On the tenth anniversary of Charles Colson’s release from prison, the former aide to President Richard Nixon broke ground for a 37,000-square-foot headquarters for his burgeoning Prison Fellowship Ministries. The new offices will join a historic manor house, renovated by Prison Fellowship, on more than five acres in Reston, Virginia.
The renovated mansion was named for the late Arthur S. DeMoss, a Christian businessman and philanthropist who ministered to prisoners. Prison Fellowship spent $200,000 to restore the home, scarred by vandalism and five years of abandonment. The organization purchased the property for $1,050,000. Adding new buildings will bring the total to $5 million, of which $3.5 million has been raised.
The DeMoss house already is being used for training sessions that Prison Fellowship offers to inmates. Two-week seminars are held five or six times each year for inmates who want to learn how to share their faith behind bars. In addition, the property will accommodate visitors and volunteers from among the 30,000 who are active in Prison Fellowship’s work in the United States.
Colson founded the organization in 1976 after serving a seven-month prison term for his part in crimes that drove Nixon from office two years earlier. Prison Fellowship offers Bible studies and training both inside and outside of prison, assists families of inmates, and helps prisoners who are released make the difficult transition back into society. Prison Fellowship International is an affiliated network active in 48 nations outside the United States.
Upon completion of the mansion renovation project Colson said, “Now our dream for an international home for this ministry is being realized. This facility is the first of its kind ever devoted to worldwide ministry to prisoners. To millions of people in the despair of prison, it says there is hope; to an increasingly indifferent society, it says God’s people care; and to a church sometimes all too comfortable in a materialistic culture, it echoes Jesus’ words about caring for the least of these.”
Prison Fellowship’s relocation to Reston caused little stir in the community because of assurances that no inmates would be housed at the DeMoss mansion. The organization’s president, Gordon Loux, noted that, so far, 500 nondangerous prison inmates have been furloughed for Prison Fellowship training with no breach of conduct or danger to local communities.
WORLD SCENE
Lutherans worldwide decreased by 200,000 members in 1984, according to Lutheran World Information. East Germany, with the fourth-largest number of Lutherans (6 million), had the largest decrease, a 6 percent drop. Lutherans in Denmark gained 350,000 new members, and Lutherans in Africa gained 120,000. West Germany has the most Lutherans with 20.5 million, followed by the U.S. with 8.5 million.
The Catholic archbishop of San Antonio has accused non-Catholic missionaries of pressuring Latin American Catholics into joining other churches. Patrick Flores said Latin American bishops enjoy good relations with mainline Protestant denominations. But he faulted fundamentalist Protestant groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons for their aggressive evangelistic approach. “It is not necessary to attack the beliefs of others,” Flores said.
Hindu extremists assaulted three Christian volunteers, destroyed property, and burned Bibles and Christian literature at the headquarters of a Christian organization in Bombay, India. The extremists targeted the Gospel Prayer and Charity Centre, saying they opposed “the mass conversion” of Hindus to Christianity. They threatened to take similar action against the organization’s branch locations if it continues its evangelistic efforts.
The 12 Lutheran congregations in Venezuela will unite this year to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela. The congregations, which claim some 4,000 members, plan to reach out to unaffiliated Lutherans. A church official estimates that 22,000 German and German-lineage Lutherans live in the capital city of Caracas.
The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has condemned the practice of surrogate parenthood. Carlo Caffarra, a commentator close to Pope John Paul II, called the practice immoral and irreligious. He said conception and birth are holy acts and not mere technical feats.
Gordon Macdonald Becomes New Inter-Varsity President
Culminating a four-year search, the board of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship has named Gordon MacDonald president of the 40-year-old organization. MacDonald, 45, assumed his new duties last month, taking the reins from outgoing president James McLeish.
A graduate of the University of Colorado and of Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, MacDonald served as senior pastor of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, for 12 years. For 9 of those years he was an adjunct professor of pastoral ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Last October, MacDonald resigned his pastorate and accepted the position of minister at large for World Vision U.S. MacDonald has resigned that position, but he will continue to serve as chairman of the board of the California-based relief organization.
MacDonald praised Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship for its emphases on evangelism and discipleship. He said he would devote a major portion of his time to teaching. The organization has chapters on some 900 college campuses across the country.
McLeish, 63, became president in 1981 following the 17-year tenure of John W. Alexander. Though McLeish did not have the title of interim president, Inter-Varsity’s search for a president continued throughout his tenure.
Last year, McLeish found himself enmeshed in a controversy over the book Brave New People, published by Inter-Varsity Press. He halted publication of the book after prolifers voiced disapproval of author D. Gareth Jones’s views regarding abortion. Inter-Varsity spokesman Neal Kunde said McLeish received more praise than criticism for his decision to discontinue the book. Kunde added that McLeish’s handling of the matter had no bearing on the selection of a new president.
