Exloring Life Eternal

Debbie Meroff
Reply-To: newsbytes-owner@yahoogroups.com
N E W S * B Y T E S - February 2006
*************************************************
A Free Service of OPERATION MOBILISATION NEWS & INFORMATION*

TEL AVIV: GAY CAPITAL?
Israel tourism officials have announced that they plan on turning Tel Aviv into the gay capital of the world. "Tel Aviv and gay people are a perfect fit," said an official with the Israel Hotel Association (IHA). The idea was born when IHA Director-General Eli Ziv visited London to participate in the 2005 World Travel Market exhibition and met with representatives of the homo-lesbian travel industry. "We are drafting plans to encourage gay tourism from Germany, England and Holland," said Ziv. Tourism Ministry Director-General Eli Cohen said he would offer any financial assistance necessary. Tel Aviv hosts the largest Gay Pride Parade in Israel, drawing up to 100,000 people. [Ynetnews.com]

"YEAR OF THE FAMILY"
At its annual Partnership Conference in Cyprus, SAT-7, the Arabic Christian satellite TV channel in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the launch of the "2006 Year of the Family" Campaign. The campaign will include special programs on SAT-7, book distributions and seminars in churches with the aim of strengthening families. SAT-7 is sponsoring the event in association with local churches and Bible Societies in the Middle East. The slogan is "Together we can shape the future!" SAT-7 is also aiming to raise awareness of the needs of the disabled in the Arab world, and expanding programming for youth. [www.sat7.org/]

IRAQI CHURCHES BOMBED
A spate of car bombs exploded outside churches in Iraq on Sunday 29th January in what appears to have been a coordinated attack. The explosions occurred within a half hour period, apparently chosen to coincide with the time at which Christians would be going to church. Two churches in the northern city of Kirkuk and at least two others in the capital Baghdad were targeted. At least three people, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed and an estimated 16-20 people injured. According to some reports as many as 7 churches were bombed. On the same day, Christian students at Mosul University were beaten up by Muslim students. Many Iraqi Christians believe the events were retaliation for the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. [BARNABAS FUND 2 Feb.'06]

FIRST-EVER TURKISH CHRISTIAN SATELLITE TV CHANNEL
A broad coalition of sending organisations and Turkish local churches are pooling resources to start TURK-7 TV, the country's first Christian satellite TV channel. Programs were scheduled to begin airing in January on the same frequency as SAT-7, the successful Christian TV broadcasters for the Arab-speaking world. Initially TURK-7 will be on for 2 hours each Tuesday and Thursday, but it is hoped the channel will eventually have 24/7 programming. Follow-up (audience relations) will be an important part of the effort. Says one leading Turkish pastor, "Television is a very effective method for communicating across the entire nation. The most exciting thing is that TURK-7 is helping Turks to proclaim Christian truths to their own people, in their own language". [www.sat7.org/ ]

BIBLE GROUPS IN ETHIOPIA
Starting at zero four years ago, Ethiopia's capital Addis Adaba now has 185 Bible listening groups meeting regularly to listen to audio cassettes of the Bible and talk about the Scriptures. The groups are part of the Bible Society's "Faith comes by hearing" project. "Many participants have told us how listening to God's Word has changed their lives," states the project director. He says the people come together for fellowship and nourishment from the Scriptures. [BIBLE SOCIETY, EN 1/06]

YOUNG PEOPLE JAILED FOR READING BIBLE
Eritrean military authorities have jailed 75 Protestant Christians at the Sawa Military Training Camp for "reading Bibles and praying during their free time," local sources in the small East Africa nation confirmed. Most of the newly arrested evangelicals, 37 of them women, are student youths doing their compulsory national military service at Sawa, a remote center near Eritrea's mountainous western border with Sudan. The young conscripts had not attempted to conduct a Christian meeting or transgressed any other military law. Muslim conscripts are allowed to have their own copy of the Quran and pray 5 times a day. Since May 2002, the repressive regime of President Isaias Afwerki has closed down all independent evangelical churches and refused to allow their members to meet anywhere for worship. [COMPASS 2 Feb.'06]

RESPONSE TO CHRISTIAN RADIO IN INDONESIA TRIPLES
The coast of Indonesia is being rebuilt after the December 2004 tsunami, although survivors are still dealing emotionally and spiritually with their loss. A new radio station was launched in November by Back to the Bible in North Sumatra, one of the worst-hit areas. The station was launched through relief funds that came into Back to the Bible after the tsunami hit. Several programs are being aired, including a live call-in program. In the future, Aceh-language programming will be added to reach the hard-hit and spiritually needy area of Banda Aceh. The message of hope is resonating with listeners, many of whom write asking difficult questions. Response has nearly tripled since November. [MNN 2 Feb.'06]

INCREASE IN MISSION INTEREST BY STUDENTS
Jerry Rankin of the USA's Southern Baptist International Mission Board says more and more students are showing interest in missions. In 2001 and 2002, the board has seen more candidates than they have ever had in their history, with over 1,000 missionaries dispatched to fields in each of those years. "Even though we have a higher number of retirements," he said, "we're seeing the highest [number] of missionary appointments." This past year, over 3,000 people applied as candidates to be apprentice missionaries, expressing a sense of call to missions. And "these are candidates for our long-term service, accentuated Rankin, "not our short-term service." [CHRISTIAN POST 6 Feb.'06]

USA [TRADITIONAL] CHURCHES LOSING ATTRACTION [YET HUNGER REMAINS]
A growing number of Americans no longer view a local church as their primary religious meeting place. A study by the Barna Group shows that new forms of religious experience, such as house churches, marketplace ministries, and cyberchurches, are becoming the norm for millions. Discontent with traditional churches, changes in lifestyle and a desire to get closer to God have spurred a megashift. 2/3 of adults have internet access and the internet now serves as the foundation for faith experiences for more than 1 in 10 adults, although most also use it in tandem with another form of corporate religious experience. [RELIGION TODAY]

SHOCKWAVE! [PERSECUTED CHURCH]
For the fifth year, a prayer initiative organised by Open Doors International's youth branch, "Underground," will involve thousands of youths worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians. The March 3-5 event kicks off in New Zealand and travels across all time zones, both online and in other creative ways such as all-night events or prayer breakfasts. For more information in various languages or to obtain resources visit:
http://www.odshockwave.org/

RESOURCES:
TO ENCOURAGE CHRISTIAN WORKERS, especially those working in difficult or dangerous places, a new 15 minute daily radio program produced by Trans World Radio. For details see www.memcarebyradio.com Audio of programs also available on the web.

"France 2006," 40 DAYS OF PRAYER & FASTING DAYS FOR FRANCE, will take place from March 1st to April 9th. Prayer guides, promotional leaflets, and a new DVD called "God in France" can be ordered online. See www.objectiffrance.org

KIDS OF COURAGE website helps kids, parents and teachers link up with
mission prayer and projects worldwide: http://www.linkingup.com/

EZINE FOR MOBILIZERS "Missions Catalyst" by Caleb Project is a weekly
bulletin designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide to be a voice
for strategic ministry.
See http://tinyurl.com/ar8ac
email info@cproject.com

==========

NEWS BYTES is compiled monthly by Debbie Meroff of OM News & Information
[OMNI] in London, England. Material may be freely copied and circulated.
Items do not necessarily reflect OM position and questions should be
directed to the original news source. Html version can be found on
www.om.org. Please do not hit "reply" to this email as subscriptions are
automated. For a free e-mail subscription send a message to:
newsbytes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe write: newsbytes-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

JORDAN-BASED MINISTRY DISTRIBUTES AID, BIBLES IN MIDDLE EAST
Manara Ministries, an evangelical relief and development agency based in Amman, Jordan, recently visited the two largest churches in Damascus, Syria,that are hosting Iraqi refugees. “Along with providing 2,000 Bibles, we were able to distribute some food parcels for needy widows in the area,” reports President Issam Ghattas. “We praise the Lord for obtaining government permission to ship 50,000 [Bible storybooks] for children into Syria.” Manara continues to operate Christian bookstores in Amman, Jordan, and Baghdad, Iraq, although book shipments from main suppliers in Cairo, Egypt, are sometimes blocked due to security problems. Manara, along with a local church, has organized the first widows’ conference in Iraq. [ASSIST 25 Oct.’05]

QATAR’S FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN 1,400 YEARS
The reform-minded emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has
donated land on the outskirts of Doha for the construction of the first
Christian church in that country since the 7th century. The $7 million
Church of the Epiphany, which will open in 2006, will not have a spire or free-standing cross. Christianity was unknown in most Gulf Arab states within a few centuries of the arrival of Islam, but many Christians have migrated to the region since the discovery of oil. Qatar’s Anglican community is roughly 7,000 and 10,000 people. [CSM 10 Nov.’05]

SAT-7 LAUNCHES “2006 YEAR OF THE FAMILY” CAMPAIGN
Serving as the premier Arabic Christian satellite TV channel for millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa, SAT-7 announced today the launch of a new family initiative called the 2006 Year of the Family campaign to give the Christian message through the basic block of a family unit. Beginning next year, SAT-7 will be airing special television programs with the theme "Together we can shape the future!" Launched in 1996, SAT-7 developed satellite broadcasts for Christians of the Middle East and North Africa. Though it started airing only 2 hours of Arabic Christian TV per week, today the channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, bringing the message of Christ into millions of homes. [CHRISTIAN POST 10 Nov.’05]

MUSLIMS IN EUROPE
More than 53 million Muslims are currently living in Europe; 14 million of
them reside in the European Union (EU), according to the Central
Institute-Islam Archives in Soest, Germany. Among the 25 EU states France
has the highest number of Muslims – 5.5 million – followed by Germany (3.2
million), the United Kingdom (1.5 million) and Italy (1 million). Taking
into account the whole continent, Russia has 25 million Muslims and the
European part of Turkey 5.9 million. The Muslim population in Germany is
mostly made up of Turkish migrants, but the number of Muslims holding a
German passport has risen to almost one million. Muslim worship in Germany is on the rise. One in five Muslim adolescents worships regularly. The number of converts to Islam has reached a new high in Germany. According to the institute more than 1,100 persons changed their religion to Islam between 2004 and 2005. Approximately 60% of converts were women, most of them converting because they married a Muslim. But the reverse is also true: more and more Muslims in Germany become Christians. Most of them are Iranians in exile. The Islam-Institute believes that altogether more than 100,000 Iranian Shiites have converted to the Christian faith since the Islamic revolution. Most of them live in the United States. [IDEA Nov.’05]

RESOURCES
Visuals International has been printing picture-based Bible lessons for over 45 years. The teacher's texts have been translated in over 85 languages and the lessons used in over 150 countries. Check out what's available at:
http://www.biblevisuals.org or contact info@biblevisuals.org

“Global Missiology” is a free quarterly e-journal with original research and contributions from researchers, practitioners and scholars of international representation with global perspectives. http://www.globalmissiology.org
Email: editor@globalmissiology.org

=====
from:
NEWS BYTES is compiled monthly by Debbie Meroff of OM News & Information
[OMNI] in London, England. Material may be freely copied and circulated.
Items do not necessarily reflect OM position and questions should be
directed to the original news source. Html version can be found on
www.om.org. Please do not hit "reply" to this email as subscriptions are
automated. For a free e-mail subscription send a message to:
newsbytes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

backdated & editted

SAT-7 REACHING MILLIONS
Surveys conducted in 8 Arab nations conservatively find that SAT-7, a Middle Eastern Christian satellite television broadcast, has 5-6 million regular or occasional viewers in the Arab world, AND 2-3 million devoted weekly viewers. Each month the team receives over 1,000 letters, emails and phone calls from viewers. SAT-7will soon be available to Arabic and Farsi speaking audiences in Australia and New Zealand. According to the 2001 census, over 210,000 Arabs have moved to Australia in recent years. Other sources say the actual number of Arabic speakers may be as high as one million. 50,000 Farsi speakers are also believed to live there. SAT-7 is also experimenting with live broadcast streaming on its websites www.sat7.com (Arabic) and www.sat7.org (English). [SAT-7 NEWS]

JERUSALEM'S "GAY PRIDE" FESTIVAL SPARKS OPPOSITION
A dozen top Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are uniting against what one New York Rabbi has called "a spiritual rape" of the Holy Land -- a homosexual pride festival expected to draw thousands from around the world this August. The leaders have drafted a joint statement urging the Israeli government to stop the festival. "Such an event would constitute a severe affront to the hearts and souls of adherents of all religions," they said in a Jerusalem Post report. The alliance called on the Israeli government to prohibit plans for an immodest street march. The event is being organized by the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Coordinators. [BAPTIST PRESS/CHARISMA 7 April '05]

ONLY ISLAM REPRESENTED AT EXPO 2005
Religion gets little attention at this year's world exposition, Expo 2005, in Japan. The only exception will be Saudi Arabia's presentation of Islam, in its pavilion. The Christian faith is absent as are other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The German weekly magazine, Die Zeit, commented, "Religion, the major controversial issue of our times, is being ignored in Nagoya." By contrast, religion was prominently featured at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, where Protestant and Roman Catholic churches presented the "Christ Pavilion." Evangelicals also operated a "Pavilion of Hope" as an evangelistic project. Expo 2005 (March 25 to Sept. 25) will be viewed by approximately 15 million spectators and represents 120 countries. [CMDNet 23 April '05]

TAKING THE GOSPEL TO JORDAN'S OUTCASTS
The 3 million Gypsies who live in Arab countries are considered "outcasts of the outcasts" and get little exposure to the gospel. In Jordan they are excluded from public medical benefits and education, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. National workers have begun providing medical care and distributing pairs of goats to poor Gypsy families, giving them a reliable means of income. This has opened opportunities to share spiritually and some Gypsies are coming to the Lord. Workers are now developing a Bible translation in their native Domari language since none yet exists. [CHRISTIAN AID 18 April '05]

A NEW "PEACE" PLAN TO MOBILIZE FOR MISSIONS
Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life" has sold 22 million copies, a world record for a nonfiction hardcover book. Warren and his wife have since founded three Trusts that channel 90% of the income from the books to world mission, including AIDS help in developing nations. Now Warren is launching a movement to mobilize a billion Christians for global missions, using small groups. Letter of the "PEACE" plan stand for: Planting churches, Equipping leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation. [FRIDAYFAX 29 April '05]