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Prayer
& Praise Update
ANNUAL
REPORT 2003
"Declare
His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to
be feared above all …" Psalm 96:3-4
21
YEARS OF GOD'S PROVISION, GUIDANCE, PROTECTION AND BLESSING
We
praise God for his provision, guidance, protection and blessings
throughout 2003. This year we celebrated Frontline Fellowship's
21st Anniversary at a special Missions Rally in the Pinelands
Town Hall (14 March). The Chairman of the Board of Frontline
Fellowship, Rev. Bill Bathman, and Frontline Fellowship
Honorary Member, Rev. Fritz Haus, were our special guest
speakers.
NEW
FIELDS
2003
was a year of tremendous growth in Frontline Fellowship.
I had the joy of conducting our first mission trip to Nigeria,
conducting Muslim Evangelism Workshops and a Reformation
Conference there. I also conducted my first speaking tours
to Australia and Canada.
We
also greatly intensified our ministry to Zimbabwe, conducting
seven mission trips to that troubled land. We re-launched
our Box with Love project with special emphasis on smuggling
food to starving Christians in Zimbabwe. There was tremendous
enthusiasm and support for this timely project. Most FF
field trips were concentrated on Zambia and Sudan, however
outreaches were also conducted to Mozambique and Malawi,
and Tim presented a Biblical Worldview Seminar for church
leaders in Kenya.
SPEAKING
TOURS AND SEMINARS
I
conducted 9 ministry trips to 6 countries across 18 time
zones in 2003. I conducted 450 meetings, including speaking
at 30 conferences and seminars. Highlights included being
a speaker at the Ministers Conference at KwaSizabantu Mission,
conducting Reformation Seminars, a Muslim Evangelism Workshop
and God and Government Seminar in Zambia, the Lets Go Missions
Conference hosted by the NGK in Delmas, the Christians For
Truth Conference, a History Conference in California, the
first International Homo Fascism Conference in Milwaukee,
and a Reformation Conference in Australia.
Leadership
training events sponsored and hosted by Frontline Fellowship
included: The Summit Youth Leadership Training Course at
Simonstown, the Great Commission Course in Cape Town, and
the Reformation Conference. These events attracted participants
from Canada, the USA, Zambia, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe,
and from all over South Africa.
AFRICA
CHRISTIAN ACTION
In
addition, Africa Christian Action organised and hosted the
Week of Action, Sanctity Life Sunday, the National Day of
Repentance, National Woman's Day outreaches in shopping
malls, the trial and hanging of a rapist drama outside Parliament,
an outreach including APLA combatants on the occasion of
the 10th anniversary of the St James Massacre - at a major
shopping mall, the Life Chain, and the Christian Action
Conference which 18 organisations were represented at.
OUTREACHES
IN CAPE TOWN
Numerous
other outreaches and events were also organised from the
Frontline Fellowship headquarters in Cape Town: including
many film evangelism and literature outreaches in townships,
at railway stations, bus stations, taxi ranks, and a Victims
Against Crime dinner.
PUBLICATIONS
In
terms of publications, 2003 was also a landmark year. Our
new Biblical Principles for Africa book was launched at
a special lunch at Parliament in Cape Town. We have had
a tremendous response to the Biblical Principles for Africa,
with thousands being sold and very enthusiastic responses
flowing in from leaders throughout the continent. In just
the last four months it has soared to the top of our best
seller list. Many hundreds more are being strategically
distributed throughout Africa, being given to government
ministers, editors, businessmen and pastors as far afield
as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt,
etc.
We
were also able to produce a Teachers Training Manual, a
new expanded Biblical Worldview Manual, Muslim Evangelism
Workshop Manual and Reformation Conference Manual.
We
produced three Frontline Fellowship News editions including:
Zimbabwe and Zambia - a Tale of Two Countries - and Three
Religions; Resisting Sharia in Nigeria; and Working for
Reformation in Africa.
Scores
of e-mail updates were sent out. And the Frontline Fellowship
website has been greatly expanded and updated throughout
the year. We have also helped other ministries, including
Excellence Christian Academy, World Baptist Evangelistic
Association, Gospel Defence League, and the Sudan Support
Network develop their own websites.
Other
magazines produced from our offices include the Firearm
News magazine and the Christian Action magazine. These are
both quarterly magazines with very wide distributions. Both
CA and FN have greatly improved their websites this year
as well.
AUDIO
TAPE MINISTRY
Another
major project for 2003 has been producing audiotape sets
on our leadership training courses. Frontline Fellowship
now offers the Biblical Worldview Seminar tape set to accompany
the new Biblical Worldview Manual, as well as the Summit
Course, Great Commission Course, Muslim Evangelism Workshop,
Reformation Conference and more are in the pipeline.
RADIO
PROGRAMME
This
year also marked the eighth year of Africa Christian Action
running the weekly Salt & Light radio programme on Radio
Tygerberg. This makes Salt & Light the longest running
programme still broadcast by Radio Tygerberg. Charl, Tim,
Rob and I also spoke on many international, national and
local radio stations.
OVERSEAS
GUESTS
The
Frontline Fellowship headquarters in Cape Town has continued
to receive interesting guests from all over the world. This
year some of our more interesting guests included: Rev.
Piotr Zaremba - In Touch Mission International's Bible translator
and church planter from Poland; Rev. Kjell Olsen and his
family from KwaSizabantu Mission; some missionaries from
Khartoum; Steve Evers - the Director of In Touch Mission,
and numerous pastors and missionaries from Nigeria, Malawi,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Canada, and the USA.
PERSONNEL
Charl
van Wyk was promoted to Deputy Director of Frontline Fellowship
and Tim Keller was appointed Field Director. They were prayed
for and commissioned by Rev. Fritz Haus at the Great Commission
Camp.
Frontline
Administrator Denise Shepstone left us for Australia in
September in order to be married. Her position has still
to be filled. We also said farewell to Rev. David and Marion
Fraser after nearly four years with us. They have retired
and returned to Scotland. Rev. Fraser said, before moving,
that of his 26 years in missions, the last three years with
Frontline Fellowship in Zambia have been the best.
COVENANT
COLLEGE IN ZAMBIA
In
October David Fraser had the joy of seeing the first students
complete their three year Covenant Bible College programme.
Unfortunately, the Baptist Association in Eastern Zambia
(which had initially invited Frontline Fellowship to set
up the college at their disused mission base, now that Frontline
Fellowship has at great expense renovated, restored, repaired,
painted and improved the facilities - all the while charging
us rent) have now requested us to vacate the premises. So,
many volunteers have been trekking up to Eastern Zambia
to help build new facilities on the plot of land purchased
by the mission for our College. From this base volunteers
are providing a medical ministry to the provincial hospital
along with a hospital chaplaincy. The farm is enabling the
Bible College to be more self sufficient in terms of food
requirements for students and staff.
Jan
van Straaten, who used to be office manager of Frontline
Fellowship, now a missionary at Villiersdorp, has accepted
the call to replace Rev. Fraser as principal of Covenant
College next year.
TEXTBOOKS
FOR TEACHERS AND TEACHER TRAINING
Tim
also had the privilege of conducting a week long Teacher
Training Seminar in Sudan, and equipping 20 schools with
Christian school textbooks. Rob Mc Cafferty, the Communications
Director of United Christian Action completed a Teacher
Training Manual, and travelled up with Tim to train teachers
and equip community Christian Schools in Zambia. We have
helped establish a Christian School Association in Zambia
and are assisting them with textbooks and training.
LITERATURE
DISTRIBUTION
As
always our teams have distributed tonnes of Bibles, Gospel
booklets, Christian books and tracts, including 100 000
Gospel booklets from World Missionary Press to Zambia and
Zimbabwe, over 1000 Dinka New Testaments to Southern Sudan
and over 1000 Krongo New Testaments to the Nuba Mountains.
MEDIA
Rob
also completed the new Biblical Issues Voters Guide. 2004
is an election year for South Africa. Rob's UCA Open Letter
To The President challenged President Mbeki about his support
for Mugabe's tyranny in Zimbabwe. The Open Letter was published
across seven columns, main banner headline for the letters
section of the Weekend Argus newspaper.
By
God's Grace, we have had numerous letters to the editor
published throughout the year in the secular press, many
radio and TV interviews, including debates on secular, national
and prime time stations, as well as a good number of articles
published in various magazines.
RESOURCES
AND PROJECTS
You
will see from our new missions Resource List a presentation
of the books, tape sets and videos available from our mission,
and from the Project List some of the priorities we are
working on for next year.
WRITING
PROJECTS
I
also have several new writing projects in the pipeline including:
The Greatest Century of Reformation, a major revision and
expansion of Finding Freedom from the Pornography Plague,
a Christian History of Africa, and Frontline.
PRAYER
At
the FF headquarters we gather for hymn singing and prayer
every day and read the Psalms corporately at lunch. Wednesday
afternoons are Bible Study and prayer meetings and we have
had several extra-ordinary times of prayer and fasting as
well. You will see on our FF website under The Mission,
Prayer Needs, a series of Prayer Focus guidelines which
we have used in our extended times of intercession.
I
am most grateful for your prayers, encouragement, advice
and support. May the Lord continue to be your strength and
shield.
Yours for the fulfilment of the Great Commission.
Dr
Peter Hammond
Director
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