February 1987 |
Special Reports on Church Growth Around the World Assembled and Edited by John Holzmann . . . In Naples As a result of the growth, Christians in Casoria petitioned the mayor for a land grant. "The state has helped the Catholic Church buy land in the past," they said. "Why not us?" The mayor's recent announcement came as a surprise, however. Not only did he tell the church that the city fathers had agreed to donate land for their use, but he commended the church for converting drug addicts and gang members. "You have made a significant contribution to the community," he told them. . . . In Burkina Faso ÷Pulse . . . In Vietnam There is much bad news mixed with the good. In the north, of seven remaining pastors, the youngest is 74 years old. All 30 people who attend the showcase church in Hanoi are over 60 years old. Central Vietnam has undergone severe repression. All the tribal churches in the central highlands have been closed and the properties confiscated. However: ð Sixty percent of the churches in the south are said to be open. ð Tribal Christians meeting in small groups now number 11,000, compared to 7,000 in 1975. ð When the largest Protestant church in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) was closed in 1983, Christians scattered to other churches and started new Bible study groups. The pastor, still in prison, now has a congregation of over 60 fellow prisoners. ÷Pulse . . . In Spain ÷Pulse . . . In Sudan . . . In Mali ÷Pulse . . . In El Salvador . . . In Angola "Nearly all who write have the same request," he said. "'Please send us Bibles.' "We don't have enough Portuguese Bibles, so we've been sending them gospels of John." Braun added that many correspondents also inquired how to find the "way to freedom." Brazilian evangelist Nilson Fanini, who has preached in recent years in Angola, reported a similar spiritual responsiveness. Eager Angolans quickly exhausted the large stock of scriptures which he had brought to distribute. . . . Among the Quechuas of Ecuador "We didn't see our first baptized believers among the Quechuas in Chimborazo until 1955," missionary Henry Klassen explained. Today there are more than 300 evangelical churches in the province. The Quechua church grew rapidly in the '70s and early '80s when a revival came, but the growth has slowed, and indifference has begun to infiltrate the church, Klassen says. . . . In Portugal At the same time, the Catholic Church is not as powerful as in other Catholic countries. Portugal's political development has recently allowed for religious freedom and separation of church and state. Portuguese are more r^ponsive to the gospel than either the Spanish or the French, yet as recently as two years ago there were only 123 missionaries for 10 million people. Veteran missionaries say there is no time like the present for church planting in Portugal. Among agencies planning to seize the opportunity are the Mennonite Brethren, with two couples assigned to start this year. ÷Pulse . . . Among Nigeria's Maguzawa People The Maguzawas rejected Islam when Muslims came into northern Nigeria 400 years a-go. These hard-working farmers maintained their idolatrous, animislic religious practices until six years ago when they started to become Christians "by the hundreds," Baba explained. In Kano state, 200 churches have been started. Of the not less than three million Maguzawas in that area, some 6,000 to 10,000 have become Christians according to Baba. What is particularly gratifying is their "bridge-building" to northern Hausa Muslims. "They are better communicators than (Western) missionaries," Baba said. "For the first time, I've seen Muslims shedding tears and some are becoming Christians." [ FRONT PAGE ] [ MEET OUR STAFF ] [ USCWM ] [ SEARCH ] |
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