The Friday Fax

"Rick Warren, author of the top-selling book 'The Purpose Driven Life' and founder of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, made a dramatic announcement on Sunday 17^th April 2005, the 25^th anniversary of the church's founding," reports Dan Wooding, founder of Assist Ministries. In front of 30,000 people in the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, he said that he believes in a revival movement in the 21^st Century. He spoke of a new reformation in Christianity and his vision for a global spiritual revival through the so-called PEACE Plan. Warren is convinced that this will lead to one billion Christians being mobilised for global mission by the year 2020. "This new Reformation," he says, "will predominantly happen through normal people in small groups."

President Bush excited, says Colson

It was the first time that friends and Christian leaders from the USA and abroad joined members of the Saddleback Church in such numbers. Visitors included Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, who brought greetings from his nation, and Gaddi Vasquez, Director of the Peace Corps, who read a message from President Bush. Chuck Colson, one of the Guests of Honour, commented "I knew President Nixon very well, who would have been excited by the idea of the PEACE Plan. I also know President Bush well enough to know that this is exactly the sort of thing he loves: people who stand up and do what needs to be done without waiting forever for the Government to address it..."

Facing the giant

Warren presented his PEACE Plan in detail. At the heart is a progressive vision for mobilising American Christians to help churches in Third World nations address the enormous problems against which even governments or the United Nations are helpless. Through a reformation of the entire missionary Christianity, the Christian church will be the only force capable of coordinating and driving the effort to meet the five greatest challenges facing the world: spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, sickness and ignorance.

The five stones

Based on the story of David and Goliath, Warren explained that in his vision, hundreds of thousands of small groups will "attack these Goliaths with five stones, like David, who gathered five stones as he approached Goliath". These five stones are Planting churches, Equipping leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation.

Millions of changed lives

Wooding reports that Warren, founder of the Purpose Driven movement, has already changed the lives of millions of people in 150 nations, through tens of thousands of Christian churches. In 1980, seven people met in Rick and Kay Warren's apartment. In the 25 years since then, the church has grown to around 20,000 members. Over 350,000 pastors and leaders from 120 nations have attended Purpose Driven seminars, and over 20,000 churches in 28 nations have held the '40 Days of Purpose' course.

Bestseller results in three missionary Trusts

The book "The Purpose Driven Life", published in 2002, sold 22 million copies - a world record for a non-fiction hardcover book. Warren and his wife have since founded three Trusts which channel 90% of the income from the books to world mission, including AIDS help in developing nations.

4,000 new believers over Easter 2005

A particular highlight of the celebrations on 17^th April were the baptisms in a large heated pool in front of the stadium. Warren had preached his basic "Purpose Driven Life" message in 12 Easter services attended by over 30,000 people, 4,000 of whom decided to follow Jesus, according to the report.

Source: Dan Wooding, Assist Ministries and www.saddleback.com

"Kakala smiles all over her face, and is very excited!" wrote Rolland and Heidi Baker, missionaries in Mozambique, on 8^th April 2005. "She repeats Heidi's words syllable for syllable into the microphone, touching the hearts of everyone in the village. Everyone knows that Kakala was born deaf and dumb. People ran to fetch Kakala's mother, and soon they are both standing in front of the crowd, smiling broadly. The mother again confirms that she had never heard Kakala speak before. Upon hearing the news, someone ran off to fetch another deaf and dumb girl. Heidi and the team prayed for the girl and laid hands on her, and the little Magdalena was also instantly healed, able to hear and speak. An old woman was also healed – Jesus restored her sight."

When whole villages are saved

"The whole village had gathered, and many had travelled miles from the surrounding villages on hearing that we were coming," the Bakers continue. "They saw the Jesus Film, and Heidi preached and told them what Jesus had already done in their region. The result was that the entire village unanimously decided to accept the Gospel. During our missionary outreaches in the traditionally Muslim province Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, we regularly see whole villages eagerly turning to Jesus the first time they hear our message. Whenever we preach the Gospel as simply, intensely and clearly as we can, there is no resistance: the poor come out of their huts, clothed in rags, and run to Jesus. They accept him as their new Lord without hesitation or doubt, renouncing their old lives of dependency on witch doctors, enslaved by evil spirits, false religion and traditions, and kneel in the dust of their village square, worshipping their new saviour Jesus. In the past two years, over 190 new churches have formed in Cabo Delgado's villages; more are added every week. The harvest in Mozambique is truly ripe…"

Source: Rolland and Heidi Baker, Iris Ministries, P.O. Box 275, Pemba, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, tel. (+258)-82-303-0

Stefan D., leader of a Swiss free church, just returned from a visit to the Tatars and Bashkirs in Ufa. The people in this mostly unreached and traditionally Muslim region continue to be very open for the Gospel. Stefan D. tells of Igor, for example, who had had enough of military service after 18 months, and simply did not return to the barracks. Before the Police could arrest him, he was saved. The Police arrested him immediately after a church service, and took him to jail. On the way, they met a Christian Bishop, who the Police mistook for an Islamic Mullah. Igor asked to be allowed to speak with him, so the Police removed his handcuffs. The Bishop blessed Igor, who was then taken to prison, where the other inmates tried to intimidate him. He was very frightened, but started preaching immediately. At night, the inmates' leader came to him secretly, saying "Please pray with me for my salvation. I am a Jew." Igor prayed with him and led him to Jesus. Later, Igor was moved from one cell to another, with the result that many inmates and guards were saved.

Jesus appears to a Muslim woman and heals her

A church planter from the Ufa region reports "A Muslim woman had a heart attack and was in the intensive care ward at the hospital. She had been there for two days, and her condition was serious. Someone had informed the Christian church and asked for intercession. While we prayed, I had the impression that I should look at the clock and note the time. The doctors had examined the woman again, and tried to avoid speaking with her husband; they could not find any problems with her heart, and were afraid that he would sue them for false diagnosis. The next Sunday, the woman came to church, and told us 'At a particular time,' (exactly the time I had noted) 'I saw the window open. It was light, and I could see a figure. I didn't recognise him, but immediately knew it was Jesus. He told me 'Everything will turn out fine.' Then I was healed."

Source: Stefan D., Dr. Marco Gmuer, Kingdom Ministries, Switzerland

"The President of Zambia was recently publicly baptised as a sign of his faith in Jesus Christ," report Southern Baptist missionaries. Hundreds of guests, including public officials and leading national and foreign pastors, clapped and cheered as President Levy Mwanawasa climbed out of the baptism pool outside a Baptist chapel in Lusaka, the nations' capital. In a packed service, Mwanawasa spoke of his spiritual journey, telling of his 'Damascus experience', similar to that of the apostle Paul on the Damascus road.

Mwanawasa, a successful lawyer and previously Vice President, was elected as President in 2002. His reputation as an extremely honest person earned him the nickname "Mr. Integrity", even with his political opponents. Mwanawasa attended a Baptist school as a boy, but his relationship with Jesus started to change completely when he began attending the Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka in 2003. Some missionaries believe that the President's baptism is a special sign of what God is beginning to do in the nation. The Baptist churches are growing significantly, according to the report, with 116 new Baptist churches started in the past year alone, bringing the total to 985, with a further 124 mission stations.

Source: International Mission Board

"Enough is enough!" That is an approximate translation of the word 'Mjaft!' which can be seen all over Albania with a red hand as background. MJAFT! started in Spring 2003 as a 4-month campaign to formulate Albania's social problems, above all rampant corruption, human trafficking, blood feuds, poverty and poor services. The man behind MJAFT! is Erion Veliaj, a follower of Jesus according to AEP's Grant Van Cleve. Veliaj studied in the USA, and was appalled by the terrible condition of his nation on his return. Like Joshua, he decided not to give up, but to say "I and my house will serve the Lord!" (Joshua 24). Erion was convinced that every person and family should stand up and declare that they had had enough. "Even if it appears that nobody can make a difference on their own, everyone should have the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo. With time and courageous actions, the climate of passive resignation can be broken and a new climate for positive change created," says Veliaj. Today, MJAFT! posters and pamphlets are everywhere, and the idea is beginning to take hold. In Shkodra, Albania's prefecture most affected by blood feuds, hundreds took to the streets to protest against the terrible tradition, including widows, famous authors, local politicians, students, reporters and foreigers. More than 250 families and 2,000 individuals in Shkodra are currently affected by blood feuds, and in northern Albania, 1,370 families and at least 7,000 individuals are effectively under house arrest because of their fear of violence. "But shouting 'Enough'! is not enough," says Veliaj. He aims to create a campaign which creates a new sense of society, thus putting the Legislative under political pressure to take action.

Source: Hope for Europe and www.mjaft.org

Nige Gresley is a 43-year-old Methodist with two passions: the church and his model railways. "Most model railway exhibitions take place on Sunday morning, and I always had a bad conscience when I missed church to exhibit my models. But I slowly began to realise that church is not about being in a particular building at a particular time. I realised that God is also with me when I am with my fellow exhibitors. And then I had an idea...!"

Thomas the doubting tank-engine

For years, Nige had held special "Children's Hours" at the exhibitions, playing well-known stories to do with trains, such as 'Thomas the Tank Engine', to an excited audience. So he thought to himself that it would be a great opportunity to present the greatest story of all time - with model locomotives in the main roles! So he now tells stories from the Old and New Testaments, with trains playing the Biblical characters: Peter the Green Engine, James the Red Engine and the Virgin Voyager (Mary) play alongside The Fat Controller (God) and The Flying Scotsman (Jesus). "One chap got quite upset that I was suggesting Jesus might have been Scottish", Nige remembers, "but once I explained the power of metaphor as used in the parables - and let him have a go operating the signals - he calmed down." "It's more than entertainment," he says. "I believe we're genuinely building Church here."

Source: Nige Gresley interviewed by Jo Kerr on www.emergingchurch.info

"That was too much for some of the travellers - pale and shocked, they stared at a young man who had just been delivered from a demon," reports missions agency Ziel 19 ('Target 19'). Mrs. F. W., an Egyptian evangelist, was travelling in bus, and noticed another passenger who made strange noises, rolled his eyes and occasionally writhed in his seat. The other passengers just looked away, until F.W. was overcome with a 'holy anger'. She turned to the man and said loudly "In the name of Jesus, leave him! And leave the bus!" To everyone's astonishment, the man grunted a little and shook himself, then looked around with bright eyes, saying "Hey! He's gone! I can feel it! Whatever you did with me, thank you!" He laughed and was clearly very pleased. The demon had left him and, obviously, the bus - nobody else was visibly affected. F.W. remained in the bus longer than she planned, telling about the Gospel and freedom in Christ, because the young man and a number of the other shocked passengers had many questions. And that despite the fact that it is unusual for a woman to speak to men in Egypt, particularly in a packed bus.

Source: Andrea Xandry, Ziel 19, Schweizerische Missionsgemeinde, Josefstrasse 206, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland