Zprávy HCJB 13.3.2007

	15 organizací vytvořilo síť pro pomoc pronásledovaným křesťanům.
	Ve čtvrtek 8. března se v Amsterdamu v Holandsku sešli zástupci 15 organizací pracujících pro pronásledovanou církev a vytvořili síť Religious Liberty Partnership. Účelem projektu je koordinace činnosti, posílení obecného vědomí o potřebách pronásledované církve a společné modlitby. Členy jsou Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs , Christian Solidarity International, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, World Evangelical Alliance a kolem dalších 10 podobných organizací. „Je to historická novina, je to poprvé, kdy se takové organizace sešly a podaly si ruce,“ řekl Johan Candelin z World Evangelical Alliance, „Skutečnými vítězi jsou naši bratři a sestry. Tento vývoj je také pozitivním signálem pro církev v celém světě o duchu jednoty přítomném na amsterdamském setkání.“ Příští výroční setkání bude v Zurichu ve Švýcarsku v roce 2008.
	Všechny zprávy v angličtině.
	15 ORGANIZATIONS FORM NETWORK TO SERVE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS Source: Assist News Service On Thursday March 8, 15 organizations working for the persecuted church met in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and formed a network called the Religious Liberty Partnership. The aim of the network is to coordinate efforts, boost awareness about the needs of the persecuted church and the work of the organizations, and to pray together. Members include Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs, Christian Solidarity International, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, World Evangelical Alliance and about 10 similar organizations. “This is historic news as it is the first time these organizations have come together to join hands,” said Johan Candelin of World Evangelical Alliance. “The real winners are our suffering brothers and sisters. This development also sends a positive signal to the global church about the spirit of unity present at the Amsterdam meeting.” The next annual meeting will be held in Zurich, Switzerland in March 2008. 4 SRI LANKAN CHRISTIANS DISAPPEAR IN SPATE OF MISSING PERSONS Sources: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Compass Direct News A pastor, his two sons and another young man were reported missing on Friday, March 2, after they disappeared en route to a bus stop in Negombo, Sri Lanka, 185 miles north of the capital Colombo. Pastor Victor Emmanuel Yogarajan, 51, from the Gospel Missionary Church in Vavuniya, along with his sons, Daniel Yogarajan, 22, and David Yogarajan, 20, and companion Joseph Sugandakumar, 20, had stayed overnight in Negombo. The four planned to travel to Colombo by bus on March 2, but after leaving the house for the bus stop, they disappeared. Other members of the pastor’s family filed a missing person’s report. The incident is one of many similar disappearances in recent months, reported the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Not all the victims are Christians. In a statement issued the same day, the Asian Human Rights Commission claimed that a disappearance now occurs in Sri Lanka once every five hours. Increased disappearances and a general climate of impunity are sparked by clashes between government forces and Tamil rebels. UNREST IN SUDAN, CHAD AFFECTS MAF’S FLIGHT OPERATIONS Source: Mission Network News Unrest in western Sudan’s Darfur region is spilling over into neighboring Chad, causing the two governments to accuse each other of supporting the others’ rebels. The insecurity in eastern Chad has brought some difficulties to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flights. John Woodberry, MAF’s disaster response manager, said a “couple hundred thousand refugees” have fled Darfur for Chad, only to find a country embroiled in its own civil war, resulting in an estimated 112,000 internally displaced people. Woodberry says MAF is continuing operations in Chad’s capital city, N`Djamena, flying to the south to assist missionaries and Bible translators. However, he says the work is changing. “We’re also seeing increasing needs in flying in support of aid agencies who are responding to this crisis in eastern Chad.” In February MAF faced some difficulties. “The rebels came all the way to the capital city. And because of the security decreasing in the country, all our families left.” With improved security, many MAF missionary families are returning to aid the skeleton crew left to operate in their absence. * HCJB Global Voice worked with local partner Church of the Lutheran Brethren to establish a recording studio in Gauna Gaya, Chad. 5K RUN ENCOURAGES PARTICIPANTS TO PRAY FOR LOS ANGELES Source: Christian Newswire Pray for LA, a ministry administered by Life Connections International, is hosting the ministry’s inaugural Pray for LA 5K running event Saturday, May 5, at Hansen Dam Recreational Center in Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles. The purpose of the event is to encourage people to pray for the city of Los Angeles and its residents. Organizers are urging participants to “raise prayer requests” instead of the typical fund-raising for similar events. Participants will then pray for those specific needs as they run or walk the course surrounding the lake. Arnel Aguilar, coordinator of the event which he conceived, began running and praying two years ago after he lost his wife in an automobile accident. As he ran to conquer his own grief, he became aware of the host of other grieving, lost and lonely people in the city. He started to pray for these strangers as he ran. As he began to heal, he considered how his idea of “prayer running” could help others rise above their seemingly hopeless circumstances. Tyler Lennon, founder of Life Connections International, welcomed the idea as a chance to introduce more people to the concept of regularly praying for the city and its people. * STATION IN GUATEMALA REACHES MEXICANS WITH CHRIST’S LOVE Sources: Kenneth D. MacHarg, Missionary Journalist, HCJB Global Can a small FM Christian radio station in Guatemala plant churches in Mexico? Absolutely! Witness the fruits of Radio Impacto, a 1,000-watt FM station that sits in the scrubby border town of La Mesilla, Guatemala. “Our goal is to reach Chiapas state [in southern Mexico] with the gospel,” said Christian Villatoro, pastor of the fast-growing Twelve Pearls Evangelical Church and general manager of the radio station. “It’s difficult to do ministry in Mexico and almost impossible to put a Christian radio station there. So we decided to focus our broadcasts to that audience.” To do that, Radio Impacto incorporates Mexican music and invites pastors from Chiapas state to appear on the air regularly. In Mexico it is illegal for a radio station to be owned by a Christian organization. Villatoro knows that the broadcasts are bearing fruit. “Three years ago a listener traveled all the way from his small town in Mexico to visit me here in Guatemala. He told me that he was Roman Catholic but had doubts about his faith. “I invited him to my house and two hours later he accepted Jesus Christ,” he continued. “Today, in his town, there is an evangelical church and a growing number of Christians.” Villatoro says that someone from Radio Impacto visits that town every eight to 10 days to provide training and discipleship and help the new church grow. Radio Impacto is on the second floor of the Guatemalan church’s new building. The bare walls of the control room and studio reflect the station’s austerity, but the on-the-air enthusiasm witnesses to the fervor of staff members to reach Mexico for Christ. Largely a self-developed ministry, the radio station reflects a church that bustles with activity. The station was started about five years ago by Ronaldo Orellana, a local businessman and a member of Villatoro’s church. While a live program involving greetings and announcements for Mexican listeners is under way in the studio, 100 women have gathered in the church’s old worship center for an afternoon meeting. And their efforts are almost drowned out by hundreds of teenagers in the adjoining school also operated by the congregation. The station is supported by the church’s 400 members who also provide some volunteer help both on and off the air. Each week the church offers three worship services and has 225 participants in a women’s Bible study, 100 teenagers involved in youth ministries, 100 men meeting for prayer and a number of daughter churches springing up throughout Mexico and Guatemala. Villatoro says that 30 percent of Guatemala is considered to be evangelical, but in his town the number reaches 35 percent of the population. In contrast, the evangelical population in Chiapas is only about 19 percent. He is grateful for the help provided to his station by HCJB Global Voice engineer Steve Sutherland from Quito. The missionary has visited the station three times in the last two years to help improve the technical quality of the signal. The station also uses several hours of programming, including special releases for women, men and children from ALAS-HCJB, the mission’s Christian Spanish programming satellite network with 95 affiliates across Latin America. In addition, HCJB Global Voice’s radio development ministry recently provided a training workshop for Radio Impacto’s staff. Despite all of the work involved with serving an active church, operating a school and running a missionary radio station, Villatoro isn’t done yet. HCJB Global Voice engineers from Quito helped move the antenna to a higher mountain a year ago, improving the station’s coverage. “Now we need to go up to at least 3,000 watts so that we can put a better signal into Mexico and reach farther into the country,” he said. The pastor indicated that the station is heard well in large cities such as Tuxtla Gutiérrez, but there are pockets of Chiapas where the signal is spotty. “We need a new transmitter and we need some remote control equipment,” he added. Through Bible studies, music, on-air telephone conversations and other programs, the team at Radio Impacto is addressing serious problems among the Mexican audience. Drug addiction and the growing influence of gangs among youth are two concerns that drive many programming decisions. But primarily, as Villatoro stands in front of his hillside church gazing across the border into neighboring Mexico, he dreams of reaching farther into Mexico to bring others to Christ through his church’s ministry via radio. © Copyright 2007 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA

Zpět	Další zprávy: www.prayer.cz