January 23rdPioneering in East Asia
No church. Persecution and imprisonment of local believers. Dangers at every corner. A dozen scattered missionaries. Isolation. High security. Very little fruit.
This briefly describes the spiritual landscape of one people group in East Asia. This is a description of what our team encountered thirteen years ago, when Pioneers joined the other few missionaries serving amongst this marginalized, ignored people of the mountains.
This is the “impossible” task every pioneering missionary undertakes. The specific challenges of each situation are different. Yet they all have a common goal: communities of worship in every people group.
We know you share this vision. You understand that God has called some to go, and some to stay, pray and give. Thank you for participating in and supporting Pioneers ministries this year.
Together, we are working the soil of the most spiritually barren places on earth. It’s not easy. It’s a hard labour of the soul. We are tilling the earth, chucking rocks, pulling weeds and looking for fertile ground. We carry with us the most precious seed: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we proclaim, even in the barren lands, “Our God Reigns!”
Our God Reigns –even in these harsh conditions. He makes the impossible, possible.
The work is not easy. Often we work for years before we see any results. Our team worked in the mountains of East Asia for years. We partnered with other missionaries and a few solitary Christians in the region. They prayed and fasted, looking to God for wisdom. In 2016, they began offering English camps twice a year, inviting local students to study English. The curriculum is based on the Scripture – while learning to speak English the students study the Word of God.
They worked, and prayed, and were faithful. And supporters like you walked beside them.
I’m thrilled to tell you that 15 young people came to Christ during the first winter camp. During the summer camp they were discipled further, AND ten more students came to faith. The seed was germinating and starting to grow!
Now, in its thirteenth year, we are overjoyed to share that 40 members, both men and women, have come to faith through the ministry of the English camps! A few of the new believers are meeting every day, learning how to worship God together in their own heart language – a first for this people group, from our understanding! Further discipling takes place as one of the Pioneers missionaries meets with them once a week for studies in Ephesians.
Today, the group who meets to pray annually – once just a handful of people – has swelled to 56 people. In prayer, we work together with a shared vision for the region. And for the first time this year, eight national leaders joined the missionaries.
There is still no established church yet among this people group in this province of this vast country. There is still a good deal of resistance. But we are beginning to see the seedlings of a beautiful garden. A few buds indicate the promise that one day, rows of healthy plants will bear bountiful fruit in honour of the Master Gardener.
Our God Reigns –even in these harsh conditions. He makes the impossible, possible. We thank God for you and that you are sharing in this vision, through your support of our workers around the world.