October 6, 2008 * VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS CONTINUES IN INDIA * CHRISTIANS IN LONDON PRAY FOR AN END TO GUN AND KNIFE CRIMES * MOST SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN PASTOR PASSES ON THE BATON * WINDOWS INTERNATIONAL PRAYER ALERT FOR IRAN * TONY BLAIR SEARCHES FOR RELIGIOUS YOUTH AMBASSADORS * GIDEONS COMMEMORATE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST BIBLE PLACEMENT ----------------------------------------------- VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS CONTINUES IN INDIA A Christian couple was found murdered, a woman killed, numerous houses and churches burned and low-intensity bombs exploded at relief camps in the past week in Orissa state’s Kandhamal district, where Hindu extremist violence began more than a month ago. These attacks by unidentified armed groups have resulted in more than 100 houses being burned to the ground. Eight people were seriously injured in the attacks and about 20 people received minor injuries. The bomb blasts rocked three Kandhamal relief camps. No casualties were reported, but the explosions left residents of the relief camps fearing for their lives. Some 700 people armed with axes, swords, and iron bars attacked a Missionaries of Charity house in Kandhamal. There was no one at home, because when the violence erupted against the Christians, the resident Sisters took their few belongings and moved to another location. Mobs have also burned about 30 houses and two prayer houses in Simanjodi village and 50 houses in Batingia village. In one village, an Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force team that had gone to clear roadblocks was attacked by tribals with bows and arrows, forcing police to open fire. Two tribal people were reportedly killed. According to the All India Christian Council (AICC), at least 57 people have been killed, more than 18,000 injured and over 4,300 houses, 150 churches and 13 educational institutions destroyed since the August 24 outbreak of violence in Orissa. Two Christian women were also gang-raped. The violence has left more than 50,000 people homeless. The leader of an influential tribal group believed to be instigating violence in Kandhamal demanded withdrawal of federal security personnel from the district as a “precondition” to stopping the attacks. Lambodar Kanhar, secretary of the Kui people group, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that he was ready to give assurance that tribal people would not resort to violence if the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were taken out of the rural pockets of the district. Kanhar accused the CRPF of having let loose “a reign of terror” on “innocent” tribal villagers. The Global Council of Indian Christians’ spokesman said Kanhar’s demand was an attempt to “complete ‘ethnic-cleansing’ of Christians.” He said "Hindu extremist assailants were upset that federal forces were trying to prevent them from attacking Christians and their property." At the same time, European Union representatives spoke to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the India-EU summit in France about the government’s failure to prevent a “massacre” of Christians in India. Singh reportedly made assurances that attacks on Christians would be stopped. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- CHRISTIANS IN LONDON PRAY FOR AN END TO GUN AND KNIFE CRIMES Christians in London are putting their faith in the power of prayer to bring an end to the wave of shootings and stabbings among young people in the capital. “You don’t just go around the walls of Jericho once and expect them to come down. You have to go round several times,” says Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, one of the instigators of a major prayer relay that is uniting Christians of all traditions against the gun and knife crime gripping the capital. Sprinters in a sprint relay use a metal baton. For Christians in this prayer relay, however, the baton is the Bible, and not any Bible but one that was used by fellow organiser Nims Obunge just hours before the relay’s launch to comfort the mother of a young man who had died in a brutal stabbing this year. Since then, that Bible has been passed on to each of London’s 33 boroughs where Christians are praying unceasingly for God to protect the city’s young people and end the shootings and stabbings that have left 24 young people dead so far this year. “Gun and knife crime is affecting everyone,” says Jonathan, “and the related socio-economic factors are present in Christians and non-Christians. Some of the young people who are doing the attacking are connected to the church.”Absent fathers, peer pressure and a breakdown in education are just some of the major influencing factors, he said. Nims, a Haringey pastor who heads up the London Peace Alliance said “These problems are very real on the streets. There is an atmosphere of fear among young people where they feel they have to defend themselves." Since the prayer initiative began, there have been more deaths. 18-year-old Ryan Bravo was shot dead in a south-east London convenience store whilst Shaquille Smith, 14, died after being stabbed in the stomach in Hackney. Friends of both victims insist they were innocent bystanders tragically caught in the crossfire. “We began to pray but the statistics did not go down,” notes Jonathan. “In fact in the short term the stats have got worse. The spiritual reality is that when the force of evil is confronted things get worse before they get better.” Yet Christians in the capital refuse to give in. “We are looking to crank up our efforts,” says Nims. “We are not going to rest or stop until we see the injuries and stabbings and deaths go down and we hear from the police that there has been a change. Source: Christian Today ----------------------------------------------- MOST SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN PASTOR PASSES ON THE BATON When Nigerian pastor Sunday Adelaja started a church in Kiev (Ukraine) in 1994 it quickly grew to an astounding 25,000 people. Today it's the largest Christian congregation in Europe. Despite this success, the 38-year-old pastor's vision is to work himself out of his job so he can plant more churches. "I have given all I have," Adelaja said. "I have reproduced myself. I want the younger ones to go farther than I have." He is now turning his church over to nationals, so he can spend more time training leaders and planting churches in Western Europe as well as in his native Nigeria. Currently, 100 leaders trained by Adelaja serve as pastors of churches in Kiev. The movement spawned by the mother congregation now has 450 churches. But each church is autonomous, and congregations do not tithe to the headquarters. Adelaja is vehemently opposed to starting a denomination, and he doesn't want his name on anyone's marquee. Americans who visit Adelaja's cavernous church in Kiev are sometimes surprised when they see the modest lifestyle of this modern apostle, who is known for his boisterous laughter and African passion. When Adelaja hears about the glamorous lifestyles of some American ministers, he gets a puzzled look on his face. "Is this a virus?" he asks. Then he tells of one American minister who recently sent word that he must stay in the presidential suite in the most expensive hotel in Kiev when he visits. Adelaja frowns as he relates this story. He can't understand why ministers of God need to be pampered like rock stars. "Everybody is busy building a big church. Let's build the kingdom," he says. Adelaja lives with his wife and three children in a three-bedroom apartment. The Embassy of God building - a former Soviet-run sports arena - is rented, not owned. The owner of the building often turns off the church's power, forcing Embassy staff to light the building with a generator. The secret of his spirituality is quite simple and profound. "I spend one week out of each month with the Lord. Fasting. I have to leave the family, the church and the pressures. That is what keeps me going," Adelaja says. Source: National Alliance of Christian Leaders ----------------------------------------------- WINDOWS INTERNATIONAL PRAYER ALERT FOR IRAN Urgent prayer is needed for Iran after the nation’s parliament approved a new penal code by a vote of 196-7 on calling for a mandatory death sentence for apostates, or those who leave Islam. The bill still has to make its way through Iran’s policy-making process before it becomes law. Unless there is a coordinated and very strong effort from the international community to place pressure on Iran it is likely this legislation will be passed into law. Based on Open Doors World Watch List, Iran ranks No. 3 among nations that are the worst persecutors of Christians. International pressure on Iran is crucial if the apostasy bill is to be countered. If the bill becomes law, Iran could become the first nation to actually carry out the death penalty for people convicted of apostasy. Other 10/40 nations such as Saudi Arabia and Sudan have apostasy rules in place but the carrying out of the death penalty by the State is rare. It usually takes place within the general community as "honour killings". Please pray: * for Iran to give true religious freedom to all faiths. * that Godly justice will prevail. * for the protection of Muslim background believers in Iran. * that they will stand strong against tremendous pressure to return to Islam. * that they will not be forced to go back to Islam. * for the salvation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders. * that the Lord will provide every need for His believers according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Source: 10/40 Window International Network ----------------------------------------------- TONY BLAIR SEARCHES FOR RELIGIOUS YOUTH AMBASSADORS (Editors note: This story is included to keep people informed of significant world developments and is not indicative that the Australian Prayer Network supports inter-faith initiatives. To be fair to Tony Blair it appears his initiative is to generate inter-religious co-operation against world poverty rather than inter-faith spirituality. None the less it could lead beyond its current intentions in due course.) As changemakers for current and future generations, young people have the opportunity to establish a new vision of inter-religious interaction that places protecting the welfare of the world's poorest at its centre." Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has launched an "international search for 30 religious youth to embark on a 10-month journey of interfaith service for the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals." Blair is calling the "inter-religious" group the Faith Act Fellows, which will be made up of young people from ages 18 to 25. They will first gather for a "two-month intensive initiative" and then return to their home countries with the charge of mobilizing other young people of faith. Says Blair, "As changemakers for current and future generations, young people have the opportunity to establish a new vision of inter-religious interaction that places protecting the welfare of the world's poorest at its centre." Source: The Christian Post ----------------------------------------------- GIDEONS COMMEMORATE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST BIBLE PLACEMENT On Oct. 4, 2008, The Gideons International marked the 100th anniversary of its first placement of Bibles in hotel rooms. Gideons are in more than 180 countries, their bibles printed in over 80 languages, and they have given away 1.3 billion Bibles (enough to reach about one in five people on earth). They are currently placing one million copies of the Bible every five days in such places as hospitals, prisons, military bases, schools and colleges. At the 1908 Gideon Convention, Gideons members were discussing how they could more effectively witness in the hotels, where they spent so much of their time, when one trustee proposed that they furnish a Bible for each bedroom of the hotels in the United States. The plan was adopted by the convention and dubbed, "The Bible Project." Since then the plan has been adopted worldwide with great impact on many lives. Source: The Christian Post
top of page