| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-441 * 5 MAY 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN441-1. TYPICALLY GOD: When the gods drown JN441-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Sangil people of the Philippines JN441-3. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Global trends from Operation World JN441-4. RESOURCE: Pastors' Prayer Clusters JN441-5. RESOURCE: Kingdom assets for our cities JN441-6. RESOURCE: CityReaching Women --- QUOTE: "You don't have to be a great evangelist to be effective. God searches for those who are motivated, available, prepared, and prayerful. He will do the rest, leading people into His presence through the power and truth of the gospel." (Lee Strobel) --- JN441-1. TYPICALLY GOD: When the gods drown "'If you are really gods, you will float to the surface when I throw you into the sea. If you cannot help, then drown - I don't want to see you again.' Rajan Dinesh Shah was at the end of her strength and her faith in her Hindu gods," report Thomas and Mirjam Hieber, German missionaries in Kenya working among Indian immigrants. Rajan and her younger sister had grown up with religious rituals; they had to wake at 3am every day to wash the household idols. The family had hundreds of golden and silver idols in their house, all of which had to be dressed, decorated, fed and worshipped before the family's shop opened at 9am. But Rajan and her family were not at all blessed; they were beaten and robbed, and she became so ill that she was unable to move. Fourteen times in hospital and eleven operations drove her deeper into her religion. She finally became a medium, sacrificed birds and animals to the demons, and practised black magic. One day, doubt crept into her mind. "Can you really help? You just sit in my house, taking up space, are deaf and dumb and unable to answer my prayers. I've had enough of you." She put the gods to the test, throwing them into the sea. They all 'drowned'. A friend told her about 'Ishu-Prabhu' - Jesus Christ. During a visit to a Christian church, where Jesus delivered her from all dark powers, Rajan discovered that Jesus is the only true God. Since then, she has devoted her life to God, and helps other Hindus to find God. Her entire family are now Christians. Source: Deutsche Missionsgemeinschaft --- JN441-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Sangil people of the Philippines Christian workers reaching out to the Sangil people of the Philippines must travel treacherous waters frequented by pirates and rebels. One worker recently wrote: "The high waves tossed the frail boat, soaking us through. It was early morning, and we shuddered with cold and fear. One little mistake by the boatman would bring certain death. No one saw my tears mingled with the sea water washing my face. No one heard my cry within: 'Lord, is this what it costs to reach the people you called us to serve?' No one knew how terrified I was. Only God." These workers live in isolated villages with no electricity or communication, ministering through community development projects and Bible storying. Ask God to glorify his name among the Sangil of the Philippines by drawing multitudes to himself. Intercede for Christians workers who face danger to share God's love with them. Source: Advance --- JN441-3. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Global trends from Operation World David Taylor analysed 'Operation World' and wrote an interesting article on emerging global trends. A few highlights: - Evangelicals are growing at 4.7% annually, making them the fastest-growing movement in the mega-religion category, or those with over 100 million members. - Ratios of non-evangelicals to Evangelicals are shrinking in many countries. But in many '10/40 Window' countries the situation is still very bleak. Consider Somalia, with a ratio of 67,314 non-evangelicals for every one Evangelical. Tunisia is next with 28,192 to 1, and Yemen follows with 14,374 to 1. Contrast these ratios with Kenya and the United States which have only 2 non-evangelicals for every one Evangelical. - In a global village of 12 Evangelicals there would be 2 North Americans, 2 Latin Americans, 3 Africans, 3 Asians, 1 European and 1 Pacific Islander. - Although Asians have the highest percentage as a group (32.1% of Evangelicals are Asian), their continent is one of the least-evangelized. Only 3.6% of Asians are Evangelical. Europe is slightly worse with 2.4%. Africa, which was thought to be a Christian continent by AD2000, is only 14.8% Evangelical. North America is by far in the lead with almost one in three being Evangelical. - Among the agencies surveyed, foreign missionary sending increased from 76,120 in 1990 to 97,732 in 2000. Ten years ago, about 91% of foreign missionaries were sent out from the West. By 2000, this percentage decreased to 79%. Foreign missionary sending increased three-fold from Non-Western countries in spite of very difficult global economic conditions. - The most dramatic increase in missionary sending was from South Korea, growing from 2,032 foreign missionaries sent in 1990 to 10,646 by the end of the decade. (It is interesting to note that South Korean churches set a national goal in 1990 of sending out 10,000 missionaries by AD2000!) South Korea is now the second-largest foreign missionary sending nation in the world. The next highest increases for foreign missionary sending from non-western countries were Brazil, which increased by 1,080, and the Philippines, which increased by 678. The full article can be retrieved by sending an e-mail to lyris@xc.org with only this command in the body of your mail: get joel-news-international taylor-trends-from-ow2001 Source: The Religious Media Agency --- JN441-4. RESOURCE: Pastors' Prayer Clusters The purpose of Pastors' Prayer Clusters is to join pastors from all cultures and denominations in a city to seek God and unite to pray for divine intervention in the Church (the church of the city) and society. In unity they can plan common citywide events to carry out the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and the Cultural Mandate. According to Paul Dozeman "no city will ever be able to start and sustain a citywide vision without having pastors on board. And pastors are not likely to be on board unless they are thinking and praying together. Pastors' Prayer Clusters are usually the start of pastors' coming together and beginning to work together. Their involvement is absolutely crucial to the success of a citywide prayer and restoration ministry." This article 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 dozeman-ppcs Source: City Restoration Ministries --- JN441-5. RESOURCE: Kingdom assets for our cities Up to now the Church has had too narrow a role in society. It has not engaged all aspects of life and it has shied away from citywide thinking. Our independent congregational thinking has prevented us from making a corporate impact. Today God is asking the church to re-connect, to begin to think how together we can be a positive influence for his Kingdom. "By defining and presenting these Kingdom Assets for our cities, we hope to offer a positive approach for Christians to actively engage their cities and bring about healthy change that honors God, expands his Kingdom and gives hope to all," writes John Quam of Mission America. In this article he identifies 55 assets (building blocks) that together would contribute to building a 'City for God'. This article offers key insights for city reachers and city wide ministries. LINK: http://www.nppn.org/Articles/Article044.htm --- JN441-6. RESOURCE: CityReaching Women CityReaching Women is a ministry that exists to come alongside women to encourage, inspire, and help them fulfill their calling in their own communities and cities LINK: http://www.cityreachingwomen.com --- 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. 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