ChristiaNet
Monthly Global News and Information of the
Christian - Churches of Christ - Disciples of Christ family of churches
from World Convention
Number 2 - May 2003
To contact us, or discontinue, write to worldconv@aol.com - ChristiaNet uses a send-only address.
FIRSTLY
Thank you for your enthusiastic response to the first issue of ChristiaNet. People obviously see great value in sharing news of their global church family through email.
CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ AT BRIGHTON
Christian Schwarz, Director of the Institute for Natural Church Development, has confirmed that he will lead an optional track on Natural Church Development (church growth) at our World Convention in Brighton, England, next year (July 28 - August 1). Christian travels beyond Germany for only four months every two years. His leadership at World Convention will be the only session in the United Kingdom during his 2004 thirty-eight country tour. This ministry/mission track alone will be worth the price of convention registration.
75TH ANNIVERSARY
Between 350 and 650 young people attend the Prairie Young People's Association fall and spring conferences and have been doing so since 1927! They are organized by and for the young people from our churches in Western Canada and the USA state of Montana. The spring conference gathered in Clyde, Alberta, Canada, April 4-6, with Allan Dunbar, Executive Director of the North American Christian Convention as speaker.
SETBACK IN THE HOLYLAND
The sudden death of Brother George Awwad early in April is a severe blow to the small group of Christian Churches that George pastored in Jerusalem, Beit Hanina, Ramallah and Betunia. In these difficult times George has travelled the back roads many times to deliver food and medicine - sometimes under fire. Please pray for the Awwad family and these Palestinian churches as they face their dramatically changed situation. (A cappella Churches of Christ also have a small number of congregations and a school in the Holyland. Some within our church family have ecumenical partnerships also.)
NEW PRESIDENT OF OVERSEAS MINISTRIES
David A Vargas, who has served overseas ministries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the USA and Canada for twenty years, has been elected President of the Division of Overseas Ministries. He will also serve as co-executive for 'Global Ministries', a partnership of common witness with the United Church of Christ in the USA. Global Ministries works within and with about ninety countries.
EMERGING CHURCH CONFERENCE
As ChristiaNet is being circulated, ministers from the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ are meeting in Indianapolis (April 28-30) for the 2003 Emerging Church Conference. The theme is 'Raising the Roof - How the Emerging Churches of Yesterday became the Mega Churches of Today'. Speakers include Mike Breaux, Gene Appel, Bob Russell, Allan Dunbar, John Caldwell, Brett Andrews and Rex Brown.
HOW MANY CHURCHES IN INDIA?
Our files are thick with information (collected, but not ordered in any way) about our movement in India. Ron Clayton is attempting to place a cappella Churches of Christ in India on a data base and estimates that there may be as many as 60,000 congregations and 650,000 members. Accurate statistics are hard to obtain - these figures may be too high, or even too low. There is also a very large number of congregations associated with USA Christian Churches, and a long established group associated with the Overseas Mission Board of the Australian Churches of Christ. Through 'Disciples' we have membership in the united churches.
DOUBLE ENROLMENT
The Australian Churches of Christ Theological College in Mulgrave, Melbourne has enrolled thirty-four new students this year ('down under' most things operate on the calendar year) compared with eighteen last year, taking the total student number to over 100. On April 10, twenty students received awards from the University of Melbourne. A further twenty-three students from other churches are studying at the College also. Johnson Bible College in Tennessee USA, has a record enrolment too. Enrolment has increased in the current academic year by 22% to 824 students. In six years enrolment has climbed 79%.
PLEASE PRAY FOR
- Pepperdine University (California, USA) Lectureship April 29 - May 2. A program attended by several thousand each year.
- The Annual Celebration for all members of the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in the United Kingdom, May 4-5 at Coventry.
- A new congregation in Campo Limpo Paulista, Brazil. Inauguration May 10.
- The Protestant University of Congo. 4373 students enrolled but only 1,286 have been able to pay tuition so far. Information from Ben Hobgood: b.hobgood@juno.com
- Pastor Yabru Jerry of Papua New Guinea moving to Lautoka, Fiji as a missionary/minister. A big step for Churches of Christ in Papua New Guinea, supported by the Overseas Mission Board of Churches of Christ in Australia.
- World Convention executive staff, Lorraine and Lyndsay Jacobs, travelling to Guelph Canada for former World Convention President Marj Black's memorial service on May 3; Indianapolis (World Convention Committee meeting and local contacts) May 20; Lexington, Kentucky (Crestwood Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, and other contacts) May 28.
- All Africa Missionary Conference in Kenya, July 15-19. All streams of our movement welcome. Contact Bob Sartoris: bobsartoris@gnpi.org
- Iraq reconstruction. We know that week of Compassion (Disciples in USA and Canada) and Churches of Christ Overseas Aid (COCOA), Churches of Christ in Australia, are assisting.
World Convention seeks to build up fellowship, understanding and common purpose within the Christian - Churches of Christ - Disciples of Christ family of churches now serving and witnessing in at least 165 countries
PLEASE KEEP WORLD CONVENTION INFORMED ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
'God has placed everything under the power of Christ and has set him up as the head of everything for the Church. For the Church is his body, and in that body lives fully the one who fills the whole wide universe.' Ephesians 1, final verses.