| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-455 * 6 OCTOBER 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN455-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Learning from Uncle Liu JN455-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Muslim advance in Russia JN455-3. NEWS BRIEF: Revival among the Pygmees in Congo JN455-4. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Out of church believers JN455-5. RESOURCE: Young adults alienating from church --- JN455-1. TYPICALLY GOD: Learning from Uncle Liu When evangelists in China's Heilongjiang Province leave their house churches to evangelise, they have many old 'aunties' backing them up: elderly women with such a passion for prayer that they often spend hours face down on the floor with tears streaming down their faces. These women literally live for prayer and worship; they do not stand behind the evangelists, they 'lie behind them'. Uncle Liu, himself an elderly Christian, visited an unreached village near Acheng with such support. With a warm heart, he knocked on a door and asked whether he could explain the Gospel. The people chased him out of the village. Unimpressed, Liu withdrew to a quiet place, prayed for the family which had driven him away, and went back to the same house. This time, he was soaked with water and again chased away. He didn't give up, but prayed for them again before returning to tell them how important it is for them to repent and believe in God's son. The family beat him with their staffs, cursed him for his obstinacy and again drove him out of the village, bloody and bruised. Liu waited seven days while his wounds recovered before returning to the house. Astonished at his return, the owner relented and called the family together to hear what he had to say. When Uncle Lui preached the Gospel, the entire family was shocked and convicted of sin; every single member decided to follow Jesus. Source: Asia Harvest --- JN455-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Muslim advance in Russia The Russian House of Prayer requests prayer for the millions of Muslims living in Russia. They report that over the past 10 years many Muslim seminaries and Koran schools have been established in Russia. Also many new mosques have been built, funded by wealthy Muslims from Arabic nations. Islam is now one of the four traditional religions supported by the Russian government. This means that in practice the Muslim community has much more freedom to conduct their activities than any Protestant denomination. Recently Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, visited Malaysia where he publicly told that Russia is thinking about becoming a member of the Organization of Islamic States Conference. Putin pointed out that "almost 20 million Muslims live in Russia and they have full rights to feel that they are part of the Muslim world". He confirmed that Russia is ready to bear the financial obligations of such a move, including financial support of religious (Islamic) activity. According to the Russian House of Prayer Russia is facing the danger of Islam spreading and thereby influencing the future of the nation. Pray that Russia will not become a bridge of Islam to Europe but rather a bridge of the Gospel to the Muslim Arab world. Let's pray against a revival of Islam in Russia, and that the country will not open itself for an influx of Islamic missionaries and teachers. Let's pray for the churches in the Muslim regions of Russia, especially in the Northern Caucasus. Some of these churches are 'underground' and experience heavy pressure from Muslims. Let's pray for their protection and that believers will have wisdom and boldness in preaching the Gospel to their Muslim neighbors. Let's pray for wisdom for President Putin to see the spiritual consequences of his decisions on the future of Russia. Source: Russian House of Prayer --- JN455-3. NEWS BRIEF: Revival among the Pygmees in Congo Deep in the Congolese jungle, over a 100,000 Pygmees have found Christ in the past 14 years. This is reported by Dutch pastor and church growth researcher Bram Krol, who travels regularly to Congo to train pastors and visited the Pygmees recently. "Whole villages are coming to Christ," he said. "God's Spirit is flooding the jungle like never before." Interestingly, only a few missionaries have visited the Pygmees. The small black people took on the challenge themselves to spread the gospel to the distant villages through songs, music and dance. Source: Visie --- JN455-4. KINGDOM DEVELOPMENT: Out of church believers Many Christians in the West are leaving the church out of frustration, observes Brad Huston of Revelation Watch. Congregations are not just losing the expected 'rebellious Christians' who disagree with the core doctrines surrounding Christianity, or a brother or sister that has fallen away. On the contrary, these congregations are losing leaders, devout in a faith in Jesus Christ, yet frustrated with the growing apathy that is creeping into so many churches. According to a 2000 Gallup Poll, 44% of Christians surveyed identified themselves as being unchurched (stating that they either do not belong to church or have attended regular Church services in the past six months). Christian researcher George Barna recently released findings that over 10 million born again Christians do not attend an organized church. New Zealander Andrew Strom of Mercy and Truth Ministries comments on this phenomenon: "This 'out-of-church' phenomenon has now grown so large that books are being written about it. In fact, several years ago I heard an estimate that there are tens of thousands of such Christians just in our largest city (Auckland) alone. I believe it is the same right across the Western nations. I have personally come into contact with literally hundreds of such people. The surprising thing is that they are often the most committed kind of Christians - praying, insightful, deep-thinking. Yet they have grown tired of 'playing the game' inside our church system and have opted out. Often their involvement goes back many years. In fact, they had commonly been leaders of various kinds." Strom comments on the mindset of these Christians: "But now they have left. Why? The church obviously finds this a very difficult thing to explain or deal with. The usual accusations are often trotted out: "So-and-so has been hurt and has a root of bitterness". Or they are in 'rebellion'. Or they are 'not a team player'. Or they are 'backsliding'. But if you talk to these people you will often find that they have been sitting in church for years and years, and they simply cannot stand to sit and watch the same old game being played any more. The lack of God is what gets to them - even in some of our 'Spirit-filled' churches. And so quietly, sometimes without anyone even noticing, they slowly slip out the doors - never to return. Some have even told me that they felt God 'calling them out'. Others simply felt they couldn't stay there anymore. The state of the church weighed upon them more than words could say." The forecast for the Church is not rosy. A recent study conducted by ARIA found that Christian churches have suffered a 10% drop in their membership, and forecasted another 40% drop over the next 30 years. Should these statistics prove true, a consolidation of churches or a disbanding of congregations is likely. Fortunately, there is a silver lining to this situation within the Body of Christ. While Christians are leaving what we would consider 'traditional churches', home churches and untraditional congregations are on the rise. Many of these Christians are still seeking communion with each other and the Lord, but in an environment more akin to the early church. Though a congregation of believers may gather between walls, it is by no means bound by them. Perhaps the Lord is sending a message to leaders to return to a more grassroots approach to spreading the Gospel. LINK: http://www.revelationwatch.com LINK: http://www.openheaven.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000279.html (full report) --- JN455-5. RESOURCE: Young adults alienating from church Twentysomethings are struggling to find their place in Christian churches, reports the US-based Barna Research Group. A new study shows that young adults from age 20 to 29 are significantly less likely than any other age group to attend church services, to donate to churches, to be absolutely committed to Christianity, to read the Bible, or to serve as a volunteer or lay leader in churches. One of the reasons that they struggle to find their place in churches is that many young people feel overlooked as potential leaders, are skeptical of organised religion, and don't like classroom-style training without hands-on leadership opportunities. The research points out that mentoring is the most appealing form of leadership development for young adults. While young adults are re-thinking their allegiance to the Christian faith, still nearly 57% claimed to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life. According to Barna the real issue is how churches will respond to the faithquakes that are reverberating through young adults. Important questions are raised related to relevance, discipleship, authenticity, the use of art and technology in ministry, relationships, music, learning styles and teaching, teamwork, leadership hierarchy, stewardship, and much more. LINK: http://makeashorterlink.com/?S15B36D16 --- 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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