Outreach

Missions agency Reach The Unreached (RTU) repeated last year's outreach in Karachi with evangelist Bernd Goldbach. The following is an excerpt from their report:

Pakistan, a nation double the size of Germany, is, with 160 million inhabitants, the second-largest Islamic nation in the world. An evangelistic outreach was held in Karachi in September 2005. On the last evening, over 10,000 people attended the event. During the five evenings, around 8,000 people responded to the call to invite Jesus Christ into their life as saviour. God confirmed his Word through many signs and wonders: hundreds were healed or delivered from demonic bondage. After receiving prayer for healing, one Muslim told us that he had been healed of a heart problem which had been causing him unbearable pain, and publicly displayed his doctor's certificate confirming his condition.

Carried in, walked out
Two men reported that one of them had been lame. His friends had carried him to the evening meeting. During prayer for healing, God touched the man, who could immediately stand up and walk for the first time in many years. One man came up to the stage with his crutches on his shoulders, and told how he had been healed of his paralysis in a moment.

Source: Bernd Goldbach, RTU Mission, Norderstr. 34, D-26826 Weener, Germany.

Some years ago, missiologists coined the term "The 10/40 Window", meaning the geographical area between the 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. "Most of the people groups not yet reached by the Gospel live in this area," they said. "For us," says Campus Church Networks (CCN), a mostly student-led church-planting movement on universities, "the 13/30 Window is central. It is the 13- to 30-year-old age range, the largest spiritual harvest field in the world for the following reasons:

1. People in this age range are most open for the Gospel
2. This is a decisive group, because they are the future of both the Church and the world. If you can reach the youth (for example, in educational establishments such as universities), you influence the form of future Christianity - and the world. UN figures show that
   • 60% of the world population is under 24 years old
   • 30% (1.7 billion) are between 10 and 24 years old

Statistical research has shown that 90% of all Christians decided to follow Christ before they were 25 years old (source: Barna Research).

The following reports from CCN show how a church can be planted:

Staff of the international "Janz Team" based in Kandern, southern Germany, sought creative ways to communicate the gospel - and found them. One of those ways is to hold evangelistic English camps, called "LinGo", in Eastern European nations, including Moldavia. Many of the attendees come to faith in Jesus Christ. "Imagine your youth group or church tripling in size in a single week! Imagine how it is when the Christians are the minority in your youth group or church, because there are twice as many visitors who are not yet Christians, but come because they have seen Jesus in other Christians and now do not want to miss what happens when Christians gather! How would your church deal with that?" asks Jake Penner, a Canadian Janz Team missionary. "Many people in Belarus are open for the gospel - no, hungry is a better description!"

The Almost Christians Club
The camps draw many young people. 26-year-old Vladimir, for example "is a Tae Kwon Doe champion with a criminal record," says Penner. "Today, he leads the evangelistic Tae Kwon Doe project in one church. He brought his cousin, the astonishingly beautiful Oxana, a professional dancer and manager of a nightclub in Siberia. When we later asked her what she thought of the camp, she cried for a minute before answering 'Words cannot express what I have experienced this week. After the camp, I spoke with God all night, and I can feel how I am getting closer to him.' She didn't return to her nightclub. The church has since opened another club, for seekers who are not yet Christians, but seeking God so intensely that they are ready to attend such clubs - and sooner or later find Jesus there. Many, like Kalin, a tall young man who played in the national Handball team, bring 40 others to an improvised gathering in a local park. When asked what they think of these Christian gatherings, they say 'Ochin Kruta' - very cool."

Source: Jake Penner, Janz Team, e-mail jpenner at janzteam.com, fax (+49) 7626-9160-99

"People meet daily in their houses for prayer. They tell of dreams and visions, and experience healing and deliverance. Ex-terrorists and spirit healers accept Jesus as their Lord. Churches are formed. This is not an excerpt from Acts, but is happening today among the Kabyls in North-east Algeria," writes Operation Mobilisation's Debbie Meroff. "The Algerian population of around 35 million is composed mainly of two people groups: the Berbers, and the Muslim Arabs, who later conquered the land. After the French left in 1962, the new government tried to unite Algeria under one language, religion and culture. That was difficult, particularly for the Kabylian Berbers; they had Christian roots, and their protests were often answered with military force. This oppression had a side-effect: their anger towards anything Arabic prepared their way to Jesus. New Christian churches are forming all over the Kablyian area. So far, they have been able to resist denominational influences and foreign leadership. Many people hear the gospel through Christian radio and television programmes, and up to 274 people contact the Christian staff each month. Christians hope to gather the scattered believers in new churches, and aim to plant churches in all of Algeria's 48 larger towns."

Source: OM News

"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

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

Some things only happen every couple of hundred years, others only every couple of thousand. This and the next Friday Fax are dedicated to one of these millennium events.
Fourteen centuries ago, Islam overran previously Christian nations such as Egypt and Tunesia. For the past thousand years, particularly since the barbarous "Christian" crusades and the development of un-Biblical westernised religious church traditions, Christians have found it difficult to win Muslims for the Gospel. Islam, with 1.4 billion adherents, is the world's second-largest religion after traditional Christianity which has proven resistant to the Biblical Gospel. As a young Christian, I heard only one message about Islam: "it is practically impossible to win Muslims for Christ" - a message from Hell, in my opinion, born out of centuries of pseudo-missionary frustration. Ineffective missionary methods, non-integrative churches and a fantastic lack of faith among top Christian leaders right up to the 1990's combined to create a climate of missionary unbelief. In 1982, only 2% of all Christian missionaries were working among Muslims - a ridiculously small proportion.

5,000 120,000 522,000

Yesterday, I ate lunch with three missionaries working among Muslims. One of them said "In the past two years, I've seen over 5,000 Muslims come to faith in Jesus in northern India. The work is growing so fast that the number will very likely soon pass 50,000. They meet in multipliable house churches, and ever more Mullahs are joining the movement..."
Another told "From our own experience and through other reliable sources, we know that in Bangladesh, 7,000 Muslims were baptised each month in 2003. They are radical followers of Jesus. In 2004, an incredible 120,000 joined them. Since 1997, the number of Muslims following Jesus has grown by 522,000." 522,000? That's more than the number of evangelical Christians in Switzerland, Austria and France together! Is that possible? What happened?
Baptist missiologist and author David Garrison says "More Muslims have come to Christ in the past two decades than at any other point in history. In North Africa, 16,000 Muslim Berbers turned to Jesus; in a central Asian republic, 4,000 Muslims have found Christ; 15,000 Kazakh Muslims found Christ in the past 15 years. In an appearance on Al Jazeera, Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani, a leading teacher of Islamic clerics in Libya, said 'Every hour, 667 Muslims turn to Christianity, 16,000 every day, 6 million each year!' Those numbers are certainly exaggerated, but show that Islamic experts recognise what is happening: a massive missionary movement of Muslims to Christ."

A vision becomes reality

Let me use Kevin Greeson's story as an example of what's happening. Greeson is a Baptist missionary in southern Asia. In his book "Camel Training" published in 2004, he writes "In September 1997, I lay down on my hotel bed in Singapore, where I was attending missionary training. Before going to sleep, I saw a vision of thousands of Muslims in Bangladesh going to Hell. The vision's realism gripped me so strongly that I began to weep - for the first time in 22 years. The scene changed, though; the Muslims were given a new directive, were re-routed and went to Heaven. The next day, I was excited to hear that 30,000 US Christians had taken part in a prayer campaign for the people group among which I wanted to work, and that they had been praying the very hour I had my vision. My first years there as a missionary brought no fruit; after two years, we had gathered 23 women who worked weaving baskets for export to the West. Then we heard of Abdul (name changed).

Learning from Abdul

Abdul was a local church planter, and himself a saved Muslim - or Isahi (one who belongs to Isa/Jesus). In 1998, he had seen 50,000 Muslims baptised, and 8,000 churches planted by 2003. He was doing something differently, and we learned from him to do them differently too. We told the women to invite their husbands to a meeting; they all brought their husbands or fathers, and we explained verses from the Koran which speak of Jesus, showing him to be far more than just a prophet. They were excited and angry - excited, because they recognised the truth about Isa (Jesus), and angry about their Imams (islamic pastors), who had withheld the truth from them. Then we showed them the Jesus Film in their language. What then happened was unbelievable; the men insisted on meeting again the next day. For four days, they sat there and listened to the Gospel. They all turned to Jesus, and six new jamaats (house churches) were formed. Over the following 2 1/2 years, our team saw 4,500 Muslims baptised and 314 new churches started. Two years later, the number of churches had grown to over 800. The movement is still growing. What did we teach the Muslims which made them so open for Christ? It has something to do with a camel..."

When Muslims throw the Koran in the river

"One morning in May 1999, I read a report in Bangladeshi national newspaper, quoting a Member of Parliament who stood before his colleagues and asked 'What is happening to our religion? Muslims in the capital are throwing their Koran in the trash, and in one district, they even throw the Koran in the river.' What was going on? One day, an Imam held the Koran up in the Mosque, saying 'This book has done nothing to improve our lives.' Then he threw the book in the river. The congregation of around 4,000 men followed their leader's example, throwing their Korans in the river too."

What comes after resignation?

Kevin Greeson's report shows something of the inner erosion happening in Islam. But many adherents of other religions and religious subsystems are just as resigned. Just as traditional Constantine churchianity, Animism or Buddhism, the core of Islam does not help people live their lives, but generally just preserves the status quo of poverty, difficulties, uncertainty and illness for most and riches for a privileged minority. On top of all that, religion can only superficially answer the questions every person faces: why am I here, what am I supposed to be doing, where am I headed? The Bangladeshi Imam spoke for many in his recognition of the truth. In this phase of religious resignation, most people simply perform religious rites perfunctorily, outwardly going with the flow, inwardly questioning. Many Muslims, for example, wonder about Allah's secret 100th name...

The camel knows

Every Muslim knows that Allah has 99 names, and many know of a tradition which says that only a camel knows his 100th name. That name is 'Isa'! The Koran, the Muslims' holy book, does not answer the question directly, but gives enough clear hints. Many experienced missionaries start a conversation with Muslims with the words "I have discovered an amazing truth in the Koran, which gives hope of eternal life in paradise. Would you please read me Sure Al-Imran 3:42-55?"

The Koran teaches that Jesus knows the way to heaven

This Sure says three things about Isa (Jesus) which clearly lift him above the status of a prophet: Isa is holy (3:42-48), has power over death (49-54) and knows the way to heaven (55-56). This is a shock for many Muslims, because what does the Koran say about Mohammed? The surest answer is to say that Mohammed is what he said of himself; in Sure 46:9-10, he says "I am nothing new among prophets; I do not know what will become of me or my followers. I am just a voice of warning."
If Mohammed is nothing different or more than all the prophets before him, and did not claim to be the greatest prophet of all, did not know where he or his followers would go after death, and professes to simply be a voice of warning, the contrast with Jesus' statements about himself (for example John 6:47 and 14:1-7) could hardly be greater. If you then ask a Muslim "I want to go to heaven when I die. Which prophet can help me get there?", the result is often a process leading them to read the Injil (New Testament) and find Jesus. Information from the Koran (very important for Muslims) reveals Jesus to be clearly more than just a prophet, and endows him practically with saviour status. "The Koran does not contain enough light to show someone the way to salvation, but enough small candles to guide seekers the right way," says Greeson.

For God's sake, don't bring Muslims to church!

Greeson sees four aspects which are decisive in helping Muslims find Christ and remain in him:

1. Speak in a way that Muslims understand. 'Canaanite' language is as much a hindrance as calling yourself a Christian, which is so culturally and historically laden that Muslims understand "A person with Western culture, ungodly and immoral." The word 'Isahi' (follower of Isa) is far better.
2. Cultural conformity is not a hindrance, but builds important bridges. Paul became a Jew to the Jews, and a Greek to the Greek. Followers of Jesus must learn to overcome their fear of the unknown and foreign cultures through love.
3. Send out early. Where Muslims who become Isahis are taught and sent out early, they win others to Christ and plant new churches, thus starting a movement with church multiplication as one of its basic principles. Christians who do not understand this and claim that these things need significantly more time are a serious hindrance, and should be avoided.
4. "Please do not bring newly-saved Isahis to existing traditional churches!" advises Greeson. That tears them out of their cultural surroundings, and causes them to be rejected by their friends and family - exactly the people which a church planting movement should reach. A far better strategy is to start culturally relevant Jamaats (meetings). House churches provide an ideal structure. "So if Muslims do not come to church, we take the church to the Muslims!"

Source: Kevin Greeson, "Camel Training Manual". A summary of the CAMEL training is available.

"On Sunday, 24^th April 2005, we sent out a small army of "Mystery Worshippers" into London's churches. These holy spies reconnoitred 70 services in the English capital, checking how hard the pews are, the length and quality of the sermon, strength of the coffee and warmth of the greeting. Many of our readers are dedicated pew warmers, and were excited to accept the challenge," says Simon Jenkins, editor of shipoffools.com, the Christian internet news site behind the project. Each of the mysterious spies left a card depicting a lone masked rider – the only sign for the churches that they had been examined by the service testers. The results were published on 10^th May. Here's a selection of what London's churches have to offer, compiled by Assist News Service's Michael Ireland:

• rhythmic snoring during the (silent?) prayer time;
• four old women on the back pew, criticising the pastor;
• an immediate invitation to join the choir;
• passionate singing of the Vatican national hymn;
• "We'll be back in a moment" – a service with a commercial break;
• a barking dog, accompanying the sermon for a full 52 minutes;
• a 2½-hour service, with a sermon by a (female) preacher who spoke for a long time, said nothing and finally collapsed of excitement (or exhaustion?);
• being discovered in a Puritan church and escorted out;
• no coffee – but Champagne!
• fleeing made impossible by pews which close automatically once you're seated;
• in one church, visitors were greeted by attractive young women;
• a Catholic church which didn't even mention the new Pope;
• a church which welcomed the 'spy' so intensely and successfully that he was the last one to leave…

Do you want to know more? www.shipoffools.com has the full reports.

Source: Simon Jenkins, Steve Goddard, publisher of www.shipoffools.com

People used to skip church to go fishing. Today, they go fishing to experience church. An increasing number of churches and mission agencies are specialising in reaching unchurched anglers and outdoor-enthusiasts below a typical church radar, according to a Charisma report. Terry Chupp, founder of Team Jesus Ministries (www.teamjesusministries.org) believes these groups to be the least-reached in the USA. "If you only fish in your own bathtub, you'll catch nothing. You have to go where the fish(ermen) are," he says. There are an estimated 50 million recreational anglers in the USA. Evangelist Al Odom reports that over 2,500 anglers have come to faith in Christ; "We use fishing as a lure, pardon the pun, to draw men into an environment where they can experience the life-changing power of Christ." The New Testament, he says, has many references to fishing, and 8 of Jesus' 12 disciples were fishermen. "I think it was no coincidence that God's plan was to use fishermen to bring his Word to all people," says Jim Grassi, founder of Let's Go Fishing Ministries (www.letsgofishing.org).

Source: www.charismanow.com

"Rick Warren, author of the top-selling book 'The Purpose Driven Life' and founder of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, made a dramatic announcement on Sunday 17^th April 2005, the 25^th anniversary of the church's founding," reports Dan Wooding, founder of Assist Ministries. In front of 30,000 people in the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, he said that he believes in a revival movement in the 21^st Century. He spoke of a new reformation in Christianity and his vision for a global spiritual revival through the so-called PEACE Plan. Warren is convinced that this will lead to one billion Christians being mobilised for global mission by the year 2020. "This new Reformation," he says, "will predominantly happen through normal people in small groups."

President Bush excited, says Colson

It was the first time that friends and Christian leaders from the USA and abroad joined members of the Saddleback Church in such numbers. Visitors included Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, who brought greetings from his nation, and Gaddi Vasquez, Director of the Peace Corps, who read a message from President Bush. Chuck Colson, one of the Guests of Honour, commented "I knew President Nixon very well, who would have been excited by the idea of the PEACE Plan. I also know President Bush well enough to know that this is exactly the sort of thing he loves: people who stand up and do what needs to be done without waiting forever for the Government to address it..."

Facing the giant

Warren presented his PEACE Plan in detail. At the heart is a progressive vision for mobilising American Christians to help churches in Third World nations address the enormous problems against which even governments or the United Nations are helpless. Through a reformation of the entire missionary Christianity, the Christian church will be the only force capable of coordinating and driving the effort to meet the five greatest challenges facing the world: spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, sickness and ignorance.

The five stones

Based on the story of David and Goliath, Warren explained that in his vision, hundreds of thousands of small groups will "attack these Goliaths with five stones, like David, who gathered five stones as he approached Goliath". These five stones are Planting churches, Equipping leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation.

Millions of changed lives

Wooding reports that Warren, founder of the Purpose Driven movement, has already changed the lives of millions of people in 150 nations, through tens of thousands of Christian churches. In 1980, seven people met in Rick and Kay Warren's apartment. In the 25 years since then, the church has grown to around 20,000 members. Over 350,000 pastors and leaders from 120 nations have attended Purpose Driven seminars, and over 20,000 churches in 28 nations have held the '40 Days of Purpose' course.

Bestseller results in three missionary Trusts

The book "The Purpose Driven Life", published in 2002, sold 22 million copies - a world record for a non-fiction hardcover book. Warren and his wife have since founded three Trusts which channel 90% of the income from the books to world mission, including AIDS help in developing nations.

4,000 new believers over Easter 2005

A particular highlight of the celebrations on 17^th April were the baptisms in a large heated pool in front of the stadium. Warren had preached his basic "Purpose Driven Life" message in 12 Easter services attended by over 30,000 people, 4,000 of whom decided to follow Jesus, according to the report.

Source: Dan Wooding, Assist Ministries and www.saddleback.com

"Kakala smiles all over her face, and is very excited!" wrote Rolland and Heidi Baker, missionaries in Mozambique, on 8^th April 2005. "She repeats Heidi's words syllable for syllable into the microphone, touching the hearts of everyone in the village. Everyone knows that Kakala was born deaf and dumb. People ran to fetch Kakala's mother, and soon they are both standing in front of the crowd, smiling broadly. The mother again confirms that she had never heard Kakala speak before. Upon hearing the news, someone ran off to fetch another deaf and dumb girl. Heidi and the team prayed for the girl and laid hands on her, and the little Magdalena was also instantly healed, able to hear and speak. An old woman was also healed – Jesus restored her sight."

When whole villages are saved

"The whole village had gathered, and many had travelled miles from the surrounding villages on hearing that we were coming," the Bakers continue. "They saw the Jesus Film, and Heidi preached and told them what Jesus had already done in their region. The result was that the entire village unanimously decided to accept the Gospel. During our missionary outreaches in the traditionally Muslim province Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, we regularly see whole villages eagerly turning to Jesus the first time they hear our message. Whenever we preach the Gospel as simply, intensely and clearly as we can, there is no resistance: the poor come out of their huts, clothed in rags, and run to Jesus. They accept him as their new Lord without hesitation or doubt, renouncing their old lives of dependency on witch doctors, enslaved by evil spirits, false religion and traditions, and kneel in the dust of their village square, worshipping their new saviour Jesus. In the past two years, over 190 new churches have formed in Cabo Delgado's villages; more are added every week. The harvest in Mozambique is truly ripe…"

Source: Rolland and Heidi Baker, Iris Ministries, P.O. Box 275, Pemba, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, tel. (+258)-82-303-0

Nige Gresley is a 43-year-old Methodist with two passions: the church and his model railways. "Most model railway exhibitions take place on Sunday morning, and I always had a bad conscience when I missed church to exhibit my models. But I slowly began to realise that church is not about being in a particular building at a particular time. I realised that God is also with me when I am with my fellow exhibitors. And then I had an idea...!"

Thomas the doubting tank-engine

For years, Nige had held special "Children's Hours" at the exhibitions, playing well-known stories to do with trains, such as 'Thomas the Tank Engine', to an excited audience. So he thought to himself that it would be a great opportunity to present the greatest story of all time - with model locomotives in the main roles! So he now tells stories from the Old and New Testaments, with trains playing the Biblical characters: Peter the Green Engine, James the Red Engine and the Virgin Voyager (Mary) play alongside The Fat Controller (God) and The Flying Scotsman (Jesus). "One chap got quite upset that I was suggesting Jesus might have been Scottish", Nige remembers, "but once I explained the power of metaphor as used in the parables - and let him have a go operating the signals - he calmed down." "It's more than entertainment," he says. "I believe we're genuinely building Church here."

Source: Nige Gresley interviewed by Jo Kerr on www.emergingchurch.info