Firstly I must apologise for not getting this issue out as soon as I should have (fortnightly). The reason is that I am fairly ill at the moment. I'm not sure how 'on time' the next few issues will be, but I will be trying to get these out as regularly as I can. So if some of the magazines-ezines are a little late (or even a bit more than a little late), it's probably because I'm having difficulty because of sickness. I guess what I'm saying (or rather asking) is please be patient with me. At this stage I don't know what the problem is - medical tests are continuing.
The number of people who now receive the prayer letter is slowly growing and this issue I welcome our pastor brother from Ghana (sorry I mentioned Zambia as your country in the email I sent you - don't know where I got that from). I hope you find the ezine a help in praying for the wider church.
For all those people out there who get the ezine, please don't feel shy about emailing and asking for prayer points to be added about you or the church you are a part of. So whether your from Reneckville, Ukraine, Ghana, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Macedonia, Philippines, South Africa, Germany, Chile or where ever it might be, you can contact me here. Of course they are subject to my consideration
Contents:
Ukraine - Grace Baptist Church Website:
Of interest to the church in the Ukraine (and Russia) is that in the last couple of days I received permission to post a number of articles in Ukrainian and Russian to the website I begun on behalf of the Grace Baptist Church in the Ukraine. I hope to have these available on the site in the near future and hope they prove helpful to you Vitaly. Keep an eye on the site at:
http://particularbaptist.com/Grace/index.html
China:
The Chinese government is continuing to move against unregistered churches in an effort to eliminate them. The government is slowly beginning to bring Hong Kong into line with its policy, with the institution of a new anti-subversion law. For more information visit:
www.persecution.net/china1.html
Russia:
Of the 146 million people living in Russia about half are Russian Orthodox. There is freedom of religion in Russia since the collapse of communism, however, a 1997 law restricts the activities of new religious groups. There is a great need for evangelism, mission activity, pastors (with many being eliminated under communism), Bibles and Christian literature.
United Arab Emirates:
Please pray for Filipino pastor Fernando Alconga who has been jailed and is now being tried because he distributed Christian literature in the United Arab Emirates. It would appear as though he was set up in order to trap him. This was done by the authorities pretending to be interested in Christianity. When Fernando attempted to share the gospel with them through literature he was carrying he was arrested.
Romania:
The need for Christian witness in Romania remains great. Some 80% of the 22 million people living in the former communist country are Romanian Orthodox. The Orthodox Church is very active in seeking to prevent true religious freedom.
About 5% of the population are Evangelical Christians. There is a great need for education in the Scriptures and for Biblical pastors, with there being only 1 pastor for every 5 churches.
Ivory Coast:
Officials from the International Christian Academy in the Ivory Coast are thinking about the future of the work. The academy was basically abandoned after the outbreak of civil war last year. Please pray about the continuing situation there.
Argentina - Villa Carlos Paz - Don and Gail Donell:
The Donells' have been working in Villa Carlos Paz in central Cordoba since June of 2002. The work includes opportunities to preach, witness, distribute tracts and visit neighbours. The work in their own neighbourhood they call 'Mision de la Gracia.' The small church plant here consists of just a few people meeting with the Donells' in their home on the Lord's Day.
The Donells' are also seeking to reach the Mocovi people six hours north of Cordoba in the Santa Fe province. A small evangelistic meeting takes place in Colonia Dolores. There are some growing troubles through religious opposition in this work and a move elsewhere may be necessary.
There is also a book distribution ministry called 'Sierra de la Gracia' that has begun in association with Trevor Routley. The aim is to distribute books to national pastors and to train people for both pastoral and mission work. They hope to give each man 6 to 8 books a year. Already there are 70 men involved contacted in this work. Perhaps you could assist through donations to this very important work, for most of these national pastors would otherwise have no books to assist them in their ministry.
Qatar:
The Islamic government of the Middle East country of 800 000 people actively seeks to prevent the spread of the gospel. Islam is the official religion, with some 80% of the population Muslim. It is illegal to evangelize Muslims, with execution the likely outlook for any Muslim converting to Christianity.
Some 3% of the population are Christians, but these are chiefly expatriates who work in the country.
Colombia - Bogota - Stan and Bev Line:
The Grace and Love Christian Church currently has three congregations. These congregations are in La Alborada, Las Villas and Castilla. Each of these congregations are looking at becoming independent works. The probable pastors are Guillermo Gomez, Antonio Orjuela and Daniel Lancheros. Please pray about these works and for wisdom as the church looks at this possibility.
The Sunday evening meetings at Portales del Norte continue, but with very little growth. Please continue to pray.
The Reformed Bible Institute now has some 200 students. Studies for the institute are downloaded from useful sites on the Internet and questions developed on the material.
Puerto Rico - Iglesia Bautista Bereana:
The Iglesia Bautista Bereana (The Berean Baptist Church) of San Juan, Puerto Rico, has a Spanish Book ministry. The ministry is the Berean Missionary Baptist Church Book Ministry. For more information on this work, visit:
Indonesia:
Visit www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch3.htm for news regarding an arrested pastor in Indonesia.
Jordan:
A Jordanian Christian widow has been ordered to turn her teenage children over to the authorities so that they can be raised as Muslims. If Siham Qandah does not do this she will be arrested and jailed. Please pray that Siham and her children will be able to leave the country to live with other family members. Currently she is unable to leave as the government has banned her from doing so.
Vietnam:
The crackdown on Christians in Vietnam is continuing. There are now some 67 pastors being held in secret jails in Vietnam. These pastors come from the Hmong of Northern Vietnam and the Ede and Mnong of the Central Highlands. These men have been tortured, some have had their homes destroyed, and their families and churches have fled into the jungles. Over 350 house churches have been shut down by the government.
Recently noxious gas was used to break up a church meeting among Hmong Christians in the Dien Bien Dong area. Some of the brethren are extremely ill as a result.
Christian areas are now heavily guarded, church services prevented and all Christian literature destroyed. Christian homes without pagan symbols are fined, families arrested and poisoned food distributed among Christians.
There has also been a crack down on Montagnard Christians in the central highlands of Vietnam. The repression is being linked by the government to the independence movement in that area. The government claims that Christianity is part of this rebellious movement. In the last year some 400 churches have been closed down as part of the crack down.
There is also a movement aimed at infiltrating all of the approved religious organisations in Vietnam be small Communist party cells. This would appear to be for the purpose of gathering intelligence.
For more information visit:
http://www.hrw.org/background/asia/vietnam/vietrights.pdf
India:
The growing movement for a Pro-Hindu state is growing in momentum, especially in regions such as Gujarat. Many states are passing anti-conversion laws, including Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Orissa. There have been reports of fabricated conversion stories in order to harass Christians. For a Hindu perspective visit:
In Gujarat, Christians that seek to evangelise a regarded as committing a public outrage. Hindu extremists have also attacked missionaries working among the Dhakti Bhils people in the Thar Desert region.
In the Madras region a group of 10 000 people who were seeking to be baptised was broken up by Police, with quite a number arrested. Soon international journalists and press arrived, allowing some of the group to actually be baptised when the Police backed off. Thousands of Indians belonging to the lowest class of Hinduism are attempting to reject Hinduism in favour of Christianity. However, a growing movement of fanatical Hindus are moving against those seeking Christian conversion, including a move to fine those who convert to Christianity with a 100 000 Rupee fine and four year jail sentence. Some Christians have also been killed. There is a move to banish all missionaries working in India.
Pastor Billa Nelson of the Biblical Baptist Church in New Colony, Bhadravati, informs us that his wife Ruth is now recovering after her recent serious illness. This is something that we can be thankful for and rejoice together with our brother. Billa asks that we also pray for Israel who has a blood clot in the brain and is currently in hospital at Bangalore.
Also pray for the church's building project and for the spiritual growth of new converts in the church. The church has gained a loan enabling them to put a roof on the new church meeting place. More funds are still required to continue the rest of the building project and to meet loan repayments. If you are able to aid the church in India, please contact me and I'll pass on details of how you can assist the church at Bhadravati.
ABOVE: Putting the roof on the meeting place.
ABOVE: The roof begins to take shape.
In other news, two new churches have been started in Orissa State. Please remember Pastor Raju Athawale, Sunil Kathale and brother Bhattacharya ministering in the Nagpur area. Weekly Bible studies are also held at Sonba-nagar, Defence Colony, Mhada Colony, Korardi, Tekdewadi and Yogendra-nagar. There are also many other meetings and services. The Grace Bible Institute in Nagpur is slowly progressing, with funds needed for further construction work.
Israel - Grace and Truth:
Israel's high court has ruled in favour of the Grace and Truth congregation for its construction of a building for worship. Extremist Jews had sought to prevent the building of the church building. Grace and Truth faces continuing opposition to its Christian witness.
Israel - Voice in the Wilderness (Antony Simon):
Antony Simon has now completed his term in Israel's army. The time proved an opportunity for Christian witness to many.
Voice in the Wilderness is advertising in southern Israel in order to give away free Bibles and the Jesus film. This is being done in Ashkelon, Shterot, Ashdod, Kiriat Gat and Beer Sheva. Tracts have also been handed out in mail boxes in Ashkelon for people to see the Jesus film.
For more information visit:
http://yeshua4israel.com
Philippines - Cubao Reformed Baptist Church:
The Cubao Reformed Baptist Church now has some 10 evangelistic Bible studies, with 70-80 people attending them. The number of people attending and joining the church itself is also growing. On Wednesday nights after the prayer meeting, an evangelistic team visits the shopping area in order to witness and distribute tracts. Each Saturday a group visits the local hospital and there is also a childrens meeting held in a large squatter area. The church is now beginning to consider ways that the building can be enlarged.
The Grace Ministerial Academy has seen a growth in numbers attending, including the eleven students who were formerly attending the Pentecostal denomination. Many of these students find it difficult to meet the financial requirements of the course, etc. If you would like to help Cubao and a student of the academy, please contact Brian Ellis at btellis@info.com.ph .
The pastor's conference held between February 4 and 6 was a success. Speakers included Jim Renihan from California and Wei En Yi of Shalom church in Singapore. Some 225 men attended each day.
From February 11 to 14, Jim Renihan took a modular course based on the 1689 Confession of Faith at Grace Ministerial Academy. This involved 18 hours of lectures on the confession and was attended by 57 people.
The book ministry of Cubao Reformed Baptist Church continues to struggle along. It has made a loss for the last three years and obviously it can't continue in this way. Please pray about this situation.
There are also two new churches that are under the oversight of Cubao. These have been established at Nueva Ecija and Antipolo. Other churches throughout the Philippines continue to contact Cubao for assistance in the reformation of the church. Please pray for wisdom concerning these contacts.
In other news from Cubao, Matthew Gamston from Trinity Baptist Church, Gloucester, England, will be going to Cubao in July to serve as a missionary.
You can visit Cubao Reformed Baptist Church online at:
Ireland - Reformation Ireland:
The Reformation Ireland website has undergone a makeover. Keep an eye on the website at:
http://www.reformationireland.com/
A new Reformed Baptist work has begun in southern Dublin, with seven adults and four children attending. The group is known as the 'Ballinteer Baptist Meeting.' On Sunday evenings the group is studying Acts, while in the mid-week meetings the group is studying John.
Richard Bennett will be visiting the Greater Belfast area between May 11 and 13, 2003. Reformation Ireland will have a bookstall at some of the meetings to be held. More information is available from the Reformation Ireland website. Please pray about these meetings.
For photos of the Reformation Ireland team in action and to meet the team, visit:
http://www.reformationireland.com/gallery.htm
http://www.reformationireland.com/committee.htm
VISIT US ONLINE
Please visit The Aussie Reformed Baptist Outpost online
at:
http://particularbaptist.com/index.html
The Outpost Wider Church Awareness Site can be found
at:
http://particularbaptist.com/wider/widerindex.html
For email contact and further information regarding aid
to the various ministries mentioned in the prayer letter, Kevin can be contacted
at:
nrbcpastorkev@yahoo.com.au
If you are of Reformed Baptist persuasion and would like to add news of your church or work, or add requests for prayer to this prayer letter, please contact Kevin on the above Email address.
For 'snail mail,' write to 'The Aussie Reformed Baptist Outpost, 27 Middle Street, Cardiff South, NSW, Australia, 2285.
We thank all sources of information that have made this prayer letter possible and ask the church at large to commit to praying for one another. Brethren, please pray for us.
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