International Women’s Day: Jesus cares for details

International Women's Day

Jesus cares for details

Praying for this

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 

Your prayers answered!

Day of Prayer 2024

Your prayers answered!

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Your prayers make a real difference across the world. As we gather for the BMS World Mission Day of Prayer on 4 February 2024, take a look at how your prayers from last year have been answered!

You prayed: We give thanks for the safe space that BMS partner All4Aid provides on the Greek island of Lesbos. We pray that as well as practical support, centre users will experience a deep sense of God’s love.

We give thanks to God for how you gave so generously to our Safe Haven appeal to support refugees in Lesbos, Greece. In the most recent issue of Engage, the BMS magazine, we shared about how your support has provided women like Bibi* with food, hygiene items and a warm place to rest and make friends. Our partners in Lesbos, All4Aid, remain determined to provide a safe space for women like Bibi and to share the love of Jesus with everyone who uses the centre. With the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza and unrest in Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Sudan, the work of our partner All4Aid could not be more vital right now. Your support will continue to help refugees rebuild their lives and encounter the love of God as we begin this new year.

A woman using a washing machine at a refugee welcome centre in Lesbos, Greece. The woman has her back to the camera and is wearing a grey headscarf and a cream coat.
You’ve helped provide a safe haven for refugee women on Lesbos to wash their clothes.

You prayed: Almost one in three women have experienced gender-based violence. We pray for those who are in this fight and who will not allow women who have been abused to be forgotten. We pray for justice and dignity for all women and girls.

A Ugandan woman in a blue and white stripy top with a white collar stands in front of an office. She is smiling to the camera.
Amazing Valerie from JLH is helping to bring justice to children in Uganda.

Our partner in Uganda, Justice, Livelihoods and Health (JLH) help to protect young girls from child marriages. They raise awareness of gender injustice and train cultural and religious leaders in the Kasese and Gulu districts of Uganda. One of the girls they work with is a young 14-year-old mother. She and her baby have found a new home where their needs are being met. They have also received sponsorship from good Samaritans in their village to continue her secondary school education. God has answered your prayers, and women in Uganda and across the world are now being treated with the dignity that they deserve.

You prayed: Please pray that we would uphold creation stewardship across all our work, and invest in projects from Uganda to Afghanistan that are combatting food fragility and loss of soil fertility.

Your prayers for God’s creation have made great strides in both protecting our planet and helping those in need. Not only have you helped farmers in Uganda grow bountiful crops in the face of climate change, but you’ve also helped bring a buzzing beehive to the highlands of Afghanistan! BMS worker Ruby* hopes that the beehive will help the community orchard she works on thrive, and bring abundant, healthy food to the local community. Life is still incredibly hard under the de facto leadership of Afghanistan, but we pray that these bees will be a symbol of hope for many.

Bees crawling out of a blue beehive in Afghanistan.
A buzzing beehive in the highlands of Afghanistan!

You prayed: Many women are becoming disciples in North Africa. We pray for BMS partner BigLife to identify four women to be sent to mentor and disciple women there coming to faith in Christ.

A woman in a blue patterned sari worshipping in church. Four other women are in front of her also worshipping.
Women praising God in Kolkata!

Over the last year, several men and women in North Africa have expressed an interest in seeking the Lord. One person gave their life to Jesus and was baptised. God continues to grow the Church in North Africa, especially amongst university students. One student has even started a home group, and he is rejoicing in the Lord, because God has opened so many doors for sharing the gospel in 2023.

In India, a man from a Hindu background has recently become a believer. When he heard the gospel for the first time, he repented of his sins and decided to follow Jesus. His life changed completely, and he was baptised on Christmas Day. Praise God for his salvation! Your generous giving and prayers will help Christians mentor and support these new believers as they begin their journey of faith.

You prayed: BMS has the privilege of telling stories of both joy and difficulty around the world. We pray that BMS would do this sensitively and wisely, honouring those who have trusted us with their life stories.

Over the last year, the BMS Communications Team have worked hard to tell stories sensitively and to honour the people who have entrusted us with their stories. God has even given us opportunities to share how we use stories with the people that BMS works with. Our Days of Plenty appeal featured Barbara, a farmer from Gulu in Uganda. When a BMS filming team visited her, they showed her and her family how they had used her photo in a previous edition of Engage magazine – she and her children were delighted! We are always learning how to improve how we tell stories ethically, and we continue to ask God to guide us in this area of our work.

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Three Ugandan children smile as they look at photos of themselves in a magazine. A third person, out of shot is holding the magazine for them.
Barbara’s children loved reading about themselves in Engage!
What’s more inspiring than abundantly answered prayer?!

If you’re keen to pray with us next Sunday, 4 February, on the BMS Day of Prayer, you can find all the resources you need to run your service right here. We can’t wait to see how God moves through your prayers in 2024!

*Names changed for security reasons.
Words by Chris Manktelow and Laura Durrant.

Help save lives in Ukraine this Christmas

They are not alone

They are not alone

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Over ten years ago, Christians fled their villages. Their homes were destroyed. Some were even killed. And now, despite ongoing persecution, people are opening their hearts to Christ.

Many of you will remember hearing the stories of horrific violence that took place against Christians in Odisha (formerly Orissa), India, back in 2008. Christians in the district were blamed for the murder of a prominent Hindu leader, which sparked a string of violent attacks against hundreds of villages. At least 50 people were killed, 4,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and around 30,000 people were affected by the violence – many of them having to flee to the cover of surrounding forests and refugee settlements. But, mercifully, they weren’t alone.

Destroyed house
Destroyed church
A broken statue

Thanks to the generous giving of BMS World Mission supporters at the time, families forced to flee weren’t abandoned. We were able to help distribute food parcels and hygiene packs to people who had nothing. BMS supporters provided a lifeline for people whose lives were irreversibly changed. After a few months, the violence began to subside and people began to leave the camps and return to their homes – or at least, they tried. Because they were Christians, some of their neighbours refused to let them move back in. Some people found themselves living in tents on the outskirts of their former villages. Or being prevented from drawing water from the well. Some places were too dangerous for people to return to at all. And yet, in the face of such persecution, God was – is – still at work.

“Fellowships are still running. That means it’s a victory for the gospel.” Many of you will also know about BMS worker Ben Francis, and the amazing work that our partner Biglife does, sharing the gospel in hard-to-reach places. Even in places like Odisha. “Odisha, it’s still not a place where you can go out and preach like that,” says Ben. “All of them are in danger when they are sharing the gospel.” But these brave, bold Christians knew that God wanted them to be there, to share their own stories and testimonies of how God has transformed their lives. And, miraculously, despite the historic and ongoing persecution in the area, people are opening their hearts to Jesus.

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BMS worker Ben Francis
BMS worker Ben Francis supports disciple-makers across India and south Asia.

People like Raakhi*, Supriya*, Praanvi*. All three of them were brought up in Hindu families, but all three of them found themselves searching for more. Raakhi longed for peace in her life. Both Supriya and Praanvi struggled with health issues. They couldn’t find the solutions to the problems weighing them down, until they found the Christian fellowships running in their area. And despite the risks, despite the persecution, all three of them gave their lives to Jesus.

Three women in a church.
Raakhi, Supriya and Praanvi have all opened their hearts to Jesus – despite the dangers.
Will you stand with Christians like these?

Across the world, bold Christians are living out their faith in hard places – no matter the cost. This harvest season, you and your church can stand with them. We’ll be releasing our 2021 Harvest appeal on our website on 23 July. It’s called I Will Stand. Sign up for the BMS email update to be the first to know when it drops.

But this isn’t the end of their stories – for these women, and for the many other people turning to Christ across Odisha. “That area [where these women are] is a dangerous area. You could be killed over there for being a Christian,” says Ben. Christians in Odisha will still face persecution because of their faith. People haven’t forgotten the violence from 2008. But they weren’t alone 13 years ago – and they’re not alone now. They have their brothers and sisters at the fellowships in their villages. They have a loving Father upon whom they can lay their burdens. And they have you, UK Christians, remembering them in your prayers and supporting them from afar.

*Names changed for security reasons.
Words by Laura Durrant.

Our God who hears

Our God who hears

A testimony to answered prayer in 2020

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We stand at the beginning of a new year, more aware than ever how little our country, our global neighbours and our world leaders know about what lies ahead. So, what better way to begin 2021 than in prayer, with the BMS annual Day of Prayer on 31 January? And what better way to come to prayer than to come encouraged by this story, all about how God answered our prayers in 2020!

Last week, we asked BMS World Mission’s General Director Kang-San Tan to pen a prayer for the year ahead. It was a big ask. What do you pray for when faced with a year as uncertain as 2021? And where do you begin, with a world still in the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic?

Thankfully, our General Director was more than up for the challenge, and we shared his beautiful prayer in our email update (if you don’t receive them, sign up here!) And as we did so, we knew we weren’t asking without basis or confidence. We’ve been so privileged to see firsthand how our prayers for our world, our work and most importantly, for those we work with and for, have been answered.

Kang-San Tan

Kang-San’s prayer for 2021 asked for three things: flourishing for new communities, for our workers to be the fragrance of Christ in everything they do, and for God’s Kingdom to come, his will being done on earth and in heaven. Let’s take a look at how we saw God working powerfully in each of these ways in 2020 and allow this to give us confidence as we ask again for his provision in 2021.

Flourishing communities

CHURCHES AND SUPPORTERS

This past year has undoubtedly posed extreme challenges for churches, seeking to livestream services, record online talks and set up ‘Zoom coffees’ in place of meeting together. It seemed impossible to replace the easy fellowship we enjoy from mingling in our church halls or working together on a Harvest offering table. So it was wonderful to hear that, across the year, so many had found ways to adapt and meet the challenges. Over 230 churches found ways to raise money for the BMS Harvest appeal, Operation: Chad, many of them remotely. Some churches organised online collections, and many superstar fundraisers set themselves unique sporting challenges they could do within their four walls to raise money – you can check out Will and Tom’s achievements on our Facebook page, or Ana Sophia Clark’s garage 10k in Issue 48 of Engage!

Will and Tom, two fundraising heroes

PROVISION AND PROTECTION

From our mission workers to our UK staff team, across our supporters and in churches, so many have faced serious challenges to health, disruptions to normal working conditions and difficulty in travelling throughout 2020. It would be wrong to overlook how difficult it has been for all of us in each of our individual ways, but in all this, it’s also been remarkable to see God’s provision and protection. Whether it’s been upholding people in their physical needs, putting loving community around the lonely or sending his Spirit to sustain and to guide, we’ve heard some wonderful stories of God’s strength keeping people throughout this year.

Sharing Christ

A woman holding her baby.

THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER CAMPAIGN

In the midst of lockdowns and social distancing, outreach events seemed like an impossible dream. That is, until four BMS partners across Asia came forward with a plan to reach their neighbours across India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand with the gospel at Christmas. You joined us in prayer for these Christmas outreach events, and we’re now hearing exciting testimonies about the fruit of this incredible endeavour. There have been baptisms, gifts and Bibles handed out and the proclamation of gospel hope in a time of real crisis. We hope to share more in the upcoming issue of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine, so subscribe here to ensure you don’t miss it!

ONE MILLION LIVES

A huge answer to prayer in 2020 was seeing that the faithfulness and generosity of supporters has enabled us to reach our goal of transforming one million lives worldwide!

Back in 2016, BMS launched an ambitious plan. We wanted to transform the lives of one million people by the end of 2020. The last of those five years posed challenges none of us could have foreseen, but with God’s guidance and your support, we amazingly saw that target achieved. You equipped the global Church to reach out and share Jesus’ love with one million people in some of the world’s least evangelised, most marginalised and most fragile places. Stay tuned to hear more over the next few months about all you’ve achieved!

Four BMS workers engaged in evangelism and church planting across India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand gathered in a group montage against a blue background.

Doing God's will

CORONAVIRUS AND BEIRUT

In 2020 alone, we handed out more relief grants than ever before – and it was all down to the generosity of BMS supporters. In moments of real trial, nations around the world dealt with the devastating effects of Covid-19, many on top of other political, economic or humanitarian crises. Thanks to your gifts, over 36,000 people received practical aid and spiritual support, all in the name of Jesus. You helped build a satellite Covid-19 hospital in Bardaï, Chad and shored up other hospitals across Chad and Nepal. You handed out face masks, PPE and soap, and provided psychological support to those in despair. After the blast in Beirut last summer, you rebuilt broken homes, enabling 40 families to be rehoused, and gave out emergency meals. We praise God for your joyful obedience to his will and calling to give, even out of hard personal circumstances for many in the UK.

Food distribution in Beirut after the blast

Last but not least, we’ve also had the privilege of praying with you, our supporters. As the UK entered its first lockdown back in March of 2020, it became clear to the BMS team that asking for requests and praying for the things on your hearts would be an absolutely essential part of our work this year. Our weekly prayers for supporters and churches have been a real time of encouragement and blessing. And if you saw prayers answered this last year, we’d love to hear how you are doing.

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We pray that seeing these answers to prayer in 2020 has encouraged you for the year ahead. Please do join us in prayer for our Day of Prayer on Sunday 31 January 2021. Follow the link to our Day of Prayer page  for all the information you’ll need, as well as for handy resources like a PowerPoint and PDF download, designed to be easily shared in your church service.

Words by Hannah Watson

Christmas Prayer Campaign 2020

Christmas Prayer Campaign 2020

Make Jesus known in Asia this Christmas

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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 stories that broke Ben’s heart

The stories that broke Ben’s heart:

Bringing hope back to India

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“I heard stories of people boiling leaves to feed their children,” says BMS World Mission worker Ben Francis. “My heart broke.”

When India went into lockdown in March, many people were left with a sense of dread. Workers in cities had no way to earn a wage, and people in remote villages already living on the bare minimum now had nothing. How can you provide for people, both physically and spiritually, in the face of such despair?

I’ve known Ben for a couple of years now, and every time I speak to him, he’s so joyful in the Lord. He can’t wait to share with you how many people he’s told his testimony to, how many people he knows have recently accepted the love of Christ into their lives. This time, though, it’s different. His joy is still there, but I can tell that the effect the Coronavirus pandemic is having in India is weighing heavily on his heart.

As we chat over the phone, Ben shares with me about the rural villages he works in in Odisha (formerly Orissa) and West Bengal. Lockdown meant that families of often six or eight people were living on nothing. Many of them live in villages only accessible by boat and with no transport running from the cities, so there was no way to bring more food in. And with many people who were now out of work travelling for hundreds of miles back to those villages, they were faced with even more mouths to feed. It wasn’t Coronavirus that was killing people, it was starvation.

For many people, it seemed there was no hope. But, thankfully, they were not forgotten. So many amazing supporters prayed for India and gave to the BMS Coronavirus appeal, and thanks to you, we were able to help towards the distribution of over 28,000 food parcels to people out of work in Delhi and Kolkata. Thanks to your support, Ben and his team travelled into as many villages as they could to bring life-saving food to families in desperate need, living in remote villages. But that’s not all they brought with them.

BMS worker Ben Francis
Ben Francis is always joyful in Lord, but it's hard to feel joy in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Food parcels being distributed in Odisha
Ben's team were able to help bring life-saving food parcels to rural villages in Odisha (formerly Orissa).

“I didn’t want to use this opportunity to preach the gospel,” says Ben. For anyone who knows about Ben, you’ll know that the Word of God is never far from his lips. But when reaching out to people nearing starvation, he felt God was just asking him to provide physical necessities like food and medicine. It wasn’t long however before he realised that the love of God was just what people wanted. “People started asking ‘Why are you doing this?’ And we were able to share our story,” he continues.

In a situation without hope, God opened doors that had never been opened before. People who had never before wanted to hear the Word of God were listening to Ben’s testimony. People were asking for prayers for healing and for their families. To people living in darkness, God had become a life-saving light. “A lot of new people have come to the Lord,” said Ben. “Those people now have hope.”

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Thank you so much for helping Ben bring the light of Christ to so many people. The need in India is still great. Ben and his team couldn’t stay in each village forever, but they knew they were leaving the people there with a message that would keep them going through the darkest times, and with the knowledge that Christians cared. I know Ben, and I know that he will be so grateful for your prayers, so that he can continue to bring the hope of a God who can provide to the people who need it most.

Will you commit to praying for people in desperate need in India?

Please pray for:

  • People who have recently come to Christ. Pray that they will stay strong in their faith and be able to share their faith with many others.
  • People who have been left without food due to lockdown. Pray that the Lord will provide for them and that they will know his protection.
  • India, as it grapples with rising Coronavirus cases. Pray for healing for people suffering from the virus and pray that God will provide for people who are out of work.
  • Ben Francis and his family. Pray that the Lord will give Ben strength, and that he will be able to keep sharing the gospel with people who don’t yet know God.
  • The many people across the world Ben trains in disciple-making and leadership. Pray that they will be empowered in the Lord, and that they will be able to share his Word with many people.
Download the prayer points and share them with your church

Words by Laura Durrant.

Action Team Photo Competition 2020

This is the world through their eyes:

The 2020 Action Team Photo Competition

Action Teams is the BMS World Mission gap year with a difference, and each year, we ask the young people who serve overseas to get behind the lens and capture the best of mission on the frontline for our photo competition. They sent in these photos to inspire, yes, but also because of the stories behind them. Of all they shared and experienced this year, this is what they wanted you to see.

Behind each of these pictures is a team of passionate young people, dedicated to sharing the good news of Christ’s love on their gap year. We hope you can see God’s incredible creation in these photos, and that they encourage you to see God’s handiwork in your every day, just like these Action Teamers did. We hope you enjoy the winners of the Action Team Photo Competition 2020!

First place: Street Barber

Street barber in Delhi. Winner of the 2020 Action Teams Photo Competition.
Taken by Miriam, Team Delhi.

Congratulations to Miriam of Team Delhi, for taking the wonderful winning photo!

“When we first arrived in India, we were struck by the number of street barbers and thought they perfectly summed up the efficient chaos of what we saw in India,” said Miriam on her inspiration behind taking the photo.

The judges loved the personality shining through the barber’s face. “I was really drawn to this photo because I think we’ve all developed a greater appreciation for the incredible skill of barbers and hairdressers, like this man, during our time in lockdown,” said one of the judges. Well done Team Delhi!

Second place: Children at the Window

Well done to Team Kolkata on scoring second place!

“I was taking photos of the school we served in and church it was connected to,” said Zoe, who captured this wonderful image. “I just loved the way the boys were sitting, watching the craziness of the after-lunch rush around them.”

The judges were really struck by the colours in the photo and loved how Zoe captured this moment of quiet in the middle of busy school life. Congrats Team Kolkata!

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Children in Kolkata. Second place in the 2020 Action Teams Photo Competition.
Taken by Zoe, Team Kolkata.

Third place: The Cross

A large cross in Kosovo. Third place in the 2020 Action Team Photo Competition.
Taken by Esther*, Team Kosovo.

The judges loved this photo taken by Team Kosovo. Congrats on getting third place!

“I was really impressed with how the photographer managed to capture such a simple yet powerful insight into life in Kosovo,” said one of the judges. “In a country where much of BMS work is sensitive, it’s so inspiring to know that Christ’s love is being displayed like this.”

Well done Team Kosovo!

Want to be inspired by more photos like these?

If you’ve enjoyed these photos, then you’ll love the beautiful photos from our brand–new Mission Worker Photo Competition, featured in the next issue of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine! You won’t want to miss out on this. Keep being inspired by God’s work across the world, and sign up for Engage today.

Runners up

Face Time

A Mozambican boy taking a selfie. Runner up in the 2020 Action Teams Photo Competition.
Taken by Elana, Team Mozambique.

Portrait

A woman in Delhi. Runner up in the 2020 Action Team Photo Competition
Taken by Miriam, Team Delhi.

Boudha Temple

A temple in Nepal. Runner up in the 2020 Action Teams Photo Competition.
Taken by Hannah, Team Nepal.

Holiday Club

Three children in Mozambique. Runner up in the 2020 Action Team Photo Competition.
Taken by Elana, Team Mozambique.

The Kosovo we knew

A river in winter in Kosovo.
Taken by Esther*, Team Kosovo.

Recess

A group of children in Nepal. Runner up in the 2020 Action Team Photo Competition.
Taken by Hannah, Team Nepal.

Where the mountains meet the sky

A plane flying over a town in Nepal. Runner up in the Action Team Photo Competition.
Taken by Hannah, Team Nepal.

*Names changed.
Words by Laura Durrant.

Cyclone Amphan: Pray as heavy rains hit India and Bangladesh

Cyclone Amphan:

Pray as heavy rains hit India and Bangladesh

Praying for this

The biggest storm of a decade made landfall in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday 20 May, with winds equal in force to a category five hurricane. Please join us as we pray for India and Bangladesh, and for the protection of millions of people seeking refuge in cyclone shelters.

Millions of people across Bangladesh and India are seeking refuge in storm shelters and schools as Cyclone Amphan wreaks havoc on the Bay of Bengal. Fears surrounding the Covid-19 Coronavirus add complexity to evacuation plans in the two nations, as more cyclone shelters than usual are needed so that people can maintain social distancing measures. In Odisha (formerly Orissa) alone, hundreds of shelters are already being used as Covid-19 quarantine centres, and urgent prayer is needed that the virus would be contained even while people seek refuge from the storm.

Please pray for India and Bangladesh:

  • Please pray that the millions of people being evacuated would be protected from the strong rains and winds as they travel.
  • The severity of the storm in Bangladesh will depend on whether it strikes at high or low tide. Please pray that God would calm the winds as they approach and protect those sheltering along the coast.
  • The arrival of Cyclone Amphan has been described as “a crisis on top of a crisis”. Please pray that social distancing measures can be maintained despite the extreme challenge the cyclone poses to both countries, and that India and Bangladesh would not see a rise in Coronavirus cases as a result of the storm.
  • Please pray that more cyclone shelters would be found across India and Bangladesh, that road and rail infrastructure would not suffer, and that crops and livelihoods would be protected from the storm’s destructive path.
  • Pray for those who have lost loved ones, whose homes have been destroyed, and whose lives have been made even more precarious because of Cyclone Amphan. Pray that they would know God’s comfort and find help.
Map of India and Bangladesh
Pray for India and Bangladesh as they face Cyclone Amphan, the biggest storm of a decade.

BMS World Mission’s disaster recovery fund raises money before disasters happen, so that we can respond when they do. Find out more about how BMS responds effectively when a crisis hits, here.

Keep up with all the latest news from BMS by signing up to our weekly email update.

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Women of God, past and present

International Women’s Day:

Women of God, past and present

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, we’re celebrating great women, past and present. With the help of BMS World Mission workers Louise Lynch in Bangladesh and Laura-Lee Lovering in Peru, we’re taking you back in time, to remember three incredible women in mission history.

Brave BMS missionaries made history in the 19th and 20th centuries, setting off courageously for places they’d only read about. Travelling for months to reach the shores of India, Bangladesh or China, many didn’t plan on making it back. We’ve heard the stories of great men like William Carey and William Knibb. But what about the women? We asked two of our mission workers, the fabulous Louise and Laura, what they made of these extraordinary, and all too often forgotten women.

Introducing…

A black and white picture of a woman.

Hannah Marshman (1767 – 1847): “Outstanding among the wives”

Noted as being “outstanding among the missionaries’ wives,” Hannah Marshman was more than just a wonderful spouse as remembered in her obituary.

Recorded as being the first female missionary in India, this passionate woman single-handedly set up a boarding school and became a pioneer of education for Bengali girls. The school went on to fund Baptist missionary work in the area. All this while becoming fluent in Bengali and having 12 children!

Hannah Marshman died in 1847, remembered as “having consecrated her life and property to the promotion of this sacred cause and exhibited an example of humble piety and energetic benevolence for forty-seven years”.

Louise and Laura, how would you feel about being remembered as a “missionary’s wife”!?

Louise: I feel for Hannah. But I think I know how she feels. Here in Bangladesh I’m normally introduced as ‘Peter’s wife’.

I like the fact that Hannah just got on and did things. You have to remind yourself that actions speak louder than words. And having said that, my contribution is respected here.

Laura: I’m a single girl, so the whole idea that I’d come under the title of someone’s appendage is mildly insulting.

But, there’s nothing wrong with just doing the work regardless of the title. That’s what really liberates people. Many women here have laboured on and not worried about the title. Time and time again, they’ve been praised. That’s inspired me. It’s about what you do and how you’re able to show God’s love.

A BMS World Mission worker smiling into the camera.
BMS worker Louise Lynch serves alongside local Baptist churches in Bangladesh.

What do you think of these women missionaries of the 19th century?

A BMS World Mission worker smiling into the camera.
BMS worker Laura-Lee Lovering works with local pastors in the Peruvian Amazon jungle.

Louise: I have utter respect for the people that have gone ahead of us. We wonder how people managed to live, with the heat and the mosquitoes, trying to keep themselves healthy – let alone do anything!

And many women missionaries are talked about with fond regard in Bangladesh. They are the ones that people name.

 

Laura: I’m completely in awe of them! With all the diseases, they didn’t have all the vaccines, they certainly didn’t have a health insurance number to call. Some had children whilst out there, just from a biological point of view it was difficult – then you add in everything else!

I’d like to think that I would have been brave enough to go on mission 100, 200 years ago. I really respect the fact that when they went out, they went out for good.

Introducing…

A black and white picture of a woman with the words Dr Ellen Farrer above and Processed by BMS underneath.

Dr Ellen Farrer (1865 – 1959): “First in her field”

Overcoming the prejudice faced by working women of the era, Dr Ellen Farrer began to challenge society’s disapproval when she was accepted by the Baptist Zenana Mission in India as its first female doctor. The mission reached out to Hindu women from the wealthier classes, who were secluded in zenanas – private apartments to segregate female family members from the rest of society. She soon won the trust and love of these women, who preferred to be seen by a female doctor. Administering aid during a famine, fighting annual outbreaks of the bubonic plague, expanding the dispensary she worked at into a hospital and translating textbooks for nurses and midwives were just some of Ellen’s achievements during her incredible lifetime in India.

Celebrate International Women’s Day in your church!

It’s International Women’s Day next Sunday 8 March so we’ve made a great PowerPoint resource with all these amazing stories for you to share in your church! Download the PowerPoint and inspire your church family with stories of these incredible women from BMS’ past and present!

Download the PowerPoint!

Would you have any advice for women looking to go on overseas mission?

Louise: There are some real practical challenges. But I think there’s a huge advantage to being a woman in mission. You can talk to other women and have an impact on their lives. Letting women help me dress up in a sari has been a great way of opening up conversations. My advice is to walk with the people, experience their life, their frustrations. I have to manage the difficulties around some of the cultural protocols, but people here have a lovely attitude and I get given lots of opportunity.

Laura: Don’t fixate on being a woman on overseas mission. We’re not here to fight for women’s liberation, we’re here to see the kingdom of God be extended. And if through that we can show to both men and women that women have a big part to play, then great! But that’s not the main reason.

The best thing you can do is be who you are, do a good job and bless people. Let them see that God is using you. That’s the strongest message for women – and for men.

Introducing…

A black and white picture of a woman with the words Dr Ellen Clow above and Processed by BMS underneath.

Dr Ellen Clow (1901 – 1984) “Determined to make a difference”

A kick-ass surgeon and incredibly brave lady to boot, Dr Ellen Clow devoted her life to mission in China. Unperturbed by the Japanese invasion of the north of the country, it was reported that Ellen remained at The Women’s Hospital in Taiyuan where she worked despite being “menaced by soldiers and looters” in raid after raid.

Even the news that a shell had destroyed a bedroom she’d vacated earlier that day couldn’t persuade Ellen to leave, and as the hospital building shook and rattled, a patient grabbed Ellen’s hand and said, “You are good to stay with us.” Many women in the region were said to have owed their lives to her skill. Ellen’s commitment to God’s mission in China and Hong Kong was unwavering throughout her life, and she returned twice to serve overseas before her death in 1984.

Feeling inspired?

Have these inspiring women encouraged you to explore your calling overseas? Check out our current overseas vacancies and get in touch with our team today!

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From 2009-2019: The lives you’ve transformed

From 2009-2019:

The lives you’ve transformed

Supporting this

God’s done incredible things through your support over the past ten years. Join us as we look back on the last decade of BMS World Mission work, to revisit some of the wonderful people whose lives you’ve changed forever.

2009: Bringing the light of God to France

Two pages from a magazine next to a pen pot on a table.

Back in 2009, Engage magazine looked a little different! Way back in Issue 4 of Engage, we caught up with BMS workers John and Sue Wilson, serving in France, who introduced us to four people who had come to Christ through your support!

2010: Fighting drug addiction in Thailand

A man in front of a sign.
Our 2010 Harvest appeal video, Redemption, introduced us to Deekley, who was fighting his opium addiction to help his family.

We visited our partners the Thai Karen Baptist Convention back in 2010, to meet some people you helped raise out of addiction. Your generous gifts were used to buy medicine for recovering addicts, as well as fertiliser which helped give addicts and their families a way to grow food and fight poverty.

2011: Planting seeds of faith in Peru

A man stands in a field.
Your support helped Peruvian flood victims replant their crops in 2011.

You came with us to Peru in 2011, and we showed you the village of Yucay where 350 people lost their homes and 400 farming families lost their crops after devastating flooding. But your support for these families allowed us to provide seeds for them to plant and rebuild their lives.

2012: Celebrating the undefeated

A magazine and a leaflet on a table with a cup of coffee.

In 2012, Engage got a makeover, and we celebrated the excellence of Paralympians, along with the rest of the UK, with the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Our Undefeated resource shed light on some of the global injustices facing people with disabilities across the world. Your support also helped three Haitian athletes compete in the Paralympics!

2013: Lifting up North Korea in prayer

A country that lays heavy on many of our hearts is North Korea, one of the toughest places in the world to be a Christian. We know how much our supporters want to see release and revival in this closed nation, which is why in 2013 you joined us in prayer for North Korea as part of our Project Cyrus initiative.

Feeling nostalgic?

We’re looking for pre-2012 editions of Engage for our archives! Do you have any? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch by emailing ldurrant@bmsworldmission.org to let us know which issues you have.

Two hands and the words Project Cyrus! Pray for North Korea.

2014: Standing with women across the world

A woman in profile and the words: "Dignity. Taking a stand against gender based violence."

The 2010s was a decade where the struggles of women across the world were brought to the fore, which is why we launched our Dignity resource in 2014, to campaign against gender-based violence (GBV). Your support enabled us to equip and educate leaders and congregations across the world to handle the harmful impacts of GBV.

2015: Sending relief to Nepal

A house in ruins surrounded by rubble.
BMS supporters responded incredibly after the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in 2015.

Two devastating earthquakes struck Nepal in April and May of 2015, killing over 8,000 people and directly impacting over 8 million others. You gave over £650,000 – the biggest relief response of the decade! Thanks to your generous giving, you provided trauma victims with necessary counselling, and rebuilt schools destroyed by the earthquakes.

2016: Stepping out in faith in India

A man talks among a crowd.
BMS worker Benjamin Francis is bringing the light of Christ to some of the least evangelised communities in India.

In 2016, you gave to the incredible work of BMS evangelist Ben Francis, planting churches in some of the least evangelised communities in India. Ben’s team and many other Christians living in these parts of India are faced with horrific persecution from religious extremist groups, but your support made it possible for them to continue to step out in faith.

2017: Sharing art from Syria

Children's drawings.

Another tragedy facing the world this decade was the Syrian refugee crisis. In a newly designed issue of Engage magazine in 2017, we showed you some artwork created by Syrian refugee children you supported in Lebanon. Their work might reveal the trauma they faced in their home country, but your support showed them how much UK Christians care about their future, by getting them back into school.

2018: New life in Afghanistan

A woman holding her baby.
Taban, featured in Life's First Cry, and her young daughter, Chehrah. Thanks to you, Taban didn't have to worry about losing Chehrah in childbirth.

We couldn’t talk about 2018 without mentioning Life’s First Cry. With an award-nominated feature video, we introduced you to Andisha, Taban and Laalah: three mothers from Afghanistan, all of whom have had to watch their children die in childbirth. You enabled them to learn safe birthing practices and now they all have children who are thriving.

2019: Chosen by God in Uganda

A boy holds a yellow balloon.
Innocent has Down Syndrome. Your support means that he is growing up knowing that he is loved by God.

And last but not least, in 2019 we introduced you to Innocent, the God-given boy of Gulu, Uganda. Innocent has Down Syndrome, and his mother was told to abandon him when he was young. But she knew that he was special, and now, thanks to your support, he’s able to attend a group with other children with Down Syndrome, where he can feel loved, accepted. He knows he has a part in God’s plan.

We can’t wait to see what God has in store over the next ten years, and beyond! If you want to be part of God’s work, please give to BMS work. This is your chance to make a lasting change across the world.

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Words by Laura Durrant.

Top 5 stories of 2019

Top 5 stories of 2019

Supporting this

Your support for BMS World Mission made amazing things happen in 2019. We’ve selected some of our favourite stories of God’s work from this year to show you the powerful things your prayers and giving have achieved. Here’s to God doing incredible things in 2020!

1. Serving in the Sahel

Head and shoulders photo of Claire Bedford

We caught up with the wonderful Claire Bedford, a BMS pharmacist serving at Guinebor II hospital in Chad, to get the low-down on what’s been going on behind the scenes at this busy BMS hospital. Claire shared how things have changed since she moved to Chad in 2016, and some amazing answers to prayer!

Catch up with Claire!

2. Pictures from the frontline: South Sudan’s Refugees in Photos

A South Sudanese farmer stands in the field of corn that he grew using seeds provided by BMS supporters.

These beautiful photos from behind the scenes of our South Sudan’s Conflict Survivors appeal show how your support is empowering South Sudanese refugees to help each other in the wake of a devastating civil war. It’s not too late to stand alongside these incredible people. You can donate today or hold a South Sudan’s Conflict Survivors service.

See the photos

3. The Good Zacchaeus

A woman standing in front of a hut

You wouldn’t expect a mission worker to take money from her neighbours, but BMS worker Laura-Lee Lovering does. Read this story to find out why, and why her local community of La Union, Peru is all the better for it.

Read the story

4. Where Christians dare to tread

A man sat cross-legged in front of a map of Bangladesh and holding a Bible.

“I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me to places where no-one knows of God, and those places get transformed by him.”

Pastor Simon* knows his calling. He delivers messages of Christian hope to those in Muslim communities in Bangladesh – despite the dangers presented by religious extremist groups. Read the full story and find out everything you need to know about Pastor Simon’s incredible faith.

*Name changed.

Be inspired by Pastor Simon

5. Are you sitting comfortably?

We couldn’t round off 2019 without mentioning legendary BMS church planter Ben Francis! We were lucky enough to film him sharing the step by step journey of a believer from ‘seeker’ to ‘disciple maker’ earlier this year. Watch it now and be inspired to share your faith.

Read the story
Even more powerful stories from 2019
  1. The Reel Deal – check out the beautiful photos from our talented cohort of 2018/19 Action Teamers!
  2. Cyclone Idai: Mozambique needs your prayer – we asked you to pray for Mozambique after the devastating cyclones last March – and your response was overwhelming. Thank you!
  3. New Director for Mission appointed – we were blessed to be able to appoint Rev Dr Arthur Brown as our new Director for Mission this year.
  4. The Girl Who Was Hiding – children who can’t see are being empowered in D R Congo thanks to foundations laid by BMS workers.
  5. Breaking Cultural Captivity: How to Mission – at our How to Mission event in July, we learnt from World Church leaders how to conduct God’s mission in our local contexts.

All of this work has been made possible thanks to your prayers and giving. Without your support, we would have nothing to write about! And we wouldn’t be able to share God’s love across the world. If you want to help us continue to do God’s work in 2020, please sign up to be a 24:7 Partner today! It’s the best way to make sure we can be there for the most marginalised when they need it most.

Want to do even more amazing things? Give today
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Words by Laura Durrant.

Cyclone Bulbul: pray for Bangladesh and India

Cyclone Bulbul

Pray for Bangladesh and India

Praying for this

Join us in prayer as Cyclone Bulbul causes widespread destruction across Bangladesh and India, leaving millions displaced.

Urgent prayer is needed for the millions of people across Bangladesh and India who have been displaced by Cyclone Bulbul.

Winds of up to 120 km/h were reported as the cyclone hit the coastal regions of Bangladesh and India on Saturday night, bringing with it torrential rain and life-threatening gales. 24 people are reported to have lost their lives after being struck by uprooted trees or falling branches.

Airports and ferry ports have been closed across both countries, with Shah Kamal, Bangladesh’s Disaster Management Secretary, sharing that evacuated residents had been moved to more than 5,500 cyclone shelters.

BMS World Mission is maintaining regular contact with all personnel in Bangladesh and India to ensure their safety as the storm moves north and continues to weaken.

Urgent prayer is needed for the millions who have been forced to flee their homes because of the storm.

Pray for Bangladesh and India

  • Pray for those involved in recovery and relief programmes to act swiftly to help those affected by the storm. Pray that they would have wisdom as they decide where best to allocate resources and personnel.
  • Pray for the local authorities, particularly those in coastal regions most affected by the storm, to have wisdom and resilience during this time.
  • Pray that BMS World Mission workers in the region would be kept safe, and that they would be a source of great comfort and strength to those around them.
  • Pray for those who have lost loved ones or who are looking after those affected by the storm. Pray that God would console them and give them strength.
Map showing the pathway of Cyclone Bulbul, November 2019.
Map showing the pathway of Cyclone Bulbul, November 2019.
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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.

You can help Ben

Sign up to support Ben Francis as a 24:7 Partner today! Hit the button below to find out more.

Support Ben today!

“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.”

Top tips for evangelism graphic
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.

The most inspiring young people you’ll meet all year: Action Team Tour 2019

Action Team Tour 2019:

The most inspiring young people you’ll meet all year

Get young people from your church passionate about mission!
Bring them to the Action Team Tour 2019

There’s no stopping them! They’ve brought people to Jesus in Peru, they’ve inspired children in Mozambique, they’ve even moved people to meet Christ in Buddhist parts of Thailand. And now our seven amazing teams of young people are coming to a church near you – it’s the great Action Team Tour of 2019!
Inspire your  young people to go on their own Christian gap year.

Team Peru – Bethan, Becky, Katie and Marika
Team Peru – Bethan, Becky, Katie and Marika
BMS Action Teams: a Christian gap year jam-packed with adventure.
  • Open to 18 to 23-year-olds
  • A month’s training, followed by six months serving overseas
  • Two months in the UK visiting churches on tour
Find out more about Action Teams

We can say with absolute certainty that lives across the world have been transformed through Action Teams this year. Team Mozambique has taught vital English skills to local children. Team Kolkata has supported projects helping women find employment. Team France has shown how to live out faith boldly in a secular nation. Every single one of these young Christians has leapt out of their comfort zone.

And they’ve been used by God to leave an eternal legacy.

In inner-city Peru, where drug addiction, homelessness and poverty are rife, three people gave their lives to Christ after the Peru Action Team spent a morning on the streets sharing the good news! And in rural Thailand, BMS worker Wit Boondeekhun has amazing news: against all odds, in an almost entirely Buddhist village, a young woman called Prang has come to know Jesus. How did she become interested? Through a friendship with the Thailand Action Team!

Wow – talk about transformation! Could you see the young people in your fellowship doing great things like this? Anyone can hear these inspiring stories from our 2019 Action Teams, by catching them on tour.

Team Thailand – Anna, Jonny, Keziah and Paul
Team Thailand – Keziah, Jonny, Anna and Paul

Action Teams are hopping on trains, cars and buses to visit churches from Aberdeen to Torquay, from 22 April to 17 June 2019. They’ll spend a week with each church, sharing stories of their time overseas, and no doubt eating great food and drinking plenty of tea along the way. Sounds superb, doesn’t it?!

And the best part is, you can get involved! We’d LOVE for you (and the young people from your church) to have a chance to meet these amazing young people, so we’ve listed the tour dates for each team below. Contact the nearest church to you, and take your youth group along to hear them speak.

Don’t miss your chance to meet the teams, and prepare yourself to be inspired!

Tour dates

Team France wearing purple action teams sweatshirts

Team France - Jonny, Esther, Caitlin, and Tafadzwa

22-29 Apr,  Macduff Parish Church, Macduff

29 Apr-6 May,  Peterhead Baptist Church, Peterhead

6-15 May,  Gerrard Street Baptist Church, Aberdeen

20-27 May,  Alive Church, Lincoln

30 May-6 Jun,  Folkestone Baptist Church, Folkestone

6-13 Jun,  Maidstone Baptist Church, Maidstone

13-20 Jun,  Apostolic Faith Mission, Southend

Team Dehli - Amy, Cody, Hannah and Orla

Team Delhi - Orla, Amy, Hannah, and Cody

22-29 Apr,  Tabernacle Baptist Church, Penarth

29 Apr-6 May,  St Leonards, Eynsham

6-13 May,  Catterline Community Church, Catterline, Stonehaven

13-20 May,  Cornton Baptist Church, Cornton, Stirling

20-27 May,  Pollok Baptist Church, Glasgow

30 May-6 Jun,  Portishead Methodist Church, Portishead

6-13 Jun,  Upton Vale Baptist Church, Torquay

13-17 Jun,  Bromsgrove Baptist Church, Bromsgrove

Team Kolkata

Team Kolkata - Erin, Emily and Cameron

22-29 Apr,  Lincoln Baptist Church, Lincoln

29 Apr-6 May,  Hendon Baptist Church, London

6-13 May,  South Harrow Baptist Church, South Harrow

13-20 May,  New Malden Baptist Church, New Malden

20-27 May,  Oundle Baptist Church, Oundle

30 May-6 Jun,  Evesham Baptist Church, Evesham

6-13 Jun,  Fuller Baptist Church, Kettering

13-20 Jun, Bilston Baptist Church,  Bilston, Birmingham

Team Mozambique – Alex, Andrew, Jack and Rebekah

Team Mozambique - Jack, Rebekah, Alex and Andrew

22-29 Apr,  Bervie Parish Church, Inverbervie

29 Apr-6 May,  Galashiels Baptist Church, Galashiels

6-13 May,  St Thomas’ Church, Edinburgh

13-20 May,  Viewfield Baptist Church, Dunfermline

20-27 May,  Broughty Ferry Baptist Church, Dundee

30 May-6 Jun,  Rayleigh Baptist Church, Rayleigh

6-13 Jun,  Central Baptist Church, Chelmsford

13-20 Jun,  Yeovil Community Church, Yeovil

Team Peru – Bethan, Becky, Katie and Marika

Team Peru – Bethan, Becky, Marika and Katie

22-29 Apr, Disley Baptist Church, Disley

29 Apr-6 May,  Ebenezer BC, Scarborough

6-13 May, Catterline Community Church, Catterline, Stonehaven

13-20 May, Moortown Baptist Church, Leeds

20-27 May,  Christ Church, Fulwood, Sheffield

30 May-6 Jun, Teignmouth Baptist Church, Teignmouth

6-13 Jun,  Dawlish Christian Fellowship, Dawlish

13-20 Jun, Highfield Church, Southampton

Team Thailand – Anna, Jonny, Keziah and Paul

Team Thailand – Keziah, Jonny, Anna and Paul

22-29 Apr,  Windsor Baptist Church, Belfast

29 Apr-6 May,  Weymouth Baptist Church, Weymouth

6-13 May,  Kilmington Baptist Church, Kilmington

13-20 May,  Nailsea Baptist Church, Nailsea

20-27 May, Oakhall Church, Caterham

30 May-6 Jun,  St Helens Baptist Church, St Helens

6-13 Jun,  Hazel Grove Baptist Church, Stockport

13-20 Jun,  Shrewsbury Baptist Church, Shrewsbury

Team Kosovo - Hermione, Niamh, Jeff and Sarah (pseudonyms)

22-29 Apr,  Stirling Baptist Church, Stirling

29 Apr-6 May,  Cemetery Rd Baptist Church, Sheffield

6-15 May,  Delves Community Church, Walsall

20-27 May,  St Swithins / Dunholme St Chads,  Lincoln

30 May-6 Jun,  Ashford Baptist Church, Ashford

6-13 Jun,  The Hub, Upper Beeding

13-20 Jun,  Leigh Park Baptist Church, Havant

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From the frontline: stories to inspire you

From the frontline:

stories to inspire you

From giving critical medical aid at night, to helping a rural community grow crops, our mission workers have had a very busy, challenging and blessed start to the year. We thought it was time to share some of their news with you.

The surgeons in Chad who came to the rescue after dark

Andrea and Mark Hotchkin in traditional Chadian dress in front of a sand coloured wall
Andrea and Mark Hotchkin dedicate every day to helping others in Chad, no matter where they are in the country.

We’ll paint a picture for you. One day you’re in a fancy hotel in Chad’s capital city, N’Djamena attending a Ministry of Health meeting. Then just a few days later you’re hours from the nearest town, it’s late and you’ve spent the day driving from village to village assessing healthcare provision. Word reaches you that two local people are seriously unwell and no-one has made any effort to get help.
This is what happened recently in the lives of BMS World Mission surgeons, Andrea and Mark Hotchkin. If you didn’t already know how amazing they are, you certainly will when you read their latest blog.

Read the Hotchkins' blog

Giving hope for a better future

A woman dressed in black stands behind a table covered in neatly arranged clothing
You’ll probably never meet Shama, but thanks to your support for BMS you’ve helped her and her family.

Consider this: you have five children, your husband is unable to find work and one of your children has tuberculosis. You have to spend every day not knowing how long you have to make the small amount of income you do have last. This is the life that Shama has known in Delhi. But thanks to your support for BMS workers James and Ruth Neve, Shama and others have been given hope of a new life-changing income. To find out how, read the Neves’ latest blog by hitting the button below.

Read the Neves' blog

A night of praying with women in pain

Evening street scene in Bangkok with neon lights
The light of Christ is being received in Bangkok’s red-light district, helped by BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb.

In the red-light district of Bangkok, women are learning they are children of God and that he loves them. BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb writes in her latest blog about a special event at a hotel where women who work in some of Bangkok’s bars gathered for a meal and prayer. Please read Ashleigh’s blog, and please continue to pray for her and the people she meets in one of the world’s darkest places.

Read Ashleigh's blog

‘The seeds we received are a gift from God’

Carlos Tique stands in front of a house and some green foliage
By supporting BMS worker Carlos Jone, you’re helping people in Chassimba, Mozambique not only fight hunger, but also earn their own money.

There’s a rural village in Mozambique called Chassimba, where your faithful support for BMS work is transforming lives. Men and women are not only being given seeds to grow crops, they’re learning how to take care of them better. And with increased production comes an income. BMS worker Carlos Jone visited Chassimba recently, and shares in his latest prayer letter the beautiful response he received from villagers.

Read Carlos' update

News in brief from around the world

  • In Guinea, BMS worker Ben*, along with a professional football coach, visited football training sessions to strengthen links with non-Christians. Ben has also started to meet with a prison group as he continues to show God’s love among the marginalised.
  • In France, the BMS Action Team has been helping at a refugee centre for women, supporting youth work, forging friendships and developing their language skills. Check out all their news on their blogs page.
  • In Peru, BMS worker Laura-Lee Lovering has been kept busy through attending the Peruvian Baptist Assembly (her seventh!), catching up with BMS short-term volunteer Becky Richards, and meeting Action Teamers.
  • In Mozambique, BMS worker Sergio Vilela has put in a lot of miles (around 3,000 in two weeks) meeting people through our partnership with the Mozambican Baptist Convention. Meanwhile, fellow BMS worker, and Sergio’s wife, Liz Vilela has been doing great work with child protection training, which she touches on in her latest prayer letter. Please check it out and pray for the Vilelas!
Want your church to support life-changing mission work?

Your church can get behind our mission work by becoming a Church Partner. It’s ever so easy to join and gives your church the chance to focus on a region or ministry, or on specific people.

We’d love to talk to you, so please don’t hesitate to contact Jo in the Church Partners team with any questions. Call her today on 01235 517600 or email her at churchrelations@bmsworldmission.org

If your church isn’t in Church Partners, talk to your minister today. Get involved, be inspired, express your heart for mission!

These stories are just a snapshot of what our mission workers and partners have been up to. In countries like Uganda, Kosovo, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ukraine, Albania, Lebanon and India, your support is being felt through training, nourishment, heating, education and much more. We thank you today for all that you do for BMS, for your giving and prayer, and your encouragement. Thanks to you, God is meeting the needs of people like you and me around the world. We praise God today for your support and give thanks for our incredible mission workers.

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*Names changed for security reasons.

Looking back: top 5 stories of 2018

Looking back:

Top 5 stories of 2018

Supporting this

Your faithful prayer and giving touched life after life last year through our work at BMS World Mission. We look forward to bringing you more stories of transformation and the power of God’s love in the months to come. But for now, we’d love for you to check out our five most-read articles of 2018.

1. You can help end modern slavery in the UK

Did you pass by a victim of modern slavery today? It’s certainly possible, given that there are thousands of people in the UK being forced to live in inhumane conditions, working long hours for very little or no pay. But there are Christians working to help victims of modern slavery. You can play your part by reading how to spot the signs of exploitation.

Read the full story here

2. Ten reasons why you should serve with BMS

A woman uses a sewing machine at skills centre in Uganda.
When you serve with BMS, you’ll witness the incredible joy that a transformed life brings.

Here’s one reason why you might consider serving overseas with us: you’ll transform lives around the world in the name of Jesus. We could have easily come up with dozens of other great reasons, but in the end, we chose to pick ten. You can read them all by hitting the button below. And if you feel God calling you to serve, there is a link in the story to our current vacancies. We’d love to hear from you!

Read the ten reasons here

3. Sleeping on the pavements, studying on the streets

A girl walks towards other children standing under a bridge in India
School is being brought to street children in Kolkata, giving them the opportunity to learn.

Tens of thousands of children live day and night on the streets of Kolkata, India. To survive, they often have to beg, steal or sell alcohol and drugs. Going to school is not an option available to them. But thanks to your support, some street children are receiving an education, and they’re getting to learn about Jesus too.

Read about the street school here

4. Five ways you’re making the world a healthier place

Taban, a mother from Afghanistan and her daughter Chehrah
Thanks to your support, Taban can focus on giving her daughter, Chehrah, a future that wouldn’t have been possible before.

You’re helping to save the lives of mothers and babies in Afghanistan by supporting BMS. You’re also providing critical medical care in Chad and giving children with disabilities in Thailand the support they need. Find out more today by reading about our healthcare work.

Read about the work here

5. The seven must-read chapters of an extraordinary mission worker’s life

A mature woman with grey hair sits at a table in a hospital cafe with an elderly man on one side, and an elderly woman on another.
Ann Bothamley catches up with friends at the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Friends back home support her too, ringing her to chat and ask for her prayer requests.

“I think God planted it in my heart that I was going to India. I knew, too, that it was going to be for life.”

Ann Bothamley has been serving with BMS in India for 50 years. We were delighted to hear more of her story when we caught up with her in Vellore, where she provides pastoral care to patients at Christian Medical College. Many of you who read our story about Ann commented on our Facebook page about being inspired by her. Receive fresh inspiration today by hitting the button below.

Read Ann's story here
Other powerful stories you made possible in 2018

1. He preached the gospel and they poisoned his daughter: David’s story. Thousands of people in India have come to know Christ through the work of BMS church planters such as David.

2. Spiritual workout advice from the heart of the red light district. BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb shares how she stays spiritually strong while working in one of the world’s most unloving places.

3. The cursed boy, the better Muslim and the long game. Boys are learning valuable life lessons through football and are becoming model students in the process.

4. They’ve lost so much: don’t let families freeze in Ukraine this winter. Families are fighting for survival in Ukraine this winter. You can help them.

5. The North Korea you never see: and seven prayer requests for this isolated nation. Check out images of life in North Korea, and join us in prayer for people in this secretive nation.

The work you’ve just read about was made possible by your brilliant support for BMS. Right now, in 30 countries around the world, there are more stories of transformation developing. We can’t wait to share them with you throughout this year as we work together to show the love of Christ where it’s needed most.

Want to help us do more? Give today
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Fearless: taking on the Sahara Desert, raging rivers, and the sex industry

Fearless:

taking on the Sahara Desert, raging rivers, and the sex industry

There’s nothing overstated about the headline above. BMS World Mission workers enter isolated, extreme and often dangerous places because God has empowered them to change people’s lives for the better. They tread fearlessly knowing you are standing alongside them in prayer. So please read on for some of their latest blogs.

1. When you get lost, stuck and weary in the desert

Nightmare journeys home usually consist of heavy traffic, train cancellations, or flight delays. Not so for BMS surgeons Andrea and Mark Hotchkin. For these two brilliant mission workers, along with their children Ruth and Rebecca, the journey home to Bardaï in northern Chad involved getting lost in the Sahara desert, camping outside as lightning struck, and digging for hours to release their vehicle from sand. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, a dust storm then hit. Read the Hotchkins’ blog to find out how they got home!

Read the Hotchkins' blog
Truck stuck in the mud in a desert
The Hotchkin family not only faced flooding in a desert, they also had the problem of sand becoming mud.

2. Cable bridges, landslides and a lot of walking – just to reach schools

Simon Hall holding a book as children surround him
Children’s books (and Simon Hall) are clearly popular at this remote school in Lamjung District

It’s fair to say that Simon Hall put in a lot of effort to reach the school in the photo above. That’s what’s needed in Lamjung District, Nepal, where BMS teacher trainer Simon serves. The school you can see was one of 15 that Simon and three of his colleagues visited in just one week. Reaching them involved crossing cable bridges over raging rivers, walking for hours up steps, and then travelling in jeeps up to altitude-sickness-inducing heights. The journey was understandably draining, but it was nothing compared to what was to come for Simon. Please read his blog today and pray with him using his prayer points.

Read Simon's blog

3. Joining the fight to eradicate TB

Can you imagine being part of history? BMS mission workers James and Ruth Neve don’t have to. As part of the Indian Government’s plan to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) from the country by 2025, James and Ruth are going to be giving training to people who have been cured of the illness. Their training courses will teach vital skills to help some of the poorest and most marginalized people in India generate a better income and turn their lives around. Read James and Ruth’s blog post about the day they decided to help change the world.

Read the Neves' blog
Ruth Neve signing TB agreement
Ruth Neve signs a life-changing agreement

4. ‘I want women to understand that God created us beautiful’

Ashleigh Gibb witnesses pain every day. She serves with BMS in the red light district of Bangkok, where she enters bars and brothels to speak words of love and kindness to women who have been trafficked. She also works in a coffee shop, that gives women who have managed to escape the sex industry the chance to learn new skills. Ashleigh’s blogs are always very powerful and heartfelt, none more so than her latest post in which she writes about the importance of loving those around us, even those who are hard to love.

Read Ashleigh's blog
Ashleigh Gibb in Bangkok
BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb takes the light of Christ into the darkness of Bangkok’s sex industry.

5. ‘May you know that you are loved with a constant and eternal love’

The Ovendens sit together with new baby Eleanor
Please keep Joe, Reuben, Lois, Eleanor and Connie Ovenden in your prayers.

This may not be the frontline of mission work, but we’re confident you’ll want to read about it. There was much joy in the BMS family when news came through about the newest Ovenden. Eleanor Ada Joy was welcomed into the world on Tuesday 18 September, a third child for BMS workers in Uganda, Joe and Lois. We give thanks today for the blessing of new life, and for everything that Joe and Lois do for BMS. They’ve posted a prayer for Eleanor in their latest blog. After you’ve read it, please pray for Eleanor.

Read the Ovendens' blog

God is with our mission workers, as are you. It is your faithful prayer and giving that enables them to be on the frontline of mission, helping the sick in Chad, children in Nepal, women who have been trafficked in Thailand, and many others in need around the world. Our mission workers across the globe write blogs about their work and we often post them on our Facebook page, along with prayer requests and videos. Please check it out, and please do comment on the blogs with words of encouragement for our workers! We love to hear from you.

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How football is being used to share the gospel

More than just a game:

how football is being used to share the gospel

Supporting this

The best part of the World Cup has already happened, even if your team wins.

We’re in love with football right now at BMS World Mission, and it’s not just because of the action on the pitch in Russia. The reason is far more important than any goal or victory. The gospel is being shared, accepted and lived out thanks to the powerful combination of your support and the beautiful game.

The World Cup mission field: introducing fans to Jesus

One-to-one chats about Jesus. New Testament distribution. Booklets answering questions about Christianity. It’s not the usual build-up to a game that football supporters have, but it’s what fans from Iran and the Arabic nations of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia experienced at the World Cup.

Thanks to a BMS grant, and support from churches and Christian organisations around the world, evangelists from the Middle East and Europe travelled to Russia to meet these fans. In the days before matches, the volunteers approached supporters, and in their own language, shared their faith. Then on match days, they handed out New Testaments in Arabic and Farsi, along with booklets and SD cards that explained more about what it means to be a Christian.

And though none of these five countries made it to the next stage of the tournament, many of their supporters will be heading home having experienced Jesus’ love for the first time, and with the Scripture our Father desires them to read.

The Brazilian footballer in India: outreach goals

Joshua* sought fame and glamour when he started his professional football career in Brazil.

After his worldly success, his passion for football still remains, but Joshua’s focus has changed. He’s now a coach and a Christian, and he’s combining these two influential parts of his life to help children who have next to nothing.

Thanks to your giving, Joshua held training sessions in Delhi last year for children aged seven to 14. The children received coaching for the first time, got to play on a first-class training pitch, and sense, often for the first time, the joy that playing sport can produce. But it’s not only the children who attended those sessions who will benefit from Joshua’s work. Christian football coaches from across India were also there to learn so that they could return to their communities and hold training sessions that will help young people.

Young people with footballs at their feet listen to a man talk.
Children in Delhi take in every word that Brazilian football coach Joshua says, as do the local coaches behind him. From Brazil to the world: football is carrying mission, with your help.

With your support, Joshua’s work has made an impact in India and he hopes to work in Guinea and Thailand later this year too.

“I know I can get a ball, go on a field and share the gospel with more than 50 children,” says Joshua. “It’s amazing when you go into a place, leave a legacy, and see people becoming Christians.”

The club that teaches a whole lot more than how to play football

It takes more than skill to be part of Blessed Boys Football Club in Guinea. Players need to show teamwork, discipline and a commitment to putting school first.

BMS worker Ben takes deprived children under his wing and shows them a different way to the one taken by other managers in his community.

Whilst others use aggression and violence to get results, Ben does not. If one of his players needs someone to advocate for them in school, Ben is there. And if they need extra help, they can receive it at the summer classes he helped set up with his wife, Isabelle, a passionate teacher.

Here, football often leads to learning – both academically and values.

Boys of the Blessed Boys Football Club in Guinea play football.
These young players in Guinea are becoming better footballers (and people) with the help of BMS worker Ben.

The team that warms up with worship

Most teams start their preparation for a game with sprints and ball drills. Not so for the team that youth worker Ajarn Tah formed in a village in northern Thailand. For these players, preparation begins with Christian songs in a local church and a short message before they head to their match.

Supported by BMS, Tah formed the team to stop young people from falling prey to alcohol and drugs, like others are in the village of Wang Daeng. It didn’t take much to start the side, just a few hours in fact, and enough players had come forward.

But had it not been for your giving, those ten-to-13-year-olds would have not been able to enjoy the thrill of winning their first game, or the joy of worshipping Jesus together. And this wholesome hobby is, in a very real way, keeping them safe.

Young football players take the ball round cones on a grass field
Children in a village in northern Thailand had little to keep them busy until a football team was formed with your help.

Jesus’ love has been felt at the World Cup and on football pitches in Delhi, Guinea and Thailand.

Even if football is the last thing on your mind, consider this: there are people stepping into the freedom of a life in Christ through sport. What a victory that is. What a reason to cheer. That’s something we can all support.

Pitch in to help us reach our goals Click Here
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* Name changed to protect identity

The kingdom builders: meet six BMS workers giving it all for Christ

The kingdom builders:

meet six BMS workers giving it all for Christ

Supporting this

Today, they’ll face everything from apathy and suspicion to persecution. Yet nothing will stop these BMS World Mission workers sharing Jesus’ love in hostile, remote and hard-to-reach communities.

The couple opening minds in a secular nation

Names: Samuel Duval and Valérie Duval-Poujol

Location: Mus, southern France

The challenge: serving in a country where evangelical Christians are almost non-existent, the Muslim community is the largest in Europe, and secularism is a hallmark of national identity.

The ministry: Facebook. YouTube. Email. And also in the church they planted. Pastor Samuel Duval and theologian Valérie Duval-Poujol embrace every way possible to tell people about their faith. People from across France are sending them questions about the Bible and Jesus, reaching out for answers. BMS workers Samuel and Valérie are listening, engaging, and telling them about Jesus.

A man wearing glasses and in a jacket and wearing a waistcoat, stands next to a woman with glasses and wearing a light blue shirt
Church planters Samuel Duval and Valérie Duval-Poujol embrace traditional and modern means to communicate their faith.

“The one thing that French people have is that they are thinkers,” says Samuel. “The French Baptists are just a few, but we have a massive impact with theology. When someone is a Christian in France, he can’t just be a regular Christian, he is a strong Christian.”

The youth worker using football and music to share his love for Jesus

Name: Ajarn Tah

Location: northern Thailand

The challenge: alcoholism and drug taking are destroying lives in the Thai Buddhist village where youth worker Ajarn Tah works. BMS workers Helen and Wit Boondeekhun brought him in to try and stop young people from drifting into addiction.

The ministry: starting a football team takes hard work, patience and, critically, players. Tah managed to form his team of ten to 13-year-olds in just one afternoon. Clearly the recruits knew what to do as they not only won their first match, they did so 6-1! And more than just the beautiful game, young people are hearing about a meaningful life. Before each match, the entire team goes to a local church to sing Christian songs, play games and hear a short message.

A woman in a white t-shirt stands next to a man in a white t-shirt in a forest.
Football ministry is helping Ajarn Tah, pictured here with his wife Ajarn Baeng, connect with young people in a village in northern Thailand.

Tah’s work in the village of Wang Daeng also sees him teaching guitar to pupils at the village school, using Christian songs to share his passion for Jesus.

The multi-tasker who's all about bringing new light

Name: Isaiah Thembo

Location: Kasese District, western Uganda

The challenge: helping people turn their lives around when they’ve dropped out of school and have no qualifications, money or hope.

The ministry: teaching skills like tailoring, carpentry, mechanics and hairdressing at a BMS-supported training centre.

“People have businesses now,” says project manager, Isaiah. “And that means they can earn money, rent a house, and send a child to school.”

A man wearing a smart suit and tie stands in front of trees, smiling at the camer
BMS worker Isaiah Thembo is supporting projects in western Uganda that help bring people out of poverty.

And Isaiah has not only helped to turn lives around at the skills centre. He’s also helped to install solar powered lighting in churches in western Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains, where communities have no electricity. People use the churches to read and study because they have light, instead of burning kerosene lanterns which produce a toxic smoke.

“These projects are connecting the community to God,” says Isaiah. “They are helping people, and transforming hundreds of lives.”

Watch: this is the difference your support has made to a mountain village

The pastor who takes on the Amazon to connect with believers

Name: Pastor Luis Alvarado Dolly

Location: the Peruvian Amazon

The challenge: reaching rural communities accessible only by boat or through dense rainforest where Christians are very isolated. There’s also the very real threat of being bitten by mosquitoes, tarantulas and snakes.

The ministry: providing theological and leadership training to rural pastors who have never received it. Pastor Luis visits river and jungle pastors, inviting them to stay at the BMS-supported Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre where they get biblical training and lessons in how to care for their land.

Pastor Luis Alvarado Dolly looks at a camera
Pastor Luis is strengthening pastors in rural Peruvian communities.

Combining a relentless passion for the gospel with a brilliant smile and a heart for the poor, Pastor Luis is inspiring Christians to be stronger, better leaders in their communities.

The woman resisting persecution to help people find Jesus

Name: Gillian Francis

Location: Kolkata, India

The challenge: working in communities where Christians are persecuted, threatened, imprisoned, and killed. Hindu and Muslim fundamentalist groups attack Christians, angry that people are believing the gospel and accepting Jesus into in their lives.

The ministry: Gillian helps lead a huge church planting movement in villages in West Bengal by overseeing the critical and complex administrative work that’s needed. With her support, tens of thousands of people have heard about Jesus for the first time, giving their hearts to him and opening their homes to become places of worship and transformation.

A woman wearing a grey top and holding a microphone sings
Gillian Francis is playing a key role in helping house churches to flourish in West Bengal, India.
Partner with us in mission

We’re so proud to call Samuel, Valérie, Tah, Pastor Luis, Gillian, and Isaiah our colleagues. All this work can only happen with your help. If you commit to giving regularly to BMS, you can help us to plan ahead and meet the needs, both spiritual and physical, of people who would otherwise have little hope.

Become a 24:7 Partner today and commit, at whatever level you can, to stand with us every day in mission. You will also be standing with Samuel, Valérie, Tah, Luis, Gillian and Isaiah.

Joy, burnout and leaving: Q&A with James and Ruth Neve

Joy, burnout and leaving:

Q&A with James and Ruth Neve

Supporting this

They’ve said goodbye to family and friends, and are on their way to India. James and Ruth tell us about how that feels.

The Neves are almost at the Heathrow check-in desk. It’s taken months of preparation to get this far. James has left his job as a debt advisor and Ruth has left her role as a senior Baptist minister in Southampton. It will be 42 degrees Celsius when they arrive in New Delhi, their new home. They’re ready for it, and their Hindi is coming along nicely. Life as long-term BMS World Mission workers is about to move up a gear.

A man in a patterned shirt stands next to a woman with light coloured hair
James and Ruth Neve have been studying for months in preparation for their new life as BMS mission workers in India.

LET’S START WITH SOME BACKGROUND – WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC ARTIST AND SONG?

Ruth: Well, the other day in chapel I played Celebration by Kool & the Gang.

James: I like Coldplay – am I allowed to say that? I do, there, I said it out loud.

Ruth: But which song? They did Paradise.

James: Yeah, Paradise, that’ll do.

SO, HOW DID YOU END UP AS BMS WORKERS?

James: We had a chat many years ago with [former BMS General Director] David Kerrigan about the possibility we might offer ourselves to BMS one day. The honing in on India happened about this time last year as we began to explore the possibility of whether BMS could make use of people like us.

Ruth: Because we had our children young, we thought we would still have some life in us towards the end of our working careers. It was a sense of: would we, as people in our 50s, have something to offer? This experience in India will certainly broaden our horizons, and we may be better grandparents as a result.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING IN DELHI?

Ruth: No. We’ve been given as much carte blanche as possible to learn about the people and discern where God is already working and where his heart is beating.

And BMS has given us tremendous affirmation to do that discerning process, and come back and say, “this is where we think we should invest our time and energy”, and hopefully leave a legacy.

Joy will be extinguished if you just keep working. God doesn’t want us to live like that.

JAMES, YOU WENT TO DELHI WITH BMS IN 2007 – WHAT DID YOU DO?

James: I went as part of an Insight team. We worked with an existing partner, looking at women’s empowerment and children’s education in a slum area. There was a team of seven or eight of us, and it was a sample of, ‘this is what BMS is about’.

HOW DID YOUR FAMILY REACT WHEN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WERE MOVING TO INDIA?

Ruth: Naturally, there’s been a mixed response of sadness and support due to the separation.

A woman in a yellow dress and a man in a suit in a church
James and Ruth Neve are leaving their loved ones behind to serve God in India.

JAMES, HOW WILL YOUR EXPERTISE IN DEBT ADVICE TRANSLATE TO INDIA?

James: Personal debt is becoming an increasingly worrisome issue in India’s burgeoning middle class. If, for example, a debt and benefit advice service is planted within these next three or four years and is sustainable, then great, but it could take another form.

WHAT IS GOD’S HEART FOR THE POOR AND THOSE IN DEBT?

James: God is concerned about those burdened by debt and has made specific provision for relief of debt. Given his consistency of character, that should be the case in India.

RUTH, YOU’VE WRITTEN OPENLY ABOUT EXPERIENCING BURNOUT. HOW DESTRUCTIVE IS BURNOUT, AND HOW CAN IT BE AVOIDED?

Ruth: Many ministers are in burnout because a lot of them are workaholics. You lose your joy if you keep being that way, because what often gets squeezed is your time with God. The pressure of Sunday will take over, and unless you are very intentional you’ll stop hearing God.

My advice is for people to be careful because your soul is at stake. We need to sleep and have rest patterns, and have the Sabbath. Joy will be extinguished if you just keep working. God doesn’t want us to live like that. It’s not how Jesus lived. If you are stretched to elastic point, you will snap, and it’s not pretty, and often the church is a victim of it.

These past months have served as valuable preparation for the future, reflecting and drawing breath, and just being able to make a new start.

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HOW HAVE YOUR FOUND STUDYING AGAIN IN PREPARATION FOR OVERSEAS MISSION?

James: These past months have served as valuable preparation for the future, reflecting and drawing breath, and just being able to make a new start.

A woman takes a photo of herself and friends in the background
James and Ruth Neve made new friends during their preparation time for mission work in India, including this group in Birmingham. Each week they were taught a phrase of Hindi and given Indian etiquette advice.

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SAD WHEN YOU’RE AWAY?

James: Distance from family and friends.

Ruth: Notable occasions, such as when our grandson does something specific and we can’t share in it.

WHAT WILL BRING YOU JOY?

Ruth: The joy will be in sharing our lives with some lovely, generous people in India.

James: I think I’ll get great joy from going to a Twenty20 game in the IPL.

Ruth: Me not so much.

(For any non-cricket fans, the IPL is one of the most prestigious cricket competitions in the world.)

FINALLY, WHAT CAN PEOPLE BE PRAYING FOR?

Ruth: Please pray for the practical stuff of life to be taken care of. We want to go to India without having to think about things such as finding a tenant for our house.

James: Please pray for our language learning and finding a community. And pray for what will become the work that we invest ourselves in, and that makes a difference.

Could you be called to mission overseas? There are many ways to serve God with BMS, so keep praying and explore our mission opportunities today.