Setting
Their Spirit Free Through God’s Word (Suriname)
Havana
Rally Marks Close of Cuban Evangelical Celebration
Creative
Evangelism: Brazil’s New Publications
Christian
Ministries Partner to Reach Students (Canada)
Micmac
Community Celebrates New Testament Translation (Canada)
Research
Center for Scripture and Media Takes Bible into 21st Century (USA)
Newspapers
Bring Good News to Readers as Part of ‘Year of the Bible’ Project (USA)
New
Evangelism Ministry Goes On-Line (USA)
Setting Their Spirit Free Through God’s Word
PARAMARIBO,
Suriname — Something wonderful is happening in Suriname’s prisons. Prison
authorities have reported reduced disorder, more and more prisoners are
asking for Bibles, and an increasing number of inmates are taking an active
part in prison church services. God’s work is being done in Suriname’s
prisons.
In order to help continue this work, the Suriname
Bible Society (SBS), which has been running a program to provide Bibles
to prisoners over the last 12 years, recently provided 500 more Bibles
to supply the ever-increasing demand for them from the country’s inmates.
The Bibles were presented to newly-ordained prison chaplain, Mr R H
Struiken, a prison guard, on June 10 by SBS General Secretary the Rev Erle
Deira. The Bibles will replenish the prisons’ Bible stock, which has been
exhausted for almost a year due to the high demand for them among prisoners.
Great demand
Mr Struiken, who travels regularly between prisons to minister to inmates,
intends to personally distribute the Bibles. The great demand for Bibles
by prisoners testifies to the work that Mr Struiken has been doing amongst
prisoners, with the support of the SBS’s ‘Setting Their Spirit Free’ program,
and also to the work being done by the Prison Ministry Fellowship and various
churches.
The formal establishment of a church in Santa Boma Prison, and the ordination
of Mr Struiken as its chaplain in itself bears witness to the fact that
God’s work is taking root in the country’s prisons. The best testimony,
however, is the prisoners themselves. During the increasingly well-attended
church services, inmates lead in worship and prayer, while ex-inmates have
returned during special celebrations to testify to their newfound faith
and deliverance from drug addiction. (WR 343/1 - 9.99) [PHOTOS]
Havana Rally Marks Close of
Cuban Evangelical Celebration
HAVANA, Cuba — Cuban President Fidel Castro
and other government leaders were present at Havana’s Revolution Plaza
when 100,000 evangelical Christians were allowed to openly celebrate their
faith in public for the first time in 40 years.
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One highlight was when a young girl stood on
the platform and quoted verse after verse of Scripture from memory. The
crowd exploded in applause.
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In another breakthrough for evangelicals on the Communist-ruled
island, the government granted permission for a series of four Sunday celebrations,
including the final mass rally, to be televised nationwide.
Historic moment
The three-week-long Cuban Evangelical Celebration was organised
by 49 evangelical churches, and marks an historic moment for Cuba’s evangelical
believers. Seventeen months after Pope John Paul II’s unprecedented open-air
Masses for Catholics in the country, the June Celebration was the first
time Cuban Protestants have experienced outdoor freedom of worship in four
decades of Castro’s rule.
Eighteen open-air meetings were held throughout the country during the
first three weeks in June, culminating in the closing ceremony in Havana
on June 20. The closing ceremony began dramatically when tens of thousands
of believers, waving banners and singing Christian songs, walked through
the city from their churches to the Square.
Peace and unity
During the three-hour rally, speakers emphasised the importance of the
event, and spoke about the issues of peace and unity, which were the main
themes of the Celebration. Pastor Oden Marichal, President of the Cuban
Council of Churches, gave thanks to God for the Celebration, which he said
had given Cubans the opportunity to “know each other better, love each
other more and experience unity.”
Churches united
“As far as we know, this is the first time in the history of Latin America,
the Caribbean and the world that all churches have united to bear witness
to the love, peace and unity that the world needs,” he said. “Churches
will not be the same after the Celebration.”
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A shipment of one million Books of Hope
for youth and children was distributed during the Celebration.
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Pastor Lucius Walker of the IX Caravan for Peace praised the Cuban Evangelicals
for the progress they were making. “We salute you in this process, while
you discern what it means to be an Evangelical Church in a Socialist country,”
he said.
A 460-voice choir and orchestra filled Revolution Plaza with songs of
praise during the service. A children’s choir of 100 also sang, and a group
of young people offered several dance presentations. But the reading of
the Scriptures made perhaps the greatest impression on the crowd. One highlight
was when a young girl stood on the platform and quoted verse after verse
of Scripture from memory. The crowd exploded in applause.
More than conquerors
Another highlight was when a Cuban pastor read aloud the passage Romans
8:31-39. When verse 35 was read, “Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or hardship?” The crowd shouted “NO!” “Persecution?”
“NO!” came the response from the thousands who have struggled for religious
freedom for decades. Finally, the crowd quoted in unison: “No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
At an earlier meeting in Holguin, attended by 30,000 believers, Pastor
Raul Suarez of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and director of the Martin Lutheran
Memorial Center called on US and Cuban churches to “create bridges and
break barriers.”
Tribute
Rev Suarez paid tribute to the fathers of Cuban Protestantism, and to the
men and women who dedicated their lives in recent decades to sharing the
message of God with the Cuban people.
A shipment of one million Books of Hope for youth and children
was distributed during the Celebration. The Scripture books, provided by
the Assemblies of God, were brought into the country with the help of the
United Bible Societies and Cuba’s Bible Commission.
100,000 adherents
Hector Hunter, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Cuba,
says that the restrictions imposed by the government have not stopped the
growth of the church. The Assemblies of God, Cuba’s largest Protestant
denomination, now has more than 100,000 adherents, compared to only 9,000
at the beginning of the decade.
However, Cuba is still one of the least religious countries in Latin
America, with evangelicals comprising less than 10 per cent of the population.
“We are praying that these open-air meetings will be a help to bring
the nation back to Jesus,” said Hunter.
Another shipment of Bibles, along with books by author Josh McDowell,
was delayed in customs.
The entry of these books was also being facilitated by the UBS. The
UBS Americas Regional Committee Chairman, the Rev Pedro Arana, and the
Central America, Mexico and Hispanic Caribbean Regional Secretary, Guillermo
Luna, also attended the Celebration. (WR 343/2 - 9.99)
Creative Evangelism: Brazil’s New Publications
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — Two new creative publications, a book on
evangelism through sport and a magazine on Christian embroidery, have been
well received in Brazil.
The book, Road to Victory, co-edited
by the Bible Society of Brazil and Athletes
For Christ, contains testimony from Christian athletes. The executive director
of Athletes For Christ, Alex Dias Ribeiro, describing the book as a “New
Testament with running shoes and a tracksuit”, said that the language of
sport can be used successfully in evangelism.
Needle and thread
The quarterly magazine, Meditate Embroidering,
published by Fuerza Editorial, aims to “reach lives through the needle
and thread”, according to the executive editor, Beatriz Cardeal Rodrigues.
The magazine, which has a print-run of 50,000 copies, uses embroidery as
a creative form of evangelism by encouraging the use of Christian themes
in embroidery. The theme of the first edition was ‘The Lamb of God’, and
cross-stitching patterns on this theme were included. (WR 343/3 - 9.99) |
Christian Ministries Partner to
Reach Students
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“Our goal is to equip Christian students across
the country to share their faith authentically from life, and effectively
from Scripture.”
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TORONTO, Canada — Thousands of students across Canada will shortly
receive copies of a new youth-oriented Gospel publication, thanks to an
outreach partnership formed by three major Christian ministries.
Breakthrough – The Gospel of John, a graphically-appealing, CD-shaped
booklet, was extremely well-received by youth in the UK and has prompted
the Canadian Bible Society, the Inter-Varsity
Christian Fellowship of Canada, and The Navigators of Canada to work together
to reach Canadian students through the booklet.
Under the partnership agreement, the Bible Society will publish 50,000
copies of Breakthrough. It will then be distributed by young Canadians
involved with Inter-Varsity and Navigators to their friends and fellow
students on campuses and in high schools. It is felt by all three ministries
that joining forces will mean that more students will be reached.
Meaningful
“We believe our supporters want us to reach young people in high
schools and universities in a meaningful way,” said the leaders of the
ministries in an official statement. “Working together makes that a reality.
Thousands and thousands of students will be impacted because of the combined
effort.”
The Rev Fr Greg Bailey, National Director of the Canadian Bible Society,
is convinced that more and more young people are awakening to their need
for the gospel. “Tragic events like the ones in Littleton, Colorado, and
Tabor, Alberta, compel us to reach out – and what better way than students
giving students the Word of God?” he asked.
Ross Rains, National Director of The Navigators, hopes that Breakthrough
will
help Christian students share their faith more effectively. “Our goal is
to equip Christian students across the country to share their faith authentically
from life, and effectively from Scripture,” he explained.
Jim Berney, Director of Inter-Varsity, agrees: “There is a lot of hunger
out there for spiritual things. The challenge for Christian students is
to connect the Good News of Jesus Christ with that hunger. That’s where
Breakthrough comes in.” (WR 343/4 - 9.99)
Micmac Community Celebrates
Translation of New Testament
TORONTO, Canada — Members of Canada’s Micmac community recently had
great cause to celebrate – the 28-year-long work on translating the New
Testament into their language has been completed.
This means that the 11,000 Micmacs living
in Quebec and the maritime provinces will now be able to read God’s Word
in their own language. The translation is the fruit of a partnership formed
almost three decades ago between the Micmac people, the Canadian
Bible Society, and Wycliffe Bible
Translators.
Straight as an arrow
During the celebration to launch the New Testament
on June 14, members of the translation team joined community elders in
reading from the New Testament in Micmac. The National Director of the
Canadian Bible Society, Greg Bailey, asked God to empower His Word among
the Micmac people, making its message “straight as an arrow”.
Describing the years of translation work as
a “labour of love”, Hart Wiens, head of the Kitchener Translation Office,
thanked Micmac co-translator Marion Wilmot and Wycliffe translators Watson
and Marilyn Williams for dedicating so much of their lives to this project.
Pierre Therrien, Head of the Society’s Quebec office, prayed that God would
bless all who had been involved in the work and that the Micmac people
would take pride in what they had accomplished.
The Canadian Bible Society is currently working
on a number of language projects across the country, translating the Bible
into indigenous languages. (WR 343/5 - 9.99)
Research
Center for Scripture and
Media Takes Bible into 21st Century
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The emphasis of the research
is to ensure that the Bible’s message is translated into contemporary words,
sounds and images.
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Experiment
Staffed by experts from a wide variety of disciplines, the Center has been
running projects ranging from translation research to experiments combining
the Gospel with contemporary forms of mass communication. These include
the Internet, popular music, videos and films. The emphasis of the research
is to ensure that the Bible’s message is faithfully translated into contemporary
words, sounds and images, without losing any of its original meaning.
The Center’s manager, Robert Hodgson, emphasised the commitment of the
ABS-sponsored facility to utilise all available media, to make the Word
of God abundantly available in the 21st Century.
“The American Bible Society has a 183-year tradition as a leading publisher
and sharer of Scriptures in formats that every person can understand,”
he said. “It makes sense for us now to take the lead in developing Scriptures
in new media, CD-ROMs, audio and video.”
A new beat
One project, run by musician Harry Beckett, has given five Contemporary
English Version (CEV) texts a new beat, by combining the texts with
popular music styles. Beckett’s songs feature a gospel rendering of Psalm
96 entitled ‘Sing a New Song to the Lord’, and a bluegrass setting for
Mark 10:46-52, ‘The Story of Bartimaeus’. He has also put together an easy-listening
‘Top 40’ piece based on 2 Timothy, called ‘Paul’s Message to Timothy’,
a rock opera, ‘Ezekiel’s Shout Against the City, and a country song, ‘God
is Love’, taken from 1 John 4:7-21.
Popular music
The project’s aim is to test whether CEV texts can combine with popular
music styles in a way that is both faithful to the biblical passage and
acceptable to listeners of contemporary music. Should the experiment prove
successful, it is hoped that the Scriptures, formatted as popular music,
will help fulfil the historic mission of the ABS to make the Scriptures
accessible to as many people as possible.
Another project that the Center has been involved in is the production
of three videos and companion software prototypes. One of the videos, The
Neighbour, was based on the Good Samaritan story, and won a first prize
at the Houston International Film Festival. (WR 343/6 - 9.99)
Newspapers Bring Good News to Readers
as Part of ‘Year of the Bible’ Project
“ray of light in a dark journalistic
world”
NEW YORK, USA — The American Bible Society’s
Year of the Bible project has recently received a huge boost with the decision
by newspapers across the country to include a chapter of the New Testament
in their daily news diet. The move has elicited massive support from readers.
The editor of an Ohio newspaper was surprised by the strong reaction.
Overwhelmed
“While I expected a fairly positive response to printing a chapter of the
New Testament each day, I was still overwhelmed by the immense positive
feedback I received,” he said. The paper’s primary reading zone is an economically
depressed area with a high crime rate, and this was one of the reasons
for the editor’s decision to print the New Testament.
Nothing positive
“As a newspaper person I hear on a daily basis that there is never
anything positive in the news. I felt that one of the best ways to change
that mindset was to print the Good Book,” he explained. “When I announced
to our readers that I was going to publish the New Testament, I believe
it brought an immediate sense of much-needed relief, that there is something
positive out there, that their daily lives do not have to be mired in negativity.”
Another newspaper, in Montgomery, Alabama, also received a positive
response. In a letter to the editor, one of its readers described the decision
to print the New Testament as a “ray of light in a dark journalistic world”.
“Let me be among many who say thanks,” he wrote. “God’s Word
is something I need every day. One can only wonder – if we took the life
of our Lord more seriously, would there be less murder, less theft and
less crime to report? Thank you for your effort to turn on the light.”
(WR 343/7 - 9.99)
New Evangelism Ministry Goes On-Line
NEW YORK, USA – A unique new web-based evangelism ministry has recently
gone on-line, providing a cutting-edge, personalised way of spreading God’s
Word.
‘NeedHim.org’,
offers on-line visitors the opportunity to read about the Gospel and talk
on the phone toll-free at any time of the day or night to one of 1,400
trained lay-counsellors. It also provides links to other Christian web-sites,
and offers free supplementary resources to help people learn more about
the Gospel.
The ministry, originally a highly successful
telephone-based ministry formed in 1996, is the result of the co-operation
of various organisations, including the American
Bible Society, Gospel Communications
International, Ron Hutchcraft
Ministries, and The Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association. (WR 343/8 - 9.99)
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