AUTHORITIES ARREST PROMINENT HOUSE CHURCH LEADER IN CHINA

STORMS LEVEL HOMES, SCHOOL BUILT FOR RETURNING REFUGEES IN BURUNDI

NEW FAA REGULATIONS COULD GROUND 8 MISSIONARY AIRCRAFT

CHRISTIAN LEADERS HELP END EMERGENCY RULE IN NIGERIAN STATE

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS IN BANGLADESH PUT FAITH IN CHRIST

HUNDREDS OF CUBANS FIND SALVATION THROUGH HAVANA CRUSADE

Today’s News Stories:

AUTHORITIES ARREST PROMINENT HOUSE CHURCH LEADER IN CHINA Authorities arrested Pastor Zhang Rongliang, one of the most prominent Protestant house church leaders in China, at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1. Zhang, 53, was arrested in Xuzhai village in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Zhang’s wife and children were not at home when the arrest occurred; they were able to escape and are now in hiding. The apartment was searched and all of Zhang’s Christian DVDs, materials and photos revealing relationships with foreigners and foreign agencies were confiscated. Xuzhai village was reportedly surrounded by police and every house was searched. It is believed that Zhang’s wife and children were targets of the search. Stuart Windsor, national director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said church members are “gravely concerned for Pastor Zhang, especially for his health,” especially since he suffers from “severe diabetes.” Windsor added that in “previous detentions the police have shown themselves ruthless in their torture of him, and we fear for his welfare if he is subjected to similar treatment in his current medical condition. We call upon the international community to raise a strong cry for his protection and immediate release.” Zhang leads both the China for Christ Church with an estimated 10 million members and the Fangcheng Church. He had previously spent 12 years in prison for his faith during five separate detentions. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide/Voice of the Martyrs)

STORMS LEVEL HOMES, SCHOOL BUILT FOR RETURNING REFUGEES IN BURUNDI An indigenous ministry in the Central African country of Burundi suffered significant losses last month when violent storms swept through one of the communities. The storms destroyed structures that the ministry had built for returning refugees, leaving 147 families homeless. The ministry had constructed simple houses and a school in the village to replace buildings that had been leveled during the country’s decade-long civil war. Hundreds of thousands who fled the country are now returning to their homeland, but many who arrive find their villages to be shambles due to the fighting. (Christian Aid Mission)

NEW FAA REGULATIONS COULD GROUND 8 MISSIONARY AIRCRAFT Dennis Fulton of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) says a new regulation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could ground eight of the ministry’s U.S.-registered aircraft. The FAA is requiring that all turbine-powered aircraft be equipped with the high-tech navigation system called Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS) by March 2005. The system triggers a visual and audible warning to a pilot when the terrain or some obstacle lies in the flight path, even giving verbal instructions to avoid a collision. The problem is that MAF lacks the funds to make the upgrades, costing about $15,000 per plane. “If the funds don’t come in by deadline, we just can’t install the TAWS equipment and we’ll have to ground the airplanes,” Fulton said. “There are a lot of missions and church organizations that are really going to suffer on this one, let alone the medical emergencies that are taken are of. MAF’s whole purpose is to multiply the effectiveness of the church, and if these airplanes are grounded, we’re not going to be able to support the mission.” (Mission Network News)

CHRISTIAN LEADERS HELP END EMERGENCY RULE IN NIGERIAN STATE Due in part to pressure from Christian leaders, the Nigerian government agreed to end a six-month state of emergency imposed on the central state of Plateau following three years of religious conflict. With the termination of emergency rule on Nov. 18, Joshua Dariye was reinstated as Plateau’s governor. During the state of emergency, government authorities worked to disarm religious militants and convened a peace conference. Muslim-Christian violence in the state since 2001 has claimed more than 53,000 lives, left 218,000 people homeless and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Dariye reportedly has been in dialogue with Muslim and Christian leaders in an effort to sustain the peace. He held his first official meeting with representatives of both religious communities on Thursday, Dec. 2. (Compass)

* HCJB World Radio, together with partners In Touch Ministries, SIM and the Evangelical Church of West Africa, began airing weekly half-hour programs to Nigeria in the Igbo language in 2000. In 2003 weekly broadcasts were added in two additional languages, Yoruba and Hausa. HCJB World Radio also has helped plant radio ministries in six cities with more in the planning stages.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS IN BANGLADESH PUT FAITH IN CHRIST In Bangladesh tens of thousands of Muslims have become Christians in recent years through a movement that emphasizes house churches and lay leadership. Jamats — house churches with ex-Muslim members — are springing up across the nation, reports the Swiss missions agency Kingdom Ministries. The movement is the fastest-growing Christian group in the country. Using a modern translation of the Bible understood by the rural population, the movement’s most important characteristics are its house churches with 15 to 25 members per group; flat hierarchies; an emphasis on a lay movement with few mobilizers; and putting evangelization and church leadership in the hands of nationals. The new converts call themselves “followers of Jesus” and keep their old names. (FridayFax)

HUNDREDS OF CUBANS FIND SALVATION THROUGH HAVANA CRUSADE An evangelistic team from Eastern Baptist Churches joined with those in the western end of Cuba for an intensive week of services Nov. 22-28 as part of the “There is Life in Jesus” continental crusade throughout Latin America. Elmer Lavastida, pastor of the Second Baptist Church “El Salvador” in Santiago de Cuba, reported that hundreds of people made professions of faith in Havana and in Pinar del Río provinces. A service of victory was held in the refurbished sanctuary in Minas de Matahambre in Pinar del Río to celebrate with all the new converts at the end of the crusade. “If this continues,” Lavastida says, “soon our sanctuaries will not be able to accommodate the growing churches.” (Baptist World Alliance)

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