| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-430 * 18 FEBRUARY 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN430-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Living God wins football match JN430-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Rhondda Valley, Wales JN430-3. NEWS BRIEF: Lausanne works on 'World Inquiry' JN430-4. RESOURCE: Prophetic impressions regarding America/Iraq JN430-5. RESOURCE: Simply Church JN430-6. RESOURCE: The Nickerie Miracle --- ANSWER TO PRAYER - Every week Joel News publishes a strategic prayer focus. The Lord often answers the prayers of his people in a special way. This time Tom Hess of the Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations sent us a report titled 'Symphony of Shofars Blowing From Jerusalem to the Ends of the Earth'. LINK: http://www.joelnews.nl/answerstoprayer.htm. --- JN430-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Living God wins football match Many people have heard of the Centurion Cornelius in Acts 10, but how many have heard of football coach A.? "He is just as God-fearing and full of good works as Cornelius," writes missions agency AVC. "He is a sports coach at an international school in Tanzania. For the past two years, he has trained around 70 12- to 16-year-old boys every afternoon. More than half of them are orphans, others are more or less street kids. A. is a Muslim, and he aimed to use football to teach the boys discipline, and educate them if possible. He soon realised that they needed more, so he invited a Koran teacher. The teacher's first question - how much he would be paid - angered A. so much that he cancelled the invitation, and invited Christian missionary Tabea, who now visits the football pitch every Tuesday and Saturday to teach about Jesus. A. and some of the boys were soon saved, and someone is saved almost every week. A. has also taken six of the children in to his home, giving them a roof over their heads and regular meals." One of A.'s football teams recently reached the final. It was widely known that their opponents had gone to a witch doctor, and they said "We've put a curse on you, and will win." The Christian boys answered courageously: "We've prayed to the living God, and today we'll see who is stronger." They won 3:1. The trophy was a white goat, which Tabea takes care of at the mission. Source: AVC through Friday Fax --- JN430-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Rhondda Valley, Wales Christians in the Rhondda Valley in Wales started an intensive prayer campaign for a community transformation project called 'Sporting Marvels'. Their strategy is to develop a global prayer network that will effectively mobilise prayer cover for every home, street and village within Rhondda's catchment area. The 33,000 prayer warriors/intercessors will come from all over the world and there will be regular e-mail contact between the project and the intercessors. If salvation comes to any member of the household to whom they have been assigned, the communications procedure will ensure that they are the first to be informed. Let's pray that the Lord will move mightily in every village in the Rhondda Valley, so that every individual, family and home will experience His presence. Pray that the Lord will change the spiritual atmosphere over the village and that there will be an increase of His righteousness and salvation. Pray that the Sporting Marvels project will achieve all it's objectives and that the Lord will send His revival fire to Wales once again. LINK: http://www.sportingmarvels.com (general info) LINK: http://www.sportingmarvels.com/WebPages/Prayerpage.htm (prayer) --- JN430-3. NEWS BRIEF: Lausanne works on 'World Inquiry' As a preparation for the upcoming Lausanne Committee consultation in Thailand in September 2004, Luis Bush is overseeing a series of 'World Inquiry' events in up to 200 key cities around the world. The aim is to develop a picture of what God is doing in cities and what the main opportunities and threats are, and thus to further enhance world evangelisation. LINK: http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/2004/overview.htm (overview) LINK: http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/2004/progress.htm (progress report) --- JN430-4. RESOURCE: Prophetic impressions regarding America/Iraq What do prophetic voices in America say about the Iraq crisis? "America is entering a season of extra-ordinary danger," writes The Sentinel Groups' George Otis Jr. "If ever there were a moment for the Church to stand up and be counted, that moment is now. Unfortunately, American Christendom is in the midst of a debilitating spiritual funk. Having succumbed to the Laodicean Syndrome, they view their compromised state as normal, even blessed. If the Church is the nation's best hope, it must be awakened from its slumber, and fast! Revival must become an urgent priority. For this to happen, desperate intercessors must prevail upon God to provoke within His people a deep and widespread dissatisfaction with the religious status quo." According to prophets Bob Jones and Paul Keith Davis "the Holy Spirit has revealed to us and a number of other prophetic voices, that a preemptive strike with Iraq would substantially affect the nation of Israel and adversely impact our economy. Most important, this war will not have the blessings of Heaven as did the Gulf War in the early '90s. It is our firm belief that we should continue to intercede and ask the Lord for His intervention in dealing with Saddam without having to involve war." Pastor Francis Frangipane heard the Lord say "I will strike America. I will strike and bring chastening." He writes: "I had no other perspective but that something was going to happen that would grab the heart and focus of the nation. It would shake the US, but bring a cleansing to the national soul." These three prophetic impressions can be retrieved by sending an empty e-mail to lyris@xc.org with only this command in the body of your mail: get joel-news-international prophecies-iraq-crisis Source: The Sentinel Group, MorningStar Ministries, In Christ's Image --- JN430-5. RESOURCE: Simply Church Get ready to change the way you view church! In their book 'Simply Church' doctors Tony and Felicity Dale explore some dynamic trends in society and church that are pushing believers into simpler ways of doing church. More and more Christians are wondering "Why aren't I enjoying church like I used to?" Clearly all is not well with the status quo. Pastors are leaving the ministry. And their actions are being copied by their flocks. It is estimated that in America over 30 million people, who call themselves Christians, have given up on regular church involvement. Are there practical and Biblical answers that can help those who love Jesus, but have pretty much given up on the Church? LINK: http://makeashorterlink.com/?J48155383 --- JN430-6. RESOURCE: The Nickerie Miracle Dr. Doug Norwood relates how in 1994 the most demon-possessed city in Suriname experienced a miracle of unity and mass conversion. "It was reported to me that more Hindus were won to Christ that night than in the previous 140 years of Christian missionary endeavor." LINK: http://www.brokenjars.org/histnick.html --- COLOPHON Joel News International is a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120 nations. Editors: Branko Bjelajac, Alex ten Cate and Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. 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