Saturday, May 7, 2005

VETERAN JOURNALIST APPEALS FOR CHURCHES TO 'OPEN UP THEIR CONGREGATIONS TO NEWS ABOUT THE PERSECUTED CHURCH'

For Immediate Release

Contact: Dan Wooding at (949) 472-0974

GARDEN GROVE, CA (ANS) -- Veteran journalist Dan Wooding has issued an appeal to pastors of churches around the world to “open up their congregations to news updates about the persecuted church.”

Wooding, 64, founder of the ASSIST News Service (ANS), based in Garden Grove, California, has suggested that pastors appoint a correspondent from their church to bring regular live updates about the persecuted church at their Saturday or Sunday services.

“I believe it is vital that Christians become aware of what is happening to their brothers and sisters around the world so that they can pray for them and also get involved in helping them in a practical way,” said Wooding, who before he moved to the United States in 1982 with his wife Norma, and two sons, Andrew and Peter, worked in London, England, as a senior reporter for The Christian, The Middlesex County Times as well as two Fleet Street national newspapers – The Sunday People and the Sunday Mirror. He was also a regular reporter for BBC’s Radio One. (Pictured: Dan Wooding bringing a radio report from China).

Wooding already gives regular live updates about the persecuted church at two Southern California churches. He calls them “Window on the World”, which is also the name of a weekly radio program he co-presents with Bruce Sonnenberg, pastor of the Village Church of Irvine, California. This five-minute program is carried on more than 420 US stations and a further 50 around the world.

On Saturday, May 7, Wooding gave live news about Cuba and North Korea at his home church – Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa -- before Brian Brodersen’s Bible study there. The whole service was carried live on KWVE 107.9 across Southern California and also on the Internet.

He also gave updates at the two morning services at Ocean Hills Community Church, San Juan Capistrano, California, before Pastor Skip Heitzig preached.

“If pastors would appoint someone from their church to bring these updates, I believe the congregations would then become informed about the fact that we are part of a worldwide body of believers, and that many of those Christians are paying a huge price for their faith. They need to know that we are standing with them in these troubled times. The reports could be between five and ten minutes in length.”

Wooding, himself a pastor’s son, says that there are about 200 million Christians in more than 60 countries that face persecution on a daily basis.

He added, “The church correspondents who could bring these reports to each congregation can get their information from ANS – www.assistnews.net – which we provide to thousands of media outlets and Christians who wish to keep up to date with the news from around the world.”

Wooding explained that all they have to do is to log onto the ANS website and then click on the red button which says, “Subscribe to ASSIST News.”

He also said that there are also many other excellent sources that can provide news on this topic.

Wooding concluded by saying, “I hope that many churches will heed my appeal and, by so doing, help equip their congregations with this vital information that our correspondents provide from some of the hot spots of the world.”

For more information, please contact Dan Wooding at his e-mail address which is danjuma1@aol.com.