The Lord’s Move to Asia (May 2013)
LMA Conference Report (Part II)
During the LMA spring conference held in Yangon, Myanmar from April 23rd to 25th, a time was designated every evening for the brothers serving in various countries to give a propagation report covering the period between October, 2012 and March, 2013. The following is a summary of the reports:
Bangladesh: The total population of Bangladesh is about 160 million, and close to 90% of it is Muslim. Hindus form a minority here, while Buddhists and Christians (including Catholics) each only make up 0.5% of the total population. The saints began to actively preach the gospel since 2008, the main target being the Hindus and the indigenous Adivasi people. There were a number of gospel moves in February and March. The saints preached the gospel in 38 villages and on one college campus. Eighty-eight people got saved and baptized and four churches were raised up. Currently there are 35 churches in Bangladesh with over 1,100 saints. The brothers hope the number of saints will reach 1,200 by the end of this year. Besides the preaching of the gospel, there are also a national blending conference and trainings for serving ones and college students every year. As far as the literature work is concerned, “Calling on the Name of the Lord”, “Nourishing material for New Believers”, “Seven Aspects of the Church” and “The Parts of Man” have been translated into Bengali. Presently the urgent need is for more families to migrate there for the shepherding of the new ones.
Cambodia: In the past few months, Cambodia Gospel Bookroom published the Holy Word for Morning Revival on “the Minor Prophets”, “The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery”, and “The Unique Work in the Lord’s Recovery”, “A Pattern of the Healthy Words” (96 Lessons), and a number of conference outlines. The annual International Blending Conference was held in Phnom Penh from January 25th to 27th. Of the 350 saints that attended the conference, 285 were local saints and the rest came from overseas. A college training and a sisters’ training were also held in February and March, respectively. Currently there are 12 local churches in Cambodia with 386 saints.
Egypt: A couple is now laboring in this transcontinental country spanning both Africa and Asia. Out of a burden for Egypt, this couple decided to migrate there to contact people and learn the language. The brother testified that even though they could not really communicate with the local people, these people are happy to interact with them because they are fond of Chinese people and want to learn Chinese. It is even more so on the college campuses. As soon as this couple goes on the campus, students would flock to them, hand them their phone numbers, and request further contact. They then become this couple’s gospel contacts. Thus the brother sounded a call in the conference for more Chinese-speaking brothers and sisters to migrate to Egypt for the propagation there.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain): The propagation in the GCC countries began with the saints from India and the Philippines migrating there for work. In 1995 the first church in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was raised up. Later on churches were also raised up in Saudi Arabia (2004), Oman (2006), Qatar (2006), Kuwait (2009), and Bahrain (2012). Even though Islam is the dominant religion in this area, the Lord has raised up seekers in all these countries. Currently there are 4 churches in the UAE with 195 saints, 6 churches in Saudi Arabia with 300 saints, and 2 churches in Qatar with 60 saints. Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain each has one church with 10, 30, and 17 saints, respectively. Although propagation in these countries is not easy, the saints have remained faithful in their practice of the normal church life. The church life is very rich with weekly Lord’s Table meeting, prayer meeting, small group meeting, truth pursuing meeting, as well as blending trips, conferences and perfecting meetings held on longer holidays.
India: Seven churches were raised up in India between last November and this March. What’s especially worth mentioning is the strengthening of the propagation in Northern India and the raising up of new churches in Southern India through the clustering of churches and the migration of saints. Concerning the preaching of the gospel, not only did the local saints actively participate in it, some saints also came from Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong to co-labor in this endeavor. Concerning the literature work, 26 ministry books, 46 booklets, and over 100 hymns were translated into six languages in the past four months. The brothers also explored new ways to promote the ministry books, such as launching an online bookstore and displaying and selling ministry books in secular bookstores, so that all the riches in the Lord’s recovery can be made more readily available to the seekers.
Laos: Currently the total number of saints is about 120. The day-to-day church life includes corporate morning revivals, prayer meetings, Recovery Version study groups, small group meetings, Lord’s Table meetings, various perfecting meetings and the blending of the saints. Four times a year the full-time trainees from Bangkok, Thailand would come to coordinate with the saints for the gospel meetings. Eleven new ones were saved and baptized between last October and this March. A number of ministry books have also been translated into Laotian.
Myanmar: There were a number of gospel moves between last November and this March, including the full-time trainees’ gospel trips and the migration of the saints. Besides people getting saved and baptized everywhere, a church was raised up in Mandalay, the second largest city of the country. There are now 41 churches in Myanmar with close to 1,900 saints. On top of the gospel moves, perfecting meetings for the sisters, for the young people, and for the elders were also held in order to help the saints be equipped with the truth and grow in life for their functioning in the church life. There is also a national blending conference every year.
Pakistan: The first local church in Pakistan was raised up in Lahore, the second largest city of the country, on March 10th of this year. Through the saints’ preaching the gospel on college campuses and in the communities as well as reading the Bible and having home meetings with the gospel contacts, 39 people got saved and baptized in four months and 35 of them attended the first Lord’s Table meeting. Among the newly saved ones were some converted Muslims. One thing special about Lahore is that there is a Christian district in the city and many residents in that district have been Christians from generations past. This is why the percentage of the Christian population in Lahore (about 5.8% ) is much higher than that in the whole country (about 1.6%), and they are not just individual believers but households of believers. The serving brothers hope to gain some key families in this area for the Lord’s testimony in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka: From last October to this March, there were gospel moves lasting from one week to one month in four different cities. Besides preaching the gospel in the communities, the saints also continued steadfastly to contact people in the University of Colombo, the oldest and largest university in the country, with the aim to gain some key students. Presently there are 7 churches in Sri Lanka and the average Lord’s Table attendance is 88. The goal for this year is for the average Lord’s Table attendance to reach 150.
Vietnam: Two churches were established between last October and this March. There are now 44 churches with close to 3,400 saints, among whom 1,800 regularly attend the meetings. A four-month Nazarite training is held every year to train and equip young people who have the desire to be perfected. From last September to this January was the fifth batch of the training with 15 brothers and sisters. Many saints from overseas, such as Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, also came to visit and blend with the local saints. Such blending in the Body greatly encouraged the saints and caused all to rejoice in their spirit.
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