November 15thA Vision for a Church
Deep in the mountains of East Asia, villagers, faithful to Buddha, live quietly. Few people ever come to their region. It’s too far and too remote. Our team is established in a city at the foot of the mountain. They have met a few isolated believers who have been praying for many years. There is no church.
As the team prayed, God led them, through a local evangelist, to reach out to the people with a 2-week, intensive English learning course. They invite the young Buddhists to come to the city. The children are eager to learn English, even though their parents are hesitant. For two full weeks our team shared the stories of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, engaging with the class on multiple levels.
Our Lord has blessed these efforts. Several young adults have chosen to follow the way of Christ! Praise God!
Justin* is one of these new believers.
A year ago, while attending an English camp, he responded to the Gospel message. He returned home where his father beat him, attempting to keep his son from interacting with anyone who encouraged his new faith. Discouraged, but hungry to learn more about Jesus, Justin came back to English camp six months later.
Please pray for Justin, and the others who have come to faith. Theirs is not an easy road. Family and friends are frightened of this new faith. They have never heard of Jesus Christ. Too often new Christ followers are estranged from their family. They suffer physical abuse and become isolated from their community.
The spiritual resistance to their faith can be daunting.
Doors to regions of East Asia are just starting to open. The English camps provide an excellent environment to begin discipling new Christ followers, so that a strong foundation of belief and faith can be laid. This, we hope, will lead to those disciples bringing the Gospel to their own community.
One day, our team gathered with new believers in prayer. As they served communion, the missionary got the profound sense that these new Christ-followers could become the leaders to the future church amongst these people. We are on the cusp of a new movement of faith in the remote mountains. The people are a unique ethnic group. They are a minority and face discrimination in their daily lives. There is no church, no Christian influence.
The work is difficult. Each step bathed in prayer and study. Pray with us that our Lord God may be praised amongst the people of East Asia. Your partnership, in prayer and in financial support, makes it possible for those called to go and preach the Gospel. Our God Reigns!
*We have used a pseudonym to protect personal identity