Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leader in tackling critical issues facing the extreme poor and most marginalized people in Asia today, including women’s issues, clean water challenges, leprosy, slums, child labor, plight of widows, human trafficking concerns, among numerous other topics.
Acquiring clean water is a day-to-day struggle for millions of people throughout the globe. But GFA World is leading the way in providing lasting solutions that transform thirsty communities. To date, we’ve installed over 30,000 bore wells, aka “Jesus Wells”, and distributed over 58,000 BioSand Water filters, to provide clean water to 37.5 million people in South East Asia.
More than 70,000 children in Asia otherwise at-risk of growing up illiterate and uneducated are instead receiving a daily meal, ongoing education, school supplies, and medical care through our Bridge of Hope program — all because of Christ’s love. To date, we have helped over 138,000 children, and in 2019 graduated 2,170 students from high school onto brighter futures.
Gospel for Asia points out that there are more than 250 million women in Asia today who are illiterate. It’s impossible for them to help their children with schoolwork, read road signs, the instructions on medicine bottles, understand legal papers, or read a Bible. But through our literacy programs, we taught 59,888 women to read and write in 2019 alone.
For decades, GFA-supported workers in South Asia — one of the world’s most leprosy-endemic regions — have provided physical and emotional support for victims of the disease. Leprosy cases in the U.S. are rare, but this dreadful disease afflicts more than 200,000 new victims around the world every year, mostly in India. GFA has 47 teams working with Leprosy patients through Asia.
GFA World serves Asia’s poorest of the poor in more than 870 slum neighborhoods throughout Asia. That’s an increase of more than 360 slum ministry locations since 2015.
GFA works to combat unjust discrimination, stigma and suffering endured by widows in Asia. We have 40 teams working among widows to bring them hope and tangible help.
Globally, around 736 million people are living in poverty, many of them children. Lacking adequate housing, hygiene, health care and education because they don’t have enough money, they pay a high price: disease, discrimination and, often early death.
GFA’s website tells its story, and its story is vast: To date, we’ve installed over 32,000 toilets built in some of the most underdeveloped areas, including 5,428 latrines with dual-tank disinfection systems were constructed in 2019 alone.
Some of us are old enough to remember grandparents, aunts and uncles who could not read or write. Yes, right here in the United States. Those we may recall were the children of parents who had been prevented from learning these essential skills because their survival was existential. Their progenitors had to work the family…
Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on illiteracy, the dominant disabler to flourishing for millions around the world, and the miraculous potential of literacy that is able to change the lives of men, women and children for generations. Few…
LOS ANGELES — This month, the Los Angeles Dream Center is celebrating a significant milestone. Founder Matthew Barnett, his wife Caroline and their entire team of staff and volunteers are commemorating 25 years of service to the people of Los Angeles. The 25th anniversary celebration beginning on Thursday, September 26 will include many events, but…
GENEVA – Nearly a million Rohingya are interred at refugee camps in Bangladesh, having fled their homes to escape persecution in their native Myanmar. Tensions have been rising over the past several months and have reached a point where remaining in Bangladesh may become as dangerous as of being back in Myanmar. The UN Office…
STOCKHOLM – Access to clean drinking water is an existential problem that must be overcome in developing countries. It is almost always a companion of poverty and disregard for women. Safe Water Network India (SWNI) has implemented a pilot project that borders on genius. If someone who solves a problem is a hero, those who…
CANBERRA – The global water crisis continues to spread almost indiscriminately from continent to continent and nation to nation. Australia heads into the Southern Hemisphere summer with populated portions already reeling from a “serious” to “severe” water crisis as a result of 32 months of drought. WaterNSW (New South Wales) has experienced extreme low inflows…
BEIJING – For more than two years, Missions Box News has brought our readers reports of the Chinese Communist Party’s widespread campaign to clamp down on Christianity in mainland China. The big news out of China in January 2019 was not tariffs and trade wars. The CCP demanded that the first of the 10 commandments…
BAHAMAS — Samaritan’s Purse has established a base of operations in Marsh Harbour—working to bring emergency shelter material, clean water, and critical supplies to families who lost everything. Marsh Harbour, a small town of fewer than 10,000 people in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, hit international news as Category 5 Hurricane Dorian made landfall there…
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was founded in 1998. The mission of the USCIRF is “To elevate and promote international religious freedom as a norm and practice.” During the past year, the USCIRF has issued four factsheets that summarize four types of laws used internationally to prevent the…
TASHKENT – The spotlight of the global water crisis is currently shining on the countries of Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan. In “Water: A Time Bomb in Central Asia,” Aqua Doc emphasized that, “Agricultural water use in Central Asian countries is of vital importance, especially for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries employ inefficient irrigation methods….
Faith-based Agency Helps Bring Christ’s Love into Far-flung Villages, www.gfa.org/press/bicycles WILLS POINT, TX — Aiming to bring “compassion on wheels” into more remote villages in Asia, faith-based agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) today announced the launch of a new bicycle campaign. In August and September – a period when many Americans enjoy taking their bikes…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) has released a new special report entitled “Literacy: One of the Great Miracle Cures.” Subtitled, “Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit,” noted author Karen Mains explains that illiteracy is a multi-faceted . . . problem that results in [fewer] job opportunities and low income,…
Welsh councillors in the UK have defended their freedom to conduct prayers before meetings in the face of opposition from those labelling it ‘discriminatory’. Councillor Paul Penlington called on Denbighshire Council in North Wales in the UK, to conduct prayers away from the council chamber, and has received the support of the National Secular Society….
PORTLAND, OR — At the invitation of faith leaders in Nigeria, as well as long-time ministry partner Firm Foundations in Christ Ministries (FFICM), Wendy Palau – wife of international evangelist Andrew Palau and daughter-in-law to Luis Palau – will share hope and encouragement with hundreds of displaced people in an IDP camp just outside Jos,…
BAHAMAS — Samaritan’s Purse made its first airlift of the Emergency Field Hospital to the Bahamas on September 5, at the request of the World Health Organization and the government of the Bahamas. Multiple flights will follow. A team of 16 staff members, including doctors and nurses, was on the flight to help set up…
WILLS POINT, TX — With more than 250 million women in Asia unable to read or write, faith-based mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) cites literacy as a “miracle cure” to release women from generational poverty. To mark International Literacy Day, Sunday, Sept. 8, the humanitarian organization located in Texas announced it was publishing a…
WILLS POINT, TX – Did you know that India is home to the largest population of children in the world? That’s right. With 448 million children under the age of 18, India alone has 103 million more children more than China. Nearly 25% more.The 2011 government census also reported 10.2 million children between the ages…
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – On August 27, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs released data indicating that “1.9 million Afghan children are engaged in labor work across the country.” The ministry said the child labor problem is unlikely to improve until the country is free of the poverty and economic issues caused by years of…
BAHAMAS — Samaritan’s Purse is airlifting the Emergency Field Hospital to the Bahamas today, September 5, 2019, at the request of the World Health Organization and the government of the Bahamas. A team of 16 staff members, including doctors and nurses, will be on the flight to help set up the mobile hospital. The 40-bed…
KAMPALA, UGANDA – Last September, her world was turned upside down when her husband passed away. The 54-year-old mother of eight children was now a widow with a family to support. Searching for hope, she placed her faith in Jesus Christ when the pastor of a small church shared the Bible with her. Joy returned…
WILLS POINT, TX — Labor Day has been celebrated by Americans on the first Monday in September since 1894. Labor Day has become the unofficial last day of summer. Picnics, hot dogs, parades, and fireworks. Only a few continue to observe the day in recognition of the rights of laborers and to remember those who…
FOREST, VA — World Help, an international Christian humanitarian aid organization, has activated its crisis response program to provide aid to victims of Hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas this Labor Day weekend as a devastating Category 5 storm. The destruction was unprecedented, and the flooding some of the worst the island nation…
toiletNEW DELHI – The widespread practice of open defecation in the developing countries in Asia and Africa has long been a focus of Missions Box News, numerous FBOs, NGOs, and the United Nations. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030 include bringing the entire world to that status of being Open Defecation Free (ODF)….
Matthew Barnett, co-founder of the Los Angeles Dream Center and senior pastor of Angelus Temple, discusses the ways to end homelessness, that it is not an impossible dream to do so. It’s hard to believe that homelessness still rises to a crisis level in so many places across the U.S. And it pains me to…
BUCHAREST – Twenty kilometers outside of Bucharest, in the locality of Balotesti, is a place where young ladies find help to rebuild their lives and to live free from drugs. The center for girls “House of Joy” functions under the umbrella of Teen Challenge Romania. The need to provide a home just for girls became…
NEW YORK – August 22, 2019, marked the first International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief sponsored by the United Nations. Missions Box News first became aware of the proposed special day in July 2018 when members of the British parliament were called to consider supporting a proposal…
NEW YORK – Clean water. America has it in abundance. And we have all the benefits that come along with immediate access to it. But do we understand what those benefits are and what the impact of living with them is? The issue goes far beyond thirst. UNICEF published the first volume of a new…
Rev. Joseph D’Souza, one of the most widely considered as one of the most influential voices of global Christianity discusses how Christians should respond to the crisis in Kashmir, and perspective for all Indian, Pakistani and all Christians to have in this dire situation. Christians around the world ought to pray for Kashmir as tensions…
WILLS POINT, TX — As devastating water scarcity continues to ravage parts of South India, faith-based agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) and its Founder KP Yohannan report that “Jesus Wells” they help support are pumping lifesaving water for thousands of desperate families in the drought-stricken Chennai region. The wells, located in the communities on the…
STOCKHOLM – Experts from around the world will meet in Stockholm during World Water Week from August 25 to 30 to consider the growing concerns regarding water-related issues. Access to clean water, particularly drinking water, has been the basis for numerous Missions Box News stories over the past few years as part of our effort…
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimonies this week for an amendment to a bill that would affirm that life begins at conception and prohibit abortion after an unborn child’s heartbeat is detected or with increased levels of the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone. Liberty Counsel Senior Litigation Counsel Richard Mast presented testimony…
WILLS POINT, TX — Faith-based agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) announced it is making a stand against the deadly mosquito menace and resulting malaria parasite killing thousands of children in Asia, as the Christian organization marks the annual World Mosquito Day on August 20. To read GFA’s special report entitled “Fighting Malaria—a Chilling Disease,” visit:…
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC— On October 1, 2019 Heart for Lebanon will open a new Hope Ministry Center in the heart of the Bekaa Valley, home to approximately 350,000 of the poorest refugees in Lebanon who have fled the violence of war. The situation is considered the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Current statistics…
Emily Towns of World Help, an international, Christian humanitarian organization serving the needs of the impoverished around the world, discusses the danger refugees in the Middle East and other parts of the world still face, not being able to go back to their homes. Refugees in the Middle East are being told to go home…
SOUTH ASIA – Sometimes, things just don’t make sense – until we dig a little deeper. For instance, this reporter has had difficulty reconciling two storylines about farmers that have been coming out of South Asia for the past year or more. Two storylines: Farmers and India’s water crisis The first involves a trend to…
EVERETT, WA— The Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) has won a major religious freedom victory on behalf of its current and future members. The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota has ruled that the abortifacient mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as the subsequent “accommodation,” burdens the religious exercise…
WILLS POINT, TX – A strange thing happens when we consider the cost of something. If not with our lips, our minds ask the question, “How much does this cost?” When I reflect on that, I realize that this question is inevitably self-centric. The question is inextricably connected to “How much am I willing to…
Violence against women is a worldwide problem, even in the United States of America. One in five women in the United States have been sexually assaulted In the wake of the recent #MeToo movement, sexual assault and violence against women in American and other Western countries have made headlines in unprecedented volume. According to a…
7 WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) is honored to have been included in Beliefnet’s recently published list of nine Faith-Based Nonprofits Fighting the World Water Crisis. It doesn’t take long when ministering within developing nations to learn how personal the world water crisis is for people who have little or no access…
HYDERABAD – The International Labor Organization and the Indian state of Telangana are about to take bonafide action to weed child laborers out of the region’s cotton fields. The state and the ILO are about to embark on a collaborative mapping of the entire area’s cotton supply chain. Their goal? To rid the state’s cotton…
Noel Yeatts, President of World Help, an international, Christian humanitarian organization serving the needs of the impoverished around the world, discusses the myths people mistakenly believe about child sponsorship. If you were to spend any amount of time with me, you would quickly see that I’m passionate about a number of social justice issues plaguing…
Infamous ‘killing fields’ become ‘harvest fields’ as radio ministry ramps up to broadcast gospel to unreached people in Battambang province.LA MIRADA, CA — Radio ministry FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company, www.febc.org), today announced plans to build a new radio station next year that will broadcast local Christian programs for the first time to thousands in…
MUMBAI – A strange thing has been happening with the slums in South Asia. NGOs like Gospel for Asia (GFA) have been working amongst the millions of people living in extreme poverty and struggling for survival in the slums of South Asia’s major cities. Suddenly, these slums have become a remarkable tourist attraction. In fact,…
VIENNA, West Virginia – a congregation will be donating 100 backpacks, each filled with school supplies, to low-income students in advance of next school year. Faith Baptist Church of Vienna will give away the backpacks and supplies for students on a first-come, first-serve basis on Saturday. Pastor Scott Kapple told The Christian Post in an interview…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on child labor: Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others In a report written by Lee Tucker, a consultant to Human Rights Watch, about the problem of bonded labor in Asia, a young girl shared, “My sister…
RIO GRANDE RIVER – As waves of desperate migrants arrive on the sweltering border between Mexico and Texas, Samaritan’s Purse is working on both sides of the Rio Grande to help them in the Name of Jesus Christ. “Some of these people have been traveling for months and they have been through so much,” said Samaritan’s Purse…
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — A radical new book out today aims to shake up America’s laid-back retirement culture and launch a new wave of missions-driven seniors into God’s service. “After a lifetime of work, the thought of a life of ‘(doing) nothing’ can seem like paradise,” said Bruce Bruinsma, author of The Retirement Reformation, published…
WILLS POINT – Dr. K.P. Yohannan and the staff of Gospel for Asia (GFA) celebrated God’s faithfulness on the 40th anniversary of its founding on July 3. After four decades of accomplishments beyond expectations in ministry or any other successful endeavor, many would accept their laurels then rest upon them, satisfied that their task is…
WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia: The scourge of human trafficking is accelerating at a rapid pace, according to Christian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA), which urges the public to ‘Speak out for Silent Victims.’ To mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, Gospel for Asia (GFA) is sounding the alarm…
WILLS POINT, TX – According to a recent special report, “Child Labor: Not Gone, But Forgotten,” 2.8 million children in forced child labor die annually from work-related injuries. That is the equivalent to the entire population of Chicago and more than twice as many children as the total population of Dallas. The in-depth report, published…
