Despite increasing openness to religious expression, persecution and other problems continue for Christians in many parts of the world, Baptist leaders reported at a breakfast for Baptist World Alliance (BWA) supporters in Orlando, June 14.
“The world is moving from one kind of dictatorship to another,” declared Paul Negrut, president of the Romanian Baptist Convention and Immanuel Baptist University in Oradea, Romania, Negrut cited three kinds of oppressive systems confronting Christianity- left, right and orthodox- and cited an example.
“if children from (Romanian) Baptist families do not go to orthodox class, they are ridiculed and mocked,” Negrut said.
At the same time, Negrut reported the Baptist school he founded with 60 students in 1990 recently became the first accredited Baptist university in Europe.
Negrut reminded the gathering that “God does not lower down His standards in America or Romania. Let’s encourage one another in holiness.”
Paul Kim, a Korean pastor now serving in Boston, spoke with optimism about reunification talks that began this week between North and South Korea.
“God is working in Korea,” declared Kim, a trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Kim expressed hope that the historic Korean unification talks “will open the door for missions in North Korea.”
New opportunities
A Baptist leader from reunified Germany described significant growth since the fall of the Berlin Wall. He reported there are currently some 90,000 German Baptists.
The college of communism also has presented opportunities for Baptist growth in the former Soviet Union, a Ukrainian Baptist leader reported. He told of a church that began as a prayer meeting in the dacha, or summerhouse, once used by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev and added, “We have a freedom now for sharing the gospel.”
The fiery destruction of a church in Manipur, India, last week is among the latest examples of continuing persecution against Asian Christians, an Indian Baptist leader stated. Nevertheless, he added, “That won’t stop the ministry we have to do.”
Denton Lotz, BWA general secretary, noted that for the first time in history, the majority of Christians now live in the non-Western world.
“The good news is every year there are 6 million new Christians in Africa,” Lotz said. “The bad news is there are 3 million fewer Christians in Europe. There is a tremendous paganism spreading over Europe.” As a result, he added, “We may have to open ourselves to missionaries from other places. The fact is, if a church is not a missionary church it dies.”
(News Network)
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