Revelation TV and SonLife Broadcasting Network have joined forces to provide a new package of channels on Freeview. The 'Christian TV' package offers Bible-based programming to audiences with either the latest FreeviewHD enabled television set or a set top box. It is the first package of free-to-view Christian channels broadcasting on Freeview channel 113 and is delivered by Vision247. Revelation TV is a Christian broadcaster with an established religious audience in the UK, while SonLife Broadcasting Network (SBN) brings 24-hour Christian faith television from the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, based in Baton Rouge, in the US. From Freeview channel 113, viewers can access ‘Christian TV’ by navigating through the channel selection pages with the TV remote and choosing to watch live Christian TV.

Praise: God for this increase in coverage of Christian TV. (1Tim.2:4)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.christian.tv.package.on.freeview/30294.htm

President Barack Obama announced in Christmas week a new aid package worth $113 million for the famine and drought ravaged Horn of Africa. The funding announcement comes as a ‘FWD’ campaign by the US Aid organization on the internet, with videos in which television stars and athletes are asking viewers to forward the humanitarian message using social media to as many people as possible. President Obama said, ‘As we enter the season of giving and renewal, more than 13.3 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance amid the worst drought the region has seen in 60 years. The heartbreaking accounts of lives lost and of those struggling to survive remind us of our common humanity and the need to reach out to people in need.' ‘Famine, war and drought in the Horn of Africa is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world,’ said USAID.

Praise: God for the campaign, and may it gain momentum as it continues through 2012. (Ps.22:26)

More: http://global.christianpost.com/news/obama-and-celebrities-offer-new-aid-package-as-famine-ravages-horn-of-africa-65620/

 

Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu is an urban melting pot of people, cultures, entertainment attractions and commerce, surrounded by the majestic Himalaya Mountains. Several Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries serve as pastors in and around the Kathmandu area and it is their desire to share the love of Jesus with as many people in the city as possible. Knowing that only a small percentage of the city’s residents will ever visit their churches, these pastors plan periodic outings to different parts of the city to share the love of Jesus with the people. The group, comprised of 12 pastors, talk to people out walking, in the shops and in public gathering areas. They spend many hours handing out Gospel tracts and New Testaments. They take time to pray with those who shared their life’s problems. Many people also wanted to know more about Christ, and the missionaries were able to tell them about the love of God.

Praise: God for the Gospel for Asia pastors as they share His Word and their testimonies. (Jn.17:20-21)

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11010062.htm

A mission team will be going to Nepal next month with Sabres. No, not light-sabres as in Star Wars. A Vision Beyond Borders (VBB) mission team will be bringing solar powered mp3 players called ‘Sabres’ to people in Nepal. These Sabres play the Bible on audio. The mission team will be taking the Sabres to remote villages high in the Himalayan Mountains. Many of these people have never even heard about Christ. Furthermore, Nepal has an adult literacy rate of 56% according to UNESCO. With so many people who can’t read, getting the chance to hear the Bible is invaluable. There are 153 dialects in Nepal, and VBB has contacts working to translate God’s Word into every single dialect. VBB’s mission team are currently seeking more funds to bring more Sabres to Nepal.

Praise: God as they bring God’s Word to these remote peoples. Pray for their travels and for safety. (Pr.1:33)

More: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/18132

 

Local volunteers spent months building, connecting electricity, and finishing groundwork all for one big project. A third HCJB Global FM radio station which has finally been opened in Nepal. The new station has a range that should enable it to reach roughly 200,000 people with its broadcasts. This is an especially welcome feat in an area which, according to HCJB, has ‘few Christians and even fewer churches.’ The introduction of democracy in the country provided a host of opportunities for HCJB partnerships in Nepal. In 2009, HCJB supplied equipment, installation, and training to put its first two partner stations in motion in Nepal. The new station has aroused excitement among local Christians, 11 of whom volunteered for on-air training. HCJB's Nepali partner who initiated this station hopes to plant churches now that the station has been set up.

Praise: God for this wonderful news and the opportunities that it will bring. (Is.42:7)

More: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/14493

More than 2,000 people, including hundreds of non-Christians, attend mass in Kathmandu’s Assumption Cathedral. For the first time, the service was held with open doors despite the danger of attacks. This year’s Christmas celebrations were the largest in the country’s history, Christian leaders said. Thousands of non-Christians attended mass in the country’s Catholic and Protestant churches. A crowd of more than 2,000 people came to mass at Assumption Cathedral in Lalitpur District, Mgr Anthony Sharma, bishop of Kathmandu, said. The building was the target of a terrorist attack some time ago. Although the building can only hold up to 1,000 people, many followed the service outside, the prelate said. Security guards were forced to keep the doors open; they had been kept closed in recent years because of the danger of attacks.

Praise: God for this amazing celebration and gathering of His people. (Ps.135:1-2)

More: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Churches-overflow-this-year-in-the-largest-Christmas-celebrations-in-Nepal%E2%80%99s-history-23542.html

The number of Christians in Nepal is growing exponentially. This is reported by American researcher Dr. Cindy Perry, who recently finished a study on the Nepali church. Many new churches have not just been planted in Nepal, but also in nations where Nepali workers have migrated to. ‘This is a special development,’ Perry says. ‘When a Nepali comes to Christ, he apparently also becomes an evangelist straight away.’ Until 1951 Nepal was closed to the outside world. Nepali Christians were few and mainly lived in north India on the border with Nepal. 1990 in the Kingdom of Nepal it was officially prohibited to have another religion than Hinduism. It was hard for Christians to fellowship and many were imprisoned. In 1990 a revolution broke out, followed by a new constitution that granted freedom of religion. In 50 years the number of baptized Christians has grown from 26 in 1960 to one million today.

Pray: God for this wonderful growth of His church in Nepal and long may it continue. (Ps.95:1)

More: http://www.joelnews.org/

 

The aim of the Neighbourhood Prayer Network is to see every street in the UK covered in Christian prayer. Over one thousand streets have been registered for prayer to date! Rebekah Brettle, Founder and National Director said. ‘As we reached this milestone, I could not help but think that the only number that matters is one. One person, praying, week after week, maybe even year after year believing that on their one street, prayer can make a difference’. The Network's hope is to encourage as many Christians as possible, to not only pray, but get to know their neighbours. Most of us do not know our neighbours living on our own street. There are approximately 260,000 streets in the UK, and the aim is to see Christians taking responsibility for each street in prayer. Will you please help spread this vision where you live? Click on their logo or our website.

Praise: God for the first thousand and pray for many more to take up the challenge. (2Cor.7:15)

More: http://www.neighbourhoodprayer.net/