Zprávy HCJB 1.7.2009 - 4.7.2009

 Assemblies of God vzdorují úpadku církví v USA
   Navzdory obecnému zmenšování církví pokračuje u Assemblies of God podle posledních zpráv nárůst členstva. Ve Výroční zprávě církevního duchovenstva sestavené a nedávno zveřejněné statističkou Assemblies of God Sherri Doty vykázala tato denominace v roce 2008 nárůst členstva o 1.3%, což představuje nových 21 000 členů a celkem 1 662 632 členů. Také zájemců přibylo o 1.3% - o 36 000 na celkem 2 899 702. Tato zpráva přichází bezprostředně po nedávném celostátním průzkumu ukazujícím pokles členstva u hlavních denominací včetně jižních baptistů, římských katolíků, episkopálů, presbyteriánů a luteránů. „Vzestup o více než jedno procento je již významný,“ řekla Doty. „Americká populace roste asi o jedno procento ročně a tak je zřejmé, že rosteme rychleji, než přibývá obyvatelstva. Při letitém úpadku návštěvnosti jiných náboženských organizací je to povzbudivá novina.“ Zdroj: Ministry Today, Assemblies of God News
 
 Vrcholný indický představitel se omlouvá za násilí proti křesťanům
   Indický vysoký vládní činitel vnesl poselství naděje a důvěry mezi členy indické křesťanské komunity. Učinil tak po návštěvě kraje Kandhamal ve východoindickém státu Orissa. Vyděšen násilnostmi a jejich důsledky pro křesťany v citlivé oblasti Kanhamalu se federální ministr pro vnitřní záležitosti P. Chidambaram omluvil a nabídl odpovídající bezpečnostní záruky a nápravná opatření umožňující postiženým začít nový život. „Je mi líto věcí, ke kterým loni došlo a které vás přivedly do těchto táborů,“ řekl Chidambarm. „Ale musíte se vrátit do vašich vesnic. Jsem tu proto, abyste se již nebáli a abych vás ujistil, že jak ústřední, tak místní vláda vám nabízejí plnou ochranu.“ V utečeneckých táborech v Kandhmalu zůstává přes 2000 lidí, kteří se bojí vrátit domů. V době, kdy násilnosti vrcholily bylo v těchto táborech asi 50 000 lidí. Bylo to v souvislosti s vraždou hiduistického fundamentalistického vůdce Swami Laxmananda Saraswati v srpnu 2008. Zdroj: Christian Today Reporter
 
 Všechny zprávy v angličtině
   EVANGELICAL RADIO STATIONS EMPHASIZE PRAYER AMID CRISIS IN HONDURAS

Sources: HCJB Global, Assist News Service, Reuters, CNN, Mission Network News
Defying pressures by the U.N. and the Organization of American States to reinstate ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as head of state, the country’s new leaders said this week there was “no chance at all” of Zelaya’s return to office.

A military coup unseated Zelaya, staving off for now a nationwide, nonbinding referendum that could have led to a constitutional revision and allowed him to seek re-election.

With tensions high in the capital, Tegucigalpa, evangelical radio stations are focused on prayer, according to Patricia Guevara, a journalist at Radio HRVC, La Voz Evangélica de Honduras. HRVC and its counterpart, FM Stereo Luz, are both partner ministries of HCJB Global Voice. The stations air satellite-fed Christian programming from Radio Station HCJB in Quito.

“The pastoral and church associations have united like never before to intercede, maintaining [a spirit of] neutrality while inviting peace and respecting order and justice,” Guevara said. “Information released to foreign media is not completely correct; it has been distorted.” The population is divided on whether or not to support Zelaya’s ouster.

The crisis has been exacerbated by a June 30 earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. “Christians continue to pray,” Guevara added. “The call is for Christians to stand up to pray and intercede, asking the Lord to act on outbreaks of violence that may arise…. We see this as an opportunity for an awakening of the evangelical church in Honduras. We are on our knees before the Lord. Thanks for praying for us.”

HRVC has been on the air for 46 years, broadcasting the gospel initially to Tegucigalpa and later using nine repeaters that cover 70 percent of the country and portions of neighboring Nicaragua and Guatemala. In addition, the station offers Stereo Luz, a popular FM service for Tegucigalpa. “We also broadcast on shortwave, and we can be heard worldwide on the Internet at www.hrvc.org,” explains program producer Jessenia Zelaya (no relation to Manuel Zelaya).

Meanwhile, Orphan Outreach has moved several of its interns out of Tegucigalpa to avoid potential problems, according to a ministry spokesperson, Tiffany Taylor.

“We had already made a decision for their safety and moved them out of Tegucigalpa, but they are not able to do the ministry that they were called there to do right now,” Taylor explained. She said any interruption of the work spells big trouble for those most vulnerable as the ministry teams “are the hands and feet of Christ to these people.”

Zelaya, elected in 2005, recently found himself pitted against other branches of government and military leaders regarding a nonbinding vote that had been planned for Sunday, allowing the president to run for another term. CNN reported that Honduras’ Supreme Court ruled the referendum illegal, and the military and Congress agreed.

Despite the military and Congress’ position, Zelaya pressed forward, vowing last week that he would push for the referendum. His four-year term was scheduled to end in January 2010, and under current law he could not run for re-election.

KOREAN CHURCHES URGED TO NOURISH NORTH KOREANS ‘WITHOUT ANY PRECONDITION’

Source: Ecumenical News International
A group of churches in South Korean has launched a campaign to give North Korean children milk and bread “without any precondition.” A mid-June statement by the National Council of Churches in Korea said the group would start “to advocate the necessity of urgent support to people in North Korea in the situation of the present critical antagonistic political arrangement on the Korean peninsula, and to mobilize its member churches”. The campaign sprang from discussions earlier this year in Beijing with the Korean Christian Federation, based in North Korea. It included a “Week of National Reconciliation” in June that encouraged churches to hold special worship services with prayers for the people of North Korea. The campaign involves sending packs of flour cans of powdered milk to North Korea. Tensions around the Korean Peninsula and neighboring Japan have heightened in recent months. In early April North Korea launched a long-range rocket, and in late May engaged in a second nuclear test, an action that has led to tougher U.N. sanctions on the isolated state.

MISSION ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCES PROJECT FOR 18- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS

Source: Christian Newswire
Adventures in Missions (AIM), a nonprofit organization that facilitates short-term mission trips throughout the world and within the U.S., has launched the Novas Project. The project is more than a missions trip, it’s an eight-month missions experience for 18- to 24 year-olds where men and women actually learn how to be missionaries. The word Novas literally means a “new way,” and The Novas Project will forever change the way participants see the world. The first part of the Novas Project is spent in Mexico at AIM's mission base where teams will be developed and trained for global outreach. During the second part of the trip, individuals will then partner with a long- term missionary to reach the poorest of the poor in various locations around the world. A few assignments available include caring for orphans and widows in Swaziland, teaching about HIV/AIDS prevention in schools in South Africa, ministering to Gypsies and social outcasts i n Romania, and befriending street kids in the Philippines.

AUDIO BIBLE MINISTRY GROWS OUTREACH AFTER END OF SRI LANKA’S CIVIL WAR

Source: Assist News Service
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans died during 26 years of civil war with many more thousands fleeing the violence. The nation’s militarized minority, the Tamil Tigers, have laid down their weapons with people surviving in refugee camps not far from the places they once called home. “Conditions in Sri Lanka are difficult right now--closed roads, unsanitary living conditions and lack of resources,” said Doug Harstine, regional manager for Faith Comes by Hearing. During this time of rebuilding also comes a rebuilding of faith. “The people are ready for the message of hope that comes from God’s Word,” Harstine added. “We’re working with the Ceylon Bible Society to distribute audio Bibles in those refugee camps.” Harstine said as people hear God’s Word, they are discipled and transformed; they respond by planting churches. He said a team will re-record the Tamil Audio Bible using indigenous voices. &ldq uo;The current recording was voiced by Indians because of the lack of access to the Tamil region. Now, the Word of God will be in their dialect, and Tamil people will be more open to the Scriptures.” After finishing the Tamil New Testament, the team will record other languages in South Asia, a ministry news release stated. Faith Comes by Hearing has 439 audio Scripture recordings in 371 languages.

REPORT: ASSEMBLIES OF GOD BUCKS TREND OF DECLINING CHURCH ENROLLMENTS IN U.S.

Sources: Ministry Today, Assemblies of God News
Bucking the trend of denominational decline, the Assemblies of God continues to grow in membership, according to the latest report. In the Annual Church Ministries Report compiled and recently released by Assemblies of God statistician Sherri Doty, for the year 2008 the denomination showed an increase in membership of 1.3 percent, rising by more than 21,000 to 1,662,632. The number of adherents also showed a 1.3-percent increase, growing by more than 36,000 to 2,899,702. The news comes on the heels of a recent nationwide study that found most mainline groups--including Southern Baptists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Lutherans--in decline. “The increase of more than 1 percent is significant,” said Doty. “The U.S. population grows by about 1 percent a year [so] this is an indication that we are growing faster than the population. In light of the steady declines in attendance by other religious organizations over the pas t years, this is encouraging news.”

MINISTRY PLANS TO LAUNCH ARABIC CHRISTIAN TV WEBSITE THIS YEAR

Sources: Arab Vision, rlg media
A broadcast charter agreement last year involving countries of the Arab League is viewed by a Christian ministry as a possible significant step toward tightening controls on satellite television in the region. In response, Arab Vision sees the Internet as holding great potential with exponential growth in the numbers of people in the Arab world who have access to the Internet. The Gulf region leads in this, but poorer countries such as Egypt have also made good progress. An estimated 24 million people in the region can access high-speed Internet. Plans are to create a dedicated website that provides livestreaming of Arabic Christian TV programs, establishing itself as a news portal for relevant Christian issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab Vision has taken on the task of developing and running this Internet broadcast. The ministry already has already produced some 1,000 hours of programming tailor-made for the website which it expects to launc h by the end of this year.

* HCJB Global Voice reaches across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe with Christian Arabic programming aired via shortwave, satellite, local stations and the Internet. An estimated 1 million households tune in to the broadcasts at least weekly. The mission’s North Africa Satellite Service airs programs direct-to-home 24 hours a day. This region has the world’s highest concentration of personal satellite dishes. For more information visit www.onehousehold.com.

STUDENTS TO GATHER IN ILLINOIS FOR 23RD URBANA YOUTH MISSIONS CONFERENCE

Source: Mission Network News
While mission conferences are popping up around the world, Christy Chapel of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship says the largest U.S. conference, Urbana, continues to be the model. For the past 60 years, youth from 150 countries have attended the event, normally held every three years. “Urbana has helped, I think, to spawn national mission movements among many countries now,” she said. “We have countries like Nigeria, Mexico and Argentina hosting large conferences for their own students.” More than 20,000 students are expected to attend Urbana 2009 in late December. This year’s theme will be, “Jesus Among Us.” “It’s really designed to present to every generation of students what is going on in the world in terms of missions and global issues, and challenge students and recent graduates with how they can participate more fully in God’s mission,” Chapel said.

TOP OFFICIAL IN INDIA APOLOGIZES FOR ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

Source: Christian Today Reporter
India’s top government official has infused a message of hope and confidence into the country’s Christian community after a recent visit to the Kandhamal district in eastern Orissa state. Appalled by the violence and its consequences on Christians in the communally sensitive Kandhamal, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram apologized and offered adequate security and rehabilitation measures to help the affected start their lives anew. “I am sorry that certain things happened last year and you have been brought to these camps,” Chidambaram said. “But you must go back to your villages. I am here to remove your fear and assure you that Center and State government will offer all protection.” More than 2,000 victims remain in Kandhamal relief camps, afraid to return home. Earlier, some 50,000 people were forced into these camps at the peak of violence in the aftermath of the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a Hindu fundamen talist leader, in August 2008.

BELIEVERS IN IRAN COULD FACE EVEN MORE PERSECUTION DURING PROTEST CRACKDOWN

Source: Open Doors USA
Iranian Christian Joseph Hovsepian says Christians protesting the June re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could face even more intense persecution than believers already endure. Hovsepian, whose father, Bishop Haik Hovsepian, was martyred in Iran in 1994, said his friends and relatives in Iran claim that few Christians are in the streets protesting, although they share the protesters’ demands for a full recount of the bitterly disputed election and more freedom. “We should not forget that the danger for Christians protesting in Iran is double,” said Hovsepian. “If this is how brutally the Iranian government cracks down on its own Muslim protesters who shout ‘Alaho Akbar’ (God is great), just imagine how much worse it could be for Christians protesting and calling on Jesus for help!” Hovsepian, who lives in the Los Angeles area, added that current events in Iran have helped unite the church there. The recent murder of Neda Agah-Soltan, 26, killed by a bullet while standing on a street in Tehran during a protest, brought back memories of the brutal killing of his father, an evangelical church leader in Iran, who was stabbed 26 times by an attacker.

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