The Making of a National Missionary
When it comes to the Great Commission, consider the challenge of the Indian Subcontinent:- More than 1 billion souls.
- Approximately 500,000 unreached villages in India alone.
- The largest concentration of the world's unreached people.
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That is why training Asian believers for pioneer missionary work is an intricate part of Gospel for Asia's original calling.
"Years ago, the Lord gave us a distinct burden to believe Him for thousands of vibrant missionaries trained and sent out to the mission field," says GFA President K.P. Yohannan. "That's why we started these Bible colleges."
Today, 67 colleges are equipping young men and women whom the Lord has called to reach their own people. In an environment emphasizing discipleship, mentoring, character development, biblical knowledge and practical application, thousands of students are preparing for ministry among the most unreached of Asia.
There are three distinct training stages for each GFA missionary-to-be. The training cycle begins and ends with the local body of believers. Its ultimate goal is to strengthen the Church in Asia, while planting churches among the most unreached.
An Example in Every Way
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After the message that night, 14-year-old Neelathi's parents brought her to the Gospel team. She needed costly surgery to remedy a potentially fatal stomach problem, which they couldn't afford. They were devastated, but something they had heard about Jesus gave them hope to believe He could heal Neelathi.
The young men gathered around Neelathi and her parents, just as they had watched Sumeet do many times, earnestly praying to the Lord for this young girl's healing. There was no change in her condition when they finished, but they encouraged the family to continue trusting in God.
A week passed. It was outreach time again, and once more Sumeet traveled to the same village with the young believers entrusted to his care. There was Neelathi—completely whole.
Her father, a local Hindu temple priest, surrendered his life to Christ. He immediately began to witness to his neighbors, encouraging them all to receive Jesus. Today a group of believers gathers every week to worship the living God.
Currently there are hundreds of discipleship groups, just like the one Sumeet leads, all across the Indian Subcontinent. A shishya bhavan (SHISH-yuh ba-VAUN), or "home of disciples," is a six-month period of discipleship conducted by godly, mature pastors of GFA-related churches. In addition to pastoring, they mentor five young men, usually ages 18 to 25, who have been called and set apart by the Lord for full-time ministry. These disciples are sent from local churches in the district, whose pastors build a missions vision into their congregations.
Depending on the pastor's accommodations, the group lives either with him or nearby. This gives them the opportunity to closely watch him in public and private. He pours his life into them and becomes their example in every way.
A shishya bhavan can begin at any time of the year, depending on when students are ready for discipling; it is not restricted to a specific school schedule. The training is guided by a four-part curriculum that includes teaching on—and practical application of—prayer, a survey of the Bible, lessons on character transformation and practical ministry.
When six months are up, the pastor enrolls them in a GFA home Bible school for their first year of training.
Year One: Home Bible School
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Students spend Monday through Thursday together at "home" studying the Word of God. The curriculum is identical to that of the first-year program at GFA Bible colleges. It has been so successful in giving students a solid theological foundation that in many areas, GFA sends all its students for their first year of studies to home Bible schools. Only then are the students sent for their second and third years to the Bible colleges.
This period of study in the students' lives still connects them closely with local churches. Nearly half of each week—Friday, Saturday and Sunday—is spent in ministry activities, working alongside local pastors. Home Bible school students work with the same pastors each week, who then assign them to different villages where mission stations have been planted. More than 75 percent of the home Bible schools plant two or three churches per year from this weekend outreach ministry alone.
Just as with the shishya bhavan experience, this year in home Bible school also provides for interaction between students and teachers. Students have the opportunity to observe their leaders' lives and learn from their examples. And leaders gain a deep knowledge of each student, enabling them to concentrate on specific areas of character development.
By the time students reach the home Bible school phase of training, their faith has been severely tested. Jobi's disciples will learn that following Jesus often means leaving everything they have ever known behind. These young men and women may be young in the faith, but their commitment to serving the Lord is strong. Timothy, one of Jobi's disciples, is a living example of that kind of faith.
"After I received Jesus, I was persecuted by many of my relatives. Even my parents refused to have anything more to do with me. A month after I publicly testified of my faith through water baptism, a group of villagers beat me so severely that I was in bed for many days. After I recovered, I again started to share the Gospel. God even gave me an opportunity to talk to those who had beaten me.
"I got married to a believer and we lived in a small hut in our village. I began to assist our pastor in his ministry. My heart was burdened to share the Gospel with the lost millions, and the Lord confirmed His call upon my life. During those days I rented a bicycle and traveled to the villages to witness. I was able to visit all 187 villages in my district.
"A vision and burden grew in me to learn God's Word, and I joined a GFA home Bible school to better equip myself for ministry.
"When I visited my home a few months later, the villagers tried to pressure me to turn back to my old beliefs, but I refused. In anger, they convinced the local police to arrest and beat my wife and me. We were held for three days. I was very weak and stayed at the pastor's home for two weeks to recover.
"I returned to the home Bible school to continue my training, and my wife is staying with our two children in our rented hut. Our pastor is watching over them while I am gone. She does manual labor and is sometimes able to send me some financial help. My wife and I are happy in the Lord and we are not discouraged."
When Timothy's year in home Bible school ends, he will be ready for the next step in training—attending a GFA-affiliated Bible college.
Year Two: Bible College
Hamid comes from a Madhya Pradesh tribe known for its idol worship as well as lack of gentleness and civility. So after he gave his life to the Lord, he was not surprised when his parents and siblings refused to listen to anything having to do with Jesus.
Hamid enrolled in a GFA Bible college to prepare for future ministry and was challenged by the teaching on Bible study, worship outreach and prayer. When news came from home that his two-year-old niece, Jamia, was lame and unable to walk, he began to apply what he learned, fasting and praying for her healing as well as his entire family's salvation.
Hamid traveled home to his village during a school break. Sitting with his family, he began to share the Gospel with them, but they cut him off. Despite their rejection, Hamid began to pray for Jamia aloud, asking Jesus to heal her. As soon as he finished, Jamia immediately began to walk, to the astonishment and joy of her parents and relatives.
The desire of Hamid's heart was fully realized when his entire family believed in Jesus as a result of Jamia's healing.
"These are great things the Lord has done in my family," he shared. "I am so very happy." Hamid is a second-year student at one of GFA's 67 Bible colleges, with plans to serve the Lord full-time when he graduates.
The second year involves the most intense study time in the entire program. Trainees spend five days in the classroom, concentrating on subjects such as comparative religions, inductive Bible study, character development and Gospel presentations. The weekends are reserved for outreach to the surrounding villages, giving students opportunities to put their studies to practical use and exercise their faith.
Teachers play an important role in the lives of their students and take their responsibility seriously, using the classroom to impart not only knowledge but their lives as well.
"Sometimes I share my personal experiences," says one Bible college instructor in Andhra Pradesh. "I challenge them to reach out to people and bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus. My expectation is that they will share the same burden I have."
Year Three: Practical, Specific, Ministry-Related
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| This women's team from the Bilaspur Bible College worked with Pastor Jobi Masih during their six month internship. They worked in the Bridge of Hope School and visited the surrounding villages doing outreach. |
But the man was more than a curious bystander. He was a hurting father who had tried prayers, rituals, doctors, and any means at his disposal to relieve his daughter's suffering-all in vain. Now he asked the young men: "Can your Jesus heal kidney stones?"
Amrit responded immediately, "Yes!—if you believe." He and the other students laid hands on the girl and began to pray, asking the Lord to heal her. To her father's joy and amazement, his daughter was instantly made well and completely relieved of terrible pain.
Today that village—which never before had a Christian witness—has a growing fellowship group that will soon become an established church.
Third-year students like Amrit spend their first six months on campus and then move to the mission field for a final six-month internship. They work in groups of five, with established missionaries who have planted one or more churches. This meets two needs at once: The third-year students have mentors to follow as well as incredible outreach opportunities, and the busy pastors have assistance with their many responsibilities.
Curriculum for third-year students, both in the class and on the field, is practical, specific and ministry-related. Students learn how to counsel, baptize and conduct worship services, marriages and funerals. They study communication principles. They take courses such as Mentoring, Cults and Heresies, Literature Evangelism and Film Ministry. They learn government laws, regulations and rights that apply to them.
Even while working on the mission field, third-year students receive classroom instruction through traveling faculty and "contact seminars" conducted halfway through their training.
Not Just a Dream Anymore
Thousands of students have already graduated from Gospel for Asia's training program. Of those who become full-time GFA missionaries, 98 percent minister in places where a church has never before been planted. And typically, each establishes at least one church within his first year on the mission field.
Victories like these do not come without cost. Opposition and persecution are part of everyday ministry across the Subcontinent. Each year, several missionaries lay down their lives for the Lord.
But all these young men and women made the decision to pay the price long before their full-time ministry began. They have been grounded in His Word. They have within them a vision to reach the lost, and they are ready to make the necessary sacrifices to see it happen. They did not arrive on their mission fields unprepared-their mentors and teachers have worked hard to ensure that.
"It all started with a God-given dream," K.P. Yohannan explains, "to see thousands of native missionaries trained and equipped just as Christ did His disciples. It's not just a dream anymore; by God's grace, it is happening. We are in awe of what God has done. It is nothing short of a miracle, for which we give Him glory and honor."
Today, more than 16,000 trained native missionaries serve full-time in 10 Asian nations.
"Through years of trial and error," Dr. Yohannan adds, "and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have developed a unique system. From the beginning our leaders have been convinced that the answer to obeying the Great Commission is to ask the Lord to send laborers. As we have set up Bible colleges, we have followed Christ's example."
"Training is one of the most important parts of our whole ministry," agrees one GFA regional leader. "Without training, we cannot do anything. If our pastors are trained well, they will be able to have great ministries."
Through such ministries believers are equipped and given the same vision for reaching their lost neighbors. This translates into strong local churches that will send their young men and women to be trained for ministry among the unreached.
And the cycle will begin all over again.
Pray for Gospel For Asia's Training Program:
- Currently the majority of shishya bhavans are comprised of young men. Women can also receive this training, but only if discipled by pastors' wives or women missionaries. Pray for the Lord to raise up godly, mature women for this purpose.
- When young men and women first arrive at a GFA Bible college, it can be a major challenge for them to adjust—to new surroundings (the first time away from home for many), schedule and climate. Pray they will experience good health and have sound minds through all the changes they face.
- Most students come from non-Christian backgrounds. They are perhaps two to three years old in their faith when God calls them. They begin their training with plenty of zeal but little know-how. Pray they will be able to absorb the teaching and for humility to receive instruction so they can become effective servants of the Lord.
