Obedience | Beyond

More Baptisms, the Fruit of Persecution

Apr 26, 2023 | South Asia, Stories

On behalf of the disciple-making movement in North India, Ethan* and Nicole* report:

“We’ve shared much with you about the persecution faced by the churches in India. Our last report was especially hard. It hurt to share the news about the woman’s martyrdom, and it probably hurt you to read it.

“Recently. we heard from Sanjay* concerning the status of the work for January. More people received baptism in January, and more house churches were established than during the last six months of 2022. Six months’ fruit in just one month! How?!

“Here’s what Sanjay said:

“‘By God’s grace, we are experiencing intense persecution, but the work has increased! One thing we’ve seen is people more quickly want baptism and to be identified with Jesus. Before, we were often baptizing in larger groups [20, 30, even 50 people] in localized gatherings. With persecution, we need baptisms happening in every home, and [the people] want it quickly. They no longer wait until [another] community is ready to join them in a baptism event. Now they just get it done. They don’t need to wait for those larger baptism events, and they really can’t gather like that anymore [anyway]. It’s too visible.’

“In other words, in response to persecution, leaders are choosing to move ahead and quickly do what’s commanded (‘baptize them’ in Matt. 28:19). They feel the urgency of obedience. And the new disciples are feeling the same urgency.

“Early in the Gospels, we see this same urgency. Jesus gave responsibility and authority to His disciples (who knew very little) to baptize others. [Jesus] ‘was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)’ (John 4:1-2, bold mine).

“Our brothers and sisters in India don’t want you to elevate them or raise them up as heroes. They are normal people, with families, jobs, and the concerns and stresses of life. They are simply obedient to the commands of Jesus.

“Please celebrate with us what God is doing in India — what only He can do — and also pray for these brothers and sisters. It’s a daily battle there. I am not talking about a battle between religions. I am talking about the battle to obey Jesus, love Him, and persevere and love one’s enemy when faced with beating, arrest, even death. To live out Hebrews 10:36-39 requires God’s abundant grace, every day. What a relief, that what is impossible with us is possible with God.”

*pseudonym

WHERE TWO WORLDS COLLIDE
Ethan* and Nicole* receive almost daily messages from Sanjay* and John* about the persecution the disciples and house churches face. The hardest of these messages was that a lady was martyred. She and read more …

EXPECT AND TRAIN FOR PERSECUTION
Preparing people for persecution starts before they become Jesus followers. This has to do with how we present the gospel. Some people share Christ this way: “Become a Christian. You will have joy and peace. read more …

WATCH THIS VIDEO AND PRAY FOR THE PEOPLES OF SOUTH ASIA

Crazy Ideas in the Smoking Cafe

Aug 19, 2022 | Stories

Karl was discussing the Sermon on the Mount with two young Muslim men in a smoking cafe. The Scriptures on blessings were easy for them to accept. Things became more troublesome when they read about murder, adultery, and divorce.

“Those Scriptures had their proverbial ‘boat’ rocking a bit,” says Karl, “but when we got to the passages about loving your enemies, their ‘boat’ almost capsized! In the ‘Shame-Honor’ culture where we live, the idea of turning the other cheek is not only foreign but is considered shameful. You punch the tuk-tuk driver if he bumps you; you fight if someone insults you. You do whatever it takes to keep shame away and maintain your honor.

“When we read about loving your enemies, my friends were astonished. How can people love their enemies and even pray for their persecutors? Lots of crazy things are said in cafes while drinking tea and smoking shisha, but these ideas were over the top!

“As we walked through these Scriptures, I asked questions like: ‘What does this teach us about God? What do we learn about people and ourselves? If this is true, how will you apply God’s truth this week?’ These were tough questions for my young Muslim friends.”

The hunger for truth and hope is very great in the young men where Karl lives. Please pray for God’s word to penetrate their hearts and minds. Pray they realize God’s word is alive and active and can change them eternally.

*pseudonym

When the Wheels Literally Came Off

Aug 12, 2022 | Stories

As Luke* drove back home after visiting a remote village high in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia, the front right wheel came off his vehicle.

While he was making repairs, the jack toppled, causing the vehicle to fall on him. Thankfully, a ministry partner was there and able to free him, but Luke suffered broken ribs, a broken back, and separated shoulder ligaments. He needed immediate medical attention, but the closest decent hospital was many days’ journey away.

After arduous hours of driving through the snow, they finally found a place to rest, at a location Luke had previously visited. He asked about Dache*, a man who used to work there, but people told Luke that Dache had moved away. So everyone was surprised when Dache arrived shortly after that!

“We started catching up right away,” Luke says. “I found out that we now live in the same city. Later, he asked, ‘Are you a Christian?’ When I answered that I am, he asked me to disciple him. I asked.‘If I disciple you, will you disciple others?’ He agreed that he would!”

After focusing for a time on physical recovery, Luke began discipling Dache. In their first few Bible studies, Dache discovered so much: that God created everything, that family was God’s creation, that suffering began with sin, and sin makes God sad. As a result, Dache has committed to following God’s word, loving his family, and sharing God’s story with others.

Dache is growing strong in faith and obedience. He and Luke currently meet three times each week for a Discovery Bible Study. He retells the Bible stories to his coworkers and relatives. Luke is hopeful that Dache will want to be baptized this summer, and prays Dache’s family will join him in baptism.

Out of Luke’s accident, God brought something wonderful! Pray that God will bring about a disciple-making movement in this region.

*pseudonym

“I’d Hit Them Back!”

Jun 22, 2022 | Stories

As Job* sipped hot tea and puffed on his cigarette, he asked, “Did Jesus really say, ‘Turn the other cheek’?”

“Yes, he did,” Frank* replied. “He also said if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. And if anyone makes you carry their stuff for one mile, carry it for two miles.” (Matthew 5:38-41)

“Do you think he was being literal?!” questioned Job.

“That’s a great question. What do you think?”

“I’m not sure it’s possible to ‘turn the other cheek.’” Job responded. “Why would someone do that? If someone hit me, I’d hit them back.”

Job peppered Frank with honest questions about Jesus and Christianity for several hours. Job is from a minority Muslim people group that has experienced a great deal of repression and persecution.

Job teared up as he said his goodbyes. “I just can’t believe the statement about ‘turning the other cheek.’ If [my people] turned the other cheek … we wouldn’t be around anymore. These ancient churches are empty because Christians turned their cheeks. Look at the [other people groups who used to live here]. Where are they now? They turned the other cheek, and they are no more. I can never turn my cheek.”

Frank sensed that Job wasn’t seeking answers but only wanted to express his pain. So Frank simply said, “I understand your feelings. Let’s talk more about this next time.”

Since then, Job and Frank have begun reading the Bible together. Pray that the Father would continue to draw Job to Himself and that Job would become an obedient disciple of Jesus. Ask God to bless Frank with spiritual wisdom and to use him to start a disciple-making movement among this Unreached group.

*pseudonym

Obedience Even When It’s Dark

Jun 17, 2022 | Stories

A couple of years ago, a young college graduate in Indonesia got connected with *Wes and *Angie’s local team. *Yurba had learned about the unreached people groups in her country and God’s vision to see them all respond to Jesus. She responded in obedience by learning how to make disciples and spending time looking for people God was preparing.

One night at a prayer event on campus, she heard about the C people. She heard God speak to her very clearly, “This is the group to whom I am calling you. Bring My light to them.”

Yurba jumped in. She started a year-long preparation class where she was taught about cross-cultural living, Jesus’s strategy for reaching the lost, and how to cast His vision to others. Her heart grew in its love and burden for these people who have never known who Jesus is.

Then COVID caused lockdowns and mobility issues, so she was not able to launch in her expected timeframe. In that difficult time, she asked, “Lord, what does obedience look like in this season?” She pursued lost people around her and began studying the Bible with a spiritually open family. But God had a surprise in store for her. During this season she met another young woman with a heart for the unreached. *Tashi decided to join Yurba in reaching the C people; they want a disciple-making movement to break out among them.

Please pray for lasting fruit as they serve and obey the Lord among the unreached C people.

*pseudonym