Answers to Prayer

1 Since independence in 1991, interest in spiritual things and the Christian faith in particular has increased greatly

Challenges for Prayer

1 Georgia's independence, gained with such hope has been soured by a series of inter-ethnic wars aided and abetted by Russian efforts to undermine and control the country

2 The Georgian Orthodox Church has a history stretching back to AD 150

3 The small Protestant Church struggled for survival under Communism

4 Baptists and Pentecostals form the major component of the evangelical witness

a) Poverty of the people

b)Disunity between the Baptists and Pentecostals

5 The spiritual need of ethnic minorities

a) Muslim Abkhazians and Ossetians who are a minority within their ethnic groups

b) Jews

c) The Chechens and Kish

d) Azerbaijanis who are Muslim

e) The Muslim Mingrel (500,000) and Laz (2,000)

6 Christian help ministries for prayer:

a) Literature distribution

b) The Georgian Bible in current use was translated 900 years ago

c) Christian radio programmes

d) The JESUS film has been completed in Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian, and is in production in Abkaz, Georgian Jewish, and Svan

Geography

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Area 69,700 sq.km. Black Sea state between the Caucasus Mountains and Turkey.

Population (2000) 4,967,561 -1.10%AGR

Capital T'bilisi 1,450,000.

Peoples

Indo-European 94.2.%; Turkic/Altaic 5.6%; Other 0.2%.

Literacy 98%. Official language Georgian. All indigenous languages 10. Languages with Scriptures 1Bi 1NT 1por 2w.i.p.

Economy

Productive soil and good climate for fruit, tea, cotton, wine, tourism; the supplier of 90% of the former USSR's tea and citrus fruit. HDI 0.729; 85^th/174. Public debt 25.1% of GNP. Income/person $860 (2.7% of USA).

Politics

Centuries of domination by surrounding empires.

Religion

Over the centuries the Georgian Orthodox Church was the one stable factor preserving Georgian culture and nationalism.

Churches in Georgia

Missionaries from Georgia

11 in 2 agencies; Central Asia 10.

Missionaries to Georgia

estimated 24 in 6 agencies.

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