Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000183S
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00:00 (uplifting music)
00:21 - Hello and welcome to "Jesus for Asia NOW." 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood, 00:25 and I have my husband Jon here with me today. 00:27 Hello, love. 00:28 - Hi, darling. How are you? 00:29 - I'm doing fine, how are you? 00:31 - Very good. - Good. 00:32 Well, where are we going or what are we seeing today? 00:35 - We're going back to South India. 00:37 - Okay. - Yeah. 00:39 And what we're gonna find there is a bunch of churches 00:41 that have unfortunately been closed for many, many years. 00:44 - Hmm. 00:45 Okay, I'm sure there's stories behind that. 00:47 - Yes, there's different sections with different stories, 00:50 but the main thing is that churches were built, 00:54 and unfortunately, 00:56 sometimes due to oppression or due to persecution, 01:00 they had to be abandoned. 01:01 - Hmm. - But most of the time, 01:02 it was because there was not enough funds in the local unit, 01:05 the conference, section, region, 01:07 in order to hire Bible workers or pastors 01:10 to manage, and grow, and nurture the churches. 01:13 And so they couldn't keep up with them, 01:15 and so they just ended up getting closed. 01:17 - Wow, that's really sad. - Yeah. 01:20 - Unfortunate. - Yeah. 01:21 There was one area where they built 40 churches, 01:25 and the very first day of evangelism, 01:28 the Evangelistic Series, they got kicked out of the country. 01:32 And so all these churches have been sitting empty 01:35 and closed since 2009. 01:37 - Oh, wow. - Yeah. 01:39 And so recently, they found some of these churches, 01:41 and we've started reopening them. 01:44 - Okay. - You remember the first time 01:45 we learned about the phenomenon of churches 01:48 that have been abandoned and closed? 01:49 - Yeah. 01:51 It was 2006, I believe. - Yes, it was. 01:53 We found a church that was completely padlocked, 01:56 and the local person, 01:58 the local believer who had been baptized 02:00 at the Evangelistic Series, 02:01 when that church was first opened, 02:04 came and told us the last time the church was opened 02:07 was the very last day after she got baptized 02:11 and they closed up the church. 02:13 There's another story of a church 02:15 that when they came to reopen the church, 02:17 they found the money bag, 02:19 the offering bag, completely stuffed full of bills. 02:24 And so when they reopened, the church lady came, 02:27 and she says she had been coming there every Sabbath. 02:30 She had somehow gotten a key to the church. 02:33 She went in, and she knelt and prayed, 02:34 and she read her Bible, 02:36 and she worshiped God on the Sabbath day. 02:37 And then she put a little bit of money into the offering bag 02:41 in faith that somebody would come someday 02:43 and collect that offering. 02:45 - Wow. 02:46 (Jon laughing) 02:48 The dedication of God's people in spite of obstacles 02:51 is just... - [Jon] Inspiring. 02:52 - It's just really... 02:53 Yeah, inspiring. 02:55 And one of the things that they deal with in these villages, 02:57 when the churches are closed, 02:58 is they get a lot of ridicule from the Hindus. 03:02 We've heard that from many areas of India. 03:05 It's not just in South India. - Right. 03:07 - And so it's like, 03:08 "Well, your God can't even keep the church open. 03:11 Your God can't even keep the church nice, 03:14 but look at our temple." 03:17 You know? - So, 03:18 we wanna introduce our family to some of the churches 03:20 that we got to visit while we were there just recently. 03:23 - So we do have a video. 03:25 Do you wanna tell us where this church is 03:26 before we watch the video? 03:28 - Yeah, this church is located right next to the beach, 03:30 like within a few hundred feet of the beach. 03:32 - Wow. - But the salt spray 03:33 from the ocean is kind of worn away 03:36 at the bricks and the mortar and stuff. 03:37 So you'll see what that looks like. 03:39 - Okay. 03:41 (mellow music) (waves sloshing) 03:49 (somber music) 03:55 (boat engine whirring) 04:04 So we are here on the very edge of the continent. 04:07 We are near the beach of Tamil Nadu, 04:11 and there's one narrow passage, a bridge to one last island, 04:17 and then it's the end of India. 04:19 And so we have a church here 04:21 that has been abandoned for some reason. 04:24 Maybe there was a lack of funds to provide a pastor 04:28 or Bible worker for this church. 04:29 That's usually what happens. 04:31 And so it's just been neglected, 04:32 and it's sitting here waiting for revival. 04:36 You can see it's completely locked. 04:38 It's on a nice little piece of property. 04:40 It's starting to weather out. 04:43 You can see that it's just crumbling. 04:45 But the local pastor says, 04:48 "If we restore this church or rebuild it, 04:52 they'll definitely be people that will come." 04:54 And so there's a huge opportunity here 04:57 for rebuilding in a very unique location. 04:59 And so I'm asking and praying that God will help us, 05:03 allow us to rebuild this church, among many others. 05:06 There's over 30 that have been targeted in this area 05:10 for not just rebuilding, 05:11 but reviving, re-energizing, 05:14 and bringing more souls into the kingdom of God 05:17 through the use of these tools. 05:18 Somebody put good money into building this in the beginning, 05:22 and I think we need to capitalize on that investment. 05:24 Even if we have to rebuild a church, 05:26 at least we have the land, 05:27 we don't have to buy the land over. 05:29 And so I'm just praying that the Lord will open this up 05:32 because this means souls for the kingdom, 05:34 souls for eternity. 05:35 (uplifting music) 05:44 - So that's interesting 05:45 because it's so close to the edge of India. 05:48 It's a place I haven't been before. 05:51 But to think about the people 05:53 that used to come to that church and now don't anymore, 05:56 and how long it may have been sitting there closed, 05:59 and I mean, it looks like it needs quite a bit of repair. 06:03 Which, reopening these churches, 06:07 what does it take besides the repairs and rebuilding? 06:10 - Okay, well, the main thing is to sponsor a Bible worker 06:14 to go there and take care of that church, 06:17 and to do the evangelism in the area. 06:19 Go, and make friends, and break down barriers, 06:22 and start letting people know that the church is open. 06:26 - Yeah. 06:27 - The other thing that is really helpful 06:28 is if you can do an Evangelistic Series, 06:31 they do a little, like a reopening event, 06:34 so people can know that it's reopened 06:36 and the word can get out and people will start coming. 06:39 - Okay. - Yeah. 06:40 A lot of times, we go to these communities 06:42 and there are believers in the community, 06:44 wishing and longing for a church that they could worship in. 06:47 - Hmm. - [Jon] Yeah. 06:49 - Yeah, that's hard. - Mm-hmm. It's hard. 06:50 - And so not just having a bible worker there, 06:52 but having the Bible workers well-trained, 06:55 so that they can help if there's... 06:57 Like, with medical missionary training, 06:59 the basics, of course, 07:01 but also so they know what to do, how to prayer walk, 07:05 what to do in certain situations. 07:07 - How to give Bible studies. - Right. 07:09 So we have another church that we're gonna go to, 07:11 so let's watch that video now. 07:13 - Okay. 07:14 (mellow music) 07:22 You can see the church has all grown up in weeds, 07:26 and it looks like it's in pretty bad shape. 07:28 We've seen worse, 07:30 but we're wanting to revive this. 07:33 (mellow music) 07:38 Oh. 07:39 (resident speaking in foreign language) 07:41 Here, I can do Google Translate. 07:45 (resident speaking in foreign language) 07:48 No, it didn't work. 07:49 Let me call pastor. 07:51 (indistinct) 07:53 Hello? 07:54 (pastor speaking in foreign language) 07:55 (resident speaking in foreign language) 07:59 Thank you. Thank you. - They'll be waiting. 08:01 - Okay. Okay. 08:02 (resident speaking in foreign language) 08:03 This is part of the work of reopening. 08:05 We've got this church here. 08:07 It's been sitting unused for 20, 30 years. 08:11 And so somebody built there, 08:13 and now it's up to the president, 08:14 the new president of the section, 08:16 to come through and do the work 08:18 of starting to contact the local people. 08:21 We've been here for, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes, 08:23 and this couple showed up, 08:25 and he's down at the other neighbors 08:28 asking about what's going on here. 08:30 (mellow music) 08:33 Now, to give you a few statistics, 08:35 this area, this whole region, has four pastors, 08:39 plus the president and the treasurer. 08:42 And they have six Jesus for Asia Bible workers 08:46 and seven gospel outreach workers. 08:47 So that's 13 bible workers, plus the four regular pastors. 08:51 So, we're at 17. 08:53 We're at 17 workers. 08:56 They have 106 churches; 08:58 only 45 of them are active. 09:02 (mellow music) 09:03 Here's another guy coming up. 09:04 It looks like he's got a key in his hand 09:07 and he's opening the gate. 09:08 So, I'm hoping the president will show up 09:10 'cause I know about five words in Tamil. 09:14 They mostly have to do with food. 09:16 (Jon chuckling) 09:17 (mellow music) (residents chattering) 09:29 (door clanging) 09:31 And that lady we met out on the road 09:32 said that a long time ago, 09:34 this was a beautiful church, it was really nice. 09:37 So we come in here. 09:39 Floor's not too bad, 09:42 probably needs some help. 09:45 There's some real big holes in the ceiling, 09:48 but the structures still look solid, 09:50 the walls still look solid. 09:52 The doors and windows need some help. 09:56 We got a little trouble over here. 09:59 The wall's kind of cracking and the floor's all cracked up. 10:03 So, this place definitely needs some help, 10:06 but still gonna be cheaper than building a new church. 10:09 (residents chattering) 10:13 (somber music) 10:17 I'm here at the closed church 10:19 with Pastor Selvaraj at the SRS Section. 10:22 And this is the first time 10:23 that he's seen this church pastor. 10:25 What's happening here? 10:26 - Actually, 20 years before, they bought this land. 10:31 And this man called Supramanya, kindhearted man, 10:35 he gave this land for the church. 10:37 (Pastor Selvaraj and Supramanya speaking foreign language) 10:38 - 10,000. - For 10,000 rupees, 10:40 he gave this land. 10:41 Thank you. - So is this man 10:43 part of the church in the beginning? 10:45 (Pastor Selvaraj speaking in foreign language) 10:47 (Supramanya speaking in foreign language) 10:48 - Not yet. - Not yet. 10:49 - No, okay. 10:50 So there was a group here at one time. 10:52 - Yeah. 10:53 (Supramanya speaking in foreign language) 10:56 The school children and the teachers, 10:59 they were attending the church on the Saturday Sabbath, 11:02 nearby school. 11:03 And after that, nobody was there, so it is left alone. 11:07 (Supramanya speaking in foreign language) 11:10 After the church get damaged, no one is coming. 11:13 - Oh, okay. 11:15 How long did they worship from the beginning? 11:17 (Pastor Selvaraj speaking in foreign language) 11:19 (Supramanya speaking in foreign language) 11:20 - 10 to 15 years, the church was maintaining. 11:22 People were coming and worshiping there. 11:24 For the decade only, it is kept closed. 11:27 There are students, those who are going on the road, 11:29 they'll throw stones on the roof of the church, 11:32 and you can see some of the holes on the churches. 11:35 He has covered them with some plastic. 11:37 So now, we are taking step to renovate it. 11:40 So finally, we found out this place. 11:44 I'm going to give charge for the prevailing pastors. 11:48 They will take care of the church. 11:49 They are going to make a revival meeting. 11:52 And somehow, we have to reestablish 11:55 the Seventh-Day Adventist church here. 11:57 - Thank you, thank you very much for your help. 11:59 (Supramanya speaking in foreign language) 12:00 And hopefully, pray to God we'll get this going, 12:02 unless the pastors work 12:04 and pray for the right people to come. 12:06 - Thank you. 12:07 (Pastor Selvaraj and Supramanya speaking foreign language) 12:08 Thank you. 12:09 (mellow music) 12:13 - Four pastors here and then 13 Bible workers, 12:15 so that's 17, 17 times three. 12:18 Even the Bible workers have three churches. 12:21 So, that would cover your 45 churches that are operational. 12:26 So really, the only way you can expand that 12:29 is just to add a larger workforce, 12:31 and that's where Jesus for Asia comes in 12:32 is we bring in Bible workers 12:34 and then we consider them long term. 12:37 We have churches that we reopened back in 2007, 12:41 and we still have Bible workers in that area, 19 churches, 12:44 and all of them are still open and they're thriving. 12:46 So, we want to do that again. 12:48 But the big need, really, is workers and training. 12:51 I think that's a huge key in opening all these doors. 12:56 (uplifting music) 13:10 See, those are real people, real stories, 13:13 And the churches are sitting there with real potential. 13:16 - Yeah. 13:17 Yeah. 13:18 And the man wants it back. 13:20 - Yes. - That's so awesome 13:21 'cause he could have easily have said, 13:23 "Oh, that church is gone. 13:24 I'm not a member of that church. 13:26 I'm gonna take it down, 13:27 or I'm gonna use it for myself or whatever." 13:29 But he donated it in the beginning. 13:31 - Right? Yeah. - [Natalie] So- 13:33 - And it looks like it's sitting out 13:34 in the middle of a field. 13:35 But do you see all those kids that went by? 13:36 - [Natalie] Yeah. - Those are kids 13:37 that are candidates for the kingdom. 13:40 And who's reaching out to them? 13:42 That church looked like it was in good shape, 13:44 so I would estimate that it costs maybe $1,500 13:47 to put that church back together 13:49 and get it functional again. 13:51 Plus, a Bible workers' salary. 13:53 And it's an opportunity for somebody to go there 13:55 and help reopen it. 13:57 - Yeah. 13:58 Do the Revival Series. - Yes. Yeah. 14:00 - Yeah, and we have another church 14:01 and another group of people 14:03 who are interested in it reopening. 14:05 - Cool. - All right, 14:06 let's watch the video now. 14:07 - Okay. 14:09 (somber music) 14:16 (doors clanging) 14:20 We've discovered a unused church. 14:24 This is an asset of God's kingdom 14:25 that we think should be used. 14:27 We are surrounded by local villagers 14:30 who say that they are... 14:33 Would love to see... 14:34 You don't understand what I'm saying, do you? 14:36 (villager laughing) 14:37 No, I don't understand what you're saying either, 14:39 but I get what you're saying. 14:40 (villager speaking in foreign language) 14:41 - Exactly. 14:42 So, Pastor, when we showed up this morning, 14:45 they all came out, 14:46 and what are they telling you about this church? 14:48 - Yes, the church is called Sinamurray. 14:51 The church has been abandoned for the last 18 years. 14:55 No one was there to contact services here. 14:57 So these people, they went back again to their old beliefs. 15:01 Now, what they're telling, 15:03 "If you're renovating the church and sill start services, 15:06 then we'll come and worship here." 15:08 - This is the first time I've seen local people come out 15:12 and make that promise. 15:14 (mellow music) 15:19 In another church, when they opened up the church, 15:22 they found the offering bag stuffed full of money. 15:24 And they wondered how that bag got stuffed full of money. 15:28 And they started conducting Sabbath service, 15:32 and they found a lady 15:33 that had been coming for the last 10 years. 15:35 And every Sabbath, she would come. 15:37 She a key, open up, worship, pray by herself, 15:41 and put her money in that offering bag, 15:43 by faith, knowing that somebody would come. 15:45 And I see that here. 15:46 If we came here, 15:48 definitely people would be accepting Jesus Christ 15:51 and following Jesus Christ. 15:52 So, there's a huge burden on our hearts 15:55 to reopen this church and get it functioning again, 15:58 and have a Bible worker here 16:00 that can nurture people into the truth of Jesus Christ 16:03 and everlasting life. 16:05 (uplifting music) (motorcycle engine whirring) 16:11 Yeah, so the President just told me 16:12 that he doesn't see any Hindu temples around here. 16:15 So, he believes that if we do open this church, 16:18 definitely we'll have pretty much the whole village 16:22 ready to worship Christ and learn about Him. 16:25 So, it's pretty, pretty fruitful territory. 16:28 (uplifting music) 16:33 Mrs. White says in one of her statements 16:36 that there are thousands of souls throughout the world 16:39 looking wistfully to heaven, 16:40 hoping that there's something better, 16:42 that there's some truth up there. 16:44 And here's some of those souls. 16:46 And I think that God is very interested 16:49 in their salvation, eternal life. 16:51 And they're just simple village folks, 16:55 but what's gonna happen? 16:57 What is it gonna look like a million years from now 16:59 when we're in heaven, 17:00 and they're wearing robes of light and crowns of gold? 17:03 (Jon exhaling) 17:04 They're all speaking the same language. 17:06 I wonder if we will think at that point 17:08 whether this was a good investment. 17:10 I think we'll have no doubt. 17:12 In fact, I think we'll wish we had done more. 17:14 So, please pray for this town, for this village. 17:18 There's 30 churches like this in the area 17:21 that are pretty easy to recover. 17:24 And then I've just been told by the president 17:26 that there's 30 more that will be more difficult to recover. 17:29 So, there's a lot of work, and a lot of opportunity, 17:32 and a great desperate need for Bible workers. 17:35 So please pray that this president can find the right people 17:39 to become Bible workers 17:40 and start reviving these kinds of churches 17:42 'cause these are souls for heaven. 17:44 - Thank you. 17:44 (mellow music) 17:47 - Perfect, thank you. Thank you. 17:49 (villagers chattering and laughing) 17:51 (mellow music) 17:58 Aren't they precious people? 18:00 - Yes, it's so neat to see them smiling and happy 18:02 thinking about the possibilities. 18:05 - Yeah. - What a privilege it would be 18:06 to be able to give them back their worship place 18:09 and someone to help them to know God better. 18:12 - Yeah. 18:13 Now, that church had a few more problems. 18:14 It wasn't as in good shape as the first one, 18:17 so it probably cost a little bit more. 18:18 We'd have to get an estimate on it. 18:20 We're working on a way, a system, 18:22 to get an accurate estimate 18:24 and figuring out how to get workers there to rebuild. 18:28 The previous year, a couple in their 70s went over there 18:31 and repainted 14 of those churches. 18:33 - Yeah. 18:34 (Jon laughing) 18:35 Well, praise the Lord. 18:36 He will make the changes needed. 18:38 - Amen. - And He will provide 18:40 what is needed for these churches and for the Bible workers 18:43 that he knows need to be working there. 18:45 - We just need to keep praying. 18:46 - Yep. Yeah. - [Jon] Yeah. 18:48 And God will do it. 18:49 - So we have another church to visit. 18:50 Anything special about this one that we should know 18:52 before we watch the video? 18:54 - Well, for one thing, it was super hot. 18:56 - Okay. - Okay? 18:57 And so I'm sweating. 18:59 But the other thing is that this is the dry season. 19:02 In the rainy season, 19:03 the fields behind the church flood, and the church floods, 19:05 and you'll be able to see the mark 19:08 where the water comes up. - [Natalie] The water mark. 19:09 - So this is a church that you need to raise the floor 19:12 and you need to raise the roof. 19:14 And we've done that. 19:15 You'd think that that would be impossible, 19:17 but it's not that hard to do. 19:19 - All right, well, let's watch the video now. 19:21 - Okay. 19:22 (mellow music) 19:29 Now, we're in a church in which a local pastor 19:31 and his JFA Bible worker wife has taken an interest in, 19:34 and they've been opening it 19:36 and keeping it running since 2018. 19:39 And so this is a functioning church. 19:42 The problem with it is that in the rainy season, 19:45 when the flooding happens, it floods actually up. 19:48 You can see the line in which the water is standing, 19:52 and it's deteriorated at the bottom of this church walls, 19:55 and it doesn't have electricity, 19:58 and it needs to be repaired and upgraded 20:01 and to be a stronger light in this community. 20:04 But this is the pastor 20:06 that has taken an interest with his wife, 20:09 and they need your prayers. 20:10 This church needs a facelift 20:13 and maybe an entire lift to get above the water line. 20:17 So, thank you, and let's just keep praying for this village 20:19 and villages like it. 20:21 (mellow music) 20:43 We are here in a little church 20:44 right next to a small village. 20:46 This church was built in 2010 20:48 and it was functioning quite well for a while. 20:51 And then some of the members passed away 20:54 and other ones moved on to another place, 20:56 and so they closed it up. 20:58 (mellow music) 21:00 - [Caller] Five to six months back, 21:03 we opened the church, 21:04 and we are conducting the meeting for the childrens. 21:08 And one of the adult is coming to the church now. 21:12 Her brother, his name is Sonaya, 21:15 he is suffering from brain cancer. 21:17 - Hmm. - [Caller] So, 21:19 you can just remember his name when you are praying. 21:21 (mellow music) 21:24 - [Jon] Yeah, if I came here, 21:26 I wouldn't feel very inspired to worship in this place. 21:30 The floor is sinking 21:31 and you can see it's kind of all broken up 21:34 and the platform is broken up. 21:36 (mellow music) 21:41 - [Caller] We have to do flooring, 21:43 then we need to do electricity connection. 21:46 And then we can do painting. 21:49 So that is the procedure we are thinking now. 21:53 - Okay. 21:54 These are really practical, easy, 21:56 basic things that we can do 21:58 to really build up the local church and make them feel like, 22:01 "Oh, something's happening there." 22:02 (mellow music) 22:06 Pray for this village 22:07 and many others like it that need to be reopened. 22:10 This one has been reopened for the last few months, 22:12 and so this is an asset of God's kingdom 22:15 that we need to maximize, I believe. 22:18 And it doesn't take much, 22:20 but it does take something. 22:21 It takes intentionality to make it happen, 22:24 and I praise God that we've got a section president 22:26 that has the care for these unopened churches 22:29 that we can work through, 22:31 get Bible workers here, 22:32 start bringing believers back for their eternal life. 22:37 (uplifting music) 22:41 (door clanging) 22:44 (lock clicking) 22:47 I remember when I was standing there 22:49 in that church thinking, 22:50 "Even if we repaint this church, 22:54 wouldn't it be nice to add a few more touches? 22:57 Like, have some chairs, some mats, some decorations, 23:00 something that will make it feel 23:02 like people care about this place." 23:03 Because if you go to the local temple, 23:05 I mean, it's got all these detailed paintings 23:07 and it's very well taken care of. 23:09 It makes it look like somebody cares. 23:11 - Right. - And what if we go 23:12 a little step beyond just the basics 23:14 of getting it functional 23:15 and decorating it to make it look nice? 23:18 - Yeah. 23:19 Yeah, there are a lot of churches that would benefit 23:22 from just a little decorative touch 23:24 just to make them a little bit nicer. 23:26 - Yes. - So we do have another video 23:29 featuring more churches. 23:30 - Okay, all right. 23:32 (mellow music) 23:45 So, in this district alone, 23:47 there's like around 60 churches that are abandoned, 23:51 closed, not being used. 23:55 And I've talked to some of my friends in America 23:57 that has sponsored some of these churches, 23:58 and I say, "How does that make you feel?" 24:00 He says, "Well, it kind of makes me upset. 24:02 It's like we go in there and we build these churches, 24:04 we give it to them, 24:05 and why aren't they keeping them going?" 24:07 And the truth is, 24:08 I don't know of any conference or church district 24:12 that could handle 50, 15, 20, 24:16 30 new churches all at once. 24:19 It takes time for the tithe base to be developed 24:22 so that even the local pastors can be brought in. 24:26 And these churches are built in places 24:28 that the land is cheap. 24:30 So, it's built for people 24:32 that would normally be like daily wages laborers. 24:35 They go in and they make two or $3 a day. 24:37 If they get a job just enough to eat, 24:39 they're not gonna be the kind of people 24:41 that are gonna be able to support a pastor 24:43 or a Bible worker for quite some time. 24:45 It takes investment to build up a tithe base. 24:50 And so what happens is the we come in 24:54 and build a lot of churches, 24:55 which we should do, there's no doubt about it, 24:58 because there's still, according to the statistics, 25:02 around 400,000 towns and villages in India 25:05 that have never heard the gospel of any kind. 25:08 So, we need to keep doing this, 25:09 but at the same time, 25:10 we need to build up the workforce long term 25:14 to be able to maintain these structures and the believers. 25:20 So, we've gotta be able to provide for these kinds of things 25:22 until the tithe base gets to the place 25:24 where the believers are strong enough 25:26 and they're able to support their own church, 25:29 their own work. 25:31 And this takes time. 25:32 (mellow music) 25:34 This can be discouraging. 25:36 This can be a discouraging thing to see. 25:39 We wanna see the gospel go forward. 25:40 We want to see it spread 25:43 throughout all the different towns and villages in India, 25:45 but at the same time, are we really serious about that? 25:49 And I think we should be. 25:50 You never know which of these churches 25:52 will become Indian Billy Graham or Mark Finley 25:56 that will win thousands, millions possibly, to Christ. 26:01 And so we want to be able to support this work. 26:04 We just need to step in and do what we can 26:07 in the short amount of time that we have available, 26:09 while money still is worth something, 26:11 where it can still accomplish good for the kingdom of God. 26:16 Very soon, there's coming a time 26:17 when money won't be worth anything, 26:20 we won't be able to use our money 26:21 to advance the kingdom of God, 26:22 and then we'll have to do it a lot more manually. 26:25 So, this is our chance, this is our time. 26:28 Let's maximize this time as much as possible. 26:31 (compelling music) 26:40 - Wow, the need is so great. 26:42 It just... 26:43 I know about these churches, but every time I see it, 26:45 it just brings it more to reality 26:47 that so many more Bible workers are needed 26:51 to reach the people that live in these areas 26:53 and to keep the churches going, 26:55 but also to keep the outreach going. 26:59 To have somebody who speaks their language 27:00 able to reach out to them. 27:02 - Yeah, but these churches are such a great opportunity now 27:06 that they're in the situation that they're in, 27:08 instead of having to raise 10 or $12,000 27:11 to build a new church, you use that- 27:12 - Plus whatever the property might cost or whatever, yeah. 27:15 - Yeah, just $1,500, $2,000, 27:18 and you can restart a church that's already there, 27:20 but hasn't been functioning for 10 or 15 years. 27:23 - [Natalie] Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah. 27:25 - [Natalie] It's an awesome opportunity. 27:26 - Yeah. - Well, our time is up, 27:28 but I would like to invite you to pray for these churches 27:31 that they would be rebuilt or repaired 27:33 and they can be reopened. 27:35 Pray for Bible workers 27:37 to go to the villages where the churches are 27:39 and to let people know about who Jesus is. 27:43 If you would like more information 27:44 about church buildings or about Bible workers, 27:47 please contact us at Jesus for Asia, 27:50 PO Box 1221, 27:52 Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315. 27:55 Call us at 423 413-7321, 28:00 or visit our website at jesus4asia.org. 28:04 May God richly bless you, 28:05 until we see you next time on "Jesus for Asia NOW." 28:09 (uplifting music) |
Revised 2024-12-10