Gospel for Asia

It is always amazing to me when small moments in your life have more significance than you realized at the time. When Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope Program started, I did not imagine how many tens of thousands of lives would be changed by it. To sponsor the second Bridge of Hope child in GFA’s history was quite an honor for me and my wife. I remember the excitement and enthusiasm of everyone had when the entire staff met to witness Dr. KP Yohannan select the first child to be sponsored. Starting a child sponsorship ministry was embarking into unknown territory for Gospel for Asia ( GFA ). We were primarily known for our national missionary sponsorship emphasis, and there was concern of how a child sponsorship program would be received by our supporters. The staff waited enthusiastically for Dr. KP Yohannan to sponsor the first Bridge of Hope Child. The Lord was growing the ministry at a tremendous rate. Would we be up to the challenge of providing all the infrastructure needed fo...

It’s Christmastime, “the most wonderful time of the year”! And we at Gospel for Asia believe the Lord God desires all peoples to enter into His joy this season—and all year ‘round. That is why the angels proclaimed at the Christ’s birth that they bring “good news of great joy that will be for all people” (see Luke 2:10). But for some, instead of joy, the holiday season heralds in a season of loneliness and discouragement, especially for those who may not have anyone to celebrate with or who have lost the ones they used to celebrate with. Grief and heartache shroud our joy, and Christmastime can become just another event filled with painful memories of what has been lost. Imani understood this grief. She had lost her husband, who was a Gospel for Asia- supported pastor , and her heart filled with sorrow. She wondered how she would care for her son alone. But then something wonderful happened that helped lift the shroud of loneliness and discouragement. The local church had a Gospel for ...

What impact can a simple film make? This question is being answered every day as many remote Asian villages get the chance to watch a film on the life of Christ. Many of these precious people have never seen a film before, let alone heard of what Jesus has done for them. The message of Jesus’ sacrifice compels many to realize the vastness of God’s incredible love for the world. It opens up a new perspective—one that shows how everything the world has to offer pales in comparison to the love and life Jesus gives. This is exactly what 17-year-old Gunja found when he watched a film that changed the very course of his life forever. Finding What the World Can’t Give From an early age, Gunja and his twin brother attended church with their parents. They watched as their mom and dad remained faithful to Jesus despite the hostile treatment they often faced from their relatives who wanted nothing to do with Christ. Those relatives sowed seeds of doubt in the minds of the young impressionable bro...

Recently my wonderful daughter-in-law Angela asked if I could pick up her children, ages 8 and 10, from school when their classes were dismissed. Later in the afternoon she would drop off the third child, age 5, by the house. Angela is the widow of our son Jeremy, who died several years back from aggressive lymphoma, or cancer. She has her hands full. Not only does she work full-time, she is also close to getting her doctorate in adult learning. So I am always happy to help out. At the appointed time, Eliana and Nehemiah tossed their book bags in the car, hopped in themselves and promptly announced they were hungry. “Tell me what you want and Papa (that’s me) will get it for you,” I replied. Eliana, the oldest, had a hankering for a cinnamon pretzel. There’s a shop that sells them a few blocks from the school, and what she wanted looked huge in the glass case. I should have given the price tag of $4.00! Nehemiah’s request was for a Blue Ice. “Where do I get that?” I asked. “My friend g...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

“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 ...

Many young people come to Gospel for Asia School of Discipleship to see their relationship with Jesus significantly deepen. What they find is that prayer is the vehicle that takes them there. A Culture of Prayer Students at School of Discipleship are quickly immersed in a culture of prayer when they join GFA for a year. That’s because prayer is the very fabric the GFA community is woven from. More than 30 years ago, Gospel for Asia was born from a prayer meeting in Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan’s living room, and that weekly prayer meeting continues to this day. Now students are an integral part of them, too! They engage in prayer side by side with GFA staff, crying out to God for people, things and circumstances both locally and abroad. They even participate in sharing prayer requests. Students also learn to cultivate their private prayer life. They engage with the Lord in times of personal devotions and prayer walks and in times of silence and solitude. They learn how to be in God...

The man, Jesus, sat on a hillside surrounded by people who followed Him. He was talking to them, teaching them how to live. Then the scene shifts, and you can see a man, swathed in rags, hiding out of sight. He glances. He pauses. He gathers his courage and steps out toward Jesus—and people start running away at the sight of him. You realize, if you didn’t recognize before, that the man in rags has leprosy. No one wants to be near him. No one, that is, except Jesus. Jesus, the soft-spoken man with the kind face, does the unthinkable—He reaches out and touches the sick man. And he is healed. This scene plays out again and again before crowds all over Asia. Night after night, “ Dayasagar ,” “The Man of Mercy,” plays on the sides of buildings, on sheets stretched between poles, under trees and inside houses. Cool weather, warm weather, crowds of hundreds, groups of 10—Gospel for Asia-supported film teams show movies about the love of Christ. And as they do, Jesus reaches out to touch, he...

For Veteran’s Day , Lynn C., Gospel for Asia staff and 20-year U.S. military veteran, shares her thoughts about serving in the Navy and now her Lord with GFA . Let’s face it — I cry whenever I hear the song “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood, and I get choked up when I sing the National Anthem. As a retired Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy (September 1977–September 1997), I’ve served with some of the finest men and women our country had at the time. Having served then, I understand the tremendous sacrifice that our military men and women and their families currently make to protect the interests of the United States, both foreign and domestic. Families make do with only one parent taking care of all the responsibilities, while the other is off on deployment in the middle of the desert or the mountains, serving as an Embassy guard or sitting watch at 3 in the morning. Loyal, dedicated men and women who spend months at a time off on deployment, missing their familie...

Do you remember what happened in your life on May 2, 2000? It was a Tuesday. It might not have been a significant day to you, but for Manja, a father of two in Nepal, that day changed his life and his family forever. That was the day Manja landed in jail under false accusations of murder. It started when Manja, a Gospel for Asia- supported missionary , joined a group of friends for an afternoon of fishing. Along the river, they discovered a body. They informed the police and filed a report. Everything seemed to be finished—until one month later when Manja was accused of committing the crime. A Prisoner Missionary Months of accusations, falsified evidence, betrayal, abuse and drawn out legal proceedings followed. Then the bars closed behind Manja with a sentence of 20 years imprisonment. “When my husband was arrested and imprisoned for 20 years,” Rati, Manja’s wife shares, “it was as if my whole world had crumbled down.” Manja and Rati were devastated by the verdict. But in the months a...

In Luke chapter 15 we find the parable about the prodigal younger son, who comes to his senses once he loses everything, and returns back home to a loving, gracious father. Kaling’s life is similar to the story Jesus shared with tax collectors, sinners, scribes and Pharisees. The heart of our Heavenly Father remains the same through the ages. Even though we may wander far from home, God desires to redeem the past, and draw us close to Himself. And sometimes He may go to great lengths to show us that grace. Just like he did for Kaling through Gospel for Asia- supported Sisters of Compassion . Gospel for Asia-supported Sisters of Compassion minister to the least of the least in society. The Redemption of a Dying Man Kaling never listened to his father’s instructions, even as a little boy. His father tried to teach him how to live a good life, but despite all the guidance he received, Kaling had a disobedient and unchanging heart. Eventually, his father would no longer endure his son’s s...

Tsunamis happen more often than we think. Just this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded four. In 2016, it recorded seven. In 2014, it recorded 11. Now that’s a lot of tsunamis. Thankfully, the majority haven’t been large enough to cause extensive damage, with waves cresting less than a foot above sea level. What a relief! But then there are times when the waves, upon reaching shore, reach heights of 10, 30, even 300 feet . Tall walls of water crescendo and collide into coastlines, coursing through every crevice, collecting chunk after chunk of sea-side homes and business, sweeping away thousands of pounds of metal in the shapes of buses and other motor vehicles. Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents run, their backs to foaming black water that threatens to steal their lives. Tsunamis. One of the “ costliest and deadliest forces of nature .” The United Nations declared Nov. 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day because of t...

Dozens of hands pressed down on pieces of paper while more hands lifted toward the sky. An unintelligible murmur filled the room as the Gospel for Asia staff prayed. We were about to send out a mailing, letting people know about the opportunity to give toward constructing places of worship, and we didn’t want to do it without bringing it before the Lord one more time. At Gospel for Asia (GFA), prayer is woven into everything we do. It’s been that way since before the beginning of the ministry . Gospel for Asia has this set of 10 things we call our Core Values. Number five is “Being a people of prayer and worship.” Even as I write this, one of my coworkers exemplified this value. “I’m going to the prayer room,” he said as he walked by, “if anyone wants to know where I am.” He said it as casually as someone announcing they’re going for a coffee break. No boast, no shame. Just letting us know why he’s not at his desk. At many prayer meetings, the Gospel for Asia staff will gather around ...

A couple of years ago, I was at a missions conference where we came together to discuss what was happening in the missions world around the globe. One of my friends there asked me, “How are things going at Gospel for Asia? What’s going on these days?” We were going through some challenging situations on the field at the time, and I remember telling him, “It’s a good time to be alive. It’s a good opportunity to walk by faith.” Which was completely true! We don’t always have great opportunities in front of us where we get to walk by faith, trusting God day by day, but trials and difficulties allow us those opportunities. In the first chapter of James we are told, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will b...

Do you ever stop to consider how many blankets you have in your home? What kind of stockpile do you have stored up in case the heating goes out for two weeks during a severe winter storm? It’s no stretch to guess you have at least one blanket for each person in your family. If you’re like most of us, you probably have light summer blankets in addition to heavier, winter quilts. There might even be some cozy throws on your sofa and the recliner, and the afghan your grandmother made for you. Don’t forget to count the extra blankets in the guestroom, the ones in the cars, and the picnic blanket in the garage. And what about the sleeping bags you keep with your camping gear? With all the warm clothes and blankets you can find in your home, you and your family could probably survive a long winter emergency in an unheated home. But how would you fare if your home was only a makeshift hut, your family had hardly any winter clothing or blankets, and you could barely feed them with your meager ...