EVENT	CITY, STATE
	06/05 - 06/28/09	Mark's Gospel Max McLean	Chicago, IL
	06/21 - 06/28/09	Envision Week Dr. Rob Thompson	Tinley Park, IL
	06/22 - 06/26/09	Roman Marketplace VBS	Barrington, IL
	06/22 - 06/26/09	Son Rock Kids Camp VBS	Crystal Lake, IL
	06/22 - 06/26/09	VBS	Demotte, IN
	06/26/09	Kidz Blitz Live!	Zion , IL
	06/27/09	Summer Celebration & Car Show	Demotte, IN
	06/27/09	How We Love Seminar	Barrington Hills, IL
	06/27/09	Saturday Evening Worship James E. Ward Jr	Carol Stream, IL
	06/28/09	Annual International Festival	Alsip, IL
	06/28/09	Summer Sunshine Concert	Carol Stream, IL
	06/29/09	Becoming the Archetype	Downers Grove, IL
	07/02 - 07/05/09	Caravan of Love Couples Retreat	Chicago, IL
	07/04/09	Saturday Evening Service James E. Ward Jr	Carol Stream, IL
	07/04 - 07/05/09	Celebration Weekend Karen Peck & New River w/ Ken Medema	Pontiac, IL
	07/05/09	Celebration Weekend Ken Medema	Pontiac, IL
	07/11/09	I Hear the Music In the Air Community Gospel Festival	Chicago, IL
	07/11/09	Saturday Evening Worship James E. Ward Jr	Carol Stream, IL
	07/12 - 07/16/09	Wildwood Forest VBS	Elk Grove Village, IL
	07/13 - 07/17/09	Kingdom of God VBS	Valparaiso, IN

DATE	EVENT	CITY, STATE
	06/22/09 06/26/09	SonRock Kids Camp VBS	Maugansville, MD
	06/26 - 06/27/09	Youth Evangelism Conference Gregg Matte w/ Salvador	Garland, TX
	06/26/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	07/03/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	07/09 - 07/11/09	Joyce Meyer Ministries Conference Tour Joyce Meyer w/ Delirious?	San Antonio, TX
	07/10/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	07/14/09	Conquering Stress & Emotional Eating Zonya Foco	Adrian, MI
	07/17 - 07/18/09	Love & Laughter Marriage Getaway Gary Smalley w/ Ted Cunningham	Fayetteville, GA
	07/17 - 07/18/09	Men at the Cross Conference Joe White	St Louis, MO
	07/17/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	07/18/09	WorshipFest 2009	Arlington Heights, IL
	07/18/09	Rock the River Franklin Graham w/ Flyleaf	Baton Rouge, LA
	07/24 - 07/25/09	Men at the Cross Conference Joe White	Atlanta, GA
	07/24/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	07/25/09	You Can Write A Song Clint Brown w/ Jeff Ferguson	Orlando, FL
	07/26 - 08/02/09	Cedar Falls Bible Conference Josh McDowell w/ Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie	Cedar Falls, IA
	07/26 - 07/29/09	Solution Two52 Youth Conference Kirk Franklin w/ John Gray	Munster, IN
	07/27 - 07/31/09	Boomerang Express VBS	Bel Air, MD
	07/27 - 07/31/09	Boomerang Express VBS	Columbus, OH
	07/30 - 07/31/09	You Can Make It 2009 Youth Conference Kirk Franklin w/ Canton Jones	Whites Creek, TN
	07/31/09	Cache Connections Live	Atlanta, GA
	07/31/09	School of the Holy Spirit	Alexandria, VA
	08/02/09	Rock the River Franklin Graham w/ Flyleaf	St Louis, MO
	08/06 - 08/08/09	Joyce Meyer Ministries Conference Tour Joyce Meyer w/ Delirious?	Hershey, PA
	08/07/09	Men at the Cross Conference Joe White	Lincoln, NE
	08/07 - 08/08/09	Student Evangelism Conference Ed Newton w/ Dutton	Dallas, TX
	08/07/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	08/08/09	Rock the River Franklin Graham w/ Flyleaf	Davenport, IA
	08/10 - 08/11/09	Seminars4Worship... Deeper Paul Baloche w/ Brian Doerksen	Hillsboro, OR
	08/14/09	Minstrel Music Arts Seminar Bryant Scott	Munster, IN
	08/14/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA
	08/16/09	Rock the River Tour Franklin Graham w/ Flyleaf	St. Paul, MN
	08/20 - 08/22/09	Joyce Meyer Ministries Conference Tour Joyce Meyer w/ Matt Redman	Nashville, TN
	08/21/09	Men at the Cross Conference Joe White	Cypress, TX
	08/21/09	School of the Holy Spirit Jeffrey H. & Linda Herbert	Alexandria, VA

Harvest Crusades With Greg Laurie Mark 20 Years In Southern California With Annual Outreach At Angel Stadium, Anaheim, August 14 - 16

 

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

 

The Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie, which have drawn nearly 3 million people to ballparks and arenas across the Southland since 1990, will mark 20 years in Southern California with its annual evangelistic outreach at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, August 14–16.

Dan Wooding interviews Greg Laurie

Featuring nightly messages from Riverside, Calif., pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie, who will speak during all three evenings of the “Southern California Harvest 2009,” the Southern California Harvest Crusade is the longest-running annual outreach in the U.S.

In addition to nightly messages from Laurie, the Southern California Harvest 2009 will also feature music from top name bands including Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Relient K, Skillet, and the Katinas.

With a trademark ability to present a straightforward gospel message in a culturally relevant format, drawing on the latest in current events, contemporary Christian music, and technology, Greg Laurie’s Harvest events have drawn more than 3.8 million people to stadiums and arenas around the world since 1990.

The massive crowd at a previous Harvest Crusade in Anaheim

Laurie also serves as senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the largest churches in the U.S., and serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.

All three evenings of the Southern California Harvest 2009 are free of charge and video podcasts and blog accounts of each message will be made available at http://blog.greglaurie.com/. “Behind the scenes” updates from Greg Laurie leading up to each Harvest event will also be available on Twitter at http://twitter.com/greglaurie. Angel Stadium charges $10 for parking fees for cars and $20 for buses.

MEDIA NOTE: For more information about the Southern California Harvest Crusade, contact Laura Swickard McGowan at (847) 328-8009 or cellular (847) 347-5206, or access the Harvest Newsroom at www.newsroom.harvest.org.

 

 

 

Copyright 2009

THE EVANGEL GLOBE CHRISTIAN NEWS

Used by Permission

 

 

 

Feature Film Set To Expose Horrific Practice of Stoning

 

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

 

 

 

Washington, D.C

In a world of corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally-charged movie THE STONING OF SORAYA M.

A fist raised ready for stoning. (Courtesy of MPower Pictures)

Movie release notes say the film, based on an incredible true story, is "(a) powerful tale of a village’s persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about how people react when someone in their community is turned into a scapegoat: who will join forces with the plot, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what’s right."

The release notes say that, "At once a classic fable of good vs. evil, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is an inspiring tribute to courageous women fighting against violence all around the world."

The film was chosen as the runner-up for the Audience Choice Award at the Toronto 2008 Film Festival, behind SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

The village crowd gathers for the stoning (Courtesy MPower Pictures)

THE STONING OF SORAYA M. stars Academy Award® nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG) as Zahra, a heroic Iranian woman who boldly seeks out Freidoune (Jim Caviezel, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, DÉJÀ VU), a journalist who is temporarily stranded in her remote village when his car breaks down. She tells him the harrowing tale of her niece, Soraya (Mozhan Marnò, TRAITOR, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR) and the terrible incidents that transpired in the village, in the hope that he will share it with the outside world.

A plot synopsis says that Soraya endured an abusive marriage to Ali (Navid Negahban), who repaid her loyalty by asking for a divorce so he could marry a fourteen-year-old girl.

Soraya being led away (Courtesy MPower Pictures)

"Soraya refused, fearing that she and her children would be forgotten and starve. Too poor to return Soraya's dowry, as is the custom in Islamic divorce, Ali plotted with the village's mullah (Ali Pourtash) to accuse Soraya of adultery, which carries an unimaginable penalty under Shariah law," says a media release from the movie producers.

The release says that, "Moving through a minefield of deceit, Soraya and Zahra will attempt to prove Soraya’s innocence in a legal system stacked against her. But when all else fails, Zahra will risk everything to use the sole weapon she has left -- the fearless, passionate voice that must share Soraya’s story with the world."

According to the news release, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was stoned to death by her fellow villagers, in the presence of her children.

The film is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh from a screenplay by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh and Cyrus Nowrasteh. Release Date is June 26th, 2009.

STONING producer Stephen McEveety has produced some of the world’s most celebrated films, including Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, and others, the release states.

ICON's Passion Of The Christ was the most profitable film of 2004 and one of the most profitable films of all time, it says.

The release explains that McEveety has over 30 years experience as a filmmaker. He launched Mpower Pictures, a film production company in January 2007 with John Shepherd and Todd Burns. With the mission of 'Empowering both the artist and the audience by telling stories that are compelling, bold and uncompromising.'

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh was born in Boulder, Colorado of Iranian parents, and lived in Iran as a young boy, the release says.

A graduate of the USC cinema program, he has worked in the motion picture and television business for over 20 years, including working as an award-winning writer on a number of TV series, documentaries and feature films, most notably on the acclaimed and controversial ABC docudrama, "The Path to 9/11," which aired on September 10th and 11th, 2006, to an audience of 28 million viewers.

The release says Nowrasteh "became the focal point of a partisan political attack," which cast him in the public arena appearing on CNN, FOX news, talk radio, and in print in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. It adds that the DVD release of that film has been suppressed to this day.

The movie is 116 minutes in length, in Farsi and English, Rated R for a disturbing sequence of cruel and brutal violence, and brief strong language. Based on the book "The Stoning of Soraya M." by Freidoune Sahebjam.

TRAILER LINK: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810039981/trailer
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.thestoning.com/

To book Cyrus Nowrasteh or Steve McKeevty for interviews contact: Shalini Trehan at Shalini@Mpowerpictures.com  or (310) 487-9740.

 

 

Copyright 2009

THE EVANGEL GLOBE CHRISTIAN NEWS

Used by Permission

 

Tortured Pakistani Christian Languishing on False Charges

Police maneuver to keep incapacitated son of preacher in jail – and out of hospital.
By Brian Sharma

 

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 23 (Compass Direct News) – A 37-year-old Christian is languishing in a Sialkot jail after police broke his backbone because his father was preaching Christ, according to a local advocacy group.
Arshad Masih had been in a hospital – chained to his bed on false robbery charges – after police torture that began Dec. 28, 2008 left him incapacitated. He was discharged from Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot on Saturday (June 20) and returned to jail despite efforts by the Community Development Initiative (CDI), a support group that is providing Masih legal assistance.
CDI Research Officer Napoleon Qayyum said that hospital personnel treated Masih callously, but that conditions there were better than in the jail in Sialkot. At least in the hospital, Qayyum said, Masih’s gray-haired father was able to carry him on his shoulders when he needed to go to the bathroom.
Hospital staff members released Masih even though they knew he would not receive the medical care he needs in jail and could face further abuse, the CDI researcher said.
“We told the hospital administration and doctors that Masih would be released from jail within a few days, so he should not be discharged from the hospital as he would not be taken care of in jail, but they paid no heed to our request,” Qayyum said.
He said Sialkot police gave assurances that Masih would be released from jail if he arrived there from the hospital by 10 p.m. A police van left early Saturday morning from Sialkot to bring Masih from the hospital in Lahore to Sialkot jail, but it did not reach the hospital until 6 p.m. even though it is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Sialkot to Lahore.
Qayyum said officers also invented delays on the return trip.
“Despite our requests to the police van staff, they reached the jail at 10:30 p.m.,” Qayyum said. “The Sialkot police used the delays to demoralize us by creating problems so that we do not file a petition for torturing.”
The CDI official said the group’s first priority is to “take him out of Sialkot so that police may not further create problems for him.”
Murder Threat
Hajipura police detained Masih on Dec. 28 on orders from the Sadar police station in Gujranwala, where Masih’s father, Iqbal Masih, had been preaching Christ.
The elder Masih, an itinerant preacher who has traveled to remote areas to proclaim Christ for three decades, told Compass that objections to his ministry led to false accusations of robbery against his son. Area Muslims resented his preaching and his visits to a Christian family in Gujranwala, he said, and told him to stop visiting the family.
“They told me that I was preaching a false religion and should stop doing it, and that I should succumb to their pressure,” the elder Masih told Compass.
Area Muslims had complained to Gujranwala police of the elder Masih’s efforts, and officers there first sought to arrest him in a case filed against “unidentified people,” he said. Later, he said, Gujranwala police told Hajipura police to charge his son in some robbery cases, as Arshad Masih lived in the Hajipura precincts.
When police arrested Arshad Masih on Dec. 28, they tortured him for several days, the younger Masih said.
“They hung me upside down all night, beat me and used all inhumane torture methods, leaving me permanently paralyzed,” he said.
Police falsely named him in a robbery case, according to CDI. All others named in the case were released after paying bribes, advocacy group officials said. Police officers also asked Masih’s father for a bribe of 50,000 rupees [US$620], the elder Masih said.
“They asked me as well for 50,000 rupees, but I refused to pay on the grounds that it was illegal and additionally I hadn’t that much money,” Iqbal Masih said.
The complainant in the robbery case eventually testified that Arshad Masih hadn’t been among the robbers, and he was granted bail. Before court orders reached the jail, however, Sialkot police informed Sadar police officers in Gujranwala, who arrived at the jail and had Masih remanded to them for a robbery case filed against “unidentified people.”
“Because of that, Masih could not be freed for one moment,” CDI’s Qayyum said.
Gujranwala police also threatened to kill Masih in a staged police encounter if he told the court that he had been tortured, according to CDI. They also warned him that he should not act as if he were in any pain in court.
The court, however, found him unable to stand and sent him to Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot for medical examination. Gujaranwala police therefore had to leave him. But police did not tell Masih or CDI staff which police station was keeping Masih in its custody at the hospital.
With the help of the American Center for Law and Justice, CDI filed a case in the Gujranwala Sessions court for Masih’s bail and also provided some assistance for his medical treatment.
On June 16, the Sadar police station investigating officer told the court that police under his command were not detaining Masih, but that the Sialkot police were. Because the Gujranwala police were not detaining him, he argued, bail orders issued on March 23 for Masih’s release pertained to Sialkot and therefore Masih’s police custody in the hospital was illegal.
“The police have been keeping us in the dark so that we could never pursue the case in the right direction,” said CDI’s Qayyum. “How can a brutally tortured patient even heal their wounds in such mental agony when his hand is always tied in chains, and two policemen are maintaining a 24-hour watch over him?”
The researcher said he maintained hope that the judicial system would provide Masih relief from his agony, which has taken its toll on his family as well. Masih has three children that he has pulled from school due to lack of money.
His wife is illiterate and cannot make a living, CDI officials said, adding that Masih’s four married sisters are the main sources of his financial support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2009 THE EVANGEL GLOBE CHRISTIAN NEWS

Used by Permission

 

 

Father’s Day is more than neckties and greeting cards

By Bill Ellis
Special to ASSIST News Service

Earlier this week an ad in our local paper caught my attention. It was advertising various kinds of power tools. It may have been a Stihl weedeater like I bought from Crede Power Equipment Company here in Scott Depot, WV. The message was “a tool instead of a tie.”

Most fathers still enjoy the tie of another’s choice and a card. But Father’s Day is much more than that. It is the day, long held in the United States, on the third Sunday of June, as a time to honor fathers.

Thinking about this day focuses on my own father and my life as a father and grandfather. My dad did it exceptionally well. I have often wished I could be as intelligent and wise as he was in being a father. I look at my children and grandchildren with justifiable pride and conclude, “I must have done something right.”

My son, Mark, when he was a little boy, asked one day, “Is it fun being a daddy?” My quick reply was something like, “It sure is because I have a boy like you and a girl like Liz.”

I was often their horse. Lavonne Mathison wrote in her poem, “Giddap, Dad”.

“The men who ride in rodeos, Need to be taught, of course –
But they should have a two-year old, And spend time as a horse.”

All fathers, I would hope, want to succeed as a father more than anything else. An American hero, General Douglas A. MacArthur, about whom I read when a young boy, wrote the following words which he called “An Old Soldier’s Prayer”.

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee . . . and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom and the meekness of true strength.

“Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain’.”

Here are a few of many things I learned from my Dad.

1. Your word should be your bond.

2. Always tell the truth and you won’t have to worry about what you said.

3. Keep your feet on the ground. Never become exalted with your own self-
importance.

4. Remember where you came from.

5. Never get above your raisin’.

6. You may learn a lot from others if you will be quiet and listen.

7. Respect your elders. Be nice and polite to those who are older.

8. Never sass your Mother or teachers. That cannot be tolerated.

9. Study well. Learn all you can. That is your ticket to what you want to be and do.

10. Put God first in your life. Give Him and His church your best.

When we think about our fathers, we should remember these words, “Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise:” (Ephesians 6:1-3). This is one commandment we will be glad we obeyed

 

 

Used by Permission ASSIST News Service

 

 

 

Beijing Church Website Forcibly Shut Down by Government

 

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

 

ChinaAid says that it has recently learned that the Websites Surveillance Section of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau forcibly shut down the website of Shouwang Christian Church of Beijing at 10:45 a.m. on April 13, 2009.

The only explanation the church has received from the related agent is that government authorities concluded that the website was the “website of an illegal Christian organization,” and demanded that the agent shut it down.

Shouwang Christian Church members say that government authorities have never concluded that their house church is an illegal organization.

“Though Shouwang Christian Church pre-paid for a year of service, the website was shut down without prior notice or an official written explanation,” said a spokesperson for ChinaAid. “The website was registered by an individual, and was used mainly by the house church members to communicate with each other regarding daily activities and information about the church.

“Shouwang Christian Church plans to continue to press government officials for an official explanation regarding the reason that their website was shut down. The church requests that Christians around the world pray for their rights to be upheld and that their website will be restored.”

To read a letter from Shouwang Christian Church of Beijing to Christians around the world go to: http://www.chinaaid.org/downloads/sb_chinaaid/LetterfromShouwangChristianChurchofBeijingtoC.pdf

For more information, go to www.chinaaid.org

 

 

Used by Permission ASSIST Ministries

 

WWJD? Movie Premiers

 

 

Nasser Entertainment Premiers the film, "WWJD?" in Denver during the ICRS convention. "WWJD?" Stars John Schneider. The film is based on one of the best-selling novel of all time "In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do", by Charles Sheldon. Over 40 Million copies of the book have been sold, making it the second best-selling Christian book of all time, behind only the Bible itself.

The movie will screen (free of charge) for the first time ever on Tuesday, July 14th 2009 @ 7:30 pm : Denver Film Society at the Starz Film Center, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver.

Christian film Industry professionals must RSVP ASAP by e-mailing: wwjdmovie@gmail.com.

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