A Dangerous Message

Orange County Edition Vol. 24, No. 3 March 2013 www.christianexaminer.com Cal Thomas Eric Metaxas World Government shouldn’t The not-so-gloomy American pastor FREE defi ne ‘church’ season of Lent imprisoned in Iran writes about ‘horrifi c pressures’ page 4 page 4 page 5 Billy Graham ‘My Hope’ initiative taking shape Campaign to culminate in nationwide evangelistic effort Christian Examiner staff report YORBA LINDA — The Rev. Billy Graham may be 94 years old, but he continues to feel called to com- municate the gospel to the world. A Christian woman in Bangladesh While the big-city stadium cam- sheds tears during prayer time. paigns may be a thing of the past, The woman, part of the persecuted Graham is still focused on new ef- church worldwide, is assisted by forts to bring the gospel to young Open Doors International. and old alike. This November, that passion will culminate in the weeklong My Hope With Billy Graham initiative—sponsored by the Billy Gra- ham Evangelistic Association— which will enlist believers to open “My Hope with Billy Graham,” their homes to those who are not which culminates in Nov., com- A dangerous message believers, watch a short televised bines the reach and excitement of program and then give a brief tes- a nationwide media event with the timony to their unbelieving guests. power of personal relationships. My Hope began in 2002 at the Open Doors reveals Christ to the urging of Franklin Graham. In the that group that say, ‘I’ve made a step past 10 years, the home-based rela- toward Christ.’” tional evangelism project has been Worldwide, Conard continued, persecuted church worldwide taken to nearly 60 countries—with of the 10 million commitments to 10 million commitments to Christ. Christ, two-thirds of them have been By Lori Arnold “Christ in you is the hope of glo- nization Ridgway is now guiding Since 2002, My Hope has been fi rst-time commitments while the ry”—that I wasn’t confi ned to an while its board searches for a new carried out in 4.5 million homes, remaining have been rededications teve Ridgway was still a fairly organization, to four walls, but national leader. said Bill Conard, executive director or renewals of faith. new Christian when he read because of God’s spirit, wherever Founded 58 years ago by of the project. Pamela Christian, an inspirational a book that opened up the I went, my life could matter and Brother Andrew, the ministry sup- “The response works out to about speaker based in Orange County, S said she accepted an invitation by door to a world of missions he never make a difference.” ports members of the persecuted 2.2 responses per home over the realized existed. The book, “God’s Smuggler” by church and compiles a well-re- entire project,” he said. “What that her pastor, Tom Barkey of Church of “It helped to form my world- author Brother Andrew, not only spected top 50 World Watch List means to a pastor, then, is if he has Grace in Yorba Linda, to coordinate view,” he said. “It shifted my shaped Ridgway’s worldview, but featuring countries considered 10 families doing this or 15 families My Hope for their congregation. She paradigm to understand that it also shaped Open Doors USA, doing this or 100 families doing this said she was moved by project videos (through) Colossians 1:27 — the Orange County-based orga- See OPEN DOORS, page 6 in a large church, there might be between 200 and 300 people out of See MY HOPE, page 3 Wrong turn made right Young woman reclaims her past by leading Central City ministry By Lori Arnold las. And like those who now called York, Baltimore and Washington Los Angeles’ Skid Row home, Ca- D.C. before taking a guest services LOS ANGELES — Even in Los bido spent some of her youth living position at a Beverly Hills hotel. Angeles—the birthplace of fantasy on the streets after running away “I wanted to put some distance and fi lm—metaphors such as “mak- every now and then. between myself and the commu- ing a wrong turn in life” can cross “I got distracted really easy think- nity that I grew up in,” she said. over into life-altering reality, as So- ing about the things I didn’t have,” “So once I graduated from college phia Cabido discovered. she said. and moved away I just kind of shut It was a script made for reality Thanks to her praying grand- the door on that life that I had as TV. mother, Cabido eventually tired of a child.” “I took a wrong turn, and instead her rebellion and pushed through The door reopened when Cabido of driving back to my apartment to graduate, attending college in happened upon the extreme pov- near Beverly Hills I actually drove East Texas. erty that made Skid Row notorious. straight into Skid Row on accident,” “She was a pretty tough cookie,” Face to face with her past, Cabido Cabido said. “I was taken aback by she said. “She stopped at nothing to began volunteering at Central City the community and couldn’t get it keep me in school.” Community Outreach, a ministry out of my mind.” With a passion for the traveling launched in 1991 by Central City She couldn’t get it out of her industry, Cabido was fast-tracked mind because the scenes were into a hotel and resort manage- See CENTRAL CITY, page 3 heartbreakingly familiar to her own ment program offered through childhood living with her grand- Cornell University. She held man- A family carries home a Box of Love mother in public housing near Dal- agement posts in Colorado, New from the annual Shoes that Fit event at Central City Community Outreach. For information about advertising, subscriptions, or bulk delivery, please call 1-800-326-0795 2 • CHRISTIAN EXAMINER • March 2013 OC www.christianexaminer.com Play it again Recordings take the Good News to the ends of the earth By Patti Townley-Covert Yet, frequently those recording the messages become Christians. TEMECULA — Last year, Gus- tavo, a recordist for Global Record- Advanced technology ings Network in Ecuador, trans- According to Rickards, Global lated some Bible stories into the Recordings Network strives to Salasaca language. A few months make use of the latest technol- later, he boarded a bus. En route ogy. In many remote areas to- to his destination, Gustavo noticed day, “folks will have a cell phone another man and went to sit next even without any power to charge to him. Gustavo wanted to tell the it.” The switch to solar power in man about Jesus. many regions will solve that prob- After listening, the stranger told lem, he believes, so the ministry Gustavo he’d come from the Gal- designed a new website for Inter- lapagos Islands, where he lived with net-capable phones. about 700 members of his tribe, the “We’ve simplifi ed that into just Salasacas. After hearing that some- being able to search for your one had recorded God’s words, language,” Rickards said. “It’s they pooled their money to buy an designed for unbelievers, a very $800 plane ticket. This man was simple interface to plug in their sent to fi nd God’s words and bring country or language and immedi- them back to his tribe. ately download a recording onto Stunned, Gustavo said, “I have their phone.” them in my case.” Another item under develop- He pulled out a handful of CDs ment is a mobile hotspot. Much and gave them to the man. Soon his of the technology advances are people would hear the Good News being provided by students from in their own language. several Christian colleges who Dale Rickards, the executive di- work as volunteers on network rector of Global Recordings Net- projects as part of their course- work USA headquarterd in Tem- work, Rickards said. ecula, Calif., said he fi rst became “One student is developing acquainted with the ministry work a box, basically a computer, to as a missionary kid whose parents take into a village where there’s worked with Muslims in North Af- no power,” he said. “They can rica, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. take preloaded languages for While spreading the gospel, Rick- that people group, turn on the ards said his father played records Bluetooth, and people can come produced by the network. At times up with their phones and simply recordists from Europe came and download the recordings.” stayed in the Rickards’ home be- Sybil Shaw, a senior recordist from Global Recordings Network Australia, uses an ordinary outdoor table to hold her fore leaving for the Sahara Desert. recording equipment in Oceania. Challenging conditions can require recordists to use the bed of a pickup truck for their Sacrifi ce for the cause When Rickards moved to Tem- equipment and sometimes even work to overcome the background noise of chickens. By whatever means possible, ecula in 2007, he took a tour of the ample, one of the network’s re- Global Recordings Network’s pas- network’s facility, where a vintage cordists in India speaks 12 of sion is to take recordings of the cardboard record player brought India’s 13 offi cial languages. But Good News to the most remote PACIFIC JUSTICE fl ashbacks to the one his father with more than 1,000 languages places on Earth. This winter, had used. Soon afterward Rickards throughout the country, the fi eld Rickards said, the ministry’s Ne- pal team went on an excruciating started volunteering, then became recordist must fi nd an intermedi- INSTITUTE three-day journey to record some a board member.

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