OM raising funds to keep ship ministry afloat
16 Mar 2012Through the generosity of a partner of OM's ship ministry, a 1 to 2 matching grant of up to $3 million has been made available to keep Logos Hope sailing into the future. Having recently celebrated three years of active service, OM's flagship Logos Hope requires significant technical work to ensure the vessel can continue to bring knowledge, help and hope to the one million people that the ship ministry reaches on average every year. OM Ships International began in 1970 as part of the global Christian training and outreach movement, Operation Mobilisation (OM) and is well-known for providing educational and Christian literature in ports around the world. To enable completion of this critical work, over $8 million in funding is needed for this year's planned dry-dock work and the Power Up Logos Hope project, which will replace two generators and the electrical switchboard on the ship in 2013, and install a heat recovery system..
Praise: God for the amazing work of OM’s ship ministry and the many thousands that have been ministered to over the years. Thanks also for the generosity of the partners' funding. (Pro.11:25)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/om.raising.funds.to.keep.ship.ministry.afloat/29415.htm
Olympics: The Church’s response
20 Oct 2012Churches across the UK served their communities, welcomed visitors and blessed people just as Jesus would have done. An estimated 500,000 attended church-organised community festivals. The More Than Gold Athlete Family Homestay Programme hosted 280 guests from 20+ nations in 160 homes for 2,000 nights of free hospitality. The athletes supported won a total of 45 medals including 8 gold. 300 Games Pastors provided 13,000 hours of service to travellers at 24 locations including ten major rail stations, two airports, a coach station and key tourist sites. 30+ teams of 350 musicians and creative artists from 30 nations in 40 venues contributed 440 hours of live performance and 434 days of exhibitions. Over 2,100 volunteers from 40+ countries worked with about 300 churches distributing 225,000+ Olympic and Christian pin badges during conversations, water distribution and as a gift to travellers. And much much more.
Praise: God and give Him thanks for answered prayer throughout the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
More: http://www.worldprayer.org.uk/files/2012/10/Answered-Prayers-from-The-Prayer-Baton-Relay.pdf
Olympics draw outreach teams
01 Sep 2012The’ Ultimate Gold outreach’ was a huge team effort in the extensive grounds of St. John’s Church Stratford where ‘Almost everyone on the teams led people to Christ.’ The outreach partnership brought together St John’s Church, Through Faith Mission, OAC Ministries (Open Air Campaigners) and a range of some twenty other East London churches providing something on offer for the constant number of people who used a public footway which runs through the church grounds. Throughout the afternoon and evening the Gospel message was preached by painting on sketch boards, singing, acts of creative object lessons, escapology, acrobats, dancers puppet shows, offering prayer in a prayer tent, taking ‘The God Test’, in which people were asked their views on either the existence of God or His nature, and a faith survey. There were many openings to have conversations about the Gospel, as both local people and visitors took the opportunity to sit and relax in the sunshine with free tea, coffee and cold drinks provided.’
Praise: God for the 160 people who chose to follow Christ and the 60 who made re-commitments. Pray also for the team members who are busy preparing to assist St John’s Church during the Paralympics. (Php.2:10,11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/olympics.draw.international.outreach.team/30544.htm
Samadar Singh was jailed for 11 years for murdering a nun but today he is a different man. While in prison his wife divorced him and his first son died and he plotted how to take revenge against the man who pushed him to kill the nun. But he also received a visit from another nun who was the murdered nun’s natural sister. She hugged him and called him brother. He was profoundly touched and from this embrace his journey of repentance began. He is now released and the murdered sister’s family has become his own. He realises that India’s right wing hate Christians and says, ‘I want everyone to know that missionaries give us hope through their service which is to make us a strong and independent people. I can say without a doubt that the missionaries do nothing but work and help the poor and the marginalised. They have no secret design other than serve God.’
Praise: God for all He is doing across India through His people. (Is.43:18-19)
Numbers rise at London churches
16 Aug 2013London’s churchgoing population is increasing by leaps and bounds, according to an authoritative survey for the London City Mission. Results just released from the London Church Census, carried out by Brierley Consultancy, show that nearly 100,000 more people were attending church in the capital in October 2012 than the last time the count was made seven years ago, an increase of 16 per cent. At 720,000, the rate of churchgoing is more than three per cent higher in London than in the rest of England. Because of the capital’s size, this means that a quarter of all English churchgoers attend church in London. According to the survey, the growth is ‘largely driven by London’s ethnic diversity’. Of the two new churches opening every week between 2005 and 2012, two-thirds were Pentecostal Black Majority and a third catered for a particular language or ethnic group.
Praise: God for the growth of His Church. (Gen.17:2)
More: http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/mrhlines.htm
Norway: Bible beats Fifty Shades of Grey
11 Jan 2013The Bible has outsold Fifty Shades of Grey and Justin Bieber's autobiography to top the Norwegian bestseller charts last month for a second year in a row. The new Norwegian translation of the Bible has held the top spot for 54 out of the 56 weeks. Major Norwegian authors, such as Karl Ove Knausgard, were involved in the translation project and its release in October last year was met by huge demand, with some people even queuing overnight to obtain their copy. Ingeborg Mongstad-Kvammen, Bible Society of Norway’s General Secretary, said: 'The stories of the Bible are some of the defining human stories. I hope it will re-engage both ministers and churchgoers in their interaction with the Bible’. It has also inspired a new play by Norway's national theatre company, Det Norske Teatret. The production is being put on to mark the company's centenary and starts on 1 February.
Praise: God for fact that the Bible is still the best-seller.
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bible.beats.fifty.shades.of.grey.in.norway/31268.htm
North Korea:Over 56,000 Bibles delivered in 2012
29 Apr 2013As we reflect on the Bible delivery ministry for the year 2012, in the midst of many obstacles, a total of 56,330 Bibles, which included 28,269 Korean Bibles, 11,951 Chinese Bibles, 11,828 Messiah Manga Bibles, 1,328 Mongol Bibles and another 2,934 Scripture-related Books delivered. Bible delivery to North Korea was momentarily closed but God opened new doors to deliver the Bibles as the year closed. They were able to deliver Chinese Commentary Bibles, Korean Bibles and Messiah Manga Bibles which were delivered safely into the hands souls hungry for the Word of God. We pray that all the North Koreans who are receiving the Bible will be transformed by the ‘living and active’ Word so that they will become people of God. We pray that God will have mercy upon those who are waiting for the Bible to be delivered to them, so that more and more safe passages can be opened to deliver the Bibles.
Praise: God for opening doors so that His Word of life can be delivered to the North Koreans. (Heb.4:12)
More: http://blog.godreports.com/2013/03/over-56000-bibles-delivered-to-north-korea-in-2012/
North Korea: American Christian freed
07 Sep 2010
An American Christian imprisoned in North Korea has been released following a humanitarian effort by former US president Jimmy Carter. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said in a news release it welcomes the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, but strongly urges the international community to intensify pressure on North Korea for the release of thousands of prisoners still languishing in the nation. CSW said Gomes was detained in North Korea since entering the country on Jan. 25 by crossing the border from China. He was arrested by the North Korean authorities and sentenced to eight years in a labour camp. And ordered to pay a fine of $700,000 for illegal entry and unspecified ‘hostile acts.’ He was the fourth US citizen to be detained by the North Korean government since Jan. 2009, following Robert Park (See Prayer Alert 0210) and the journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, all of whom were released after several months in custody. Praise: God for the release of these international believers but pray for the many nationals still being held. (Ps.146:7)