Through their Hope for the City ministry, Dennis and Megan Doyle will dole out millions of dollars in excess goods this year
A charity that will this year distribute some $300 million in aid worldwide started just a few years ago with a simple realization: “We have lots of warehouse space.”

Coming from Dennis Doyle, that’s a bit of an understatement. As CEO of Welsh Companies, this Christian businessman oversees Minnesota’s largest full-service real estate company: a $125 million privately owned corporation that manages 22 million square feet of real estate valued at $1.5 billion.

Some of that is empty warehouse space. Putting that together with an extensive network of clients in both business and ministry led Dennis and his wife,

Megan, to found Hope for the City, which acts as a “middle man,” taking corporate surplus and getting it into the hands of organizations that fight poverty.

Hope for the City really began when the Doyles began meeting regularly with other couples for prayer. “We … believed that we heard God say that He wanted to start a ministry to reach businesspeople, to awaken them in their careers to be open to the fact that God can use them right where they are,” Megan Doyle said.

That got the Doyles thinking. They realized that in addition to warehouse space, they had contacts with a lot of corporate leaders, for most large Minnesota companies wind up doing business with Welsh Companies at some point.

“We realized we knew who the inner-city workers were because we supported them with both time and money,” Megan Doyle said. “We also realized that … there’s a lot of excess resources out there–food, clothing, medical equipment, office supplies, excess or just slightly used furniture that gets thrown away–that could easily be … distributed to these inner-city ministries to help them be more effective in serving their clients.”

The Doyles use their contacts in the business world to find organizations with high-quality surplus goods. They find organizations working to lift people out of poverty through contacts in ministry, including their church–Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minn. And they use whatever warehouse space isn’t leased at the moment to store surplus goods that are being transferred from those who have them to those who need them.

An early partner in Hope for the City was Internet-based grocery delivery company that donates surplus food. Others soon followed, including the Gap, Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Avon. Donations from pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, distributed worldwide, soon pushed total retail volume of donated goods to record highs: from $8.6 million in 2001 to $120 million in 2002 to some $300 million and counting this year.

Hope for the City picks up donated goods when necessary and uses Welsh Companies warehouses as distribution sites. Most of the groups benefiting from Hope for the City are Christian ministries, but other faiths and secular organizations are served as well, a fact that opens doors to major corporations. All of this is done with remarkably low overhead: less than 1 percent of their $120 million budget in 2002.

Though the goods are donated without charge, the philosophy behind Hope for the City is not to provide handouts. “We believe that you’re not going to change a city or change people unless you actually work on the core issues behind the problems,” Dennis Doyle said.

With that in mind, Hope for the City partners with organizations “who are touching the people and actually making a change in their lives,” he noted. “There are more than enough quality people doing the job. We aren’t going to compete with the people who are there.” In a biblical reference to the men who held up Moses’ hands during Israel’s battle with the Amalekites, he added, “We’re going to lift up their arms.”

The support role has paid an unexpected dividend. Quarterly meetings of organizational leaders who benefit from Hope for the City have helped smaller inner-city ministries network with one another. “Even though there’s a ton of nonprofits and a ton of people ministering, a lot of them don’t know who’s on the next block,” Megan Doyle said.

The Doyles hope the success of Hope for the City encourages others to look for creative ways to use the resources God has given them. “You can make your business into your ministry,” Dennis Doyle said. “Look at what God put into your hand. Lift it up to the Lord.”
Doug Trouten

Eagle Television broadcast Christian evangelistic programs, news and The Flintstones before it went off the air in April
When U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq last spring, the warren of offices and studios that make up Mongolia’s Eagle Television were electric with the energy of a staff fully aware that it was making journalistic history in the isolated, former communist state. They were the only channel in this landlocked country of 2.7 million offering western-style, seat-of-the-pants coverage of breaking news.

“There wasn’t a bar or restaurant or shop that didn’t have Eagle TV on. You had people standing around the televisions in the state department store,” recalls the independent station’s affable general manager, Tom Terry.

Terry, an American who took over the unusual Christian station last year, was determined to provide a lively, objective alternative to government-controlled television’s staid war coverage. A retired Mongolian general provided commentary. Viewers called in with opinions.

But in late April financial disputes led Eagle Television’s American partners to shut down the station.

In addition to international news, Eagle Television broadcast American evangelistic programs such as the charismatic Hillsong Television from Australia and Christian music videos, as well as The Flintstones and NBA basketball. Eagle Television’s management estimated that it has generated “10,000 contacts for Christ” over its eight years of operation in a country where Tibetan Buddhists and pagans predominate.

“Eagle TV was founded for two purposes,” Terry told the Associated Press (AP). ” … To advance the gospel of Jesus Christ and … for the advancement of freedom and democracy.”

These days, Terry sits alone in his barren office, his laptop plugged into the wall and cans of Coke on the windowsill. With flow charts and a good deal of patience, he explained how an eight-year arrangement fell apart when the Mongolian side threatened to go to court to dissolve the partnership.

AMONG, a nonprofit Christian organization in Sioux Falls, S.D., that helps fund Eagle Television, reacted swiftly to preempt what they thought could be a costly and dangerous legal battle, said Terry, who was hired by the group. To safeguard the station’s expensive equipment, Terry removed it from the studios and locked it up in storage. The Mongolian partners learned what happened after the fact.

“I kind of look at it like coming from the Lord that most of these guys were out of the country at the time,” Terry said.

Today, the two sides are at an impasse, waiting for the government to decide who will get Eagle Television’s broadcast license and return to the air. Government officials are promising to be objective.

“I don’t think there is any kind of hidden political motive between the participants,” said Jagvaral Hanibal, the foreign ministry’s spokesman. “I would really like to see it come back. For the public, for society, it is important.”

The Flintstones was especially popular, the AP reported. The 1960s cartoon was dubbed into Mongolian and renamed The Flint Stone People. “The Flint Stone People showed how normal people celebrate life,” retired civil servant Balganjav Oyunchimeg told the AP. “We learned many lessons from that family.”

On the face of it, AMONG would seem to have an advantage in the dispute because it has no political agenda in Mongolia, whereas the Mongolian partners are in the Democratic Party, which forms a tiny minority in the nation’s Communist-controlled parliament.

“AMONG is the only disinterested party here. All we are here for is the propagation of the gospel. The propagation of the basic [press] freedom of a democracy,” Terry said.

Surprisingly, the station’s religious programming has been barely an issue in the public debate. One exception was a May interview given by one of the Mongolian partners, Batbayar, to the weekly Seruuleg newspaper in which he said he looked forward to running Eagle Television without the Americans.

“We won’t be poked any longer for ‘spreading alien religion’ etc.,” stated Batbayar, who, like many Mongolians, uses only one name.

Bayartsetseg, a legal expert at the nonpartisan Mongolian Foundation for Open Society, said she, as a Buddhist, found the station’s religious content personally repugnant but praised the station’s contribution to making Mongolia into a functioning democracy.

“There is a gap of independent news. We have a country ruled by the Communist Party,” Bayartsetseg said. “There is so much censorship here. Mongolia’s main [TV] channel is owned by the government, which means the Communist Party controls it.”
Frank Brown in Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Bill Glass has seen some 35,000 inmates make decisions for Christ each year for the last decade at his outreach events
He never thought he’d go to prison. Certainly not as a minister.

But in 1970, Bill Glass, a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns, did a friend a favor. He led a ministry team into a prison in Marion, Ohio, enticing them with big-name athletes such as Roger Staubach, then sneaking in a testimony about Jesus.

Today, 33 years later, Glass is still preaching, still reaching and changing the hearts of prisoners across the country. The 6-foot-6 Texan with the baritone voice and slight Southern drawl spoke in 400 prisons last year and has seen 35,000-plus inmates receive Christ every year for the last decade.

“I wanted to be an evangelist like Billy Graham,” Glass said. “I thought my ministry was going to be citywide meetings.”

Instead, he found it behind barbed wire, bars and locks. Recently, Glass’ volunteer ministry team spoke in seven prisons in western Washington, seeing 1,166 prisoners accept Christ during a three-day event Glass called “A Weekend of Champions.”

“I had never gotten in trouble with the law,” Glass said. “I wasn’t a street kind of guy. So for me to end up in prisons was totally unexpected.”

But he’s not arguing with the results. About 2 million people are behind bars today in the United States. Seventy percent of all prisoners commit another crime after being released and end up back in jail. Glass’ program reverses that number. Of the prisoners who make decisions for Christ at Glass’ outreach, less than 30 percent return to jail.

“I didn’t come to be preached to,” Jack Murphy said. “I came to see the football players.”

Murphy, in prison for murder and for his involvement in America’s largest jewelry heist, went to one of Glass’ outreaches at a maximum-security prison in Florida in 1974. Murphy came to see Roger Staubach, then the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

“Bill came with the same program that he has today,” said Murphy, now a speaker in Glass’ ministry. “Because of that program I asked the Lord into my heart. It started the process. It started the journey.”

The ministry has a twofold effect. It shares hope with the prisoners and trains Christians how to share their faith.”Too many Christians want to hide in the church,” Murphy said. “They get tied into safe ministries. They make quilts.”

Murphy accuses the church of ignoring the prisons, maintaining its distance because of a better-than-thou attitude. Murphy points out that much of the New Testament was written in prison and that the first Christian was the man hanging on the cross next to Jesus.

“Bill leads the largest group of front-line, hands-on evangelists in the world,” Murphy said. “They’re mobilized to win souls. They learn how to share their faith, how to pray with people to get saved. Ninety-five percent of the people who call themselves born-again Christians don’t know how to lead someone to the Lord.”

A Wheaton College study rated Glass’ ministry among the best of the United States’ 450 prison ministries. It received the highest rating for front-line evangelism to prisoners.

Glass’ ministry has 35 full-time workers and relies heavily on volunteers, people who counsel and share the four spiritual laws with prisoners who have raised their hands during evangelistic meetings, asking for prayer. About 250 volunteers worked at Glass’ outreach in western Washington. The counselors huddle with the prisoners after the program, spending 10 minutes to an hour sharing.

Randy Poe, a dentist in Roseburg, Ore., has counseled at Glass’ ministry since 1981 and often drives a busload of volunteers from his hometown, participating in as many of the outreaches on the West Coast as he can.

“This is an amazing school of evangelism,” Poe said. “One of our missions is to help churches ignite Christians to share their faith in Christ. I believe we probably have the most effective school of evangelism of any organization in the United States.”

Glass, now 68, suffered a slight stroke a year ago and has turned over the administrative duties of his ministry, but he’s speaking more than ever. He is scheduled to speak at all 24 of his weekend ministries this year and has no intentions of slowing down. He started a mentor program for juveniles in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Glass grew up. Said Glass, “I’m having too much fun to slow down.”
Gail Wood

Many of the following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at to subscribe to the free weekday service or to access full-length versions of each day’s stories. The site also includes a search engine so you can access archived news.

PASTORS ACCUSED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL
A Canadian pastor accused by Lebanon of spying for Israel claims the charges against him are “trumped up.” Bruce Balfour, 52, field director of Cedars of Lebanon, a ministry that planned to help replenish the cedars of Lebanon in the mountains of the country’s northern region, has been in custody since he was arrested July 10, when he arrived in Beirut, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The trial of Balfour and Grant Livingstone, 81, another Canadian pastor also accused of spying for Israel, was recently postponed at the request of the prosecution, who asked for more time to summon witnesses, AFP reported.

SLAIN ATHLETE HAD ‘FOUND JESUS’
The Baylor University basketball player whose roommate allegedly shot him to death was memorialized Aug. 5 at a San Jose, Calif., charismatic church, where he became a Christian. Jubilee Christian Center (JCC) pastor Dick Bernal said 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy accepted Christ at JCC last year, the Associated Press reported. “I won’t try to deify the man,” Bernal said of Dennehy, who was kicked off the University of New Mexico team for his temper. “But people were really impressed with Patrick’s new lease on life since he found Jesus.” Carlton Dotson, Dennehy’s roommate and former teammate, was arrested and charged with murder July 21, after reportedly telling authorities he shot Dennehy when Dennehy tried to shoot him.

PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES HAVE MORE BORN-AGAIN EVANGELIZERS
Christians who attend full gospel churches share the good news more than those in mainline congregations. In a survey exploring the evangelistic engagement of 4,265 adults, Barna Research Group (BRG) found that 67 percent of those in an Assemblies of God (AG) church were born again and had evangelized in the last year, as had 51 percent of those who regularly attend a nondenominational congregation. Released in August, the study also found
that 50 percent of the people in Pentecostal churches outside the AG were born-again evangelizers. The rates were lower for adults connected to Baptist (40 percent), Presbyterian (31 percent), Lutheran (24 percent), Methodist (21 percent), Episcopal (13 percent) and Catholic (10 percent) churches.

JIM BAKKER LAWSUIT NETS SMALL SUM
A 16-year-old class-action lawsuit against Praise the Lord (PTL) founder Jim Bakker netted $ for each of the 165,000 plaintiffs. Their lawyers were to get $2.5 million of the $3.7 million settlement, The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times reported. The plaintiffs gave $1,000 each for four-day vacation stays at a PTL resort that was never built near Charlotte, N.C. Settlement checks were to be issued within a month of the July order. Char Graham, Bakker’s business manager and mother-in-law, said Bakker had no comment “because he doesn’t have all the facts on it. He hasn’t been included in any of that.”

Black Pastor Launches ‘Pay to Pray’ Campaign

A Shreveport, La., pastor decided to pay white people to attend services through the month of August to increase the diversity at his Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church. Bishop Fred Caldwell paid $5 per hour for Sunday services and $10 an hour for midweek services in a campaign that gained worldwide media attention. “This is about the Lord drawing attention to the fact that the church is segregated,” he said. By mid-August about 80 whites had visited, and Caldwell had paid $500 of his own money, though he said most refused the payments.

Pastor Javier Vásquez Dies

Javier Vásquez, head of the Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile, which is affiliated with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC), died of liver failure July 25. He was 86. The IPHC said Vásquez was pastor for nearly 40 years of the Evangelical Cathedral (Jotabeche Church) in Santiago, which is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in the world. Vásquez is survived by his second wife, Olga Hansen; four children; 16 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Businessmen’s Group Names Executive Director

In July, Business Men’s Fellowship International (BMFI), a network of charismatic businessmen, named Chuck Evans the first full-time executive director of its U.S. group. Evans, 36, is a partner in a real-estate development firm and former associate pastor. Founded in 1995, BMFI has nearly 1,400 U.S. members, and operates in Brazil (the largest network, with 38,740 members), Europe and Asia.

MUSIC

City on a Hill: The Gathering
By various artists, Essential.

City on a Hill: The Gathering is the final chapter of Steve Hindalong’s award-winning City on a Hill series, and he ends it on a resoundingly worshipful note with its 14-tracks aiming to remind the church to love others as an extension of our faith.

The Gathering combines original worship music with remakes of traditional hymns and features the impressive musical collaborations fans have come to expect from the City projects.

Unique vocal pairings include Ginny Owens with GlassByrd (“We Will Trust You”), FFH with Paul Colman (“Instrument of Peace”), and Caedmon’s Call with new Essential act Silers Bald (“Hallelujah Never Ending”).

Bebo Norman and Sixpence None the Richer’s Leigh Nash blend their distinctive vocals on album highlight “Beautiful, Scandalous Night,” a stirring portrait of Christ’s death and resurrection, written by Hindalong and Derri Daugherty. The Gathering also features Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Sara Groves and Andrew Peterson.

Rich lyrics, solid vocal performances and masterful production make The Gathering a beautiful finale to this series and should leave listeners yelling, “Encore! Encore!”
Angela Folds Fox

Simple Things
By Amy Grant, Word.

Amy Grant’s new album finds the singer getting back to the basics because when the world becomes almost unbearably complicated–with its international conflicts and general unease–it’s comforting to seek out simplicity.

This may be why Grant sings, “I believe in simple things” on the album’s title track. Simple Things is not as spiritually centered as her recent album of hymns, nor is it as lovey-dovey as the music she made during her “Baby, Baby” pop hit phase. Instead, it’s a little of each.

“Out In the Open,” for example, is a Point Of Grace-ish song about God’s desire for fellowship with humanity; and the album-closing “After the Fire” is a simple, acoustic guitar-accompanied gem that expresses God’s steadfastness during trials.

“Looking for You” details a romance almost too good to be true, whereas “Eye to Eye” concerns itself with ironing out the rough spots in a relationship.

“Innocence Lost,” which features a Celtic hymnlike feel, is probably this album’s best song. It’s a meditation about the price paid for maturity. On it Grant sings: “I miss my innocence/Oh, to be innocent.” Such innocence is one of life’s better simple things.
Dan MacIntosh

Jekyll & Hyde
By Petra, Inpop.

Jekyll & Hyde is an appropriate title for this long-lived Christian rock band, in that the band’s lineup is always doing an about-face. Petra recently lost three members–drummer Louie Weaver, guitarist Quinton Gibson and keyboardist Bryce Bell–leaving only vocalist John Schlitt, founding member Bob Hartman and bassist Greg Bailey.

Hartman wrote or co-wrote all 10 songs on this heavily-reminiscent-of-1980s-metal album. Petra’s new songs sound like a combination of early Alice Cooper, Poison, Styx and AC/DC, with aggressive, crunchy electric guitars laying the foundation for each tune.

Schlitt provides the vocals and continues to be the consummate rock ‘n’ roll screamer, making Jekyll & Hyde no doubt a great album to hear live. However, on disc it alternates sonically between fresh and dated.

Overall, Jekyll & Hyde lives up to its promise of being the most aggressive album Petra has ever made, but that doesn’t mean it is the band’s best. Petra seems so determinedly out to prove it can still rock that the songs sound much the same, the relentless metal beat driving the point home every time.

Yes, Petra can rock out, but it should take a lesson from the band’s 1982 album, More Power to Ya, which rocked hard with single “Judas’ Kiss” but also softened the mood with the title track and “Rose-Colored Stained Glass Window,” and lighten up a little.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

BOOKS

Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler
By C. Hope Flinchbaugh,
Charisma House, softcover, 167 pages, $.

Hope Flinchbaugh firmly believes in making the home a positive spiritual environment for the nurture of children, and for readers of Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler, it is a joy to listen in as she instructs her own children in the ways of the Lord. Many parents will identify with the exasperation Flinchbaugh felt when she asked God, “Is it really possible to actually walk in the Spirit with three wild preschoolers in the house?” This book is her answer.

Not a book about “historical parenting,” Spiritually Parenting shows parents how to teach their children to come to Jesus and to follow the Spirit. Among other important topics, Flinchbaugh offers advice on choosing a school, spanking (she believes in it, in moderation) and winning the war of wills.

The author also encourages new mothers to pray the Scriptures with faith for their babies and urges other mothers not to place burdens on the new moms by sharing birthing stories that are not edifying.

Flinchbaugh writes insightfully and with humor, incorporating illustrations of everyday life. She seems to have thought through the child-rearing process with great care, and her readers will appreciate the effort.
Christine D. Johnson

FICTION

Cover Girls
By T.D. Jakes, Warner Faith,
hardcover, 256 pages, $.

Best-selling author T.D. Jakes has attempted what few writers can do well–cross genres.

In his first novel, Cover Girls, Jakes tells the story of four women in four different seasons of life–none of them aware of how intricately their lives are woven together. Nor do they realize that what appears on the outside is a cover-up for harsh, intimate truths.

Michelle is young and pretty, but her marriage is as shattered as her past is violent. Tonya appears to be a spiritual giant, but her outward appearance suggests anything but the joy of the Lord. Their boss, Delores Judson, with all her money and power has a life spinning out of control and a great-grandchild on the way who was conceived in incest. The fourth woman, Miz Ida, knows people think she is “three bricks shy of a load,” but it will be her faith and prayers that see these three women to the throne of God.

Although the beginning of Cover Girls displays the typical mistakes of a first-time novelist–point-of-view shifts, weak dialogue–the author’s talent strengthens as the pages turn–and pages will turn. The book will sell well because of the author’s name but will do well because of the author’s talent.
Eva Marie Everson

And the Shofar Blew
By Francine Rivers, Tyndale House
Publishers, hardcover, 464 pages, $.

In the Old Testament, God used a shofar–a trumpet made from a ram’s horn–to call His people to action. And the Shofar Blew by award-winning novelist Francine Rivers is a contemporary story about hearing God’s voice and about building–both churches and relationships.

Young Paul Hudson is zealous about serving God and building the church he believes God wants him to pastor. But over time he stops listening to God’s voice, and his success becomes his focus. The consequences of his actions affect everyone around him–his faithful wife, his son who is ignored by Paul, and his church members–all of whom also must discern God’s will or follow their own paths. Conflict builds slowly as the author carefully develops each character’s motives and responses.

The resulting believable spiritual growth of several characters will inspire readers to
examine their own hearts. Discussion questions at the end of this novel are designed to help readers take the lessons learned from the story and apply them to their own lives.

With And the Shofar Blew Rivers has succeeded in constructing a timely novel that ministers as much as it entertains.
Leslie Santamaria

Firefly Blue
By Jake Thoene, Tyndale House,
softcover, 361 pages, $.

Dubbed “the Christian Tom Clancy,” Jake Thoene’s writing does have that edge, with quick action, suspense and government conspiracy. Firefly Blue is the sequel to Shaiton’s Fire, both volumes in a series of post-9/11 novels by Thoene. However, reading the first novel is not necessary for understanding and enjoying this second
offering.

Firefly Blue centers on the FBI’s special counterterrorism unit called Chapter 16, a reference to the book of Revelation. The discovery of a hijacked shipment of sodium cyanide tips off an old enemy who has made new friends. While dealing with a potentially deadly plot, main character, Special Agent Steve Alstead, is caught between family, faith and country. He has to maintain his marriage and faith while fighting terrorism.

Thoene effectively develops the secondary characters in the novel, adding interest. However, it is at some expense to knowing more about Alstead and his family.

Thoene does a good job avoiding a preachy style. Some characters quote Scripture, but the Christian aspect of the book does at times seem to be tacked on as an extra thought.

The author excels in exploring with great insight the emotional aspects of law-enforcement work, giving his writing depth and validity. And even though this novel has many side stories, Thoene masterfully ties all the twists together for a satisfying and intriguing ending. Readers looking for a fun and light read will enjoy Firefly Blue.
Margaret Hull

The Light of Eidon
By Karen Hancock, Bethany House

Publishers, softcover, 400 pages, $.

In the tradition of . Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, Karen Hancock has created an exciting allegorical fantasy. The Light of Eidon, the first novel in the Legends of the Guardian King series, is a classic hero’s journey. Fifth in line for Kiriath’s throne, Abramm Kalladorne has renounced his title, changed his name to Eldrin and entered a religious order to make himself worthy to tend the Holy Flames of Eidon.

As the story begins, Eldrin’s years of study are about to culminate in his initiation, but he has reservations. Evil forces thrust him into slavery in a foreign land where he must fight in gladiator-style games. In captivity, Eldrin faces many false gods with counterfeit powers and must decide what he believes about Eidon and truth.

Hancock’s writing, often eerie and suspenseful, is rich in sights, smells and sounds. Tension is sustained as the reader wonders whom Eldrin should trust. The allegories for atonement and salvation are fresh and insightful.

Hancock’s book will appeal to Christian fantasy readers and to fans of Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion trilogy, but The Light of Eidon is so well-done it also should attract new readers to the genre.
Leslie Santamaria

Retired syndicated cartoonist, speaker and author Tim Downs delivers his first novel, Shoofly Pie, a book you can’t put down once you get involved with its roller-coaster plot. The title alone is intriguing.

“Shoofly Pie,” Downs explains, “is made from a concoction of molasses and brown sugar. It’s so sweet that it’s impossible for flies to resist, and that’s why I used the term as a euphemism for a decomposing body.”

Set in rural North Carolina, Shoofly Pie finds Kathryn Guilford questioning a friend’s death. She enlists the help of Nick Polchak, the “Bug Man.” He studies bugs on corpses, offering clues to the when, where and how of death.

Intensely curious and even-keeled, Kathryn has to work with sarcastic wiseguy Nick, best described as an endearing eccentric. Their relationship is the basis for much of the novel’s witty dialogue.

According to Downs, Nick is “a scientist who takes a completely material view of life and death.” As Nick gets closer to the truth, a personal tragedy forces him to reconsider the inadequacy of his worldview. Says Downs: “That’s what I want my readers to ask themselves: Where is my own worldview inadequate? How am I like Nick?”

Shoofly Pie will not disappoint fans of the popular CBS-TV series CSI. “It’s a love story, a mystery and an adventure all rolled into one,” Downs says.

The author hopes to do a series, with sequel Chop Shop on the way. With his detailed style of writing that makes you feel as if you’re right alongside the characters, here’s hoping Bug Man novels become movies.
Mark Weber

CHARISMATIC

TOP SELLERS

1. Matters of the Heart
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

2. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond
(Impact Christian Books)

3. Total Forgiveness
R.T. Kendall (Charisma House)

4. A Divine Revelation of Hell
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

5. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

6. The Tongue: A Creative Force
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

7. A Divine Revelation of Heaven
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

8. Holiness, Truth and the
Presence of God
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

9. No More Sheets
Juanita Bynum (Pneuma Life Publishing)

10. Prison to Praise
Merlin R. Carothers (Merlin R. Carothers)

CHARISMA RECOMMENDS

Upside Down
By Benny Perez, Charisma House,

224 pages, softcover, $.

Author and speaker Benny Perez has a heart to encourage youth to become consumed with God’s purposes. Perez offers a comprehensive training manual for today’s youth, addressing topics such as bucking the trend, setting the pace, influencing culture, and advancing the atmosphere of faith and revival. He wants young people to have a blazing passion for radical evangelism and discipleship.

Divine Desperation
By John Hurston,
Creation House Press,
224 pages, softcover, $.

John and Maxine Hurston gave their lives to God in the 1950s. They served first as missionaries in the United States and then in Liberia, witnessing a national revival. Later, they moved to Seoul, South Korea. There John Hurston became mentor to a young Bible student, David Yonggi Cho, who today pastors the world’s largest church. This account is proof of what dedication to God’s will can do.

Heaven Is So Real!
By Choo Thomas,
Creation House Press,
224 pages, softcover, $.

Raised in Korea, Choo Thomas was the only child of nonreligious parents. She embraced the Lord in 1992 and wanted to spend every moment in His presence. Her desire led to a deep prayer life, moments of seeing Jesus and a series of heavenly journeys, which changed her life forever. As Thomas recounts her heavenly visits, she often says she wants everyone to realize that heaven is very real–and that heaven and hell are closer than we think.

Favor Makes No Sense
By Jerry Grillo, Creation House Press,

128 pages, softcover, $.

Jerry Grillo has been in ministry for more than 20 years. He issues a challenge to Christians to move from poverty to prosperity, from fear to faith and from failure to favor. Grillo reminds us God is not hiding from us and that He wants us to know Him and the power of His resurrection.

Adoracion sin reservas
(Extravagant Worship)
By Darlene Zschech, Casa Creación,
204 pages, softcover, $.

Well-known worship leader Darlene Zschech shares that we can enter the presence of the Lord when we understand what it means to be an extravagant worshiper. Worship is not about performing–it’s a way of life. Zschech teaches how we can become people of excellent and extravagant worship in every area of our lives.

Observers say the content encourages religious conflict and could lead to attacks against Christians in the mostly Orthodox region
Three countries in the former Soviet Union have introduced new school textbooks that, to varying degrees, portray evangelical Christianity as suspicious at best and at worst a breeding ground for religious fanaticism.

“People are really upset, not just the Pentecostals but the Baptists, too,” said Dina Shavtsova, a Pentecostal lawyer in the Belarus capital of Minsk who specializes in religious freedom issues. “The kind of information in that textbook really encourages religious conflict. Maybe something won’t happen right away, but when you put this together with the negative television broadcasts, it adds up.”

Shavtsova pointed to an early June attack on the charismatic Living Faith Church in the city of Gomel as an example. In the overnight incident, vandals broke windows and painted Antichrist on the church’s sign.

Besides Belarus, the former Soviet republic of Georgia uses a high school textbook that paints “foreign sects” with a wide brush. However, the situation there seems to be the least severe.

In Russia, human rights activists are fighting to halt the planned nationwide introduction of a textbook that they claim promotes Orthodox Christianity above other faiths. All three nations are dominated by Orthodox Christians and have tiny Protestant minorities.

Yevgeny Ikhlov of the nongovernmental for Human Rights organization is leading a court and public relations campaign to stop the further spread of the Foundations of Orthodox Culture textbook in Russia. Although Ikhlov is mostly concerned about the book’s anti-Semitic aspects, he said he has no doubt it will be used to denigrate other faiths.

The situation in Belarus, a country of 10 million between Russia and Poland, is the most serious both because of the textbook’s 147,000 press run and because every student is obligated to take the course “Man, Society, Government” before graduating high school.

One section of the book reads, “Although every religion claims to hold the absolute truth, all the same fanaticism is especially likely to appear among sects.” It goes on to state, “In our republic, some of the most widespread sects include the evangelical Baptists, the Evangelicals, the Pentecostals, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others.”

So far, despite written pleas to the Belarus ministry of education to recall the textbook, no action has been taken. The only two groups to formally file complaints are a Pentecostal umbrella group and a tiny Hare Krishna organization that objected to the textbook’s associating it with Japan’s Aum Shinrikyo, a doomsday cult that attacked a Tokyo subway system with nerve gas in 1995. Shavtsova said some Baptist families in western Belarus had taken their children out of government schools.

Ikhlov said it is no coincidence that Belarus, Georgia and Russia are all grappling with similar textbook issues.

“These post-Communist states are all pursuing a nationalist, conservative line of thinking,” he said. “They try to portray themselves as close to the local Orthodox people, who need to be protected against the barbarians.”
Frank Brown in Moscow

Many of the following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at to subscribe to the free weekday service or to access full-length versions of each day’s stories. The site also includes a search engine so you can access archived news.

CHRISTIAN FINANCIAL COUNSELOR LARRY BURKETT DIES
Well-known Christian radio personality Larry Burkett died July 4 from a heart-related illness. He was 64. The co-founder of Gainesville, Christian Financial Concepts, which merged with Crown Financial Ministries in 2000, had battled kidney cancer and heart disease since 1995, the Associated Press reported. A week before his death, Burkett had been declared cancer-free, but he had suffered a heart attack a month before. Burkett spent the last 27 years sharing his Bible-based financial advice with readers and listeners nationwide and abroad. He is survived by his wife, Judy, four children and nine grandchildren.

‘TEN COMMANDMENTS JUDGE’ LOSES APPEAL
A federal appeals court ruled July 1 that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, known as the “Ten Commandments Judge,” must remove his God’s Laws monument from the lobby of the state judicial building. A three-judge panel unanimously upheld a lower court order that said the display violates the Constitution’s prohibition on government promotion of religion, the Associated Press reported. Tom Parker, a spokesman for Moore, said the chief justice would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

HANK HANEGRAAFF INVESTIGATED BY FINANCIAL COUNCIL
In June the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) declared Hank Hanegraaff’s Christian Research Institute (CRI) compliant with ECFA standards. In March CRI had been found in violation of three of the group’s seven codes–board governance, financial controls and policies, and use of ministry resources–prompting a compliance review. Among the ECFA’s concerns were payments totaling $3,141 to Hanegraaff’s wife for personal expenses and $3,100 in dues to the country club in the Hanegraaffs’ gated community, Christianity Today reported. ECFA President Paul Nelson said CRI had been fully cooperative, though the review remains open.

CHRISTIAN LEADERS ENDORSE MEL GIBSON’S FILM
Some prominent Christian leaders have enthusiastically endorsed actor Mel Gibson’s new film depicting the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. In June, Gibson showed The Passion to leaders at Focus on the Family and to hundreds of pastors and lay leaders, including Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association, The Colorado Springs Gazette reported. Haggard said the film “conveys, more accurately than any other film, who Jesus was.” Focus on the Family President Don Hodel described the movie as “historically and theologically accurate” and said it was “certainly the most powerful portrayal of the Passion I’ve ever seen or heard about.” Gibson co-wrote the script, and directed and produced the $25-million film, which stars James Caviezel, a devout Catholic, as Christ. Gibson also screened the film to several Christian leaders at the annual Christian Booksellers Convention in Orlando, Fla., in July.

Navy Chaplain Appointed Senate Chaplain

Rear Adm. Barry Black was appointed Senate chaplain June 17, becoming the first African American, the first military chaplain and the first Seventh-day Adventist ever to hold the post. His predecessor, Presbyterian minister Lloyd Ogilvie, retired in March. Black, 54, was among three African Americans to be considered, one of whom was Pentecostal pastor George McKinney of St. Stephen Church of God in Christ in San Diego. Assemblies of God minister Richard Foth, a longtime “missionary” on Capitol Hill, reportedly was considered for the post.

Roberts Liardon Back to Regular Preaching

After stepping aside from ministry due to an admitted moral failure, pastor and writer Roberts Liardon has returned to regular pulpit preaching. Liardon, who founded Embassy Christian Center in Irvine, Calif., 10 years ago, resumed Sunday-morning preaching in June. Liardon confessed to a short-term homosexual relationship with the church’s youth pastor. Since his admission in 2001, several Embassy members have left, and Sunday church attendance has dropped from 700 to about 100.

Evangelist Achieves Historic Military First

Col. Sheila R. Baxter, a licensed evangelist in the Church of God in Christ, became the first woman in the Army Medical Service Corps to be appointed a brigadier general. A native of Virginia, Baxter, 48, has relocated to San Antonio to work for the surgeon general of the Army.

If you have a news tip for Charisma News Service, e-mail us at charisma@.

MUSIC

Secret Conversation
By Charles Billingsley
Perpetual Entertainment Group.

Charles Billingsley, long known for his silky vocal stylings of other people’s songs, now steps behind the scenes to lend songwriting credit to five of the tunes on his newest effort, Secret Conversation. Billingsley has lost none of his vocal chops and displays them in new modern worship songs such as “Your Love for Me” and the beautiful ballad “In Your Presence.”

The album is less a showcase for the artist’s talent, however, and more a foray into worship, with Billingsley’s co-written efforts “Whisper to My Heart” and “The Altar” displaying a vulnerability and earnest longing for a touch from the Savior. This is a pleasant collection of new songs aimed at the inspirational listener.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Just Come In
By Margaret Becker
Cross-Driven Records.

After 19 No. 1 songs, Margaret Becker left the recording business for a few years to mentor young artists. Yet Becker’s fans wouldn’t let her go. To oblige, the singer-songwriter went into the studio after three years and re-recorded some of her best songs and a few new ones.

Becker produced Just Come In and gave it a stripped-down, raw production that lends the album a coffeehouse feel–perfect for her smoky vocals and emotive delivery. She soars on praise song “You’re Worthy” and new songs “My Refuge Be” and “Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer (May This Journey).” She also packs power into previous hits “Say the Name,” “Clay and Water” and “All I Ever Wanted.”

Becker shows once again that she is a talented singer and songwriter who would be sorely missed if she left the landscape of Christian music completely. Just Come In is one of the rare “greatest hits” albums definitely worth the wait.
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

BOOKS

How to Hear From God
By Joyce Meyer, Warner Faith,
304 pages, hardcover, $.

In her latest release, Bible teacher Joyce Meyer reminds us God talks to people–every day. We can hear a supernatural word from God anytime in the Bible. Otherwise, God usually speaks to us through natural ways (for example, creation and people) and the still, small voice within us, which brings conviction, assurance and peace.

The book falls into two sections: learning to listen and learning to obey. In fact, Meyer stresses, “If you want God’s will for your life, I can tell you the recipe in its simplest form: Pray and obey.”

How to Hear From God offers an expanded version of Meyer’s tape series by the same name. It is ideal for use in small groups. Discussion questions follow each of its 14 chapters.

“Hearing the audible voice of God is rare for most people and nonexistent for many,” Meyer insists. “I have heard the audible voice of God [only] three or four times in my life.”

Learning to listen to His still, small voice becomes imperative for the Christian. Meyer teaches us how to recognize it.
Pamela Robinson

The Secret Place of Joy
By Lindell Cooley, Regal Books,
150 pages, softcover, $.

As music minister at Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, Florida, Lindell Cooley has ridden the wave of revival for almost a decade.

In his book The Secret Place of Joy, Lindell challenges readers to move from simply being a spectator of worship to being a daily worshiper. In a conversational tone, he discusses the importance of forgiveness, the role of the maturation process and the need for intimacy with God.

Cooley explains that worship is about loving God without condition or qualification. When we become the worshiper God longs for, then we will enter the secret place of joy.

The book is extremely easy to read, and Cooley’s down-to-earth approach to spiritual topics is refreshing. If you want to have a greater sense of joy, then read this book.
Margaret Feinberg

Think Like Jesus
By George Barna, Integrity Publishers,
224 pages, hardcover, $.

In George Barna’s research work, he has observed that it’s often hard to see a difference between Christians and non-Christians. In Think Like Jesus: A Revolutionary Approach to Making the Right Decision Every Time, Barna urges believers to be set apart and consciously develop a biblical worldview.

The author identifies seven core questions that Christians must be able to answer biblically in order to live transformed lives, including “What is the character and nature of God?” and “What spiritual authorities exist?” He then answers these questions from Scripture and provides practical applications.

Barna also presents fresh data revealing that less than one out of every born-again adult knows the foundational truths of the faith well enough to “think like Jesus.” His research questions, which are representative of traditional evangelical thinking, measure such diverse factors as prayer for the president, boycotting products and belief in the inerrancy of Scripture.

Barna doesn’t give a straightforward solution on how to train one’s mind to think biblically, but he does provide resources that will help in the formation of such a worldview. Most importantly, Barna acknowledges that committed Christians sometimes will differ in their opinions as to what a biblical worldview is, and in that light, he encourages a loving response.
Christine D. Johnson

FILMS

The Fighting Temptations
Paramount Pictures, PG-13.

Mix Sister Act and My Big Fat Greek Wedding with a large helping of gospel music and Southern charm and you get The Fighting Temptations. Several Christian musicians make cameo appearances including the Rev. Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams. Also featured are pop singer Beyoncé Knowles, R&B legends The O’Jays, Melba Moore and others. The film opens in theatres across the nation September 19.

Darrin Fox (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a New York City advertising executive, compulsive liar, big spender and has creditors trying to chase him down. He returns to his small Georgia hometown to claim his inheritance. But there’s a catch. His great Aunt Sally stipulated in her will that he gets the money only if he leads the church choir to a national contest.

Challenged by a legalistic church sister, Fox tries to rebuild the choir, making promises he never intends to keep. He finds his new talent in a variety of places, from the barbershop to the county prison. But before long, the foundation on which Fox has built his seemingly successful life crumbles. He finally realizes what his lies have cost him and decides that truth is what really matters.

The best thing this movie has to offer is by far the music. Caesar has a cameo role and also gives a roaring vocal performance. Knowles’ stellar voice only adds to the quality of the film. Rapper T-bone is simply amazing and adds an entirely new dimension to the music. Many times throughout the film, moviegoers are going to want to tap their toes and clap their hands. The variety of characters from all backgrounds exemplify God’s love and desire to use anybody.

Several conversations and situations give this movie its PG-13 rating. However, Hollywood got a lot of things right and made a really fun film!
Leigh DeVore

NEWS

Frank Peretti Thriller Goes to the Movies
A film version of the suspense novelist’s Hangman’s Curse opens this month

Hangman’s Curse, a youth thriller by Frank Peretti, made an unprecedented move when it jumped to the top of the best-selling adult fiction charts shortly after its release. The harrowing tale is now slated to appear on the big screen in a handful of cities September 12.

Produced by Ralph Winter and Namesake Entertainment in association with Total Living Network and North By Northwest, the film marks Peretti’s first book to become a movie. For years fans have been asking the author when one of his titles, including This Present Darkness and The Visitation, would become a film. Peretti said Hangman’s Curse was chosen because it’s a smaller project.

“The Darkness books are further out because they’re so expensive to do,” he said. During the negotiating process, Namesake Entertainment picked up the film rights to Hangman’s Curse, Nightmare Academy (the second title in the The Veritas Project youth series ) and The Oath. Twentieth Century Fox still maintains rights to This Present Darkness and, according to Peretti, the script has no immediate production plans.

“[Namesake] wants to establish an ongoing relationship and put their best foot forward,” Peretti said. “[Hangman’s] is a good film to start with.”

The film follows the story of a family of investigators sent to unravel a mysterious curse plaguing a small-town high school. Directed by Rafael Zielinski, the film stars David Keith (Behind Enemy Lines), Mel Harris (Thirtysomething, K-9), Edwin Hodge (Die Hard With a Vengeance, The Long Kiss Goodnight), Jake Richardson (The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) and Daniel Farber (Orange County).

Peretti has been heavily involved in the filming, which took place in Spokane, Washington, last summer. He has helped write and rewrite the script, has participated in auditions with actors, and he even played a supporting role as the investigator’s eccentric lab expert, Professor Algernon Wheeling.

“We adapted [the book] to the film, and it’s a good story,” Peretti said. “It moves fast. It’s suspenseful, but it’s a little different, and I was in the middle of that. That’s something about Namesake that’s very distinctive; they didn’t take my work and run off with it.”

He also noted that it is exciting to be part of a film that is not about the end times. “It’s like watching Jurassic Park I, II and III,” he said. “Why see the same movie again? There are other topics in the world [besides] future eschatology.”

The film has recieved a PG-13 rating , Peretti said, “but it’s not for any of the usual unsavory reasons. The only pivotal factor is the scariness; there’s no swearing or violence or sexual innuendoes or blood. But we didn’t want to make it hokey. It’s a fine line.”

The film opens in six markets September 12, according to Bobby Neutz, co-owner of Namesake Entertainment. The response to the theatrical release will determine the video-release date. If the response is strong, the company plans to roll it out into additional markets.
Margaret Feinberg

Sandtown, the inner-city children’s choir of third-through- eighth graders who live in the Sandtown community in Baltimore, Maryland, was birthed out of New Song Urban Ministries, who wanted to give a dying community the chance to revive itself. Now it is giving participants a chance to develop self-esteem, hone their talents and see the world.

“The choir is one compartment of a community-development program of comprehensive rebuilding of the Sandtown community,” says Steve Smallman, the choir’s executive director.

“Most kids are in the choir to spread the name of Jesus and to inspire people to go on and push to achieve their goals,” says 14-year-old choir member Anthony Gaither. “Most people are not used to hearing kids singing about God and just worshiping the Lord.”

Smallman lives in the neighborhood of Sandtown, where drugs are commonplace, and stealing was once such a way of life that you could watch thieves roll refrigerators down the community streets in shopping carts.

The Sandtown choir gives these kids something to strive for, a goal to achieve, and the knowledge that they can do anything they put their minds, spirits and energy to.

“You hear about young people getting killed every day; that’s a reality in our neighborhood,” Smallman says. “When the kids perform, you are getting a lot of genuine expression of hope and faith that they need.”

“They pretty much get on stage and demand that you love what they do,” says choir director Alvin Richardson. “‘Cute’ is the last thing you think once you hear them. They’ll just about blow the hair off your face.”

“We don’t back down from anybody,” agrees 12-year-old Sharandall Moses. “We just love to sing for the Lord.”
Natalie Nichols Gillespie

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

1. Matters of the Heart
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

2. Total Forgiveness
R.T. Kendall (Charisma House)

3. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond
(Impact Christian Books)

4. A Divine Revelation of Hell
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

5. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

6. No More Sheets
Juanita Bynum (Pneuma Life Publishing)

7. A Divine Revelation of Heaven
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

8. Prison to Praise
Merlin R. Carothers (Merlin R. Carothers)

9. The Believer’s Authority
Kenneth E. Hagin (Faith Library Publications)

10. Good Morning, Holy Spirit
Benny Hinn (Nelson)

Bright modeled the Spirit of Christ even in the most ordinary things.
History ultimately decides who is great and who isn’t. Even in Christian circles, those who are well-known when they die aren’t always remembered as great. Others, obscure while alive, become bigger than life later.

One man who is certain to be remembered as great is Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, who died in July at age 81. Our obituary on page 15 lists his impressive accomplishments. He tirelessly pursued his stated goal of “fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns.”

Bright’s memorial service in Orlando, Florida, was a virtual who’s who of the Christian world. Leader after leader recounted how Bright had influenced his life.

More than one person mentioned a contract Bright signed 50 years ago in which he made himself a “slave to Christ.” Perhaps this act of total surrender is what allowed God to trust him with an annual ministry budget of $450 million as well as the winnings from the Templeton Award–$1 million–every penny of which he donated to funding his ministry.

In a day when self-promotion and greed are commonplace in ministry, Bright was different. He lived an average, middle-class lifestyle and modeled the Spirit of Christ even in the most ordinary things.

I had the privilege of knowing him from the late 1980s, when we hosted a dinner for him in our home. That was several years before he announced he would be moving his ministry to Orlando in 1991. During the years I interacted with him numerous times and once invited him to address our staff.

In the 1970s I was influenced by Campus Crusade for Christ while a student at the University of Florida. Later, after my life was touched powerfully by the Holy Spirit, I became aware of the Campus Crusade policy against speaking in tongues and assumed Bright was against charismatics.

By the time I met him years later his position about charismatic gifts had mellowed somewhat. And toward the end of his life, he seemed to welcome charismatics, who were drawn to his emphasis on intercessory prayer and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Two years ago we ran a cover story in Charisma on Bright by Andy Butcher that served as a living tribute. You can find the article online at by clicking on the Bill Bright article icon.

After the article appeared, Bright sent me a letter. In the 28 years I have published Charisma I’ve received no more than a few dozen letters thanking us for an article. So the fact that he wrote was unusual.

But even more striking was the humility with which he wrote. First, he said how much he appreciated the wonderful cover story “about Vonette’s husband.” (Vonette was his wife of 54 years.)

Then he added: “My prayer is that our precious Lord will use it in a mighty way to touch and encourage the readers, and that they will know what a powerful Savior we serve. To Him be all praise and glory!”

Andy and I had visited him in his apartment overlooking a lake near downtown Orlando. I went along in part–I thought–to say goodbye to him.

At the time he was already afflicted with the debilitating lung ailment that took his life, and he was not expected to live long. But he actually survived for two more years, during which time he accomplished more, Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals says, than most men do in their lifetimes–including fulfilling all 80 of the mandates God gave him when he was first diagnosed with the disease.

That day Bright thanked us in person for the article. Then he prayed for me and Andy–a prayer I will never forget.

He repeated some of his prayer in his letter to me. I share his words now both to give tribute to his memory and to show his open, loving spirit.

He wrote: “Your great witness for our Lord, through your various publications and other activities, are an inspiration to us. May His hand continually rest upon you and all of your endeavors for His kingdom. It is an honor to be serving with you in the greatest spiritual harvest of all time.”

The honor, Dr. Bright, is all ours.

The ‘G12’ model made popular by a 300,000-member Colombian congregation is spreading
A cell-church strategy that is credited with growing a Colombian congregation to more than 300,000 members is spreading in the United States, with one Louisiana pastor seeking to use the model to plant churches worldwide.

The G12 cell-church model made popular by César Castellanos, founding pastor of International Charismatic Mission in Bogotá, Colombia, is being touted as a new key to church growth by several prominent charismatic pastors, including Dick Bernal of Jubilee Christian Center in San Jose, Calif., and John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio.

Castellanos is touring the world teaching at G12 conferences in places as diverse as New York, London and Nigeria. This month pastor Larry Stockstill of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La., one of Castellanos’ chief supporters in the United States, will host an Encounter God, America! G12 Cell Conference to explain the model that he said more than doubled the cells in his church–from just under 500 to more than 1,200, with each group comprising 12 members.

“There are other cell-church systems; we don’t come against them,” Stockstill told Charisma. “But we feel this is a discipling mechanism. You’re not just putting people together in groups of shared interests; this is discipleship.”

Though cell-church ministry is not new, in the last decade G12 has emerged as a leading strategy, employed nearly as often as the model popularized by Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho, whose Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul once was the largest in the world.

“We tried it [Cho’s system] but just didn’t experience the growth we longed for,” Castellanos said. “From 1983 to 1990, we only had 70 cells.”

He said he received a vision in 1990 regarding a new discipleship program based on Christ’s model of mentoring 12 disciples, then sending them out to disciple others. “Jesus was reproducing His character in His group of 12,” Castellanos said. “We have to do the same thing. You have to choose 12 people, then you have to reproduce the character of Christ in those 12, then every one of them will do the same with another 12.”

Calling his program the Government of 12 (G12), Castellanos incorporates an intensive, gender-specific training curriculum; an Encounter weekend at which participants address hidden areas of sin and emotional hurt; and a School of Leaders course.

Castellanos said the approach caused his church to grow to 48,000 cells throughout Colombia. After an assassination attempt in 1997, Castellanos and his wife, Claudia, a former Colombian senator, moved to the United States and in 2001 planted a church in Miami that is said to have 200 cells.

“We have been able to show the world something that has been proven,” Claudia Castellanos said.

Indeed G12 is going global. In 2002 Stockstill began leading a Global G12 Project aimed at training leaders and planting churches worldwide. Dividing the world into 12 regions, Stockstill oversees leaders in each area, who all mentor groups of 12. With more than 700 churches planted since the initiative began, Global G12 leaders hope to start a total of 1,759 churches by the end of the year.

“I haven’t found a place where it doesn’t work,” said David Pursifull, a missions pastor at Bethany and coordinator of Global G12. “It’s a principle that’s flexible. It’s basically just going back to the Scriptures and doing what Jesus did.”

At Cornerstone Church, pastor John Hagee said since he began using G12 in 1998 he has had to add roughly 1,000 seats to accommodate the weekly attendance. But he said the system has changed his congregation’s spiritual maturity more than its size.

“Every member of our church was instantly accountable to someone,” Hagee said. “We were developing leaders of high caliber … very rapidly. What used to take years was taking weeks and months because of the intensity of the training. These [leaders] were mature, better-equipped … Spirit-filled Christians who were excited about evangelism.”

G12, however, is not without its critics. Some have said the model can become legalistic and works best in nations where people are used to being told what to do.

“Our experience in trying various traditional small-group models was that they often have to be managed heavily from the top level of church leadership, they involve fairly complicated systems, and require a commitment that most people are hesitant to make,” said Ted Whalen, pastor of small-group ministries for New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

While he said G12 is helping fine-tune cell-church ministry, Joel Comiskey, California-based missionary-turned-professor who did his doctoral dissertation on G12 and has written two books on the subject–takes issue with G12 advocates’ insistence that churches adopt, not adapt, G12 principles.

“Castellanos followed Cho exactly, then adapted [his model],” Comiskey said. “Now he’s not giving room to others to adapt his model as he did. My feeling is that we should be just as César Castellanos: adapt and be creative.”

Stockstill said his church did not experience strong growth until it adopted G12 precisely. And having observed the shepherding movement in the 1970s, he said G12 is not authoritarian. “The shepherding movement was based on total control of a disciple; this is based on releasing disciples, ” Stockstill said.

Other critics have expressed concern about placing undue significance on the number 12. Typically, scholars say Christ’s choice of 12 disciples symbolized that He embodied a restored Israel, according to the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. But Hagee believes 12 is the number of government in Scripture.

“When God established a nation, He established it around 12 tribes … and it has been through 6,000 years of persecution … yet it endures. Jesus chose 12, and He established the kingdom of God, and it has been through persecution … yet it stands. When you have that number, you have for whatever reason a divine paradigm that God endorses.”

Yet observers say G12’s strength lies in its emphasis on mentoring and releasing new leaders. Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Church and author of Dog Training, Fly Fishing and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century, which explains his philosophy on building cells around areas of shared interest, said Stockstill is a strong leader whose church would have flourished with or without G12.

“I think the strength of G12 is that it places individual responsibility and specific goals on people so they feel that ministry is something they can do,” Haggard said. “Larry Stockstill is such a great Bible teacher that he could use any system and it would work. His success comes from his anointing, not from this system.”
Kevin Hrebik and Adrienne S. Gaines