2 AMERICANS ARRESTED FOR HANDING OUT TRACTS TO MUSLIMS IN MALAYSIA

VIOLENCE PROMPTS NIGERIAN DENOMINATION TO MOVE HEADQUARTERS

GOSPEL SPREADS IN VIETNAM'S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS DESPITE OPPOSITION

NATIVE MISSIONARIES MAKE STRIDES AMONG SECRETIVE DRUZE PEOPLE

INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY AIMS TO MOBILIZE WORLD'S 1 BILLION CHRISTIANS

Today's News Stories:

2 AMERICANS ARRESTED FOR HANDING OUT TRACTS TO MUSLIMS IN MALAYSIA Malaysian police arrested two U.S. citizens Monday, April 25, accusing them of handing out Christian pamphlets to Muslims in a country where constitutionally protected religious freedom periodically collides with Islam's stance on apostasy. A Royal Malaysian Police spokesman said the two men were apprehended while handing out literature outside the mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia's new administrative capital south of Kuala Lumpur. "There was a complaint by [the local] imam," he said. "Acting on the complaint, the Criminal Investigation Department of Putrajaya arrested the two Americans." At a brief court appearance, the two men were remanded for 14 days, giving authorities time to "facilitate the investigations." They will appear again on Monday, May 9. A U.S. Embassy press officer named the two as Ricky Rupert of Washington and Zachary Harris of Colorado but provided no other details. They face charges relating to religion as well as immigration offenses as they weren't carrying travel documents when they were arrested. They later provided police with their passports. Secular courts in Malaysia have at times ceded jurisdiction to Islamic courts in cases involving religious conversion even though many argue that non-Muslims should no longer be subject to sharia or Islamic law. (WorldWide Religious News/CNSNews/AFP)

VIOLENCE PROMPTS NIGERIAN DENOMINATION TO MOVE HEADQUARTERS Devastation caused by religious conflict and hostility toward Christian refugees in the central Nigerian state of Plateau has forced the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) to relocate its headquarters to Kadarko after being in Waso for 101 years. "The decision to relocate our regional office and the church in Wase was made by our church council," said COCIN President Pandang Yamsat at a church service in Langtang Sunday, April 24. First established in Wase in 1904, the denomination is one of the principal Christian churches in northern Nigeria with an estimated membership of more than 2 million. COCIN officials said six of the church's pastors were killed in Wase last year, and more than 175 churches in the surrounding area were destroyed. (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 with radio ministries in six cities with more in the planning stages.

GOSPEL SPREADS IN VIETNAM'S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS DESPITE OPPOSITION Recent advances made by the gospel in the troubled central highlands of Vietnam have brought with them persecution, yet native missionaries say government opposition appears to be lessening in some regions. One gospel worker in the Pleiku district reported that there have been less instances of persecution in his area in the last year than in previous years. He says the local government is beginning to "separate Christians and rebels" in their minds. The fact that many government officials automatically associate Christians with Americans and other "enemies of communism" has led to persecution of believers, he said. However, intensity of persecution varies from region to region, depending on local authorities' mindsets. In Kontum province, for example, the wife of a village chieftain recently gave her life to Christ after she was healed of a serious illness through the prayers of local church members. She began sharing her newfound faith with others, resulting in the salvation of 35 villagers. Local officials, alarmed by the growing number of people choosing the Christian faith, began summoning her husband to the district office and accusing him of "forcing" people to follow Christ. (Christian Aid Mission)

NATIVE MISSIONARIES MAKE STRIDES AMONG SECRETIVE DRUZE PEOPLE Referred to by the Institute of Druze Studies at the University of San Diego as "one of the most misunderstood and understudied religious sects in the world," the Arab people group known as Druze remains largely unreached with the gospel message. Yet through the work of native missionaries, Druze communities are beginning to open to the gospel. Because of their secretive, isolated lifestyle, the exact number of Druze in Arab countries is unknown, but estimates indicate there are nearly 1 million Druze scattered throughout Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan. Nearly all group members follow a secretive system of beliefs that are offshoots of traditional Islam dating back to the 11th century. Though the Druze consider themselves Muslim, most Muslims regard them as a sect. Through prayer, study and a lifetime of acquaintance with these people, native missionaries are reaching the Druze with the gospel. Home visits and English classes for Druze children have been especially effective. Missionaries plan to start the first Druze home church in one area of Jordan. (Religion Today/Christian Aid Mission)

INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY AIMS TO MOBILIZE WORLD'S 1 BILLION CHRISTIANS Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Life, has announced that his international ministry will launch a PEACE movement next October that aims to mobilize the world's 1 billion Christians. PEACE is an acrostic that stands for planting churches, equipping leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation. Andy Hein, mobilization pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., where Warren is the founding pastor, says the plan could have a profound impact on global evangelism. "It is mobilizing every believer to live on mission in a strategic way to attack . . . the five global evil giants," he said. These include spiritual emptiness, lack of servant leaders, poverty, disease and lack of education. PEACE will train small groups to be effective in attacking these "giants" and teaching others to do the same. "Christians in churches have relied heavily on the missionaries to get the job done," Hein said. "What Rick wants to see is that the 1 billion Christians really engage in the battle in a strategic and intentional way where we can see the job of the Great Commission really done well." (Mission Network News) * * * * * * * * * * * * * Harold Goerzen HCJB World Radio 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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