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Today’s News Headlines

SOMETIMES CONFLICT OPENS DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY ETHIOPIAN MOB DESTROYS HOMES OF 11 CHRISTIANS PASTOR STABBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD IN SRI LANKA ARSONISTS STRIKE EVANGELICALS IN MEXICO VIEWS MIXED ON RELIGION ARTICLE REFORM IN PERU TEEN’S WISH PUTS BIBLES IN HANDS OF AFRICAN PASTORS

Today’s News Stories

SOMETIMES CONFLICT OPENS DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY War tends to have an effect on missions outreach among believers in the United States. Nelson Malwitz of the Finishers Project says, “Right now, there are more Christians in Afghanistan than ever before in all of human history. And so, the open doors that happened as a result of conflict, in this case, are just huge. And it could be, indeed, that a year from now, there will be more Christians in Iraq than ever before. The Lord will put it on the hearts of many to be engaged in that, and they’re really important portals to begin to reach that part of the world.” Finishers Project encourages people 25 to 75 to get involved in outreach. (Mission Network News)

ETHIOPIAN MOB DESTROYS HOMES OF 11 CHRISTIANS The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) just learned of another recent attack on evangelical Christians in Ethiopia. On March 12, the homes of 11 evangelical Christians were burned to the ground by a hostile mob in the town of Deneba, 150 kilometers northeast of Addis Ababa. About 26 believers including children are now displaced and in need of emergency assistance. VOM visited this town late last year and witnessed the deep poverty and persecution facing many of the believers there, which, with this event, has been exacerbated. Ethiopian government officials reportedly have taken no measures to protect them and bring the persecutors to justice. Evangelicals, although they make up approximately 20 percent of the country’s population (Operation World), rarely enjoy the same legal rights and protection as Orthodox and Muslim Ethiopians, especially in the rural areas. (VOM)

PASTOR STABBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD IN SRI LANKA On March 18, Pastor Sumith Gunasekera of Margaya Church in Embilipitiya, Sri Lanka, was taken from his home by three men claiming to be police. According to a March 25 report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, Pastor Sumith was taken to a nearby cemetery where he was stabbed and left for dead. Miraculously, he managed to drag himself home and was rushed to a hospital where he remained unconscious for several days. Pastor Sumith’s family has since been taken to a location away from the village for their safety. A complaint was lodged with the local police, but no action has yet been taken. (VOM)

ARSONISTS STRIKE EVANGELICALS IN MEXICO Traditionalist caciques in Chiapas have stepped up harassment of Tzotzil-speaking evangelical Christians. On March 2, caciques incited a mob to burn down the chapel of the Wings of the Eagle Church in Los Pozos, 25 miles east of San Cristóbal de las Casas. Caciques then jailed eight of the evangelicals, including women. Traditionalists justified the attack as “vengeance” for the evangelicals’ defiance of a ban on public worship. In nearby Mitzitón, unknown assailants burned down a house belonging to Pedro Gomez Lopez, an elder of the Wings of the Eagle Church. The Gomez family escaped injury, but lost farm and household tools and crops stored in the building. The day before, armed men had fired on a pickup truck owned by Sixto Heredia Gómez, another Mitzitón Christian. Pastor and human rights lawyer Esdras Alonso Gonzalez called on authorities to apprehend those responsible for the crimes. “They need to take control in this matter and resolve the crisis before more serious incidents occur,” he said. (Compass)

VIEWS MIXED ON RELIGION ARTICLE REFORM IN PERU Lawmakers in Peru’s Constitutional Commission have approved a new Article 71 dealing with church-state relations, but even the nation’s evangelical council that supported the final draft isn’t fully happy with it. A years-long campaign for a reformed article on religion culminated on March 13 when the commission, made up of Peru’s Congress, took a sudden vote on a version of the bill supported by the Roman Catholic Church and National Evangelical Council of Peru (CONEP). The vote allowed no time for debate, said Fernando Bellido, religious affairs adviser for Congressman Walter Alejos, who had helped spearhead the campaign to reform Article 71. The approved version of Article 71 reads: “Within an independent and autonomous system, the State recognizes the Catholic Church as an important element in the historic, cultural and moral formation of Peru and lends it collaboration. The State recognizes and respects other confessions and establishes forms of collaboration with them.” Long-time evangelical church leader Carlos García García confirmed that opinion on the approved text was divided. “There’s a little discontent. I don’t know how far it could go,” he said. “But I know that there are some groups that believed they should have gotten something more.” (Compass)

TEEN’S WISH PUTS BIBLES IN HANDS OF AFRICAN PASTORS In an official presentation on March 16 at the Reformed Church of Plano, Texas, representatives from International Bible Society (IBS), the Make-A-Wish Foundation(r) of North Texas, African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), and the Reformed Church of Plano honored Steven Downey for his wish to provide study Bibles to pastors in Africa. Steven, now 16, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in July 2002. Through his church, he learned that ALARM, an organization that trains pastors and leaders for ministry work, needed Bibles. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation(r) of North Texas offered to grant Steven a wish, he asked to provide study Bibles to ALARM. ALARM connected the Make-A-Wish Foundation(r) with IBS, which in turn provided 210 French study Bibles for distribution to ALARM pastors in Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The pastors in ALARM’s training program received their study Bibles in February and March. Celestin Musekura, the president of ALARM, said, “I am really excited about this project. It is very meaningful to us. Steven’s giving is indeed sacrificial, and none of us will ever forget this special ‘wish.’” Steven said, “I know how much God changed me through His Word. … I was thinking [giving Bibles to pastors in central Africa] was going to have the most impact for God’s Kingdom for eternity, and that’s all I was thinking about.” Steven clearly acknowledges that his strength comes from God. He has seen the reality of cancer: his father and his uncle both died of Hodgkin’s disease, and his 11-year-old half-sister was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s at 18 months. Steven became a Christian in the sixth grade. His Christian football coach and his church have influenced his spiritual walk. (IBS)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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