www.gfa.org

The physical and spiritual darkness that filled the tribal village was so oppressive it

almost made Nelly and Shwe want to turn back.

The two GFA native missionaries had walked for three days through a thick Burmese jungle that was infested with tigers, disease and ruthless bandits who preyed on isolated travelers.

Then they were almost overwhelmed by the stench and filth that surrounded them in the remote village in northern Myanmar (Burma). Diseases like dysentery, malaria and tuberculosis were rampant.

As the villagers stared at her, Nelly saw eyes gripped with fear. The evil spirits the villagers worshipped kept them in utter backwardness and poverty—and in spiritual captivity.

But Nelly knew that God had sent her there to shine His light into this darkness. And in spite of the terrible risks, she was determined to do it.

A village leader approached the two women and demanded they leave. He threatened severe

consequences if they stayed. But again taking courage in the Lord, Nelly and Shwe prayed and sought out a higher village authority, who miraculously granted them permission to stay.

Soon, Nelly was exuberantly ministering to the people. When she prayed for a young demon-possessed girl, the Lord delivered the girl immediately. With God’s power so evident, more people asked for prayer, and many were healed.

In that small village, two GFA native missionaries—backed by the prayers and support of believers on the other side of the world—triumphantly stood on the ashes of the kingdom of darkness. By God’s grace, they boldly proclaimed God’s love to the villagers, and soon a thriving church emerged where the name of Jesus had never been spoken before.

Such victories are at the heart of Gospel for Asia. Fueled by the prayers of God’s people, GFA’s 16,500 native missionaries are laying down their lives so that people in the most unreached places on earth will learn about Jesus and find new life in Him.

A Journeyo f F a i t h a n d C o m m i t m e n t

www.gfa.org/about

The story of Nelly may seem incredible. But it is true. And the reality is that this kind of story is repeated day after day all across South Asia. In fact, our missionaries now work with more than 30,000 congregations—most of them in places that never before new the name of Jesus!

The true miracle of Gospel for Asia is that all we do ultimately leads to thriving, missions-minded churches. And it is happening because God is moving powerfully across Asia today to bring lost and hurting hearts to Him. We are privileged that He has called us to be a part of it.

God is also working powerfully through faithful people like you to make it all possible, and He is blessing in a very special way those who have chosen to become a part of this awesome moving of His Spirit.

When I visit with our ministry partners, I am always encouraged to learn how so many have come to a deeper walk with the Lord through their involvement with GFA. That is as it should be, because our goal is to be a blessing to those who join their lives with ours in this journey of service.

One way we minister to you is through communications media like our SEND! magazine, Harvest newsletter and our gfa.org website. It is our hope that you will consider us as prayer partners in your own spiritual journey. That is why we are eager for you to share your prayer requests with us, communicate with us and attend conferences and other GFA gatherings whenever you can.

As you read this brochure, it is my prayer that each page will be an encouragement to you, and that as you learn more about the many facets of GFA, you will be open to however God would have you be involved.

Thank you again for becoming a part of what God is doing in Asia through GFA.

Yours for the lost of Asia,

K.P. YohannanPresident & Founder

Dear Friend o f G o s p e l f o r A s i a ,

Why We Are Sold on GFA One Couple’s TestimonyWe searched for years to find the best place for the Lord’s money, and I am convinced that Gospel for Asia is the best place for us to give. We sponsor 500 missionaries and 500 Bridge of Hope children, and our goal is to sponsor 1,000 missionaries and 1,000 children. One reason we chose GFA is that 100 percent of the money goes to the field—nothing is taken out for expenses—and our money goes to help the poorest of the poor. What really helped us choose GFA is your fasting and all-night prayer meetings! —Tommy & Helen Jo Bradford

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

—Luke 18:16

In India today, there is a movement of God so powerful that it has been described as one

of the greatest opportunities for the Church since the Reformation. And it is one that you and I have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join!

Yet like all opportunities, we must move while there is time. Today, the door is open . . . but the forces of darkness are already doing their best to close it.

This amazing open door is the quest for freedom among India’s nearly 300 million Dalits—the so-called “Untouchables”—who are at the very bottom of the caste system. In their quest for liberty, they have publicly renounced the religious system that has kept them in virtual slavery for more than 3,000 years and have declared that they are ready to move to any religion that will set them free from bondage. They are open to Buddhism, and thousands have moved in that direction. Some have chosen Islam, and revolutionary groups are recruiting Dalits with promises of political freedom

through violence.Yet we know that only Christ

can truly set people free, and from the beginning of our movement, our emphasis has been to bring God’s hope to these poorest and most oppressed people of Asia.

And the Dalits are responding. In fact, one Indian political party has estimated that 22 million Dalits have become Christians.

One of the most effective means we have found for reaching these oppressed people is GFA’s Bridge of Hope program, through which Dalit children receive an education, clothing and medical care while learning of the love of Jesus.

It is our blessing that God has strategically placed GFA in a position to tell the story of the Dalits and other oppressed peoples so that we can have a part in sharing God’s Good News with them.

As part of the GFA family, your prayers for these efforts are making a difference for eternity. We are grateful and humbled that you have joined us at this unique time in Christian history.

www.gfa.org/dalit

Under the caste system, the Dalits have been little more than slaves for 3,000 years. These men, women and children are considered by the upper castes to be a polluting influence on society. Many are landless agricultural laborers enslaved by generations of debts. Others work at degrading jobs such as cleaning sewers or cremating the dead. And this cycle continues for generation upon generation. According to this system, “Untouchable” parents give birth to “Untouchable” children—condemned as unclean from their first breath.

In Myanmar (Burma), a young missionary, Mei, and his family were

forced out of their home by local villagers because they were telling

others about Jesus. They survived in the jungle by eating banana tree

leaves. But they continued to pray for the village and never considered

leaving the place to which God had called them.

Then Mei’s son died. Despite their faith, it seemed a terrible setback.

Yet at the very time their son was taken to be with the Lord, the hostile

village leader had a dream of the child being carried to heaven by

angels. This dream opened a door for Mei to tell the villagers about

Jesus. Within a week, 57 people had received Christ as their Savior, and

a new church began in this difficult place.

Native missionaries like Mei are the very backbone of Gospel for Asia. It is Christ

in them—their love, their joy, their long-suffering and their passion for the things of God—that defines GFA. These national believers who have dedicated their lives to reaching the lost are also God’s way of equipping the Church for global missions in the 21st century.

Until the mid-20th century, Western missionaries could freely share the Gospel in foreign nations. And although there are still Westerners serving on foreign shores today, most Asian nations severely restrict access by foreign missionaries. Native missionaries, however, raised up from the Christian movements began by the early foreign pioneers,

cannot be barred from their own nations—or from sharing the Good News with others! So regardless of the shifting political or cultural currents, they can continue to be witnesses for Jesus to their own people.

GFA missionaries are indigenous Christians who are already familiar with the culture, language and religion of those they seek to reach. The people do not see them as “foreigners,” and they live at the level of their neighbors, eating the same food, wearing the same clothes and sharing the same cultural interests.

Today, believers like you support more than 16,500 GFA missionaries working in 10 Asian countries. And these dedicated men and women are sold out to Jesus! In answer to His

www.gfa.org/sponsor

G o d ’ s W a y F o r w a r d i n t h e 2 1 s t C e n t u r y

call, they move forward in the face of disease, poverty and persecution. Like disciples stepping out of the pages of Acts, they carry the love of Jesus with them wherever they go—into filthy slums, remote villages, leper colonies, Muslim communities and areas devastated by natural disasters.

Every ministry of GFA—whether Bible colleges training new workers,

Bridge of Hope programs for poor children, distributing Gospel literature or broadcasting radio or TV programming—is led by these passion-filled missionaries. As a member of the GFA family, you are a partner with them, sustaining them with your prayers and through your gifts. And in God’s economy, their victories are your victories as well.

Ishaya, a recent Gospel for Asia Bible college graduate, was handing

out Christian literature at a Hindu festival when he was attacked and

beaten by anti-Christian extremists. Of the three missionaries

witnessing that day, Ishaya received the worst beating and suffered

several serious injuries.

“I remember them ripping the tracts out of my hand, and then they

started hitting, kicking and tearing my clothes,” he recalled later. “I had

about 200 rupees (about US$4.50) with me. . . . They took those too.

“It started to hurt a lot, and I could see myself bleeding in different

areas. Eventually I fell down, and that’s when they left me.”

“You know,” he added after being released from the hospital, “I am so

glad that at least in this small way I could partake in Christ’s suffering.

I feel so privileged!”

CollegesP r e p a r i n g S t u d e n t s f o r S a c r i f i c e

If the missionaries are to be effective in the tough spiritual battlegrounds of Asia, their

training must go far beyond just academic preparation. Their Bible college curriculum must include hands-on training for ministry in the face of hostile resistance to the Gospel and increasingly overt oppression.

To effectively prepare for reaching the lost in Asia, these students receive three years of rigorous Bible college training. Most of the students are first-generation believers—coming from various non-Christian belief systems—so this

training under the leadership of godly pastors and teachers is vital.

After two years of full-time study in one of GFA’s 67 regional Bible colleges, the third year is spent on the mission field itself. There, the students’ will is tested as they face firsthand the persecution that awaits them. In fact, students themselves have been attacked and beaten during their school days. Yet they never waver in their commitment to reaching the lost.

Upon graduation, most new missionaries choose to minister in places where the Gospel has never been proclaimed—and most start at

www.gfa.org/biblecolleges

least one church within their first year. Almost immediately, they face opposition. Often they are beaten by radicals, who also tear up their Gospel literature and try to drive them from the villages where God has called them. After they do plant a church, sometimes the congregation is attacked or their church building destroyed. It takes rigorous training to prepare men and women for such service, and that is what the GFA Bible colleges offer.

The GFA seminary in Kerala, South India, has the special mission of training men and women for leadership roles in the rapidly growing Asian Church. Many of these graduates become regional leaders or teachers at GFA Bible colleges. In an effort to serve the total Asian Church, a significant percentage of the seminary graduates return to minister in the 31 denominations who send them

“Go to the village you have chosen and dig your grave on the outskirts of town. If you must die to reach this village, give your life and wait for us in heaven; it’s a better place.”

—Symbolic charge given at GFA Seminary graduation

Bridge of

HopeR e a c h i n g t h e C h i l d r e n

When Angeline was only two years old, her mother died of AIDS. Soon

after this, her father abandoned her and she began living with her

grandmother. When the old woman died, Angeline’s aunt took her in,

and she began attending a Bridge of Hope program in Goa, India. Now

Angeline smiles as she recites memory verses, reads the Bible and sings

songs. Her aunt also has come to know the Lord.

www.gfa.org/bridgeofhope

Dalit people (“Untouchables”) number nearly 300 million in South Asia, and there are

another 400 million in the “Other Backward Classes” who fare little better. These people are at the bottom of the South Asian caste system. Some see education as a way out of poverty, but most Dalit parents are so poor they cannot afford the uniforms or books required for their children to attend school. In addition, in a land with 162 million child laborers, many Dalit boys and girls must work long hours in slave-like conditions to pay off family debts that never seem to go away. In some areas, illiteracy rates among Dalits are as high as 95 percent.

Yet God has given Gospel for Asia an open door to reach these oppressed millions with the love of Christ. Shortly after a historic meeting in New Delhi in 2001 at which Dalit leaders declared their right to embrace a religion of their choice, K.P. Yohannan had a dream.

In his dream, he saw a field of golden wheat ripe and ready for harvest. As he ran toward the field, however, a raging river suddenly

blocked his path. Weeping with desperation, he looked for a way across. Then a bridge filled with poor and ragged children spanned the river. That’s when he understood that our ministry to the children was to become the “Bridge of Hope” for a long-oppressed people, new life in Christ is their generation’s only hope for true freedom, and the Bridge of Hope program was launched to give them that opportunity.

GFA staff workers operate Bridge of Hope programs throughout South Asia that give poor boys and girls an education, daily meals and medical checkups in a Christian environment. It is a beautiful way for the children and the communities from which they come to learn of the love of Jesus. More than 48,000 children are currently enrolled, and we dream of the day when we can serve 500,000 boys and girls in this way.

Multiplied thousands of people are learning about the love of Jesus through these children and the presence of Bridge of Hope in their villages.

Thank you for being a part of this great move of God.

“TeAcH Me YOUr WAY, O LOrD.” —Psalm 27:11

In Rajasthan, a state in Northwest India, an illiterate mother came

home with a Gospel tract and asked her son, Sam, to read it to her. He

refused, so she tucked it away among the few other books in the

house. One day Sam read the tract and gave his life to the

Lord. Subsequently he led his whole family to Christ and

enrolled in a GFA Bible college.

P r i n t M e d i a

In addition to educating and supporting native missionaries, GFA also supplies the missionaries with the tools they need to be effective witnesses.

Gospel literature is one of the most vital of these tools. Native missionaries carry Bibles, New

Testaments and tracts—by bicycle, shoulder bags or boxes atop their heads—to

some of the most remote villages and dismal slums on earth.

Printed literature is greatly valued across South Asia. Even a Gospel tract,

costing as little as half a cent, is often treasured and passed on with

powerful impact. Gospel for Asia

operates four printing presses in Asia. These

presses allow us to produce more than 25 million pieces

of literature in various Asian languages each year.

www.gfa.org/tracts

R a d i o a n d T e l e v i s i o n

One day a group of about 10 tribal people and their children showed

up outside a GFA Bible college in Karnataka. They had come to believe

in Jesus through listening to a GFA Radio broadcast in their native

language—Kannada—and had traveled more than 125 miles on foot to

be baptized by the radio announcer.

If native missionaries carrying Gospel literature are the “people on the ground” sharing God’s

Good News with those who have never heard, then radio and television are in a sense the “missionaries in the air” that cross difficult geographical, cultural and political barriers.

GFA broadcasts penetrate regions where missionary activity is severely restricted (such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and China) and where high illiteracy rates limit the effectiveness of Gospel literature.

GFA broadcasts radio programs in 103 languages across all of southern Asia, and over the years, millions of men, women and children have written in asking for more information about Jesus. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have come to faith in Christ.

In some places with limited missionary contact, believers come

together at the time of the broadcasts each week to listen, sing and pray in a “radio church.” It is not uncommon for a GFA missionary to travel to a remote “unreached” village and find a thriving group of believers—who have accepted Christ and are being discipled solely from the radio witness.

After several years of buying time on commercial television networks in India and Nepal, Gospel for Asia is in the process of launching a 24-hour Christian satellite TV network—one of the first on Indian soil committed to sharing the love of Christ with those in so much need. And thanks to modern satellite technology, the “footprint” of GFA TV will reache across Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and parts of Africa and Europe, sharing the Gospel in English and numerous Asian languages.

www.gfa.org/radio

God’s heart is to draw people to Himself—to raise up disciples to be witnesses

to the world and to be part of the Bride of Christ. It is our calling not only to share the Gospel and encourage churches across Asia, but to strengthen the Church in the West as well.

In fact, one of our core commitments is to bless your life as you stand with us alongside the native missionaries of Asia.

Our desire is to be an encouragement through our communications with you, whether by letter, publication, DVD, CD, on the Web, or via radio or television. K.P. Yohannan, our founder and president, has also written a number of books and booklets that not only have been an inspiration to millions of readers, but also have literally changed the course of

countless lives forever! We believe that these materials will help you in your spiritual walk as well.

There are also occasional gatherings of GFA friends and supporters, and you will be notified of these as they are planned. Those who attend declare almost unanimously that these, too, are life-changing events.

Most of all, you will be blessed as you spend time in prayer for God’s work in Asia. As you study the Scriptures and grow increasingly close to Him, your prayers on behalf of the missionaries and the lost in Asia will have a profound effect on your own spiritual pilgrimage.

God’s passion is for the lost, and it is our prayer that as you become more involved with Gospel for Asia, His passion will become yours.

Y o u r P a s s i o n

www.gfa.org/getinvolved

“And on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

—Matthew 16:18

A man ravaged by demons lived confined in a hut outside of his village.

But two days after receiving prayer from Tarachand, a traveling GFA

missionary, the man was healed and the demons were gone. He and all

his family received Christ as their personal Savior. Later, as the news

spread, others came to Christ, and the healed man donated land for a

church building—the first in that area.

The lost are drawn to salvation and discipleship in the context of the Church. By God’s grace,

everything we do at GFA—all the ministries you have read about in this packet as well as those we have not had space to describe in detail (such as the drilling of wells, mobile outreach teams

and Vacation Bible schools)—ultimately leads to churches.

Churches in Asia serve as the base for discipling authentic Christians. Amid spiritual darkness, each church is a place of freedom for the oppressed and a shelter in a hostile environment. In these churches, the believing men,

women and children of Asia grow in Christlikeness, encourage each other in the face of persecution and hardships, and go out to reach neighboring regions.

From these churches also emerge the missionaries who go to some of the most remote places in Asia to share the Word of God. When people respond, these missionaries start weekly meetings to teach and disciple the new believers. Eventually, the Bible study expands until a mission station or a church is formed.

Just as in New Testament times, churches often are started after

missionaries pray for the sick or demon-possessed; people experience the love and power of God. Miraculous testimonies of healing and provision abound and propel the young church forward at an incredible rate. For example, in one recent year, an average of 11 new fellowships began every day—and now there are more than 30,000 of these congregations across South Asia.

By the grace of God, as these churches grow, your prayers and support will play a vital role.

* A church is defined as 30 baptized believers.

1. Sending out native miSSionarieS

Gospel for Asia’s vision is to send out native missionaries into the most unevangelized areas of the 10/40 Window. Today, by God’s grace, more than 16,500 native missionaries are already on the field in 10 Asian countries—preaching the Gospel full-time and winning people to Christ.

2. BiBle CollegeS and goSpel for aSia BiBliCal Seminary

Because the responsibility of leading both the Church and the frontline mission work in Asia has shifted into the hands of indigenous leadership, the greatest need is for qualified laborers. That’s why GFA has established major Bible colleges across southern Asia, where more than 9,000 students currently prepare for pioneer ministry.

Gospel for Asia Biblical Seminary, an accredited, mission-centered academy, is designed to train Christ-centered, skilled leaders for the expanding Asian Church. The seminary offers graduate and post-graduate degrees and has one of the largest theological libraries in Asia.

to Gospel for Asia Ministries

each ministry listed below has the ultimate goal of

sharing the love of Jesus christ with those who have

never heard his name.

your

www.gfa.org/sponsor

www.gfa.org/biblecolleges

3. gfa Bridge of Hope

Bridge of Hope is the exciting outreach ministry designed to change the lives of thousands of Asia’s poorest children, primarily those from Dalit (“Untouchables”), low-caste and tribal families.

In these areas, where the illiteracy rate ranges from 65-90 percent, learning to read and write opens many doors for these precious children. More important, they are introduced to the love of Jesus Christ. As the Good News permeates their communities, their parents and other adults are also impacted in places where the name of Jesus had never been proclaimed before. Today, more than 48,000 students are enrolled in the Bridge of Hope program, providing them an annual medical checkup, daily meals, an education and the hope found in Jesus Christ.

4. gfa BiBle SoCiety

God’s Word is the most important tool to reach the lost and foster the growing Church on the Asian Subcontinent. Millions are now hungry for this Eternal Word, yet only a small percent of the population has access to a Bible or New Testament.

GFA Bible Society’s presses have the capacity to produce hundreds of thousands of Scriptures each month in languages representing more than one billion people.

In addition, GFA prints Gospel tracts in native languages to reach millions with the message of Christ. We produce more than 24 million pieces of Gospel literature each year to distribute to our native missionaries as well as to other ministries.

www.gfa.org/bridgeofhope

www.gfa.org/bibles

5. muSlim outreaCH

India is home to 137 million Muslims.

That’s more than Saudi Arabia, Iraq

and Iran combined. Gospel for Asia has an

ongoing Muslim ministry in India and several other

countries, including specific training for those who work

among them. GFA also airs radio broadcasts in the many languages spoken

by more than 300 million Muslims in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

6. gfa radio and tvGospel for Asia produces and airs radio broadcasts in 103

languages. Millions who never could have been reached any other way are now hearing the Gospel. Despite high illiteracy rates, we receive some one million contacts each year from listeners whose lives have been changed.

GFA is also launching a 24-hour satellite station—one of the first Christian TV stations on Indian soil! Program content will be broadcast in native languages as well as English.

www.gfa.org/muslim_ministry

www.gfa.org/radio

7. gfa CompaSSion ServiCeS

It is hard to believe that some 25 percent of the population in South Asia’s major cities suffers abject poverty in depressing slums. These millions experience a vicious cycle of poverty, sickness and hopelessness.

Our missionary teams live among the people and bring them the precious hope and love found only in Jesus Christ. Their ministries include church planting, instruction on basic preventative medicine, and providing free Christian education for the children.

Other aspects of GFA Compassion Services include our leprosy ministry and our disaster relief ministries, such as our involvement in bringing aid to flood, cyclone and earthquake survivors. All include the sharing of the Gospel with those whose greatest need is the hope found in Jesus Christ.

8. film miniStry

An Indian-made film on the life of Christ called Man of Mercy has proven to be one of the most effective means available of communicating the Gospel to millions of illiterate and unreached people on the Indian Subcontinent.

Over the years, God has used GFA donors to provide more than 250 films and LCD projectors to missionary teams, and as a result tens of thousands have given their lives to the Lord each year after being touched by the story of His sacrifice for them.

Bolstered by your prayers and financial support, these ministries are reaching the lost people of Asia with the hope and life found only in Jesus Christ. Thank you again for being a vital part of the Gospel for Asia family!

www.gfa.org/radio

www.gfa.org/cs

www.gfa.org/film

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

www.gfa.org

Thankyou