Multiplying Impact in South Asia

by the Frontier Fellowship team with Sevanand, South Asia Partner + Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church (NC) Leaders

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During this 40th year of frontier mission mobilizing ministry, we recall countless stories of God using Frontier Fellowship to advocate for least-reached peoples and activate the Church to engage in making the Good News of Jesus known. It has been our privilege to serve as a link between indigenous partners and Western Christians. We've seen firsthand the blessing God brings to all who are involved when partnerships form and flourish.

In this issue of The Frontier Journal, we celebrate God's faithfulness in South Asia through the mobilizing framework of Associate Director Cody Watson. A dynamic seed-scatterer, Cody has faithfully traveled the world sharing the frontier mission vision with anyone and everyone who will listen. His mobilization approach reminds us of God's lavish, welcoming love as we are called to participate in the Great Commission—that all peoples may one day be reconciled and gathered into the community of God's Kingdom.

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Associate Director Cody Watson’s Chrysler van had more than 250,000 miles on it when he replaced it a few years back. How many of those miles were spent visiting congregations across the US is anybody’s guess, but they likely number in the many thousands. Through countless church visits, prayer meetings, sermons, Sunday school classes, mission committee consultations, conferences and vision trips around the world, Cody has dedicated over 25 years to building a network of relationships between Western Christians and indigenous leaders on the frontier.

Cody’s particular area of focus is South Asia. This region—which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka—is home to more than 3,600 least-reached people groups and most of the world’s 1.2 billion Hindus. Harold Kurtz, Frontier Fellowship’s first director, sent him to South Asia in 1998 to explore potential partnerships. Cody later recalled,

Harold used to emphasize that we needed movements of multiplication to see the Great Commission fulfilled. That was one of the guidelines I was given: to look for work that was indigenous, could be self-sustaining and had the potential for multiplication. I saw that in South Asia.

Over the years, Cody has helped form partnerships between our South Asia partners and more than 225 congregations and individuals in the US. Deep relationships have been cultivated, countless prayers have been offered for one another and over 1.2 million dollars has been given in support of resources, tools and training for church planters and disciple-making movements. As a result, millions of least-reached people in South Asia have gained access to the Gospel for the first time, a network of house churches is expanding and Western Christians are growing deeper in faith as they learn to see God through the lens of South Asian followers of Jesus.

REFLECTING ON ONE PARTNERSHIP

In the early 2000s, as a young South Asian church planter, Sevanand noticed that institutional structures and systems—needed by denominations and large ministry organizations in order to function—had the potential to hinder the more organic disciple-making model he read about in scriptures describing the early church. Sevanand longed to see self-sustaining house church communities emerge, flourish and multiply, so he asked God what he could do.

God began forming a vision in Sevanand’s heart: to invite locally-led ministries into a collaborative community that would focus on integrating Gospel witness with community transformation. Such a network would offer enough structure for leaders to find encouragement, resources and training, but also allow them the freedom and flexibility needed to remain nimble as they followed God’s Spirit to serve a burgeoning house church movement.

Around the same time, Vincent Stubbs was chairing the International Ministries Team at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church (Durham, NC). He felt God calling the congregation to engage with a ministry that was sharing the Gospel in the world’s least-reached places. Already familiar with Frontier Fellowship, he reached out with an inquiry. Cody responded right away, eager to share with Blacknall about God’s work in South Asia and the far-reaching impact of partnership. He invited them to get involved, and they have faithfully engaged with Frontier Fellowship’s South Asia partners since 2004.

We recently gathered on Zoom for a virtual visit with Sevanand and some of Blacknall’s leaders to hear more about what this partnership has meant to them.

Don Hoover, longtime member and current elder at Blacknall, recalled the first time they met Sevanand. He was drawn by the holistic nature of the work in South Asia:

Sevanand’s network is not just concerned with people making confessions of faith. They also acknowledge that our physical needs matter to God, so they’re helping empower communities through microfinance and training. I was also intrigued by their use of Discovery Bible Study to present the Gospel. It really relies on the Holy Spirit to do a work in the lives of those hearing the stories. Sevanand’s heart and vision to see South Asia transformed by Christ was so compelling.

Partnering with Sevanand helped Associate Pastor Dave Dunderdale see how much the North American Church can learn from global partnerships:

We've been thinking about the mutuality of mission. Yes, we're giving money, but how might we be transformed and discipled through our relationships with our mission partners?

We’ve been encouraged by the way Sevanand’s network is integrating concerns for justice with evangelism, rather than choosing between those priorities. Whether they’re working for justice for women, providing for people’s physical needs, promoting economic development or bringing people to faith in Christ, Jesus is at the heart of it all. We’ve also been really impressed with the biblical nature of Sevanand’s method of disciple-making. It is God-dependent and waits for the Holy Spirit to do something. I’m grateful we can learn from these beautiful examples.

Sevanand reminded us that good partnerships flow both ways and take many forms:

Partnership isn’t solely about funding; it’s about life, and life together. We’ve helped many churches in the US learn to engage in disciple-making movements among least-reached peoples in their own neighborhoods. Many American Christians partner with us by offering training and mentoring to our network leaders. Partnership is being open to listen, then recognizing and affirming what God is doing. This kind of encouragement speaks very powerfully to leaders like me—that what we're doing is building God's Kingdom together, despite the criticism or obstacles we may face.

Throughout our 40-year history, Frontier Fellowship has witnessed time and again the powerful synergy that flows from mutually-impactful partnerships. As Western Christians and indigenous partners graciously participate together in God’s mission, we believe each has the opportunity to give and receive, speak and listen, advise and learn—all the while, God’s Kingdom grows and flourishes exponentially.

PARTNERSHIPS TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES—ONE STORY

Since its launch in 2008, Sevanand’s network now includes nearly 250 locally-led ministries, each serving thousands of house churches throughout South Asia. One network leader recently shared this story of transformation:

Rahi wanted to start a sewing business in his village, so he took out a loan from a local money lender. The loan had a very high interest rate, and Rahi had to choose between repaying the loan or providing for his family. He felt trapped and was utterly discouraged. A friend introduced him to Vihan, a local house church leader. Vihan’s house church, along with several other house churches in the area, had pooled together a portion of their worship offerings to create a revolving fund for microbusinesses. They wanted everyone in their community to experience economic freedom. They loaned Rahi enough money—at no interest—to pay off the high-interest loan. Curious about their love and generosity, Rahi asked them to share stories from the Bible. He and seven members of his family began following Jesus and started a worship group in their own home. Rahi’s sewing business is running well. He’s able to provide for his family while also repaying the loan to the local worship group. He and his family have peace, salvation and economic stability.

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It's impossible to measure the full impact of a mobilizer like Cody, or a network leader like Sevanand or an engaged congregation like Blacknall. One thing is certain: when ground is cultivated, seeds are planted and gardens tended, there's no telling how much fruit a single seed will produce. It's stories like Rahi's that remind us that the harvest is plentiful and ripe. It's partners like Blacknall and Sevanand that motivate us to keep tilling the ground and scattering the seeds of frontier mission as we watch and wait to see how God will continue to grow His Kingdom.