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BELARUS

Two months after a regular Sunday morning service of the New Life Church in Minsk was raided by police, a court fined the church's administrator Vasily Yurevich the equivalent of 160 times the minimum monthly wage for organizing what the court called an "illegal" service. Yurevich told Forum 18 News Service that Judge Natalya Kuznetsova ignored church members' insistence that he had not organized the service, while the court decision maintained that the judge "believes offender Yurevich is trying to evade responsibility for what has been committed." This is Yurevich's second massive fine and he fears further fines in the wake of a recent police raid of a church service. (Forum 18 News)

AUSTRALIA

More than 25,000 people from the Hunter region of Australia (15% of the population) attended the recent Harvest ’05 crusade. Nearly 2,500 volunteers from 200 churches participated in the event, which resulted in more than 2,000 people giving their lives to Christ. The crusade was accompanied by two Harvest Jam Youth programs, featuring Christian artist Rebecca St. James and Christian bands Delirious and Planetshakers. Of the 10,400 young people attending the youth events, more than 1,000 gave their lives to the Lord. (Religionjournal.com)

BELARUS

After spending more than thirteen years in Soviet labor camps for his faith, Pastor Ernst Sabilo has promised that the Belarusian Evangelical Church he leads in Minsk will continue to meet for worship despite the recent liquidation of its legal status by the city court. Belarus' restrictive 2002 religion law bans unregistered religious activity. The liquidation came a month after the same court liquidated a Calvinist church. Other religious communities which failed to gain re-registration by the deadline also remain uncertain as to the legality of their parishes. (Forum 18 News)

BELARUS

Christians from New Life Church in Minsk are protesting the state’s seizure of their church land. The 600-member church is part of the Full Gospel Union Church denomination and has been under watch since the nation passed the 2002 Law on Freedom of Conscience which requires all existing churches to re-register. Many believe this is part of the government’s plan to rid the country of all non-Orthodox churches. Other churches that have refused to re-register have found themselves the target of government attempts to shut them down. (ASSIST News Service)

CANADA

After serving with Christian Reformed World Missions in the Philippines for nearly a decade, Ontario native Rev. Bruce Adema has been appointed as the Christian Reformed Church Director of Canadian Ministries (DCM). He currently works as missionary professor and interim director at Koinonia Theological Seminary in Davao City, Philippines, but will be returning to Canada to start his new position in summer 2006. Adema has previously pastored several CRC congregations in Canada. His responsibilities will include overseeing CRC’s Canadian ministries, such as the Urban Aboriginal Ministries and the Committee for Contact with the Government. He will also help congregations with questions of church polity and ecclesiastical matters. (Christian Reformed Church)

BURMA

Ronald Lalthanliana, a key figure in spiritual renewal across Burma for more than fifty years, passed away in late July at the age of 89. The son of the first native missionary to Matipur, an Indian state bordering Burma, Lalthanliana started a ten-person fellowship in 1955 that has planted churches which include more than 18,000 believers. Lalthanliana is remembered for living the gospel that he preached, having been imprisoned without trial for four years under false charges. During that time, he led forty inmates and four policemen to the Lord. He is survived by his wife, six children and over thirty grandchildren and great-grandchildren. (Christian Aid Mission)

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

After nearly twenty years of service in the Covenant-Free Church mission office in Bangui, Rev. Jean Bete was installed as president of the new Communaute Evangelique de l’Ubangi en Mission en Afrique (CEUMA), (the Evangelical Community from the Ubangi, in Mission in Africa). Leaders of the Covenant Church in Congo laid hands on Bete and consecrated him into the newly formed sister church that will serve in the Central African Republic. The installation service also included music, with a men’s chorus singing two pieces written specifically for the event. (The Evangelical Covenant Church)

ENGLAND

The United Nations Security Council is being called upon to address the threat to peace in Burma. Commissioned by former Czech president Vaclav Havel and Bishop Desmond Tutu, the report recognizes the reasons the Security Council should intervene, as well as suggests how the Burmese government can work with the UN Secretary General’s office in reconciliation and restoration of the democratic government. The report also urges the Burmese government to allow international humanitarian organizations unhindered access to the country and to immediately release all prisoners of conscience. (ASSIST News Service)

CENTRAL AMERICA

Evangelical churches and schools are temporarily housing more than 70,000 people who have been left homeless as the result of massive flooding and landslides left by Hurricane Stan. More than 2,000 people died when Stan slammed into El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico in early October. Rains from the hurricane also caused flooding in Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica. Churches have been providing shelter, food and supplies to others in need.
(Assist News Service)

INDONESIA

Three Christian women have been charged with violating Indonesia’s 2002 Child Protection Act and sentenced to three years in prison. The women, who held a "Happy Sunday" program in their homes in early May, were charged with attempting to Christianize Muslim children. Although the children had their parents’ permission, observers say pressure from Islamic radicals who threatened to kill the women, witnesses, pastors, missionaries and judges in the trial factored into the decision to convict. The verdict may be appealed. (Compass Direct)

CHINA

A Muslim in the Ili-Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in China's northwestern Xinjiang region has complained of tightening restrictions on Muslims since the ban on the Sala Sufi order in August and the closure of two local mosques. "Now that the Sufi believers have been dealt with, traditional Sunni Muslims are being persecuted," local businessman Abdu Raheman told Forum 18. He said authorities have arrested some Muslims in possession of "unauthorized" religious literature and have ordered some Muslim young men to shave off their beards. Priests and those active in Catholic parishes have been put under surveillance, while Orthodox Christians--without a native priest at the moment--complain they are still being denied a priest from abroad. One Protestant said an underground church would not even try to register for fear of repercussions on church members when registration is refused. (Forum 18 News)

IRELAND

The first Christian radio station in Ireland will begin broadcasting around Christmas of 2006 in Cork, a city where nearly half of the 120,000+ people declare themselves to be Christian. After successfully holding a temporary license in 2004, LifeFm has been granted a five-year license by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. LifeFm will be volunteer-run and include both contemporary and traditional Christian music, along with news features, community events and talk radio. (ASSIST News Service)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

Figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that one in three women in the Eastern DRC have been raped. Over 3.8 million people have died as a result of the conflict in DRC, which has been called “Africa’s World War.” It is the deadliest conflict since World War II, with a death toll exceeding Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda and Darfur in Sudan. The conflict began in 1998 when troops from the DRC (formerly Zaire), Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe began fighting with troops from Rwanda and Uganda. A 2002 ceasefire, enforced by United Nations peacekeeping forces, has been violated by all sides. (Assist News Service) 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

In less than six weeks the translation of the Iwam New Testament will be complete. Several Iwam men are partnering with missionary Hope Sharp to complete the final 1,151 verses of the Gospel of Luke as well as revising literary materials used by teachers in the Aumi and Aiwanu villages. (New Tribes Mission)

INDIA

More than two and a half million people were left homeless by the earthquake that shook the Kashmir region between Pakistan and India on 8 October, reports the United Nations. With the death toll potentially exceeding 30,000, Christian organizations and churches are pooling resources to provide shelter, food and other resources to those in need. Doctors in the affected area warn of the possibility of a massive outbreak of disease. (Mission Network News)

RUSSIA

More than a year after 331 people (including 186 children) were killed by explosions and gunfire in a terrorist attack in Beslan, a new Calvary Chapel has opened to provide hope for those still suffering from the school attack. After serving with Calvary Chapel Jerusalem, missionary Jason Calzone visited Beslan and has partnered with Beslan pastor Jumbal in starting a church in the area. Beslan is less than 100 miles from the Chechnian border. (ASSIST News Service)

IRAQ

The 300-member Kurdzman Church in Iraq is collecting money to help the New Orleans (USA)-based Adullam Christian Fellowship Church, which was devastated by hurricane Katrina. Although the two-year-old congregation in Iraq is half a world away, church members were motivated to reach out to their fellow Christians after seeing the destruction on television. Adullam Christian Fellowship was in one of the hardest hit areas of Louisiana. The 350 parishoners are now spread across Louisiana, Texas and other states. (Assist News Service)

RUSSIA

A Russian Orthodox bishop has appealed for a European Roman Catholic-Orthodox alliance to combat what he described as secularism, liberalism and relativism. "Europe has so rapidly de-Christianized that urgent action is needed to save it from losing its centuries-old Christian identity," said Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Vienna and Austria, the Russian church's representative to the European Union. (Ecumenical News International)

KOREA

Nearly 160 Christian leaders from countries such as Peru, Israel, Russia, Belgium, the United States, India, Spain, the Congo and Egypt met in Seoul to officially launch the Christian Global Network. CGN exists to present the gospel message to various cultures through family-friendly programming. Future plans by the GCN team include satellite station broadcasting in five languages. (Assist News Service)

VIETNAM

For the third time, evangelist Dinh Van Hoang’s home was burned down because he would not sign a paper denying his Christian faith. A member of the Hre minority and the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), Hoang and several other Hre members have been discriminated against and harassed for their faith for years. Authorities in the Son Ha District of Quang Ngai Province allegedly incited a mob of war veterans, local defense forces and young people to burn down Hoang’s home. Hoang has undergone mockings, beatings and imprisonments over the years by local authorities. This recent action comes shortly after Vietnam adopted legislative measures supporting greater religious freedom. (Compass Direct)

MACEDONIA

The fourth trial for Archbishop Jovan, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia, began in Veles on 29 September. Only six days earlier, the court found him guilty of embezzling 57,180 Euros donated for church reconstruction when he was bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church three years ago. Archbishop Jovan’s two-year sentence will be in addition to the two and a half year sentence he has already received. He is expected to be in a prison in Skopje for four and a half years. Goran Pavlovski, spokesperson for the cabinet of ministers, refused to explain to Forum 18 why his government is so hostile to Macedonian parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church and declined to say if Macedonian citizens are allowed to belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Orthodox Church has called its followers to a week of fasting in response to the third sentence in a row against Archbishop Jovan. (Forum 18 News)

UNITED STATES

Amidst the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary president Chuck Kelley is reminding the church of the opportunity to both proclaim and minister. "We separated the two functions. Evangelism became proclamation and ministry became missions," Kelley said in an interview with the Southern Baptist TEXAN. Kelley is reminding Southern Baptists and others in the church that the two must go hand-in-hand and Christians must provide tangible resources such as shelter, food and clothing for individuals in need. Through one program known as Mission Lab, churches have brought mission groups into the New Orleans area for a week-long ministry experience. Even before Hurricane Katrina, both teenagers and senior adults served among the homeless, alcoholics and impoverished citizens of New Orleans in recent years. (Baptist Press News)

While millions of Americans are reaching out to help families and individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina by offering housing and other resources, Compassion International (CI) and the International Bible Society (IBS) have partnered to reach one specific group--children. "The Survivors," an interactive Scripture booklet specifically designed to help children deal with crisis and loss, was developed by IBS and is being distributed by CI. More than 180,000 copies in English and Spanish have been handed out in an effort to help the children affected by the hurricane and ensuing disasters. (ASSIST News Service) Read Article >>

MEXICO

A group of Nazarene leaders have organized “Border Initiative,” a project designed to strengthen churches along the Mexico/United States border. Churches and districts from northern Mexico and southwestern United States will be partnering through short-term mission trips called “Maximum Mission.” The goal is to discover, train and send leaders from both sides of the border to develop house churches, organize new churches and eventually reach out into areas where there are not yet Nazarene congregations. (Nazarene Communications Network News)

PAKISTAN

The Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan is calling for the abolition of the country's blasphemy law, following recent attacks on Christians and Hindus accused of blaspheming the prophet Muhammad. "We hold the government responsible on account of their passivity in repealing the blasphemy law and allowing such incidents to take place at frequent intervals," the Church's National Commission for Justice and Peace said in a statement. (Ecumenical News International)

UNITED STATES

Pastors and Christian leaders from thirty-five nations will gather in the United States October 10-13 for the International Summit for Church Leaders. Sponsored by Global Advance, the event is held every three years and is intended to give leaders in the church the opportunity to discuss strategies for reaching unreached peoples; evaluate the state of global evangelization; and pray over the needs of the church. (Mission Network News)

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ROMANIA

Several minority communities are expressing concern over the current draft of a new religious law that may affect their ability to have legal status. Set to replace the religious law established in 1948, the draft law has been rushed to parliament under an “emergency procedure.” The law will divide religious communities into three categories with differing rights. Only groups with more than 22,000 members will be recognized as “religious denominations.” Those with less than 22,000 will be granted “religious association” status, while those with less than 300 members will have no legal status. The draft law is now in the Committee on Human Rights, Religious Denominations and Minorities of the Senate, the upper chamber of parliament. (Assist News Service)

SRI LANKA

The Sri Lankan parliament is getting ready to debate a proposal to amend the Constitution to make Buddhism the state religion. Currently, the Constitution gives Buddhism the foremost place as a religion; however, it is not classified as the “state religion.” If passed, this proposal would make Buddhism the official religion, make conversion of Buddhists to other religions prohibited and require Buddhists to raise their children as Buddhists. Although the proposal states that “other forms of religions and worship may be practiced in peace and harmony with Buddha Sasana,” many Christians fear that religious freedom could be undermined and that anti-conversion legislation would become more common. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

TAIWAN

Nearly eighty delegates representing Asian Covenant churches and ministries in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, India, China, South Korea and New Zealand recently met for the Fourth Asia Covenant Churches Consultation in Taipei. This year’s theme, “Reaching Youth,” focused on how ministries and churches are reaching today’s youth. The three-day conference included discussion time, keynote speakers, worship time and a visit to a large urban church in Taipei. Previous consultations have been held in Udon Thani, Thailand; Tokyo, Japan; and Bangalore, India. (The Evangelical Covenant Church)

UNITED STATES

Southern Baptist churches are partnering with the International Mission Board to pray for missionaries around the world through the year-long prayer call, “Life Up Your Voice.” The partnership is centered on Beth Moore’s Voices of the Faithful, a new 366-page devotional book which includes nearly 300 Southern Baptist missionary stories from the around the world. The call encourages individual church members to use the booklet at home to strengthen devotional times. Church groups can also meet monthly to pray and discuss what God is teaching them. The invitation to join the prayer call is open to all churches and is designed to deepen the prayer lives of Christians worldwide. In addition to the booklet, resources such as a small group facilitator’s guide, a poster, a map, bulletin inserts and a companion CD and worship DVD are available. (Baptist Press)