Global Clean Water Crisis – a Special Report by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Written By Karen Burton Mains The “Blue Marble” photo of Earth shot from Apollo 17, the last of NASA’s Apollo missions as the rocket ship was hurtling toward the moon, wasn’t the first satellite image of our planet, but it was the…
No one would disagree with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that “Health is . . . essential to development. Good health improves learning, worker productivity, and income. As such, health contributes to economic growth.” There is a logic here. People must be healthy to be productive. Good personal and community health are necessary, not only…
How should we pray for overseas missionaries and pastors? I want to pray, but what do they need? This is a question that often crosses our minds when we hear of the adversity facing those who serve the Lord in areas that are volatilize and prone to hostility. Tamang is a pastor in South Asia who…
Diarrhea. Just say the word out loud and watch people cringe. It is so sickening that no one wants to hear about it, let alone have it. One of America’s most trusted healthcare websites, WebMD, says, When you have diarrhea, your bowel movements (or stools) are loose and watery. It’s very common and usually not…
BEIJING – The People’s Republic of China released a white paper today entitled, “China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief.” A title like that might encourage Christians about the prospects of sharing the Gospel in mainland China. However, this may be a classic example of not judging a white paper by its…
ALEXANDRIA – A terrorist attack on two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday 2017 left more than 40 people dead and 125 injured. It also made several men, women, and children widows, widowers, and orphans. One of the deceased was Hanan Dreas, a wife and mother of two children ages six and 10. Her husband,…
Chinese president, Xi Jinping, got rid of term limits, the amount of time a person can spend in office, in the People Republic of China. Once this is in place, the president is able to stay in office as long as he wants. NPR reports, “The move represents a dramatic departure from rules that have…
THIRUVALLA, KERALA, India – Believers Church Medical College Hospital gave new life to a one-year-old Indian boy and restored hope for his anxious parents when the medical staff at Believers Church Medical College Hospital (BCMCH) successfully performed a complex surgical procedure to repair a large hole in the boy’s heart. Aksar’s parents, both day laborers…
KENYA – DOOR International and its partners will hold a Sign Language Scripture Celebration on June 9th to commemorate the rendering of Bible passages into four different African national sign languages This is not the first celebration of this kind that DOOR has been able to hold. In 2014, DOOR partners and pastors gathered to…
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report on the global problem of violence against women Written By Michelle Jimenez, GFA Staff Writer Geeta, a mother of two, lived in the slums and struggled to put food on the table every day with the meager 20 rupees her husband gave her. That amount equaled less than…
CAPE TOWN – Officials have deferred what was once considered the impending Day Zero for Cape Town water supplies from July 11th until an undetermined date in 2019. The news has left the public and much of the news media scratching their heads and wondering why. As far as anyone can tell, nothing has changed….
SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan – A Christian Kazak woman who had been charged with “illegal missionary activity” was acquitted on 13 March by the South Kazakhstan Regional Court. Her illegal activity? Showing another woman how to download a Bible app on her smartphone. The woman for whom she downloaded the app then file a complaint with the…
March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day. It’s really an odd holiday because very few people understand that man whose name the day is supposed to commemorate. In fact, the day is, for many, a celebration more than a commemoration. Ask the average person on the street what St. Patrick did, and they will likely tell…
BANGALORE – There is not always something that local citizens can do to remedy the problem of polluted water. However, residents of Bangalore who live alongside Gottigere Lake have banded together to reclaim the polluted water and return the lake to its once-pristine condition. In view of World Water Day on March 22nd, here is…
For most who read this article, the thought of water evokes images in the mind of a thirst-quenching drink. If we spend a few minutes pondering the world of water, we might think about idyllic, picturesque lakes and streams. Some will think of water’s life-giving qualities. Those who are familiar with the Bible might reflect…
Syrian Christians are part of one of the oldest churches in the world. They used to be one of the major political forces in Syria , until ISIS started coming after Christians because they believe in an all Islamic state, also known as a Caliphate. BBC explains, “The founder of the Baath Party, which has ruled…
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report on the Open Defecation Sanitation Crisis Written By Karen Burton Mains For much of my adult life, it has been my privilege to hang out with the “renegades” of Christian missions, that relief-and-development crowd that rushes to help during natural disasters, struggles to alleviate the suffering and abasement…
AHMEDABAD – The United Nations’ World Water Report for 2015 said, “Problems of poverty are, on most occasions, inextricably linked with those of water – its availability, its proximity, its quantity, and its quality.” Piramal Sarvajal is a mission-driven social enterprise dedicated designing, manufacturing and providing clean, safe sources of drinking water for communities across…
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa – The world has been watching as the possibility that Cape Town and other cities in South Africa have been preparing for Day Zero when their public supply of potable water will no longer be available. Amid the preparations, residents are taking mandated precautions to avoid the impending disaster. Many are…
CAPE TOWN (28 February 2018) – For the second time in a month, the feared Day Zero for the water supply for Cape Town has been moved back. In our previous article on the South African water crisis published on February 16, we reported that Day Zero – the day when Cape Town would no…
On Sunday, members of a Russian Orthodox church were celebrating the start of Lent when a gunman opened fire on the congregation. Fox News reports, “The shooting unfolded outside a church in Kizlyar, a town of about 50,000 people on the border with Chechnya. The Russian news agency TASS cited Svetlana Petrenko of the Investigative…
KENAI, Alaska – In partnership with local Russian evangelical churches, SOAR International is planning to distribute Easter gift baskets to orphaned children in Far Eastern Russia in Communities across the Bering Sea from Nome, Alaska. SOAR (Service & Outreach Alaska to Russia) began its ministries to Russian in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, but now has…
HULENE, MAPUTO, Mozambique – At least 17 people died, and numerous others are missing following the collapse of garbage landfill in Mozambique. Many of the dead had been residing in a slum village at the lower perimeter of the garbage pile that is three-stories tall. Early reports include accounts of failed attempts to close the…
“There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success it is because someone will succeed after.” – Edward Judson, son of Adoniram Adoniram Judson likely would never be considered as the poster boy for promoting missionary work. He might be…
QARAQOSH, Iraq – If home is where the heart is, what happens when you are forced to leave your home, then return to find it destroyed? That is what has happened to Christians under siege in Iraq returning to their homes in Qaraqosh on the Plains of Nineveh in the aftermath of the conflict with…
PYEONGCHANG – “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” – I Corinthians 9:25 Thousands of athletes from around the world are competing in the global spotlight of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. All of them…
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…
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…
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?…
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…
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….
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…
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,…
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…
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…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Indonesian government extended protection for Christians throughout the country and reduced jail sentences for Christians currently confined in penal institutions. Over 180,000 officers were deployed by the National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) to protect Christians as they gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ. Reports indicate that believers were able…
The Church tries to build healthy communities in impoverished areas, often times through hand-outs or one time gifts that do not help families out of poverty. By providing work opportunities, the Church can build communities and help eradicate poverty. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are most often supported by the Church and its congregants in such a…
On Dec. 8, a 6-year-old girl was abducted while she slept beside her family. In the minutes that followed her abduction, she was brutally raped and murdered. It wasn’t until the next morning that her mom noticed she was missing. The rape and murder came as a shock to everyone in India, as she was…
Gospel for Asia (GFA) moved its offices from Carrollton, Texas to Wills Point, Texas in Kaufman a few years ago. This moved placed the nonprofit ministry on a campus where staff and people helping to fulfill the mission of Gospel for Asia can be housed. Gospel for Asia (GFA) is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit with…
Last month, Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan visited the children’s home supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA) in Delhi, India. The Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Children’s Home offers street children shelter, food, and education. Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan spent his time visiting with the children at the homes. There were laughs and hugs. Yohannan met a…
On Nov. 24, a mosque in Ismaila, Egypt, was filled with Sufi Muslim worshipers. All the sudden, while they were saying their Friday prayers, an Islamic extremist came in started shooting at people. They didn’t stop until they thought everybody was dead. There were over 300 people who died from the shooting. Abdel Fattah el…
The United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the current leader of Myanmar, on Nov. 15 to discuss the plight of the Rohingya, a people group of Myanmar that has been persecuted by the military for being illegal aliens. There are currently more than 600,000 Rohingyas that have fled…
Photo by The Photographer Weeks after week of deadly protest (as of April 22), left at least 22 dead. Per CNN, “After weeks of violent protests that left at least 22 people dead, Venezuelans took to the streets Saturday dressed in white to pay tribute to those who were killed in the latest anti-government demonstrations.”…
Photo by Oxfam East Africa The country of Somalia is in a drought. In a 48-hour period, over 100 people died from hunger. Per Fox News, “Somalia’s prime minister says 110 people have died from hunger in the past 48 hours in a single region as a severe drought threatens millions of people across the…
Photo by Chensiyuan Starting last December, in Brazil’s summer, an outbreak of Yellow Fever began. Per CNN, “The current yellow fever outbreak began in December, in rural areas of Brazil, and numbers reportedly exceed normal rates for this time of year.” Even though no cases had been reported in Rio de Jainero, they took precautions…
Photo by Staff Sgt. V. Michelle Woods The World Health Organization (WHO) got the go-ahead to do the first human-trial next year on the eve of World Malaria Day of the Malaria vaccine. CNN reports, “The World Health Organization announced Monday that it has the go-ahead to try the first malaria vaccine in the field in…
Photo by National Weather Service In late April and early May, the states of Arkansas and Missouri were hit by heavy rain. This caused flooding. Per the Weather Channel, “Earlier this week, storms and heavy rainfall that began over the weekend triggered flooding that forced the closure of hundreds of roads in Missouri, Arkansas and…
Photo by Diliff A fire that started 10 miles outside of Yosemite National Park, now covers more than 109 square miles. Per USA Today, “A wildfire that started about 10 miles outside the borders of Yosemite National Park grew Thursday to more than 109 square miles and destroyed 99 structures, 50 of them homes, fire officials…
