| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-451 * 1 SEPTEMBER 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN451-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Jesus' love for prisoners in arctic Russia JN251-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Dissolution of LRA in Uganda JN251-3. NEWS BRIEF: 10,000 young Christians pray and fast in Berlin JN251-4. NEWS BRIEF: Pastors in Argentina unite for transformation JN251-5. NEWS BRIEF: Church grows by being in touch with community JN251-6. RESOURCE: Evangelism by invitation (reaching postmoderns) --- QUOTE: "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." (Phillips Brooks) --- JN451-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Jesus' love for prisoners in arctic Russia Eric Olson is an evangelist who ministers in maximum security prisons, children's homes and hospitals in Russia and the Ukraine. He just returned from a trip to the Kola peninsula in arctic Russia, where he visited the prison in Revda. He reports: "When we knocked on the prison door, the warden asked: 'We didn't know that you would come, what kind of meeting would you like?' He kept us waiting in our car for one and a half hour. Then he came out again, and led us through the passage checkpoints into a room that was packed with 100 men, who - as I found out later - had come voluntarily. "I shared my testimony with them and preached from John chapter 3 about the great love of God. Then, almost as a wind from nowhere, the Presence of God came into the room. Eyes of grown men began to moisten, and it seemed every one of them had their gaze fixed on us. When I gave an invitation for those who wanted to receive Jesus for the first time, about 40 hands sprung up all over the packed room. After the meeting a number of men did not want to leave, because the Presence of the Lord was so strong. So I just went around and prayed for them, held them, and put my arms around each of them one by one. I could not help it - this supernatural Love was just providing for nothing less. Some of those men came up to us afterwards, with tears or a soft, humble gaze. They just wanted to say thanks for coming, and that we did not come often enough. One man said that he felt all of his burdens lift, and that this meeting had meant so much to him, he could not describe with words what was happening to him. The Holy Spirit was touching him - and we could see it. "After we said goodbye and went back to our car, we could not speak, and I could not drive. It was as if we had eaten some great meal, or drank some strangely wonderful wine of something. I literally felt like I was floating on a cloud! We sat there for half an hour, just amazed and taken by the afterglow and overflow of what God had done. I would not have been able to plan or dream of such a meeting. And in the natural, I cannot explain how this happened. I only know that we were on what has been called 'the end of the earth' (the northwest corner of Russia), and we were proclaiming the gospel to 'the captives'. Could it be that as it says in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4, that these are THE ONES that Jesus was talking about? Is that why the Love is so strong? And are these guys not just a picture of the rest of us in this human race? We are free or we are bound, depending on who we know and who lives in our hearts. This last Saturday, Jesus opened up the doors, and this Russian prison may never be quite the same." Source: Joel News --- JN251-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Dissolution of demonic forces in Uganda Pray for the overthrow and dissolution of the so-called Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group led by Joseph Kony. With the support of the government of Sudan, the LRA has been terrorizing the predominantly Christian population of northern Uganda for seventeen years, engaging in the most awful atrocities such as the chopping off of hands, lips, noses and ears, as well as rape, kidnap, and murder. Over the years, they have abducted more than 20,000 children for use as child soldiers and sex-slaves. The government of Uganda and its soldiers have been largely ineffective against this menace. Kony is reputed to be a spirit medium who traffics with demons for empowerment and direction. Let's pray that this demonic power will be broken and Uganda freed from this evil scourge. Source: Joel News --- JN251-3. NEWS BRIEF: 10,000 young Christians pray and fast in Berlin On 16 August around 10,000 young Christians from Germany, Switzerland and Austria gathered for The Call Berlin, a day-long prayer event in the Spirit of the Moravian revival. Many of the young people had joined a 40-day fast in preparation, and one week before and after the event a 24-7 (non-stop) prayer room was in operation. Rosemarie Stresemann reports: "There were no names announced in advance, no band, nothing - only a call to fast and pray. Also on the day itself those who were leading from the three nations worked wonderfully together and no attention was drawn away from the Lord. Very strong prophetic dances underlined what the Lord wanted to tell his people and I felt warrior angels had arrived from Heaven." The main prayer issues were reconciliation between the generations, confession of historic sins, a call to become radical and love the Lord sacrificially, prayer and fasting as a lifestyle, the spiritual heritage of Herrnhut, and the blessing of Israel and other nations. "I felt that the reconciliation between the generations is not an end in itself but a necessary prerequisite for protection of the new radical movement the Lord pours out on the young people," says Stresemann. "Because the enemy always tries to push us into extremes when he cannot hinder us to follow the Lord. The Call Berlin has shown that young people in the German speaking nations hunger to be challenged spiritually and that they are ready to take the challenge and go for it." Source: Joel News --- JN251-4. NEWS BRIEF: Pastors in Argentina unite for transformation On 8-10 September pastors from all over Argentina will gather for a national prayer retreat titled 'The Argentina that God wants'. The retreat will be a rally point for a 'United National Transformation Project', a new step forward for the Church in Argentina. The project has nine 'pillars': 1. To bring all the pastors in every locality in Argentina together for a weekly prayer meeting. 2. To unify all prayer groups in the nation in one national prayer network. 3. To launch a massive evangelization plan for the nation. 4. To provide mature national leadership. 5. To teach all the believers from a common Evangelical basis. 6. To bring forth a cultural transformation. 7. To challenge the nation prophetically. 8. To combine social and aid efforts. 9. To affect other nations by sharing experiences. Source: El Puente, NPPN --- JN251-5. NEWS BRIEF: Church grows by being in touch with community In the late 1920s, a small Pentecostal church in central California began meeting in pool halls and later rented an empty garage, drawing 14 people. Today, 75 years later, that same church in Visalia meets in an 1,800-seat worship center. The church has tripled in size during the past eight years, with Sunday morning services now attracting 3,000 people. Pastor Rich Guerra of Visalia First Assembly says the growth is the result of staying contemporary, a willingness to reach out to the community and an ability to speak their neighbors' language. "The Pentecostal movement began in pool halls," he says. "We can't forget that. We try to put on the face of the community." The congregation has connected with the community by using its 40 acres for citywide high school band and choral concerts and competitions, as a meeting site for local businesses, and as a place where youth can hang out and play video games after school or on weekends. Each Christmas in the past few years, the church has taken part in a giant 'adopt a family' program and provided toys, clothes and groceries for needy families selected by the school district, providing for more than 6,000 children in all. As a result, last year alone, about 850 people signed salvation cards. Source: AG-NEWS --- JN251-6. RESOURCE: Evangelism by invitation (reaching postmoderns) Evangelism has always been a difficult business. As we move from the modern age into the postmodern world, it seems to have become even more complex. How does one 'do' evangelism in the postmodern world? Are there any principles that help us understand evangelism in this new context? Should we just give up? Should we just try harder? Should we simply continue to evangelize using the same methods we have used for the last half century? Ross Rohde, an American missionary to Spain, tries to respond to some of these questions from what he has been learning by experience, study, and observation of effective ministry in postmodern Europe. LINK: http://www.joelnews.org/rohde-evangelism-by-invitation.doc --- 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: Alex ten Cate and Marc van der Woude. You can contact the editorial office at joel-news@xs4all.nl. Joel News International is distributed weekly by e-mail on the basis of an annual donation. For more information see http://www.joelnews.org/donation-jni.htm#options. Has this bulletin been forwarded to you? Then subscribe directly by sending an empty e-mail to: subscribe-joel-news-international@xc.org. |
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