Christian Comeback in Europe

For many Americans, the expression Christian Europe
is an oxymoron. As both the secular and religious press
tell us, Europe is "post-Christian" and thoroughly secularized—
so much so that the drafters of the new European constitution
could not bring themselves to acknowledge Europe's Christian
past, never mind its present. But, to paraphrase Mark Twain,
reports of Christianity's demise in Europe may have been
greatly exaggerated...


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Reaching The Unreached

One of the great ways to reach non-churched people
in Europe and around the world is via the internet.
Bullish (to use business terminology) international
companies utilize the world wide web to sell their
products globally presenting a slick website to reach
their unreached.

Christian organizations such as Greater Europe Mission
and the groups shown on the right panel are making
beneficial inroads into their unreached including the
one linked below...

CLICK HERE!!!

Correspondence Course By Internet

A street in the Ukraine -

Back in 1999, Misha took a correspondence course

from Bible Mission in Ukraine. He was one of 4,000

students who received lessons in the mail, read the

materials, and filled out the question sheets he had

been sent. After being mailed back to Bible Mission,

his papers were corrected and returned to him via

post several weeks later. Misha was grateful for this

opportunity to further his knowledge of the Bible.

However, he often felt so alone in his studies, and

by the time he got answers to the questions he jotted

in the margins of his papers, he had almost forgotten

the questions! About halfway through the course,

Misha lost motivation and never finished.

How does a correspondence course, such as the one

Misha enrolled in, differ from eDOT distance-learning

courses? Some of the fundamental differences include:

*Interaction and collaboration between the students

and between the students and the facilitator

*Much faster turnaround time in a distance-learning

course than with a lesson that has to be mailed via
“snail mail”

*A weekly schedule of learning activities and specific

completion date for each course

*A variety of methods such as flash graphics (with

moving elements), film clips (e.g., the JESUS film),

and interactive maps, in distance learning

One of the largest correspondence schools in the

evangelical world was begun in 1901 by Moody

Bible Institute (MBI). In the late '90s MBI launched

its distance-education program, Moody Online.

When MBI offered eDOT the use of its distance-

learning courses in 2000, many people envisioned

our taking those online courses and translating them

into one of ten or so languages in Europe, putting

them on the Web, and “Voila!” we could have a

distance-learning program in place. Unfortunately,

it’s not quite that easy!

In bringing distance-learning courses from MBI to

Europe, there are a number of important—and time-

consuming—steps that have to take place to make

the courses effective in other cultures. Next month

we will walk through the process, hopefully helping

you better understand the process and how you can

pray more knowledgeably for the eDOT staff as they

work together to bring new Bible training
tools to Europe.

Atlas Of Faiths

Click on map to enlarge -



At the dawn of the 21st century, religion is strutting onto the world
stage as a powerful though volatile actor, playing in an ever-changing
range of roles - a development that was inconceivable to most West -
erners a generation ago. Then, the triumph of modernity was supposed
to be accompanied by the inexorable demise of religion around the world.
That was flat wrong. Indeed, on the continents of Africa and Asia, where
religion is gaining in influence, it was never the case.

Yet beyond a few big media events, the balance in Germany has tilted so
far toward modernity that religion seems to have lost its moorings. "The
day is no longer far off," prophesied Klaus Harpprecht in Germany's Die
Zeit newspaper, "when the religious foundations of our civilizations will
be as alien to most Germans as those of ancient Egypt and the Aztecs."

And there's no disputing it: Barring in Catholic Poland, membership in
traditional Christian churches has declined dramatically in Europe, along
with the awareness of the Continent's Christian heritage. Claims that
religion is eroding are only partly true. The argument doesn't hold for
most of the 15 million Muslims in Europe. If anything, Islam has surged
in recent years. "Religious observance has increased among Muslims
since September 11," says Ali Kizilkaya, chairman of the German Islamic
Council. Attendance at Friday prayers in the country was up by almost
50 percent in the millennium's first five years, according to the Islamic
Archives in Germany.

But the rebirth of religion in Europe has also ignited hostilities between
faiths. For many secular Westerners, the headscarves of devout Muslim
women have come to symbolize the spread of religious fundamentalism.
Muslim organizations complain about constant insinuations that they have
links with terrorism. Meanwhile, fundamentalist ideologues and Islamic
preachers here and abroad are stoking the conflict between Western
Europe's non-Muslim majorities and its Islamic communities.

Church Websites -In Europe & N. America

A German Church - Early in the morning.


There are maybe 300,000 English-language
church websites & blogs in North America -
and a growing number in Europe.

These could have great potential for reaching
into their communities. But sadly, the vast
majority are written purely for Christian readers.
Here are tips to make a church site into an
effective outreach:


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Back To Jerusalem

Back to Jerusalem gets its name from the fact that, since Pentecost,
the Gospel has primarily spread westward from Jerusalem -- first
to Europe, then the Americas, then to the Far East. But there is "no
firmly established church" among the two billion people in the area
from China's western border back to Christianity's origination point.

So thousands of Chinese Christians sense God nudging them westward
to complete the circuit "back to Jerusalem." Mainland Chinese and Chinese
expatriates living elsewhere have already sent more than one thousand
missionaries to witness in "the house of Buddha, the house of Hinduism,
and the house of Mohammed." And their announced aim is to send at
least 100,000.

Paul Hattaway notes in his book, BACK TO JERUSALEM, that participants
call themselves "an army of worms." They explain, "It will not be an army
of elephants that marches into nations like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and
Iran with the Gospel." Border guards can detect elephants.

Chinese Christians call themselves "an army of little ants, worms, and
termites who know how to work underground." One "worm" adds,
"Termites are very hard to detect. They do their destructive work
inside the walls of homes and underneath the floorboards. Usually,
the owner of the house has no clue that his magnificent structure
is being eaten away until it is too late and it collapses in a heap!
The termite can do what even an elephant is unable to do."

Perhaps they realize that in the process of evangelizing the rest
of the way back to Jerusalem, they know that some worms will
probably wind up "underground" in an additional sense -- buried
in martyrs' graves. When asked about safety, one leader answered,
"If self-preservation is that important, then there is no point in
going in the first place. God looks for children who are willing to
die for Him if necessary."

These Chinese Christians view their forty years of imprisonment,
not as a setback but as a "set up," schooling them and thousands
of others to share Christ in the most resistant parts of the world --
and the most strategic part as well.

Samuel Huntington, the great Harvard scholar, wrote what now
appears to be a prophetic book. He predicted a great clash of
civilizations between Islam and the West, and he predicted that
Islam would win. He may be right, but then he didn't take into
account God exercising a flanking movement -- 100,000 Chinese
Christians coming at Islam from the East. Isn't it just like God?
- - Chuck Colson

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Nelly Seeks Direction -And Finds God

Zaporozhye's famous Lenin avenue.


Sixteen-year-old Nelly was going through what teens
typically experience—trying to decide what to do when
she grew up. A friend encouraged Nelly’s mom to take
some free computer classes—and Nelly was invited to
come along.

Nelly took three courses at one of eDOT’s eLearning
Centers in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. She also met instructors
and other students who took an interest in her, helped
her in her personal life, taught her computer skills, and
encouraged her to get involved in the local church. She
was surprised to find that her new skills actually enhanced
her ability to do her homework and write papers! And
more importantly, Nelly began to attend the local church
which hosted the eLearning Center. There she learned
that God had a wonderful plan for her life; now as she
considered what career to pursue, she found she could
trust God to guide her in her decisions.

As Nelly prepares to finish high school, she hopes to enter
a college to study programming or journalism. Whichever
major she settles upon, her new computer skills will
enhance her job opportunities. She is grateful, not
only for the chance to learn about computers but
also to those who sponsored the eLearning Center
and those who faithfully teach and disciple at the
center.

Please pray with us that God will continue to use each
of the 20 eLearning Centers in Ukraine to bring men,
women, and children into God’s family and disciple
those who are His children.

More About eDOT

Missing The MarkIn Blog Usability

"Sinning" is an archery term as well as a biblical one,
which literally means "to miss the mark." If you're
blogging to establish a two-way dialogue with the
world, the "mark" is the optimal reader experience.

Blogs are a way that any person may have an online
witness for Christ. Any person with a few minutes
per week can do their part in fulfilling "The Great
Commission".

Click on the link below to view a list of ten things

that can hurt your blog's usability.


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The God Of The Bible Is At Work In Muslim Countries

This past Christmas more former Muslims turned Christian
celebrated the birth of the Messiah than ever before.

A study done by New York Times best selling author Joel

Rosenberg who interviewed over three dozen Arab and Iranian

pastors and evangelical leaders throughout the region demonstrates
that the God of the Bible continues to work in Muslim lands.

Also note that severe persecution continues against the Church

and as we pray that God would continue to change hearts, he

would also protect and encourage those who have truly been saved.

In my own evangelistic blog, many Muslims have written showing that
The internet is an excellent way to reach the Muslim world – places
where it is often very difficult to send missionaries. Studies that I have
read indicate that the internet is the number one way to reach Muslim
men with the Good News.


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The Re-Jesus Blog

Two thousand years after he walked the earth,
Jesus of Nazareth remains one of those most talked-
about and influential people who has ever lived.
In the pages that follow, we explore his life,
character, teachings and followers. We look
at how he has been quoted and misquoted,
filmed and written about, worshiped and
argued over...

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Reciprocal Linking Strategy

If you want to get serious about driving more
traffic to your website or blog and improving
your search engine rankings you need to develop
a linking strategy.

There are three primary linking strategies:

1. Reciprocal Linking
2. Purchasing text links
3. Employing a link finding service

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Children's Outreach Site

Reaching children for Jesus must be an important aspect

of mission evangelism. Outreach sites that can reach unchurched

kids and which do not largely resemble to on-line Sunday

School lessons, are seldom found. Check out the new

English/French HiKidz for a refreshingly distinct approach!

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