Missionaries with India Partners are transparent about partnering health and literacy education with Christian teaching in rural India. Called the Reaching Hands Society, (RHS) classes for children and adults are held after work hours, split half and half between education and spiritual teaching. This split is made clear to villagers from the beginning, allowing them to exclusively attend the secular learning if they choose. However, Remo Paul, whose mother founded and still administers RHS, said villagers initially often want the literacy only, but by the end of the day also want to sing and learn from the Bible. The teaching ranges from literacy to health education and has experienced good success. As part of a two-phase literacy project they raised some literacy rates from 0.04 percent to 40 percent and “brought a sense of self-sufficiency” to the people. Healthcare projects have worked with government agencies to distribute medicated mosquito nets and perform skits about sanitation and malaria prevention. (Mission Network News)

AZERBAIJAN CRACKING DOWN ON GROWING CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT

Open Doors reported on Thursday, Feb. 1, that authorities in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan have launched a crackdown on a Christian movement of ex-Muslims that has grown from 40 to 18,000 members since 1991 when the nation first gained independence. “Even if you just show a little bit of interest in Christianity the government and your family will take action,” said Jeno Sebok, spokesman of the Netherlands-based Open Doors group which investigated the situation. Authorities have begun to put known Christians under police surveillance or harass them. Several new believers have been arrested or dismissed from jobs under pressure from the government and state-controlled media. In addition, it is nearly impossible for churches to gain “official registration” while registered churches face frequent government raids. It’s also difficult to obtain permission to distribute Bibles and other Christian literature. Azerbaijan is a small nation sandwiched between Russia and Iran with about 8 million people. (BosNewsLife)

* HCJB Global Voice, in partnership with Hosanna and local partners in Baku, Azerbaijan, has recorded the dramatized Azeri New Testament as part of the Faith Comes by Hearing project. The recordings, completed in 1998, have been made into a series of radio programs.

NFL BANS SUPER BOWL PARTY AT INDIANAPOLIS CHURCH, BUT BARS OK

The National Football League (NFL) told an Indianapolis church it isn’t allowed to host a planned Super Bowl party this Sunday, Feb 4, even though the league allows similar large-scale viewing in sports bars. Fall Creek Baptist church was one of thousands of churches across the country planning to host a party for the big game when the NFL stepped in and said large-group events can only show the event on television screens 55 inches and smaller. The church planned on projecting the game onto a 12-foot screen. NFL policy also prohibits the use of multiple televisions and even showing a video highlighting the Christian testimonies of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith. Senior Pastor John Newland said the NFL technically has the right to do what it did, but disagrees with both the law and its application. In an e-mail he told the NFL it was wrong to prevent a Super Bowl party at a family-friendly event such as a church while allowing viewings at bars “using the exact same technology we had planned to use and more” while gaining financially from the sales of drinks and food. (Baptist Press)

UZBEK PASTOR DETAINED AT SUNDAY SERVICES, MEMBERS PRESSURED

Pentecostal Pastor Dmitry Shestakov remains detained in an investigation cell following his arrest by government authorities in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan. Authorities have not publicized the reason for his pending trial. Shestakov was arrested on Sunday, Jan. 21, during services at the pastor’s Full Gospel Pentecostal Church. Secret police officers arrived at the church asking the pastor to step outside with them for five minutes, then immediately escorted him to the nearest police station. Shestakov is expected to be accused of “incitement of national, racial and religious enmity” under Article 156 of Uzbekistan’s criminal code. Church members report giving damaging statements to authorities while under duress. If convicted, Shestakov could face up to five years in prison. He also has been charged with the “illegal manufacture and spread of literature which rouses dissension between religions.” Authorities have long been trying to convict Shestakov, raiding his family’s home in June 2006, confiscating sermons and videos and attempting to force him to list all his church members. (Forum 18 News Service/Compass Direct News)

REPORT: SCRIPTURE TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE IN 2,246 LANGUAGES

The latest Scripture Language Report published by United Bible Societies (UBS) in Reading, England, shows that at least one complete book of the Bible has been translated in 2,426 out of an estimated 6,500 languages around the world at the end of 2006. Approximately 95 percent of the world’s population theoretically have access to the Scriptures in a language they understand, although not necessarily their first language. The remaining 5 percent add up to 300 million people. Completed translations in 23 new languages and dialects were registered in 2006 with 260 completed in the last 10 years. Along with three new Bibles, the 2006 Scripture Language Report lists 31 newly translated New Testaments of which five are the first recorded Scripture publications in those languages. Additional Scripture portions were registered for 34 languages which do not yet have either an Old or New Testament, and for 21 languages which have the New Testament but not the Old. In 26 other languages in which translation and publication have already taken place, new or revised versions of portions, Testaments or Bibles are now available. (Evangelical News/Assist News Service)

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