Religion Today Summaries – October 11, 2005
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world. In today's edition:
- A Preacher's Plea: Don't forget the Gulf Coast
- The Best Approaches to Evangelizing the Islamic Community
- Global Christian Network Reaches For The Sky…
- Pupils' Persistence Pays off in PA; Principal Permits Prayer
A Preacher's Plea: Don't forget the Gulf Coast
Charisma News Service
Evangelist Johnny Jernigan has been neck-deep in storm recovery since Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast more than a month ago. But besides delivering food to needy families and helping evacuees reclaim their damaged homes, he has been leading hundreds of people to Christ—people who weren’t open to the gospel before the disaster. Yet Jernigan fears this new spiritual openness may not last. He also is concerned that Christians who have been generous with both money and time may choose to forget Katrina’s victims by the time Christmas arrives. “What we do must be done before Christmas, or we will miss a great chance to advance the kingdom in this region,” says Jernigan, 43, who is a national evangelist with the Assemblies of God. He worries that “America’s attention deficit disorder” will cause many people to become bored with the Gulf Coast tragedy at a time when residents need help more than ever. Christian volunteers from other parts of the country are returning to life as usual, Jernigan says, at a time when storm victims are becoming depressed and overwhelmed by the trauma of loss. To find out how you can partner with a Gulf Coast church that is operating a relief station, contact Johnny Jernigan at jjmin@comcast.net.
The Best Approaches to Evangelizing the Islamic Community
Agape Press
The founder of Zennah Ministries, a Christian organization dedicated to winning Muslims to Christ, has produced a new DVD on the best approaches to evangelizing the Islamic community. Former Muslim W.L. Cati is gearing up for a January campaign in which she intends to train Christian congregations across the U.S. on how to go into mosques and share the gospel. During the tour, she plans to hand out her handy DVD. "It's going to be called 'Are You For Annihilation or Salvation?' and it's ways to reach the Muslims for Christ," she says. The plan for the tour, Cati says, "is just going across the country and trying to help the body of Christ be more bold in their witness to Muslims." According to the evangelist and ministry founder, Christians need to be aggressive about sharing their faith, which means going into mosques, the local convenience story, or wherever in order to share the gospel. "If we don't start taking a forward stance towards trying to win some of these Muslims to Christ, we're going to be in trouble," she says. "We've really got to turn this around and be very active in our evangelism." Too many Christians are taking a back seat, Cati asserts, while Muslims are handing out Korans and spreading their beliefs.
Global Christian Network Reaches For The Sky…
Dan Wooding, Assist News Service
The Global Christian Network (GCN) was officially launched in Seoul, Korea, on Sunday, October 9, with a dazzling array of lasers lights, pyrotechnics, worship music, praise dance and Korean-style loud prayer. The breath-taking launch of GCN was a multi-media mix of sound and music from Korean singers and dancers and also included a presentation of the flags of the nations that will soon be receiving the programming from GCN. Some of the 160 Christian leaders who had flown to Seoul from many different countries including Peru, Israel, Russia, Belgium, the United States, India, Spain, the Congo and Egypt, came on stage during the launch party. Johnny Kim, director of Manmin TV and secretary of the GCN board, said, “The main goal of GCN is to convey the life-giving message of Jesus Christ with the tangible evidences of the living God to people all over the world, efficiently and effectively, through mass media in this digital revolution era.” Incorporated in June of 2004 in Atlanta, GA, the vision of the network is to see the powerful message of Jesus Christ presented in the richness of diverse cultures through the creation of original and innovative programs broadcast via satellite around the world. At 12 midnight, September 1, 2005, GCN launched its first 24 hour transmissions via Channel 17 – WEBR in New York City. (www.gcntv.org)
Pupils' Persistence Pays off in PA; Principal Permits Prayer
Jim Brown, Agape Press
A group of Christian students at a Pennsylvania high school are rejoicing after finding out they are no longer barred from praying together in their school. Fifteen students at Girard High School had been repeatedly told by principal Gregg McClelland that prayer was not allowed anywhere, anytime in the school. Now, following their attempts to persuade McClelland to have a change of heart, the principal has relented. Terry Miller, a youth leader at Erie Christian Fellowship Church, where the group of teens attend, believes the principal initially displayed an anti-Christian bias and ignorance of the Constitution. According to Miller, the group of new believers did not understand why they were being prohibited from praying because groups of students at other schools in the district were being permitted to do that. But the students' persistence paid off. In her words, the teens have gotten "very radical for Christ." "They're just ready for revival throughout their school and throughout the county," Miller explains. "And they're ready to see other students' lives changed just like theirs." The group of students had been seeking permission to gather in a locker bay before homeroom and pray corporately.
Originally published October 11, 2005.
