The Friday Fax

The Greenbelt Festival held in Cheltenham, England every August, is experiencing a comeback. The annual festival, originally evangelically-focussed and arts-oriented, began in 1974 with only 2,000 visitors. Following a period of decline in the 90's, this year's festival attracted a record number of 20,000 visitors.
John Bell of the Iona Community, which follows Celtic spirituality, says "In a materialistic and anti-institutional age, in which churches are marginalised and ridiculed, Greenbelt stands out as a life-changing, faith-strengthening and politically involved experience. Many people are losing their traditional understanding of Church, and see festivals like Greenbelt as the expression of a new way of being church."

"Society must listen to religious fundamentalists if it wants to stagger back from the precipice on which it stands," says author Karen Armstrong, known to many for her radical stance against fundamentalism and for reconciliation between Christians, Muslims and Jews. Armstrong is an expert on Islam and Christianity, and pointed out that violence and terrorism is basically fuelled by fear. "We need to decode what fundamentalists are trying to tell us. They often express fear of things that no society can really ignore. It's not just about religious zealots; only a small percentage of fundamentalists are involved in terrorism. The trick is to prevent the broad mass of fundamentalists being drawn to the most radical group's side. When these movements are attacked, they become even more extreme and hit back, as we see with Al Qaeda. Fundamentalism is not only religiously motivated, but also a spreading rebellion against modern secularism destroying traditional religious life. That is what they are fighting against. They don't want their way of life to become extinct. We need to learn to understand that. We're at the edge of a deep chasm, two groups staring at each other: one group for whom modernity has been a good experience, and one which feels threatened by it."

Source: various

John Walker, Regional Vice President of FGBMFI Europe, a movement which aims to evangelise businesspeople, read a report by Peter Spreckley telling of an evangelistic revival in his movement in Nicaragua. "When I read that report, I felt a strong desire that a similar movement would pour out across the great continent of Europe, which has become so dark spiritually. I lay awake in bed in the early hours of Monday morning, thinking about the report. I sensed the Holy Spirit saying 'Revival will come to Europe, the glory of the Lord will cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Now is the time to remain strong, remain faithful and seek perfection in all you do. Now are the days of preparation. Do not remain lukewarm or self-contented, but remain strong as my faithful remnant in these days and this generation.'"

Learning from Nicaragua
The following excerpts from Peter Spreckley's report show what stirred John Walker:"What we saw and experienced was overwhelming. We were challenged out of our long held understanding of FGBMFI's vision, as it was initially formulated in the book 'The Happiest People on Earth': at the most, monthly outreaches, with one or two prayer meetings in between. Our Chapter meetings generally follow the pattern laid out in the Chapter manual. In the fellowship's 'glory days', we had a good spiritual harvest, but realistically, we have to accept that the harvest has been decreasing, as did the number of Chapters, members and regular meetings. There were one or two exceptions, of course, but I don't think anyone would challenge that assessment. And yet we are called to impact and change our nation!

275,600 attend evangelistic dinners
The following statistics give an impression of what we saw and heard in Nicaragua:
There are over 530 Chapters in Nicaragua, which has a little less than 6 million inhabitants. 130 of those Chapters are Women's Chapters. There are around 100 Chapters in the capital, Managua. They expect to open one new chapter each week. Every Chapter invites people to an evangelistic dinner each week, and each time, an average of ten new people attend. At one such dinner, 22 of the 40 guests were there for the first time. 530 (Chapters) x 52 (weeks) x 10 (new people) = 275,600 new guests each year. Every third weekend, a seminar is held from Friday Evening until Sunday midday for leaders and guests who react during the dinners. We attended one of these seminars, with 700 participants, 80% of which were there for the first time! The seminars cover many areas of the Christian life, such as marriage, giving, sanctification, being a good citizen etc..

94,500 respondents per year
Seminars for youths and women are held between these weekends, each with over 3,000 participants. Three or four times each year, various regions hold revival meetings. We took part in one such event in Ocotal in north-western Nicaragua. Over 700 men took holiday from work for at least a part of the week. In one year, there were some 2,500 events, at which 94,500 people are reported to have called on Jesus as their saviour. Miraculously, in our European eyes, there seemed to be no door closed to the men from the Fellowship. We went with them into schools, where every class stopped while a member gave testimony, restaurants, local radio, the police station, the bus station, the ministry of employment, the list is endless. Always the same formula, the vision of the Fellowship to explain why they are there, the testimony and the prayer. The hearers are then advised of the local chapter dinner dates. Sometimes there was individual prayer afterwards. We noted the authority and confidence with which the men spoke.
How can this be? Well the answer has to be "God". But there is a history leading up to this great move of the Spirit and beyond. It starts in 1991 (when the civil war had just ended) with a prophesy to Nicaragua, which is now being fulfilled.

Devoted fishing
How do they do it? We see three things: commitment, fishing, testimony. The commitment is clearly visible, from the leadership to the last member. Hence the rapid expansion of the Chapters, participation of the seminars etc.. There would be no 'fired up' new members if there were none inviting them. So the commitment is not to the fellowship but to reaching men, born out of a deep life-changing personal experience of Jesus, leading in turn to a deep desire to see others experience the same transfer from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. So they are fishing every day, and the results speak for themselves. The tool they use is exclusively testimony.

What does that mean for Europe?
Every attempt to analyse the situation must begin with the recognition that God is present (in Nicaragua) and is working out his purposes. However, we must ask ourselves "Why isn't this happening here?", "Can that happen here too?" and "Do we want it to happen here?"

Why isn't this happening here?
It is hard to find an answer to this question which does not include excuses. Maybe it is not God's timing. But it is the same God and the same vision. How committed are we? And how seriously do we fish? Is our limited effort limiting God? Have we become 'religious' in the way we run our meetings? Should we put our rules and manuals aside and look at things through Nicaragua's eyes? We are tempted to make excuses: we are so busy at home, in our church and at work - but we can always find time to do what we want.
That brings us back to commitment. Do we really love those who are not yet in the Kingdom? Do we really understand the call on each Christian, "go and make disciples"? Do we understand that we will have to account for our obedience to this command?
"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain". If we are to respond to what He seems, in my understanding, to be showing us then we need to hear from Him. We need His revelation and we need Him to go ahead of us.

Source: Report by John Walker/Peter Spreckley, Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International

A Christian camp called "The Levites' camp" was held near Winterthur, Switzerland, at the end of July 2005. One of the speakers was Matthias Kuhn, better known as Kuno, a young evangelist and house church planter from Thun, Switzerland. This Friday Fax is an extract of journalist Peter Schmid's recording of his talk about reconciled generations.

The next generation
"We often hear prophetic words that it will be the coming generation, or the next generation, that will bring the breakthrough. In the passion rising among youth in the past few years, I also sense a pain. A pain, because I really do not believe that the coming generation will bring the breakthrough. I believe that only Jesus brings the breakthrough. Jesus does not glorify himself just through one generation, but through people uniting and joining in community, people in true relationship. A relationship and unity between the generations is definitely a part of that.

A key
I believe that Malachi 4:6, the last verse of the Old Testament, is immensely important for our days. God says that he will again turn the hearts of the fathers to their sons and mothers to their daughters, to protect the nation from a curse.

Holding hands
Friends, I don't believe that the next generation will reach our continent with the gospel, but I do believe that the blessing we so greatly desire will come when we humbly submit to one another and hold each others' hands. I believe that the glory of the Lord will break through when the younger generation takes their place in the line down from their elders and honours them.

The great lie
We have believed a great humanist lie: we believe that we only become mature by making ourselves independent. That is not true. The truth is that the true quality of God's Kingdom (Eph. 4:16) can only break through when we make ourselves dependent on one another. The word 'dependent' often gives us the shivers - myself included.

Leader, or father?
We have given the word 'dependent' a wrong meaning, understanding dependence on people exercising leadership, not fatherhood or motherhood. I do not believe that we should be dependent on leaders, but I do believe that we should depend on fathers and mothers. A leader desires to see the next generation continue his ministry; fathers, that the next generation comes with power.

A call to the younger generation
To the younger generation I say, if we do not return to the hearts of our fathers and mothers, there may be a few more stories and a few more books about us at the end of our lives, but the Kingdom of God will not break through in a new quality. We desperately need to return to the place of dependence on our fathers and mothers. For years, I thought that I and my generation would bring radical commitment. I made myself independent from my parents. Only recently, after preaching about it many times, did I realise that I have to put it into practice.

Honouring our fathers
I have wonderful parents. I called my father and said "I want to have a day of retreat with you". I wanted that once before, but I was also glad that he did not respond. Now I knew that the time had come. I had to again give my father his mandate to be my father. We sat together in silence. I knew inside that I had to lay down all my rebellion, pride, and the thought that my generation is the one, and say "Father, I need you."

Walking together
Fathers and mothers, my appeal to you is not to believe that we do not need you. Don't believe we don't need you just because you don't know what an MP3 is. We need you desperately, not in order to use you to become something better, but because we know that the Kingdom of God can only come in quality when we walk together. We have four children; I am my son's father and trainer. My son plays handball, as I used to. When I'm sitting on the trainer's bench, my son does not need a trainer, but a father. One day, he was not doing well. He was playing in a tournament, shooting again and again - and missing every time. I called him over and told him to pull his socks up, get his game in order. The trainer had spoken. He went back out and shot again - and missed. "I don't believe it!" I thought.

Trust and encourage
Then God spoke to me, saying "Timo doesn't need a trainer, he needs a father." I went to him, and knew: correcting him is not the right thing to do now. I think that is the pain keeping the generations apart in our hearts; we have been very good at criticising each other, telling each other where our place is. Friends, living in reconciliation means trusting one another. I told my son, "Timo, I trust you and believe in you." That also happened in the story of Elijah and Elisha. It is the key to God's Kingdom coming in a new quality in our nation.

Where God's beauty shines
If there is one thing I desire, it is that God reveals the beauty of mothers and fathers going forward in unity with their children, their hearts turned to one another. The time is ripe for a reformation in my heart. Let me no longer seek that which serves me and my generation, and how to become more radical, but how we as a young generation can seek to honour our fathers and mothers. That doesn't start up here on the stage, but in our own homes. I wish us courage.

Source: Peter Schmid.

Surgeon Dr. Victor Choudhrie of Madhya Pradesh, India, reports that at the moment, it is mainly miracles which cause people to open their hearts for Jesus and, when they have heard more about him, commit their lives to him. "God is working predominantly through women and uneducated people," says Choudhrie. In July 2005 alone, Choudhrie knows of 352 people who have been baptised, 77 new churches planted and 1,506 people who have been trained as church planters. The following is a selection of his recent reports:

Healed of epilepsy
Nirmala Bai had been fighting mental illness and epilepsy for three years. Her marriage had become traumatic, and none of the medical treatments had any effect. Finally, someone suggested that an evangelist pray for her. She was completely healed, and is now part of a growing church, along with her husband.

Jesus can do what snake-charmers cannot
The heavy rain in the monsoon period drives many snakes out of their territories and into the villages. That leads to many snake bites, and only lucky people can be treated in time. Mohit was in the forest with his herd when he was bitten by a snake. He managed to make it back to his village and tell people what had happened, then lost consciousness. Neither the snake-charmers nor the village healer could do anything to help him. One of his neighbours asked a follower of Christ to pray for Mohit; 25 minutes later, he regained consciousness. Many people became open for the gospel through this miracle.

The deadly Bible
In Chattisgargh State, a deadly snake wrapped itself around a 15-year-old's hand during a church planting seminar. He managed to brush it off, but it fell on someone else. That person also managed to shake it off, and it finally landed on an open Bible. It died on the spot. The witnesses who did not yet know Jesus were astonished, and many have started following Jesus.

Source: Dr. Victor Choudhrie

At a church planting congress in 1998, representatives of Latin American nations set the very ambitious goal of planting a total of 500,000 new Christian churches by the year 2010. Dawn Ministries has published a progress report on their web site, which shows that the target will be reached if the development continues at the current rate. The following is an extract of the church planting targets set by all nations at the 1998 congress:

Nation	Churches planted since 1992	Church-planting goals
Brazil	20,000	180,000
Argentina	4,000	28,000
Uruguay	1,000	2,000
Chile	2,000	20,000
Peru	11,000	40,000
Colombia	3,000	30,000
Venezuela	9,000	25,000
Panama	2,000	7,000
Mexico	8,000	50,000
Dominican Republic	4,000	12,000
Costa Rica	500	2,000
El Salvador	5,000	7,000
Guatemala	12,000	7,000
Cuba	6,000	6,000

Five nations have already reached their original target and set new national targets. Guatemala, the first Latin American nation to have a process based on the Dawn strategy following their initial Congress in 1984, reached the target of 7,000 new churches in only five years. They then set another target of a further 5,000 churches, which has also already been reached.

Guatemala: 42% to 72% evangelical
Recent data published by a secular research group in Guatemala shows that over 42% of the population are members of an evangelical church. A further 30% declare themselves to be sympathetic to the evangelical movement. Church leaders are currently discussing what their new goal should be.

Venezuela: 25,000 churches soon
For years, church growth in Venezuela was the lowest in the region, as was the percentage of evangelicals in the population. A Dawn Congress (Amanacer) was held in 1992, at which church leaders set the aim of growing from 4,900 to 12,000 churches in only 12 years. They went to work, and reached their target 4 years earlier than planned. Their new aim is 25,000 churches by the end of 2005.

Uruguay: from 30% atheist to 10%
In the small nation of Uruguay, 30% of the population considered themselves atheist in 1996. Between 1996 and 1999, 1,000 new churches were planted, three years faster than planned. In the meantime, only 10% of the population consider themselves atheists.

El Salvador: 37% evangelical
Church leaders in El Salvador set a target of 2,000 new churches and 30% of the population evangelical by 1990. Research showed that 37% of the population considered themselves evangelical in 1993, and that over 4,000 new churches had been planted.

Cuba: Target reached 'too early'
Following 30 years of Communism, Cuba had less than 800 churches, the same number as at the start of the Communist revolution. By 1998, Cuban Christians had already reached their aim of planting 5,000 new churches, most of which were house churches. That was two years before their target, 2000.

Source: Dawn Ministries

"Siddhartha Gautama alias Buddha and Kohelet, author of the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, used very similar methods to describe the basic problems of human existence and suggest solutions," according to a recently-published book by David Lim and Steve Spaulding. "That makes Ecclesiastes an excellent contact point and bridge for explaining Biblical truths to Buddhists," they say.

Experience-based description
Buddha's statements are based on his own experiences and observations, as do Kohelet's. Both make similar statements about life, but have completely different analyses and hence different solutions. Ecclesiastes' foundation in experience is a helpful approach for Buddhists, because their own background helps them understand the statements.

Greed is humankind's basic problem
Buddha's "Four Noble Truths" declare (1) that life is suffering, (2) the suffering is caused by greed, (3) the suffering can be overcome by overcoming greed, and (4) there is a path to end suffering. Similarly, Kohelet sees humankind's basic problem in selfish desire and greed. Greed has its source in the human will and selfish motives which oppose the will of God. Instead of seeking God's will, people live as they see fit, with their own lusts and desires subjecting their own lives to suffering and unfulfillment.

Both look 'under the sun'
In the Bible, the expression 'under the sun' occurs only in Ecclesiastes. The author deliberately restricts himself to observing humankind's earthly activities, ignoring the possibility of a transcendent but immanent God. Both Buddha and Kohelet try to find sense in life outside of God. Basic ethics and some of the Creator's attributes are "written in each person's heart" according to Romans. If we do not reject Buddha's moral teachings out of hand, but understand them as part of God's general revelation to all people, it becomes possible to open God's specific revelation and laws to Buddhists.

Source: David Lim and Steve Spaulding: Sharing Jesus Holistically in the Buddhist World, e-mail SteveMSpaulding (at) cs.com

"Many Evangelical churches in Ethiopia are experiencing both growth and persecution," according to Nehemia Info, published by Swiss mission agency AVC. The Full Gospel Church in Addis Abeba Sarbetoch, for example, were given notice to leave the building they rented. When trying to rent a new building, the neighbours tried to drive them away; local authorities had to act to calm the situation. Several of the regional leaders report of strong growth and new churches planted, but also of persecution particularly when planting new churches. "In the summer of 2004," according to one report, "Orthodox 'Christians' surrounded an evangelist's hut. He had suspected that something would happen, so had already brought his family to safety, and was alone in the hut. The attackers broke the door down and forced their way in. One of them thought he had found the evangelist and shot, but killed one of the other attackers. God had protected the evangelist, who escaped in the darkness. Typically for the situation in the nation, the evangelist is now suspected of having murdered the attacker. He had to leave the region, but is alive and still working."

Source: AVC

This is the first Friday Fax news item about Somalia! We have only mentioned it once before, in 2002, when it was listed as the least-reached nation in the world, with only one evangelical Christian for every 67,314 inhabitants. German missionaries in Somalia have just sent us the following news: "For 15 years, Somalia has stood for anarchy, hunger, death, violence and refugees. The nation has now managed to form a new Government. Many Somalis have experienced death-bringing hate, and know that Islam never managed to bring peace to their nation. When they hear that Jesus prayed for his murderers while on the cross, they are deeply touched. Perhaps God had to allow the situation in Somalia in order to open the people for the Gospel. For decades, there were very few Christians, and even today, many pay for their faith with their life. Now, though, couples and even entire families are coming to Jesus, and children are hearing the Word of God in the churches. A dream held by missionaries for decades has just been fulfilled: a few months ago, a number of Somali groups joined to plant a church. Even Government officials have to admit that their nation is no longer 100% Moslem. The new Christians are growing in faith and assuming more and more responsibility..."

Source: Name and address withheld

"I grew up in a religious Islamic family in Iran," writes Operation Mobilisation's Dr. Manssor Amerioun. "At the age of 17, I decided to not believe in any God. I became a psychiatrist, and was an advisor at many Iranian clinics. Following my refusal to publicly declare that I follow Islam, I lost my job and was imprisoned for six months. During that time, my wife died of a brain tumour, and I became depressive. In 1989, I emigrated to Sweden, bought a small shop, married again and had a daughter. My wife visited a Christian church and became a believer. Peter Magnusson, the leader of OM Sweden, regularly came into my shop, and we spoke about God. One day, I watched the Jesus Film in the back room of my shop. Something happened to me; I was both happy and sad, and I felt as though God answered all my questions of the past 60 years - he spoke directly to my heart. That evening, my wife was worried, because she thought I was ill. I said 'You'll think I'm crazy, and wouldn't believe what happened!' 'If it's about Jesus, I'll believe anything you tell me,' she said, so I told her how God met me."
Dr. Amerioun has now been working with OM since 2003, doing everything he can to help Iranian immigrants.

Source: OM News July/August 2006

Six years ago, one of the hottest topics in the USA was the advertising campaign "Godspeaks", which consisted of funny and thought-provoking one-liners in white text on a black background. No logo, no address, no telephone number, just signed "God". From very small beginnings on a handful of billboards, the campaign spread to 10,000 billboards across the nation, and also caught the attention of the media. The campaign was backed by an anonymous sponsor who wanted to draw attention to the God of the Bible in a creative, disarming and thought-provoking way. "For years, the campaign has made people talk, think and laugh," says Nancy Fletcher, CEO and President of OAAA, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, which adopted the campaign in 1999, spreading it across the nation for free; the 10,000 billboards in 200 towns and cities would otherwise have cost around US$ 15 million. Now, there's a new campaign, titled "god speaks - again!" This time, there's also a web site (godspeaks.com) for people who have become curious and want to know more. Here are the one-liners, first from the original campain, then from the new:

1998 campaign

• Let´s meet at my house Sunday before the game.
• C´mon over and bring the kids.
• Which part of „Thou shalt not…“ didn´t you understand?
• We need to talk.
• Keep using my name in vain, I´ll make rush hour longer.
• Loved the wedding, invite me to the marriage.
• That “Lover Thy neighbour” thing… I meant it.
• I love you…I love you… I love you
• Will the road you´re on get you to my place?
• Follow me.
• Need directions?
• You think it´s hot here?
• Tell the kids I love them.
• Need a marriage counsellor? I´m available.
• Have you read my #1 best seller? (There will be a test.)
• Do you have any idea where you´re going?
• Big Bang Theory… you´ve got to be kidding.
• My way is the Highway.

2005 campaign

• I love you… Te amo…
• As my apprentice, you´re never fired.
• One nation under me.
• All I know … is everything.
• If you must curse, use your own name!
• It´s a small world. I know… I made it.
• Life is short. Eternity isn´t.
• The real Supreme Court meets up here.
• Feeling lost? My book is your map.

Werner Drotleff and Hans Ollesch, missionaries with Swiss mission agency AvC ("Aktionskomittee für Verfolgte Christen", Action Committee for Persecuted Christians) report about the Masai in Tanzania: "The Masai are a proud warrior tribe which used to be very resistant to the gospel. Because of their lifestyle, so many of them have AIDS that the tribe is in danger of dying out. Their leaders have recognised this, and opened themselves to the gospel. A new church was planted as the result of an evangelistic outreach around Ngotongoro in 2004; 16 Masai were baptised. The new believers had a difficult time, being persecuted and beaten.

Woman healed of AIDS, witch doctor saved
Some years ago, a new church was also planted in Ebewewe, a village in a Muslim area. A woman was healed of AIDS during an evangelistic outreach, and the local witch doctor was also saved. During another outreach before another new church was opened, Muslims incited youths to disrupt the event. The head of the local mosque even tried to damage the loudspeakers and amplifier. Just in time, though, 30 Muslim village elders arrived and forbade him to continue disrupting the gatherings; they had brought chairs and were ready to hear God's word. The hecklers left. One of the seven people who responded to the altar call was a young Muslim suffering panic attacks, who could hardly sleep at night. The mosque and the witch doctor had been unable to help him, but now he was ready to accept Jesus, along with a married couple known as witch doctors. They belong to the Sigua tribe, which had been very difficult to reach with the gospel. You can see the change in their smiling faces..."

Source: AvC, Hans Ollesch, fax (+41) 32 355 42 48

"It started under a banana tree," says a Christian from the southern Asian nation Laos. "I was hunting birds for my meal when a man from the neighbouring village sat down beside me and started talking. We spoke about our families, and I told him about my sick wife and mother, who were both tormented by evil spirits. I had already sacrificed twelve water buffalo, but without success. The visitor told me about Sipak, a man from his village, who had seen healings performed in the name of a God called Jesus. A few days later, my wife and my mother both died. In my desperation, I went to the other village to find this Sipak. He told me all about Jesus, how he had come to Earth to free us from the bondage of evil spirits. He also told me about God, the Creator, who loved me so much that he sent his son to die for me. I sensed a supernatural love and power in Sipak, and decided to follow this Jesus. I was immediately filled with peace and joy, and started telling others about my experience. Within a few days, four other families from my village accepted Jesus into their lives.

A book instead of fish
Soon, though, our faith was put to the test. I was arrested by the police, along with two of the other new Christians. They wanted to force us to sign a declaration recanting our faith. We refused, and were sent to a labour camp. We had to work hard during the day, and at night, our feet were locked into painful stocks, preventing us from sleeping. After several weeks, twelve Christians were called forward at the morning roll-call. To our astonishment, the camp chief said "You're good people and can go home. But I warn you: don't talk with others about your faith, or you'll be back here soon." Back in our village, the oppression continued; the police came almost every day to force us into a confession. After a while, one of our younger Christians could no longer stand the pressure, and signed the declaration. To remove all traces of his Christianity, he tied his New Testament to a stone and threw it into the river. Three days later, a group of men from our village went fishing. When they drew in their nets, they were surprised to find a book instead of fish. To their even greater astonishment, the book was dry and undamaged! They immediately started reading, and were excited by the message. It was the supposedly disposed-of New Testament. Through this miracle, 24 families from our village started a personal relationship with Jesus."

Source: AvC

That's the title of American author Jim Rutz's recently-published book. It's hotly debated on TV, and one of Amazon's top sellers. It has also caused controversy in broad swathes of self-contented US Christianity. 'Megashift' is a sharp-minded analysis of current Christianity around the world, and is partly based on dozens of carefully-researched Friday Fax reports. Rutz is now one of the popular columnists in the Internet news site World Net Daily. What are his main observations?

• The 1700-year nightmare is over: the Constantinian Shift is shifting back. Under Emperor Constantine, the Church became an imperial audience, but is now finally freeing itself from the corset of state control.
• An unprecedented transfer of divine power is underway, from clerics into the hands of ordinary people. According to Rutz' research in 49 nations, hundreds of people have been raised from the dead in the past 15 years.
• This is giving rise to an entirely new form of Christianity - with far greater repercussions than the Protestant Reformation.
• Over 1 billion non-Christians could become active Christians in the next 10 years.

When millions of ordinarly people do extraordinary things

The Charismatic Evangelical movement, currently numbering 707 million people around the world, is growing by 8 percent per year. That alone is exciting. The centre of this movement, though, is a mostly unknown and little-understood movement of 100 million Christians who have no building and neither pastor nor programme. "A church without vertical hierarchies," says Rutz, "which will change the future." They have experienced what Rutz calls a 'lifestyle upgrade':

Lifestyle upgrade

Anyone who uses computer software knows what an upgrade is: a new and better version of a programme replaces the old version. Through an act of God, many millions of people have experienced an 'inner upgrade' leading to an entirely new quality of life. Rutz lists a number of chances and advantages offered by this upgrade, which were previously unthinkable for many people:

• People experience release from the limitations and burdens of a traditional, hierarchical (and unbiblical) religious system, being freed into an 'open Christianity' with 100% participation.
• They are no longer a number in someone else's religious programme.
• They experience personal empowerment and are able to do things they previously could not even have dreamed of, including the supernatural (healing, prophesying, performing miracles etc.)
• They learn to overcome their own problems, and help others to overcome theirs.
• They experience fellowship with a small group of close friends who give mutual support, so that each person and the whole group reaches God's aims, which are their calling.
• In doing so, they find that which they have sought for their whole life.

Away from spectator religion

The path away from spectator religion frees people from fixed church role-playing. Previously, many people were passive, conformist churchgoers, experiencing church as a television without a remote control. The personal involvement of every follower of Christ, though, rouses millions of talents and abilities to solve even the most difficult problems. The result is a 'Megashift', a quantum leap in church history.

Post-Protestant revival

Protestantism was an important epoch in church history, but it is now time to stop protesting and start acting. The current post-Protestant awakening is larger than the great American revivals since 1727 under Wesley, Whitefield, the Herrnhuter or Johnathan Edwards. "This third Reformation," says Rutz, "has three characteristics:"

The church is transforming itself from an organisation to an organism

After 1700 years of institutional structure, the Body of Christ is emerging in the form described in the New Testament. People are rediscovering the original forms and functions in an open, participatory system mostly consisting of house churches.

100% active

Moving away from the one-man church system, in which the pastor literally did everything, a growing number of Jesus' followers are becoming active participants, leaving their spectators' seats and taking their place on the playing field. It should be no surprise the number of goals scored increases. When 100 people pray for the sick, prophesy, and plant churches instead of just 1, it is also reasonable to expect the number of miracles to increase.

Immense numbers of new believers

Church growth outside America is breathtaking. Tens of thousands of new believers (Rutz speaks of 175,000 per day) means that although all religions are growing naturally, only Christianity is experiencing significant growth through conversion. Where religions meet, Christianity almost always gains new believers, and new networks of house churches are formed.

How to be part of this Megashift

1. Stop going with the flow, and decide to actively turn away from the outdated control structures (clerics & laypeople).
2. Take responsibility. That also means paying the price of being a pionier, including Christian friends' suspicion and ostracism.
3. Learn to love others, overcoming selfishness and becoming a team player. That requires a lifestyle of repentance and obedience - out of healthy enthusiasm, not duty.
4. Help carry others' burdens, and not stagnate but take small steps forward every day.

Rutz says: "Is there a small voice inside saying "That's right!"?" Follow it. But you also have the choice to ignore it. That too is freedom. But please don't complain later..." Or, as C. Peter Wagner says, "Jim describes what God is going to do tomorrow. You can't afford to miss this book!"

Source: Jim Rutz, www.megashift.org, e-mail ocmoffice at openchurch.com

That is the name of the new newsletter published by Dawn Ministries, a global church planting strategy group. "DAWN around the world" replaces the DAWN Report, which they published for many years. Some highlights from the current issue:

Openness in Africa

"Africa is more open for the gospel than it has ever been," reports DAWN Africa Coordinator Danie Vermeulen. "Thousands of Muslims are finding Christ, and some of the most exciting church planting movements are among Muslims. Civil wars, AIDS and political repression are other factors leading growing numbers to open for the gospel..."

Interest in God is growing in Europe

"Secular ideology has failed in Europe, and there is a new interest in religion and spirituality," says Dawn European Network Coordinator Reinhold Scharnowski. "This is starting to affect European culture; writers, artists and talk show guests are speaking increasingly about spirituality. Until recently, people thought that religion is what people believe before they discover science. That has been revealed as myth. The secular faith in progress itself, which was supposed to replace religion, has failed, as clearly shown by the growing church attendance in London. The Hillsong Fellowship, for example, started with an attendance of only 70, but the numbers double every year; the attendance has now reached 5,500, with 1,500 new believers in 2004 alone..."

Uruguay: church numbers doubled

"Recent research shows that the number of Christian churches and the number of new believers in Uruguay has doubled since 1998," reports Amaury Braga, Prayer Coordinator for DAWN in Latin America. "There were around 1,000 churches in 1998, after 150 years of evangelism. This realisation gave birth to a new phase; the churches began a dedicated campaign to mobilise prayer for effective church planting. Now, in 2005, the figures show that in a period of only seven years, not only has the number of churches doubled to over 2,000, but the number of Christians has doubled with it."

Source, and to order the free newsletter "DAWN around the world": Dawn Ministries, PO Box 690787, Orlando, FL 32869-0787, USA, tel. +1 (407) 370-9312, fax +1 (407) 226-8713, e-mail tedmolsen (at) aol.com