Looking for the perfect church? Look no further!

I was looking for the perfect church, so I decided to contact the Apostle Paul and ask a few questions. There’s no one better than him to help me find a perfect church, right? He founded several and knows them very well, after all. Here’s a transcript of our exchange. 

😊 Hello! Is this, Paul, the apostle?

👉 Yes, this is him.

😊 May the peace of Christ be with you! 

👉 And with you!

😏 Sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but I would really appreciate your advice. I've been so disappointed with the church I’ve been going to for several years. I was wondering about the church in Corinth. Might it be the perfect church?

👉 I did have high hopes for that one. Unfortunately they haven’t gotten very far along in their walk … still acting too much like selfish unbelieving children (1 Cor. 3:1-5), putting one another down and forming cliques (1 Cor. 1:11-13). Some have even taken to filing lawsuits against each other (1 Cor. 6:1-2, 4-5)! Even worse, the word is there has been some of the worst kind of sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1).

😲 Goodness gracious! How about the church in Ephesus? 

👉 Well, I spent a lot of time with them and they absorbed the teaching well. So the people have been well-grounded in God’s word (Acts 20:25-28). They’ve worked hard and endured huge trials. Strange thing is though, they’ve lost their first love … and abandoned the loving service they’d been doing for others. I’m confident they’ll be fine once they get around to repenting (Rev. 2:1-5)!

😶 Yikes. I’ll probably go to the church in Thessalonians then.

👉 A mostly good bunch. In spite of all we showed and taught them, however, some are refusing to go out and earn their own keep. I’ve sent them a letter so we’ll see how that goes (2 Thess. 3:10-12). I’m sure they’ll come around.

😳 Maybe I’ll pass on them for now, at least. How about the church in Philippi?

👉 That’s a wonderful, loving church! We’re having some problems with two sisters there right now, Euodia and Syntyche, who’ve got some kind of feud going on but I’m trusting they’ll get it all worked out (Phil. 4:1-3).

😕 I see. So maybe I'll move to the church in Colossi.

👉 Well, you know what? Some judgmental types and a few heretics are causing confusion there too. And another group has decided it’s okay to worship angels (Col. 2:16-19)!

😲 What?!?  How about the church in Galatia then?

👉 Ah, some Galatian believers have taken to viciously criticizing each other over who-knows-what (Gal. 5:15).

😳 Sheesh, I had no idea it was so hard to find the perfect church!

👉 You better believe it. I was talking to the Apostle John a while back and asked him how the church in Thyatira is doing. He said they’d been doing so well, but for reasons we can’t figure out, have been tolerating an adulterous woman who even calls herself a prophet. With her crazy, evil teachings she has led many into sexual immorality and other terrible things (Rev. 2:19-22).

👉 Oh, and he also told me that in Laodicea, church members have lapsed into lazy lukewarmness, letting pride and arrogance guide them instead of love and self-sacrifice (Rev. 3:16-18). Even over in Pergamum—generally a great bunch of believers—some have been led astray by pretty weird doctrines and beliefs (Rev. 2:13-15).

😶 You know, Paul, I thought for awhile I’d try the church in Antioch … but I heard you even had problems with Peter there? That he’d been hypocritical in his treatment of the Jewish and non-Jewish believers? Is that really true?

👉 Yes, sadly so. Hoping and praying I got through to him, and to them. I really got in his face about that (Gal. 2:11-13) … rather embarrassing for us.

😓 Wow. Well, my final wonder is about the ‘mother church’ in Jerusalem. Please tell me it’s not true what I heard about them? Like that a couple lied and died for it??

👉 Yes, unfortunately that did happen (Acts 5:1-10). A strong hard lesson for us all.

😵 Hey, I’m feeling pretty alone and lost here, Paul. Where the heck should I go? 

👉 May I humbly suggest you begin right where you are. Have a sober, clear-eyed look at yourself, friend. Remember our Lord’s teaching on pulling out the plank obstructing our own view before we start looking around and thinking we can deal with a speck, or possibly more, that may be affecting someone else’s (Matt. 7:3-5).

👉 And something just as important: stop constantly criticizing church leaders and your other brothers and sisters of faith. Put an end to spreading unnecessary negative comments about others' conduct and begin to cooperate with your fellow Christians! We’re all part of the same family and we’re supposed to all be in this together. It’s only as we join forces, using our giftings for the building up of others and the church that we can even begin to taste the fullness promised in Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). And realize perfection is possible ONLY in Christ, and we all have a long way to go. Please friend, try to start seeing people through God's eyes. Ask God to help you do this and He will.

👉 Oh, and one more thing. Let’s suppose by some great miracle you do find the ‘perfect church’. You know what? As soon as YOU start going there, it won't be anymore!

Exciting 2019 highlights for the ministries of Bibles for Mideast

(with reporting from Pastor Peter Haneef, President, Assembly of Loving God)

We cannot thank God and our faithful supporters enough for enabling a brilliant year for Bibles for Mideast and its umbrella organization, the Assembly of Loving God.

Twenty-eight new Assembly of Loving God underground house churches were established, seven in Africa (three in Somalia alone), eleven in the Middle East and ten in other parts of south Asia.

Jungle baptismal ceremony

Most excitingly, a grand total of 9,622 people were baptized! 7,932 found freedom from Islam, with the remainder escaping Hinduism, Buddhism and local tribal belief systems. Several thousand more prepare for baptism at this writing. The picture here shows a baptismal ceremony held for new believers at one of our Indian jungle churches several months ago. More recently, on New Year’s eve, over 50 new Christians from various faiths were baptized at a challenging site near another jungle church (Saved from witchcraft ... and crocodiles ... in the Indian jungle).

Pastor Kumar organised and led this month's hospital prayer meeting on January 10, with over 1,000 people in attendance. This is the hospital where he had been taken after the brutal attack on his church and its members last September (that story here).

cHRISTIAN MEETING IN THE hiNDU HOSPITAL

A number of students and hospital workers shared their testimonies, with many doctors and other staff, even the Managing Director of the hospital, filling the auditorium to capacity. Some nursing students reported that even though their parents opposed their reading the Bible, they continued to do so secretly. And every single new attendee accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord (apologies for the low-resolution photo)!

Rebuilding after Indian mudslides

The ministry continues its work helping a number of families who lost their homes during the 2018 flood and landslides in India. Two houses have been completed and the keys handed over to families while several other homes are still being built. Unfortunately a lack of funds has slowed the work.

Our church in Iran faces severe persecution. One woman, actually a member of the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s family, accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior! After prayer with some of our workers, her cancer vanished and soon, she joined the KIngdom of Jesus. Local Muslims have made attempts on her life. She, other believers and the Bibles for Mideast pastor there live under constant threats of death. But our Lord has kept them safe.

Once again, we thank you for your prayers and financial support … please keep it up. We cannot do any of this without the help of you and God’s people everywhere.

If you feel led to support us in our efforts to reach the lost in many areas restricted to the Gospel, please click here.
As ever, we especially cherish your prayers.

Saved from witchcraft ... and crocodiles ... in the Indian jungle!

A Bibles for Mideast team of four pastors and some of their family members travelled recently to a remote area of India to hold a week of prayer and fasting leading into the New Year. The religion of the local tribespeople in that area can best be described as a mixture of magic, traditional animistic beliefs and practices, and elements of Hinduism: witchcraft, basically.  

Led by Pastor Paul, the team had been gathering with a very poor church in a jungle area of India near West Bengal. The Bibles for Mideast pastor leading the congregation belongs to the tribe.

Tribal couple in rural India making baskets with dry bamboo strips in front of their traditional mud hut

The Holy Spirit moved mightily: a paralyzed man who had been helped to a meeting left unassisted; and by the end of another gathering, a deaf woman could hear!

Yet even while they met, Hindu militants affiliated with the national government attacked and vandalized a nearby church (that report made the news). The attacked church had been holding prayer and fasting meetings as well. We sent out a prayer request as threats manifested and multiplied.

Due to the increasingly dangerous situation, plans to hold a New Year’s Day baptismal service for over 50 new believers had to be put on hold. Police and militants could be seen patrolling the entire area; somehow they had been alerted. So we put out another prayer request. Miraculously, within about four hours of that going out, I got a jubilant message from Pastor Paul.

”Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Thank you ... thank you all for your prayers. Our Lord answered and 54 people have been baptized.”

Not an ideal baptismal site!

Deep within the thickly-forested area near where they were staying lay a pool. Crocodiles made it their home, and other wild animals drank from it. Yet one of the pastor’s wives prophesied that the pool would be safe for a baptismal ceremony. After corporate prayer, they decided to go for it.

Even with cool temperatures this time of year, Pastor Paul reported the people didn’t notice the cold but instead felt warmed by the Holy Spirit. Local tribal people helped the believers by leading the mile-long march to the pool, armed with bows and arrows and other weapons in case of threats from the animals.  They even drummed and sang as they led the march.  Since no one dared visit the pool even in daytime, the area was nowhere on the radar of the police or RSS ((radical Hindu nationalist) volunteers.

“We saw several crocodiles lying on one side of the pool,” Pastor Paul says. “so we selected the opposite side to hold the baptisms.” He noted with amazement how while they all expected the water to feel cold, they found it wondrously warm.

t was now past midnight, so the only slight illumination emanated from stars barely visible through the thick forest.

“We four pastors entered into the water to do the baptisms. And we baptized all candidates in the same pool without wasting time. The local tribal people stood by with their bows and arrows to rescue us from the wild animals.  It was like how Nehemiah built the temple with weapons.” 

Nothing in the forest, not even the crocodiles, seemed to notice. By 4:30 in the morning they wrapped up the service, exultant and thankful for the prayer support of God’s faithful around the world.

One baptismal candidate deserves special mention. A local tribesman we’ll call Mallu* had, five years ago, been attacked by a crocodile at this very pool. The crocodile had latched onto his leg, and Mallu recalls that someone “with nail-scarred hands” appeared and rescued him from its clutches. He lived, but remained unable to walk properly. . When some Bibles for Mideast missionaries visited his region and shared the gospel message, he realised the one who saved him from crocodile had to have been Jesus. His testimony reinforced the decision to choose this pool as the baptismal site, and of course he wanted to be part of it as well. 

“It was our Lord's plan,” Pastor Paul aptly notes, and he had the honor of baptizing Mallu. It turned out to be a healing ceremony for the man as well, for he emerged from the baptismal waters able to walk without any difficulty!

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* Name changed for security reasons

Marvellous works of the Holy Spirit … in the hospital and beyond

As we reported earlier, the viciously-attacked church members in northern India have all been released from hospital and are completely well. Thanks to the witnessing and miraculous ultimate healing of Pastor Kumar, an even greater miracle happened. Practically every hospital staff member, doctor, nurse, and nursing student—over 500 people—made decisions to follow Jesus! [that story here]

Holding church without a building

So the challenge now of course is to lead and disciple so many new believers. Pastor Kumar has returned to his own small original home church, where already many Hindus had begun attending even before the salvations in the hospital. With no space available to hold the growing crowds, he has been holding outdoor services, hoping and praying to have a permanent place of worship in the near future.

The great ‘hospital church’ has begun now as well. Authorities granted Pastor Kumar and his team permission to conduct monthly bible classes and prayer meetings in the hospital auditorium, with the very first held this past Friday.

More than 1,200 people attended, including the hospital’s managing director and some of the doctors’ families. After the message, every single ‘new person’ in attendance accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and all who had done so at the previous gathering (where Pastor Kumar shared his story of healing, witnessed to by the doctors, and shared the gospel) rededicated themselves to the Lord.

Pastor with some of the boxes of bibles delivered to the new ‘hospital church’

“It was a great blessing and the Holy Spirit was moving upon the meeting,” reports Pastor Peter Haneef, who heads up the Assembly of Loving God (umbrella organization for Bibles for Mideast).

Pastor Kumar and his team were able to provide 1,100 bibles to the new believers, thanks to the generous help of supporters. All who received them were thrilled to have their own copies of the written Word of God.

When the meeting wrapped up, the team gained permission to join the doctor-on-call for hospital rounds with a holy difference! They visited patients in their rooms, shared the gospel, and prayed for them. More requests for bibles came in as the patients heard, for the first time, the truth of Jesus. Since the supply had run out, they were promised them as soon as possible. Many of those ministered to also assured the team that even if discharged, they’d return to the hospital for the next prayer meeting!

Pastor Peter Haneef, President of the Assembly of Loving God, wants to especially thank all of our partners and supporters for their faithful and continuing support.

Bibles for Mideast churches, all under the Assembly of Loving God, have 432 pastors and missionaries working and establishing churches in Asia, Africa and Middle East. Most of them live and work in regions highly restricted for Christian outreach of any kind. They, with their families, face countless hardships and near-constant persecution.

“But our Lord protects them under His wings by your prayers,” says Pastor Peter.

“Our pastors and missionaries are all converted Christians from other religions,” he reminds us. “They do not have worldly blood relatives to wish them a Merry Christmas, or send them a gift.”

Can you imagine how strange a Christmas season that would be for any of us in rich first-world countries?

“If you consider them as your spiritual blood relatives in Jesus Christ,” he goes on, “would you consider sending them a gift as your token of love in this happy season?”

He speaks for all of us here at Bibles for Mideast and Assembly of Loving God in adding:

“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year, 2020. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever. Amen.”

Formerly mute young Muslim woman now speaking out for Jesus

Oosman* and his wife, a Muslim couple, lived ordinary lives in an Arab kingdom of the Middle East. Still childless after ten years of marriage, they decided to adopt baby Ajmi* from a local orphanage.  As the child grew, baby talk failed to appear and the parents were dismayed to eventually learn their beloved daughter would never learn to speak. She could hear clearly, but was—and would always be, doctors told them—mute. Devastated but thoroughly in love with their child, they knew returning her to the orphanage was unthinkable. So as soon as she was old enough, they admitted her to a special school for deaf and mute children.

A new teacher appeared at the school the year Ajmi turned ten. Unbeknownst to school authorities, the dedicated educator and former Muslim ‘just happened’ to be a volunteer evangelist with Bibles for Mideast and began each day’s classes with prayer. Trying to stay below the radar of other teachers and staff—all strong Muslims—she did her best to quietly convey the gospel message to her students. Whenever she could fit them in, she would tell stories of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and try to make it clear that salvation and eternal life could happen only through and with Jesus.

Ajmi was intrigued. She especially treasured a picture of Jesus her teacher gave her. But when she showed it to her parents, they scolded her for carrying such a thing. Taking it from her, they ripped it to pieces, paining their young daughter deeply. When her parents left the room she managed to rescue all the bits of paper, tape them back together, and then hide the image away where they wouldn’t find it.

The fortunate Little girl in our story learns way more than math in her Arab Muslim school (Shutterstock image)

She also, in secret, began praying to this prophet man Jesus … not in words as we know them, but with the language of her heart and body. Since she now knew how to read, the teacher gave her a booklet containing the Gospel of Luke and advised her young student to read from it daily.  

Whenever Ajmi had problems with what she read, she would approach the teacher, manage to convey her questions to her, and get an explanation. It wasn’t long before she accepted this wonderful Jesus as her own personal Lord and Savior.

When she became a teenager, her cherished teacher presented her with a Bible in in Arabic. She finally had the whole precious Book!

Back at home, while her parents did their regular namaz (Islamic ritual prayers), Amji tried to distance herself from them and pray instead to the Lord she now knew. While her initial attempts to share the gospel only angered them, they couldn’t deny her increasing happiness and grew more tolerant.

One day, her father seriously injured himself in an accident. Doctors tried to help him, but the wound only worsened, got deeply infected and refused to heal. When medicine couldn’t help him he turned to Islamic priests and imams, but his wound continued to fester.

Ajmi brought her father the gospel booklet her teacher had given her and motioned to him to read it.

“Jesus will heal you!” she assured him with gestures, but he would have none of it.

"I will pray to the Lord Jesus for your healing,” she let him know with the body language they had grown to understand. “Will you believe in Him if you are healed?"

"I can believe," her mother piped in, but her father remained silent. Tearfully, she continued to press him for an answer.

“Okay,” he finally relented. “If he heals me, I will believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior.”

Ajmi closed her eyes, put her hands over Oosman's wound, and prayed. Her parents watched, smiling at their fervent young daughter’s way of praying, not believing anything would change.

When she finished, Ajmi took her hands away. The wound had dried up completely! Her parents stared in disbelief. Each ran their hands over where the wound had been … now smooth, clear skin. Their doubts in Jesus as healer, Lord and Savior vanished as completely as the oozing wound had, and each willingly accepted Him into their hearts and lives.

All three knelt down before the Lord, praising and thanking Jesus. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Ajmi then began praising in language her parents understood!  Sixteen years mute and now she was bursting both earthly and heavenly language. As the family’s friends and relatives learned of her new-found speech, many came to believe in Jesus as well.

With the help of Ajmi's teacher, the family approached the local  Bibles for Mideast pastor and not long afterwards, all were baptized and became members of his church.

Now enrolled in secondary school, Ajmi mixes her studies with sharing the truth of Jesus with her friends. Please pray for her and her family as they grow in the Lord. As more and more others are coming to faith through their witness, they face increasing persecution from the Muslim community, so please be in prayer for their protection as well.

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*  Names changed for security reasons