Hosanna Church, which recently dedicated a multimillion-dollar facility in Managua, leads hundreds to Christ weekly
More than 3,000 people gathered in Managua, Nicaragua, for the recent dedication of Hosanna Church’s multimillion-dollar sanctuary.

Sitting atop a hill overlooking Lake Managua, the facility is home to the largest evangelical center in the nation, which sees more than 500 decisions for Christ each week, regularly receives reports of miracles that occur during its TV program and hosts daily radio broadcasts.

At its helm is pastor David Spencer, who once fled the nation after becoming a target for the ruling Sandinista regime. Today he is described as a dynamic and motivational speaker who has helped win thousands to Christ in one of the world’s poorest nations.

“David Spencer is the most impressive person I know,” said Thomas Paino Jr., former pastor of Lakeview Christian Center in Indianapolis who helped build Hosanna Church. Spencer, who was translating for Paino at the dedication service in October, refused to translate the comment.

Impressive or not, Spencer is influential. Former Nicaragua President Arnoldo Alemán sought him out for prayer and counsel after Alemán was charged with laundering more than $100 million of government funds. Spencer prayed daily with Alemán, who left office in 2002 and is currently under house arrest awaiting trial.

A son of U.S. missionaries, Spencer, 58, first came to Nicaragua with his parents in the 1960s, then returned in the 1980s to preach during the Sandinista war. Under scrutiny from the Marxist-Leninist regime, Spencer received death threats after he spoke before 20,000 people in the national stadium. After several deportations and a jailing, Spencer left Nicaragua in the late 1980s vowing not to return unless God gave the word.

In the early 1990s, after the defeat of the Sandinistas, Spencer was invited to Nicaragua to speak at a pastors conference. During the meeting some pastors told him they believed he was called to Nicaragua. Then leading a large church in Panama, Spencer determined that he would return only if God confirmed it.

A short time later two ministers separately told him they believed God wanted him to return to Nicaragua. Upon his return to Panama, Spencer said he began to sense God confirming their words during his own times of prayer.

Within two months Spencer and his wife, Bonnie, were on their way to Nicaragua. Before he arrived, Spencer called a real estate agent and asked her to check the price on a piece of land he had seen on a hill overlooking Lake Managua.

The owner demanded $525,000 and a six-month “buy” period. If he did not complete the purchase in time, Spencer would forfeit all funds paid and lose the land. Spencer said that was the beginning of his walk of faith. Before then, he said, the largest amount of money he had ever received was $20,000.

The first payment of $60,000 arrived on time. Then the second payment of $70,000 arrived on time. The third payment of $150,000 was slow coming. At the last minute, he received a call from a donor offering $100,000. Raising the balance didn’t seem so daunting after that.

Since then, Spencer, who is on the board of directors of Paul Yonggi Cho’s church in Korea, has purchased more land to build a prayer mountain, and bought a small radio station. Now he has his sights on starting a TV station, and he’s searching for more property to build a school and preschool, and grow a farm.

And Spencer said he isn’t afraid to ask God for more. “You know that Scripture ‘Ask and you shall receive?’ Well, what is the next word? It’s ‘seek and you shall find.'” he told Charisma. “It is fervent asking, fervent seeking and fervent knocking. It’s perseverance. It’s tenacity. If you are doing something that you can do alone it probably is not from the Lord.”
Joan Wilson Carter in Managua, Nicaragua

The shipments of surplus Christian literature sent by an Illinois-based ministry have helped bring thousands to Christ
It’s an unlikely sounding strategy for world evangelism, but Steven Schmidt credits some simple spring-cleaning with bringing thousands of people to Christ and starting scores of new churches in other parts of the world.

The former Assemblies of God pastor gathers surplus Christian literature and ships it overseas to parts where the otherwise trashbound materials are like gold dust.

Schmidt solicits literature from publishers, Christian bookstores, churches and individual believers, asking them to go through their materials and pass along anything they don’t need anymore.

This year alone his Butler, Love Packages ministry aims to send about 700 tons of discarded and unused books and curriculum. “We have an abundance, a glut of inspiration and information in this country,” he told Charisma, “but for people in other parts of the world it’s gold.”

Schmidt told of visiting a Bible college in the Philippines where only 10 of the 70 students had a Bible of their own, and another in Africa where the school library consisted of just four short shelves of old books.

In 1999 he visited Zambia and met with government and church leaders, later sending two containers of Christian literature. As a result of the distribution, churches recorded almost 160,000 decisions for Christ, he said.

Raised in the Lutheran Church, Schmidt dropped out as a young man, turning to drugs, alcohol and rock ‘n’ roll. Then he became a Christian and entered the ministry. In the summer of 1975, he sensed God telling him in regard to some old Christian magazines he had lying around his home: “You’re wasting that.”

He gathered it up, eventually shipping 60 boxes of literature to missionaries overseas in just 12 months. Other people began passing along their castoffs as word of his efforts got around.

Individuals and churches across the country started mailing him materials, too. The work grew so much that he stepped down from the pastorate to devote himself full time to Love Packages.

The ministry took over an old school in Butler, and the several tons of mail it receives each week not only saved the small community’s post office from closure, but also required the building of an additional room to accommodate all the materials.

Schmidt drives to collect large donations from publishers including the Assemblies of God and the Southern Baptists, who give him excess Sunday school and vacation Bible school materials, as well as devotionals.

Some Christian bookstore owners promote Love Packages to their customers, and even pass along unsold publications that they cannot return for one reason or another. Sometimes they donate Bibles on which a name may have been inaccurately embossed.

“We can never get enough Bibles,” said Schmidt, who has traveled to more than 25 countries to arrange and check on distribution of his supplies. “It’s hard for us in America to understand that there are pastors overseas that don’t have their own Bibles, but that is the case.”

Jim Whitaker of New Life Christian Stores in Lynchburg, Va., supports Love Packages by collecting the donations from his local church–Victory Christian Center–and adding items from his store before mailing the box.

“Maybe books that are not returnable, but are not selling and are just sitting there on the shelf, or leftover Sunday school materials,” he said. “There are folks that will benefit that we will never see, but don’t have the ability to obtain products that we do [in this country]. We want to be able to bless others with the blessings God has given us.”

Individual packages sent fourth-class book rate arrive in the mail and are sorted by teams of volunteers. Cult and secular publications are weeded out, as are magazines with too much advertising or irrelevant material.

Schmidt said he had heard “thrilling stories” of how Love Packages shipments had made an impact. He was told that a tract from some literature he sent to India had been given to a paralyzed Hindu man who was healed and saved, later becoming a traveling evangelist.

“Thousands have come to the Lord and tens of thousands have received a witness through Love Packages literature,” Schmidt’s Indian contacts informed him.

“I have been doing this for a long time, but it still blows my mind, when I see the lack of materials [overseas],” he said.
Andy Butcher

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.

BISHOPS ENDORSE CARLTON PEARSON
At its annual meeting in May, the International Communion of Charismatic Churches (ICCC) “affirmed and confirmed” that Bishop Carlton Pearson of Tulsa, Okla., is a member in “good standing.” Pearson has caused a firestorm for preaching universal reconciliation, which says no confession in Jesus as Savior is needed to go to heaven. “We … recognize him as a valuable leader in the body of Christ,” said the ICCC statement, which was signed by Earl Paulk, the group’s presiding bishop. Bishop David Huskins, another signatory, said universal reconciliation was not discussed at the meeting, but that the statement is an endorsement of Pearson and not his doctrine. Pearson raised concerns recently when he said he believes Satan himself may go to heaven.

CANADIAN COURT OPENS DOOR FOR GAY MARRIAGE
Two Toronto men wed June 11 in North America’s first legal gay marriage after an Ontario, Canada, appeals court ruled that the heterosexual definition of matrimony was unconstitutional. The court also ordered marriage licenses issued to nine homosexual couples involved in the case, the Associated Press reported. The Canadian government did not challenge the ruling. Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec have allowed gay civil unions, but not full marriage. Conservative groups blasted the ruling.

MOVIE NUMBER PROMPTS DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS
A pastor and a Christian couple have been answering calls to God after their telephone number appeared on a fictional pager in the new Jim Carrey hit comedy, Bruce Almighty. Carrey stars as a constant complainer who receives the powers of God, who tries to reach Carrey by repeatedly leaving a phone number on his pager. But instead of the usual fictitious 555 prefix used by most TV shows and films, God’s exchange is listed as 776. When people in Sanford, N.C., dial the number, they reach Bruce MacInnes, pastor of Turner’s Chapel Church, the Associated Press reported. In Horrell Hill, S.C., David and Myrtle Hallman received more than 30 phone calls the week after the film opened, The (Columbia) State reported.

EUROPE ‘THE NEW MISSION FIELD’
Ugandan minister Arnold Muwone is part of a new breed of missionaries in Europe who are coming from countries once on the receiving end of evangelistic efforts. Muwone said his Pentecostal ministry “targets first and foremost the British people as a gesture of thank-you for coming to Africa and bringing us the gospel,” Time magazine said in a report examining how Christianity is becoming a minority faith in Europe. The newsweekly also mentioned a 1,500-strong church in a Paris suburb founded by an Indian man, Selvaraj Rajiah, whose members are almost all from outside France. The report also noted the success of Alpha, a discipleship course launched at a charismatic Anglican church in London that has spread to more than 130 countries since 1992.

T.D. Jakes Urges Pastors To Confront Racism

Bishop T.D. Jakes challenged pastors to preach against prejudice during the National Conference on Racism in the Church in Fairfield, Ohio, June 12. “We must preach against racism … until people are … falling on the altar and confessing racist behavior,” he said, The Cincinnati Post reported. Jakes was a keynote speaker at the three-day event organized by Cincinnati Area Pastors . Others included Bill Hybels, Fred Price and Glenn Plummer, chairman of National Religious Broadcasters.

Pastor Ron Mehl Dies

Oregon pastor Ron Mehl died May 30 after a 20-year battle with leukemia. He was 59. Mehl was senior pastor of 6,000-member Beaverton Foursquare Church in suburban Portland, and supervisor of the Columbia District of Foursquare Churches. Mehl hosted a daily radio program and wrote several books, including Right With God, the official handbook for the 2003 National Day of Prayer. Mehl is survived by his wife, Joyce, and their two sons, Ron Jr. and Mark.

Leon Patillo Arrested

Former Santana lead vocalist-turned-Christian minister Leon Patillo, 56, was arrested recently “over a real estate check,” his wife, Renee, told Charisma. “It’s not ministry related,” she said. “It’s from a long time ago. That’s all I know.” The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Patillo was being held at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, Calif. Patillo reportedly had not been allowed to post bail.

MUSIC

To the Ends of the Earth
By United, Integrity Music.

If you haven’t heard of them, United is Australia’s best-selling modern worship team. They are the house worship band for Hillsong Church’s (Darlene Zschech) weekly Friday night youth service, which attracts more than 2,000 teens and young adults.

To the Ends of the Earth was recorded live at “Encounterfest” in Sydney last September and features the vocals of Marty Sampson, Reuben Morgan and a young cast of songwriters sporting some major talent. Standouts include the pop worshipful “All About You,” the tempered prayerful “All” and the hopeful “Glory.”

Although the cover of the album describes the work as “high-octane” modern worship, the recording rides in a comfortable, accessible fourth gear rather than an all-out fifth, making it highly enjoyable. If you enjoy Passion worship CDs, the bands Delirious or Sonicflood, then you’ll love this modern worship recording.
Margaret Feinberg

Again
By Donnie McClurkin, Verity.

Platinum-selling recording artist Donnie McClurkin found success in mainstream circles with his megahit “We Fall Down.” But songs such as “Speak to My Heart” and “Stand” have long made him a favorite with gospel fans. No doubt he’ll gain more with his new release titled Again.

The title tune, a smoothed out, relaxing cut, is a reminder to us that no matter the problem, we can go to God repeatedly. “The Prayer,” originally recorded by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, is redone beautifully with full orchestration by McClurkin and gospel’s sweetheart, Yolanda Adams. “All I Ever Really Wanted,” penned by McClurkin himself, is another pretty tune.

“Yes, You Can,” an infectious inspirational tune and the calypso-sounding “I’m Walking” are two lively cuts. A classic from Walter Hawkins, “Special Gift,” has been tastefully covered as well on Again. “Holy” and “Create in Me a Clean Heart,” both worshipful songs, allow the listener to bask in the presence of God. Other favorites include the Kevin Bond-penned track “Heart to Soul” and “So in Love With God.” “He’s Calling You” clearly summons the unbeliever to Christ.

Throughout this breathtaking collection of songs, this anointed man of God sings with passion and conviction. This is another solid project, lyrically and musically, from one of gospel’s finest.
Andrea R. Williams

She Must and Shall Go Free
By Derek Webb, Ino Records.

If you’re unfamiliar with Derek Webb, he was the bassist for the folk-rock band Caedmon’s Call for almost a decade. Now he’s gone solo with his debut record-ing, She Must and Shall Go Free. But don’t think for a moment the singer-songwriter has left his rootsy rock background. Songs such as the title cut and “Nobody Loves Me” carry a guitar-strummin’ smoothness that has made Caedmon’s a staple for college students for years.

The “she” Webb refers to in the album’s title is the church, and his subtley edgy lyrics address themes of idolatry, faithfulness and purity. Yet unlike other songwriters and artists, Web isn’t harsh in his criticism of the church, but rather humbly encourages and challenges her to become all she can for Christ’s sake. Standouts include the swinging swank of “Nothing (Without You)” and the thoughtfulness of “Wedding Dress.”

If you enjoy Caedmon’s Call, Rich Mullins or Keith Green, you’ll love this album.
Margaret Feinberg

BOOKS

The Beloved Disciple
By Beth Moore, Broadman & Holman,
352 pages, hardcover, $.

In her latest Bible study, The Beloved Disciple, Beth Moore looks at familiar Scripture from the perspective of John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” as John’s Gospel states his identity.

Moore traces John’s steps with the Savior through the synoptic Gospels and through all of John’s writings–his Gospel, his epistles in 1, 2 and 3 John, and Revelation. She states outright the one-liner we should take away from the study: “Affection counts for more than ambition.”

Indeed, Moore wants her readers, like John, to learn that Christ “calls His beloved disciples to forsake ambition for affection.” Moore believes only disciples who are “convinced they are beloved will in turn love beyond themselves.”

Moore’s journey is intertwined with John’s journey to receive Christ’s love and to bestow it on others. Readers learn deeply personal events from Moore’s own life in which Christ’s love abounds and she in turn became a blessing. As the book progresses and Moore continually refers to her readers as “Beloved,” the address takes on richer and richer significance. Through Moore, we feel intensely the humanity and warmth of the Savior’s love, and want to rush to share this passion with others.

As with Moore’s previous Bible studies, The Beloved Disciple is encouraged for use in group settings, and materials are available to facilitate this use. If, however, you only read the book in the quiet of your private study, you will still realize there is no greater ambition than to walk with Love.
Pamela Robinson

The Ancient Language of Eden
By Don Milam, Destiny Image
Publishers, 191 pages, softcover, $.

Don Milam takes readers on a profound literary journey to discover what he calls “the original language of Jesus” in The Ancient Language of Eden. Fresh out of Bible college, Milam was well-versed in theological jargon, but found he could not communicate in settings that were foreign to him, whether overseas or at home. With a bloated soul but a starving spirit, he tells the story of how he reached out to the Father and learned a language that was new to him–a language of love, grace and mercy.

Despite the obscure title, The Ancient Language of Eden is relevant and compelling. Milam tells of his trials working with alcoholics in the inner city, being hauled off to prison in Mozambique, watching his marriage start to slip away and giving up the ministry for a time to become a painter.

Milam writes of the spiritual hunger in God’s people to shed the chains of religious slavery and run toward His loving arms. He urges readers to journey back to the biblical Garden of Eden where the language of the Father is spoken–the ancient language of love, grace and mercy.
Debra L. Edgar

The Seven Cries of Today’s Teens
By Timothy Smith, Integrity Publishers,
241 pages, softcover, $.

Based on a Gallup survey, The Seven Cries of Today’s Teens offers a well-informed, enlighten-ing presentation of our teens’ top seven needs.

Family counselor and Gallup Institute Fellow Timothy Smith devotes one chapter to each need–the need for trust, for love, for security, for purpose, to be heard, to be valued and for support.

Each need is a “cry,” Smith insists, “a signal, a call for help or a demand for attention. It does not necessarily have to be a cry of sorrow or pain–but it will become that if no one responds.”

These are the cries of “the millenial generation.” Smith says a millenial is generally defined as a young person who was born after 1981, noting that the first millenials graduated in the high school class of 2000.

In spite of and because of the violence known in the millenial generation, Smith has discovered these young people are “neo-traditionalists” at heart. They value relationships over possessions and desire time with family and friends and to have clear “borders” set for them.

Smith concludes each chapter with discussion questions designed for parent to parent and parent to teen. A “Responding to the Cry” section follows the questions and provides “tools to use at home” and “tools to use at church.” Not only parents and church youth ministers, but also any adult with a heart for ministry will want to respond to give today’s teens the help and attention they crave.

This book is a must-read in these challenging times.
Pamela Robinson

A Call to the Secret Place
By Michal Ann Goll, Destiny Image,
191 pages, softcover, $.

Deep intimacy with God is in the “secret place” Michal Ann Goll refers to in her book titled A Call to the Secret Place. Who is welcome in the secret place, and how does one get there? Goll says God invites every Christian, and one arrives by being alone with God–focused and receptive to His love–and meditating on His Word.

In this follow-up to her book Women on the Front Lines, Goll highlights the lives of seven women, including Susanna Wesley and Fanny Crosby, who exemplify total surrender to Christ. One of Goll’s contemporary subjects is Gwen Shaw, who has preached and prophesied in many nations.

Goll’s tone is conversational. However, she relies heavily on metaphors to communicate her points throughout the book, managing to integrate them successfully in the final chapter.
Leslie Santamaria

Karen Davis must pray for protection when she goes to the bank or the grocery store. A worship leader, pastor’s wife and a Messianic Jew living in Haifa, Israel, Davis could have stayed in New York, where she and her husband, David, a Broadway director and actor, were part of the street-ministry outreach of Times Square Church.

But one trip to Israel changed the direction of their lives. From the moment they landed until they left two weeks later, Karen wept.

Immigrating to Israel in 1989, the Davises ministered to drug addicts and alcoholics, founding a rehabilitation center for both Jews and Arabs and a new congregation called Kehilat HaCarmel (Carmel Assembly), built on the very top of Mount Carmel, near where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal.

“For over a decade now we have witnessed the miracle of the transforming power of God’s love as He works in the hearts of afflicted men to be reconciled to Him through the blood of Yeshua and then toward each other,” Karen says.

Now citizens of Israel, the Davises live in an atmosphere of tension. Karen’s response as a psalmist has been recorded on her new release with Galilee of the Nations, Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace).

The album contains fresh Messianic worship songs birthed out of her longing to unite Jews, Arabs and Gentiles to Yeshua, the Prince of Peace. Once news of the album gets out, Karen expects that she will hear from people all over the world who are connecting to the new heavenly sounds emerging from Israel today.
Marsha Gallardo

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

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

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

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

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

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

6. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

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

8. The Final Quest
Rick Joyner (Whitaker House)

9. A Divine Revelation of the Spirit Realm
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

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

CHARISMA RECOMMENDS

They Felt the Spirit’s Touch
By Scott Hagan, Charisma House,
256 pages, softcover, $.

Scott Hagan explores the lives of 20 obscure people mentioned in the book of Acts, including Stephen, Cornelius and Apollos. Hagan expounds on the biblical narrative with humor and thought-provoking character development. Rich in imagery, this book shows how the Spirit moved in ordinary lives to change the first-century world.

Bible Health Secrets
By Reginald Cherry, M.D.;
Siloam Press; 224 pages; hardcover; $.

Dr. Reginald Cherry believes the Bible holds the secrets to healing from
cancer and other diseases. In this new book he outlines the Bible’s food restrictions as well as preventative herbs and spices mentioned in Scripture. Readers will discover a spiritual and dietary lifestyle that they can easily apply in order to experience abundant health.

Daniel Notes
By Greg Hinnant, Creation House Press,
320 pages, softcover, $.

Author, teacher and pastor Greg Hinnant takes readers on a journey exploring the life of an amazing man. This commentary on Daniel is well-researched, thoroughly cross-referenced and scholarly. Yet, Hinnant keeps it down to earth, easy to read and practical. Readers will be inspired by Daniel’s ultimate faith, absolute loyalty,
fiery testing and amazing rewards. But most importantly Daniel experienced the fullest and richest knowledge of God–available to all believers.

Catch the Wave
By Steven Cole, Creation House Press,
96 pages, softcover, $.

Steven Cole believes we can have a real and personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Cole teaches who the Holy Spirit is, what the gifts of the Spirit are and how the Spirit moves. The author wants believers to catch the wave and use the power of the Holy Spirit to bring glory to God and fulfill His purpose for their lives.

Secretos del corazón
(Matters of the Heart)
By Juanita Bynum, Casa Creación,
204 pages, softcover, $.

In this Spanish translation of her newest book, Bible teacher Juanita Bynum explores the close connection between the heart and mind–and she explains why this key to intimacy with God is so vital. Bynum says she was shocked when God told her she was not concerned with the condition of her heart even though she was faithfully serving Him. Readers may discover deceit in their own hearts when they read this painfully transparent account of spiritual growth and the integrity it requires.

We want to show the love of Jesus in a tangible way to the Iraqis.
After a 21-day war that cost an estimated $30 billion and the lives of several hundred coalition troops, Iraq is at a crossroads. For the first time, the citizens have the freedom to choose. But what will be the
outcome of their choice? Will the country regress into anarchy, with radical
Muslims crushing what little freedom the tiny Christian minority now has?

This is not a question of East versus West or of Christianity versus Islam. It’s a question of what direction Iraq will take at this critical juncture.

The military part of the campaign toppled a corrupt regime. Now it’s time for the church to respond. Why? Because as this month’s cover story so aptly describes (see page 40), the souls of millions hang in the balance.

That’s why Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), has called on Christians to pray.

“The body of Christ doesn’t have guns and tanks to make changes,” Haggard told me. “But we can pray–and we can give.”

Last month I reported that in May Haggard initiated “Operation Iraqi Care,” a program through which churches in America can work with the churches in Iraq. In a part of the world where some countries have no religious freedom at all, Iraq has allowed a Christian minority (about 2.5 percent of the population) to exist.

After Clive Calver, president of World Relief, visited Iraq recently, he said he had never met more sincere Christian believers. Yet, as we report, these Christians live in the worst possible conditions. There is a need for hundreds of thousands of Christians in this country to respond generously.

The strategy is for all evangelical churches in America to give as well as pray. We want to show the love of Jesus in a tangible way to the Iraqis, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

Isn’t this what Christ commanded us to do? He told us that whatever we do for one of the least of His brothers, we do for Him (see Matt. 25:40).

I believe the strategy the NAE and World Relief have devised is brilliant. Instead of sending Western Christians into Iraq to give handouts, we can help our Christian brothers and sisters in that country, who will in turn show the love of Jesus to their fellow citizens by addressing their many needs.

Though the call to help Iraq has come from the “evangelical” community through NAE and World Relief, I am calling on the “charismatic” community to lead the way. Sadly, too many Christians–charismatic or not–tend to think giving is something others should do.

It isn’t. It is something each of us must do. If every church took up an offering, if every Christian family gave even a small amount, consider the resources that would be available to help the church in Iraq!

What can you do?

First, you can pray. That’s most important. We wrestle against principalities and powers (see Eph. 6:12), and prayer is the only weapon we have against those forces.

Then you can give. Give personally and get your church to give.

We are channeling 100 percent of what our readers contribute through Christian Life Missions, our nonprofit partner, to World Relief.

World Relief will work through the churches in Iraq. Space does not allow us to report specific plans. But we will update our Web site, , as we get new information. Or you can go to the NAE and World Relief Web sites to see their perspectives at

Our story (see page 48) lists other organizations we believe are worthy of support. We have chosen to channel our giving through World Relief. But you can give to other organizations or directly to World Relief. The point is: Give!

By working together, we can do what none of us can do alone–show Jesus’ love to and through our brothers and sisters in the church in Iraq.

Most of my staff of Strang Communications have already followed my lead in giving to Operation Iraqi Care. Won’t you join us in giving through Christian Life Missions? One hundred percent will go to World Relief for this important program. Please send your tax-deductible gift to Christian Life Missions, P.O. Box 952248, Lake Mary, FL 32795-2248, or click here to donate securely online.

The Internet-based initiative urges Christians to adopt an Iraqi city and pray for it daily
Evangelical leaders announced the launch of a global prayer initiative for Iraq and debunked criticism that post-war Christian relief efforts aimed to convert the mostly Muslim nation to Christianity.

Leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)–in partnership with the World Prayer Team, the Presidential Prayer Team, World Relief and the Christian Emergency Network–formally opened Operation Iraqi Care at a May 22 press conference in Washington, D.C. The Internet-based effort urges Christians to adopt an Iraqi city and pray for it daily.

“I am asking that the 47 million Christians in America who love to pray according to the Scriptures include in their prayer times prayer for the Iraqi people,” NAE president Ted Haggard said at the National Press Club. “The next few months might be the most important time of decision the people of Iraq have had in thousands of years.”

After 30 years of dictatorship under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi people “have to decide whether or not they believe in individual dignity, personal responsibility, due process, the rule of law, principles of individual freedom and liberty,” he said.

Haggard said the reconstruction of Iraq is God’s idea. “We know that God desires a better future for the Iraqi people,” Haggard said. “He wants their children to have medical care and an education. He wants them well fed.

“He wants them to worship in freedom without intimidation. He wants them to be able to discuss the big issues of life, family, government, faith and a future without fear. He wants to bless them.”

Observers note that Operation Iraqi Care’s arrival is book-ended by two developments that impact Christian assistance to Iraq, an ancient biblical land.

Public opinion-makers have questioned whether evangelicals are, as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd put it, mixing “a blend of kitchen pantry and Elmer Gantry” by sending help to the Iraqis. Critics have said evangelicals would aim to convert the mostly Muslim Iraqis to Christianity.

Interestingly, on the day Operation Iraqi Care was unveiled the United Nations lifted its sanctions on Iraq, which evangelical leaders say opened the road for the international community and humanitarian organizations to support the Iraqis in rebuilding their country.

Richard Cizik, NAE vice president for governmental affairs, called criticism of evangelical assistance to Iraq “erroneous thinking.” He said the NAE’s humanitarian-assistance arm, World Relief, which has 60 years’ experience in relief work, and NAE member Samaritan’s Purse “understand the rules of the road and are well prepared and experienced to respond to social and humanitarian needs.”

While participating in a June 4 discussion about post-war relief efforts in Iraq hosted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, World Vision Senior Vice President Bruce Wilkinson said the recent debate about joining humanitarian relief with Christian evangelism “is largely an American phenomenon brought on by the publicized comments of several high-profile conservative Christian leaders associated with humanitarian organizations.”

“It appears that this controversy is not an issue for the people of Iraq, Afghanistan or any other predominantly Muslim country … that is receiving humanitarian aid from international religious [groups],” Wilkinson said. “When confronted with humanitarian emergencies, suffering people–no matter their religion–welcome aid from all sources as long as it is appropriate and delivered in a dignified manner.”

Missionary Ken Joseph Jr., who was in Iraq before the war and was among the first to bring relief into the nation, said that though Iraq was still a dangerous place, with guns blasting at night, the war’s end presented “the opportunity of a generation” to evangelize the nation.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the church to stand up and do something quickly,” said Joseph, who directs and helps funnel relief into Iraq.

He added that though Hussein is no longer in power, many Christians in Iraq–who are believed to make up roughly 2.5 percent of the population–fear backlash from radical Shiite Muslims if they attempt to proselytize. “The Christians don’t believe the Americans are going to stay for the long haul,” he said, “and they think [extreme] Muslims will take over the country.”

After meeting with Iraqi Christians in early June, World Relief president Clive Calver quoted church leaders as saying: “We are free. We can say anything now. It’s a new era.” He urged Christians to pray for the Iraqi people, adding that “we do not know how long the window [of opportunity] will stay open.”

Ministries working inside Iraq plan to funnel assistance through local churches. Baltimore-based World Relief–poised to offer relief through partnerships with Assyrian and Chaldean churches, and Christian Arab communities in Jordan, Syria and Turkey–already has sent two assessment teams into Iraq, Executive Director Timothy Ziemer said. The teams have identified partnerships in health care, home rehabilitation, school feeding, medicines, educational supplies and food distribution.

The World Relief strategy in Iraq and the Arab world allows Arabs to help other Arabs, Ziemer said, adding that NAE’s spiritual and financial assistance embraces both Muslims and Christians.

Samaritan’s Purse, led by Franklin Graham, announced it stands “at the doorsteps of Iraq” ready to help war victims there. In addition World Vision already has distributed relief inside the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Al Rutba, and announced plans in June to deliver 3,200 packets of clothing, blankets and water in Al Rutba.

At the launch of Operation Iraqi Care Cizik said evangelicals in the United States “have come of age … We take the Bible seriously in our humanitarian response.” Those who join the Operation Iraqi Care effort can download a certificate reminding them to pray for Iraq and register to receive e-mail updates of current events. Financial donations to help World Relief’s work in Iraq will also be accepted at the Web sites () and ().
Mercedes Tira Andrei in Washington, D.C.