History of the Linfen Church The Linfen Church network is an unregistered church in China that includes 50,000 members who meet in 30 different locations. The church traces its history back to the mission work of Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission. One branch of the church, in Fushan, was demolished by government officials last September. Ten of the church’s top leaders are currently in prison or labor camps, some sentenced to as much as seven years on the dubious charge of “disrupting local traffic order.” Now government officials have threatened to tear down the Linfen network’s flagship church, the Golden Lamp Church. This large church, with its towering steeple and cross that stand out over the city of Linfen, was built with verbal approval from local officials but without official permission from China’s Communist religious authorities. An official from the Land Resources Bureau has told a China Aid contact that the church will be destroyed. Following the attack in Fushan, the Golden Lamp Church was surrounded by military police, and church members have been barred from using the 5,000-seat church. NOW IS THE TIME to pray for and speak out on behalf of our brothers and sisters in China. Please add your voice to this rising chorus for justice.
Help prevent the Chinese government from destroying the Golden Lamp Church building!
Join with VOM and ChinaAid Association in a campaign to prevent the demolition of this church building. Perhaps together, our voices can help save a church building that has meant so much to our persecuted brothers and sisters in this part of China. How you can help:
- PRAY. The Linfen Christians are asking their brothers and sisters around the world to join their fervent prayer that God will soften the hearts of government officials and save their church building from demolition.
- CALL OR WRITE to Chinese government officials. Remind them that Christians are NOT a threat to their country, but are in fact loyal citizens who love their country and pray for their leaders. Call or write to:
Land Resources Bureau of Yaodu District, Linfen City
Tel: +86-357-201-3263
Yaodu District People’s Government contact:
Tel: 86-357-222-8559
Email: info@yaodu.gov.cn
The Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.
Tel: (202) 328-2500
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
NAIROBI, Kenia, 11 de febrero (CDN) — Una batalla constitucional para ampliar la competencia de las cortes islámicas en Kenia amenaza con provocar tensiones religiosas en un momento en el que las autoridades están en máxima alerta contra los extremistas musulmanes por vínculos con Somalia. Las provisiones constitucionales de los tribunales islámicos o Kadhis’ han existido en Kenia desde 1963, limitando su jurisdicción a la provincia costera, pero en un proyecto de constitución – objeto de acalorados debates – éstas se expandirían a través de la nación y se aumentarían sus facultades. La propuesta constitución ha cobrado fuerza suficiente como para que 23 líderes de iglesias y organizaciones cristianas publicaran una declaración el 1 de febrero afirmando su oposición a cualquier inclusión de esos tribunales religiosos. El acalorado debate estalló a mediados de enero cuando entraron en alerta máxima los funcionarios de seguridad cuando aparecieron en una manifestación los simpatizantes de la milicia terrorista islámica al Shabaab, exigiendo la liberación del radical clérigo musulmán Abdullah Al-Faisal, quien ingresó al país el 31 de diciembre. Al-Faisal había sido encarcelado desde 2004 hasta 2008 después de que una corte británica lo declaró culpable de solicitar el asesinato e 
Eight Christian buildings, including seven churches, were torched in the Nigerian town of Kazaure, Jigawa State on Sunday 21 February. The violence followed a traffic dispute that led to the death of a man at the hands of a police traffic warden. Both men were Muslims. A crowd that had witnessed the incident stormed the local police station with the intention of setting fire to it, but they were prevented from doing so. Even though the dispute was not of a religious nature, the mob then vented their anger by torching a cluster of churches that were near the police station. The Emir of Kazaure appealed for peace and requested that people remain calm. He says that all losses will be compensated and that the perpetrators of this recent attack will be brought to justice. This violence comes just weeks after the rioting in Jos (Prayer Focus Update, February 2010), which left at least 300 people dead. • Pray that Christian places of worship in Nigeria will be safeguarded, and that the congregations of the damaged churches will still be able to meet to worship the Lord Jesus. Pray too that the authorities will bring to justice those responsible for the riots • Pray for our brothers and sisters living in the midst of such aggression and violence, that they may find strength in the Lord and grace to forgive their persecutors.
Eleven Christians have been arrested in Badimunda village, Kandhamal, Orissa following a complaint of “assault” lodged by a group of Hindu extremists. In early February two Christians, Sumit Pradhan and Samuel Nayak, were threatened by five Hindu extremists and told they would face dire consequences if they continued to worship Jesus. They were informed that “there is no place for church and Christians in the area”. The two Christians managed to escape from the scene, but the next day the Hindu group came to the same place looking for Pradhan and Nayak. They broke into the home of another local Christian, Dibyakand Nayak, and in doing so, one of the group injured his head. On seeing this, the extremists rounded on Dibyakand, mercilessly beating him up and verbally abusing him because of his faith, and then dragged him to the police station. A report was filed against him and ten other Christians, who were then arrested. At the time of writing, Dibyakand remains in police custody. This is just the latest example of the harassment that Christians experience in Orissa. In 2008, Christians were the target of large-scale violence, which left many dead or injured, thousands homeless and much property destroyed. • Pray that evangelists and all Christian believers in Orissa will be free to worship Jesus without such persecution. • Pray that religious freedom will be upheld and that the Indian authorities will protect Christians throughout the country and bring their persecutors to justice.
(NoticiaCristiana.com). 
Barnabas Fund. In Kohat, northern Pakistan, a church was severely damaged by a rocket fired by Taliban militants on 12 February. The rocket damaged the outer wall, windows, ceiling, doors and air-conditioning system, causing huge financial loss to the church and local Christian community. • Pray for the Christian community in Kohat, that they will still be able to meet together to worship the Lord despite the damage to their church building.
Alianza de Iglesias Protestantes en Turquía. Carta abierta a la iglesia alrededor del mundo. Del cuerpo de Cristo en Turquía a nuestros hermanos y hermanas en Cristo que están alrededor del mundo gracia y paz a vosotros de Dios nuestro Padre y de el Señor Jesucristo. Saludos de la iglesia en Turquía – Tierra de Noé, de Abraham , de Pablo, del monte Ararat y Harán, de Antioquia, Éfeso, Galacia, las siete iglesias del Apocalipsis……. Con una población de 72 millones de habitantes pero que interesante que el cuerpo cristiano en nuestra tierra actualmente es menor del 0.1 %. Estamos escribiendo en nombre de los líderes de la iglesia en Turquía para pedir sus oraciones. Desde luego oración es la necesidad esencial de todo cristiano en donde sea, así que ¿Por qué orar por Turquía en este tiempo? Porque el terreno es duro y la guerra espiritual es muy fuerte y en los años recientes hemos sentido una urgencia y una gran carga para orar por nuestra nación y sus iglesias. En el año 2009 pedimos al mundo que se uniera con nosotros cada año en el “Día de oración mundial por Turquía”, el día 18 de Abril ya que en el año 2007 tres de nuestros hermanos fueron torturados y asesinados brutalmente en el pueblo de Malatya. 
Association of Protestant Churches (Turkey) . Open letter to the church around the word. From the body of Christ in Turkey, to our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings from the church in Turkey – from the land of Noah, of Abraham, of Paul, of Ararat and Harran, of Antioch, Ephesus, Galatia, of the Seven Churches of Revelation……… Yet today, the body of Christians in our land is less than 0.1% of the population of 72 million. We are writing to you on behalf of the leaders of the church in Turkey to ask for your prayers. Prayer is, of course, the essential need of all Christians everywhere, so why pray for Turkey at this time? For the ground is hard and the battle in the heavenlies is tough and in recent years we have felt an added urgency and burden for prayer for our nation and its churches. In 2009 we asked the world to join us each year for a ‘Global Day of Prayer for Turkey’ on April 18, the day in 2007 when 3 of our brothers were tortured and brutally murdered in the town of Malatya.
YAKARTA, Indonesia (CDN) — Cientos de musulmanes procedentes de las afueras de la zona donde una iglesia de 600 miembros se reúne en Java Occidental, este mes establecieron una manifestación para reclamar su clausura en un intento de fingir una oposición local. Los manifestantes de 16 organizaciones islámicas de línea dura, incluyendo el Frente de Defensores Islámicos (Islamic Defenders Front o FPI), se reunieron para demandar la suspensión de todas las actividades de la Iglesia Protestante Galilea (Galilea Protestant Church o GPIB) en la zona Galaxy de la Ciudad Bekasi. El Rvdo. M. Tetelepta, pastor de la iglesia, dijo a Compass news que la iglesia ha tenido el requerido consentimiento de los residentes locales y el permiso oficial para celebrar cultos desde su creación en 1992. En la manifestación en la zona Galaxy, el jefe de la rama del FPI en Bekasi, Murhali Baeda, intentó poner en duda la condición legal de la iglesia, diciendo a la ANTARA, agencia noticiera oficial del gobierno de Indonesia, que él tiene “certeza” de que “una cantidad de templos de iglesia” en las zona “no tiene el permiso completo.” “Esto se comprueba por la gran cantidad de pancartas y banderas que se ven en los callejones y lugares públicos que rechazan la presencia de estos templos (de iglesia),” Murhali dijo a ANTARA. Las organizaciones representadas en la manifestación incluían el Concilio Bekasi Dakwah, el Concilio An Nisa Dakwah de Bekasi y el Foro de la Mezquita y Musola de Galaxy. Sin embargo, Tetelepta dijo que está seguro que el 95 por ciento de los manifestantes no era gente local.
Barnabas Fund. On 28 January, police officers and the District official arrived at a private birthday party at a house near Dashoguz. They entered the house without the owners’ permission and began questioning all those present. The police accused the church leader who was attending the party of violating the Religion Law by praying at the party, despite the fact that he had done so at the family’s request. The church leader and his mother were taken to the local police station and interrogated for four hours. This raid highlights the persecution faced by Christians in Turkmenistan, which places many restrictions on religious freedom. Recently, it has come to light that a raid on a Sunday worship service on 20 December 2009 was led by Turkmenistan’s former Chief Mufti, Rovshen Allaberdiev, who is now imam of Dashoguz Region and a senior official for the Council for Religious Affairs. During the raid Christian literature and personal Bibles were confiscated; 22 Christians were taken to a local government building, where they were questioned and pressured to sign statements saying they would not attend church in future. One church member said that some people, especially those who are new to the church, are now afraid to come to services. Officers claimed that such raids are their “duty” and told the church members that they were meeting illegally, as they were not registered to worship. But the church says they are awaiting a response to their application for registration. • Pray that Christians in Turkmenistan will continue to remain faithful to their Lord and Saviour, despite persecution and harassment from the government and police. Pray for a softening of the attitude of the authorities. • Pray especially for the small number of ethnic Turkmen Christians, mostly converts from Islam, who face additional pressure from their families and communities.
NAIROBI, Kenia (CDN) — Procuradores y policías intentan fabricar un caso de terrorismo contra un convertido etíope del Islam quien ha sido encarcelado desde mayo sin cargos oficiales, dijeron líderes cristianos. Bashir Musa Ahmed, un ciudadano etíope de 39 años de edad, fue arrestado el 23 de mayo cuando la policía lo encontró portando ocho Biblias en Jijiga, capital de la región Zona Cinco Somalí de Etiopia, un área predominantemente musulmana en el este de Etiopia. La policía zonal lo arrestó después de que fue acusado de dar a musulmanes Biblias de lenguaje somalí, dijeron las fuentes, a pesar de que la constitución de Etiopia protege tal actividad. Un oficial estatal, junto con unos líderes cristianos, declararon que los intereses islamistas han mantenido a Ahmed encarcelado a pesar de la falla del estado en encontrar algún cargo legítimo en su contra. Inicialmente el cristiano fue arrestado por la distribución “maliciosa” de una versión de la Biblia que se ofrece ampliamente dentro de Etiopia y que los cristianos somalíes usan ampliamente tanto dentro como fuera del país. La policía ha presentado las acusaciones de terrorismo ante los fiscales, acto que llevó a los procuradores el mes pasado a pedir de la policía alguna evidencia para la acusación, según un líder eclesial. “La policía ha presentado los resultados de su investigación a la oficina del procurador en que acusan a Bashir del terrorismo,” dijo el líder eclesial. “Nos enteramos que los procuradores pidieron a la policía concretar sus acusaciones con evidencias de las conexiones entre Bashir [y un grupo terrorista, y especificar] cual grupo terrorista. Parece que los procuradores sienten la necesidad de tener alguna evidencia para acusarlo del terrorismo.”
Bajo el lema Marcha por la Vida se lleva este domingo 7 de marzo, en plena Presidencia española de la UE, y motivado por la dolorosa aprobación del Senado al proyecto de ley del aborto. El éxito de la manifestación celebrada en París el pasado 16 de enero, con participación de ciudadanos de distintos países, entre ellos españoles, indica que la Opinión Pública europea es receptiva a la causa del derecho a la vida, lo que hace más fácil insertar la causa española en el foco de la agenda europea durante el semestre de José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero como presidente de turno de la Unión. 
Lunes por la noche, en Barcelona. En el restaurante, un centenar de abogados y jueces. Se han reunido para oír mis opiniones sobre el conflicto de Oriente Medio. Saben que soy un barco heterodoxo, en el naufragio del pensamiento único que impera en mi país, sobre Israel. Quieren escucharme. Alguien razonable como yo, dicen, ¿por qué se arriesga a perder la credibilidad, defendiendo a los malos, a los culpables? Les digo que la verdad es un espejo roto, y que todos tenemos algún fragmento. Y provoco su reacción: “todos ustedes se creen expertos en política internacional, cuando hablan de Israel, pero en realidad no saben nada. ¿Se atreverían a hablar del conflicto de Ruanda, de Cachemira, de Chechenia?”. No. Son juristas, su terreno no es la geopolítica. Pero con Israel se atreven. Se atreve todo el mundo. ¿Por qué? Porqué Israel está bajo la permanente lupa mediática y su imagen distorsionada, contamina los cerebros del mundo. Y, porqué forma parte de lo políticamente correcto, porqué parece solidario, porqué sale gratis hablar contra Israel. Y así, personas cultas, cuando leen sobre Israel están dispuestas a creerse que los judíos tienen seis brazos, como en la Edad Media creían todo tipo de barbaridades. Sobre los judíos de antaño y los israelíes de hoy, todo vale.
(NoticiaCristiana.com).”Si dos se pusieren de acuerdo”. Pastores y líderes de España se preparan para la gran concentración de oración por España el día 6 de marzo. España, oramos por ti es una actividad que se ha llevado a cabo en España durante los últimos dos años, y el 2010 no será la excepción, sin embargo, este año será realizado de una forma un poco diferente, la convocatoria es para el día sábado 06 de marzo, fecha en la cual todos los cristianos de España están siendo llamados a unirse en oración por todo el país. La actividad este año no se desarrollará en un sólo punto como sucedió en los años anteriores, en esta oportunidad se darán cita en 25 puntos diferentes de España para que de esta manera, más cristianos puedan involucrarse, ya que se cree firmemente en el poder de ponerse de acuerdo “Si dos se puesieran de acuerdo…” El encuentro será transmitido en vivo por internet desde siete de los 25 puntos de encuentro, será un tiempo de alabanza pero sobretodo de oración unida. El Consejo Facilitador entiende que todos los países necesitan de oración y que Cristo es la única esperanza para las naciones, pero han escogido un día al año para no sólo orar por España sino congregarse en unidad para hacerlo. Se cuenta con la participación activa de unos 150 pastores y líderes que se han involucrado en la organización, y han entendido que con la ampliación de los puntos de encuentro más personas participarán y el impacto en el mundo sobrenatural será aún mayor que el impacto en el mundo natural. Mas información en www.espanaoramosporti.es 
Barnabas Fund. Christians in Orissa are concerned that a recent series of events may provoke a renewal of anti-Christian violence over the Christmas period. On 12 December 2009, bombs were hurled against a store owned by a well-known Hindu shopkeeper in the town of Ghumusar Udayagiri in Kandhamal district. Posters making threats against activists belonging to a Hindu nationalist group appeared on the walls of the local hospital. Although these were apparently signed by the Indian Maoist party, Christians fear they will get the blame and that it may therefore trigger violence against Christians. The police have not ruled out the possibility that the bombs and the posters may even be the work of local Hindus who want to raise tensions in the area. The Christians’ concerns are based on the fact that a very similar turn of events triggered the massive anti-Christian violence in Orissa in August 2008. A prominent Hindu leader was murdered, and although Maoist extremists claimed responsibility for the murder, Christians got the blame, and subsequent protests rapidly escalated into horrific anti- Christian aggression. The timing of the latest incident, in the run-up to Christmas, also recalls the first large-scale outbreak of bloodshed against Christians in Orissa, which began at Christmas in 2007. Christians now fear that Hindu nationalists will stir up violence against them once again on the basis of a false accusation. Pray for Christians in Orissa, that they will know the peace and comfort of the Lord Jesus at this uncertain time. Pray that there will be no renewal of anti- Christian violence. Pray for harmony and stability in India, and especially that the Hindu majority will respect Christians as fellow citizens.
A prominent Russian church minister has been murdered in his church in Moscow. Danil, 34, was approached on the night of 19 November by a masked gunman who checked his name and then shot him in the head and chest. A choirmaster was also injured in the attack and is recovering in hospital. Danil had been active in evangelistic outreach to Muslims. In February 2008 he stated on a television programme that he had received threats via email that he would have his head cut off if he did not stop preaching to Muslims. Many people think that he may have been killed because of this ministry to Muslims. His widow Yulia commented that he “expected the death some years prior to its happening; he always wished to receive a martyr’s crown, and the Lord has given him this crown … He said that he would be killed.” There are 30 million Muslims in Russia, including a large Muslim population in Moscow, who currently enjoy much favour from the government. • Pray for those who mourn the loss of Danil, especially Yulia and their three children and his congregation, that they will find comfort in the Lord Jesus at this terrible time.
