Tag Archives: Christian

Karachi

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In our Week of Prayer for International Missions, we are looking into the life situation of missionaries serving around the globe—today we are going to Karachi, Pakistan.  We will read the story of a man who came to Christ and set his heart to win his homeland for Jesus.

Aadam Channar* was only a boy when Baptist missionary Hu Addleton first brought the Gospel to his province in Pakistan. Today he is an evangelist trying to reach Pakistan’s largest city.

“Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan. When we arrived there [in 1956], it was 1 million population. Now it’s 17 to 18 million,” said Addleton, who retired after serving 34 years in Pakistan with his wife, Bettie. “It is a picture of the whole country, because you have every ethnic group living in Karachi.”
About 97 percent of Karachi follows Islam. Christians make up only about 2 percent of the city’s population, according to the US State Department.

Channar grew up in a tiny Hindu village very different from the bustling hub of Karachi, but that did not keep him from approaching the city with the intention of sharing the good news of Jesus among its many people groups.
“God gave me this vision: ‘Go [to] Karachi. Leave your home, area, village.’ So God sent me here,” Channar said. “That’s why I am in Karachi.”
Addleton, who discipled Channar, encourages Southern Baptists to continue giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

“We ought to continue to pray for [Pakistani Christians] and to challenge people to go,” Addleton said.

Please pray for Channar as he represents the Lord as His heart, His hands, His voice in the city of Karachi, and ask that more Pakistani Christians would respond to God’s call to do the same.
*Name changed

If you would like to follow all of the testimonies from the International Mission Board you can click here.

If you would like to contribute to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to help support missionaries all around the world, please send a check to:  Living Oaks Baptist Church, 8855 East 91st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74133.  Please write “Lottie Moon” on the memo line. One hundred percent of all the gifts we receive will go to help missionaries share the good news of Jesus.

Streets of Danger

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In our Week of Prayer for International Missions, we are looking into the life situation of missionaries serving around the globe—today we are going to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Eric Reese is a missionary who serves in the slums of Rio.  In 1992 I personally spent two months serving in one of the slums just outside Rio.  The Favelas (slums) in Brazil are unlike anything you have ever seen in the United States, so any missionary who lives and serves in these areas is in need of our prayers.  Here is Eric’s story from the IMB website:

It’s late at night and missionary Eric Reese can hear gunshots in the streets behind him. He’s heading home to his wife, Ramona, and two daughters, thanking God that he’s able to. Eric’s mission field, the urban poor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is often a dangerous one. “In these communities, it’s an ugly evil you’ve got to deal with,” Eric says, “but you’ve just got to deal with it. We can’t stand here and just let these people shoot and kill each other without the Gospel being preached.”

 A police officer from a church in Texas gave Eric a gift he still uses today—a bullet-proof vest. This isn’t a common tool for missionaries, but Eric and his family are thankful that someone cared enough to offer an extra measure of protection, especially during night ministry. “It’s important to note that I cannot use a bullet-proof jacket when ministering in slums run by drug dealers because they would see me as a snitch. In these settings, Jesus has been my covering,” Eric says.

 When we give to Lottie Moon, we provide for expected needs of our missionaries, like homes, cars and medical needs. But Southern Baptists are also dedicated to providing extra measures of protection for those who are willing to risk it all for the sake of Christ.

If you would like to follow all of the testimonies from the International Mission Board you can click here.

If you would like to contribute to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to help support missionaries all around the world, please send a check to:  Living Oaks Baptist Church, 8855 East 91st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74133.  Please write “Lottie Moon” on the memo line. One hundred percent of all the gifts we receive will go to help missionaries share the good news of Jesus.

Church Growth God’s Way

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This Sunday we will observe a few of the ways the first church in Acts 2.41-47 experience healthy spiritual growth.  In studying for this sermon I found the following article by Thom Rainer (President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources).  It is an interesting look at five warning signs of declining church health.

“5 Warning Signs of Declining Church Health” by Thom Rainer

Will You Be a Courageous Dad?

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This weekend I saw the movie “Courageous.”  It was a fantastic movie with plenty of action as well as a great message.  I am thankful for the folks at Sherwood Pictures and their commitment to God-honoring entertainment.

What we need today are men that are willing to be courageous fathers.  Men who will live what is right and not just tell their kids to do what is right.  Men that will lead their family in reading the Bible instead of telling their family that it is the “good book.” We need men who will be a replica of their loving Father in heaven for their families.  We need men who will take their kids to church, tell them about Jesus, and show them it is better to give than receive.  What we need today are a bunch of Courageous DADS!  Will you stand?  Will you declare, “I AM A COURAGEOUS DAD!”