[ag-news] AG NEWS #2329: June 25, 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------- AG-NEWS: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Please send story leads to [email protected] for consideration ---------------------------------------------------------------- **Deacon Gives Life Protecting Church Members From Attacker Edgar Hernández Sosa, 62, a deacon of the AG church, The Divine Redeemer, Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico, was killed Sunday when he attempted to protect other church members from a knife-wielding attacker. Sosa was stabbed to death, with two others injured, before church members could subdue the man. Prayer for victims, their families, and the church urged. **AG Church Goes Up in Flames, Community Responds to Reaction New Life Assembly of God, Mesa, Arizona, sees new section of church destroyed by fire Thursday, June 19, but no injuries incurred. More than 100 firefighters called to battle the blaze. Church insured, but coverage may fall short in replacing contents. Pastor David Land says hardship has given community opportunity to see the church respond in a crisis, as media coverage of fire was heavy. See article for links to news video of fire. **AG Sites Recognized as Top Church Planting Resources Assemblies of God Church Multiplication Network (CMN) website recently listed No. 1 in Online Seminary Schools 100 Excellent Organizations and Websites for Church Planting review of church planting websites. AG Missionary Church Planting and Minnesota AG: Church Planters also made list. See article for links to sites. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- **DEACON GIVES LIFE PROTECTING CHURCH MEMBERS FROM ATTACKER A drug addict, wielding a knife, stormed into an Assemblies of God church in Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico, on Sunday, killing one and wounding two others. Claiming he was the enlightened one and the parishioners were all possessed, Quadratin Agency news reported the 28-year-old man began stabbing people. Edgar Hernández Sosa, 62, a deacon of the AG church, templo Cristiano El Divino Redentor, reportedly attempted to stop the assailant, but was stabbed in the head and chest, resulting in his death. Two others were taken to the hospital with knife wounds, including Sosas wife, Margarita. The attacker was finally subdued when an unnamed parishioner struck the attacker with a chair. Other church members then quickly secured the man, with the injured taken to local hospitals. Assemblies of God World Missions Area Director for Mexico, Paul Kazim, confirmed the story and the sacrifice Sosa made. David Ellis, AG World Missions regional director for Latin American and the Caribbean, expressed his sorrow and prayer for the family and church. Our hearts are grieved for the family of Edgar, who gave his life to protect others, Ellis says. We pray that The Divine Redeemer AG church in Poza Rica will be enabled to demonstrate the love of Christ and share His message in the community in the wake of this tragedy. AG World Missions Executive Director Greg Mundis, states, In the past few years, we have been compelled to accelerate our prayers for the suffering church around the world. They are spiritual family, and when they suffer, we do too. Edgar Sosas family is suffering now, as are all the other brothers and sisters of the congregation. May God help us have great compassion for them and be faithful and fervent in prayer on their behalf. To read the full news report (available only in Spanish), see s2.ag.org/deacon. --Dan Van Veen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- **AG CHURCH GOES UP IN FLAMES, COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO REACTION New Life Assembly of God Pastor David Land had just arrived at his church in Mesa, Arizona, Thursday morning, June 19, when he noticed smoke coming from a vent. Quickly evacuating the church with his wife, granddaughter, and the custodian, the four made it safely to the parking lot and called 911, as smoke began seeping through the rooftop. The second-alarm fire drew more than 100 firefighters from stations in Mesa, Gilbert and Tempe and received heavy media coverage, including a local news helicopter team, which provided spectacular views of the estimated 20-foot flames shooting up from the church roof. Pastor Land, whos led New Life AG for the past 14 years, expressed his relief that no one, including firefighters, was injured in the fire, but the loss was significant. Land says that the recently completed administration wing of the church was a total loss. The roof caved in and the two A/C units [previously on the roof] are now inside, Land says. The sanctuary has extensive water and smoke damage along with some fire and structural damage. The rest of the building is okay on the outside, but the inside of the entire building is a total loss. Land says the cause of the fire has not yet been determined and the insurance adjustor is still evaluating the loss, though he has expressed concern that the churchs content coverage wont be adequate to cover all the contents lost in the blaze. In addition, the entire building has now been completely sealed off, so no part of the building can be used by the church. However, Land is deeply appreciative for Church On The Journey (AG) in Mesa (Pastor Darren Nibbelink), which has opened its gym for Land and New Life AGs 90-member congregation to use as a temporary home. Land is also thankful for an answer to prayer, as it now appears the information on the churchs computer hard drives will be able to be recovered. With Gods help, were going to be better in the end, Land says. Land also recognizes the silver lining, that the fire has created for the church — giving the community the opportunity to see the church respond in crisis. Local media has provided extensive coverage of the fire and, in turn, given exposure to the church, with two news crews even attending the Sunday morning service at the gym. The interviews have given me the opportunity to glorify Jesus, Lands states. There have been many comments from people, who have watched the news, on how much they appreciated the attitude and the focus on God’s glory. I have also been overwhelmed at the support from people all over the country who I don’t even know, but they have reached out with their prayers and love, as well as many who have asked how they can help and contribute. At this point, Land and New Life AG have to patiently wait for others to finish their work before they can begin to rebuild what was lost. Land says he will post updates on New Lifes progress on his Facebook page (s2.ag.org/dlandsfb). Thank you to all who have shared your thoughts and prayers with us, Land said in one of his recent Facebook posts. Your friendship now is more precious than my words can tell. I wish I could give each and everyone a big hug. When we get to Heaven, plan on it. To see news videos covering the fire, see s2.ag.org/nlagfire1 and s2.ag.org/nlagfire2. --Dan Van Veen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- **AG SITES RECOGNIZED AS TOP CHURCH PLANTING RESOURCES The national Assemblies of God Church Multiplication Network (CMN) website was recently listed No. 1 in Online Seminary Schools 100 Excellent Organizations and Websites for Church Planting review of church planting websites. Online Seminary Schools, which provides resources for those interested in pursuing ministry degrees and helps for those already involved in ministry, also named two other AG church planting sites in its lists: No. 17 — AG Missionary Church Planting and No. 25 — Minnesota AG: Church Planters. The Online Seminary Schools site states, Church planting is difficult work that takes a great deal of time and energy, but for leaders who are committed to it, there are many groups that provide support and resources to help along the way. They describe CMNs website as a comprehensive support system that allows those trying to start a new congregation to find success. A few of the CMN sites outstanding features include the options of personal assessment as a church planter candidate, church planting coaches to connect with, training events, residency training opportunities, a matching funds program worth up to $30,000, an FAQ section, a weekly online webinar, and a host of events and resources. The Assemblies of God has always been a church planting movement, its a part of our DNA, says Chris Railey, senior director of AG Leadership/Church Development. The Church Multiplication Network was created to make sure that we remain committed to planting new churches as we move into the future. In fact, nearly 20 percent of all AG churches in the United States are less than five years old, due in large part to the efforts of CMN. For more information about CMN, see its website at churchmultiplication.net. For information about AG Missionary Church Planting, see plantersanddevelopers.ag.org, and for the Minnesota AG: Church Planters (which is connected with CMN), see mnchurchplanting. --Dan Van Veen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For a regularly updated list of upcoming significant Assemblies of God days and events--many linked to informational, registration or ordering pages--see the following address: . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AG-NEWS: The AG News & Information Service, (c) 2014 A service of the Assemblies of Gods Office of Public Relations. This mailing list was created to inform the media and public of current events within the Fellowship and continuing developments among its many ministries. If you have a news lead, contact us at [email protected] Office of Public Relations General Council of the Assemblies of God 1445 N. 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Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 04:35:53 +0000
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