That the World May Know

One of the perks of being a missionary family is visiting new places. We call Southeast Asia our home. Either me or my children have spent time in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, and of course, the Philippines. Last week, team leaders from these countries met in a comfortable hotel in the northern mountains of Thailand for leadership and strategy training.

Thailand is ruled by a king who upholds the teachings of Buddhism. Ornate, bubble-topped Buddhist temples and shrines rise among the concrete buildings of the city. In the morning hours, shaved-headed Buddhist monks in orange robes roam the streets barefooted, collecting food alms from the side-walk vendors and lower-class restaurants. Day markets sell food for the local populace; night markets sell native products to the tourists.

For me, the most exciting part of the meeting was listening to testimonies of what God is doing in our part of the world. In the remote jungles of upper Laos and Vietnam, to the crowded dirt streets in poverty-stricken Cambodia, new tribes are hearing the gospel for the first time. In far east Malaysia, a CPM (Church Planting Movement) of 3,300 house groups and churches is flourishing. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, among one of the largest population of Muslims in the world, Jesus Christ is being exalted through a rapidly growing CPM. In the cold mountains of Burma, remote villages are responding to the gospel through the efforts of locally trained believers.

People are hearing, God’s kingdom is growing.

On our island of Panay in the Philippines, we have been encouraged by the steady growth of many believers. Lenea in Lambunao continues to gather friends and family every week to hear stories of Jesus. Edong in Anilao is influencing family members who are coming to Christ. Richard, Moding, Caleb, Elsa, and Girli in Iloilo are growing in their knowledge and understanding of God’s Word as they meet each week for discipleship training. Edwin in New Lacena has grouped his family and baptized neighbors into a church that meets in his house.

The economic forecast of the world is stormy. The political landscape looks messy. Moral standards continue to decline. Evil is on the rise. The time of Christ’s return grows near. For now, the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only lasting hope for a dying world. I have seen it lift people from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. As the new year rolls along, would you renew your pledge to pray, that from the jungles to the city, from the coast to the mountaintops, all people groups of the world would hear and know that Jesus Christ is King!