Lausanne World Pulse – News Briefs – January/February News from around the World

January / February 2010

AROUND THE WORLD: Trans World Radio Changes Its Name to TWR
Effective 18 November 2009, International Christian ministry Trans World Radio, a pioneer in media missions, changed its name to TWR. TWR has also adopted the positioning statement “Speaking Hope to the World” to fortify its new identity. “While our commitment to radio broadcasting remains steadfast, the name Trans World Radio no longer fully conveys the scope of our organization,” says TWR president Lauren Libby. “TWR is more than radio. It is a multifaceted media ministry. By changing the name to TWR, we will maintain radio as a keystone communication component, all the while employing a strategic integration of new media platforms. In fact, we will even seek to enlarge our broadcasting footprint.” Libby explained that TWR is committed to leveraging digital advances such as the Internet, MP3 players, video, and other mobile-device formats. “In recent years, modern technology has enabled us to make significant strides in engaging with our global audience,” he said. “Whether it’s by radio or other new media means, TWR is dedicated to helping fulfill Christ’s Great Commission.” (Trans World Radio)

CHINA: The Preaching Movement in China
Although an estimated seventy million Christians live in China today, there are only twenty-three seminaries (which graduate one thousand people a year) in the entire country, leading to the potential for a weaker biblical foundation for pastors. To address this issue, the JSM-Langham Preaching program partnered with two organizations at work in Hong Kong to offer training seminars to forty-five pastors. There are plans to run a follow-up seminar in the near future with the group and an additional seminar with a new group of pastors. (JSM-Langham Partnership)

COLOMBIA: Christians Held Captive and Told to Renounce Their Faith
In November 2009, it was reported that sixteen Christians belonging to the Kogui indigenous people group in Colombia were being held captive on their reserve in an attempt to force them to renounce Christianity. The group of believers, which includes men, women, and three babies, was captured during a meeting called by the Kogui governor. Community leaders shouted abuses at the believers throughout the night. They were later taken to a remote area of the reserve and told they would not be freed until they renounced their faith in Christ. At last report, two of the kidnapped infants were seriously ill. The governor and his allies also humiliated non-Christian leaders who had supported the Christians in the community and protected them from being expelled. The governor reportedly intends to capture remaining Christians and force them to renounce their faith. (Voice of the Martyrs)

INDIA: Hindu Radicals Targeting Christians
There is evidence now that continued violence against Christians in India is fueled by animosity toward the conversion of many Hindus to Christianity. President of Mission India (MI), Dave Stravers, says the evidence comes from hard-line Hindu groups. “We [received] a PowerPoint presentation from a Hindu extremist group warning people in the state of Karnataka that the Christians are growing so fast that they’re worried that the state might actually become a majority Christian state.” According to Stravers, the Hindu radicals also believe the state of Andhra Pradesh could become Christian if something isn’t done. Stravers explains that the Hindus are shaken by the growth of the Church saying, “It used to be when you went through the villages, you saw only temples. But now you’re seeing churches, and the temples are being closed. It’s really confirming our experience that there is a powerful movement of Christ in India.” Hindu radicals are doing something about it. They’re threatening and attacking pastors. It was reported that one pastor was attacked in the middle of a service by a group of men who ran into the church wielding clubs. MI supports the local church by helping establish children’s Bible clubs, literacy classes and pastoral training. (Mission Network News)

MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA: SAT-7 Strategically Sharing the Gospel through Satellite Television
SAT-7’s four channels, SAT-7 Arabic, PARS (Persian), KIDS (Arabic), and TURK, are watched in more than seventy nations, including more than twenty across the Middle East and North Africa. Up to ninety-five percent of the people in some of these ME/NA nations have access to satellite television , making SAT-7 a strategic ministry to reach this part of the world for Jesus. According to Rev. Dr. Samah Maurice, senior pastor of the Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo (the largest Protestant church in the Middle East, “If you see most of the cities in the Arab world now, even homes in the poorest areas have satellite dishes, and they are even more common than refrigerators or ovens….The local church cannot do what the satellite can do these days.” (SAT-7)