Answers to Prayer

1 Praise God for the thrilling growth of the Protestant churches since 1936

2 Growth of Protestants continued in the 1990s with numbers almost doubling to 11 million and to nearly 18% of the population

3 The unity between believers forged in the severe Marxist persecution has continued and dynamic plans for outreach, pioneer evangelism and mission endeavour for the period 2000-2020 are being implemented

4 Increased distribution and use of the Bible for reading and preaching has brought revival to sections of the Orthodox Church

Challenges for Prayer

1 Ethiopia's political leaders confront crises on many fronts:

a) Hostilities with Eritrea have crippled efforts to revive and modernize the country

b) Ethnic fragmentation remains a real possibility

c) Pray for wisdom, humility, courage and a seeking after God among those in leadership

2 The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is going through immense change

a) It has had to adjust to the loss of political privilege under Communism, which has only been partially restored since 1990

b) The rapid spread of the use of Scriptures and growth of Protestant denominations has led to both millions of defections and the emergence of strong evangelical and charismatic networks in the Orthodox Church

3 Massive growth in Protestant and Independent churches has created a great expectation for further harvest

a) Continued revival and growth not to be quenched by carnality, division and power-seeking in leadership

b) Effective means for generating income to support men and women in the service of the Lord,

c) Preservation of the cooperation and unity among leaders

d) The continued growth of missions vision

Geography

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Area 1,106,000 sq.km. Fertile mountain plateau surrounded by the drought-prone lowlands and deserts of the Red Sea coast, and borders on Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.

Population (2000) 62,564,875 +2.48%AGR

Capital Addis Ababa 2,650,000.

Peoples

Semitic Origin 45%; Cushitic 42.2%; Omotic 11.3%; Nilo-Sudanic 1.2%.

Literacy 36%. National working language Amharic; 65% of population are able to speak it. Regional languages are important. All languages 86. Languages with Scriptures 6Bi 12NT 4por 20w.i.p. (6-OT, 14NT).

Economy

The main export is coffee – believed to have originated in Ethiopia. Unemployment over 35%. HDI 0.298; 172^nd/174. Public debt 157% of GNP. Income/person $100 (0.4% of USA).

Politics

Probably one of the oldest nations known with a long written history.

Religion

North Ethiopia was one of the first Christian nations – from the 4^th Century.

Churches in Ethiopia

Missionaries from Ethiopia

482+ in 11 agencies to 7 countries

Missionaries to Ethiopia

669 in 60 agencies from 23 countries

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Internet Links