The Rohingya who escaped to Bangladesh to flee violence from the military are being deported and sent back to Myanmar in the next two years. According to BBC, “Myanmar has agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingya each week, Bangladesh says, adding that it aims to return all of them to Myanmar within two years.” The United…
Gospel for Asia (GFA) highlights need for more toilets to cut avoidable death toll, in the first of challenging series looking at major social issues affecting people in Asia. WILLS POINT, Texas—Missionary organization GFA (Gospel for Asia) is calling attention to a usually ignored, delicate subject at the heart of much of its caring work—a…
NEW JERSEY – A U.S. District Judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing a group of Indonesians currently in the United States and scheduled for deportation time to legally fight their deportation. The ruling was granted following a lawsuit initiated by the ACLU. The Indonesians, who are currently “on release,” have sought relief because…
“We need to leap into the hands of God and trust Him to carry us.” Dr. KP Yohannan, founder of the nonprofit GFA (Gospel for Asia) gives encouragement and encourages us to trust and expect great things from God. Sometimes it can seem intimidating to step out of our comfort zones and expect miracles. But…
On Super Bowl Sunday, in a commercial by an alcohol beverage company, Matt Damon promised that if people purchased a chalice, $3 of the $13 purchase would go to benefit communities in need with clean water for five years. Stella Artois is doing this in partnership with Water.org. NPR released an article on February 2…
Sudan is ranked as one of the top five countries in which Christians face the most significant persecution. The war-torn country has been named “A Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department since 1999 due to the persecution of Christians and widespread human rights issues. After South Sudan seceded in 2011 after one…
KATMANDU – At four minutes before noon on April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter about 48 miles northwest of the capital city of Katmandu. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal in more than 80 years and the deadliest day in the region’s recorded history….
PHOENIX, Arizona – Just when they thought that they had established church planting efforts in all of the unreached groups in Zimbabwe, leaders of the global missions group, ZimZam, attended a Finishing the Task conference sponsored by the Alliance for the Unreached. ZimZam was established with a vision “to see every people group in the…
HOLLAND – Corniela “Corry” van der Bijl, the wife of the renowned “Bible Smuggler,” Andrew van der Bijl, passed away on January 23m 2018, at the age of 86. She had been the faithful companion of the man the world knew as Brother Andrew for 59 years. The ministry of what is now Open Doors…
World Cancer Day 2018 By Karen Burton Mains When our last-born child, Jeremy Mains, was younger, he used to complain regularly about the privileges of his older brothers and sister. “Why don’t I get to do all the things Randy and Joel and Melissa get to do,” he would whine—frequently. My reply always was, “Just…
Nursing homes have become a new mission field in China. Traditionally, the Chinese people have considered that placing elderly people in nursing homes indicates that their children are failing to support their aging parents. However, with a changing demography and the growing Chinese economy, “senior care services are called ‘a sunrise industry serving the elderly…
Texas-based nonprofit GFA (Gospel for Asia) constructs more than 10,000 toilets and sanitation facilities throughout Asia. Open defecation, though rarely addressed, is still a pressing issue for those living below the poverty line in Asia. According to the World Health Organization, over 650 million people in India alone do not have access to a toilet….
Respond to others with compassion and understanding, says Dr. KP Yohannan, founder of GFA (Gospel for Asia). As humans, we often lack compassion and understanding when dealing with those around us. Even as Christians, it can be difficult to respond to others with the same love Jesus did. Yohannan recalls that he used to preach…
ORLANDO – Pioneers, a global missionary outreach ministry, was established in 1979 by Ted Fletcher, former National Sales Manager for the Wall Street Journal, and his wife, Peggy. That same year, Pioneers supported its first missionary, Ruth Wright, in Nigeria. In 1980 Pioneers sent its first missions team to Papua New Guinea. Along the way,…
HOLLAND, Michigan – Audio Scripture Ministries (ASM) records and distributes audio Bibles to indigenous people in oral cultures. Because many of these people don’t or can’t read, ASM records the Scriptures in their native languages so they may hear the message of God’s love. In India alone, where 60 percent of the 1.2 billion people…
George Verwer to Present His Passion On the Beauty of Messes WILLS POINT, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) has announced that international leader and renowned missionary statesman, George Verwer, will speak at a special event on the GFA Wills Point, Texas, campus on Sunday evening, Feb. 11, 2018. Verwer is the founder of Operation…
When Christians today think of well-known pastors or missionaries, they mention names like Billy Graham, Jim Elliot, David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, Joel Osteen, Matt Chandler, Rick Warren or John Piper. Most people would not list George Verwer nor would they even recognize his name. As it turns out, that’s probably just the way George Verwer…
BONAIRE –Trans World Radio (TWR), will make history today, January 30, 2018, when it begins broadcasting from its new tower on the island nation of Bonaire in the southern Caribbean at 4:30 pm EST. TWR has been broadcasting Christian programming from Bonaire since 1964. That was just 10 years after the radio ministry began transmitting…
NIGER – CURE International’s pediatric hospital recently celebrated its seventh year of operations in the African nation of Niger, a country twice as large as the state of Texas. Seven years ago, the ground upon which the CURE hospital now stands was a garbage dump. In 2017 alone, CURE physicians conducted life-saving surgeries on more…
NEW DELHI – January 26, 2018, marks the 69th annual celebration of Republic Day in India. The date commemorates the ratification of the country’s constitution in 1950 when it gained independence from Great Britain. The Constitution of India superseded the Government of India Act under which the nation had been governed since 1935. One of…
JALALABAD – An ISIS extremist group has claimed responsibility for an attack on the offices of Save the Children in Jalalabad on Wednesday, January 24. The humanitarian aid organization that services nearly 1.4 million children in Afghanistan has temporarily suspended most of its operations in all of its 16 Afghan provincial offices in the interest…
WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, we reported that confirmation of President Trumps nominee for the position of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large, Kansas governor, Sam Brownback had been stalled in the Senate. The president had nominated Brownback in July 2017. The nomination expired when Congress adjourned for the holidays without voting on the matter. President Trump resubmitted Brownback’s…
LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales Ayma, addressed a national television audience on January 21st, following protestations by representatives of the country’s National Association of Evangelicals opposed to a section of a new penal code that would have made it a crime to evangelize. Section 88.11 of the code stated, “whoever recruits, transports,…
Palestinian refugees in 1948 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Soon after President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the nation of Israel, he also announced that he would cut U.S. funding of aid to Palestinians. The funding of which he spoke is channeled through the UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency. The U.S. has…
JERUSALEM – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence assured the Israeli parliament today that “In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem – and that the United States Embassy will open before the end of next year.” The U.S. decision to begin the move of the embassy…
The Western world has traditionally held the word “missionary” in high esteem, largely unaware that leaders of Eastern nations have often regarded the idea skepticism. That skepticism has grown over the past century, following the end of World War I and, even more so, since the end of the Second World War. Why the disparity?…
ORLANDO, Florida – Wycliffe Associates has a goal of translating the Bible into every language by 2025. During 2018, the organization expects to begin translations in 600 languages, a task that was once unimaginable. Wycliffe is embracing advances in technology previously unavailable to translators. It was not all that long ago that translation of the…
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – A visit to India in 1971 led John DeVries to pray, “God, I will serve you anywhere you want. Just, please, don’t send me back here again.” At the time, DeVries did not realize that what he was seeing was the Lord’s way of opening John’s eyes and heart to the…
PAKISTAN – Earlier this month officials in Abbottabad closed six unregistered house churches within the district for security reasons. It had not been clear what those security issues were. Meetings between officials and members of the All Pastor Association Abbottabad have clarified the security issues. As a further result, officials agreed to re-open the churches…
PAKISTAN – Earlier this month officials in Abbottabad closed six unregistered house churches within the district for security reasons. Abbottabad is located about 75 miles north of Islamabad, the district captured the attention of Americans when it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been residing there. The district is home to the Pakistan Military…
WASHINGTON – Earlier this week, during his visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that the United States would be moving its embassy to Jerusalem much earlier than previously anticipated – “Much faster than people think, within a year.” President Trump’s affirmed in December that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and…
UPLAND, California – Anchored North is making a global impact, reaching Millennials around the world with digital evangelism. The organization is reaching out to a mission field that no one even knew would exist 25 years ago. Statistics say that more than 56 million Millennials are leaving the church. Just as Gospel for Asia (GFA)…
BELIZE – In November 2017, a team from Mission Cry in Fowlerville, Michigan was visiting Belize to deliver Bibles to school children. One morning, they arrived at the next school on their schedule only to discover that their meeting had been canceled. While the group was discussing how to proceed, one of their Belizean hosts…
NEW DELHI – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters today on his flight from Delhi to Gujarat that it is his “solid assessment” that the United States will move its embassy to Jerusalem much sooner than most people think. President Trump announced the move in December when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of…
International (MNN/TWR) – Cru, the U.S. arm of Campus Crusade International produced the original JESUS film in 1979. Nearly 500,000 people have reportedly accepted Christ as a result of watching the film which is now available through the JESUS Film Project® in more than 1,500 different languages. Cru and TRW (Trans World Radio) have teamed…
By Greg Henshall from FEMA photo library – public domain via Wikimedia Commons WASHINGTON, DC – The Trump Administration has revised the language in FEMA Relief Fund rules to include local churches. The action follows a lawsuit filed by three Texas churches damaged during Hurricane Harvey. The three Houston-area churches filed a complaint in federal…
Gospel for Asia (GFA), WILLS POINT, Texas – We understand that it is reasonable for people to infer from our name, Gospel for Asia (GFA), that our only area of service is in Asian countries and that our only service is to share the Gospel. While that assumption is reasonable, it is not entirely accurate….
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Commercial Appeal) – Church Health, a medical clinic with a Christian mission, operates the Perea Preschool in the poorest of poor neighborhoods of North Memphis, Tennessee, where 90% of the population lives below the federal poverty level. Using Abeka teaching materials, the preschool introduces three-to-five-year-old children to basic educational needs and how to…
Dr. KP Yohannan has been crisscrossing the globe for the past 40 years, challenging the Body of Christ to discipleship. His call to a radical lifestyle—with an all-out commitment to Jesus—has left its impact on nearly every continent. To the Church caught up by the tidal waves of compromise and self-preservation, Yohannan’s life message is…
LA PAZ, Bolivia – The National Association of Evangelicals in Bolivia (NAEB) has formed a National Energy Commission in response to the inclusion of Article 88.11 in the country’s new Penal Code. “Whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious…
QARAQOSH, Iraq – The names of Asian cities are often unknown to most people in the western world. Qaraqosh is one such city. Its connection to Biblical accounts of history dates to hundreds and even thousands of years before Christ as it lies within the Nineveh Governate and close to the ruins of both Nineveh…
AUSTIN, Texas – Where exactly is the mission field? It’s wherever there is a need. It may be in India, or it may be in Indiana. It might be in Thailand or it might be in Texas. It could be in Asia, or it could be in Austin. According to a study from the University…
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A group of more than 30 researchers from six countries is preparing to create the first detailed images, maps, and monitors of earthquake-prone regions of Asia. The project will cover 435 square miles of an onshore subduction zone that is an extension of the one the caused the 2004…
Wikimedia Commons, TKnoxB FREETOWN, Sierra Leone – Crossroads Prison Ministries International provides resources, training, and support for ministry leaders in over 20 countries across the globe, to help share God’s love to the imprisoned people in their respective countries. “In developing countries, deplorable prison conditions present added challenges. Severe overcrowding, limited food rations, poor sanitation,…
By Lt.j.g. Matthew Stroup [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons NKHOMA, Malawi – The African village of Nkhoma, its mission community, and hospital are located 60km south of Malawi’s capital Lilongwe, 15km east of the main road running from Lilongwe to Blantyre. What was established as a missionary base of operations with a single doctor in…
For more than 11 years, Gospel for Asia has published a Christmas Gift Catalog filled with opportunities for people in the West to be involved in helping transform the lives of families in Asia who live in poverty. Since that time, more than 1 million families have been helped and many reports about how Gospel…
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2017 /The White House / — President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The proclamation calls upon “industry associations, law enforcement, private businesses, faith-based and other organizations of civil society, schools, families, and all Americans to recognize our vital roles in ending…
ALGIERS, Algeria (Middle Eastern Concern/ SIGHT) – Three believers were arrested in Chlef, 200 km north-west of Algiers, during the third week of December. They were visiting from Tizi Ouzou and had arranged to meet a contact at a café. Police entered the café, found they were in possession of Christian literature, and took them…
Heaven’s doors opened on January 5, 2018, to receive AWANA Cofounder, Art Rorheim. He was 99 at the time of his passing. Rorheim collaborated with Lance Latham to create and establish the AWANA as a youth and children’s ministry in a Chicago church in 1950. The ministry concept was based on a paraphrase of II…
Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. workforce are paid on an hourly basis. About 700,000 who are currently paid the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour will be getting an increase as 18 states raise their minimum wage effective January 1, 2018. Minimum Wage Increase The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since…
