Around the world: Celebrating new life in Central Europe

Mladen Dominic baptizes Jura Lazar in Zagreb, Croatia. Lazar studied English using the Bible through Let’s Stgart Talking, a church-supported ministry based in Texas. “Jura is very thankful to all of the LST people who helped him to understand the Bible,” said Dominic, ministger for the church in Varazdin. Varazdin members traveled to Zagreb for the baptism because they have no baptistery at their facaility. The hexagon-shaped baptistery they used is a copy of the Viseslavova baptistery, which dates back to the eighth century, Dominic said. Church members recently completed an “Alpha Course,” a 10-week series of sermons and classes designed to answer questions about Christianity. Lazar is one of six new Christians who completed the program, Dominic said.

AUSTRALIA

ALBANY — Forty-twopeople, 40 percent of them non-members, attended a Jan. 21 gospel meetinghosted by the South Coast church, saidmissionary Ron Bainbridge.

Thechurch distributed 2,000 leaflets about the event and advertised in newspapersand on a radio station.

“TheSouth Coast church normally averages around 16on a Sunday, so to have 42 present for our special outreach was indeed arewarding result,” he said.

BRAZIL

GUARULHOS — Achildren’s program supported by the church in the Sao Paulosuburb of Guarulhoswon first place in a recent contest sponsored by a shopping mall.

Theministry, Christian Corner, offers a half-day program of sports, tutoring,nutrition and Bible classes for low-income, school-age children of workingmothers. The program will receive $6,500 in merchandise donated by the mall’sstores.

MiriamRodrigues, who works with Christian Corner, said the support of the church wasa factor in receiving the prize.

HAITI

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Membersof the White’s Ferry Roadchurch, West Monroe, La.,visited churches and orphanages in Haiti recently to assess needs,said Ken Bolden, director of World Radio Gospel Broadcasts, a ministry of theWhite’s Ferry Roadchurch.

For25 years the radio ministry has worked in Haiti, now considered the poorestcountry in the world, Bolden said.

INDONESIA

MEDAN — TuloasaNdruru, a minister in Medan,has traveled to several towns in recent months to strengthen churches.

Manyof the congregations he’s visited were launched in the 1960s, but members havefallen away, said missionary Steve Cate. “One of the congregations has seenreal growth as old members have started returning,” Cate said.

KENYA

MOUNT ELGON — Anew congregation in the village of Kabsanja began meeting in mid-January, said FieldenAllison, missionary in Mount Elgon. Sevenpeople were baptized, including Mono Ndiema, assistant chief of the village,and his wife, Fatuma. “They set up a temporary outdoor meeting place using oldgunny sacks sewn together as a canopy,” Allison said. Ndiema said he would givethe church a one-fourth acre plot to construct a church building.

NICARAGUA

LEON — Fifteenpeople were baptized during a recent gospel campaign sponsored by the Leon church,said minister Javier Garcia. Garcia’s brother, Luis, and his nephew, Erick,were guest speakers. Luis Garcia is a longtime instructor at Baxter Institute, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. About 100 people attendedthe first evening, but by the campaign’s conclusion more than 600 were inattendance, Javier Garcia said.

TheChisholm Trail church, Duncan, Okla., helped finance thecampaign.

NIGERIA

OBONGNTAK — Hundredsof youths attended the 18th annual Youth Forum at ObongChristian High School in January, said Eugene Lamb, elder for the Mount Morris,Mich.,church, which supports the school. Forty-eight attendees were baptized.

ImoAkpanudo, the school’s administrator, led the youths on a door-knockingcampaign in a nearby village. “The villagers were overwhelmed at the sight ofso many young people willing to volunteer their time to the service of Christ,”Lamb said. “The local congregations in the surrounding area will do thefollow-up work.”

RUSSIA

NOVOSIBIRSK — WorldWide Youth Camps, a church-supported ministry in Grayson,Ga., sponsored its third Winter Studio YouthCamp in the Novosibirskarea in January, said Rob Browne, director of Russian operations. Thirty-fourchildren participated, including 12 orphans sponsored by Christians in the United States.

DavidHennessey, the ministry’s director of operations, led an all-Russian team ofchurch members from Novosibirsk and Tomsk in coordinating theeight-day study, titled “Adventure of a Life With Christ.” The camp was part ofa year-round mentoring program coordinated by Russian Christians. The ministryrecently launched a new Web site, www.wwyc.org.

KRASNIILUCH — Membersof the church in Krasnii Luch, eastern Ukraine,are distributing a container of medical supplies from the United Statesto seven area hospitals, said minister Sergey Sayenko.

Churchesin eastern Ukraine battleaccusations that they are a cult, said John Kachelman, minister for theJudsonia, Ark.,church, who arranged the shipment. Benevolence projects help churches tocounter that image, he said.

“Asthe Krasnii Luch congregation has worked with the city … the members havegrown in their basic understanding of government, civics and how being aChristian impacts everyday living,” Kachelman said.