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In Asha’s Community, Girls Were Married as Young as 10, Reports Gospel for Asia

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You’re 10 years old, enjoying your happy-go-lucky days by running around with your friends and playing games. But in a few months, all that will end when you assume the mantle of being a wife to a man you only just met. What’s the point in going to school and learning anything besides how to take care of a home and a family if your fate has already been decided? It is estimated that one-third of girls in developing nations are married before the age of 18—and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15 . In Asha’s community, they were married as young as 10. “In their society, girls were not given consideration,” reported a Gospel for Asia-supported field correspondent. “They were believed to be a burden upon their parents. At the age of 10, they would get them married. Parents did not want them to study more, since they are going to be in someone else’s house after their marriage.” Asha, too, had no regard for her education. Why would she when it was common knowledge her life would end up...
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Jagat’s Burning Passions Turn From Drugs to Helping His Neighbors Reports Gospel for Asia

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Jagat isn’t a super hero. He isn’t a genius. In fact, he dropped out of school early. Yet he is a mighty man of God. Through him flows the Spirit of the Living God, and within him dwells the One who gives all wisdom and strength. But it wasn’t always this way. Jagat is a Gospel for Asia- supported national missionary . Because of Jagat’s willingness to be used by God, many people in South Asia have started intimate relationships with Jesus. But each one of their glory-filled stories exists because of Jagat’s own story of finding Jesus. Pastor Jagat and his family. Jagat’s life took a dramatic turn from drugs and irresponsibility to serving God as a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary. Form of Godliness Fades Away Jagat grew up in a Christian home, but he had many of the characteristics James 3 warns against. He held a form of godliness—he obediently followed his family to church services, Sunday school and other activities—but he did not know Jesus personally or live in His power. So...
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Film Teams Endure Hardships, Constant Travel, Persecution & Opposition to Share God’s Love Reports Gospel for Asia

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How many movies do you suppose you’ve watched in your lifetime? Even in the last year? Some clever punchlines or visuals of intense scenes probably stuck in your mind, but there’s a good chance you haven’t thought back to many of the movies. It’s quite a different story for many people in Asia who attend a film show hosted by Gospel for Asia supported workers . For many, that simple movie night ends up changing the course of their lives. Through Gospel for Asia-supported film ministry, the heart of Christ is displayed in a culturally relevant way. Many have found new life in Christ as a result! But even if you loved a certain movie, would you risk your own safety to organize a movie night? Rajak did. Rajak, a Gospel for Asia ( GFA )-supported worker serving on a film team, and his team members drove to a village they had not visited before. They approached the village leaders to get permission to show a film on the life of Christ, but the men denied their request and sternly warned th...
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Can You Die to Yourself for a Year? Asks Gospel for Asia School of Discipleship

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Do you remember your senior year of high school? Maybe you were one of those people who had the next 10 years of their life planned out already—I was not. At 17 years old, I knew I wanted to follow Christ, and I felt like He was leading me to be involved in missions somehow, but I had no idea what that was going to look like. I had lots of questions but few answers. How do I get started? Who can give me some direction? What ministry should I partner with? Am I called to stay in the U.S. or travel and serve abroad? What skills and resources do I need to have under my belt? During my senior year, I searched time and time again for missions opportunities with a variety of ministries. But nothing stuck out; nothing seemed to be the right fit. Graduation came and went. I felt stressed, unequipped and no closer to finding an answer to the question everyone under the sun had asked me by that point: “What are you going to do after high school?” Later that summer, I read Dr. KP Yohannan Metropo...
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2.4 Billion People Still Have No Toilet Reports Gospel for Asia

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World Toilet Day , established for November 19th by the UN in 2013, coincides with the 2001 creation of the World Toilet Organization , an organization aimed at raising awareness about and addressing the need for toilets all around the world. Since Gospel for Asia’s field partners started constructing toilets in 2012 , we have helped provide more than 28,000 of these facilities across many Asian nations, including Nepal and India— 10,512 of which were constructed in 2016 alone . It’s an exciting thing to be able to come alongside impoverished families and give them a little dignity. On Oct. 2, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat (Clean India), an initiative to clean India in multiple ways, including the goal of eliminating open defecation in the nation by Oct. 2, 2019—the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. We are proud to be a small part of impacting families, transforming communities and enabling education (more on that later) through toilets. Gosp...
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Help Wanted: National Missionaries. Endure Beatings, Tauntings, Long Road Days, Imprisonment.

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Thousands of communities are tucked away in remote regions of Asia. In such places, chances to hear the story of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection can be very rare. Beatings. Taunting words. Long days on the road. Late nights of traveling to pray for the sick. False accusations . Even imprisonment. If national missionaries know ministering to their people may cost them all this, how do they go on day after day? Why do they do it? One reason missionaries continue to pour themselves out in service to God is because of people like Naitik. He was 80 years old before he ever heard the name of Jesus. National missionaries long for him to understand the love of God, whom they themselves love so much. Naitik is not alone—his story was like millions of others’ who live in remote places in Asia, where, so far, there’s been no mention of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Thousands of communities are tucked away in remote regions of Asia. In such places, chances to hear the story of Ch...
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Poor Fisherman’s Son Finds Opportunity to Become a Surgeon Reports Gospel for Asia

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“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Who in their lifetime hasn’t heard that question or asked that question. The responses children give… it’s like the entire world is at their fingertips. To them, there’s nothing they can’t be, there’s nothing but their age that’s holding them back. “An astronaut.” “A farmer.” “An intercontinental airplane pilot.” (Oh yes, I have heard that one.) “A police officer.” “A mom.” “A missionary.” “A pirate.” Whatever they can think of that is the most exciting, most adventurous thing…that is what they want to become. And who would tell a 5-year-old, “Well, I think that’s just a bit out there. Why don’t we sit down and think about some more realistic things you can do when you grow up?” We give children the freedom to dream. They’re supposed to dream. But you know what? There are millions of children in Asia who don’t even know how to dream. You want to know why? Because for generations before them, who they will be when they grow up has already been ...
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