Global Reach Updates - Jan/Feb 2024

Thank you for partnering with our friends and fields in Global Reach. The following are a few updates from some of our Global Reach fields. Please continue to pray for our leaders and believers as they serve God and share the Good News with seekers.

Bangladesh

Teams of pastors and other mission-minded folk from the Churches of God traveled to Bangladesh to celebrate 125 years of ministry there. That’s right. 125 years! That’s a tremendous amount of time. Really, a daunting amount of time to consider and appreciate.

The celebration itself took place on October 25, 2023, and saw about 70 pastors, mission leaders, hospital staff, teachers, and their families gather in a beautiful Catholic mission house for worship, messages, encouragement, history lessons, fellowship, food, and fun. This represents a rare occasion where our pastors in Bangladesh can come together, refresh themselves, and be encouraged about the importance of their work.

A mixture of pastors from India and the U.S. were welcomed as special guests and speakers, to encourage the pastors in Bangladesh, and to help train them for the challenges they are facing in that field. The Christian population in Bangladesh is not even 1% of the total, and +90% are Muslim, with the remaining being mostly Hindu. While Bangladesh isn’t the most dangerous of a field for Christians, the cultural climate can still be quite demanding (and the normal climate too, for that matter).

Our Bengali brothers and sisters are so grateful for our partnership and support. But the pastors and travelers from the US found themselves learning from the Bengali pastors too. Their experience preaching God’s love from a minority position isn’t easy, but as one pastor said, “You can trust that if they become a believer, it’s genuine.” Americans in particular are interested to understand and learn from the way that Bengali pastors do gospel ministry. In many ways, American pastors need to relearn how to reach out. There is then a wonderful sense of mutuality between us.

If you’re interested in experiencing some missions work, come to Bangladesh on an ACTS team or travel with Travis during an annual visit some future year. Meet fellow Christians who are doing God’s work here, sharing the love of Christ, teaching children, healing the sick, and creating community. It’s a genuinely beautiful thing.

India

Our India field had celebrations in West Bengal in late October and early November in Malda (up north) and at the Mission Campus in Uluberia near Kolkata (Calcutta). Pastors, school teachers, students, and their families arrived in both places to welcome guests from the U.S. and Bangladesh, including Dr. John Costa, our Bangladesh field leader. Both celebrations were a time for numerous sessions of teaching, prayer, and worship, along with meals, tea, and fellowship.

Gatherings like these allow for pastors and their families to come together, sharing ideas, joys and struggles. For the guests like Dr. David Odegard (GLC) and Dr. John Costa, the opportunity for relationship building is immense, and being witness to all the good work our mission is doing in India only motivates us to offer more support, and encourage them to continue on.

One bright spot of this trip was getting to spend time with Pastor Sanat Tudu and his family who live at the Uluberia Mission campus and who were very hospitable, feeding the guests and welcoming them into their home. They even took the U.S. guests around Uluberia town to get traditional Indian clothing to bring back home.

Kenya

Nancy Boyer and Lisa Wilt recently facilitated a teaching session in Kenya. The teachers, Pastors Arnie Kaufman, Paul Rutledge, and Jason Boroff did a great job. They taught New Testament Foundation. Nancy provided this update during that recent trip. “It has been such a blessing to watch the spiritual growth of the Kenyan pastors as they continue to learn. Our classes provide the way to earn a diploma in Christian studies that will protect their ministries from government forced closure. As we use what God gives us, the Kenyans use what God has given them to impact the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Lisa Wilt and I are grateful for the support to help us travel and lead the teaching team. Thank you for the prayers and support.”