JNI 581 - This month it's 10 years since Joel News started as an inspirational newsletter, a 'window to the world' for local Christians in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Interest in the e-zine spread quickly and applications came in from across the nation, not stopping at the borders. Over the past ten years Joel News has developed into a global news service on the advance of God's Kingdom. "Our mission has not changed," says founder and publisher Marc van der Woude. "We publish encouraging news and trends on what God is doing worldwide, to help Christians stay in the flow of His reality and mission."
 
"Ten years seems a short period, but on the internet we're one of the oldies," says Van der Woude. "When we started, only 5 percent of the Dutch population had internet access. You had to dial in to your provider with a slow 64k phone connection. Today over 80 percent of the Dutch have internet access, and 50 percent enjoy a fast broadband connection. With the internet our scope of reporting and the ability to stay in the loop of developments on the frontline has increased dramatically. We've built up an extensive network of sources and contacts, which keep us abreast of what's happening. Our weekly e-zine is being read in over a hundred nations."

Joel News serves a niche (specialism) in the news market by focusing on reports about the global prayer movement, major advances on the mission field, global trends, strategic cooperation among Christians, revivals, community transformation, church planting and remarkable miracles. In the last international edition five (former) Muslims relate how they met Jesus in a dream or vision, and how this transformed their lives.

"The reports have to be substantial," says Van der Woude. "They need to be about God's acts in our time. A large section of what we receive as 'Christian news' is about church-political issues, opinions, and a whole range of activities and initiatives. In the midst of this I always ask the question: where is God moving in such a way that people outside the Church take notice and are being impacted at an existential level? That's news that matters and still rarely makes it into Christian papers and magazines. The book of Acts didn't stop at Chapter 28. God's Kingdom is still progressing in many places in the world, also in Europe. Joel News will continue to serve active Christians with this kind of news."

Other reports in this edition: Prayer army of 8,000 children changes Chennai, Churches in Mauritius unite in missions.

THERE IS MORE!
This was a free excerpt. To receive the full reports in your mailbox, we invite you to subscribe to our weekly e-zine. Thousands of Christians all over the world read Joel News for inspiration and to stay well-informed on the global advance of God's Kingdom.