In This Issue: News from Norway to Vietnam
- NORWAY: Three Hundred Churches Planted in 15 Years
- TURKEY: Boiling Over in Protest
- WORLD: More than 42 Million Forcibly Displaced
- SYRIA: God Answered
- VIETNAM: Evangelist Nick Vujicic Well Received
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NORWAY: Three Hundred Churches Planted in 15 Years
Source: Joel News International #862, March 31, 2013
Three hundred churches have been planted in Norway in the last 15 years, reports [the] director of DAWN Norge, a national network for church planting in which many denominations and churches participate.
To encourage Christians in Norway to get involved in God’s mission, a map has been [compiled] with all cities, towns, and regions, and an indication to what extent they have been reached by the gospel. There are still many localities and people groups with a low church presence. A video documentary has also been produced with compelling stories by church planters and people who have encountered Christ for the first time.
But the Norwegians have a vision beyond their own nation. They want to “ignite multiplying church-planting movements all over Europe.” Each year men and women from across Norway gather for a national church-planting forum. In 2013 a total of 25 church-planting teams will be involved in the M4 training network.
» To learn more, check out the M4 Europe training network and watch the 18-minute video, New People, New Fellowship (Norwegian with English subtitles). Note that M4 includes church planters in Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, and Czech Republic.
TURKEY: Boiling Over in Protests
Source: Mission Network News, June 4, 2013
Tear gas, water cannons, and police batons punched into the crowds of Turkish protestors rallied in Taksim Square last Friday. Since then, mass “peaceful” protests have swept Turkey with Taksim Square as the epicenter, making it the nation’s largest demonstration movement in years.
“I think what you see taking place here is … a sense of uneasiness to the unresponsiveness of the Turkish government … and a concern that the government of Prime Minister Erdogan may be moving toward the more Islamic, more fundamentalist, religiously oriented government,” said Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network.
“If things like work stoppages [occur] … the uneasiness that these situations create in various market places – not only in Turkey, but for other folks who want to do business in Turkey these are all question marks that raise issues in securities across the globe,” Rodeheaver says.
The situation in Turkey’s neighbor, Syria, also adds to the unease. “I think the unrest there has also created a sense of insecurity for some of the people in the population because of not knowing what’s going to happen with Syria and some of the long-term results of that whole situation.”
Altogether, the turmoil in Turkey could eventually affect ministry. “If things begin to erupt and if things begin to be unpredictable, what that creates is insecurities in terms of what types of ministry you can do [and] where you can do ministry.”
» See also a few Mission Network News stories about Egypt: Egypt’s Court Rules Islamist-dominated Panel Illegal and Egypt Practicing ‘Legal’ Discrimination Against Christians.
WORLD: More than 42 Million Forcibly Displaced
Source: World Evangelical Alliance, June 3, 2013
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Refugee Highway Partnership are calling upon churches around the world to observe World Refugee Sunday on June 16 and 23, 2013, as a day to remember and pray for those who are persecuted and oppressed around the world.
[More than] 42 million people have been forced to flee from their homes to escape war, violence, and persecution. The majority are women and children. World Refugee Sunday, which falls on either side of World Refugee Day (June 20), gives Christians an opportunity to demonstrate their common concern for the welfare and protection of forcibly displaced people in the world.
Tom Albinson, WEA Ambassador for Refugees, Displaced and Stateless People, says: “Not only has God given us a mandate to love the alien as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:34), but the world around us is watching and hoping that we will step up to assist refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced, and stateless people.”
“There is no nation on earth that remains untouched by the Refugee Highway,” says [WEA’s] Tom Albinson. “World Refugee Sunday is a powerful opportunity for the Church around the world to communicate to the world’s forcibly displaced people that they are not forgotten and that, together with God, we care deeply for them.”
SYRIA: God Answered
Source: Mission Network News, May 17, 2013
Eight weeks ago, an E3 Partner disappeared in Syria. E3 vice president and Middle East expert Tom Doyle explains the situation: “He was in a very, very hot spot where there have been some Christian leaders that have been kidnapped. He’s been threatened many times, and we just feared for the worst because of where he was and just no messages whatsoever.”
Added to the tension was the kidnapping of two archbishops of the Orthodox Church in the same area. When “Ahmed” went missing, the team feared the worst.
Ahmed’s predicament was a high priority on May 11, which was The International Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Syrian Church. Thousands of people joined in. Sometime later “a Syrian leader texted out, ‘God Answer! God ANSWER!’ We were able to get a word to him and say, ‘What did God answer? What happened?’ And he said, ‘Ahmed is fine!'”
Doyle adds, “We now know where he is. He’s safe. His family is safe. All glory goes out to the Lord who protected him.”
The prayer effort gained traction quickly via social media. Doyle explains, “The 8:38 Web site is a Facebook site. It’s the number 8thirty8, and we encourage believers to set their watches to 8:38 pm each night to pray for believers that are either in prison, persecution, or danger.”
Why did they land on a time of 8:38? “It goes with Romans 8:38-39: ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities … shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.'”
» Some communities and individuals you could pray about at 8:38 tonight: the people of Syria (three-minute “prayershort”), Eritrean Christians (“Persecution at Highest Level,” says Baptist Press), Sri Lankan Churches (“Buddhist monks have forced the closure of 18 churches in southern Sri Lanka, threatening pastors with death if they continue their activities,” says Barnabas Aid), Aman Ullah (a 16-year-old convert kidnapped by the Taliban in Pakistan, says God Reports), and Sharofat Allamova and Naziya Ziyatdinova in Uzbekistan (Forum 18 reports).
VIETNAM: Evangelist Nick Vujicic Well Received in Vietnam
Source: The Christian Post, June 3, 2013
The amazing 30-year-old Australian evangelist Nick Vujicic, born without arms and legs, visited Vietnam in May. Though not allowed to preach in public events, he took the country by storm as a motivational speaker. Vietnam’s Christians, both Catholic and evangelical, were elated. Christian leaders in Vietnam all use the word “phep la,” or miracle. Two miracles actually, they say.
The first was that the evangelist should be allowed to come to communist Vietnam at all, and the second one is that authorities approved as Nick’s translator the young pastor newly installed in Hanoi’s main evangelical church.
Nick’s books, translated into Vietnamese, were on sale and have become best sellers. Nick’s own website also showed a huge spike in hits.
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.