Religion Today Summaries – July 19, 2005
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world. In today's edition:
- Evangelical Christianity Growing In Iraq
- Promise Keepers Expands Outreach With Historic Caribbean Event
- America's Largest Church Has Celebrated Its Move Into Former Sports Arena
- Uzbekistan
Evangelical Christianity Growing In Iraq
Agape Press
Two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April of 2003, evangelical Christianity is growing in Iraq. Since that time, 15 evangelical churches have opened in Baghdad. Also, there are more reports of local Iraqis moving into positions of church leadership. Jerry Dykstra is a spokesman for Open Doors USA, (www.odusa.org) a ministry that is involved in many projects providing help to the Church in Iraq. He points out that there are still areas where violence and oppression against Christians is rampant, but he says Kurdish influence could keep the nation's constitution from becoming strongly Islamic, and many believers who had fled the country are returning. Still, he says there are many risks involved with belonging to or working with the Church in Iraq. Among the projects Open Doors is involved in developing are religious literature distribution, the operation of two Christian resource centers, and the planned opening of a Christian school. The ministry was also planning to open up a mobile medical clinic in northern Iraq, but many doctors who were enthusiastic about the idea refused to help because of the threat posed by terrorists. "Preventive health care and education on hygiene are urgently needed," Dykstra notes, adding, "Both Muslims and Christians see this as one of the most important needs for Iraq."
Promise Keepers Expands Outreach With Historic Caribbean Event
Charisma News Service
Promise Keepers (PK) will hold a historic event in the Caribbean this fall, but the national men's ministry hopes the conference will spark a worldwide revival among men. The first PK event outside the U.S., the Bahamas Awakening 2005 and Beyond, hopes to draw men from throughout the Bahamas and the United States to Nassau's historic Clifford Park on Nov. 7-12. The Bahamas Awakening (www.promisekeepers.org/conf10) is historic for several reasons. It marks the first time that a government official has invited the Denver-based ministry to a country to have an impact on men. Also, Fortson said it marks the start of expanding PK's vision. Fortson is encouraging Promise Keepers from across the U.S. to attend, both to demonstrate the sixth promise of racial reconciliation and to help other men. "I think it's an opportunity to share their gifts and talents with men from another nation," Fortson said. Munroe, pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International Fellowship and chairman of the International Third World Leaders Association, added: "We are hoping...this will create a groundswell of a revival and motivation for men to be activated, to receive the gospel and return to their responsibilities as men." (www.charismanews.com)
America's Largest Church Has Celebrated Its Move Into Former Sports Arena
Agape Press
America's largest church has celebrated its move into a former Houston concert and sports arena with a capacity crowd of 16,000, including the governor of Texas. Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen called the conversion of the former Compaq Center into his congregation's new sanctuary "a dream come true." He told worshipers that he and his wife, Victoria, went on their first date in the arena 19 years ago. Governor Rick Perry said government can "do a lot of things, but only the church can teach people to love." There also were video messages from people around the world -- including Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potter's House church in Dallas -- welcoming Lakewood to its new Houston location. Lakewood recently became the first church in the United States to average more than 30,000 worshipers weekly.
Uzbekistan
Charisma News Service
Protestants have complained of a widespread crackdown affecting churches across Uzbekistan, located in Central Asia, north of Afghanistan, Forum 18 reported. For example, Presbyterian churches were recently closed down in Yangiyul and Angren, towns near Tashkent, as well as congregation in the small town of Farhad, located in the Syrdarya region south of Tashkent. That church's pastor spent a week in prison. Elsewhere, in Termez, located on the southern border with Afghanistan, police took a pastor to the police station where he was beaten and held in handcuffs. Police held his entire congregation, including 10 children aged 6 months to 14, for 24 hours in the place where the church met for services. They reportedly were given no food or water, Forum 18 reported. Police also raided a Protestant church in the town of Urgench during its Sunday worship service on June 26, Protestant sources told Forum 18. Some of the 60 church members present were detained briefly for questioning. The congregation has unsuccessfully tried to register for the past two years, but local agencies have refused to consider church's request. (www.charismanews.com)
Originally published July 19, 2005.
