The article is by Paul Hattaway and is taken from his ministry's website,
http://www.asiaharvest.org/. This writing, published in May of this year, gives an unique look at the revival going on in Asia. Though God is moving mightily in this continent, literally billions are this waiting to hear the Good News for the first time. Consider help us to reach these lost souls and prayer with us for the needs in Asia. Please read this article carefully.
Recently I boarded a flight out of
Kathmandu, the capital city of
Nepal in the
Himalayas, where we had been for meetings and to encourage some of the local workers. As the plane rose above the clouds I was hoping for views of
Mount Everest, but the hazy, dusty conditions put paid to that. Instead, I settled into my seat at the back of the plane and flicked through a copy of
Time magazine. One article caught my attention. It was titled,
Salvation Armies: Evangelical Christianity is Booming in Asia.
It was both surprising and refreshing to read such a report in a secular magazine. It stated there were 101 million Christians in
Asia in 1970, but this number had grown rapidly to 351 million by 2005, and was continuing to increase daily.
Indeed, God is doing a wonderful and powerful work throughout many parts of
Asia, and it is a great blessing for us to be able to see and hear testimonies of communities bring transformed by the power of the Gospel. We have been privileged to serve in this part of the world and play a role as one small chain in the link of God’s advancing kingdom.
Nepal is one country where the Church has experienced a dramatic surge. In the 1950s there were just 25 known Christians in the entire country, which is home to more than 100 different tribes and ethnic groups. By 1990, when I first went there, the Church in
Nepal had grown to about 25,000 members. Today, many researchers believe there are around 600,000 believers scattered throughout the country. That represents a 24-fold increase just since 1990!
God has used circumstances to bring many Asian people into His kingdom. Do you know, for example, that thousands of Muslims in
Indonesia have come to Christ in recent years because they have been turned off radical Islam and the growth of terrorism. Many Muslims have become disillusioned with their faith and have experienced new life in Jesus.
In
Myanmar (formerly
Burma), Christianity was treated with suspicion by the government leaders who suppressed it in favor of Buddhism. In September 2007, Buddhist monks led a protest in the streets of the capital city which was brutally put down by the military. Since that time, the authorities have shunned the Buddhists and have begun to show more favor to Christians. This appreciation grew as a result of the selfless and loving actions of many Christian groups during the destruction of Cyclone Nargis in 2008. One of our coworkers in that nation recently told us the churches in many parts of
Myanmar are overflowing with people. Many fellowships have experienced 400% or 500% growth in the last 18 months.
I have found that sometimes when Christians in other parts of the world hear about revival in Asia they feel somewhat disconnected, especially if they live in a country where the church is in decline, or stagnant at best. Some people who have not been to
Asia presume things must be so wonderful and godly there that
Asia does not need their help or concern any more. Such thinking is wrong! While it is true that God has been moving in many places of
Asia, it is equally true that huge sections of humanity in
Asia remain totally unreached and have never heard of Jesus in a way that would enable them to make a decision to embrace or reject Him.
If I could take you through the streets of large cities like New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Hanoi, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Bangkok, Lhasa or Karachi, you would be overwhelmed by the poverty, mayhem, demonic oppression, and almost complete lack of knowledge of Jesus Christ. After more than 20 years in
Asia we are still overwhelmed when we visit such places.
In rural areas, hundreds of millions of people continue to live in complete spiritual darkness. Two missionary friends recently reported how they shared the Gospel for hours with a family in rural
China. Convinced they had made good progress, they asked the family if they had any questions. The mother asked one of the missionaries, "I am still confused about one thing. Which one of you is Jesus
—you or this other guy?"
To put things in proper perspective, do you know that....
• While we rejoice over the 600,000 people in
Nepal who are now Christians, it is a country of 30 million people, so just two percent of people in
Nepal believe in Jesus Christ. Ninety-eight out of 100 people face an eternity in hell, and dozens of tribal groups in the country remain totally untouched by the Gospel.
• In
China, where most experts today agree there are about 100 million Christians after 30 years of revival, this figure represents just 7% of the population. It is a big place! At least 200 ethnic minority groups in
China have yet to be properly engaged by any Christian witness. Despite the advances in
China, there are still untold millions of people who have never heard the Name of Jesus in their lives. The rate people are being saved in
China is still lower than the birthrate, so every year there are more unsaved people in
China than the year before.
So yes, God has been and is doing a marvelous work in
Asia, but let's not forget that two-thirds of all the people in the world live there, and hundreds of millions of people have no access to the Gospel at all. While we thank God for all He has done, His eyes, as always, are on the lost sheep that He desires to bring into His sheepfold.
-Paul Hattaway
