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Today’s News Headlines:

CHURCH IN SENEGAL FACES MULTIPLE ATTACKS FROM MUSLIM MOB CHINESE POLICE RELEASE 3 OF 6 CHRISTIANS ARRESTED AT HOUSE CHURCH NEW LAWS COULD HAMPER OUTREACH TO BRAZIL’S REMOTE TRIBES BIBLE SCHOOL IN TURKEY BEGINS ACCREDITATION PROCESS GOVERNMENT-BACKED COMMISSION TO STUDY INDIA’S CHRISTIAN MINORITY TAIWAN BAPTISTS AIM TO SEND 200 WHEELCHAIRS TO IRAQ

Today’s News Stories:

CHURCH IN SENEGAL FACES MULTIPLE ATTACKS FROM MUSLIM MOB An Assemblies of God church in Senegal was recently attacked three times in one week by a mob of young Muslims, causing injuries to several members. The Barnabas Fund reported that a band was playing in Bethel Church Dakar when the youths pelted the church with stones. Many of those inside the church were hurt, and at least two members suffered serious injuries. The building also sustained extensive damage. Pastor Mignane N’Dour filed a complaint with local police, but they reportedly did not respond. During a prayer meeting a few days after the Sunday service, the mob returned and shouted that they would burn the church down if services continued. The same group of attackers came back the following Sunday, again while the band was leading a worship service. Besides destroying some railings surrounding the church, they youths went inside the building and again threw stones at parishioners. Three members of the congregation were seriously injured. The West African nation is 94 percent Muslim while Christians comprise 5 percent of the population. (Charisma News Service)

* HCJB World Radio works in partnership with Brethren Assemblies and SIM in Dakar, Senegal, to make weekly Christian broadcasts available across the country on an FM network. More than 3 million people speak Wolof.

CHINESE POLICE RELEASE 3 OF 6 CHRISTIANS ARRESTED AT HOUSE CHURCH Three Christians who were arrested at an early-morning house church service on July 13 were released by Chinese authorities last week. Three church leaders, though, including an 80-year-old man, remain in detention. Xu Wei-Min and two other men were allowed to leave the hotel where they had been subject to repeated interrogation. Authorities had been pressuring the men to register their house churches with the government. They were allowed to leave after telling authorities that they must consult with their congregations before making such a decision. Officers told the men they would be rearrested if their congregations did not register with the government’s Religious Affairs Bureau. Still being held are Shen Shao-Cheng, Gao Chong-Dao and Xiang Fa. They were transferred to the Kai Yuan Cheng Shi Hotel after leaks about their arrest reached the international community. Shen, 80, was one of the founders of the church in that area more than 25 years ago. “This is a time of intense pressure for the unregistered house churches in China,” said Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Todd Nettleton. “The government is seeking to control the church through fear and intimidation, but the believers there continue to stand firm in their commitment to Christ.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

NEW LAWS COULD HAMPER OUTREACH TO BRAZIL’S REMOTE TRIBES New laws in Brazil could have an interesting effect on how evangelists work in the isolated regions of the country. Global Advance’s David Shibley describes this as a challenge to men such as pastor Nelino who traveled 25 days through the Amazon to attend a “Frontline Shepherds’ Conference.” Nelino left the meetings encouraged and with a new vision, Shibley says. “However, he’ll also be facing some protectionist clauses of new laws that are protecting these tribal groups from any kind of outside incursion. This is both a plus and a minus, particularly for missions.” Nelino’s earnest search for a way to minister in tribal reaches may have led to a solution that benefits the community as a whole. “Nelino has already committed that he will help educate the children of these tribal groups,” Shibley says. “This will serve as an entrée to get the gospel to them.” (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio broadcasts the gospel in Portuguese to Brazil via shortwave from Quito, Ecuador, and maintains a world office and radio studios in Curitiba. Portuguese programs, which have been on the air continuously since 1947, generate more listener letters than any language service at Radio Station HCJB in Ecuador. The ministry’s Portuguese programs also air on local radio stations across Brazil.

BIBLE SCHOOL IN TURKEY BEGINS ACCREDITATION PROCESS With the completion of its seventh year of operation, the Tyrannus Bible School in Selcuk, Turkey, is in the process of seeking accreditation with the Middle East Association for Theological Education (MEATE). “Another year has gone past, leaving us with thanksgiving in our hearts to the Lord who held every thing together and kept His Bible school going for another year,” said Headmaster Kamil Moussa in an e-mail report. Twelve full-time students have registered for the fall semester, but with additional students visiting from churches across Turkey, the student body will reach as high as 20. As the school seeks accreditation, “activities have now come under scrutiny with a thrust to improvement,” Moussa says. “MEATE accreditation candidacy and eventual membership will mean that what is claimed to be taught and practiced at the school is actually being done according to the high standards set by MEATE. One of the areas which needs improvement is the school library. The person who has been doing a tremendous work in bringing the school library up to scratch during the past year has also been training a national believer who was recently taken on as salaried staff.” (Assist News Service)

GOVERNMENT-BACKED COMMISSION TO STUDY INDIA’S CHRISTIAN MINORITY A government-backed commission in India is planning to conduct the first detailed study of the India’s Christian minority (2.3 percent of the country’s 1 billion people). “So far there has been no proper study or documentation about the Christian community,” said V.V. Augustine, the Christian representative on the National Commission for Minorities which is planning the survey. The commission hopes that the study will “help remove prejudices and misunderstandings” about the Christian minority and highlight their contributions to the nation, Augustine told a meeting of more than 100 Christians in New Delhi. But some Christian leaders worry the study will ignore the difficulties Christians face in India, where religious minorities have experienced a resurgence of attacks. Others are concerned that the government-supported commission may act as an advocate for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rather than pressing the government to address minority concerns. The BJP has been accused of limiting Christians’ religious rights through such legislation as the Anti-Conversion Law which has been adopted by some states in an apparent effort to limit Christian evangelical activity. More than 80 percent of India’s population is Hindu while 13 percent is Muslim. Buddhists, Jains and Parsees are among the country’s other religious minorities. (Religion News Service)

TAIWAN BAPTISTS AIM TO SEND 200 WHEELCHAIRS TO IRAQ In the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Taiwan Baptist Alliance is sponsoring an appeal to send wheelchairs for Iraq’s reconstruction. The appeal, which had its major push in July, aimed to raise enough money to provide one wheelchair from each of the alliance’s 200 member congregations. Rev. Tsai Ling-min, the alliance’s general secretary, said that the project had originally been scheduled for April, but the situation with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan put it on hold. Though churches will provide the funds, the work is being carried out through the Eden Social Welfare Foundation. By early July enough money had been received to provide 50 wheelchairs. (Taiwan Church News)

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * 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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