhile, communist persecution of Christians continues in China, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea. Christians in India and Nepal face persecution by Hindus, and in the Buddhist world, Christians face persecution in Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. (Assist News Service)

POLICE DAMAGE VIETNAMESE PASTOR’S HOUSE, ARREST 17 PEOPLE

Police burst into the Vietnam Mennonite Church and residence of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, in Ho Chi Minh City, breaking up a prayer meeting and arresting 17 people. They were all released at 5 p.m. after officials had demolished part of the family’s church/residence. The group complied with authorities’ request to halt the prayer meeting and exited the building, but nevertheless were taken into custody. Those arrested included the elderly mother of Quang’s wife, the Quangs’ 12-year-old son Huy, another child named Truc of the same age, and a woman named Thuong who is five months’ pregnant. While virtually all buildings in the area were constructed irregularly without proper building permits more than 20 years ago, authorities have long singled out the Mennonite church/residence for selective building code enforcement because of Quang’s advocacy activities. The family enjoyed a hiatus from authorities last fall, reportedly handed down by government authorities during trade negotiations with U.S. diplomats. Now that the trade agreement is past, most people here understand this as “get-even time,” one church leader in Vietnam said. (Compass Direct News)

LAWYER DETAINED IN MENTAL HOSPITAL, INJECTED WITH ‘POISONS’

On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the human rights group Amnesty International reported that 47-year-old leading Vietnamese human rights lawyer Bui Thi Kim Thanh was found detained and drugged in a mental hospital where she had been confined since November. Police took her to Bien Hoa Mental Hospital, about 20 miles outside Ho Chi Minh City, where several other religious and political dissidents, including devoted Christians, have been held. Confined there since November, dissidents with the International Movement for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam claim she “has been injected with some poisonous chemical substances.” The lawyer was reportedly unable to talk because of the injections. The movement claims communist officials were attempting to silence the lawyer after she began legal procedures on behalf of hundreds of homeless people. Bui often worked free of charge defending low-income families in her community who had properties confiscated by authorities and were seeking redress. (BosNewsLife)

HOPEGIVERS INTERNATIONAL SEEKS LONG-TERM SERVICE IN MALAWI

Hopegivers International is sending a team to Malawi this week to help HIV/AIDS orphans in the country recently thrust to the forefront when pop star Madonna recently adopted a young boy from that country. However, Hopegivers’ commitment is different. “We’re not going there to adopt children, but to get involved on a long-term basis,” said Hopegivers Executive Director Michael Glenn. “We want to establish at least four ‘Hope Homes’ and to make a long-term commitment to assist those needing medicine, food and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Malawi, a country of 12 million, is home to an estimated 1 million orphans -- nearly 700,000 of those are orphaned due to AIDS. However, Hopegivers’ desire is to provide more than basic orphan care. “A Hope Home is more than just another orphanage. The parameters are basically two loving, responsible parents who are overseeing a home of 10 children,” Glenn said. (Assist News Service)

* In partnership with African Bible College, HCJB Global Voice helped plant a Christian radio station in Lilongwe, Malawi, in 1995. The station airs programs in Chichewa and English. Staff members from the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., also installed FM transmitters at stations in two Malawian cities, Blantyre and Mzuzu, in 2000. Recently HCJB Global Hands joined with the Partners in Hope Medical Clinic, assigning three missionaries to help with the outreach.

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