| JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-488 * 3 NOVEMBER 2004 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG IN THIS EDITION: JN488-1. TYPICALLY GOD: First wedding between nations JN488-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Middle East Prayer Summit JN488-3. NEWS: Strong church growth in Uzbekistan JN488-4. WEBLOG: Herrnhut revisited JN488-5. RESOURCE: Reverse Mentoring JN488-6. RESOURCE: Warning to the USA church --- JN488-1. TYPICALLY GOD: First wedding between nations "A few years ago, the Lord gave me a dramatic picture of His desire for English and French Canada," writes David Damian of Canadian ministry Watchmen for the Nations. "I was driving in Vancouver and as my eyes wandered to the license plate of the car ahead of me, it suddenly changed. I saw interlocking wedding rings on one side and the words 'I do' on the other. Tears came to my eyes so fast that I had to pull over and when I did, the Holy Spirit said, 'David, this is My desire for English and French Canada…' "I believe the grace of God is going to come upon this nation and make us fall in love with each other. I saw in my spirit a huge wedding between English and French Canada, in Quebec. And the Lord showed me that a representation from the church in England and the church of France would be present at the wedding. And like all good parents, they will cut the ties and say 'Church of Canada, we release you to your own unique destiny for which the Lord is calling you.' "When I first wrote these words, in the article 'Healing Canada's Wounds' in December 2001, I had no idea just how much time and how many steps the Lord would take us through to prepare us for the fulfillment of this vision. But now the wedding date is set! English and French Canada will marry in Quebec City, July 28-31st, 2005." LINK: http://watchmen.org/updates/10-06-04.htm --- JN488-2. PRAYER FOCUS: Middle East Prayer Summit November 4-7 a prayer summit will take place in the Middle East, gathering a number of key prayer leaders from the region. The prayer summit will help identify the key prayer issues regarding the Middle East for the coming years. Followers of Christ in the region are now entering into a most amazing time in God's purposes. Sweeping changes are affecting the nations of the region and millions are searching for answers to their deepest questions. Let's pray for unity, protection and the anointing of the Spirit on this gathering. Pray that the summit will release a greater networking across this critical area of the world and that an ongoing prayer network will be formed during the summit. Pray for the transformation of the nations and societies of the Middle East. Pray for the softening of hearts between Jewish and Arab Christians across the Middle East region, but especially in Israel/the West Bank and Gaza. Pray for the building of relationships between believers in the Middle East and those in other regions of the world so that millions from among the peoples of the Middle East will hear Christ's Good News and be discipled before He returns. Source: IPC --- JN488-3. NEWS: Strong church growth in Uzbekistan Sixteen years ago, there wasn't a single indigenous Christian in Uzbekistan. Mark Orton of Open Doors met the first Uzbek Christian in 1989 and, on his return 15 years later, he discovered a vibrant church of several thousand. "For years, during the 70s and 80s, we had a vision for this part of the Muslim world which had no opportunity to hear the Christian gospel for 70 years under the Soviet regime," says Orton. "We tried to train and inspire the German Baptist churches in the area to reach the Uzbeks, but without much success. During the 90s both the German Baptist and the Russian churches returned to their own countries. However, just before they left, a Russian church reached a few Uzbeks with the gospel and shortly after that, revival started." Church growth is particularly significant in the north of Uzbekistan, around the Aral Sea. "I think the fact that the Aral Sea has dried up has really shaken people," says Orton. "The whole of their lives revolved around the sea. One day, at the end of the 80s, they saw the shoreline move back in just one day and it was as if their whole lives were disappearing in front of their eyes. The whole village wept. So that is a reason why people are open to the gospel." There is a tremendous Christian revival going on amongst young people. "Most of the converts are 20-30 years old and meet together in homes because the police are hunting for them. During the day, they train in evangelism, and in the evenings they go and visit their friends, share the gospel and people turn to Jesus. In the town I visited, they have 70 cells and their vision is that every year they multiply by two, so they are hoping for 140 cells next year." Christians are often arrested on spurious charges and kept in prison for days, interrogated and beaten painfully on the soles of their feet. Persecution within families is another difficulty. An extreme example is of one boy who was taken hunting by his Muslim father and deliberately shot dead. Orton met two female Christian medical students. He reported, "One of the professors barged into their room, searched it, and found some bibles. They were soon thrown out of their accommodation. That is the sort of treatment they get all the time. Yet, in spite of that, people keep coming to Christ." Particularly at the beginning of this revival there were many miracles, despite the fact that the Christians say they are not charismatic or focussed on miracles. The Christians feel they are reaping the fruits of the prayers of evangelists who have come before, and they are very grateful to the missions who are still helping them. LINK: http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/archives/000508.php --- JN488-4. WEBLOG: Herrnhut revisited Joel News publisher Marc van der Woude keeps a weblog in which he reflects on God, the Church and daily life. This week he reports on a trip through the eastern part of Germany, where he visited Wittenberg and Herrnhut, the birth places of the Reformation and the Moravian Pentecost. "Most people who visit Herrnhut today still notice God's peace and presence in this town. The community was founded in 1722 by pietist refugees from Moravia. Herrnhut means 'under God's protection', but also 'the watch of the Lord'. This foundation in Christ is most notable when walking over 'God's Acre', the local cemetary on the Hutberg. Hundreds of men and women from Herrnhut went out as missionaries to the far ends of the earth, sowing themselves in foreign soil to make Christ known. This movement was supported by around-the-clock prayer, for over a 100 years." LINK: http://marcsmessages.typepad.com/mm/2004/10/herrnhut_revisi.html --- JN488-5. RESOURCE: Reverse Mentoring When CEO Jack Welch of General Electric realized that GE was falling far behind other companies in its use of the Internet as a business tool, he knew he needed help. But who could he ask? Welch himself rarely surfed the Web, finding it overwhelming, but he realized that understanding and embracing online technology was critical to GE's long-term success. To catch up, Welch instituted a 'reverse mentoring' program at GE. He required more than 500 of his top executives to find a younger, tech-savvy 'web mentor' to teach them how to use the web and understand e-business. Emerging implications for church leaders: what if seasoned ministry leaders followed such an example and used reverse mentoring to gain understanding of the emerging culture? "As postmodern thought continues to permeate our culture, church leaders would be wise to become fluent in the language of the emergent conversation," says columnist Angie Ward of Leadership Journal. "The best way to do this is to become a willing and intentional student of the culture, to become the humble protégé instead of the mentor." LINK: http://makeashorterlink.com/?H2D5120B9 --- JN488-6. RESOURCE: Warning to the USA church "Don't you believe any of the false prophets who preached to you after 9/11 saying it was not a judgment of God". Words from Indian prophet Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, who believes another 9/11 type judgment will come upon America very soon. "Not a judgment that would destroy the entire nation, but something quite similar to what happened with the twin towers. But it can all be prevented if rivers of intercession flow the nation." LINK: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~revival/warning-usa.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. Editor: 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? 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