August 12, 2008
“The overwhelming majority of Christians in Japan are white collar and urban,” said Ken Young, an Alliance missionary to Japan. “The problem is that Japanese religious life is controlled by blue collar people, both in the cities and the country. If we don’t reach the [working class], we will not be able to reach Japan as a whole.”
This September, Ken and his wife, Kathy, will launch Hope House, a holistic ministry that will be an entranceway for reaching blue collar people in the Hiroshima region of western Japan. “We will focus on ministering very practically to families of patients in the regional medical center and to doctors, nurses, student nurses, and staff at the Higashi Hiroshima Medical Center,” said Young. Hope House will be a place of rest for families who have loved ones in the hospital as well as a venue for providing real help and education, including the teaching of medical English, to hospital personnel.
The Youngs have been given the keys to the building that will become the center for the ministry. “We have complete freedom to do whatever the Lord leads and have overwhelming support for our work from every side,” Young said. “Already, God has led us to meet and have significant conversations with many non-Christian people in the area. Our dream is to have people come to the Lord [through this outreach] and to begin house churches throughout the region.”
August 6, 2008
Nearly 115 people attended an evangelistic service at the Petropolis Alliance Church in Porto Alegre, Brazil. “Normally, [our congregation] averages 65,” said C&MA missionary Sanford Hashimoto. The event featured puppets, games, and a gospel message, followed by a soup dinner.
Earlier this summer, the church relocated from a hotel to a rented storefront. “Now we are able to meet in the new location daily instead of only once a week on Sunday,” said Hashimoto. “Everyone is excited, and our church is growing in numbers. Pray for us as we preach, teach, and share the good news of Jesus Christ.”
August 5, 2008
Emotions ran high on Sunday, April 27, when 102 people celebrated the first service of Church of the Vineyard in its new building in Peñalolén, an upper-class community of Santiago, Chile. “We held a communion service to dedicate the chapel to the Lord in recognition of our dependence on God,” said Alliance missionaries Bob and Cheryl Fugate. “From the very beginning, this has been a work of the Lord. Many who attended the service have seen the testimony of the power of God in their lives and in the ways in which Church of the Vineyard has grown from five families who began meeting in the living room of missionaries Bill and Patty Hall in 2003.”
More than 400,000 of the country’s top leaders and decision makers live in the immaculately landscaped community of Peñalolén, where no evangelical church exists. A major challenge in sharing Christ has been making contact and forming relationships. “There have been tremendous spiritual struggles that have only increased as we approached the opening of the church,” said Bob and Cheryl. “The Church of the Vineyard is the first to lift the cross high in this suburb of Santiago.”
The congregation expressed special gratitude for a short-term team construction team from the DuBois Alliance Church in Pennsylvania. “The team members tirelessly gave all they had to help us open our doors on April 27,” said the Fugates. “Without their help, our first floor would remain unfinished, with just rough cement.” The team’s commitment to the Lord to come to Chile and help build the church was a major testimony to the congregation. “The team members shared time with families in our congregation and built more than a building—they built bridges of love connecting two churches thousands of miles apart. They built eternity in the hearts of Chileans.”
“Jesus promised to build His Church, and He has done so in Peñalolén, Santiago, and we are deeply grateful to be a part of His work in this place,” said Bob and Cheryl. “Your faithful prayers and support have made it possible for The Christian and Missionary Alliance to open our church where we minister to the least-reached people in Chile.”
Before he came to Christ, Youssuf had been tormented by evil spirits and had severe insomnia. “He was considered a ‘crazy man,’” said Toby Hull, an Alliance missionary to Burkina Faso. “Youssuf was often incoherent and acted out in strange ways.” After his father, a member of the traditional religion, saw the JESUS film, he brought Youssuf to the Alliance pastor and said, “If Jesus can heal those people, perhaps He can help my son.”
The pastor met with Youssuf and prayed with him for several months. Eventually, Youssuf trusted in Christ and was recently baptized. “Now, he is freed from the spirits that were bothering him and is completely normal!” said Hull. “You would never know that he was the village crazy man. He is certainly a changed person.” Youssuf’s two wives and nine children are now following Christ and are involved in the local church. “What a boost to the church’s Sunday school!” quipped Hull.
August 4, 2008
“The skies threatened rain, but the soccer game in Senegal went off as planned,” said Alliance worker Doug Conkle. Young men from an underprivileged neighborhood participated in the youth sporting event that was sponsored by a nonprofit Christian community center with which Conkle’s team partners. Soccer balls were donated by a U.S. Alliance church youth group that wanted to get involved with missions.
Just before the game, one of the teams learned it probably wouldn’t be able to start practice for the upcoming season because there were no usable soccer balls from the previous year. “What a surprise for them when both teams were presented with not one but five soccer balls to use for practice!” said Conkle. “It’s great to see how God coordinated efforts of a youth group in the States to validate our testimony here.”
After the game, the players watched a taped video testimony of a Christian soccer player from the Cote d’Ivoire national team. “Each player left with a t-shirt that advertised the community center and a smile on his face,” said Conkle.
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