Growing Church in India: Women leading the way

Growing Church in India:

Women leading the way

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There’s no space to sit down, shoes are piled high at the door. That’s the scene when you arrive at a house church in rural India.

People have travelled for hours to share the Word together, to worship and pray for one another. And, wonderfully, many of these house group leaders are women, boldly stepping out to share their faith in spite of the dangers they might face. It was a privilege to visit and meet some of these women on a visit to India with a BMS World Mission media team back in February – and it’s a privilege to share some of their stories with you.

Devika*

“When I first found Jesus, my brothers and my father told me:
‘If you’re going to accept Jesus, you’re going to get out of the house. We don’t want you living here.'”

I found Jesus as my Saviour in 2011. I had suffered with sinus issues since childhood and I had a lot of problems breathing. I couldn’t go through a day without medication.

During that time, I worshipped every God I thought could heal me. I tried almost everything – but I was never healed. But in 2011, my auntie told me about Jesus. So I went to a fellowship and prayed, and I got healed. And since then, I’ve not taken any medication. The Lord has kept me absolutely healthy.

But when I first found Jesus, my brothers and my father told me: “If you’re going to accept Jesus, you’re going to get out of the house. We don’t want you living here.”

I told my brother: “The one who has saved me, I cannot go against him. I will walk with him till the end of my days. So you can do what you want.” I used to hide and pray, so that my family would never see me. And, miraculously, my mother and father, and my brothers, they all found Jesus as their personal Saviour.

From then on, I’ve gone out and shared about Jesus, that others may receive him and find eternal life. I started my first fellowship in my father’s house, we run Christmas outreaches and we started some children’s ministry.

Please pray that the Lord gives me capacity to continue to make disciples among women who will run these fellowship groups in their homes. As long as I live, I will continue to share the love of Christ with others.

A photo showing the shoulder of a woman in a pink sari. The photo has been taken to obscure her face, but you can see she's sat with some other women at a house church in India.
Devika was thrown out of her home when she became a Christian. Your support has helped her access support and training to help her share her faith.

Anza*

“I will tell my story to every person I meet and tell them what Jesus has done for me.”

My name is Anza, and I run a fellowship in my home. When my husband ran away with another woman, I was very broken. I used to worship a million different gods. I’d been given gospel literature before, but I never believed it. But one day, I was in the market and I met this husband and wife, and I started talking to them about my life.

When I spoke to them, they said to me: “Your life has not finished here. We want to tell you the good news of the Lord’s love – which is unconditional.” That’s the first time I went to the fellowship – and I received Jesus. And I started walking with him.

went to a fellowship in another village, because in those days we didn’t have a fellowship here. But then I decided that I’m going to open my home to do this, and I will tell my story to every person I meet and tell them what Jesus has done for me.

The Lord has really guided my life and I’m doing well. My son has just graduated and I have my own business now, selling stationery. This is the reason I do this, because of the joy that I’ve experienced in the Lord and I pray that others around me should also experience that joy.

A photo of a woman in a red, yellow and green patterned sari with her back to camera. She has her face obscured to protect her identity but you can see she is with a group of other believers at a house church in India.
Anza is excited to share with more people how God has changed her life. Your prayers are crucial to making her ministry possible.
Keep praying for India!

Praise God that more and more people are coming to know Jesus in India! If you’re keen to hear more about the growing Indian Church, then why not sign up for prayer letters from BMS mission worker Ben Francis and stay on top of all the ways you can be praying for this exciting ministry.

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*Names changed and faces obscured to protect the identities of the believers mentioned in this story.
Words and interviews by Laura Durrant, Editor of Engage magazine.

International Women’s Day: Jesus cares for details

International Women's Day

Jesus cares for details

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This International Women’s Day we’re praying for all women and girls to experience justice and equality. Take a look at how some BMS World Mission partners are championing just that.

Her documents had finally arrived. It was time to leave the Greek island of Lesbos and seek a better future in another country. On her last morning on the island, she walked into the community centre for women where she had been volunteering and spoke to BMS partner worker Haniele.

“Since I met you,” she told Haniele, “I’ve been asking myself questions like ‘why are you so worried about offering the best for the women?’ and ‘Why are you caring for the details like keeping everything organised and clean?’”

“I am here because God has called me to leave my country to share my love with women like you,” Haniele said. “I also believe that Jesus, the Son of God, would be here doing this for you nowadays. And Jesus cares for details. He cares for you, so in the same way we care for you and all the women that come here.”

Dani and Hani standing outside the community centre on the Greek island of Lesbos.
The community centre on the Greek island of Lesbos seeks to welcome refuge women and treat them with dignity.

The woman was speechless. She said, “now I understand why you do this. In my life, I’ve met a lot of bad people. I didn’t believe that good people exist anymore. But here, all of you are good. You treat me like family, like my sisters, and I would never imagine that I would meet people like you in Lesbos.” Those were her last words in the centre. They hugged each other and cried together.

Friday 8th March is International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate the strength and resilience of women and girls around the world. It’s also an opportunity to raise awareness of gender discrimination, and to pray and call for gender justice. According to the United Nations, women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and produce half of the world’s food yet earn only ten per cent of the world’s income and own fewer than one per cent of the world’s property.

A few thousand miles away, our partners in Bangladesh are empowering women by raising up the next generation of women leaders in churches. Thanks to your support, our partner Asia Pacific Baptist Aid (APBAid) have encouraged the Bangladesh Baptist Church Federation to train eight female volunteers out of 20 to lead Bible study groups. Women were not allowed to join in with ministry in rural churches, but now they have started preaching on Bible topics.

Volunteer wearing a red All4Aid T-shirt bathing a child at the community centre.
Refugee women are empowered through volunteering at the community centre on the Greek island of Lesbos.
A women reading the Bible at morning prayers.
Our partners in Bangladesh are encouraging women to teach the Bible in churches.

APBAid not only encourage women to teach in Baptist churches, but also raise awareness of gender discrimination. On Mother’s Day and International Women’s Day, women will be sharing in churches about how to prevent child marriages. Several churches are also organising a health and wellness programme to provide healthcare services tailor

The Indian social reformer Sarojini Naidu once said that if you ‘educate your women, your nation will take care of itself.’ Across the border from Bangladesh, our partner the Baptist Church Trust Association in India are putting her advice into practice by starting literacy groups for marginalised women. Many of these women live in extreme poverty because they are from ‘untouchable castes,’ and are not included in mainstream education.

The project is called ‘Jagriti,’ which means ‘awakening’ in English. Women are taught to read and write, and they learn skills like sewing, which they can use to start small businesses and earn an income. God is awakening the women to the talents that he has given them. Through your prayers and support, Indian women are not only lifting themselves out of poverty, but also their families and communities.

A woman worshipping in a church in Kolkata, India.
Marginalised women in India are awakening to their God-given potential.

Whether it’s keeping a community centre organised and clean, or providing healthcare services that are tailored to the needs of women and girls, our partners know that Jesus cares for details. It turns out that the long journey towards gender justice starts with little acts of kindness.

Your faithful prayers and generosity help our partners treat refugee women with dignity, amplify women’s voices, and empower women with the education they need for a better future. If you want to pray for BMS’ gender justice work, then why not download the BMS Prayer Guide today?

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Words by Chris Manktelow 

Stepping back and stepping out in faith

Church planting in Peru

Stepping back and stepping out in faith

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Would you take a 17-hour bus ride, a five-hour boat journey, and an hour-long hike through dense rainforest to talk to some pastors? For BMS World Mission worker Michele Mahon, all of that was worth it – especially when you’ve been asked to speak to them about proving the existence of God!

The Awajun people of north-central Peru have started to make use of kitchen gardens
BMS' partner in Peru have been working with the Awahun people for a number of years to help them improve their livelihoods.

In 2023, Michele, along with her husband Dave and their three children, moved to Trujillo on the coast of Peru, after serving with BMS in Iquitos for five years. Dave trains Peruvian pastors and Michele is a qualified youth pastor, but they also both teach at Trujillo Baptist Seminary. And in a mostly patriarchal culture, it’s significant to see Michele being given more opportunities to teach. “It’s been nice to be able to do more upfront ministry than when I was in Iquitos because the culture is more open in terms of how they treat women on the coast,” she says.

During their time at the seminary, God also gave Michele the opportunity to teach theology to the Awahun people in the Peruvian Amazon. The Awahun are an indigenous group of fishermen, farmers, hunters, and artisans who live near the border with Ecuador. They are a strong warrior tribe and are well known in Peruvian history for resisting the Incas and Spanish when they tried to conquer them. Sadly, the wounds left by years of colonial rule run deep, and the Awahun are still often marginalised within Peruvian society.

The Peruvian Baptist Convention invited Michele to serve alongside Raquel Leon, a Peruvian mission worker who spent years working with the Awahun. Raquel and her husband Angeles started a church 35 years ago dedicated to mission amongst the Awahun. Even though Raquel is now sadly widowed, she carries on serving the Awahun. She even sells delicious roast coffee and cocoa from Awahun farmers as part of her ministry!

When the ministry first began, the team from the seminary would bring food and second-hand clothes – without necessarily appreciating what the Awahun community need. But now, the ministry is unrecognisable. “It’s based on the needs of the community and on what they want us to teach,” says Michele. Rather than bringing stuff that they might not need, the ministry is solely based on teaching the Bible and helping equip the Awahun to provide for themselves. Now, the Awahun pastors are hungry for the Word of God, regardless of whether outsiders bring food or not. Whether it’s dealing with broken relationships or questions about the end times, the Awahun know that the Bible can give them guidance and wisdom.

Michele teaching Awahun pastors in Kuyumatak about proving God's existence.
Michele's hoping to have even more opportunities to teach with the Awahun in the future – and especially hopes to connect with the women of the community,

Despite the challenging journey, Michele, Raquel and a group of Peruvian mission workers were keen to make their way to the Awahun village of Kuyumatak. The heat and mosquitoes made it hard work – but they knew that God wanted them there. Some of the pastors had such a passion for the Word of God that they walked for four days through the rainforest just to hear Michele teach the Bible!

This time the pastors wanted the team from the seminary to teach them about proofs for God’s existence. Michele spoke about how creation reveals God’s glory, and about the knowledge of God in each of our hearts, even if sin sometimes makes us deny this truth. Living in the lush rainforest, with night skies covered in brilliant stars, the team was constantly reminded of our awesome Creator. And this inspiring teaching relationship is just the start of this abundant ministry.

“I would really like to get to know the women because the teaching is concentrated on the guys, who are pastors,” says Michele. “Most of the time Awahun women are involved in cooking and looking after the children.” Back in Iquitos, Michele could not do the youth ministry that she wanted to do, as she was only allowed to teach women and children. That’s why Michele admires the humble leadership of Raquel, who continues to preach the gospel without the status that comes from having a husband. She sees it as a privilege to serve alongside women like Raquel, as the Awahun hear the gospel and find abundant life in Christ.

Thank you for all your prayers and support for Dave and Michele during their time in Peru. They would love for you to keep praying for them and their children, Ruth, Jonathan, and Phoebe, as they settle into life in Trujillo. Please also pray that God will bless the Awahun with everything they need to live life in all its fullness. They are so grateful for your prayers, as it is only in God’s strength that Dave, Michele, and their Peruvian friends can share his love freely with those around them.

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Family photo of the Mahons with their three children
The whole Mahon family would really value your prayers as they continue to settle into life in Trujillo.

Words by Chris Manktelow

Thailand: Mission in bloom

Thailand: mission in bloom

The transformational power of knowing Jesus

Your support of the Thailand Spring appeal has brought incredible change to new believers in the northern district of Uttaradit, Thailand.

Portrait of Wit and Helen Boondeekuhn

The nights are drawing in, harvest season is coming to an end and the inevitable buzz of Christmas is creeping ever closer. It’s a time of year that naturally makes us think of conclusions and winding down, but God’s plan for mission rarely follows the seasons on earth. In Thailand, there’s exciting work that is in full bloom – thanks to your support. Back during our spring appeal, we shared about the incredible work that Helen and Wit Boondeekhun are making possible in Thailand and introduced you to some of the amazing people they’re bringing to faith. Let’s revisit this blossoming mission bearing fruit in Thailand, and see first-hand the change that you’ve made possible.

The support you brought to Thailand

Your generous donations are:

  • Supporting Ajarn Arreat, a local Thai evangelist, to share the good news of Jesus and disciple new believers.
  • Equipping church members like Thew with skills to increase their income and better support their families.
  • Raising up new local leaders, bringing hope of sustainable church growth long into the future.

Dreams fulfilled

In the appeal, you met Som and Thew, a young couple who had recently come to faith in the village of Wang Daeng. This joy-filled couple are now helping lead at a new church planted in the nearby village of Ban Dara, where their son recently got baptised! When we first met Thew, he shared his desire to one day make and sell his own food, a very different trajectory from his exhausting daily work as a manual labourer. Along with Suree, Wang Daeng’s first believer, this dream has been made possible. Located in front of Wang Daeng’s church building, their recently launched food stall selling fried chicken, sticky rice and fried dumplings has been immensely popular in the community, especially with the children walking past it daily on their way to school! Sadly, a combination of monsoon season and Thew breaking his leg has caused the food stall to take a brief sabbatical, but there is every intention for its triumphant return to continue to bless and serve the village. With every dumpling sold, you’re helping Thew to provide for his family, build community and draw newcomers into church with an inviting (and delicious!) welcome.

Thew and Som smiling in a sunlit area full of trees
Thew and Som's lives were transformed when they came to know Jesus.
A young man in a pool preparing to be baptised
Your support for Helen and Wit means believers like Thew are thriving in their faith.

Churches planted

When Helen and Wit first moved out to Thailand over five years ago, there were no churches or Christians in the region. But now, there are three blossoming churches: one in Wang Daeng, one in nearby Tao Hai and the latest plant in Ban Dara. These churches started off as small house groups but have grown into thriving hubs of community and connection. They’re providing free English classes, local council representation and trying to support and meet the needs of the communities they are based in.

Thanks to your faithful prayers and in God’s kindness, the churches in the area have been growing at such a rate that the church in Wang Daeng has outgrown its rented premises and has started the process of designing its own building. With plans drawn up and the land purchased, the church family is gathering the funds to complete the process – a task you’ve helped with by providing a third of the total necessary. God willing, this thriving congregation is hoping to be in their new building by July 2024.

Believers equipped

Along with the amazing growth the churches have experienced, God has been building up new workers for his harvest field. Ajarn Arreat has recently become a BMS-supported worker, thanks to your generous giving. Ajarn was a maid in Hong Kong and a committed Buddhist, until she was invited to a Christian group. She gave her life to Jesus soon after and started saving up to return to Thailand and study at Bible college there. Since her studies, she’s been working as an English teacher and helping plant the church at Ban Dara in her free time, where there are nearly 20 people in regular attendance. Your support for Ajarn means she can focus her attention more fully on supporting the church, instead of juggling teaching jobs alongside.

If you supported the Spring appeal, you’ll likely remember the incredible story of Ba Nuan, a resident of Wang Daeng. At Ba Nuan’s lowest moment, God stepped in and transformed her life, bringing an abundance of hope, peace and joy in his wake. Ba Nuan is still a new believer, but it’s an absolute joy to share that her partner Muat has also found faith, being baptised this summer! Since then, Ba Nuan and Muat have been actively engaging with the small groups in Wang Daeng and helping others encounter the transformational power that a relationship with the Father can bring.

As you reflect on the incredible work you’ve made possible, a verse that Helen and Wit shared in the appeal may come to mind: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” The stories of lives transformed, hope restored and God’s Kingdom coming in Thailand are plentiful, much like a tree heavy under the weight of its own fruit.

A Thai man and woman pray together sitting on blue plastic chairs inside a church building.
Your support has helped Ba Nuan to live with hope.

Helen and Wit are keen for BMS supporters to know how much they value your support. Echoing their words — thank you. Thank Jesus for the work that he’s doing and thank each and every one of you who has made this work possible. The harvest is plentiful, and this is only the beginning for Thailand.

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Words by Ed Axtell
Content Creator Apprentice, BMS World Mission

Hope personified: Ba Nuan’s story

Hope personified:

Ba Nuan’s story

Ba Nuan went from not being able to see a way forward to living every day for Jesus. Her incredible story was made possible through your gifts to the Thailand Spring appeal.

If you asked Ba Nuan about her childhood, she’d say that life felt very ordinary. Growing up as one of eight siblings in rural Thailand, it made sense to Ba Nuan that her parents, struggling to make ends meet, would ask their children to help wherever they could. When Ba Nuan’s grandmother became too elderly to take care of herself, the family chose Ba Nuan to go and live with and support her. And so it was that Ba Nuan, though still a young girl, would grow up far from home, taking on the responsibilities of both caregiver and breadwinner in one. Life was tough – but so was Ba Nuan.

Ba Nuan went to school during the day and spent all her free time labouring or collecting branches for roof thatch to earn money. There was no time to dream about her future: the health and happiness of her little two-person household rested entirely on her young shoulders.

A Thai man and woman pray together sitting on blue plastic chairs inside a church building.
Your support has helped Ba Nuan to live with hope.

As she grew older, Ba Nuan’s strong work ethic continued. She opened her own restaurant and also began working as a medium to cure people believed to have been cursed by black magic – a practice passed down by her grandmother. Married with two children and with a stable career, poverty gradually lost its grip on Ba Nuan. But happiness was still a long way away.

Helen and Wit Boondeekhun stand next to each other in a field in Thailand
Your support for Helen and Wit Boondeekhun allowed them to come alongside Ba Nuan.

One day, Ba Nuan’s world came crashing down around her. She was heartbroken to discover her husband had been unfaithful – and that this wasn’t the first time. Her business began to crumble as her marriage fell apart. Then, four years ago, Ba Nuan’s husband tragically took his own life. Alone and in despair, Ba Nuan couldn’t see a way forward. That’s until a neighbour visited her, and told her about a man called Jesus.

Ba Nuan was invited by her friend to the church run by BMS World Mission workers Helen and Wit Boondeekhun in a small village called Wang Daeng. There, Ba Nuan encountered unconditional love, from God and from her new community. “God transformed me,” says Ba Nuan. “I didn’t have any hope, my life was in despair, and I didn’t want to live. But now I have found a new life, new happiness,” she continues. “I’m so happy indeed that I found God. I know that he loves me, and I want to live my life for him.”

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your incredible response to the Thailand Spring appeal, sharing the gospel with people like Ba Nuan. Coming to know Jesus has transformed Ba Nuan’s life and given hope to a whole community now attending a fledgling church in Wang Daeng. Learn more about the appeal here.

The people who attend the church in Wang Daeng each have a story like Ba Nuan’s – a story of a life searching for hope, and finding it in Jesus. The village has gone from being a place where no-one would have called themselves a Christian, to a community with a thriving church where eight new believers were baptised just last year. Excitingly, Ba Nuan was one of them. The BMS team asked Ba Nuan whether she had a message for supporters in the UK. She replied: “Love God with all your mind, soul and strength, because God is powerful, and he can help you, and he loves you so much.”

If you gave to the Thailand Spring appeal, thank you for bringing new life to Ba Nuan and to a whole church community. Helen and Wit are so encouraged to know that you are standing with them. And if you haven’t come across their ministry in Wang Daeng before, there’s still time to get involved. Why not find out more about Helen and Wit here, and subscribe to receive their free prayer letters today?

A woman getting baptised in Thailand.
Praise God that Ba Nuan was baptised last year!
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Words by Hannah Watson.

Forging a path

Forging a path

The next generation of Christian leaders

From Cambodia to France to Israel-Palestine, meet three incredible young people serving in some of the least evangelised places in the world, thanks to your support.

Jérémie

Being a Christian in France is tough. Being a young person training for ministry in France is even tougher, as BMS World Mission-supported student Jérémie Lockel can attest. You last heard from Jérémie in Issue 52 of Engage, the BMS magazine. Then, Jérémie was watching his country go through the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraged by the questions his friends and neighbours were asking about the meaning of life and whether answers could be found in the Bible. Jérémie’s hope was that the disruption of lockdowns would change the ways in which French people sought purpose, and that the new openness he saw might lead people to Jesus.

Two years on, Jérémie’s in his final year studying to become a Baptist minister. Post-pandemic, he’s little less convinced that mindsets have really changed – but is no less passionate about evangelism and church planting.

A man smiling in a brown jacket.
Jérémie is so excited to see how God works through him to further his Kingdom in France!

“I’ve started to really enjoy all the practical courses on mission and evangelism – it’s then that my heart gets full. We had an exercise where we had to study a town and look at how you would go about planting a church. It involved talking to lots of people, from the town’s mayor to its Catholic priest, to understand what we could bring to the town, and how that would benefit the people living there. Mostly people were really warm and positive towards us – we explained we were students – if we’d have said we were really planning on planting a church, I think they might have reacted more in fear.

“You need to be intentional, to go towards people, instead of imposing things on them. It all comes down to really understanding people. The challenge is always to look outwards.”

Jérémie’s studies have enabled him to learn how to properly read and understand Scripture, how to be a Christian leader, how to connect theology with anthropology and sociology, and how to become a church planter. That’s all thanks to you.

Pisal

Despite the fact that fewer than one per cent of the Cambodian population is Christian, people are still coming to faith. Pisal first heard about Jesus as a child when missionaries came to his village, but it wasn’t until he moved to Phnom Penh to study that he met BMS-supported worker Pastor J and his relationship with Jesus blossomed.

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A man working with cows in Cambodia.
Please pray that the Lord works to bring more people to his Kingdom in Cambodia.

“I am from a Buddhist family but there are Christians in my village, so I used to go to church during Christmas because they gave us good food and good gifts,” Pisal explains. “But I never listened to the Word of God, I never touched a Bible. When I came to Phnom Penh to join University in 2019 [and met Pastor J], it was the first time I sat for Bible study.

“I learned many things about Jesus, but I still didn’t believe in him. I often had bad dreams and couldn’t sleep most of the night, but then I remembered the Bible study and Jesus came to mind. One night, I prayed to Jesus for a good night’s sleep, and that night I slept peacefully. I kept praying every night and whenever I had a problem I prayed to God. I began to believe that Jesus is real. After more Bible study and fellowship, I decided to give my life to Jesus and got baptised in 2021. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I am happy to be a follower of Jesus.”

Pisal is now one of the leaders at the dormitory led by Pastor J, and is living out Christ’s example in all he does there.

Ayman

When you search for the words ‘Christian’ and ‘Palestinian’, a host of online articles will tell you that this demographic is one that’s been declining for years. Only a very small minority of the population in the area Ayman lives now identify as Christians. Despite this, Ayman feels that his Christian identity is in his bones, enshrined as a living, breathing presence in his hometown not far from Bethlehem. “So many of us carry religion deep in our own identity and with much appreciation for being the living stones that Jesus Christ left as a testimony of his work,” he explains.

Having been raised in a Christian family, Ayman was keen to build on the faith of his childhood by studying for a degree in Biblical Studies as an adult. BMS’ long-standing support of Bethlehem Bible College has been crucial for helping students like Ayman through the years to access their studies. “I was aware that Bethlehem Bible College was one of the best institutions where I could pursue a theological programme and grow as a person at the same time,” Ayman explains.

A photo of Bethlehem with an insert of a man in a red top.
Ayman wants to teach his community about God to help them overcome the challenges they face.

Ayman’s got dreams for his future – he’d love to preach on what he’s learned about God in this community and share his faith. “We, Christians, are a minority,” Ayman adds, “but I believe that thanks to the college, I can guide and teach about God to my community and help them overcome these challenges.” Thank you for your support for Bethlehem Bible College, bringing a future filled with hope to people like Ayman in Israel-Palestine.

Sign up for Engage!

You can hear more about what God is doing in France and Cambodia in the latest issue of Engage, the BMS magazine. Why not subscribe today to receive three free issues a year?

Words by Hannah Watson.

Celebrating Easter with a church in France!

Joyeuses Pâques:

Celebrating Easter with a church in France!

This Easter, let’s celebrate what trusting in Christ means to Christians in Paris, France. Introducing some of your brothers and sisters at the church run by BMS World Mission workers John and Sue Wilson!

Lily

Lily* was facing a troubling time in her life when she discovered John and Sue’s church. Having been disappointed by church in the past, she was hesitant about trying another congregation. But when the church hosted a concert in 2019 and invited Lily in, she knew this was where God was calling her to be.

In 2019, she attended the Connexion youth conference, which is supported by BMS, and was amazed by her experience there. “It was the first time that I saw a big group of young people praying to Jesus at the same time,” she recalls. “It was a very big for me and that was the moment that I accepted Jesus into my heart.”

In 2021, Lily stared preparing for baptism with Sue and, wonderfully, she was baptised in September 2022. And she’s using her gifts for the church community too, helping out regularly with the children’s work at church.

A woman stood in front of a church lecturn.
Lily was hesitant about going back to church — that is, until she discovered John and Sue's congregation!

Lily says: “I think the real change in my life came when I came to this church.”

A man sat in an airmchair.

Silvère

“The first church I went to was this church, but I don’t really remember because I was just a kid! But then I moved to French Guiana with my parents, and when I came back to Paris with my mother we went to a Catholic Church.

“When my parents got divorced, my mother became a Protestant and we went to a community church, and my sister started going to a charismatic church. She told me to go too, but at the time I was 18 years old, and when you’re 18, nobody can tell you to go to church if you don’t want to go! So I would only go to church about once a month.

“I started going to church again when I studied for a year in America, and then when I came back to Paris, I wanted to get baptised. I came to this church in 2016 and the third time I came, I was about to leave but at the end of the service, John said that the people who want to get baptised should come and see him. And I went.

“That’s where my journey started with Jesus. Before that, I believed in Jesus, I used to go to church, but it was like Santa Claus for me. When I asked to get baptised, this was the start of my journey.

“Now, I’m a member of the church council, I’m one of the youth leaders and I help manage the worship band. I almost never say no when it comes to God!”

Aline and Julie

When Julie and her mum Aline moved to Paris from Lebanon, they left a nation in crisis – but they didn’t expect crisis to follow them to France. Julie lives with chronic illness, and had to be admitted to hospital as soon as she and and her mum arrived in Paris. Aline had left a community where support was always around the corner – “Lebanese people are very welcoming. They’re over-welcoming!” Julie chips in – and found herself alone in a city with her only daughter in hospital. Her husband was still in the country she had left and she knew no-one. Fortunately, John and Sue were there to help.

The Wilsons managed to get Aline settled into a flat in the building next to the church, and prayed with her regularly until Julie was able to leave hospital.

A girl sat on a chair in a living room.

“For three weeks [the church] didn’t see us, but we knew from John that every Sunday they were praying for us,” says Aline. And when they were eventually able to join the church, they were welcomed by a community who knew them and wanted to help them however they could.

Now, Julie’s settled into her studies in interior design, and Aline into life at church. They hope that Julie’s father, Fadid, will be able to join them soon.

Julie says: “People at church know when we're not feeling OK. They know when you're sad or homesick and they just come up to us and they tell us that they're praying for us.”

Jean-Frédéric

A man in a red top stands in front of some church doors

“I’m originally from Martinique, and I moved to Paris in 2017. I discovered this church around the pandemic. I liked how small it was, everyone knew everyone and it felt like a home for me. It was difficult during the pandemic and it was hard to connect with people because everybody was wearing masks. So finding a church for me was very important.

“I grew up in a very religious family in Martinique. My mom was raised Catholic, but my dad was raised Protestant, so I kind of had both traditions. When I was a teenager, I had to answer my own questions and find my own path in the journey of spirituality and Christianity. That’s when I started to get more into faith and I started to have a closer relationship with God.

“When I moved to Paris, it was a hard change for me because I was alone in a new city. So I started having a deeper relationship with God and in 2022 I took the decision to get baptised, to really show my commitment to Jesus, and the church. John and Sue have had a big impact in my life because this is where I got baptised and I did the preparation with John. I’ll hold this church in my heart for the rest of my life.”

Jean-Frédèric says: ``This is where I got baptised... I’ll hold this church in my heart for the rest of my life.”

Share the gospel in France

This thriving church family is made possible by your dedicated support for BMS. If you want to see God’s Word reach even more people in France, why not consider supporting John and Sue Wilson financially today? Click here to find out more!

You’ll be able to read even more about John and Sue’s ministry in the next issue of Engage, the BMS magazine. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss out!

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A couple stand in front of brown church doors.
John and Sue would love your support!

*Lily requested her name be changed.
Interviews conducted by Hannah Watson and Laura Durrant.

Thailand Spring appeal

Portrait of Wit and Helen Boondeekuhn

Thailand Spring appeal

Join Helen and Wit's work in Thailand

by giving monthly from today!

So many people are living without hope in the area of Thailand where Helen and Wit Boondeekhun work as evangelists and church planters. Could you give regularly to help them?

Thew grew up longing for stability and peace. His mum and dad separated when he was little and he spent much of his childhood being moved from home to home and school to school, never in the same place for long. He struggled with feelings of anger and begged his parents to reconcile. And looking back, he can see that his education suffered because of the constant change.

Thew and Som smiling in a sunlit area full of trees

Everything’s changed for Thew and his wife Som since they became Christians. In fact, we wish you could meet them and see the change for yourself – the joy that they radiate is infectious! The anger Thew used to feel has gone, and he’s found the stable family he longed for among his brothers and sisters at church.

Without the generosity of amazing supporters like you, Thew may never have heard the news that has changed his life forever. But there are still people waiting to hear. And without your help, they may never do so. Could you help by giving regularly?

How could my monthly gift help?
  • £5 each month could support a local Thai evangelist in sharing the good news of Jesus and in discipling new believers.
  • £12 each month could equip a church member like Thew with skills to increase their income and better support their family.
  • £25 each month could help raise up new local leaders and bring hope of sustainable church growth long into the future.

We call our regular givers 24:7 Partners because they’re committed to praying and giving regularly to support what God is doing through BMS. When you give monthly as a 24:7 Partner, you enable plans for the future. You help start new work. You are part of this work, all day, every day.

If you become a 24:7 Partner to support BMS work in Thailand, we’ll send you a welcome pack, as well as Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine. Find out more on our 24:7 Partners page.

A young man in a pool preparing to be baptised

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Matthew 9: 37


Come with us to Wang Daeng by watching this short video!

Pray with your church for Helen and Wit's work in Thailand

Ready to set up your regular gift?

Go to the online form

There is love here

Inspirational church ministry from Uganda

There is love here

Praying for this

Jimmy and Phionah Okello are an amazing and faithful couple. And their student ministry in Gulu, Uganda, is a clear example of abundant life, blessed by God. BMS World Mission’s Writer, Laura Durrant, caught up with them on a recent trip to Gulu, where she got to experience this wonderful ministry that you support, first-hand.

There is love here. That’s what I think when we pile out of the car and hurry into the building of University Community Church (UCC) in Gulu. It’s a building I know well, having seen it in photos many times during my time at BMS World Mission, and I’m a bit overwhelmed to be here experiencing it in real life. Even more exciting though is being greeted by Phionah Okello on the door as we rush in to take our seats – the service is about to start. Phionah, and her husband Jimmy, are well known in the BMS office back home. To meet them in person and experience their ministry first-hand is such a privilege, and I’m excited to learn more about how God is leading them.

A church building in Uganda made out of half brick wall and half bamboo walls.
Jimmy and Phionah planted University Community Church eight years ago.

Jimmy and Phionah knew from their university days in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, that God was calling them to minister to students – and for Phionah in particular, it’s a beautiful completion of her own journey to faith. When she first went to university, it felt like her first experience of real freedom after spending most of her education at boarding school. She planned to work in a bank and make lots of money – but that all changed when she met some Christians on campus. “I felt like they came at the right time and I came to know the Lord at the right time,” Phionah says. “Imagine if no-one had come to me, I would be lost, completely lost forever.” Phionah and Jimmy met at their church in Kampala, and remained involved in the campus ministry for a number of years. That’s until they felt the Lord calling them to move up north and plant a church at Gulu University.

Two photos put together of a Ugandan woman and man smiling at the camera.
Jimmy and Phionah followed God's call to minister to students in Gulu.

Eight years later, they’ve built a warm, strong community at UCC – but ministering to students isn’t without its challenges. “It’s so transient and it can be discouraging,” explains Phionah. “Because every three years almost half of the church is gone and you have different people.” But despite the impermanence of the context they’re in, they’re able to offer a safe space for these young people experiencing a huge change in their lives to share their struggles and find hope. “What we’ve seen is that because of our stability, we’ve become a light in that community,” says Jimmy. And that light doesn’t just touch Gulu. The university isn’t just a mission field, it’s also a mission base. Jimmy and Phionah are able to disciple the students they meet to become disciple-makers, so they can continue to share the gospel in their new communities once they leave university.

Many churches in the UK struggle with engaging with young people, but Jimmy and Phionah don’t have a secret formula when it comes to their student ministry. They simply spend their time building strong relationships with the young people in their community, and are available to help them whenever they can. “If you build a relationship of trust, [the students] can listen to you and bring their issues to you,” Jimmy explains. It’s a principle Jimmy and Phionah take to their work outside of UCC with BMS World Mission partner Justice Livelihoods Health (JLH), where Phionah helps with administration and finance, and Jimmy runs outreach and training for local church leaders. “I get the opportunity to share some of my skills and abilities in leadership, which I use at UCC to equip other pastors in different churches,” says Jimmy. “Being able to share with them from what I have so that they’re able to lead more effectively and be equipped is really a beautiful thing.” For Jimmy and Phionah, emulating God’s love is the foundation of their ministry.

People praying in church in Uganda
A woman speaking in church in Uganda. She's wearing a pink top.
The community is thriving at UCC and many students have come to faith and grown in faith thanks to the ministry here.

There is love here. Not just at UCC, but in this community, in this city. I see love in the worship and welcome we receive at UCC. And I see it throughout the rest of the week we spend in Gulu, in the devotions shared between colleagues at JLH, in the worship of a church savings group, in the laughter shared between a mother and her children, the stories shared between a grandmother and her granddaughter. It’s my main take away from our visit to Gulu: that with God’s unfailing love abounding, any life can be lived with abundance.

Jimmy and Phionah would love for you to pray with them, for UCC and their wider ministry.

  • Please pray for a permanent building for UCC, so they can continue to provide a safe and stable environment for the students they minister to.
  • Pray for students to have open hearts to the gospel message and that they would develop personal relationships with God.
  • Pray for the Lord to bless Jimmy and Phionah with wisdom in their ministry, so that they can continue to bring people to faith and create disciple-makers in Uganda.
  • Pray that God will raise up more leaders within UCC to help share the load of the ministry.
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Words by Laura Durrant, Editor of Engage, the BMS magazine.

Mission Turned Upside Down

Mission Turned Upside Down

History made as history is celebrated in Bangladesh

Last month the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha gathered in their thousands to mark the 225-year anniversary of BMS World Mission founder William Carey’s arrival in Bengal – but all minds were set firmly to the future.

“Life at the edges”…”When waters rise” … “Cyclone Amphan: pray as heavy rains hit Bangladesh” … “Cyclone Bulbul: pray for Bangladesh”.

When you search for stories about Bangladesh on the BMS website, you discover a country on the frontline of the climate emergency. However, Bangladesh’s stories aren’t only about human-made extreme weather conditions. As a nation, it’s on the frontline of 21st century mission.

Once upon a time, what was Bengal was the frontline of 19th century mission. Last month, long-time BMS partner, the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS), celebrated a 225-year anniversary. The celebrations marked the moment BMS founder William Carey moved across into what is now the Bangladeshi district of Dinajpur, after his famous landing in what was then known as Calcutta.

The celebrations lasted four days and involved over 3,000 Bangladeshi Baptists, visits and talks from BMS General Director Kang-San Tan and Head of BMS Trustees Marc Owen, as well as BMS workers Louise and Peter Lynch, and, wonderfully, 31 baptisms. When we spoke to Louise and Peter earlier in the summer, Louise stressed the importance of not dwelling or taking comfort in the past. “The whole idea of the celebration is to go forward,” she said, “looking into how we can share the gospel even more successfully across Bangladesh!

What Louise couldn’t reveal back then was that she and Peter had been intimately involved in working with BBCS to clear the path for the ordination of their first women pastors. As they shared in their most recent prayer letter, “[The two women] stood alongside twelve men, who were also committing their lives to sacrificial service.

Two men in suits smiling at the camera
Marc Owen, BMS' Head of Trustees, is joined by BMS worker Pete Lynch to celebrate this amazing anniversary!

“Jyoti and Nandita are also our friends and we have seen their patient service irrespective of recognition. So, it has been really good to have been part of the behind-the-scenes team within BBCS working towards this day, and to pray for these women as they develop, train and support the next generation. The very public inclusion and affirmation of these women, also I think communicated something about how BBCS leadership wants to be.”

Two women pastors from Bangladesh smile at the camera, along with a man and a woman
Pete and Lou Lynch celebrate with Pastors Nandita and Jyoti!

Telling the story of BBCS and the ordination of Pastors Nandita Sharkar and Jyoti Ratner is vital. As Kang-San told the thousands in the congregation, “My prayer and encouragement is for us to tell the story of BBCS by focusing on the history of local church pioneers rather than foreign missionaries.”

This is what 21st century mission can look like when we are prepared to turn it on its head. Drawing from his own personal story, Kang-San had a challenge for the ministers who had gathered from across the region, “I was converted at the age of 17 in a small Baptist church in Malaysia. My pastor took risks in allowing me to preach at the young age of 19.

“By the time I graduated from university, I was an itinerant preacher and pastor of Malaysian Baptist churches. My challenge for BBCS is for every minister to model godliness and to mentor 12 young disciples for leadership for the next generation Church.”

The theme for the 225-year celebrations was appropriately taken from Revelation 2: 25, “…hold on to what you have been given until I come”. As Louise points us and the Church in Bangladesh towards the future, it begs the question about our future goals until Jesus is comes again.

Inspired by the ordination of Jyoti and Nandita, Kang-San’s sense of the future direction is clear, “We need to focus on the need for Christian discipleship among younger generations. We need to release women and men whose holiness and discipleship will prepare for the leadership of BBCS.”

225 years on, our understanding of mission has changed, the church in Bangladesh has changed. The present and future in Bangladesh and beyond is that, as Kang-San puts it, “Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is available for all, young and old, female and male to participate fully in the leadership of the church.”

* This article was amended on January 4 2023 to afford Pastor Nandita Sharkar and Pastor Jyoti Ratner their full titles.

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Words by Matty Fearon

Your Harvest legacy

Your Harvest legacy

The gifts you gave are still bearing fruit

Do you ever wonder what happens when BMS World Mission appeals wind down for another year? In this week’s story, you get to find out. We take you back over five previous much-loved Harvest appeals, and learn how your generosity is still bearing fruit in the lives you touched, even years into the future. From Nepal to Afghanistan and Thailand to Chad, here’s the difference you made.

2015: My Father’s House

In 2015, we shared with you the story of Ramu, a man who was paralysed in a terrible truck accident. Like countless others in Nepal, this hardworking father was told that his life was over when the accident shattered his spine. But, thanks to the incredible work of BMS occupational therapist Megan Barker, and your generous support, Ramu has gone on to live a full life that’s been characterised by hope, enabling his young family to flourish alongside him.

A Nepali family stand in front of their home.
Your support helped give Diyu and her family hope in the face of tragedy.
Picture of Alan & Megan Barker
Megan and her husband Alan work to make sure vulnerable families in Nepal get the support they need.

In 2022, Megan Barker was able to revisit Ramu’s family and share with us an encouraging update. The My Father’s House feature video was narrated by Ramu’s daughter Diya, who was then ten years old. Seven years on, Ramu’s children are still doing well at school and the family has saved enough money to buy a scooter, improving their ability to travel. They’ve also invested money in developing their home a lot more since the appeal was filmed, including creating better access to the property. “Ramu and his wife are both fit and well, and are very smiley,” says Megan. “The family are doing well.”

2017: Wonderfully Made

Back in 2017, we introduced you to Adventure Man, Captain Kindness and Mr Determined – aka Tada, Natalie and Phil from Hope Home, a BMS-supported home for children with disabilities in Thailand. Phil is settled with his foster family, and we chatted to mission worker Judy Cook to get an update on how Natalie and Tada are doing.

A Thai girl sat on a climbing frame
Thank you for supporting Natalie through our Wonderfully Made appeal in 2017!

“Natalie is continuing to do well at her special school and loves learning there. Her foster family is amazing and love her dearly, as do we all at Hope Home. On the days when Natalie comes to Hope Home, she loves to come and read to the children as they receive their physiotherapy treatment. She’s so caring!

“Tada is as active, inquisitive and fun-loving as ever. He loves to sing all songs, but especially children’s worship songs and his choice of DVD to watch is Bible stories – his favourite is Elijah! He is now able to slot into a lot more official therapy support at a regional centre, so his speech and general behaviours and development are slowly improving.”

2018: Life’s First Cry

The heartbreak of women in Afghanistan losing their babies to preventable illnesses moved many of you in 2018. The Life’s First Cry feature video took us through the snow-covered mountains of Afghanistan’s central highlands and into the homes of women like Andisha (pictured), who lost her first 11 babies to ill health. A year and a half after filming, we went back to visit Andisha, her husband Mohammed, her daughter Roya and the son she gave birth to after receiving safe birthing classes through your support. Roya, “who is kind of naughty!” explains Andisha, was just about to start school, and Navid, “who is very calm”, was just a toddler. As with any other kids, they were both enjoying playing with their toys and having fun.

A photo of a mother in Afghanistan with her daughter and son

Since helping Andisha’s family in 2018, you’ve also played a part in transforming her community through your ongoing support of BMS work in Afghanistan, bringing sanitary latrines, literacy skills and nutrition courses to her village. So much has changed in Afghanistan since our visit to Andisha’s family, but we know that one thing certainly hasn’t: the commitment and care that BMS supporters feel for the people of this beautiful but often troubled nation. You’ll have another chance to support BMS work in Afghanistan this Christmas, so make sure you’re subscribed to the BMS weekly email update so you don’t miss out.

2020: Operation: Chad

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, you showed incredible support for the amazing staff members at Guinebor II Hospital (G2) in Chad. Now that Covid-19 is less of a threat in Chad, the staff have been able to focus their energies on other crucial medical issues facing the community: namely, malaria and malnutrition.

A man and a woman in scrubs and masks
Brian and Jackie Chilvers have pioneered malnutrition and nursing work at G2 since joining Team Chad in 2021.
A man conducting surgery in Chad.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, you raised over £300,000 for G2 Hospital in Chad.

“The biggest health concern that our neighbours expressed was worry about malaria… some of the things we heard were really heartbreaking, about how many children people have lost,” says Jackie Chilvers, who has joined the G2 team, along with her husband Brain, since Operation: Chad premiered. Fortunately, they’ve been able to help pioneer an education programme to help people understand how to prevent malaria and where medical support for those who contract it is available – whether that be at G2 or through pre-established government programmes. Jackie’s also come alongside BMS worker Mel Spears to set up a malnutrition clinic, to help dangerously ill children get back on track, and enable families to get the right help for their children.

2021: I Will Stand

Last year’s Harvest appeal marked a first for BMS, using animation to tell the stories of courageous Christians whose faces we couldn’t share. Though we couldn’t show their photos, we knew that God had counted every hair on their heads and was using their witness in powerful ways to spread his amazing gospel. You stood with believers like Z as she reached out to communities in North Africa who were yet to hear the good news of Jesus. And we’re so pleased to report that Z is still standing strong a year later, able to continue her ministry thanks to your giving and prayers.

A woman typing on a keyboard.
Z is committed to boldly sharing her faith, despite the risks.
An illustration of a woman sat a desk.
Z's daughters loved seeing their mum's story come to life.

“She said that she was well, is enjoying her role and is passionate about why she is doing it,” explains BMS Overseas Team Leader Sarah Mhamdi, who visited Z earlier this year. “She’s seeking ways to reach more people and to be able to answer more of their questions and help people grow in their faith. Please continue to pray for her own birth family that they will come to share her faith. She continues to be thankful for our prayers and support.” Supporters weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the colourful illustrations used to capture Z’s testimony. Z’s own little girls loved seeing their mum come to life through animation, and felt very proud that she had shared her story!

You’ve done such amazing things by supporting BMS Harvest appeals in the past – why not continue your streak by supporting Good Land, our Harvest appeal for 2022? Over the years, you’ve helped communities in desperate need all over the world, and this year you can help the people of Ghusel, Nepal, transform their village. They dream of good-quality education for their children, of clean water that’s accessible to the whole community, of training to help make sure their livestock stay healthy. Will you help their dreams become reality? Give now to help transform the village of Ghusel today!

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Words by Hannah Watson, Editor of Engage magazine and Laura Durrant.

Will you stand?

Will you stand?

I Will Stand: W’s story

The BMS World Mission I Will Stand appeal asked you to stand with bold believers in hard places. There’s still a chance to join us in making a difference. This is W’s story.

We can’t show you their faces.
But God has numbered every hair on their heads.
This is W’s story.

W is smiley, considerate and extremely polite. He gestures with his hands as he speaks, with a swiftness and excitedness that belie the challenges he’s lived through. He’s still a young man, only in his 30s. He couldn’t have predicted the pathway that God would place him on that day in 2010 when someone handed him a Bible for the first time. But there’s one thing he’s absolutely certain of: “I know that Jesus loves me. And I love to follow Jesus.”

W's story, Asia

Download the video and share with your church
Thank you for supporting I Will Stand

Generous Christians from around the UK have already raised nearly £160,000 for I Will Stand. “A number of ministers spoke to us of the perspective-shifting conversations the stories provoked in their youth groups,” says Matty Fearon, BMS’ Creative Content Team Leader. “And after watching our I Will Stand Live event that featured an interview with Z, one minister said it led to a whole session on our boundaryless fellowship in Christ.” We know these powerful stories deserve to reach more ears. If you haven’t supported I Will Stand yet, why not do so today?

W’s story is powerful, and he’s telling it because he longs for support from his brothers and sisters around the world. Could you stand with W today? Here’s three ways you can help.

Give to the I Will Stand appeal

Your gift to BMS World Mission can provide Bibles for people who have never had the chance to read the gospel, fund theological training for an isolated believer from the Middle East or North Africa, or help support a church planter in Asia to share the good news with unreached communities. By giving, you can support Christians following Jesus and sharing the gospel in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world.

Use the donation form on this page to give to the I Will Stand appeal and help bold believers living out their faith in hard places.

Pray for BMS-supported believers in hard places

These believers pray for Christians in the UK. They pray for you. Will you pray for them? Pray for people who have been rejected by their families because they have chosen to follow Jesus. Pray for church planters in Asia who are facing persecution because of their faith. Pray for isolated Christians. And pray that, through the ministries of these BMS-supported believers, thousands of people will experience whole-life transformation.

Download the prayer points

Share the stories with your church

Want to share I Will Stand with your church? Please do! We have lots of resources to help you at  www.bmsworldmission.org/iwillstand

Download the videos (and show or stream them copyright free) and check out our free Leader’s Guide to plan your I Will Stand service or event, all year round.

Get resources for your church

Gifts made to I Will Stand will be used to support BMS’ work to bring people to faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in hard places all around the world.

Will you stand?

Give now

Are you willing?

Are you willing?

What God has in store when you say yes to his call

I'm praying for this

Countless cakes, two BMS World Mission workers and one journey: Paul and Sarah Brown look back on ten years serving in Thailand, and share how they’ve learnt to always say ‘yes’ to God’s plans.

Sarah Brown never imagined baking would help her reach the women of Bangkok’s infamous red-light district. And women like Mam* trapped in their work there never imagined that baking would be able to bring them out of it. “It still seems very bizarre to me,” Sarah says laughing. “Using cake decorating to win people to Jesus. But you know, nothing is bizarre to Jesus, and he can use whatever skills you have.” As strange as it seems, when Sarah traces God’s hand in her call to overseas mission all the way back, it did begin with baking a cake. Unbeknownst to Sarah and her husband Paul, that was the first step on a journey that took them all the way to Thailand. Though initially sceptical about how God could use their skills, the past decade of serving him has taught Paul and Sarah to keep saying yes to the plans he has in store.

A mission worker couple pictured against a leafy green background.
Paul and Sarah Brown have served in Thailand since 2012.

After Sarah agreed to bake a celebration cake for a colleague going on maternity leave, the requests kept rolling in. “I just couldn’t see the beauty of it,” she explains. “I thought everybody’s mum taught them baking on a Saturday!” Soon she was working part-time, running a cake decorating business and being asked by organisations working with homeless people, vulnerable women and children with learning disabilities whether she could share her baking skills with them. Sarah feels very strongly that God was preparing her heart for what he had in store for her next: using these skills to help vulnerable women even further afield, in the red-light district in Bangkok. And having said yes to God’s call to serve overseas, she soon found herself saying another yes – after she met Paul during her training year with BMS and they decided to get married!

The lights and sounds of Bangkok, Thailand.
God's plan for Sarah and Paul brought them to Bangkok.

Sarah and Paul began serving with BMS in Thailand in 2012. Both felt amazed that God had work in their skillsets prepared for them there – Sarah, working with the vulnerable women supported through BMS’ partner at that time in Bangkok, and Paul strengthening the skills of the accounting department and teaching the women IT skills. It was a far cry from what Sarah had envisioned as mission work, but, really, it made perfect sense. “I didn’t realise I could use my creative skills on the mission field, so I thought I would have to teach English,” she says. Instead, she was supporting vulnerable women every day, just as she had been in the UK. She met women who had been trafficked from Africa, Eastern Europe or South America, believing they would be working in hotels, and women from Thailand who saw no other choice but to work in the sex industry. Paul and Sarah’s roles were designed around giving those women another choice. “As a team, we used to go into bars to meet with the women. To befriend them, really,” Sarah says. For the women that did want to come out of their situation, the team was on hand to help them into alternative employment and training, such as baking, jewellery making or IT classes. “I could honestly say there was spiritual warfare in those places,” Sarah explains. “It was very, very dark.” But for women like Mam, meeting the volunteers changed everything.

Mam is just one of the people Paul and Sarah supported over the years, first through the centre in Bangkok and later working with vulnerable young boys and girls through BMS’ partner in Chiang Mai. After leaving her old life behind, the mother-of-one became a Christian through the daily Bible studies and witness of the Christian workers. “She had a really beautiful heart,” says Paul. “And she came to love God. Her wish really was to become a missionary.” Mam was desperate to share how her life had changed, and she began to accompany the team on outreach visits to the red-light district, sharing her story of salvation with women still trapped in it. Mam now works for an NGO in Thailand and is still engaged in evangelism. After Paul taught her bass guitar, she also leads in a worship band.

Decorating a cake
Baking, jewellery making and IT classes provided alternative employment for vulnerable women.

Seeing such incredible fruit from your work can make it hard to say goodbye, but after serving in Bangkok and Chiang Mai for ten years, Paul and Sarah know that God is preparing new roles for them in Thailand. They move in January to being working with the Thai Karen Baptist Convention, strengthening BMS’ support of the Karen people and using their skills to equip and serve the vulnerable. But, after ten years in Thailand, they’ve learned it’s pointless to pretend they’re the ones deciding how best they can be used. It’s God who opens all the doors. “Keeping God in the picture and following his leading as to what he wants us to do next is paramount, really,” says Paul. “God equips the people he calls, rather than calling the equipped.” His advice for anyone wondering about mission work? “I would say don’t worry about what gifts you’ve got. It’s about being willing. Are you willing to answer the call? And then God will do the rest.”

As Paul and Sarah prepare for their new roles in January, they’ve asked BMS supporters to pray with them:

  • Please pray for the Covid-19 situation in Thailand, where so many are still waiting to be vaccinated. Pray for comfort for people who are struggling to support their families due to lost work. Ask God to protect people in a nation where suicide rates are sadly rising.
  • Please pray for our transition to the new organisation – that our relationships with the Thai Karen people would develop and flourish. Please pray too for good health.
  • In Thailand, only one per cent of people would call themselves Christians. Please pray for creativity in our outreach as God uses us to witness to those we serve. Pray also for Christian groups living amongst the hilltribes where we’ll be working to have the confidence and courage to share the gospel powerfully with others in their own mother tongue.
Illustration of J - one of the Christians in hard places who shares her story
Will you stand?

If you’d like to stand with courageous Christians like those Paul and Sarah will be supporting in their new role, take a look at our Harvest appeal for 2021, I Will Stand. This year, we’re raising money for Christians living the gospel in hard places, no matter the cost. Find out more here.

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*Name changed
Words by Hannah Watson, Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine.

Hope on wheels

Hope on wheels

Back in April 2020, we launched our Easter Appeal to provide bicycles and training to Christians in Bangladesh. A year on, your generous donations are changing lives and bringing hope.

In north-eastern Bangladesh, hope comes in the form of the roar of a motorbike engine! Among these remote tea-farming communities, works Pastor Peter* – passionate about sharing the gospel but, until recently, only able to reach one village a day, often having to stay overnight when hire vehicles were scarce. Now, aided by his own trusty wheels, Pastor Peter can cover multiple villages each day, giving more people the chance to hear his life-changing message.

Despite Covid restrictions on travel this year, Pastor Peter has experienced the joy of leading 21 people into a personal faith and baptism.

Two women wearing Indian dress with a bicycle

Pastor Peter’s motorbike is just one of those funded through your generous gifts. BMS World Mission partner the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS) have also distributed 30 bicycles to pastors and evangelists in the area as a result of your support.

“[There is now] more than a 70 per cent increase in meeting with people face-to-face,” explains Rev Ashim Baroi, General Secretary at BBCS. “And the costs of communications are decreased more than 40 per cent.”

Everyone an evangelist?

But it’s not just pastors who are called to share the gospel: the commandment to ‘go into all the world and make disciples’ is for all of us. Yet evangelism can be a daunting prospect, particularly in a country where only one per cent of the population is Christian, and where opposition to Christianity is on the rise.

That’s where BBCS has stepped in again. Your donations to our Easter Appeal enabled our partner to run evangelism training seminars, as well as purchasing, translating, printing and distributing Christian training resources. As a result, dozens of people are now strengthened in their faith and encouraged and equipped to share the love of Jesus in a real and personal way with those around them.

“[A man] came to the Lord from Hinduism,” explains Rev Ashim. “…Before, he thought that he needs only relationship with Jesus and fellowship with him. Now he has a clear idea that firstly he needs to fellowship with Jesus Christ, then he needs to do fellowship with people. He is applying it in his personal and family life. Now he is sharing it with the new believers.”

And, as more and more people respond to the gospel in Bangladesh, thanks to your donations, BBCS is also supporting new believers in their journey of faith. Pastors and teams of volunteers are visiting, encouraging and distributing Bibles in communities across the area, and almost 700 new Christians are now grounded in church plants.

Over the shoulder view of a man reading his Bible, a map of Bangladesh is on the floor

Words and deeds

Alongside evangelism, theological training and church planting, BBCS is also bringing practical help to communities. In northern Bangladesh, teams visited the area during floods. “We met with the local people and helped them. We prayed for them,” says Rev Ashim. BBCS has also provided essential food and hygiene supplies to those struggling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A man on a motorbike.

In a country of over 160 million people where an estimated 22 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, floods are frequent and diseases such as dengue fever and Covid-19 are making life even more difficult, people need the hope of the gospel more than ever.

“There are lots of families but our workers are very few,” explains Rev Ashim. “We need to appoint more evangelists to reach [out to the people] in those areas. Pray too for our newly elected leaders so that they can lead BBCS in God’s plan. And pray for the evangelists and outreach workers, that God will use and protect them to bring hope to the people.” Kwame Adzam, BMS’ Overseas Team Leader for Evangelism and Discipleship adds: “Together with you, we celebrate God’s generosity and amazing love. He is using your donations and prayers, along with BMS partners in Bangladesh, to bring hope, love and life to people in this country, through the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

You can keep helping people in need this Easter season. Give to our 2021 spring appeal today, and help families put food on the table from Uganda to Peru. Find out more right here.

And if you enjoyed this story, why not share it with your friends and family on Facebook? Click here to share.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

Christmas Prayer Campaign 2020

Christmas Prayer Campaign 2020

Make Jesus known in Asia this Christmas

Praying for this

In 2020, the question left weighing on millions of hearts has been, ‘Where is the hope in all of this?’ This Christmas, BMS World Mission partners across Asia are coming together to share the answer – the wonderful hope they have in the good news of Jesus Christ.

This December, you’re invited to be part of a series of joy-filled outreach events taking place across Asia. A network of passionate believers from India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Cambodia is coming together with the collective vision to reach as many people as is possible with a Christ-centred message of hope. And with plans for a series of Covid-secure festivities, celebrations and outreach events throughout December well underway, the only thing missing is you!

The BMS Christmas prayer campaign 2020 invites you to make Jesus known to people across Asia by upholding and supporting the plans of our partners in dedicated prayer. Our faithful partners (who we’ll introduce you to below!) know they fall at the first hurdle if they don’t seek God’s guidance for the month ahead. So, please join them and Christians across the UK, praying for God to shine his light at the end of a dark year. Please pray for questioning hearts to receive gladly the message of a God who reaches out and beckons them into a relationship with him this Christmas.

How you can be involved in sharing the good news in Asia this Christmas
  1. Set aside five minutes every day for the next four weeks to pray for one of the amazing partners below.
  2. Pick one of the upcoming events described below and pray it would be fruitful, bringing the plans and people involved in them before God.
  3. Share the BMS Christmas prayer campaign with your fellowship or on your social media accounts. Perhaps you could choose one of the partners to be your church’s special prayer focus?
  4. Follow BMS World Mission on Facebook or Twitter to hear updates, and stay tuned as we hope to share the fruit of this inspiring Christmas outreach with you in 2021.

Benjamin Francis, BMS Team Leader for India, working with BMS’ partner Big Life

Christmas Prayer Campaign, BMS Worker Ben Francis waves from a boat

In Ben’s words:

“I don’t have to tell you what kind of depression people have been in this year. Whether people have been affected by Covid-19 or not, there is another virus which is going round, which is fear. Only faith can cancel fear. And faith, which is the hope of eternity, is the message people long to hear.

People in India are thinking, ‘If I go out, I may contract Coronavirus. But if I stay in my house, I’ll definitely die of hunger.’ They want to know, what is the hope in all of this? And this Christmas, all our outreach programmes are focused on that: Christ in me, the hope of eternity.”

Plans to share the gospel in India

Ben’s team are planning hundreds of small events, starting from 1 December and led by fellowships of around 10 to 15 people in a socially distanced manner.

The events will include cultural presentations, dancing and singing. “The people we’re reaching out to have never experienced things like this: re-enactments of the Nativity, singing Christmas songs, seeing children getting involved – in the villages it’s a huge thing,” says Ben.

Christmas cake and tea will be shared, drawing people into fellowship and community. Ben hopes the generosity people see in his team will reflect the generosity and kindness of God. Tracts and Bibles will also be distributed to those who have questions about the meaning of Christmas.

Last year, Ben saw an amazing 600 new small fellowships starting because of similar Christmas outreach events.

Ben’s prayer points:

  • Pray for the safety of our team, because there has been some persecution in the villages. Pray also for safety for me, travelling to so many different places.
  • Please pray that the Bibles my team give out would be joyfully received. We hope to give out about 5,000 Bibles just in West Bengal to people who are asking questions.
  • We’d love to see baptisms coming out of these events, so please pray for that.
  • Please pray for safety for all involved as we follow government Covid-19 guidelines.
  • We plan to reach 50 to 60 villages, so please pray for a huge harvest!
Download Ben's prayer points

Rev Ashim Baroi, General Secretary of long-standing BMS partner, the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS)

In Rev Ashim’s words:

“We are using this Christmas project to bring glad tidings to people in the Tea Garden areas and to people in the hill tribes.

During our Christmas programme, we will teach them Christmas songs and explain to them how God loves us and has come to be with us.

Some of the people live in very sad conditions, now we have opportunity to make them glad. We will let them know about Emmanuel – God with us. Many have emotional pain and fear because of the Covid-19 situation. We want to bring them hope and love in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Rev Ashim Baroi and John Karmakar from the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha stand in front of a mosaic of William Carey at BBCS Head Office in Bangladesh.

Plans to share the gospel in Bangladesh

Most of the people Ashim’s team hope to reach are from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds, or follow different tribal belief systems. The majority of them have never heard the gospel of Jesus. In the next five years, BBCS hopes to plant 20 new churches and invite many thousands of people into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The team want to share the story of Jesus’ nativity in 50 villages. This ‘birthday’ celebration, complete with songs and gifts, will also give the chance for believers from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds to share their testimonies.

“We will bring them food and soft drinks,” adds Ashim. “We will distribute gospel tracts, and after the Christmas programme we will do medical camps there later in the year”.

Ashim's prayer points:

  • Please pray for us that people will open their hearts to the Christmas message.
  • Pray that they would be encouraged by the gifts that we bring and find hope to believe that all is not lost.
  • Pray for the safety and sensitivity of BBCS workers who will travel to these villages.
  • Pray that many would believe and be baptised as witnesses in the communities.
Download Ashim's prayer points

Rev Jlalduha Lalduhawma, mission worker with the Baptist Church of Mizoram (BCM) to Cambodia

Rev Jlalduha Lalduhawma from the Baptist Church of Mizoram against a beige background.

In Rev Jlalduha’s words:

“The Christmas season is one of the best times for doing evangelism in Cambodia. People are aware of Christmas as one of the important festivals of Christianity, without knowing the reality about Christmas and its background.

Taking advantage of this special occasion, we plan to gather the parents and friends of local students (both Christians and non-Christians), providing lunch or dinner with a Christmas gift and an invite to a proper worship service or fellowship. Here, we’ll tell the living story of Christmas. Besides this, we’ll have a Christmas outreach ministry to the village.”

Plans to share the gospel in Cambodia

The team at Horaios Baptist Church will share the message of Christmas through a sermon, drama, a dance group and the singing and teaching of Christian songs.

There will also be a charitable Christmas gift of food, cloths and other items to rural villages where there aren’t yet any Christian believers. The area has been specially chosen as one where there is no Christian presence. Jlalduha’s team would love to build bridges, fellowship and community there, paving the way for more outreach opportunities in 2021.

Download Jlalduha's prayer points

Jlalduha's prayer points:

  • Please pray that the parents of the students who become Christians will support them.
  • As many Cambodians enjoy the Christmas celebrations, pray that their hearts and minds would be open to understand that God has come to give us eternal life through Christ Jesus.
  • Pray for our students who will share their testimonies and for those who will preach, that God would give them boldness and powerful words that will win people to Christ.
  • Pray that after the Christmas programme many people would want to know more about Jesus.

Mr Prateep Dee, General Secretary of the Thai Karen Baptist Convention (TKBC)

In Prateep’s words:

“It is a traditional event for us in December to go preaching the gospel to many unreached fields. Yearly, many of our local churches and associations and TKBC departments reach out to the working fields and unreached marginalised areas, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why? Because Thailand needs the gospel. Only one per cent of the Thai population is Christian, and that’s counting all denominations of Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Though the majority of Thais are Buddhists, Thai people hunger for peace and salvation.”

Thra Tim, also known as Prateep Dee, with the Thai Karen Baptist Church.

Plans to share the gospel in Thailand

“The events we organise provide the opportunity for the community to come together,” explains Prateep. “This has been an extremely difficult year for many people. This may be one of the only occasions where they can relax, laugh, and have some food and fellowship. We will provide cultural dances and Christmas songs in our native language. There will be a short drama to demonstrate God’s love for people.”

Prateep believes this will be the first time some of the people in surrounding areas hear the name of Jesus. The planned events will give people the opportunity to ask questions, and those who believe the chance to be baptised. It’s hoped that these new believers could become the nucleus of a church plant.

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Prateep's prayer points:

  • Please pray that hearts would be opened to believe in the name of Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit would give us the right words to speak.
  • The journey into some of the places, especially into the hill tribes, is long and deep. Please pray for the protection of the team and for strength for the journey.
  • Please pray that people will understand the meaning of Christmas and their hearts would be filled with the joy of Jesus.
  • Pray that after the events those who believe would continue to hold onto Jesus as their Lord.
  • May people feel like they can lay aside futile rituals and experience the grace of God that begins with a loving relationship with Jesus.
Download Prateep's prayer points

Words by Hannah Watson
Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine

The accidental pastor

The accidental pastor:

One man’s incredible conversion story

Pastor Humberto’s conversion in the Peruvian Amazon is testament to God’s power to work miracles entirely independent of human intervention. Read on for the incredible story — one that teaches us that salvation comes from God alone… but that God is certainly not going to leave us on our own.

It’s a story that begins with two abandonments. One, Humberto’s slow realisation that he was considering leaving his wife just six years into their marriage – ending in her giving him an ultimatum: if he ever did go, he would never see their beloved son again. And the second, the shock of a clean break coming from left field, from a group of people who weren’t supposed to leave.

Some Christians had planted a church in Pastor Humberto’s village of Nanay, on a tributary of the Amazon river, only to announce they were making a trip further downstream. They needed a trustworthy man to look after the keys to the church while they were gone.

Their trip away ended up saving Humberto’s marriage.
He just didn’t expect that the missionaries would never come back.

Pastor Humberto holds up the keys he was handed to an empty church. He is wearing a blue t-shirt. Behind him is the green door of the church, and the blue and white painted wall.
Pastor Humberto holds the keys to the church that he never expected to run.

Humberto’s wife had been growing more and more interested in the message taught at the new church. Not willing to let go of the man she loved, she’d also begun to invite him along to meetings there with their son. While at first dismissive, Humberto soon realised that if he could prove himself as an indispensable help, could reliably open the church for morning prayer, light the candles as needed, and shut it up at night, then perhaps his wife would reconsider the ultimatum hanging over their relationship.

And when every other man in the village asked to look after the church keys claimed busyness – “my business won’t run itself”, “every day?”, “I’m needed at my farm on Sundays” – well, Humberto’s offer seemed really quite dedicated.

Two boats on a rainy river where BMS works in the Peruvian Amazon.
Pastor Humberto sits on his boat, where BMS World Mission works in the Peruvian Amazon.

But, while this story begins with two abandonments, it doesn’t end that way. The missionaries never came back – called back to their home country or preferring to begin again in a new village, Humberto never found out. But his change in character touched his wife. He heard God’s prompting to look at her again in a new light, as the wife of his youth, a woman whose inner beauty outshone all others. And his daily visits to church made peeling open the pages of a Bible, once the object of complete disinterest, an irresistible temptation. “Once I’d opened the Bible, I couldn’t close it,” says Humberto, remembering how he read all four gospels in one day. In the absence of the missionaries, a village whose hunger for God’s Word had been stirred needed a pastor. “You preach for us Humberto!” was the persistent plea.

Pastor Humberto has come a long way from his first sermon preached from the Sermon on the Mount. For a brand-new pastor and Christian, quoting the words of his new Lord seemed a good place to start. But Humberto knew that without teaching, he’d never learn to craft a sermon, confidently explain the gospel or understand large portions of Scripture. At his own admission, people from that stretch of the river haven’t received the same opportunities that others enjoy closer to the city. So, when Humberto received his first invitation to a teaching series at the BMS-supported Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre (NIMTC), there could be no-one more grateful, enthusiastic or encouraged. “There are pastors who didn’t finish primary school,” Humberto explains. “They can’t read, let alone read the Bible. Look at me – I was handed the keys to an empty church, and then – nothing. I had no preparation. That’s why Nauta’s training programme is so important.”

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Support leadership ministries today

God changed Pastor Humberto’s life in a miraculous way. And though he began his Christian life by discovering Jesus’ call on his own, God didn’t leave him alone. He brought BMS’ leadership ministries into his life and Pastor Humberto has never looked back.

Give today, and you’ll support people around the world in their walk with Christ, whether that’s inviting them to come to him for the first time, or coming alongside them when they think they’re completely alone.

Humberto has been so encouraged by the investment shown to him by BMS supporters, but in equal measure, he’s encouraged the team out in Peru. Having quickly caught the vision for the programme, Humberto and his son have both gone through the Nauta training course. Humberto has also been invited back to encourage other pastors, sharing how the centre allowed him to develop the vision God gave him for ministry and business in his local community. Beginning with very little, Humberto was inspired by the very practical training given to pastors about how they could provide for themselves, their families and communities by running sustainable businesses. His fish farm, established after the training, provides financial blessing amongst the spiritual joys this incredible man has known since coming to Christ. And because everyone loves a love story – yes, Humberto and his wife’s marriage has flourished, united by the love of Jesus. Together, their love, enthusiasm and encouragement pour outwards, blessing those around them.

A wooden hut next to a manmade lake in the Peruvian Amazon.
Pastor Humberto's fish farm is flourishing in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.
Pastor Humberto stands on a bridge at his property in the Peruvian Amazon.
“Here, when it rains, we have water. When the sun rises, we have light. We get by, but we have nothing here. Nothing.”

It’s hard to underestimate just what a difference BMS mission workers Laura-Lee Lovering, Dave and Michele Mahon and the rest of the team at NIMTC have made in Humberto’s life. But all of that love and support came through and from you.

Thank you for supporting BMS’ leadership ministries. And thank you for showing Christians like Humberto that God never leaves them on their own.

The Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre (NIMTC) is run by BMS World Mission workers from the UK and from Peru and is the fulfilment of a dream of many river pastors to receive theological training and Christian support. It’s hope in the jungle. Pastors like Humberto are not only trained in theology, they’re also equipped to help with the health and development of their own very rural villages, which are only accessible by boat.

Alongside in-depth Bible study and prayer, they learn about agroforestry and how to care for the environment; they learn about budgeting; and they learn basic health and hygiene skills — how to prevent illnesses and how to treat them.

Words: Hannah Watson
Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine

Access all areas

Access all areas

Praying for this

How Facebook and former Muslims are bringing Jesus’ hope to North Africa, thanks to the workers you support.

“I’m the only Christian in my country.” BMS’ media mission is streaming the gospel into parts of the world where fewer than one percent know Christ. This is the story of the voices who reply.  

There’s less than five minutes until we go live when the team rush into the studio to pray. Presenters Joe and Zinah are poised on set, microphone wires tucked into crisp shirts, the sound check finalised. ‘There’s not enough time,’ I think. ‘Praying now?’ But the media centre I’m visiting is fuelled by three things: coffee, hard graft and prayer. Back in the control room, I perch on my seat. “Don’t forget, you can pray too!” says Andrea, BMS’ Director of Arabic Productions from her seat at the switch deck. I bow my head. Five, four, three, two… one. We’re rolling.

I flew to the media centre, situated in a secret location in the Mediterranean, at the beginning of Ramadan. I’m here to experience the broadcast of a Facebook Live Stream, one of several shows that are filmed for North African audiences at this time of reflection and celebration for the Muslim world. The shows, presented by North African Christians Joe and Zinah, are aimed at encouraging questions, with the hope that discussions will point towards knowing Jesus in a Muslim context.

Tonight’s broadcast is about fasting: interrogating its purpose and how to do it well. There are no water glasses on set – the team want to be culturally sensitive especially during Ramadan. As Joe and Zinah warmly welcome viewers to the show, the first comment pings up on a Facebook thread. Habib, the centre’s Christian apologist, taps out a reply for all those watching the stream. For those who don’t want to leave a public comment, Habib opens Whatsapp. These private channels are where the most thrilling conversations happen. Truth-seekers speak more openly behind the protective walls of encrypted messaging.

We’re halfway through. Cameras on her, Zinah’s speaking so confidently, but just an hour ago she’d been close to tears. As they sat in the makeup chairs, with Andrea multitasking as foundation retoucher and translator, Joe and Zinah had been telling me about last week’s show, where Zinah had received an angry comment telling her to return to Islam live on air.

A filming set.
Almost all the North African workers at the studio were rejected by family when they turned to Jesus.

Ordinarily these comments are ignored, but Zinah had surprised us all. “I cannot leave my God of love,” she’d told the viewer. “God is not angry with me. Jesus says we have eternal life.”

Hands on a tech desk.

“In that moment, I felt that I was really strong because Jesus was with me,” Zinah said, her eyes shining. “It was a healing from the past. From culture, from religion, from the man having more right to say things than you. From being ashamed.” I know that Zinah has been rejected by family – almost all the North Africans at the centre have been. But they bear no ill will. “When most of our families are still Muslims, how can we be against them?” Joe says.

Their commitment to grace is still evident during tonight’s show, and Ian, BMS’ Studio Manager and Producer gives the presenters the signal to wrap up. Joe and Zinah field final questions about how Christians can respect their Muslim families during the fast. Then, we pile into the prop room to hear who Habib has been speaking to.

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A lady called Khadisha has been inviting her friends to watch the show. Then, a strange and disjointed message arrives over Facebook. Hani is a refugee living in Turkey who has seen the Facebook Live and wants to talk, despite the show being in a very different Arabic to his own. He’s so interested, he’s willing to struggle on in a dialect he can barely speak.

When Habib, who lost half his family in an Aleppo bomb blast, realises Hani is Syrian like him, he laughs in delight. They speak the same kind of Arabic. Hani’s been wanting to know more about Jesus for a long time, and now he’s found someone who can tell him. It’s like it was planned.

Habib tells us about Fatima, another viewer who’s overwhelmed by a dream in which she saw Jesus, and Si’id, an atheist who wants to be sent an Arabic Bible. Some viewers introduce themselves as ‘Ahmed’ or ‘Hassan’, only to reveal themselves weeks later as nervous women, hiding behind the protective power of a fake name. New believers will be connected with churches in North Africa. Over 150 others have seen the broadcast by the time we leave the studio. Only Habib will be up until midnight, conversing, reasoning and explaining.

A woman sat in front of screens.

With paid advertising the video would reach hundreds of thousands, but I’m about to find out why it’s not just a case of being willing to pay. I’m with Ian when he chuckles. One of the videos has had its advertising pulled by Facebook. It’s disheartening to know it will appear on the feeds of hundreds instead of thousands now, so the team have to laugh in moments like this. Facebook wants to be sure to avoid controversy, so some adverts are rejected – the videos must be clever, almost parabolic, in order to slip through the algorithms. “It was too religious in nature,” Andrea tells me later.

Laughing in the face of this, given all the work that’s gone into the show, is possible when you’ve been doing it for as long as Andrea and Ian have. They’ve been here 15 years, reaching out and listening to replies. Using their media skills to share hope. “They’re the grease that moves the wheels,” their team members tell me. “Heck, they’re the whole car.” Andrea laughs at this, but concedes that they are the “glue”.

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Variously centre managers, directors, prop researchers, production editors and financial managers, Andrea and Ian even built the studio we’re now sitting in. When they began serving with BMS, no-one else was making Christian television programmes for North African people in their own dialect. “Now, our audience are seeing the gospel as something that can belong to them,” says Andrea. “Jesus isn’t just for one country, or for the West.” In a world where technology can often feel like a destructive influence and social media a drain, BMS workers are harnessing their power to share Jesus. And, because you support Andrea and Ian through your giving, through social media technology, Jesus is being met. “We’re on the front line,” says Andrea, “but BMS supporters are what’s helping us to stay on the frontline.” Ian agrees. “We can’t do it without your prayers.”

Pray for Andrea and Ian as they reach out to North Africa with the gospel:

  • Pray that language barriers would not mean people miss out on the treasure of the gospel.
  • Pray for Hani, that he will continue to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus.
  • Pray that Christians will have freedom to share the gospel in North Africa.
  • Pray that God would call the people he wants to win for him, and that Andrea and Ian would be led to do God’s will in all their work.
  • Pray for continued financial support for BMS, so that ministries like Andrea and Ian’s can continue.

Words by Hannah Watson, Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine.

Where Christians dare to tread

Where Christians dare
to tread

Praying for this

Pastor Simon*, a BMS World Mission-supported evangelist in Bangladesh, faced the prospect of being beaten to death. He tells us why, in the face of danger, he goes boldly where few dare to tread.

Loud knocks woke Pastor Simon violently from his sleep. His host family were afraid. “Hide, Pastor Simon,” they said. “We’ll protect you.” But he refused. “I had nothing to hide,” he says. “I insisted I wanted to speak to our visitors.”

At the door stood three men from a religious extremist group. Simon had been warned about them. They held long bamboo sticks by their sides, weapons as tall as them, if not taller. One accused him of coming to their village to convert people to Christianity.

Simon had not come to talk about religion and conversion, but to deliver the message of Jesus’ hope. When he became a Christian, 23 years ago, God called him to go to the Muslim communities in Bangladesh. He was obedient to God’s call and decided to devote his life to evangelism. “I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me to places where no-one knows of God,” he says. “And those places get transformed by him.”

A man sat cross-legged in front of a map of Bangladesh and holding a Bible.
Pastor Simon travels across Bangladesh reaching the unreached.

In Bangladesh, around one per cent of people identify as Christian. And although this number is growing, the spread of the gospel is met with growing persecution. This hasn’t stopped Simon. Supported by BMS, he is just one of several remarkable evangelists who work with a BMS partner in Bangladesh, reaching the least evangelised regions of the country. Working with the partner, BMS mission workers provide training, mentoring and support, especially for evangelists who face persecution. Simon considers them family. “My spiritual brother and sister from BMS are a blessing to me,” he says. “I go where they can’t go. With their prayers and support, and with BMS, I’m able to be a full-time evangelist.” But in the face of persecution, what does being a full-time evangelist look like?

The Bangladesh flag next to a fruit tree.
90 per cent of people in Bangladesh are Muslims, and around nine per cent are Hindus. Many who decide to follow Jesus face rejection from their family and local community.

Simon’s ministry has been years in the making. In Bangladesh, Muslims, Hindus and Christians are not only separated by their beliefs. They’re also separated by the different words they use to express the same things (for example, there are three different words for saying hello, depending on your religion). Simon spent years learning the words that Muslim communities use and studying the Qur’an to gain an understanding and show people his respect for their way of life.

Being a full-time evangelist in Bangladesh looks like opening the door to three angry strangers in a remote village. Standing before his unexpected visitors, Simon prayed silently. The strangers were hostile. They were not there to listen. “People say that I am brave to go into these places alone,” he explains. “But I never go alone. God is with me and he goes before me.” He was confident that once they had heard his message, no-one would die that night. He began to speak with the men.

He talked through the stories common to the Qur’an and the Bible. He went systematically through the prophets. And on this shared foundation, he explained who Christians believe Jesus really is. He told them: “Jesus is our salvation.”

A man holding a Bengali Bible open.
Pastor Simon's only ambition is to preach and demonstrate the gospel. "I will serve God until my dying breath," he says.

That was when they hit him. But then they stopped and listened. And after hearing Simon’s message, they went home. That night, no-one died. No baptisms were performed either. But that year, Simon’s visits to several villages led to an incredible 33 baptisms.

Simon has dedicated his life to showing people in Bangladesh God’s love for them — people who would have no other way of knowing. And thanks to your support, he’s able to do that full-time. He calls it his “transformation mission”: going into villages where no-one has experienced the gospel before. And by the time he leaves, God has transformed those places.

*Name changed.

BMS World Mission works in some of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Regions where just the mention of Jesus’ name could lead to a beating or even death. Please pray for BMS workers and partners to make the name of Jesus known in seemingly impossible circumstances. Pray that people in those countries would know God’s love.

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Words by Melanie Webb.

Good news in Wang Daeng

Good news in Wang Daeng:

five ways your prayers have been answered

You’ve been praying and God has been moving mountains in Wang Daeng.

What does good news look like? It could be as simple as receiving an unexpected phone call from a friend, or perhaps it’s the relief of the kids returning to school!

In the remote village of Wang Daeng in Thailand, we’re talking about good news on a whole other level – life-transforming news with eternal consequences. BMS World Mission church planters Helen and Wit Boondeekhun are showing and telling the good news of Jesus to people who have never heard of him. Last year we asked if you would pray for the spread of the gospel in Wang Daeng, every week, for a year. And those prayers have been answered. For Wang Daeng, this is what good news looks like…

  1. You prayed for the beginnings of the first church in Wang Daeng

Now four people have asked Jesus into their lives, and dozens of seekers attend a weekly Sunday gathering. Praise God that there is also a Bible study group meeting in the neighbouring village of Chum Song, where Helen and Wit hope another church can be planted one day.

To top it all off, the Thailand Action Team (the BMS gap year for 18 to 23-year-olds) organised a Christmas event which saw an incredible 140 people attending. They also built a friendship with a young girl called Prang. That December, when she heard the good news of Jesus coming to Earth as Saviour, she came forward to declare herself a Christian.

Four young people smiling and looking into the camera.
Hosting a BMS Action Team mobilised the young people in the village.
  1. You prayed for new Christian Suree to grow in her faith

Suree now regularly invites friends to Sunday gatherings. “It’s still difficult for Suree,” says Wit. “She was asked to perform Buddhist rituals and she was ashamed to say no. So I told her to focus on Jesus.” Please continue to pray that she keeps her eyes fixed on Jesus as she lives out her faith.

A woman and a man looking into the camera.
Helen and Wit study the Bible with Suree and pay her regular visits to support her walk with God.
  1. You prayed for Ajarn Tah, a Thai Christian who teaches young people football and guitar

Praise God that he has now moved permanently into the village. His guitar students and football team eagerly attend the Sunday gatherings led by Helen and Wit. “They are very enthusiastic in worship,” they report in their latest prayer letter.

A team of boys in football shirts looking into the camera.
“The football players are fascinated by the stories from the Bible!” say Helen and Wit.
  1. You prayed for God to bless Wang Daeng

“There’s certainly been a new openness to the gospel in the area,” Wit says. The boys at the football club were also blessed by a camp in July. The focus was on learning about God, self-discipline and football skills. It was a whole village affair, with Ajarn Tah’s guitar students and the basket-weaving group that Helen leads organising fun and games, and cooking.

  1. You prayed for Helen and Wit

``We have absolutely experienced God’s protection and blessing over our lives.``

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“We have absolutely experienced God’s protection and blessing over our lives,” says Wit. And God has given in abundance with a new centre for their work: a two-storey building in the heart of the Wang Daeng community. “There is so much space that we won’t be needing a separate location for English classes and church,” say Helen and Wit.

They’ll also be starting a sewing group this month. The hope is, as with the basket-weaving group, more women will come to know Jesus as they develop self-sufficient livelihood skills.

Three woman sat on the floor weaving baskets.

Some BMS supporters have been praying for a year, and it’s been incredible to see those prayers answered, but there are still challenges. Addiction and spirit worship practices remain, and Helen and Wit feel a burden to help those imprisoned by addiction, starting with Suree’s husband, Got. Please continue to pray that he would be set free from alcoholism and continue to ask God to reveal himself in Wang Daeng. When we gather together in God’s name, he moves mountains!

Special thanks to Baptist Insurance for their generous financial support of the church planting project in Wang Daeng.

A dove in a circle of blue, green and black with Baptist Insurance next to it.
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Words by Melanie Webb. This story first appeared in Engage and has been adapted for web.

The power of your own story…

The power of your own story…

Helping people in India come to faith means sharing what God has done at every opportunity.

BMS worker Ben sits on a boat.
BMS worker Ben is helping people share the gospel in India, with your support.

Travel to India and it’s unlikely you’ll meet a Christian on the street. At least, that’s what the statistics tell you. In the world’s second most populous country, just over two per cent of the population openly identifies as Christian. But that’s still around 28 million people, a good foundation for those working hard to share the gospel in a nation that’s 80 per cent Hindu.

The challenge of telling people about Jesus remains daunting, however. It requires boldness, stamina and, critically, an approach that gets results. Thankfully, the church planters you support in India have it all. They’re led by BMS World Mission worker Ben Francis, a man who is never found silent when given the chance to express his passion for Jesus. Ben is at the forefront of an exciting disciple-making movement in his country, and has an inspiring hunger to see people come to faith.

A man raises his hand in worship in front of a lectern.
Thousands of people across India are committed to sharing how Christ has transformed their lives.

Around 45,000 people became Christians last year through the work Ben leads in India. It’s a number that’s easier to understand when you learn that over 8,000 people, who his church planters led to faith, attended training sessions on how to spread the gospel. And at the heart of the training is a simple lesson – never miss a chance to share how the love of Christ has transformed your life.

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“People need to share their story whenever they can,” says Ben. “They need to be in the habit of talking about what the Lord has done at every opportunity. To friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, acquaintances, or even people they’re buying things from.

“The conventional method was to go out and bring people back to church. Now, we go out, start a group and tell people to go and start one somewhere else. Multiplication can take place much faster this way.”

Sharing stories is at the core of this multiplication. As is getting to the point quickly. Ben encourages church planters to share their stories of transformation in just three minutes. “Not everybody you talk to will respond,” says Ben. “But some will, and then you tell them more about God.”

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Men and women sit together with bibles.
Ben says that the growth of people coming to faith seen in India can happen anywhere in the world.

One place where there has been an extraordinary response to the gospel is the state of Odisha (formerly Orissa). You may know about it because you supported our recent appeal focusing on church planting there. Or perhaps you followed the brutal persecution that happened in Odisha a few years ago.

Christians are still persecuted by extremists today in Odisha. They’re beaten. Intimidated. Humiliated. Murdered. Yet, in spite of extreme opposition, Christians continue to preach the Word of God – gently, respectfully and boldly. You’ve been supporting more than 40 church planters in the state, and in recent years, they’ve taken the gospel to over 1,600 villages.

And while the work you support in India is amazing, you’re going further, too. By supporting BMS, you’ve been helping Christians in other countries expand their church planting. Ben has been equipping churches in Europe and Asia to better communicate the love of Christ, just as he does in India. Soon you may even get a chance to learn from him in person about how you can start a disciple-making movement where you are.

“If the growth of people coming to faith can happen in India, then it can happen anywhere,” says Ben. “The principles of the Word of God do not change because you’re in India, or China, or anywhere. The Spirit of God energises.”

That energy is sweeping through towns and villages in India. Through homes. And through lives, as disciples make disciples. You’re already making it possible. And we’re excited for what comes next.

Watch Ben’s simple explanation of how to share your story of transformation

This story was originally published in BMS’ magazine, Engage. Subscribe to Engage today to get more stories like this delivered straight to your door for free!

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Original article featured in Issue 44 of Engage, the BMS World Mission Magazine. Edited for the website by Laura Durrant.