| Lausanne Connecting Point - January 2005 |
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In This Issue:
Here’s a recent update from Adrian and his wife in Sri Lanka: 1/26/05 It is exactly one month ago today that we were hit by the tsunami disaster. Our lives have changed dramatically since then. For our family it is only a devastating, life changing experience, but for nearly 50,000 Sri Lankans it was the fateful day that they were killed; for 250,000 Sri Lankans it was the day they lost their homes and all their belongings; and for an estimated 1 million Sri Lankans it was the day they were displaced from their homes. We have continued to respond to the needs of our people, from the first day of the disaster and plan to continue to do so in the months and years of recovery and rebuilding lives. We have taken out truckloads of relief material, we have consoled the grieving and we have provided temporary shelters and attempted to bring back some dignity to those living in internally displaced centers. In addition to the immediate relief efforts which we have carried out through the local churches in each of the affected districts, we have also focused on the following: 1. Trauma Counseling - Since January 21 we have engaged ourselves in conducting training workshops and seminars on "TRAUMA COUNSELING". Northland Community Church in Florida, USA in response to our request has sent us a four member team to help us carry out these workshops. We have decided to carry out these workshops because the psychological and emotional damage of the tsunami is as great - or worse - than the physical destruction. The pain experienced by those who have survived the tsunami is beyond any human comprehension. Fathers had to watch their children drown and being swept away, mothers saw their children crying for help, but was unable to do anything, children witnessed with terror how their parents were trying to help others, but unfortunately they themselves were killed. Further to what they saw, the Buddhist and the Hindu world view supports the concept that the present suffering is because of the sin of the previous life (also known as "karma"). I wonder whether you could even imagine the pain and the guilt this might bring about in someone who has survived, but lost some or all of their family members. 2. Construction of new homes - We have no doubt that construction of homes to replace those destroyed by the tsunami is a big undertaking. We deeply appreciate your prayers and support for this phase. Pray that the government would expedite the process of granting permission to us to build houses. It has begun this process with some groups already. We are appealing to all our friends and partners in ministry to contribute towards building the homes - and through that exercise, building the lives and hopes of families who have lost everything that they held dear. The pain and sorrow in our nation, and the response of the Church in the midst of all the pain is giving rise to a healthy receptivity to the Gospel among our people. (The Church has responded well to the needs of our people, in fact in my opinion other than the government, 95% of the relief and construction work is carried out by Christian community.) PRAISE GOD. Please pray for the following: 1. The salvation of our nation. 2. On 30th Jan 2005 all Kithu Sevana Churches and our partners Churches will gather for a day of prayer. We have invited some members of the Parliament, and the members of the opposition to participate, and they have graciously agreed to grace the occasion. In the midst of the pain this is very exciting. 3. Pray for the Counselors who are being trained, that they will go out and bring God's love and peace to those who are suffering from psychological scars. 4. Pray for direction as Kithu Sevana carries out plans to set up two orphanages for the children orphaned by the tsunami. Pray for committed staff and personnel for the orphanages. 5. Pray for the health and safety of all staff and volunteer workers of Kith Savanna and distributed churches, who are working ceaselessly in the relief and rehabilitation work. Thank you for all your emails of support and encouragement and also for faithfully praying for the people of Sri Lanka and the Kith Savanna ministry. We deeply appreciate your prayers and support as we are more than tired. Missionary radio is getting involved in tsunami relief at the request of the Indonesian government. Greg Harris, President of Far East Broadcasting Company, says they’re helping Indonesia in three ways: "The first is we're sending a technical and programming team into the region to enable local radio stations to function in the emergency. The second is we're distributing wind-up radios that don't need batteries. And, the third is special programming and grief counseling that we're launching." Harris says the FEBC will be airing unique health programs that will save lives and that "the radios will be literally a life line for many of these people to find out where they can get food, water, shelter and other life saving information." Christians around the world continue to respond to the earthquake and tsunami disaster that occurred December 26 in Asia. In addition to providing prayer and financial support, several groups have also created an online ministry response directed at those who are seeking answers to the “whys” of the disaster. TruthMedia’s site, http://www.thelife.com/disaster, offers a variety of help including: answers to the question “Where was God when the tsunami came?”; issues such as grief and fear; a place to post prayer requests; and an online course entitled “Why does God allow disaster?” WorldLINC ministry has created an evangelistic web site, www.whendisasterstrikes.org, that organizations who want to present a gospel opportunity to seekers can link to easily. Web visitors can submit prayer requests, view articles that share a biblical perspective on why God allows disasters like this to happen and give to trusted organizations. Other Resources After 13 years as Chair of the Australian Lausanne Committee, Mrs. Robyn Claydon is handing over the Chair to Dr. Ross Clifford, Principal of Morling Theological College in Sydney. Dr. Clifford was Co-convener of the 2004 Issue Group 16, Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in a Postmodern World. Mrs. Claydon will remain on the Australian Lausanne Committee as an Advisor. She also serves as Vice Chair of the LCWE International Committee, as Senior Associate for Women in World Evangelization and as Chair of the Great Commission Roundtable. The members of the new Australian Lausanne Committee are:
By Steve Prensner, Executive Vice President of Every Home for Christ (EHC) a 58-year-old ministry involved in systematic home-to-home evangelism in 192 nations. EHC’s Jericho Center, in Colorado Springs, exists to help form partnerships committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 focuses on His Body being perfected into One
… Unity is in God’s heart and thus He is molding the hearts of His people into one heart. And as He molds our hearts together He is leading us into greater partnership together. Partnering for the Great Commission is an exciting, challenging venture. It’s all around us; new networks are continually being formed; new partnerships are being formed; the world is changing all around us; and we have the joy of being a part of it. It’s our way of demonstrating Christ’s love to the world. And as the wise slogan declares: Only when the Church is One, Will the World be Won! The World is Changing, And Our Approaches are Changing
The Enemy Wants to Divide, Separate and Destroy, We Choose to Unite, Love and Re-Deploy! There are so many areas where the enemy wants to divide us, but it is not worth our time or energy to quibble over issues which are non-essential. As one respected leader in England said recently, he had compiled a list of 100 issues dividing the Church there, keeping them from moving together as one to reach England for Jesus. There is no end to the differences we can find in the Body of Christ … sprinkling vs. immersion, charismatic vs. non-charismatic, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, denominations vs. independents, all the gifts vs. none of the gifts, etc. But there are also no limits as to what God can do when we come together as a Body with one Head. We are a family, and our identity is not in how we as children act or what we do, but who our parents are. The world is crying out to hear from a united Church. Out of the 2004 Lausanne Forum came a new website for partnering that will provide an additional resource for those interested in fresh ideas and interaction in this area of partnership. The web site is: www.powerofconnecting.net. Thank you to those who recently completed the survey on partnering that was sent to you. If you are interested in seeing the results of that survey, please go online to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/Report.asp?U=74451884397 This survey will be further analyzed as part of a doctoral research project I am working on through New Geneva Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA and The Jericho Center for Global Evangelism to study new models for partnering together to complete the Great Commission. The Vision It is an exciting day to see new opportunities and new models developing as we unite and partner together to complete the Great Commission!
CONNECTING CHILDREN TO CHRISTIANITY AT A CLICK - www.hikidz.org
By Harry Bryans The Internet is now a part of daily life for most young people. Christians around the world have been concerned for some time that a quality web resource for children, built on Christian ethics and beliefs is needed. www.hikidz.org aims to meet that need. Hi Kidz is a joint initiative between the leading children’s ministry organizations Scripture Union, Crusaders and the Grain of Wheat. A wide range of other organizations are also working in association with them to make this possible. An International Team, based in Belgium, has created the pilot version in French and then English. This currently has 14 of the 21 envisaged sections open with some content. Once the English site has been professionally developed there are people from many other countries who are waiting to translate it and develop sites so that it becomes a truly international and global site – Arabic, Russian, Albanian, Portuguese and Spanish just for a start. The Hi Kidz website is to provide children aged 6 – 12 years with a safe world of fun, entertainment, information and an opportunity to discover Christianity for themselves. Children coming to the site have the opportunity to discover and personally respond to the Gospel. The site also aims to provide many helps to grow in personal faith and have the opportunity to interact through different sections accessed through a home page of a typical boy’s room. There are sections on the Bible and Christian life, comics, games, sport, the world, cookery, audio stories, nature, art, literature as well as music, a question box and much more. Children can currently register and join the FREE Cyber-Club and receive weekly animated emails. This reinforces the impact of the site and encourages children’s to come back to discover and participate more. Other regular emails are also envisaged for teens, parents, teachers and children’s workers who register for them on the site. Materials are updated weekly. An adults’ section, accessed through the adult who can only enter the room when invited, gives information about the site and help for parents. Within the site, through the globe, there is information about many different countries and projects effecting children in need. Throughout the site there are already resources in over 40 different languages. The final site is also to cater for special needs children and offer both a “Flash” animated and a “non-Flash” version allowing for visitors to choose according to their connection speed. It is to be managed by a small web management team for each language version who will be able to continually update and develop the website, research and incorporate a wide range of resources and enable children’s interaction. At the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization, meeting in Thailand in October 2004, the children’s ministry delegates concluded that the www.hikidz.org website was one of four strategic tools to reach the 2 billion children in the world. Penny Frank, one of the delegates who is Director of the Children’s Evangelism Initiative of the Church Pastoral Aid Society said; “It’s so exciting to have a website which children can access, where we know they will meet Jesus! Hi Kidz builds a bridge between the Christian message and children – even those who have no-one to take them to church.” God gave many opportunities to meet and network with people involved in children’s ministry and in various forms of media. Other partnerships and synergies are under consideration. As a result, we are seeking to set up coalitions of ministries to take responsibility for the translation and management of the site within key language groups. Statistics show that the site has already had visits from 94 different countries in 5 continents and as many as 573 visits a day. Only after the next phase of the site has been fully developed will any major publicity be undertaken. The potential is incredible, but we must engage with it together to make this possible. To successfully reach the children of the world, a project such as this must be seen as a Kingdom project involving and engaging the whole people of God. Ministries, churches and individual Christians need to be using and resourcing this strategic tool and making it the best we can for God. The synergies and media possibilities go much further than a simple website. We are at a key stage. The low budget pilot version has received encouraging interest. We have many improvements and new services planned to incorporate into the new phase. This requires strategic funding to go forward. We believe God has other key international partners whom He also wants to involve in this project before proceeding. They may be among contacts from Thailand; they may be among those reading this report. Please pray that we might clearly discern God’s wisdom, will and timing as we seek to:
Please pray for us and tell others about the project and this unique resource
to reach out to children in a relevant and engaging way. To find out more
contact: On March 4-5, 2005, the fourth annual ShockWave will connect thousands of concerned young people around the world with members of the Persecuted Church - through the power of intercessory prayer. Underground, the youth outreach of Open Doors with Brother Andrew, sponsors Shockwave. It is a global 48-hour youth prayer event that will take place in Shockwave chat rooms as well as at prayer meetings throughout the world. Shockwave will start in New Zealand and work its way across the time zones, literally covering the world in prayer for the estimated 200 million members of the Persecuted Church. Last year, Christian young people from 15 nations participated in Shockwave. In cooperation with the Adopt-A-People Clearinghouse and the Bethany World Prayer Center, Joshua Project has released updated and expanded versions of the original Bethany People Profiles at: http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php. The original Bethany profiles have been matched with updated statistics. There are over 1,700 maps, 1,100 photos (several hundred of them are new), and 1,450 textual descriptions profiling unreached people groups. New non-Bethany profiles have also been added. Source: www.brigada.org By Rev. Sarah Plummer, a participant in 2004
Forum Issue Group 13 and part of the Lausanne Intercession Working Group.
Plummer has published a Prayer Resource for the 40 days from Easter Sunday to
Pentecost called "Forty Days with the Risen Lord."
The insights from the “Global Inquiry” presented to us at the 2004 Forum in Thailand by Dr. Louis Bush revealed the crucial “Internal Obstacles” stopping the church right now from evangelizing our world are a lack of vision and lack of united prayer. Can you imagine at least 100 churches in each city spending forty days praying for the lost in that city - then uniting with millions of people internationally praying for Christ to be Lord over their nations? We want to encourage you with the vision of the “Global Day of Prayer.” Participants at the 2004 Forum where given a CD-Rom called "Forty Days with the Risen Lord". The vision in this prayer evangelism resource is to see entire cities reached for Christ through prayer evangelism. A practical way of helping the average person in church to talk to God about their friends is to talk to their friends about God. I highly commend this resource as a way in which God is giving vision and united prayer to the church today. The material examines through prayer the books of Luke and Acts together. It reflects on the early disciples’ journey from the Resurrection to the Ascension. Leading up to Pentecost - the Global Day of Prayer asks God that we might see the Risen Lord and truly hear his resurrection command: Mobilizing the whole church prayerfully, presenting the whole gospel message, using many forms, to the most needy (and to) the whole world. Please pray for God's leading on this international call to the church. If you did not receive a copy of the CD, a free copy can be sent to you by emailing Sarah This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please pray for the thousands of people God wants to reach into His Kingdom this year. The world is groaning may God break our hearts to the cries of the lost. By Glenda Weldon, Chair, Intercession Working Group Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land the light will shine on them.” One of the enduring memories of the 2004 Forum is, for me, Paul Eschleman’s challenge to “mobilize the whole Church, to take the whole Gospel in many different ways to those who are most needy.” At the beginning of the New Year, it is good to remember how blessed we are to be those who “walk in the light.” How blessed we are to be able to say with Paul, the apostle, “For God, Who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Let us ask the Lord to refresh our hearts with renewed love for Him and commitment to His call to make disciples of all nations. May we continue to pray for those who do not yet know Him and for those who do not yet know of Him, that the Lord will “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith…” Praise God
Prayer Requests
Younger Leaders Forum 2006
Australian Lausanne Committee
Making Disciples of Oral Learners
Business as Mission
Unreached People Groups
Intercession Working Group
Global Aids Prayer Partnership
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