Imagine your pastor having access to a wide range of excellent resources for each sermon they prepared. Imagine them being soundly trained in how to understand, teach and apply the Bible to the congregation.
Imagine your church’s children’s and youth workers being trained and experienced in leading those groups, and having faithful, biblical resources available to help them along the way. Imagine having church apprenticeships, training courses and degree programmes on offer, through which the next generation might be prepared for ministry in the local church and beyond.
In truth, this is probably all true for you and your church family. However, as we look across to our brothers and sisters who gather as the church in Asia, they often have no such luxuries.
Those who become pastors in Mongolia have a huge heart for the glory of the Lord, but have little understanding of how to shepherd the young flock, and are often recent converts themselves. Church leaders in Myanmar long for the church to be built up and encouraged, but often have minimal access to the Scriptures, let alone to commentaries and other resources which might help them understand and expound the Word of God.
Lecture hall
Meanwhile, youth and children’s workers in various parts of South–East Asia long for resources which explain the glories of God at a level accessible to the young people they serve, whilst unreached people groups continue to wait, unwittingly, for missionaries who know their language and understand their culture to arrive with the good news of Christ.
All of that is to highlight the problem of training and resourcing leaders for the body of Christ in Asia. We haven’t even touched the issue of pastors finding fellowship and encouragement with others in their situation. In numerous countries, gathering for such reasons can be a dangerous undertaking, meaning opportunities for mutual edification and encouragement are few and far between.
But we dare to imagine. We dare to explore ways to combat these problems and we take action to support, train and encourage the current and future leaders of the Asian church. We are resourcing them with Bibles, children’s resources and other resources. And we are finding ways to bring persecuted pastors safely together for encouragement, teaching, refreshment and worship of the Lord.
We can do none of this without your support, and so the question is, ‘Dare you?’
Dare you imagine with us a world in which the Asian church is served by leaders well trained in the Scriptures and suitably prepared for the rigours of gospel ministry in a context of oppression? Dare you invest your time and your heart in prayer for these under–served brothers and sisters? Dare you invest something of the material riches entrusted to you, that the church in Asia might be better resourced, better led, and better equipped to grow not only in their relationship with God but their faithful proclamation of His glorious grace?
Dare you join in the amazing things God is doing in Asia?
