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A booklet called ‘Thirst’ from Church Army reveals potential for more school-based fresh expressions of church. Thirst was founded by Sue Butler, who was surprised to find that although the local school was a Church of England primary, the social and cultural gap was too great for parents to join in with traditional forms of church. The reports back from Thirst have been positive, with leaders feeling it has made a tangible difference to the overall life of the school. Church of England primary schools are an ‘open goal’ for the Church as they tend to be receptive mission contexts for pioneering fresh expressions of church; however there is a challenge in finding pioneering leaders with the necessary links, resources and skills to make the most of the opportunities.
Praise: God for Christian mission work in schools – may every expression of faith grow and flourish. (Ps.34:11)
Thousands of students will be sitting down to take exams across the country this month - but one school in Brighton & Hove believes it's not only good teaching and revision that gets the grades. Cardinal Newman Catholic School has set up an interactive prayer room for pupils who are feeling the pressure.
Praise: God for this initiative and pray that the students will be blessed. (Ps.151)
A primary school in Sussex has scrapped a sex education DVD after parents complained about its explicit content. Governors at Turners Hill Primary School ruled that the video was not in keeping with their ethos following concerns about sexually graphic scenes. From September the video, which had been used for a year, will be replaced with a new discussion-based PowerPoint presentation. Parents will be invited to see the new material before the pupils see it and may withdraw their child from the lessons if they wish. Head teacher of the Church of England school, Oliver Burcombe, supports the governors’ decision. He said policies had been reviewed, and it was decided all materials ‘should be changed and based more around Christian principles’.
Praise: God that wise decisions have been made and pray for guidance to those who have the responsibility to teach our children. (Pr.1:5)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/school-axes-explicit-sex-ed-dvd-after-parents-complaints/
Gitika's body shrunk as an evil spirit caused her to quit eating, lose sleep and writhe with burning pain. For a month and a half a demon terrorized her, making her weak and speaking through her saying, ‘I won't leave her until I take her life!’ The hospital said nothing could be done for her and she was sent home to die. A neighbour told the family of a Pastor who could pray for their daughter to be healed. Hoping for a miracle they contacted Pastor Somkar. ‘ I know what you are doing. Don't go. Don't bring him here!’ the evil spirit yelled, through Gitika. But the pastor came and prayed for several weeks until she was delivered from the demonic attack, started eating again and was completely healed. After seeing God's power through prayers the entire family became Christians. Gitika now shares with others that only God was able to give her life again. Praise: God for healing and deliverance, and ask him to use Gitika and her family to bring the whole village to faith in Jesus. (Ac.10:38)
Last week a Saudi woman who introduced herself as ‘Maryam’ announced in a video published on the internet that she has forsaken Islam and converted to Christianity, according to Mohabat News. Apparently, she is the first Saudi-Arabian woman to publicly declare her faith in such a manner. The new convert said in the published video that she hasn’t removed her Hijab for fear of her life and to keep her identity unknown. The publishing of the video on the internet angered Saudi officials and Muftis. They highly criticized the video and called urgently for necessary measures to stop Christian evangelism in Saudi Arabia. In the short video, Maryam says: ‘I have quit the darkness of Wahhabi Islam and entered the light of Christianity. I dreamt that I needed to do this. Jesus Christ came to visit me in my dream and gave me the name of Maryam (Arabic pronunciation of Mary).’
Praise: God that He speaks through dreams and visions and pray for Maryam’s continued blessing. (Joel.2:28)
A Salvation Army band has won the right to represent Switzerland at next year's Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Featuring a 94-year-old on stand-up bass, the six-piece band romped to victory despite stiff competition from more accomplished groups boasting big record sales. The band will carry the weight and hopes of Swiss expectation next year in the Swedish town of Malmo with its English language ballad entitled ‘You and Me’, which departs from the traditional brass-band Army sound with heavy electric guitars. But the band has spurned the Eurovision kitsch and sequins, with most of its members wearing the traditional Salvation Army uniform. In its only concessions to 21st-Century fashion, the lead guitarist wears jeans while a tambourine-waving singer wears a polo shirt emblazoned with the Salvation Army motif. The group's victory was described as ‘sensational’ by Tages Anzeiger, a Swiss newspaper.
Praise: God for this wonderful opportunity to sing God’s praises and witness to an international audience. (Jdg.5:3)
Baptist churches have been encouraged to set aside a number of Sundays each year to get out into their neighbourhoods and meet people who would not normally come to church. The future president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Revd Chris Duffett has launched an evangelistic project called Saints on the Street (St St). 'As the vast majority of people in the UK do not go to church, St St projects take church to the vast majority,' he explained. 'Our hope is that St St may become a vision for Baptist churches in the UK to set aside some Sundays in the year where the morning service is used to engage with people who wouldn't consider going to church.' Recently he invited shoppers in Peterborough to walk along a VIP red carpet to give them the message that God thinks they are 'Very Important People'. Forty copies of Mark's Gospel were given away. Praise: that this Baptist outreach may be effective in bringing the good news to the unchurched. (Isa. 52:7)
Nearly every day, five S. Asian tribal women travel to surrounding villages to sell their hand-crafted bamboo items. But when these women go to the markets, they bring something else with them: Jesus. Even though these rural women don’t know how to read, they bring Gospel tracts with them everywhere they go. One week, the women had an extraordinary opportunity before them when they visited one of Laxmi’s relatives, Shalini. She had suffered for more than a year from a tumor in her neck. In faith, the five women shared Jesus’ love with Shalini and prayed for her. God answered their cries and healed Shalini, completely removing the tumor that had plagued her for so long. Shalini and her whole family saw Jesus’ power and chose to follow Him, leaving their old traditions and religious practices to put their trust in the one true God. Six other families in their village also chose Jesus. Praise: God for His wonderful healing power. (Ac.10:38)
South Korean senior citizens are urged to get closer to God in order to find happiness in their old age. Seoul archdiocesan Pastoral Administration for Seniors’ organized the Seniors’ Day festival on Oct. 5 in Seoul. ‘It has celebrated the annual event every October since 1988. Some 3,500 seniors attended the event. Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul said, ‘seniors have experienced life’s joys and sorrows. Jesus knows all hardships. What we need most in our remaining days is to realize that we are all beloved of the Lord.’ With Seoul’s aging population increasing to more than one million, Seoul RC archdiocese in cooperation with the local government sets up day care centres for senior citizens at parishes. So far, it has opened six centres in six parishes and plans to open nine more by February next year. Praise: God that He blesses even those who are old and grey. (Is.46:4) More: http://www.ucanews.com/2010/10/06/koreas-senior-citizens-urged-to-turn-to-god/
On Monday August 9th over 12,000 believers from various religious denominations in Kigali thronged Amahoro National Stadium to pray for Rwanda’s presidential elections to be peaceful. - See Prayer Alert 3210) The crusade from midday to sunset was dubbed ‘Rwanda is in your hands Lord.’ The presidential elections started the next day. The event was characterized by prayers being led by several pastors, and there were testimonies and entertainment from local church choirs. Pastor Antoine Rutayisire observed that bad politics plunged the country into genocide and urged all churches to wake up and play their role in changing the mindset of Rwandans. ‘It's now our churches time to pave the way for a better Rwanda. Rwanda is ours always. If we sleep it will crumble down,’ He called on all Rwandans to love and always pray for their country. Praise: God for answered prayers and ask him to continue to unite His church across the continent of Africa. (2Ch.7:14)