May 21 2001

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Arab World Ministries and HCJB World Radio have started the first 24-hour Christian radio programming by satellite for the Arabic-speaking world. Radio Al Mahabba (Radio Love) began on March 21 and looks to reach Muslims and Christians in North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

The International Bible Society has completed a contemporary version of the Bible in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. The country has seen strong church growth in the decade since a communist dictatorship was overthrown. An estimated 8 million of the country's 65 million people are evangelical Christians. About 1,000 church leaders and other dignitaries attended the March 10 formal ceremony introducing the New Amharic Standard Version. The entire Bible was first translated into Amharic in 1961. Two-thirds of the country can speak Amharic.

Keeping its promise, the AD2000 and Beyond Movement closed its Colorado Springs office on March 31. The network, founded as the AD2000 Movement during preparations for the Lausanne II missions conference in Manila in 1989, spearheaded efforts to complete the Great Commission by the year 2000. Luis Bush of Argentina was the international director. Among the emphases of the movement, which operated in more than 100 countries, were global prayer initiatives, the Joshua Project database of unevangelized peoples, and the "10/40 Window" project, a focus on the least-evangelized region of the world. AD2000 also sponsored two global consultations—in Seoul in 1995 and in Pretoria in 1997. Some networks and task forces of the movement will continue operating.