This is your time—our time . . . harvest time!
Warm greetings in this beautiful fall season . . . a time of joy, as we witness
the faithfulness of the Lord and rejoice in His provision!
I have just witnessed the power of your generosity, the power of your Christ-like compassion in giving to plant churches and share the life-transforming gospel with people in desperate spiritual need.
A mob of more than 40—armed with long clubs—ready to attack and kill the “Christian invaders”—tried to shut down construction of a new church-school facility.
Your giving to World Link had helped to launch this project, the biggest facility ever constructed through our ministry together.
But it is located in the heart of India. No Christians have lived in this overwhelmingly Hindu district for the past 200 years.
And a few weeks ago, as construction was wrapping up and preparations were underway for a dedication ceremony, a mob formed and converged on the site.
Then—a miracle.
Your generosity established a Christian school in this church, long before the new building was begun. The children in this school are among the poorest of the poor. They had no other way to get an education. Their lives have been changed—their future has been rewritten—thanks to you.
So the parents of these children stepped up to defy the attackers.
The Christians have done great things for us! they insisted.
The Hindu militants backed away.
The dedication proceeded. I preached the inaugural sermon—I clearly presented the gospel—I gave a direct invitation to the capacity crowd of 1,200—I presented Jesus Christ as the only Savior, the only mediator between God and man.
There were high-caste Hindus at the inauguration; I knew we could still be interrupted by an attack. But the Holy Spirit prevailed. There was no attack. There was only an overwhelming response to the Good News . . . hundreds of Hindus praying to receive the Lord and commit their lives to Him!
Look how God uses you as you give! By His power, your sowing of seed leads to incredible HARVEST!
Our ministry leaders in the region have been approached by Hindu leaders not to threaten or discourage them, but to comfort and encourage them to stand strong!
“The work they are doing,” one declared, “bringing so much hope and success to the kids through education, is too important to be stopped.”
Hallelujah! I am excited beyond words that the Truth is becoming known.
We are Christians. We are engaged in a breakthrough enterprise.
Our work together is enhancing the quality of life in India’s communities—as they can clearly see.
In fact, the value they perceive is so great; all else is secondary to them.
And it is preeminent to us.
We see parents willing to take unimaginable risks, in the face of a violent horde, to vigorously defend and retain all the good they see in what we are doing. No other idea, no ideology, has even come close to bringing so much good to their society.
And these are only the temporal benefits! Children’s academics are only the beginning. These parents were passionate about your ministry to them even before they caught on to the phenomenal spiritual value of the work!
The Indian church planters were overjoyed by the success of the “evangelism through education” program. They have been captured by a true vision of greatness, thanks to the combination of three factors:
a. the need is enormous, and the parents feel it with painful intensity;
b. the culture excludes the “poorest of the poor,” so there’s no other way for many of these children to be schooled; and
c. these kids—excluded because of the caste system—are SMART!
They’re astonished to see these children excelling in academics . . . children whose families have been written off for generations, ignored, shunned, despised, sidelined, crushed.
Suddenly, witnessing the unique ministry that you have made possible, India’s people are realizing: “This is it! This is what we must do!” This is the textbook definition of “capture the imagination.” By God’s grace, you have captured the imagination of India’s people.
Yes, all of our Indian church planters were already aware of the “children’s program” we’d begun in 18 districts. But only with the mob attack—and the powerful response of the local parents—did they come to realize how intensely connected communities feel to it.
Pastors began asking about the specifics of the program, how to bring it into their own church-planting strategies. Some had been interested but assumed it would be too costly. We’ve seen this sad situation before . . .
In Nepal, we launched the program with just two pilot projects. Within a few months, when I went to see how the programs were doing, I found that the Nepalis were so thrilled with the results, they had added another 12 areas themselves!
Paying the full cost was impossible in such an economy, so they adapted by reducing the certification requirements for teachers in their schools. Volunteers were teaching as they were able. Result: serious academic decline. The children weren’t learning as they needed to.
Thanks to generous friends like you, we were able to “adopt” the new programs, restoring the certification requirements for teachers—and the children are now thriving academically. (The Nepalis were also thrilled to issue school uniforms to all the students, including ties for boys—a signal that you’re attending a “real” school.)
- Now, 76 church planters in India want to launch “evangelism through education” programs. Of course, it will take funding to make the schools “real,” with the highest academic standards. But this is a “good problem” for those of us who had the privilege of being used by God to launch a runaway church-planting movement throughout India!
While I was with them, I also led sessions with the church planters, teaching them to more effectively reach out and multiply—with a God-given goal of saturating their vast country with the gospel.
Your generous support was clearly bearing fruit in their individual ministries. Pastors who arrived overwhelmed by their local challenges left enthusiastic—freshly equipped for the challenges ahead—confident that the Lord of the harvest has great plans, and great power to fulfill His plans!
One pastor paraphrased an old saying: “My hope, when I came to this week’s teaching, was a milligram. But I go away with the enthusiasm of Billy Graham!”
The mood was joyous as we remembered together Who called us . . . and what power He has to make us victorious! The power and His presence have been promised to us until the end of days, always. That is what we call His great commitment to the great commission. “. . . behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:20b
And India—as huge as the harvest field is—is only one field among many. As I write you, I’m in Doha, Qatar, in the Middle East, on my way back from India, and juggling messages from Kenya, where our new church-planting program is growing even faster than we anticipated! So I’ll turn around and head to Kenya this coming week.
The “good problem” there is that church planters are reporting they can’t possibly plant three churches each—because the need and the opportunity are so great: They’re insisting “WE MUST PLANT FOUR CHURCHES EACH!”
Their jubilant attitude is setting the stage for a total of 400 churches to be planted! Never has there been such a mammoth nationwide project in their particular experience!
And the church planters are ecstatic that they have the privilege of playing a pioneering role in this historic initiative.
I’m excited to meet with groups in all four regions of the country, to encourage them, and to let them know how God has used these strategies in other nations.
- The story I’ll be sharing is your story . . . how a small beginning has developed into a movement of thousands of churches because of the vision and enthusiasm of committed friends like you, empowering church planters in the nations of the earth.
I thank God for your vision and enthusiasm. Every day, whatever specific tasks require immediate attention, I see the imprint of your faith and your compassion. As we wrap up our summer season and put the finishing touches on fall banquets to set the stage for the year ahead.
As we celebrate the graduation of Venezuela teams who have planted three churches each! And as we finalize plans for graduation exercises and missionary trips for Spain and the Philippines.
As we forge ahead through a whirlwind of ministry activity, we also need to STOP—for a brief moment—and give thanks for all God’s goodness and mercies in our lives! Somewhere in the midst of all the busyness, we need to pause and celebrate the indescribable gift of His Son.
This is the moment. Right now. I praise God for everything He has done, and is doing, and will do. I praise God that He has seen fit to bring us together in this harvest work around the world.
I hope to hear from you soon, with a gift of support for the work that is so clearly bearing much fruit.
May God bless you in this harvest season! Thank you for your obedience of faith!
P.S. God is using you as the root, right there where He has planted you. You are touching the world with new life in Christ, just as surely as the little boy who saw his lunch used to feed a multitude. Thank you for your acts of faith!
Dr. Manny Fernandez