We're excited to share with you that 25 people in Asia recently gave their lives to Christ. And, while this alone is enough to share and celebrate, there is so much more to this story that makes this one of the most powerful stories I’ve had the privilege of sharing with you thus far. Let me explain.
These 25 were led to Christ by Abbaad (SRC missionary), and they just so happen to be his extended family. Considering their religious background, it was a challenge sharing the Gospel with them but it wasn’t just a logistical challenge.
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Let me share about the type of people we seek to serve.
Not long ago, Isaac* was strolling down the road where he noticed a man screaming, talking to himself, and laughing. Everyone who walked by him avoided him like he had the plague. But for Isaac, he invited him to have tea. This time last week, I was sipping on a cup of lemonade with mint while sitting awkwardly on the floor as I met with a refugee family. I learned about their successful business and their family farm back in their home country, which they lost entirely due to a civil war. Today, they are outcasts and displaced in a foreign country, and this isn’t by choice.
It was 130am when Amos* hopped into his Uber to head home. As is typical, Amos struck up a conversation with the driver, who just so happened to be Muslim. Amos learned about his financial struggles due to the pandemic, how it’s affecting his business and family, and how frustrated he felt.
Amos shared about his similar experience but also how Christ redeemed him from his sin. Amos prayed for the driver then eventually led him to Christ! The driver responded afterwards, “I feel free and peaceful now!”. Aasim left Hinduism years ago when he turned to Christ. He’s been involved in a number of local ministries and churches. For the past several years, he’s been serving with Silk Road Catalyst.
A few years ago, he recorded his testimony which included his story about leaving Hinduism, what he dealt with as a result of leaving it, and then he shares the Gospel message. Today, this video has been viewed over a million times with 700,000 of those views happening over the past three months. That’s potentially 700k people across South Asia hearing the Gospel message, many for the very first time. I live in a county with 300,000 people and 600 protestant churches, mostly evangelical. That’s 1 church for every 500 residents. New churches are planted every year, and of course, some are closing their doors. Regardless of how one spins it, my county is not short on churches.
Let’s compare my county with Abbaad’s community. I’m not talking about Abbaad’s county or city, but merely a community within a mega city. He serves in a community with about the same number of people as my county but without one known church. In fact, I’m not even aware of one other believer serving his community full-time. A Hindu family arrived from the State of Punjab to visit family. A lady in a newly formed house church heard about them and decided to make a visit. After arriving, she invited them to her home to meet Amos* and take part in her house church.
It’s now Sunday morning and Amos is teaching God’s word at this house church. He meets this Hindu family, shares the Gospel, and soon after, the wife of the visiting couple gives her life to Christ. As they progressed in their conversation, this lady asked Amos how he dealt with leaving Hinduism to follow Jesus. Isaac* recently gathered a few believers together to train them. They learned how to share the Gospel and make disciples. Afterwards, they went out and identified five new villages who need Gospel access and began engaging.
This is genuinely how simple it is. Isaac has a passion to deliver the Gospel to those who lack access to it. He is serving in a province where it is illegal to share one’s faith with Hindus. Hindus may not acknowledge this fact but the anti-conversion laws in place are so vague that one could interpret any salvation as a forced conversion. Amos* recently walked through an inner-city village in South Asia searching for opportunities to share the Gospel. Instead, he met a Christian lady who invited him to her home for prayer on Sunday.
Sunday arrives but instead of simply having a prayer meeting, the lady invited 6 Hindu neighbors to join them. They prayed, sang, and Amos shared the Gospel. It’s just after Christmas and Isaac* invited 12 pastors in South Asia to his home to learn how three little circles can change lives. These three circles are known as “Three-Circles”. It’s a simple life-changing evangelistic tool to share the Gospel.
Each pastor, Issac included, live in villages where Gospel access is minimal. They lead churches where anti-conversion laws are breathing down their neck. In fact, Issac informed me that there are radicals near his village itching to cause problems for Christians. Yet, they are not deterred. They want their people to know Jesus. |
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