West Michigan passes 30,000 in Easter weekend attendance!

Easter 2008 - Worship Attendance totals 30,027!
161 Albion - Caring Community Church - Steve Shafe
116 Allegan - Allegan Wesleyan Church - Marc Kelley
475 Allendale - Allendale Wesleyan Church - Jim Maness
3556 Battle Creek - First Wesleyan Church - Philip Griffin
133 Battle Creek - Garrison Hills Wesleyan Church - Rick Weesner
126 Belding - Encounter Community Church - Jim Bowen
106 Benton Harbor - Overflow Community Church - Brian Bennett
321 Burnips - Burnips Wesleyan Church - Steve Jones
308 Byron Center - Compass Church - Chad McCallum
141 Caledonia - The Journey Church - Jon Allen
58 Clarksville - Gateway Community Church - Richard Wollan
100 Coldwater - Coldwater Wesleyan Church - Jeff Gilbert
217 Eaton Rapids - Eaton Rapids Wesleyan Church - Frank Klassen
474 Grand Haven - Watermark Church - Steve Deur
286 Grand Rapids - Berkley Hills Wesleyan Church - Kyle Brown
109 Grand Rapids - City Life Church: A Wesleyan Commun - Christy
975 Grand Rapids - Frontline Community Church - Brian Blum
75 Grand Rapids - Greenhouse Ministries - Jason Grate
121 Grand Rapids - Tallmadge Wesleyan Church - Kurt Stevens
107 Grandville - The Voyage Church - Jeff Bouma
150 Hamilton - Diamond Springs Wesleyan Church - Mark Inman
69 Hastings - Grace Wesleyan Church - Al Yates
157 Hickory Corners - Hickory Corners Wesleyan Church - Len Davis
4216 Holland - Central Wesleyan Church - Paul Hontz
244 Holland - La Roca - Jose Pacheco
250 Holland - engedi church - Brian Aulick
59 Hudson - Hudson Wesleyan Church - Wes Rowan
228 Hudsonville - Bauer Community Fellowship - Robert Whinnen
2503 Hudsonville - Daybreak Community Church - Wes Dupin
80 Jackson - Cascades Wesleyan Church - Clive Heyd
84 Jackson - Central Wesleyan Church - Bart Hall
85 Jackson - Rivertree Community Church - Andy Merritt
779 Jackson - Trinity Wesleyan Church - Keith Hinton
388 Kalamazoo - Lighthouse Community Church - Danny Janes
309 Kalamazoo - Spring Valley Wesleyan Church - Ken Dykhoff
5207 Kentwood - Kentwood Community Church - Wayne Schmidt
100 Lake Odessa - West Berlin Wesleyan Church - Mark Lipscomb
557 Lansing - Faith Church - Brandon Bruce
130 Lansing - Willow Community Church - Bill Lawson
801 Lowell - Impact: a Wesleyan Church - Phil Struckmeyer
110 Marshall - Marshall Wesleyan Church - Dennis Croy
115 Middleville - Middleville Wesleyan Church - Mark Patchett
85 Norton Shores - The Deep - Rob Paterson
280 Owosso - Northgate Wesleyan Church - Cal Emerson
369 Owosso - Owosso Wesleyan Church - Wes Coffey
80 Parma - SpringLife Church - Keith Allison
101 Pittsford - Pittsford Wesleyan Church - Doug Plunkett
330 Plainwell - Friendship Wesleyan Church - Kevin Smith
390 Portland - epic: a community church - Ed Love
667 Rockford - Crossroads Wesleyan Church - Eldon Sanders
1748 Spring Lake - Spring Lake Wesleyan Church - Dennis Jackson
185 Sturgis - La Vina Centro de Adoracion - Reynaldo Moralez
379 Sturgis - Sturgis Wesleyan Church - Brian Poole
165 Three Rivers - Light & Life Wesleyan Church - Sam Maddox
122 Union City - Union City Wesleyan Church - Dan Wheeler
50 Waldron - Waldron Wesleyan Church - Thomas Brodbeck
226 Williamston - Rowley Wesleyan Church - Les Kephart
264 Williamston - West Locke Wesleyan Church - Mike Black

Baptist Pastor Released in Azerbaijan

There's good news coming out of Azerbaijan concerning imprisoned Baptist Pastor Zuer Balaev.

Slavic Gospel Association's Joel Griffith says, "He has indeed been released on an amnesty by the president of Azerbaijan. And it was in conjunction with a holiday. The government will traditionally do amnesty sometimes on holidays. So Zuer Balaev was one of several prisoners in Azerbaijan who was amnestied."

Azerbaijan is located in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range

After his release, Balaev made the six-hour journey back to his home village of Aliabad in Azerbaijan's remote northwest. "We won! It's a great joy to be free," he said to Forum 18.

"We're all waiting for him!" exclaimed one of his church members.

Ilya Zenchenko, head of the Baptist Union, welcomed the release. "We thank God and those who prayed and supported Zaur," he said. "But there is a lot more work still to be done to defend religious freedom in Azerbaijan."

Balaev's amnesty came under a March 18 decree from President Ilham Aliev, published on the presidential website, which pardoned 58 prisoners and reduced the sentence of one other. Reports indicate former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was among those who appealed for Balaev's release, writing to President Aliev on February 15.

Balaev was arrested in May 2007 and sentenced in August on charges of using violence against state representatives, an accusation church members denied. After his appeal failed in October, Balaev was transferred to a prison in the capital Baku.

While Christians are thanking God for Balaev's releases, that doesn't mean religious freedom is improving. Griffith says, "With any Baptist pastor, evangelical or non-Islamic religious group, they're probably going to be watched very closely. We know from officials over there that other pastors have been threatened with the same kind of treatment if they were to pursue their ministries or plant other congregations."

Griffith is hopeful, however. "Our hope is that the international outcry of the Balaev case will result somehow in the government loosening some of the strings."

Despite their joy at Balaev's release, Griffith says there are still some concerns. "He has indeed been amnestied, but his actual conviction remains in force." The country's Supreme Court has still not responded to Balaev's latest appeal. They're also considering whether or not to move forward with an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg over what they regard as an unjust sentence.

It has been difficult and next-to-impossible for evangelical groups to gain legal status from the government. Efforts to register or apply for legal status by Balaev's church and others have been thwarted by local officials. Censorship of religious materials is also common.

Continue to pray for believers in Azerbaijan. Pray that they'll be bold in their witness, strong in their faith and loving to those who persecute them.

The Thrill of Creative Effort

"Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) 32nd president of the United States

Make it new.

Make it better.

Make it bigger.

Make it last.