A Glimpse of World Missions Today
By Editorial Staff
Published March 2008
UNITED STATES – As many as 10,000 student led Bible clubs are operating in American public schools, according to “Youth America,” and a surge of prayer and evangelism is taking place. “Youth America” rallies are turning out thousands of teens at a time. Youth America rallies are scheduled for Los Angeles, Tulsa and Washington, D.C.
CUBA – A group of ministers in Cuba have been praying for the downfall of Fidel Castro since last Fall. The nation is now in the third year of a spiritual awakening with a growing missionary movement. Ironically, the Castro regime has done little to oppose it. Missionaries in Cuba predict that the communist nation will be completely open to foreign missionary activity by the end of the year. Approximately 250 Assemblies of God churches have sprung up in Cuba. Methodist missions are also burgeoning.
HAITI – Churches in this turbulent country are growing vigorously under indigenous leadership. Many foreign missionaries fled the country after the Haitian President Aristide was overthrown by a coup last year. However, church leaders say that this has created an atmosphere of prayer and revival among the Haitian churches.
BRAZIL – Just 20 years ago, Brazil was known as a traditional Roman Catholic country and culture. But this is no longer the case. Today the number of charismatics within the Catholic Church has grown to over five million. Renovacao Carismatica Catolica, the official charismatic renewal organization in Brazil, has the allegiance of almost 15% of the nations Catholic priests. Over a half million Brazilians join evangelical churches every year.
ALBANIA – Muslims in this former communist bloc nation are extraordinarily open to the gospel. One of the last nations to implement democratic reform after the dismantling of the iron curtain two years ago, Albanians are increasingly spiritually open and are requesting Bibles from foreign missionaries.
UKRAINE – Jews for Jesus has opened an outreach base in Odessa and reports that Ukrainian Jews are the “most receptive in the world to the gospel” because they have not been indoctrinated against Christ by their rabbis. Large numbers of Ukrainian Jews have been converted to Christ every week since the outreach base opened last Fall.
GERMANY – The decrease of Christian influence bottomed out in Germany and the Church is again beginning to incrementally increase. Over one million evangelicals gathered for an annual week of prayer in over 1,500 locations in February throughout the German speaking countries of Europe.
MIDDLE EAST – The Islamic nations of the Middle East have been targeted for intercessory prayer by Brother Andrew’s Open Doors Ministries. Christians around the world will pray for the Middle Eastern Muslim nations as a part of a prayer campaign known as “Evangelism on the Final Frontier.” Existing churches in Muslim nations all over the world will receive prayer for ten years. Open Doors Ministries previously proclaimed “Seven Years of Prayer for the Soviet Union” in 1983. The doors opened seven years later in 1990.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA – Chinese house churches are baptizing 27,000 new converts every day. The number of Christians in China far exceeds the number of Communist Party members. An estimated 90 to 100 million Christians have been added to the Chinese church in the last 20 years. Not only are the villagers of China’s countryside being converted en masse, but Christianity is becoming popular among students and professionals. An estimated ten percent of China’s university students have been converted to Christianity since the Tienenman Square massacre three years ago.
MONGOLIA – One fourth of Mongolia’s population will see the evangelistic film Jesus in 1992. Approximately 300 members of congress and Mongolia’s Vice President attended the film’s premier. The increasing influence of the gospel has come with the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Mongolia was formerly tied to Moscow.
Editor’s Note: Some of the above information is from National and International Religion Report.
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