Gospel For Asia

Faram Aziz suffers from leprosy. He lives segregated from society in a leper colony in West Bengal, India. The leprosy, a chronic infectious disease that

Gospel for Asia missionaries are sharing the love of Christ with people who live in leper colonies in West Bengal, India.

attacks the nervous system, had caused a large wound on Farim’s leg. But thanks to Gospel for Asia’s Compassion Services, Faram’s leg wound is now healed.

The Compassion Services ministry strives to meet the physical needs of the lepers and to fulfill their spiritual needs by introducing them to Jesus. Since last July, several missionaries have devoted themselves to ministering to people living in the leper colonies of West Bengal, India. Since that time, they have seen several leprosy patients choose to follow Christ.

One of the missionaries working with this effort is Anisur Roze, who was healed from leprosy after GFA missionaries prayed for him. He has committed his life to serve the Lord among leprosy patients.

Anisur joined the Gospel for Asia missionaries when they began visiting three government settlements for leprosy sufferers in West Bengal. Within a few months, the missionaries were conducting worship services in these colonies and a fourth colony in a nearby area.

The missionaries who visit the leprosy patients take time to treat their wounds.

In December, the missionaries distributed Christmas gifts of blankets and shawls to the people living in the leper colonies. Later that month, the missionaries conducted a communion service for the Christians in these colonies. Many of them had trouble holding the bread because the disease had attacked their hands, causing them to lose fingers. GFA missionary Dilip Rehman stepped in and helped the lepers by placing the communion bread straight into their mouths.

The missionaries are always on the lookout for ways to help the individuals living in these colonies. When they met Jaya Bagchi, they noticed that the disease made it difficult for him to walk. He was weak and very thin. The missionaries found a way to provide Jaya with some basic daily nutrition. They also prayed for him, and now, by God’s grace, he is able to walk.

GFA missionaries serving in this specialized ministry ask for prayer as they seek to meet the needs of the leprosy patients. Pray that the Lord would grant everyone involved in the ministry enough grace to continue serving this most unreached group.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

“Lord, please change my whole family as you have changed my life,” Meena Patni earnestly prayed.

Dhanjoy’s first chance to read a Bible came at a Bible college.

Meena had found peace and joy she never expected after a pastor told her about Jesus. Delivered from a life of spirit worship and bondage to demons, Meena’s hope was that her family would find salvation too—especially her son Dhanjoy, who was difficult to handle.

Dhanjoy had grown up among people whose only hope in life was to appease the anger of evil spirits. He was a mischievous boy, and he fought with his father and brother. He would even grab and pull his mother’s hair or throw his sandal into the food she was cooking. Meena desperately wanted her son to grow up knowing the love of Jesus, and she prayed for him often.

She began to see the answer to her prayers when Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Benjamin Masih visited their home. For the first time, Dhanjoy—who was by then a teenager—listened to the Gospel message. When Benjamin invited Dhanjoy to visit a GFA Bible college, he agreed.

Dhanjoy attended an introductory class at the Bible college, intended for young men such as himself who had been introduced to the Gospel but didn’t yet know the Lord. During the weeks he was there, stories of Jesus’ life deeply touched him, as did reading the Bible for the first time. Dhanjoy gave his life to Christ there at the college.

Soon, Dhanjoy received a phone call from his father with the news that he had passed his college exams and could look for a job. But by that time, Dhanjoy desired to stay and study at the Bible college. He stayed for two months, then went home for his brother’s wedding.

The message of a missionary like this one changed Dhanjoy’s life.

During this visit, Meena was overjoyed to see her son again and witness the changes that had taken place in his life. Dhanjoy shared his new faith with his family members who did not yet know Christ.

Now, Dhanjoy is a Bible college graduate serving the Lord full-time in a mountainous region in South Asia. He has faced opposition several times from anti-Christian groups, but he continues faithfully.

Dhanjoy asks for prayer that many people will receive salvation through his ministry, and especially that his brother and father will choose to follow the Lord.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

On February 2, religious extremists interrogated Gospel for Asia native missionary Gautam Taru about his ministry. Then, they told Gautam he had three days to get out of his village in Madhya Pradesh, India.

“You must leave!” the extremists told Gautam after questioning him. “If you do not get out of the village in three days, there will be serious consequences.”

Threatened by Gautam’s fruitful ministry, the anti-Christian fanatics came to his church and forced him to tell them the names of each believer and what organization was financially supporting him. Taping every word on a recorder, they also asked him why he was propagating a foreign religion.

Once the mob let him go, Gautam and some of the believers from his church went to the local police station to report the event. The next day, the police had Gautam return for further inquiries about the incident.

“We will do everything we can to help you, but it would be best if you leave for a week and then come back after things settle down,” the police officers told him.

As Gautam was walking home from the station, some of the believers from his church contacted him. They told him that while he was gone, the radicals had returned to the church looking for the pastor. While threatening the Christians, they destroyed all the Bibles and Gospel literature.

The extremists had also brought kerosene to burn the building down, but decided not to follow through with the plan. After threatening the believers and warning them to tell their pastor to leave, the angry mob left.

Gautam requests prayer that the fanatics will stop trying to thwart his ministry and that they will come to know Jesus in a personal way. He also requests prayer for safety and protection for himself, his wife and three sons.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

It was New Year’s Eve and someone was knocking frantically on Pastor Juman Rani’s door. It turned out to be Nasim Bhatti, a Muslim man whom Gospel for

Just like this missionary, Pastor Juman made every effort to reach Nasim with the message that God loves him. Nasim received Christ on New Year's Eve.

Asia missionary Juman had invited to a service at his church earlier that night. But Nasim did not show up for the New Year’s Eve service. Instead, he had been drinking alcohol and was now terrified that police were chasing him.

Nasim was well-known as a troublemaker and alcoholic in his village in Kerala, India. Nasim’s wife, Adeena, suffered greatly because of her husband’s drunken rampages. Then she learned about Jesus from Pastor Juman. Her newfound faith brought her much comfort. Both Juman and Adeena shared the Gospel with Nasim, but he was never interested.

When Juman invited him to the New Year’s Eve service, Nasim said he would go. But instead, he starting drinking and broke into someone’s home. The disturbance was reported to the police. That’s when Nasim realized he was in serious trouble. The fear of being caught and thrown in jail sent him to Pastor Juman for help.

That night, Nasim found mercy from a God he had previously ignored. He finally listened to Pastor Juman’s message and was convicted of his sinful lifestyle, repenting of the way he had lived.

When Nasim was in trouble, Pastor Juman's church, much like this one, was the only place he knew to go.

When the police found Nasim, he was a new person. Unexpectedly, the police charged Nasim a small fine, then let him go. Nasim knew the Lord had spared him even though he did not deserve it. He had received mercy twice that night, and it deeply touched his heart. Nasim spent three days in fasting and prayer out of thanks to the Lord and a desire to know his new God. Now he faithfully attends church with Adeena.

Pastor Juman asks for prayer for this family to continue growing in the Lord, and that many more in their village will choose to follow Jesus.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

The civil rights of Christians and Muslims among India’s 300 million Dalits (“Untouchables”) remain uncertain after the country’s Supreme Court again

It is nearly impossible for a Dalit (“Untouchable”) to find a decent job. Many resort to digging through trash to find food or something they can resell.

delayed taking action in an ongoing case. In mid-January, the court’s judges voted to wait another six weeks before making a ruling. This window of time will provide opportunity for a government organization to give the court data outlining how to include Christian and Muslim Dalits in an important affirmative action plan.

The current affirmative action legislation, outlined in India’s Constitution, reserves a percentage of government jobs and college entry positions for Dalits. The reservations were implemented in 1950 when the caste system was officially outlawed in India. Dalits who practice the Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist religions qualify for the reservations. Christian and Muslim Dalits do not qualify and are stripped of their rights under the reservation system once they receive Christ or choose to follow Islam.

Many in India support this loophole in the law, arguing that the caste system was a Hindu creation and so only those who follow that faith, or related faiths, should receive benefits. In reality, the social structure created by the caste system permeates the country’s secular society as well.

There are an estimated 300 million Dalits in India. When they become Christians, they lose some of their civil rights.

India’s Center for Public Interest Litigation filed a suit in 2005 challenging the law. The case has taken a number of twists and turns as it has wound its way through the courts. There have been numerous delays in the case as the court waits for reports and rulings from various committees and commissions. The most recent recommendation in the case came December 18, when a court-appointed commission and a government committee both recommended that Dalit Christians and Muslims should remain eligible for the reservations.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

Chetan Mayur spent his childhood suffering daily from a terrible illness. His kidneys barely functioned, and his doctors were unable to find a cure. As Chetan

Chetan wants everyone in Chhattisgarh to know of Christ's love, so he shares the Good News with the villagers every day.

lay sick in bed, his family had no idea whether he would live another year, let alone grow up and greatly impact several villages.

With his health failing and no results from medical procedures, Chetan was left with little hope. Then one day, a Christian missionary knocked on his door. When the missionary shared his personal testimony of how Christ had changed his life, Chetan knew he wanted to follow Jesus.

Hungry to grow deeper in his new faith, Chetan began regularly attending worship services at a local church. During that time, he began to feel God calling him to serve in fulltime ministry. The Lord also gradually healed Chetan of his kidney failure, and he grew stronger.

In order to equip himself for missionary work, Chetan enrolled in a Gospel for Asia Bible college. After graduating, he moved to an area in Chhattisgarh, India, where the Lord had guided him to serve.

Excited to share the hope found in Christ, Chetan began visiting all the homes in one village. Sadly, he was met with hard hearts, and no one was open to the Gospel message. They even threatened him as he did outreach. So after seeking the Lord’s will, he began ministering in other nearby villages.

At first, many of these villagers were also closed to what Chetan shared. But as they saw the genuine love of Christ in his life, they had a desire to learn more about the Savior.

Because of GFA native missionaries like Chetan, many people worship Jesus in churches throughout Chhattisgarh.

Because of Chetan’s ministry, about 100 believers attend his church. Many people have been healed of their sicknesses through his prayer ministry, as well.

When this native missionary was a sickly child, no one would have guessed that he would accomplish great things for the Lord. But because of his willing heart, God has used Chetan to bring many more people into His kingdom.

Chetan requests prayer that more will choose to follow Christ as a result of his ministry. He also asks for prayer that those who opposed him will come to know the Lord.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

Prabhakar was on his way to visit a friend, but the music he heard stopped him in his journey. It even made him do something unheard of for him—step

Music plays a big role in Indian culture, so it is not surprising that in the church, people meet to sing praises to Jesus.

inside a Christian church! The beautiful, melodic strains were coming from inside a church, and following his parents’ traditional village religion, Prabhakar would have never taken such a bold step. He had grown up worshipping many deities, but the sound of the music drew him into that very unfamiliar setting.

Sitting inside the church, Prabhakar continued to enjoy the beautiful music. Then, as the pastor began to share from God’s Word, Prabhakar heard the Gospel for the first time in his life. As he listened, the Lord gave him a clear sense of his sinfulness and his need for a Savior. That same day, Prabhakar put his trust in Jesus. As Prabhakar grew in his new faith, God called him to study the Scriptures more in-depth and provided a way for him to attend a Gospel for Asia Bible college.

Upon graduation, Prabhakar continued to serve with GFA, returning as a native missionary to his own village. He spent much time in fasting and prayer for the people of his village. God used Prabhakar to reach many people with the Gospel—not just in his village but in surrounding ones as well. He started a church that has grown to 60 believers, and he has an expanding Sunday school outreach for children. And it all started with a beautiful song.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

A team of Gospel for Asia missionaries and students recently returned to a village where they had been previously threatened and thrown out. The Lord protected them on this subsequent visit, just as He had miraculously spared them during their first outreach there.

The GFA team first visited this remote village in Uttar Pradesh, India, as part of a two-week outreach effort in December. The majority of people in the village

Outreach is a large part of a Bible college student’s education.

were high-caste, yet they eagerly accepted the Gospel literature the missionaries and students gave them. Even the head of the village took some Christian materials.

But the next evening, hundreds of villagers armed with knives and guns swarmed the house where the GFA team was staying. The home was in an isolated area where there was little chance that anyone would hear the confrontation. But just in time, God sent a Christian pastor who knew the people from his previous work. The pastor was able to calm down the crowd and reason with them. The armed villagers left without harming the GFA team, but they did warn them to leave and not come back.

The team returned to the village in January and passed out 200 more Gospel tracts, along with some other literature, and no one harassed them.

The team asks for prayer that their efforts in this village will bear much fruit, and that the villagers’ hearts will be opened to the Gospel. Pray also for their protection as they continue to proclaim the Good News.

This article was originally published by Gospel for Asia. To learn more about Gospel for Asia, click here.

It didn’t take very long after the flood for Noah’s descendants to act independently from the Living God and band together to construct the Tower of Babel. When the Lord came down to inspect their ambitious and idolatrous building project, He made a very serious statement that teaches us volumes about oneness: “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Genesis 11:6).

These words reveal the incredible power that is found in unity, even if it is used for an evil reason.

We have seen the truth of this Scripture demonstrated over and over throughout history when people rallied around a leader with an ungodly ideology and joined together to spread it by force to the rest of mankind.

But the good news is that this power of oneness is equally true when we as believers unite together in doing God’s will: Nothing will be impossible for us.

Jesus had that total oneness of spirit with His Father.

That’s why everything God wanted to do through His Son here on earth was fulfilled—unhindered. What was the key to such unity? It was the love they had for one another.

Think for a second how you take care of yourself. You won’t get a hammer and bring it down on your thumb. You won’t deliberately hurt yourself. Obviously, you care about what happens to you. When we truly love one another, what affects someone else, affects us. We won’t do something to deliberately hurt someone else. We want them to do well even if they’ve hurt us deeply. Jesus desires this kind of oneness in His Body. It far supersedes any unity the world could produce for its cause.

The devil knows this fact well, and he is afraid of the damage his own kingdom would suffer should God’s people succeed in becoming one in spirit. That’s why he fights so very hard to divide the Body of Christ and to keep believers from loving each other.

In fact, whenever God does something significant through His people, the most likely—and severe—counterattack will come in the area of unity, specifically broken relationships.

This entry was written by K.P Yohannan, the president and founder of Gospel for Asia, with the intention of encouraging and edifying the Body of Christ. To learn more about Gospel for Asia or to receive additional free resources, visit Gospel for Asia’s website.

Knowing Christ and walking intimately with Him will produce a love and passion for the lost world. In more than 40 years of serving the Lord, I have found that the more I get to know the Lord, the more concern I have for the lost. It is no longer about the need, but it is for the Lord’s sake. If our so-called “deeper life” doesn’t have this result, it is a counterfeit and a distraction.

So as we face the pull of this world and the pressure from the devil to walk away from God’s call, let us remember that we are on earth for only a short time. We are strangers and aliens to this world. We only have a visa for this life, but our passport is from another country.

The men and women of Hebrews chose not to return to their earthly country because they recognized that God’s work went beyond time and space. Their true country was a heavenly one. May the Lord find us, too, focused on what is real and authentic—beyond circumstances, what we feel, what others say or what the Enemy throws at us. And if He were to write another chapter like Hebrews 11, may He use your name and mine as examples there for others to follow.

This world is not our home—let us journey toward that eternal city.

This entry was written by K.P Yohannan, the president and founder of Gospel for Asia, with the intention of encouraging and edifying the Body of Christ. To learn more about Gospel for Asia or to receive additional free resources, visit Gospel for Asia’s website.