Reaching Asia’s Unreached
By Pastor Stanley Gerard
Associate Trainer
Planting in Faith
THE pioneers of Asian Outreach, like any other Christian
organization, individual or church, worked hard without seeing the fruits of
their labour of love. Yet they planted seeds by faith, and in so doing, they
began the work of salvation in the lives of many. It was this conviction that
gave them satisfaction --- that they had done their work and did it well as
another generation reaps the harvest.
For the past 10 years, I have been involved in church
planting in many countries, including several restricted-access nations. I
thank God for those brave workers and church planters in my team who are
working in the field with me to obey the Great Commission--- to “Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations.”(Matthew 28:19).
Blessed are the
Persecuted
You cannot imagine the persecution they face in these
restricted-access nations. Danger lurks in every corner. You never can tell if
your neighbor
Counting the cost and
Following Him
Why do they still want to do it? Why risk everything?
It is because each one of these church planters had a
personal encounter with the living God and their lives have never been the same
since. (Psalm 103: 4 “…who redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love
and compassion.”) They have known His love and saving grace, and they trust Him
no matter what happens. He is Abba, their Father.
Let me share with you a pioneering work in a fishing
community in Bangladesh, a restricted-access nation.
Church Planting in
Action
Today, there are 22 believers here. When we visited them in
October last year, they were happy to see us and continue to be receptive to
God’s Word. Most of them were poor and struggling to make ends meet and like
anywhere else in this country, jobs were not easy to come by. They cannot
depend on the government to make their lives better and survival is a struggle
yet they are eager to hear the Word of God. Truly, blessed are the poor.
Pastor Samuel and Pastor Bullet, two local pastors have a
vision for the entire community to be saved. Up to date they have planted 2
churches and 18 cell groups. We pray that once the seed is planted, God would
open more hearts to receive Christ as their personal Saviour.
Today, Asian Outreach has trained thousands of workers or
foot-soldiers. Many churches have been planted, especially in restricted-access
nations. Today, church planters have reached the very borders of Afghanistan
and Iran.
Donations needed
However, the work of the church planters have been hindered
because of the lack of finance, among other problems. Due to this lack, we have
had to slow down the implementation of our church planting plans.
My prayer is that churches and individuals can come together
and do what it takes to accomplish the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to make
disciples of all nations.
Allow me to end with this quote “You can give without
loving, but you cannot love without giving”. May this truly reverberate in the
Body of Christ, and in the soul of every brother and sister to give out of the
love in their hearts to enable the Great Commission of God to spread to the
ends of the Earth.
Zec 10:12 “I will strengthen them in the Lord and in His name they will
walk.”
