Faith News Network

Friday afternoon, June 26, a man on a bicycle attacked Operation Rescue’s national headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, and attempted to disable the security system. There were four people working in the office at the time.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman heard noise outside his office and observed the assailant through the security cameras attempting to gain access to the roof. Newman rushed outside and confronted the man, who then tried to punch Newman. When that failed, he flung his bicycle at Newman then fled the scene.

One security camera was stolen causing an estimated $1,000 in damage. No one was hurt in the fracas.

Police were called and a report was filed, but the suspect is still at large.

Ironically, at the time of the attack Newman was on the telephone giving an interview to a reporter from the Washington Times about the increase in threats against Operation Rescue staff members in the wake of the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller.

“In light of the recent events, the targeting of our security system is troubling. We can’t help but think that if this attack happened to an abortion clinic, there would be federal marshals patrolling and investigating. The police seemed apathetic. It’s almost as if pro-lifers are second-class citizens,” said Newman.

“We are just thankful that no one was injured and that the attacker was interrupted before he could do more damage. We will be increasing our security precautions as a result of this incident. We have a very dedicated staff, and no amount of intimidation will deter us from our work.”

About Operation Rescue®

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.

(Source: Christian Newswire)

Part one of a series on the church planting strategy of Pastor Niko Njotorahardjo of Indonesia, pastor of the largest Church of God congregation in the world.

By James Cossey

Driving recently through a major Southern city, I saw an impressive billboard for a Church of God congregation, the caption of which read, “One Church: Two Locations.” The idea that the church is not a building, but a movement of people under pastoral authority is not new; it is a biblical concept, and one that has worked well in many parts of the world for many years.

Such is the concept of Pastor Niko Njotorahardjo, a former assistant national overseer for Gereja Bethel Indonesia (the Church of God in Indonesia), and a senior pastor whose billboard could read, “One .Church: 500 Locations!”

On Sunday, January 11, 2009, I was privileged to minister to over 500 people in the 8:30 a.m. service at Bethany Church, Singapore, originally one of Pastor Niko’s congregations, now led by Senior Pastor Djohan Handojo. At the second service that morning, Donnie Smith, director of the Division of Care Ministries, preached to more than 1,200. While we worshipped, services were also being conducted in the Mandarin language for the Chinese, youth services were going on, and domestic helpers (hotel maids and workers, most of them Muslims) were being taught how to get their high school diplomas and improve their way of life. Eight services are conducted each Sunday by Bethany Church in the beautiful Hyatt Hotel.

Mentored by Pastor Niko and the son of a Gereja Bethel pastor, Djohan didn’t plan to be a pastor. He was a businessman with a degree in architecture who became a consultant for educational construction. He collaborated with institutions such as the World Bank and served in human-resource development with the Asian Development Bank (1988-1998). But today, five of seven siblings, including Djohan, are in full-time ministry.

Another such pastor is Richard Pang, who is the associate pastor for the Bethany Church’s English-speaking congregation. Meeting on the seventh floor of a commercial office building, this congregation began in 1993 as a home cell group. Comprised primarily of young, affluent Singaporeans, this growing congregation is nearing the 100 mark in regular attendance and, to accommodate their growth, is now moving into the Hyatt Hotel.

Using this mother-daughter method of church planting, Pastor Niko has spread the influence of Gereja Bethel across Indonesia and into Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and major cities all over the world where Indonesians have migrated.

–James E. Cossey is Editor in Chief of the Church of God Evangel.

© 2009 Church of God World Missions

Bruce Conn

Dr. Bruce Conn, has been elected as president of the American Society of Parasitologists, an association of more than one thousand researchers at universities, corporations, and government laboratories around the world

This is article four of a series on the missions heart of the late J. Herbert Walker, Jr., former director of Church of God World Missions.