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Issue 185
WORLD NEWS ROUND-UP
Leaders in globe walk
100M JOIN WORLD DAY OF PRAYER More than 100 million Christians worldwide united to celebrate the Global Day of Prayer. Stadiums, fields, churches and auditoriums were packed to the rafters as Christians dedicated a day to prayer. Leading Christian TV station, GoD TV, said it was inundated with e-mails from more than 100 different countries as viewers responded to the live coverage. Julie, from West Bromwich, said: “I am thrilled to join in with the millions of God’s people to petition the Lord for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit across the globe.” Fayyaz, from Pakistan, added: “We are joining you from the city of Lahore. GoD TV is an unspeakable blessing as we pray for our land to be set free.” Diane, tuning in from China, said: “Your prayers touched me deep in the heart and I feel comforted by the promises of God.” GoD TV Ceo rory Alec said it was a huge privilege to host the Global Day of Prayer. He added: “What an extraordinary hour to be alive, with over 100 million people who love Jesus coming together from around the world to pray .”
JAPAN – About 3,000 ministry leaders from more than 100 countries walked across one of the world’s biggest ever maps, praying God would move throughout the world. The Call2A ll Congress event, held in Hong Kong last month, saw the leaders vow that they would go wherever God would send them. President Mark Anderson said there is a growing sense among Christian leaders that God is calling the Chinese church to take a new place in world missions. He added: “I believe we are going to see the destiny of the Chinese church moving into a new phase. Great numbers of Chinese missionaries will help lead the way in the next phase of world missions.”
Boffins get green gifts
USA – More than 50 free copies of the Green Bible were sent to leading professors in the USA. The gifts, sent to mark earth Day, were sent by the Council of Churches eco-Justice Programme and the Bible’s publisher Harperone. organiser Jordan Blevins said: “earth Day is a unique opportunity for our churches and communities to celebrate the values of God’s creation. “By getting The Green Bible into the hands of seminary faculty and staff, we can see that these values continue to be focal points of our churches’ ministry.”
Aussie PM’s rule on faith AUSTrALIA – Australian Prime Minister Kevin rudd has boldly told his nation that if they are offended by God they should leave. The PM said: “‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact; because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. “It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.”
Cancer plea
WorLD – Christians in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines and South Korea held services to mark the Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day. Daniel Kennedy, the organizer and co-founder of Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day, said: “The ministers will pray for healing for people who have cancer, prevention for people who do not have cancer, and comfort for people who have lost someone.”
Hundreds join the Global Day of Prayer event in Ipswich
MAN WHO RESCUES INDIA’S SEX SLAVES A former opera singer is using his voice to help rescue child prostitutes in Third World nations.
Brave Ben Cooley, right, frequently visits brothels in India, where he poses as a paedophile, offers to rent teenage girls for sex and attaches a secret video camera to his shirt. The 26-year-old then gains enough evidence to prosecute the pimps. Ben, who runs Manchester-based charity Hope for Justice, is far from the typical church missionary – but so far he has seen great success. He admits to being “scared stiff” every time he goes into a brothel. Ben said: “I’m absolutely terrified every time I go in these places. Nobody really wants to spend time in a grotty Indian brothel. “But I felt God say to me, ‘have I given you a spirit of fear or a spirit of power?’ That’s the choice I have, and I have to believe that God is with me.
FEAR “To be honest, my biggest fear is that I would slip up, because at the end of the day I’m just a normal man with normal feelings. “But I put many safeguards in place, and have undercover guys in the brothel while I’m there. I know I’m not strong enough to do this without God and without a great team.” And so Ben believes that through prayer, mobilisation of the church and lots of hard work, the alarming statistics detailing the size of trafficking can begin to change. It is believed that there are 27 million slaves worldwide, with 1.2 million children being trafficked each
Prostitutes given hope from leader of charity
year. In the UK alone, more than 4,000 girls are trafficked to major cities from eastern europe and sold into prostitution. Payment for full sex in India can cost as little as 10p, while in London, it can now be bought for £15. It’s estimated a huge $40billion is spent each year in the trafficking industry. But despite the frightening figures, Ben is confident the whole slave trade can come crashing down. He added: “I believe God can change these statistics around. I believe God is greater than any giant and that his heart grieves when he sees these figures. “We’ve seen girls in India who have been raped up to 90 times in one day and I think, surely in God’s name that should stop? Psalm 72 says that ‘He will deliver the needy, the oppressed and those trapped in violence’. The word ‘he’ becomes ‘we’, because Christ is in us.” ● To find out more about Ben’s ministry, visit the charity’s website www.hopeforjustice.org.uk.
Lego Jesus Church helps excluded students gain skills SWeDeN – A church celebrated 18 months of hard work by unveiling a 6ft Jesus made of 30,000 Lego bricks. Forty people had worked on the project in Vasteras, Sweden.
A CHUrCH is demonstrating Christian kindness by helping excluded school students gain key skills and jobs. The Bridge Church, Maybank
Centre, South Woodford, Ilford, offers a range of skills workshops as well as volunteering and work experience opportunities. It opened five years ago and
relies on funding from redbridge Council or lottery grants. Chris Kapnisis, community development officer, said: “We want to promote positive activities.”
Optimism of Middle East peace future THe World Council of Churches ( WCC) has sa id it senses a “change is in the air” for peace in the Middle east. The WCC said in a statement earlier that encouraging “new voices are advocating steps towards peace that churches have been promoting for years”. Believing that the 60-yearold Palestinian-Israeli conflict is on the verge of seeing a new light, A rchbishop Desmond Tutu said: “There is really no situation that is intractable – none.” The Nobel peace laureate compa red the Pa lest i ne Israel conflict to the seemingly deadlocked situation in South Africa before the downfall of apartheid. “each [situation] is capable of being resolved, even this one that seemed so utterly intractable,” he added. The WCC state me nt was made last month as the Peace Week in Israel came to a close. It coincided with US President Barack obama’s visit to the Middle east.