Dear Partner in ministry:

At a conference of world mission leaders in the Middle East some months ago, I got into a very stimulating discussion with a veteran missionary statesman from the wonderful British-based “Operation Mobilization” organization.

Our conversation turned to the bitter conflicts going on in two African nations – Sudan and Nigeria. In both countries, Muslims in the Northern regions are seeking to impose the Muslim code of “Sharia” law on Christians in the Southern regions. And, in both countries, the result has been the same – violence, armed conflict, terrorism, and the loss of many lives.

When I asked this experienced missionary leader about the significance of those two terrible conflicts, my friend looked me in the eye, poked his finger into my chest, and said with great solemnity, “Norm, what’s happening is that Islam and Christianity are fighting for the soul of the entire continent of Africa!”

My friend, it has been difficult for most American Christians to understand this fact . . . But, finally, under the shocking impact of September 11, many believers are beginning to get the point: We, in the Body of Christ, are in a war against the Powers of Darkness.

We, here at Compassion Radio, have understood this reality with special clarity. And we, in a way that is unique among all national daily radio ministries, have mobilized our ministry to fight this spiritual war in an on-site, hands-on, activist way.

It has not been easy to do this. We have focused on funding Compassion Projects, and not ourselves. At times, our message has been so challenging to listeners that some stations have removed us. But we know the seriousness of this hour, and, with your help and the Lord’s faithfulness, we have endured.

However, at this year’s end, in the final month of 2001, Compassion Radio/Compassion Radio is in special need. Post-September 11 listener contributions dropped substantially below the level needed to maintain this ministry. And, we were already at a low ebb, following the normal summer slump. In September, donations normally increase. But September 11 reversed that upturn. Income went down, and it has stayed down ever since.

The result of this is clear: We must have a major increase in giving during the month of December in order for Compassion Radio to continue its unique ministry into the year 2002. It’s that simple.

My friend, in making my appeal to you to rally in support of this Compassion Radio outreach, I want to remind you, not of what we say, but of what we do. And, I want you to understand how strategically important is this ministry’s outreach into some of the world’s neediest places. Here are some examples:

Afghan Refugee Camps: We’ve spent time at Akora Khattak, adjacent to the radical Muslim school where Muhammad Omar, Taliban President of Afghanistan, and 8 of his Taliban cabinet were educated, and where Compassion Radio provides quilts, food and Christian witness. The Taliban recruits members in this camp. We present the Gospel, through our on-site ministry partners.

Pakistan: We have had the privilege to travel and minister in Pakistan with Shabbaz Bhatti, President of the 50,000-member “Christian Liberation Front”. Bhatti, who knows personally Pakistan President, Pervez Mushareff, is pursuing the prosecution of the terrorist assassins of 16 Christian worshippers during a church service in October. Compassion Radio has had the privilege to send some support to CLF. Much more is needed as they minister to shattered lives and families.

India: Violent persecution of Christians by Hindu extremists is increasing in the world’s fastest growing nation. Christian Bibles are being burned, and conversions to Hinduism are being forced in Orissa Province. Pastors and missionaries are attacked in Gujarat State. Cher and I are on the advisory council of the India Gospel Mission, through which Compassion Radio has provided Bibles for India. Our “Morning Glory” devotional is distributed in 3 Indian languages through 1,000 churches in India.

Philippines: Compassion Radio’s broadcast is targeted to the Southern Islands in Davao, the country’s second largest city; and, to Zamboanga, the center of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim insurgency, funded by Osama Bin Laden. Compassion Radio has ministered here twice, and our “Adventurers” ministered in Manila in 1998.

Indonesia: This is the home of the largest Muslim population in the world. Compassion Radio has provided Bibles for persecuted Christians here, and met with persecuted church leaders in the cities of Jakarta and Solo.

North Korea: This hard line communist nation remains the world’s “most closed country”. We have been in North Korea twice, hand carrying relief supplies, and have traveled its entire length from South to North. Compassion Radio has funded the shipping of $3,000,000 of medical supplies, Bibles, and food for underground Christians; and supported Christian Refugee Centers on the Chinese border.

China: We have been in China 13 times, carrying Bibles on each trip. Compassion Radio has supplied more than a quarter of a million Bibles to the fast-growing house church movement, including Bibles for children. Compassion Radio “China Adventure” travelers have personally carried 3,000 Bibles to Beijing.

Kosovo: I was a part of a 3-man assessment team for International Aid at the beginning of the Kosovo War. Cher and I returned, just as the war was ending, to record the devastation. Compassion Radio provided funds for Bibles, health kits and other aid items given to refugees who fled the ethnic cleansing.

Iraq: I traveled the length of the country in 1999 with a Christian fact-finding team. Compassion Radio has provided for distribution of Arabic language Bibles to Christian pastors and churches in 18 cities and towns through an Arab Christian partnering ministry.

Egypt: Compassion Radio supports the Good Samaritan ministry that maintains an orphanage, day care center, and Christian conference center in Cairo, Egypt – the largest Muslim city in the Arab world. Cher and I are on the American Board of Directors for the Evangelical Good Samaritan Society.

South Africa: Compassion Radio made possible the purchase of the home for the “Door of Hope” ministry that rescues and cares for abandoned infants in Johannesburg, South Africa, and continues to support this ministry.

My friend, the preceding sampling does not detail projects we have had in Ghana, Sudan, Albania, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Thailand. Nor does it include our satellite broadcasting outreach from Jerusalem that reaches the Muslim world from Iran to Libya in North Africa.

What you need to know is that Compassion Radio, which has accomplished this wide-ranging activist outreach with a staff of only 5 full-time employees, can continue its ministry into 2002 ONLY if you help us now with your most generous year-end offering. We need everyone’s best gift now. Please help us meet this challenge!

 Our year-end Bibles-for-China campaign is shifting into high gear in December. And our goal is to place 20,000 copies of God’s Word in the hands of house church Christians who need them, want them, and will use them in the unprecedented revival that is going on in China.

When I say “use them”, I mean it! As we have told you, research has shown that, for every Bible given to a Christian in China, at least 5 converts are won to faith in Christ. That means Bibles for China is a great investment!

Just imagine . . . if you were to give 25 Bibles (a $100 contribution) to “Operation God’s Word”, the expected ‘return’  on that gift would be 125 new believers in Jesus Christ in China! That sounds too good to be true, when judged by our evangelistic experience. But, in China, where the Spirit of God is moving so powerfully, it is a fully realizable expectation.

There are essentially two reasons why your gift of Bibles is needed so much at this moment. First, only one out of every 2,000 Christians in China has a Bible. As a result, scraps of paper with hand-written Bible passages get passed around. Or, a few pages from a Bible are shared between believers.

The problem with these scraps of Scripture is that they are read out of context, and are confusing to the reader. Heresies get started when the context is missing. Chinese Christians need – and they crave – the entire Bible. Satan can weaken the church when God’s Scriptural truth is not available.

Second, the persecution of Christians in China is especially intense right now. Chinese believers need the encouragement of God’s Word to be strong against this fiery trial.

The Ministry of Public Security in China has published a “confidential circular” on the supposed threat that religious cults are to the stability of the nation. This circular is clearly aimed at the Falun Gong cult. But, it is being used to brand the Christian house church movement as cultic, and thereby, to subject it to government suppression.

With this ‘legal tool’ in hand, the Chinese police are attacking and arresting Chinese believers, confiscating their personal property, and destroying buildings where Christians meet to worship, pray and study.

The severity of this present persecution is putting great pressure on Chinese Christians. Your provision of Bibles will give them strength to meet this test.

Here’s a reminder of how you can participate in “Operation God’s Word” . . .

For every $4.00 you contribute to Compassion Radio for this project, 1 Bible will be delivered to a Chinese Christian. So. . . .

and so on . . .

Our goal is to contribute at least 20,000 Bibles through this campaign. And, still, a dollar-for-dollar matching grant will double the contribution you make.

What an opportunity this is!

My friend, I believe you want to change this troubled world by the power of the Gospel. Compassion Radio/Compassion Radio can help you do that. Will you help sustain the ministry of Compassion Radio?

May the Joy of Christ be yours this Christmas.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Norm Nelson

P.S. As our gift to you this Christmas season, we would like to send to all of you who contribute to the ministry of Compassion Radio, a beautiful wooden cross, lovingly handmade especially for us by underground Christians in Mainland China. You may choose to keep this for yourself as a prayer reminder – or perhaps you would choose to dedicate your gift to someone for Christmas, in which case you could use the cross as a token gift to let them know you have given in their name.