Gospel for Asia

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the life-changing impact of Jesus Wells on families in Asia who lack any access to safe drinking water. You need to get some water for a family meal so you head for the kitchen sink. It’s almost automatic; you do it every day. Probably several times a day. You turn on the faucet, but you feel “a sinking sensation” when no water pours from the tap. You panic. Yes, you panic. What am I going to do? We need water. Your mind races as you subconsciously understand you may not be able to make food for your family if you can’t get water. You wonder how long you will be without water. A call to the utility company frustrates you because you hear a recorded message: “Our operators are busy assisting other customers.” While you are on hold, you ask your spouse to run to the store to buy some bottled water. After waiting 20 minutes or so, you learn from the water company that a major main has been severely damaged. They say it might take three...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – In his account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Mark shares the story of a rich young ruler who had inquired of Jesus, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17). Jesus essentially told him that he needed to live a perfect life, reciting several of the Ten Commandments to him. The young man replied that he had faithfully followed the commandments all of his life. Mark then records that Jesus looked at him lovingly and said that he needed to do one more thing. He needed to “sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). Jesus invited him, once he had given all that he had to the poor, to “come, take up thy cross, and follow Me” (vv. 21). Do you wonder what you would have done had you been that rich young man? The truth is, I wonder what I would have done? We spend so much time thinking about what we are able to accumulate in pleasures and treasure that we fail to measure what t...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing openhomeaphobia — its symptoms and remedies. Open-home-a-phobic , noun (op-en-hom-a-fo-bick) From Latin phobicus; Greek phobikos; Someone terrified to open his or her home to guests. Someone filled with anxiety due to the overwhelming feelings that his or her home is not good enough for company, the rooms not large enough, the food not tasty enough. Someone who panics at the thought of fitting hospitality into a schedule jammed with deadlines, timelines and bottom lines. Symptoms include: Gagging at the word “guest”. Uncontrollable urges to hide when the doorbell rings. Sweating when the church bulletin pleads for people to include internationals for holiday meals. If there ever was an age in which the beneficial, healing properties of scriptural hospitality were more needed than in this one, I don’t know which age that might be. The AARP Bulletin reported, “Social isolation has become such a problem in Great Britain that Prime Mini...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) — The Bible speaks of hope specifically as a “confident expectation,” not a wish or a maybe. Dr. KP Yohannan ’s vision for establishing Gospel for Asia’s (GFA) Bridge of Hope Program was not simply an idea of something nice to do for the underprivileged children of Asia. The vision was to provide a bridge to the confident expectation of a fruitful and productive future. I take it for granted that most readers already understand what Bridge of Hope centers do. Faithful supporters have read many stories of individual changed lives of current and former Bridge of Hope students. Many readers, however, may not realize the measurable impact that Bridge of Hope centers have on students achieving the confident expectation of a brighter future. Remember What We Do Bridge of Hope centers serve marginalized and underprivileged children throughout the Asian nations of India, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka . The purpose is to provide students with the necess...

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” — Matthew 8:2–3 Leprosy. In many parts of the world, the very word brings with it a sense of fear. In the West however, leprosy cases are few and far between. Medicine has evolved to the point where if the disease is caught early enough, it can be cured. In ancient times, however, those afflicted with leprosy had but one hope: for the disease to die out on its own. The afflicted were cast out of their homes, often never to be seen again. When Jesus walked the earth, performing miracles and healing the sick, a man riddled with leprosy disregarded the law and ventured out from his self-exile. He put all his trust in Jesus, fully believing He could heal him. What an enormous amount of faith to have! I have read many reports and stories of men and women in Asia strick...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report #1 – Discussing the world’s quest for access to pure water that is safe to drink. India: Success and Challenge In recent decades, India has emerged as a global economic powerhouse. It is now the seventh-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) [27] and at least the fourth largest in purchasing power parity. [1] Much of this success stems from the technology field, India’s fastest-growing sector. Information technology, process outsourcing and software services are among the country’s booming industries. " India is suffering the worst water crisis in its history ." But success is accompanied by great challenges. India is home to about 1.34 billion people and is still growing . Its population, now the world’s second largest, [2] is projected to overtake China’s as early as 2024. [3] This has placed unprecedented stress on the country’s water resources, which are already stretched to meet the...

Years ago, friends and I experimented with designing listening groups. These small groups with three or four participants met once a month for seven months. Basically, we listened to one another for two hours. After a time of centering prayer where we became stilled and focused, the first person would begin and share where he or she was in life. When the first person was done, we would go back into silence, and the only way we could respond to the one who had spoken after those short moments of quiet was to ask questions. This pattern continued until we had gone around the group. Over seven years, I led some 250 people in listening groups and was amazed by the remarkable growth I saw in many of the attendees. I also was transformed in unexpected ways; I certainly became convinced of the healing power that exists when humans feel heard and understood. We always take the first session of a listening group to get to know one another a little so that we are not complete strangers. One woma...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report Part 2– Discussing the global water crisis and the quest for access to clean water. A mother cares for her son who is being treated for cholera at a UNICEF-supported cholera treatment center in Baidoa, Somalia Photo by Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, UNICEF Waterborne Diseases Caused by the Global Water Crisis Even under normal conditions, people in many regions are exposed to life-threatening diseases from their water, including typhoid, polio and hepatitis A . Among the most common waterborne diseases is diarrhea , which can be caused by any of several pathogens. It kills about 1.5 million children every year, more than 80 percent of them in Africa and South Asia. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 88 percent of those deaths are caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene . [1] Diarrheal diseases kill by depleting the body’s fluids, often very rapidly. Children are most vulnerable because their metabo...

“In our world, one in eight people live in slums. In total, around a billion people live in slum conditions today.” —UN-Habitat Slum Almanac 2015-2016. Upon reading this fact, my mind almost shut down. An eighth of the world’s population? [1] It seems absurd, but apparently, it is the truth. The reality for those living in slums is harsher than what is reported. Maisie (not pictured) is among millions living in slums. Gospel for Asia (GFA) -supported workers seek to bring them the love and hope of God. The Slums: An Explanation Firstly, what exactly are slums? Merriam Webster defines “slums” as “a densely populated usually urban area marked by crowding, run-down housing, poverty, and social disorganization.” [2] Little to no basic utilities exist in slums. Sanitation facilities, clean water, medical provision are inadequately present in these urban areas. Diseases run rampant, with little to no prevention. [3] Slum dwellers suffer under these harsh and brutal conditions. These peopl...

Make no mistake about it, there is no greater joy than working in the Lord’s service. Nor is there a calling in which we will receive more criticism, resistance and opposition—even more so than being an appointee to the United States Supreme Court! 1. To set aside our personal desires requires humility. Romans chapter 12 begins with the Apostle Paul urging believers to present ourselves as living sacrifices acceptable to God. 2. To set aside the world system’s potential path to success requires humility. Paul follows his plea with another one to not be conformed to this world system. The world system is all about how to become successful, and then how to become even more successful. It is a system built upon networking, self-marketing and public recognition. It is a system based on self and pride. 3. It takes humility to see ourselves as we are and to realize that we are no better than anyone else aside from grace. In verse 3, Paul admonishes us to not think of ourselves more highly th...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) -supported national missionaries need us to stand beside them for enablement and empowerment, whether they serve in a slum, a remote mountain community or a village for outcasts. Let’s think for a minute what enablement and empowerment mean and put them into perspective as they relate to Gospel for Asia (GFA) -supported national missionaries. Enablement The root word in enablement is “able.” Enablement intrinsically refers to providing means or opportunity to make something possible or practicable. When people support or give to Gospel for Asia (GFA) , they help GFA’s field partners provide the training, literature, equipment and living expenses to make their ministries possible and practicable. Empowerment We believe that empowerment is, by far, more important than enablement. Without empowerment, national missionaries would be ineffective representing Jesus to the thousands of people in Asia. Their ability to establish fellowships and transform...

“Everything we do either propels God’s mission forward or hinders the embodiment of His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.” — Jeff Christopherson, Vice President of Send Network Christopherson is right on point. All too often, we fail to see that everything we do impacts the kingdom of heaven on earth. Since we are the only representatives of that kingdom, every believer must come to the point where we learn to confront ourselves with every word we speak and every action we take—before we say or do them. The failure of some of us to weigh our actions is a shortcut to behaving like the ungodly whose lives are characterized by contentions and dissensions (see Galatians 5:19–21). In short, there is no room in a Christian’s life for creating strife, friction and discord—especially between and among professing believers. Recognizing the Danger of a Critical Spirit Contention usually begins with a critical spirit and exhibits itself as criticism. Whilst conceding that criticism can be co...

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report #1 – Discussing the world’s quest for access to clean water that is safe to drink. Photo credit Giacomo Pirozzi, UNICEF The statistics are mind-numbing. 502,000 people die each year from diarrhea—caused by unsafe drinking water. [1] 2.1 billion people have no access to safely managed drinking water . [2] 159 million people get their drinking water directly from surface water sources . [3] 263 million must travel more than 30 minutes daily to collect their water. [4] Safe drinking water is something most of us take for granted. But for millions of people, the only water they have is contaminated. And millions more are at risk of having no water at all. According to the United Nations, 1.9 billion people (27 percent of the world’s population) live in “potentially severely water-scarce” areas . [5] They wake up each morning knowing they must fight to survive. For those of us who enjoy ready access to clean water , these numbers are d...

“The poor do not need our compassion or our pity, they need our help.” — Mother Theresa It is almost impossible for us to understand the magnitude of the needs of the children of South Asia and their families needing the assistance and intervention of Gospel for Asia (GFA) and others. How bad can their life be? Frankly, their lives are much worse than most of us can even begin to imagine. Oh, you’ve heard the appeals over and over again from Gospel for Asia (GFA) , Save the Children, Compassion International, World Vision, and a seemingly endless number of NGOs who are committed to reaching out to those living in extreme poverty who are considered the lowest of the low in their home countries. But there are literally millions of precious, innocent children suffering indignities at levels we fail to comprehend. So, let us explain a few reasons these children need our help. 1. They are considered outcasts. Our national missionaries go into the urban slums and remote villages where the ...