668 Chapter 100

A Pioneer Team in Zambia, AfricaPhillip Elkins

Case Studies

This series of case studies is a representativesample of contemporary church planting amongclassically defined unreached peoples. Examplesappear from the major blocs of unreached peoples:Chinese, Muslim, Hindu, Tribal and Buddhist. Anurban population in Latin America is also in-cluded. Most are recent. All were initiated withinthe last generation.

The point of these case studies is to explore thecomplexity and the feasibility of pioneer churchplanting in our day. You won’t find simplistic for-mulas for success. You’ll see ordinary peopleprayerfully developing unique approaches for dif-ferent situations. Some cases are short, reducedto a rough outline of what took place. Each storyreveals a great deal about how each movement wasinitiated and nurtured through embryonic phases.

Compare and contrast the stories. Notice thecrucial role of local workers laboring alongsideexpatriate missionaries. Observe how foreignworkers enter culture and develop ways to com-municate the gospel. Note how obstacles werefaced and overcome, how partnerships wereformed and bore fruit, the years required, the per-severance and creativity demanded. You’ll see howcommunity development can be integrated withevangelism. You’ll notice setbacks, mistakes anddisappointments along with dramatic break-throughs. Take note of how prayer was lifted, suf-fering was endured and God’s hand was extendedin order to establish movements of obedient faithin Christ.

The names of some authors, peoples and placeshave been changed at the author’s request.

Phillip Elkins is the President of the Mission Training & Resource Center in Pasadena, California.

He is also the Executive Director of the Paraclete Mission Group, which is composed of 24 asso-

ciates serving as missionaries or partners bringing consultative solutions to strategic issues facing

agencies and churches. In the early 70s with a team of five families, he planted churches among

the unreached Tonga of Zambia. For many years he worked as a tentmaker missionary in Liberia.

his church planting case study dif-fers from some in that it describes ateam of missionaries who banded to-

gether prior to entering a field. Most effortsare put together by a sending agency andthey bring together several people who maymeet for the first time in the field. This teamcame together in 1967 out of a common con-cern to reach an unreached or “hidden”people whom God had already prepared tobe receptive to His redemptive message.

The team took as its model the “Apos-tolic Band” of the first century. This multi-talented, multi-gifted group had varying

degrees of field experience. StanShewmaker had already worked in Zambia,Africa for five years; Frank Alexander inMalawi, Africa for four years; Phillip andNorma Elkins had been involved in visitingand research of missions in 71 countries andtwo other couples had been on short-termassignments in Africa. Ages of membersranged from 25 to 33. The five men in thegroup had degrees in Biblical studies andjust prior to leaving for the field completedmaster’s degrees in missiology.

Because of this experience and training,the team felt it could function as its own

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PHILLIP ELKINS 669

agency in the same sense that the Paul-Timothy-Luke-Silas “band” of the New Tes-tament did. The group was sent by an“Antioch” congregation in San Fernando,California. This church body recognized thatthe true “sending” agent was the Holy Spirit(Acts 13: 4, “so being sent by the HolySpirit”) and thus did not consider itself thegoverning or “decision making” organiza-tion. Responsibility for field decisions wasleft to the team, directed by the Holy Spirit,in partnership with the national Christianleadership on the field.

Early Decisions and ConvictionsAs the team searched for an unreachedpeople (two years), they concluded the HolySpirit was leading them to a segment of theTonga tribe (one of the largest in Zambia,numbering over 300,000) called the Toka-Leya. Ninety-five percent of these peoplewere adherents of an ethnic, or localized,folk-religion (some would use the term ani-mistic). Within a twelve-mile radius of wherethe team settled (the primary target area)were 100 villages with four small congrega-tions that had not grown for several years (atotal of 75 Christians).

The team spent most of the first two years(1970-71) learning the language and culture,without engaging in overt evangelistic activi-ties. By the end of 1973 there were four timesas many churches (16) and six times themembership (450). Beyond this immediatetwelve-mile area, completely new move-ments were started. For example, in theMoomba chieftaincy, 70 miles to the north,newly trained national Christians planted sixchurches with 240 members within a fewmonths. This was done in 1973 and involvedwinning the chief, a third of all the villageheadmen and both court judges.

I mention this early rapid response toshow that we were indeed led to a “ripepocket” in God’s mosaic of peoples. We knewthat the national church, motivated andtrained, had to be the vehicle to gather theharvest. By 1974 we felt most of the Americanteam could pull out. By 1979, the last two“foreign” families felt they could responsiblymove on to another new people to begin theprocess again. Today a national church con-

tinues the process of winning and discipling“to the fringes.”

“Methods,” “approaches,” and “strat-egy” may be “unspiritual” words in someChristians’ vocabulary. I feel in the contextof this effort there was validity in the strat-egy and specific methods followed by theteam. In addition to what has been de-scribed, I think the first two years in whichwe were involved as in-depth “learners” ofthe Tonga world view (language, lifestyle,values, politics, social structure, beliefs,educational systems and other aspects ofculture) were essential to our efforts aschurch planters. My wife and I lived in avillage of 175 people and followed alifestyle closely identified with that of otherToka-Leya families. We learned to “hurt”where they hurt and “feel” what they felt.We identified, not so much to be “ac-cepted,” though that is important, but tounderstand and appreciate their culture forits finest and best dimensions. We had toknow what parts were already functioningpositively within the will and purpose ofGod. We needed to know what had to beconfronted and changed to fit the demandsof the kingdom of God.

Perhaps most critical was the need tolearn where people had “felt needs”through which God’s message of redemp-tion could be accepted as Good News. Themessage that had been proclaimed as “Gos-pel” by earlier Christian efforts was in factperceived as “Bad News.” The “Gospel”was perceived as God calling men to haveone wife and not to drink beer. ThoughChristians were saying many other things,this was perceived as the “banner” of themessage. Because missionaries showed amajor interest in setting up schools for chil-dren, the adult population found the mes-sage alright for children but almost un-thinkable for adults.

Understandingthe Tonga World ViewDuring our two years of “incarnational iden-tification,” the Tongas’ perception of reality(world view) became increasingly clear to us.Graphically, it might be described to a West-erner as follows:

Chapter 100 A PIONEER TEAM IN ZAMBIA, AFRICA670

It was to this perception of reality that wehad to address our lives and message. Tongasbelieved that one can affect the unborn fetus inanother person’s body. For example, if apregnant woman’s family had brought deathto members of your family, you could enlistthe aid of a medicine man to cause the deathof the fetus (without having physical contactwith the pregnant woman).

The category of living living corresponds toour concept of living people with their finitephysical limitations. But after physical deaththis person continues as the living dead. Thepersonality, personal enemies, prejudice,taste preferences and so forth, continue in-tact. Therefore, one can go to the grave of theliving dead person and request assistancebased on a knowledge of that person’s per-sonality and the obligations of relationship.Similarly, the exalted living dead are to be sup-plicated on the basis of the status they at-tained while in the living living existence.

The forgotten dead are those persons whosenames and personalities have passed fromliving memory. Therefore, no one can nowappeal to them, placate them, or appeasethem. This group represents a dimension ofreality which strikes at the heart of the fears,apprehensions and frustrations of the Tonga.

Within this framework of “reality” I willdescribe how our team of Christians foundan opening to speak to felt needs. The Tonga

believed that God (Leza) created humans and,for a while, lived together with them. But aspeople became abusive in their relationshipwith him (in one story a woman strikes God)God left them, and all direct communicationbecame impossible. The only remaining wayto speak to God then, is through the livingdead or exalted living dead. But the inabilityto “hear back” from God, to know his per-sonality, to understand whether their needswere adequately communicated, representedan area of felt need.

Forgotten ancestors are commonly be-lieved to be the spirits which enter people tokill them. A violent illness is associated withsuch spirits, and unless the person can getthis spirit expelled, death will result. Otherspirits represent alien forgotten dead (theycome from another tribe) which frequentlyare associated with a long-term, frustrating,but not fatal illness. These spirits also fre-quently possess the person and use the per-son as a medium to communicate with thecommunity. The community responds to thispossession by special gatherings to danceand sing to the spirit. The purpose of thesegatherings is to appease, control and hope-fully rid the person of the spirit.

Finally, there are spirits which humansplay a role in creating. These particular spir-its were the most feared and frustrating forthe people with whom I lived. None of the

Tonga World-View

Leza: God

Exalted Living Dead: Forgotten Dead:

Illness orKilling Spirits

Possessing orMedium

Spirits

Created SpiritsNo one

remembers their names

Famous, well-knownleaders

Living Dead: Existence after burial

Living Living: Existence prior to burial

Unborn Living: Existence prior to birth

PHILLIP ELKINS 671

literature I studied on spirits in Africa dealtwith this particular spirit, though humanlycreated spirits do exist in other African tribes.

Our understanding came in this way. Avery sick boy was brought to me one day.The child was near death and I felt it was be-yond my own limited medical skills to help. Itook the parents and child to a hospital, butas I watched the child died. From a Westernmedical perspective, the child died fromcomplications growing out of malaria andanemia. A year later I attended a village courtcase where a man was accused of killing thisvery child. The man finally admitted, afterweeks of trial procedures, that he was guilty.The reason was that the man felt he had beenwronged by the father of the child and hewanted to create his personal isaku spirit. Noone during the trial was willing to explain tome what an isaku spirit was. People whowere normally generous with informationwould deny knowing anything about thesespirits. During this time my wife and I visiteda village one evening where none of thewomen around a fire had their children ontheir backs. This was very unusual. I askedthem why and they explained that it was be-cause there were many isaku spirits in theirvillage and they were afraid for the safety oftheir children. They explained that their chil-dren were in huts where they could bewatched. When they discovered that I didnot know what an isaku spirit was they ex-plained only that it was an evil spirit. Sinceall spirits were considered evil, that was notmuch help.

As the weeks went by, I finally persuadeda medicine man, who occasionally visitedour area, to explain isaku. This spirit couldbe created by people who wanted a being tosteal, kill or otherwise serve their own inter-ests. To create an isaku one would first haveto dig up and decapitate a freshly buriedbody. The head would be removed in themiddle of the night to an isolated areawhere two paths cross. A fire would be builtand certain medicines would be added to it.The ensuing smoke would engulf the headto which portions of certain animals hadbeen attached (snake skin, bird feathers, feetof a rabbit, etc.). This ceremony, if correctlydone, would result in a living spirit called

isaku. The physical part of this spirit was tobe kept, fed and hidden. If one properlycared for isaku, the person would have hiswishes granted. If not properly cared for,isaku would kill the person or a member ofhis family. When a person who owns anisaku dies, the relative who inherits the deadperson’s name also inherits their isaku. Nor-mally no one would reveal that they had anisaku. Thus, if a relative who was asked toreceive a name was suspicious that an isakuwas associated with it, that person mightrefuse to receive the name.

If anyone inherits a name, and unknow-ingly should have received an isaku, theylearn of the mistake very painfully. They mayarrive home one day to learn that a child hasdied suddenly.

As our knowledge grew of isaku spirits,many gaps in our understanding of theTonga were eliminated. We grew increasinglyconscious of how powerless the people felt toadequately deal with isaku spirits and thosewho would create them. This, coupled withthe realization that the Tonga felt every deathwas the result of someone’s overt effort tocause it, helped us to understand the extentof much of the animosity and anger betweenindividuals and families.

Responding to Felt NeedsFrom all of the above insights a picture offelt needs emerged to which God could speakmeaningfully. The first Good News from Godfor the Tonga was that He had given to us aHoly Spirit. The Tongas knew nothing of agood spirit, much less a Holy Spirit fromGod Himself as a gift. We shared that wewere not afraid, as they were, of isaku spiritsbecause we had residing in us continually aSpirit that would not tolerate other spirits.The Spirit in us was more powerful than anyother spirit. This explained the lack of fearthey had seen in our lives, the joy, the confi-dence and hope.

The second part of our Good News wasthat the God, which they already knew byname, had not abandoned them. The Tongahad left God but He was willing to liveamong them again. He had already provedHis willingness by sending a Son who livedas a human and showed humans how to re-

Chapter 100 A PIONEER TEAM IN ZAMBIA, AFRICA672

ally live. We explained that one can now talkdirectly to God about their needs and thatthis Son also serves as a person’s special ad-vocate before God. We further explainedthat God’s Son was so concerned to removethe sin and guilt for all of the offensive waysthat we live that He Himself accepted thepunishment on our behalf.

The Tongas began to realize the verifica-tion and proof of what we said was the HolySpirit which lived in us. Lest I be misunder-stood by a reader of this, I am not talkingabout a special gift of speaking in tongues. Iam speaking of that which every Christianreceives at his new birth.

We also spoke of the verification thatwould come from knowing the Bible. Thishad little immediate impact, as most of thepeople could not read. However, the Word isnot confined to the printed page. The Wordwas communicated daily by a God who waswilling to reveal Himself in their lives. He re-vealed Himself one day as we went to a vil-lage where we were stopped by a drunkenwoman who forbade us to come into her vil-lage. She said they followed Satan and notGod. That night she died and the next dayhundreds of people came wanting to knowmore of God’s will for their lives.

The major political leader of our area hadbeen leading the people to the graves oftheir ancestors annually to solicit rain. Whenhe accepted the Good News, he demonstratedhis faith by leading his people in a new way.When the first drought occurred he calledthe people together to spend a day calling toGod to give them rain. This was a boldmove which exceeded the faith of some ofthe missionaries. But God honored the bold-ness and before the sun set the earth wasdrenched in rain.

In the village where we made our home,almost half of the adult population acceptedbaptism. At their initiative we all spent anight in prayer before going out as a group toshare our faith with another village.

As our team of American missionaries sawmore and more churches planted, we beganto modify our role as leaders in evangelismand church planting. I believe it was a goodstrategy for us to identify with the Tongasphysically and to provide a physical and

spiritual model for evangelism. I know this isa concept that is considered “past” in manycircles, but I feel it should still be an empha-sis in pioneer mission efforts.

To train an indigenous leadership we setup 16 extension centers for training everyChristian in the basics of the Christian faith,and instituted a special course for those whoemerged as church leaders. This was donewith the new Christians bearing the cost ofthe courses. We followed the practice of notsubsidizing the construction of buildings, orproviding funding for those who entered thepreaching ministry.

Prepared for BattleI cannot close this story without admittingthat we, like the team that Paul workedwith, experienced some interpersonal con-flict and setbacks in our ministry goals, in-cluding betrayals by believers and rever-sions by some of those we had the greatesthopes for. But we accept that as normal inthe battle “against the principalities andpowers, against the world rulers of thisdarkness, the spiritual hosts of wickednessin the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).

I think it is important for one to know theBible well enough to be able to know wherethe battle is. I think we invite defeat when wedo not make the effort to learn the local lan-guage well enough to teach effectively in it. Ithink it is essential that we participate in areal way in the lifestyle and struggles of thepeople we are sent to. When we do notground our proclamation on an understand-ing of a people’s hurts and felt needs, andwhen we allow our own cultural understand-ing of the Christian message to blind us towhat God wants said in a radically differentsetting and culture, we invite failure.

I heartily commend the team approachfor pioneer mission efforts. During the fiveyears I was in Zambia one of our originalfamilies left, but others came and were in-corporated. In addition, from the very be-ginning, we tried hard to expand the teamleadership to include Tonga Christians. Thiskind of team approach is not the only way toapproach the task, but it was part of whatmade our five years in Zambia a productiveand happy experience.

ERNEST BOEHR 673

A Work of God Amongthe Hakka of Taiwan

Ernest Boehr

he ministry in the Tungshih area of cen-tral Taiwan is an excellent example ofhow rapidly the Gospel follows along

the web of family relationships. It also showsthe wisdom of the missionary in guiding theChristians to make functional substitutes andthus satisfy the people’s desire to express in aHakka way their respect of the departed.

The Transformation of Mrs. ChanThe work of God began with the transforma-tion of Mrs. Chan, who had moved with herhusband from Cholan in central Taiwan toKaohsiung, a southern port city. She hadbeen troubled with demons for some yearsand they really began to bother her when herson wrote from the off-shore island ofChinmen of his fear from the noise of explod-ing shells from Communist China.

Mrs. Chan went to a monk in Tainan, 50miles to the north, who was known for hisability to cast out demons. For $15 Mrs. Changot the advice to make a straw effigy of her-self, put her clothes on it and have it buried.She was covered with a fishing net and takento a dark corner to hide until the effigy wasburied. The action was intended to deceivethe demons into thinking that she was dead.“Do you think that drove away the de-mons?,” she will ask in her testimony. “No!,”she will shout. “It didn’t help one bit.”

About that time an elder’s wife from theHsinsheng Presbyterian Church in Kaohsiungbegan visiting her and inviting her to church.She had all kinds of excuses but was finallyenticed to see some slides on the life of Christ.The demon seized her in the meeting and sheran out, but the pastor came later to see her.

He said she would not get rid of the demonwithout first accepting Christ. He kept on vis-iting her and teaching her of Christ.

Almost two years later Mrs. Chan wokeup early one morning and began breakingthe idols on the home altar. Her daughter-in-law thought she was possessed again andcalled Mr. Chan. He told them to leave Mrs.Chan alone because she was preparing to be-lieve in Jesus. She asked them if they couldthink of any help the idols had been, in thetwenty years they had served them. Sincethey could think of none, she finished clean-ing up the altar and sold to the scrap manwhat couldn’t be burned. She later was bap-tized and within three years her husband andtwo sons believed, too.

Mrs. Chan’s Family and FriendsMrs. Chan began praying for her brothersand sisters near Tungshih immediately aftershe was saved. Over a period of ten years shevisited them as often as she could, tellingthem what the Lord had done for her and en-couraging them to trust in Christ. Onebrother was the village elder and he loved todrink. His liver became diseased from toomuch liquor, so Mrs. Chan prayed that theLord would both heal his liver and take thetaste for liquor from him. When the Lord an-swered her prayer, she encouraged herbrother to trust in Christ. He said theyneeded to know more and would welcome apreacher to their home.

Mrs. Chan had not lived near Tungshih formany years, so she prayed as she walked totown that the Lord would lead her to theright person. She arrived at the Norwegian

T

Ernest Boehr spent 35 years in Taiwan with the The Evangelical Alliance Mission working for 12

years with refugees from mainland China, and then for 23 years among the Hakkanese. Adapted

from Taiwan Church Growth Bulletin, 1974. Used by permission.

Chapter 101 A WORK OF GOD AMONG THE HAKKA674

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church at seveno’clock in the morning that May day in 1968.Mrs. Johansen was home and she called MissCho to interpret what Mrs. Chan was saying.Mrs. Chan told her story and asked Mrs.Johansen to go with her to Henglung.

Mrs. Johansen suggested that she insteadshould send Miss Ammon, who at that timewas in Tungshih and who spoke Hakka.Mrs. Chan objected, “No, the Holy Spirit ledme here. You are the one.” Then Mrs.Johansen suggested they wait until her hus-band came back. Again Mrs. Chan objected,“No, someone needs to go in now and eachSunday night as well as one night duringthe week.” Another fellow missionary wasavailable and she went with Miss Cho andMrs. Chan for the first meeting that day inthe Yeh home in Henglung.

Rev. Johansen and Miss Cho began regu-lar meetings in the Yeh home in mid-May in1968. He spoke in Mandarin and Miss Chointerpreted into Hakka. They wrote outsome choruses and a brief prayer asking theLord’s forgiveness and blessing. The oldestwomen seemed the most responsive. Whensomeone asked about worshipping their an-cestors, Rev. Johansen hesitated. Then theoldest brother’s wife said, “In all theseyears that I have offered food to our ances-tors not once have they taken what I of-fered.” There were no more questions onancestor worship.

In May, 1969, Mrs. Chan came again andtold Rev. Johansen, “Pastor, tonight youmust speak on baptism.” Actually he hadspoken on salvation and baptism before,but was not planning to give an invitationthat night. He did some quick altering ofhis message and was ready to give the invi-tation that night when Mrs. Chan came for-ward to take over. She held a lively invita-tional meeting until twenty-six had raisedtheir hands professing faith in Christ. Atthe baptismal service three weeks later,nineteen followed the Lord in baptism—theentire family of the village elder (sixpeople), five members of the third brother’sfamily, three relatives and five friends. Theoldest brother had gotten mad and refusedto let his family be baptized. They werebaptized at a later date.

A Funeral Takes New MeaningOld mother Yeh passed away in February,1970, at 94 years of age. She, too, had re-sponded to the Gospel and loved to hear asmuch as Miss Cho had time to tell her. Herpeaceful passing was a wonderful testimonyto all. Mrs. Chan came up from Kaohsiung tomake sure the funeral was “Christian.” Therewas no question about keeping idol and an-cestor worship out of the ceremony, but abrother-in-law argued hard with Mrs. Chanfor reading eulogies to the dead. Rev.Johansen asked if eulogies could be read fac-ing the audience rather than facing the dead.Mrs. Chan agreed to the change.

A group from mother Yeh’s side of thefamily came to express their sorrow by play-ing Chinese horns, violins and cymbals. Mrs.Chan refused to let them play and the villageelder was very chagrined. He explained toRev. Johansen that the group had come to ex-press their sorrow. Rev. Johansen suggestedto Mrs. Chan that the group play at that timeand not at the funeral. Mrs. Chan consentedand the brother was delighted. He ran up theroad to where the group was waiting andtold them to come.

The seven-week memorial for old motherYeh became an excellent opportunity forteaching about life and death and whatChrist accomplished in his death and resur-rection. Each week for seven weeks, Rev.Johansen went in to Henglung to hold ser-vices in the home. This took the place of theheathen rites of having a monk come in eachweek to report the progress of the soulthrough hell. It was a very satisfying time forthe family. They felt they had done all theycould for the departed.

Other Fellowships BeginDuring the funeral Mrs. Chan stayed with heryoungest sister in Tamap’u, a town nearby.She encouraged her to have meetings in herhome. She agreed to the idea. So on EasterSunday 1970, Rev. Johansen began servicesthere, too. It was not long before the youngestsister and her son believed and were baptizedwith several older neighbor ladies.

In the meantime, old Mr. Tai, who had beenbaptized in the Henglung home, asked if theycould use the village elder’s office in

WILLIAM MIAL 675

The Impact of Missionary Radioon Church Planting

William Mial

William Mial has served for over 40 years with Trans World Radio. Since his start as a studio

operator in Tangier, Morocco, Bill’s vision and administrative abilities have allowed him to

oversee the development of new transmitters and new programming in Monte Carlo, the

Netherland Antilles, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Guam and Europe. Bill is presently serving as

Assistant to the President and Senior International Director of TWR.

Chungk’o for services. Mr. Yeh was agreeableand Rev. Johansen started services there aboutthe same time as those in Tamap’u. There havebeen five more baptized in Chungk’o and thegroup is now renting a small building for ser-vices. In November 1980, a new church build-ing was dedicated in Chungk’o.

Since 1969 there have been 50 baptized inthe three places. Twenty-three of them are inthe immediate Yeh family and three more areclose relatives. The remaining twenty-four arefriends and neighbors of the family. The meet-ings in the three places always have a good

number of unsaved in attendance because thenatural setting of the home is neither foreignnor unnerving. All the meetings are at nightwhen the people have time on their hands.

In the fall of 1972, the Johansens beganstudying Hakka. Rev. Johansen preachesnow in the Hakka dialect. Mrs. Chan contin-ues her ministry of prayer and encourage-ment. Since 1974, Mrs. Chan has not been ingood health. However, the home fellowshipsin Henglung and Chungk’o continue andthe vigorous group in Chungk’o has seensteady growth.

istorically, the role of radio broad-casting of the gospel by missionaryradio stations has varied greatly

from country to country. In a geographicallyremote region, such as a river basin area inVenezuela, radio has provided the first con-tact of the gospel with the listener, ulti-mately culminating in a nucleus of listenersin a village accepting Jesus Christ as per-sonal Savior and going on to use the Biblestudy programs on the radio as the focalpoint of their weekly worship.

In other areas of the world, which are un-reachable by any other means than radio dueto political restrictions, we find that gospelmissionary radio broadcasting is used by thehead of the house to give basic Bible trainingto his family. In some cases the radio is usedas an evangelist to bring his family to a sav-ing knowledge of Jesus Christ.

One significant development in churchplanting through missionary radio is foundin India as a result of the Trans World Radio

broadcast from Sri Lanka. The strategy be-hind this type of ministry is first a presenta-tion of the gospel through various types ofradio programs, such as a morning devo-tional program patterned somewhat after theHindu morning worship, but with gospelmusic and scripture reading. This attracts alarge number of Hindu morning worshipers,providing them with a familiar atmospherebut bringing to them the message of the onlytrue God and the hope of eternal life found inHis only Son, Jesus Christ. Various types oftraditional and more innovative program-ming are broadcast throughout the morningand evening in approximately forty one ma-jor Indian languages. A variety of Bible corre-spondence courses are offered and a certainmeasure of spiritual awareness is developedthrough this follow-up method.

A less conventional type of follow-up hasalso been carried on in several languagegroups in the form of “Seekers Confer-ences”—three day extended weekends.

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Chapter 102 THE IMPACT OF MISSIONARY RADIO676

Through a mail offering, true seekers of Chris-tianity have the opportunity to register forthese special conferences. As a result, there hasbeen as much as 100 percent response by thesemen and women to accept Jesus Christ as per-sonal Savior. In other cases, “Radio Rallies”have been held when radio listeners are en-couraged to join other in their area in at-tending a series of meetings held over a pe-riod of several nights. Here again we find ahigh percentage of attendees choose to followChrist, resulting many times in the spontane-ous desire to follow the Lord in believer’s bap-tism. In the such cases, Trans World Radiomakes every effort to place these new convertsinto existing evangelical churches in their par-ticular area. But often there is no church. Theresponse has been so great that special follow-up strategies have been developed which trainleaders and help encourage new churches.

In sections of India, primarily in AndhraPradesh, we find such a strong wave ofpopular response to the radio broadcast thatwe utilize a daily 30-minute Bible studytransmission. This provides the core forevangelism and Bible study in many homes.

The Founder of Trans World Radio,Dr. Paul Freed reported,

I went into home after home where “housechurches” were assembled. People crowdinto small houses until there isn’t a squarefoot of standing space left. And this is aneveryday occurrence! They work all day,and then begin to arrive for the radio ser-vices two hours before the programs evenstart! In one of the homes I visited, a man

had taken a wire and attached it to a speakeroutside. When the broadcasts begin in theevening, they can be heard throughout thearea surrounding the house.

Hundreds of house groups have beenstarted by the 650 member staff of TWR’ssister organization in India, Vishwa Vani.Often, it all begins by the head of a homebringing in his neighbors to listen to the ra-dio transmissions. At the conclusion of theprograms in that particular language, thecontent of the program is discussed. Fol-lowing this, the new believers begin to givea personal witness to the non-Christianswho have come to the house Bible studygroup. This practice is often carried out ona seven day per week basis.

Church planting of course implies at somepoint that an adequate number of trained pas-tors would be available to carry out pastoralresponsibilities in these new congregations.Over the years, the spiritual fruit of this out-reach has led TWR India to further developthe ministry. Vishwa Vani workers are sys-tematically trained for follow up, leading ulti-mately to the establishment of churches. Inorder to accommodate these developments,another arm of this radio outreach has beencreated called India Believers Fellowship.This organization takes the mature housegroups and forms them into congregationswhere a full church life experience will beprovided to the new believers. Recently, sucha group was started in the midst of a highlyHindu area in Varanasi (one of the holy citiesof Hinduism). Vishwa Vani workers began

the work of establishing anew fellowship when 90were baptized as a result ofthe radio broadcasts.

In this case and many oth-ers, radio provided the foun-dation for a complete minis-try cycle: the preaching of theGospel, the response of thelisteners, the personal followup with listeners, the preach-ing of the Word both by ra-dio and also by lay leadersand local workers, and ulti-mately in the establishmentof centers of worship.

JAMES W. GUSTAFSON 677

or decades, Christians have talked aboutintegrating evangelism and develop-ment in world mission, but there have

been obstacles. Perhaps the foremost has beena narrow definition of evangelism, limiting itto the verbal presentation of the gospel. Thegospel of Jesus Christ, however, is not simplya spoken word; it is a Living Word. The gospelis Life. It is the incarnation of the Word of Godinto the cultures and lives of humankind.

The secular definition of developmenthas been a second obstacle for mission-minded Christians. The secular approach todevelopment focuses most often on eco-nomic growth. With the goal of increasingprofit, this focus becomes individualisticand often pits entrepreneurs against one an-other. This emphasis on individualism andself-attainment contrasts with the Word ofGod. The Bible focuses on the good of thegroup, teaching self-denial and service toothers. As Christians, it’s important to re-member that our definition of developmentcomes from the principles and values ofGod’s Word, not from Wall Street.

A third obstacle to integrating develop-ment with evangelism arises when it is at-tempted by Christians who are not living outthe transformation of Christ in their ownlifestyles. I am deeply concerned about whatI feel is a departure from the gospel of gracein the church today. We are duped by the re-ligious value system of American societywhich teaches that humans must work at be-ing morally good. It is only as Christianstruly understand and believe the gospel ofGod’s grace—living out that grace in everyaspect of organizational life and work—thatgrace results in the ongoing transformationboth of the Church and the society around it.

Pigs, Ponds and the GospelJames W. Gustafson

F A final obstacle to integrating develop-ment with evangelism is that the Church ispresented in many settings as a cultural for-eigner. This is especially true in Third Worldcountries where local cultures are seen bymissionaries explicitly or implicitly, as sinful.Western church forms are held up as pure.The result is that relevant forms of church lifeare not explored or established. WesternChristianity remains foreign to the hearts andminds of non-Western people.

Integrated Holistic DevelopmentAs a missionary of the Evangelical CovenantChurch—for the past 27 years in NortheastThailand, an area also known as Issaan—I ampart of a ministry that seeks to overcomethese obstacles to integrate development,church planting and evangelism. SeveralNorth American missionaries and a staff ofNortheast Thai (150 as of 1998) are engagedin what we call “integrated holistic develop-ment.” It is “development” in that it seeks totransform people from what they are intowhat they are meant to be in Christ. It is “ho-listic” in that it deals with the whole person,with all areas of life. It is “integrated” in thatall aspects of the ministry are tied togetherand do not function or exist independently.The ministry currently consists of the Thai-land Covenant Church, the Issaan Develop-ment Foundation (which addresses social,economic and physical needs), and the Insti-tute for Sustainable Development (whichconducts research and curriculum develop-ment training for the Church).

The ministry has one primary focus, that ofenabling Jesus Christ to be born into NortheastThai culture. Team members gifted in “holygab” go out into villages to talk about Jesus.

James W. Gustafson is the Executive Director of World Mission for the Evangelical Covenant

Church of America. Gustafson grew up with missionary parents in Laos and Vietnam. He spent 27

years in Thailand serving in church planting and community development. Used by permission of

the author.

Chapter 103 PIGS, PONDS AND THE GOSPEL678

As the local

church in every

culture is

enabled and

equipped to

reach into its

own context with

the power of

God’s grace,

evangelism and

development will

merge to bring

about the true

transformation

of society.

They don’t talk about religion. Instead theysay, “We’re not here to change your religion,because all religions are basically the same;they’re all about making people good.” Thenthey talk about knowing the Word, the LivingWord who is Jesus Christ, Jesus who is aboveall religions. Many who have responded posi-tively to this method of sharing the gospelwere religious people searching for truth, yetnot finding it in Buddhism. They agree thatthey can’t possibly live up to the demands ofreligion, but by accepting Jesus they can findsalvation. These new believers quickly begansharing the Good News with their familymembers and friends. In this way, the Churchcontinues to expand spontaneously.

Some of our team members focus on train-ing. They develop contextualized theologyand study materials to ground new believersin the Word of God. Those who study the ma-terials teach others. Instead of translating En-glish materials into Thai, the team has Thaitheologians working with missionaries towrite Thai materials for Thai people. To date,the ministry has given birth to over 40“mother” churches and over 250 “daughter”churches. Our team also has some peoplewho specialize in the arts. It’s their job to getthe gospel into the cultural forms and expres-sions of the Thai people.When you visit thesechurches, you see gospel stories told by meansof Thai drama and dance forms. You hear wor-ship songs with Thai tunes accompanied byThai instruments. Through all these means,we create a way for Jesus to come alive to theNortheast Thai and to be understood by them.

The Northeast is the poverty belt of Thai-land. There is a great need for developmentwork, but we believe development mustserve, not lead. Our development is alwaysbased in the local church. It is not viewedstrictly as a means of evangelism. Rather, it isseen as a way for the local church to impactthe social, economic and physical lives of thepeople. The centerpiece is the Udon PatinaFarm, a complex of three different eco-systemfarms which demonstrates sustainable agri-culture in the region.

One of the farms involves a system of fishponds, ducks and pigs. When duck and pigmanure is composted with grasses on thesurface of the ponds, the fish thrive on the

phytoplankton that multiply. Pond water anddead fish provide organic fertilizer for thegrasses and trees growing along the ponddikes. Ducks also feed on pig manure. Thepigs, fish, and ducks can be used for food orsold for profit to support the church work.These farms are the models for cooperativeprojects undertaken at the village level.

A Cooperative Project in ActionThe village of Nong Hua Koo provides agood look at a cooperative project in action.Kitlow is a typical villager. He is a tenantfarmer on someone else’s land. Since half ofhis harvest goes back to the landlord, he wasconstantly in debt to moneylenders. His chil-dren often did not have enough to eat.Wunde is typical as well. Although he owns a

small rice field, theclimate and the soilof the region arenot good for grow-ing rice. He, too,was often forced toborrow from mon-eylenders to makeends meet untilharvest. With inter-est rates of 120 per-cent or more, itwas impossible tomake a decent liv-ing. The Issaan De-velopment Foun-dation approachedthe Covenantchurch whereKitlow and Wundeare members. Theyoffered help tostart a fish-duck-pig cooperative.The foundation

would lend the initial stock of animals, pro-vide training in the business, and donate agrant to buy land. For their part, co-op mem-bers would find land for sale, build pig andduck pens, dig a fish pond, and agree towork together. Eventually, they would payback the loan with their own animals.

Kitlow’s and Wunde’s families, alongwith five others, accepted the offer. Now that

JAMES W. GUSTAFSON 679

the co-op is established, each family worksfor it one day a week. From this, they earnenough selling pigs and fish to avoid money-lenders. They don’t go hungry because theyeat about half the fish they raise. They tithetheir profits to the church and also use an-other 10 percent for village projects likestocking the pond used for fish for the ele-mentary school’s lunches. Neighbors noticenot only the generosity, but the unusual co-operation as well. They see members fillingin for someone who is sick or less able, yetstill sharing the profits equally. Village coop-eratives like this one improve the economicsituations of participating families and pro-vide resources for the church. Most impor-tantly, they provide the opportunity formembers to live out their faith—learning tolove, serve and forgive each other.

In addition to agricultural projects, thefoundation also helps local churches impacttheir communities with vocational trainingin skills like sewing or mechanics, with pri-mary health training, and with meeting thebasic needs of the rural poor. All the pro-grams focus on the participation of groupsof people rather than individuals. In thisway, new communities are being estab-lished in Northeast Thailand filled withpeople who are being transformed. Thepeople grow in a new relationship withGod, with others, and with nature. In re-sponse to God’s grace, they develop a dy-namic new lifestyle, the result of a changetheir entire value system.

There are seven basic principles at theheart of this ministry:1. Authority. Central to all of our activities

is a firm belief in the authority of theWord of God. The gospel of God’s grace,with all its implications, forms the set ofbeliefs on which all policies and practicesof the ministry are based.

2. Integration. Every aspect of the ministryis tied together by the grace of God. Wemanage our organization and our lives bygrace. We plan, implement, evaluate andcorrect problems by referring to the prin-ciple of grace as our model and guide, bydepending on the power of grace.

3. Flexibility. We try to do everything pos-sible to allow God’s grace to be commu-

nicated to the Northeast Thai. To reachthat goal, we are willing to change any-thing and everything about our organi-zations if necessary.

4. Contextualization. People communicateclearly only if they share a common cul-ture. Effective communication is what isunderstood, not necessarily what is spo-ken or meant. Thus, the worship and lifeof the local church, as well as the struc-ture and management system of the de-velopment programs, have grown out oflocal Northeast Thai culture.

5. Power encounter. As the gospel of graceis incarnated into Northeast Thai cultureand into every area of our ministry, it isbrought to bear on the local culturalvalue system in a powerful and effectiveway. The result is transformation at thelevel of values and mind-sets.

6. Process/broker approach. The instituteand foundation are in a process/brokerrelationship with the local church. Pro-cess means going “down and in.” De-velopment starts with people them-selves, especially with the poor at thebottom of society. It begins with dia-logue that involves them in a participa-tory approach. The broker function in-volves going “up and out.” Thefoundation can link local churches tooutside settings and resources. It canassess markets, research technologyand so on.

7. Local church focus. The local church asthe basic unit of Christian society is theobvious starting point for holistic devel-opment. The final goal is that the localchurch become the local development or-ganization that impacts its own largercommunity with the transforming powerof God’s grace.

This ministry has not been without prob-lems. The first was the tendency to grow toomuch. An increasing number of staff meantthat the basic philosophy behind the workbecame watered down, especially in the livesof those at the periphery. When we reducedthe size of the organizations, we were able toreconsecrate ourselves to our basic core val-ues. As we had grown larger, there was also atendency to have the financial support of the

Chapter 104 SOUTH ASIA680

South Asia: Vegetables, Fishand Messianic MosquesShah Ali with J. Dudley Woodberry

organizations become the highest priority.When we found that we were more focusedon support for operational costs than on mis-sion, we knew we must cut down to a moremanageable size.

Another problem was a failure to relatehonestly and to address wrong values inourselves and in others. Thai culture, justlike Western culture, has a natural tendencyto avoid such encounters. In order to growin power for service, we needed to learnhow to talk to each other and to countereach other in love. Other problems in ourwork could be mentioned, but they allcome back to the central point: the more wehave learned to deny ourselves, to accept

our weaknesses and to depend on God inevery detail, the more we have found Hiswisdom and strength to be sufficient for allour needs.

The role of mission agencies, Christian aidagencies, and local development organiza-tions includes the ongoing integration ofevangelism and development at the localchurch level. Both elements are critical ingre-dients of the mission of the Church, and thisis where the transformation of society begins.As the local church in every culture is en-abled and equipped to reach into its owncontext with the power of God’s grace, evan-gelism and development will merge to bringabout the true transformation of society.

My Muslim father tried to kill mewith a sword when I became a fol-lower of Jesus after comparing the

Qur’an and the Bible. He interpreted my deci-sion as a rejection not only of my faith, but ofmy family and culture, as well. HistoricallyChristians were largely converts from the Hinducommunity and had incorporated Hindu wordsand western forms into their worship.

In trying to express my faith, I encounteredtwo sets of problems. First, as indicated, Chris-tianity seemed foreign. Secondly, attempts byChristians to meet the tremendous human needin the region had frequently led to the attrac-tion of opportunistic, shallow converts and theconsequent resentment of the Muslim majority.

Christian Faith in Muslim DressI was able to start dealing with the foreign-ness of Christianity when a missionary hiredme to translate the New Testament usingMuslim rather than Hindu vocabulary andcalling it by its Muslim name, The Injil Sharif(“Noble Gospel”). Thousands of injils werebought, mostly by Muslims, who now ac-cepted this as the “Gospel” of which theQur’an spoke. This approach may be sup-ported not only pragmatically by the amaz-ing results but, more importantly, theologi-cally as well. Unlike the Hindu scriptures, theQur’an shares a lot of material with the Bible.In fact, most Muslim theological terms wereborrowed from Jews and Christians.1

Shah Ali is the pseudonym of a follower of Christ from a Muslim family in South Asia. His identity is being

concealed—currently, there is persecution of Christians in his country. He translated the New Testament into his

national language using Muslim terms.

J. Dudley Woodberry is Dean and Professor of Islamic Studies at the School of World Mission,

Fuller Theological Seminary. His publications include editing Muslims and Christians on theEmmaus Road and co-editing Missiological Education for the 21st Century.

“South Asia: Vegetables, Fish, and Messianic Mosques,” Theology, News and Notes (March

1992), p. 12-13. Used by permission, Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, CA 91182.

SHAH ALI WITH DUDLEY WOODBERRY 681

Subsequently, a graduate of Fuller’sSchool of World Mission asked me to traintwenty-five couples to live in villages and doagricultural development. Only one couplewas from a Muslim background. All the oth-ers had problems: Muslims would exchangevisits with them but would not eat their fooduntil they began to shower in the morning,hence were ceremonially clean by Muslimlaw after sleeping with their spouses.

The Christian couples were called angelsbecause they were so kind, honest, and self-sacrificing, and they prayed to God. How-ever, they were not considered truly religiousbecause they did not perform the Muslimritual prayer five times a day. Thereafter, weonly employed couples who followed Jesusfrom a Muslim background, and we devel-oped a ritual prayer that retained all theforms and content that Muslims and Chris-tians share but substituted Bible passages forQur’anic ones. Little adaptation was neces-sary, because early Islam borrowed soheavily from Jewish and Christian practice inthe formulation of the “pillars” of religiousobservance (the confession of faith, ritualprayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage).2

Our Muslim neighbors defined “Christian-ity” as “a foreign religion of infidels;” so weoften referred to ourselves as “Muslims” (lit-erally, “submitters to God”). The necessity ofsubmitting to God is certainly Christian (seeJas 4:7), and Jesus’ disciples call themselves“Muslims” according to the Qur’an (5:111).3

When villages have decided to followChrist, the people continued to use themosque for worship of God but now throughChrist. Where possible, the former leaders ofmosque prayers (imams) are trained to con-tinue their role as spiritual leaders.

Persuasion, Power and PeopleGod used other means as well as contextual-ization to bring Muslims to faith in Christ.On several occasions I have had public dis-cussions with Muslim teachers (malvis) andhave been able to show that, contrary topopular belief, the Qur’an does not nameMuhammad as an intercessor. Rather, it statesthat on the judgment day “intercession willnot avail, except [that of] him to whom theMerciful will give permission, and of whose

speech He approves” (5:109 Egyptian ed./108 Fluegel ed.). But the Injil (“Gospel”),which is from God according to the Qur’an(5:47/51), not only states that God approvesof Jesus (e.g., Matt 3:17) but that He is theonly intercessor (1 Tim 2:5).

God has also shown His power throughanswered prayer—the recovery of a three-year-old girl who, the doctors said, would diein a few hours; the sending of rain and thestopping of flooding; and the appearance ofan unknown man to stop a crowd bent onkilling an imam who followed Christ.

A conscious effort has been made to fosterthe movement of groups rather than just in-dividuals to Christ. People have only beenbaptized if the head of the family was bap-tized. Effort was made to see that leaders un-derstood the message. A Muslim mystic(Sufi) sheikh, upon learning that the veil ofthe temple had been rent from top to bottom,threw down his Muslim cap, followed Christ,and brought his followers with him.

Since illiteracy is high, the Bible and train-ing materials are recorded on cassettes, andinexpensive cassette players are made avail-able to the villagers.

There has been persecution. Our trainingcenter was closed down. A court case wasmade against me and three fellow workers.Likewise, there has been friction between theleaders and misunderstanding by otherChristian groups. But the movement ofpeople to Christ continues. Most new believ-ers remain in independent Messianicmosques, but some contextualized congrega-tions have joined the major denomination,while still other individuals are absorbed intothe traditional, Hindu-background church.

Toward Responsible Self-HelpBesides trying to express our faith in mean-ingful cultural forms, we have been trying tomeet the tremendous human need around us.We want to proclaim the Kingdom and dem-onstrate its values. Trying to do both presentscertain problems.

First, there is the problem of using hu-man need for evangelistic purposes—ofmanipulating people and attracting the in-sincere. Consequently, we help all the vil-lagers despite their religious affiliation and

Chapter 104 SOUTH ASIA682

End Notes1. See Arthur Jeffery, The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’an (Oriental Institute, 1938).2. For the details of this argument see J. D. Woodberry, “Contextualization Among Muslims: Reusing

Common Pillars,” The Word Among Us, ed. Dean S. Gilliland (Word Publishers, 1989), 282-312.3. In this context, however, they demonstrated their submission by believing in God and His apostle

(apparently Muhammad, who had not yet been born).

Study Questions1. Why do attempts to use meaningful cultural forms and attempts to meet human needs present such

problems?

2. Can missionaries call themselves “Muslims” or express their faith in Islamic cultural fashion? Whyor why not?

give no financial help to Jesus mosques ortheir imams.

Secondly, the former colonizer-colonizeddependency easily gets transferred to donor-recipient dependency.

Thirdly, even the distribution of donatedfood from abroad may only help in the city, be-cause of the difficulty of distribution, while giv-ing little incentive to the peasants to producemore because of the artificially reduced price.

Fourthly, the introduction of technologymay only help those with the skills or the fi-nances to make use of it, while the poorestcan just watch the gap between the haves andhave-nots widen.

To deal with these problems we have fol-lowed such common development practicesas loaning planting seed to be replaced atharvest time and providing pumps that arepaid for from increased productivity. Now,however, we are adapting a program devel-oped in Southeast Asia which should expressholistic Christian concern, deal with theproblems outlined, and ensure that the indig-enous church remains self-supporting.

The program is training national workersin contextualized church planting and an in-tegrated fish and vegetable cultivation sys-tem. The workers are, in turn, sent to needydistricts where they are responsible for train-ing local farmers in the easily transferabletechnology so that they can become self-suffi-cient. Increased population means less land is

available for cultivation, and a poor transpor-tation infrastructure means food must be pro-duced near its consumption.

The intensive food production system wasdeveloped elsewhere. In that system, fishponds are dug and the excavated dirt usedfor raised vegetable plots. Excess stems andleaves from the vegetables are used to feedthe fish, and the waste from the fish is usedas fertilizer for the vegetables. These foodproduction centers are within walking dis-tance of regional urban centers for daily salesand provide space for training of regionalfarmers and leaders of the Jesus mosques.

The concept of Messianic mosques andcompleted Muslims (following the model ofMessianic synagogues and completed Jews)still causes considerable misunderstandingamong other Christians. The combining ofevangelism and humanitarian ministries bythe same people also raises concerns amongthose who feel Christian agencies shouldonly focus on one or the other. Nevertheless,the models we are developing have beenused by God in the raising up of many newdisciples and expressing His concern for totalpersons with physical and spiritual needs.Likewise the Messianic Muslim movementhas spilled over into a neighboring countrythrough the normal visiting of relatives;when colleagues and I visited a SoutheastAsian country recently, a whole Muslim vil-lage began to follow Jesus.

PAUL PEARLMAN 683

Adapted from Unreached Peoples ’80, edited by Dr. C. Peter Wagner and Edward R. Dayton. Copyright 1980.

David C. Cook Publishing Co., Elgin, Illinois. Used by permission.

Reaching the BaranadaPeople of Barunda

Paul Pearlman

Nestled between Maluwa, Batu, andthe blue ocean, Barunda is a tropicalnation of fifteen million people.

There are some twenty-eight millionBaranada; they are the second-largest Muslimethnic group in Africa. About 60 percent of theethnic Baranada are Muslims; the remainderare animists. Present-day Barunda is the an-cestral homeland of the Baranada people, whoare distinct from the surrounding animistictribes. Barunda, which is unusual for its ethnichomogeneity, is 90 percent Muslim with a 10percent animist population, mostly of ethnicBaranada background. Eighty-five percent ofthe ethnic Baranada outside of Barunda areanimists, the remainder being Muslims.

The vast majority of the Baranada, bothMuslim and animist alike, are subsistencegrain farmers. The low-lying terrain ofBarunda is ideally suited to such agriculture,but it has been subject to severe weather, in-cluding both flooding and drought. Popula-tion is quite dense in areas where arable landis at a premium.

The countryside is socially divided alongpatrilineal kinship lines. Kinship, which in-cludes the widest possible range of people “re-lated” by blood or marriage, is reckoned inseveral complex ways and is ingeniously ex-pandable to include close social relationships.The basic community structure is the village,within which there is considerable interrela-tionship. Households are divided into “eatinggroups,” which are communally run. Thishousehold unit symbolizes its mutual interde-pendence through the preparation and shar-ing of common food and living quarters. Theconcept of “community” is a cultural normtraceable well into the animistic past of theBaranada. A person’s family membership andplace of residence are thus the focal points forall of his activities in the world.

Islam came to the Baranada during thefourteenth century and experienced a rapidgrowth under the influence of Sufi sheikhs,whose egalitarianism was very appealingduring the period of slave trading. TheBaranada are Sunni Muslims, for whom thefive pillars of Islam are deeply embedded indaily life. The custom of female seclusion isquite strong. Sufi orders also continue toflourish in the rural areas. There are, how-ever, a number of animistic practices theBaranada maintain, one of which is saintworship, as witnessed by the widespreadparticipation in natu, “commemorativegatherings,” at the tombs of their saints.

The Status of Christianity inBarundaChristians number some thirty thousand—equally divided between Protestants andCatholics—and comprise less than one per-cent of the population. The Church is derivedentirely from Baranada people who have hadan animistic background. Despite their com-mon racial background, animists have nodealings with Muslims. The various denomi-nations are almost entirely dependent finan-cially on western Christian assistance. Thisapplies to church budgetary needs as well asto job opportunities in mission institutionsand western developmental organizations.As pressures continue to increase for the es-tablishment of shariat, or Islamic sacred law,in Barunda, the Church has been concernedwith the growing instances of persecutionand social second-class status.

The Church, a small, introspective, and of-ten insecure body of believers, has beengrowing slowly. Twenty-five Protestant mis-sion societies have some 250 missionariesworking throughout Barunda, and Catholics169. There are twelve denominations in the

Chapter 105 THE BARANDA PEOPLE OF BARUNDA684

The missionary’s role is basically to give

spiritual encouragement and biblical teaching.

The believers have shown initiative and vision.

country. Most missionaries work within theestablished Church or are attached to mis-sion-operated institutions. There is a definitetrend to place more missionaries in full-timeevangelistic outreach.

New Efforts to Reach the Baranadain the Mawasa AreaDespite the Baranada’s seeming resistanceto the Gospel, some recent breakthroughshave occurred among them under the lead-ership of the Overseas Christian MissionaryFellowship (OCMF). In 1959, the OCMF en-tered the town of Mawasa, which has apopulation of eight thousand in a district oftwo hundred thousand. Between one andthree missionary couples have resided inthe town up to the present. Until 1975, theirefforts proved fruitless; no church was es-tablished and almost no one was led toChrist. Mawasa appeared to be barren andresistant. The OCMF field council deter-mined that it would be expedient to with-draw from that area unless a breakthroughoccurred in the ensuing twelve months.Then, the miraculous began to unfold.Through the influence of two Muslim con-verts, Tabbar and Sadig, the OCMF began toadopt Baranada Muslim forms in their workof communicating the Gospel. Presentlythere are two worshipping groups of believ-ers in the Mawasa area. Each fellowship ismade up of fifteen Muslimconverts, almost all ofwhom are male heads offamilies. Numerous factorshave played a part in thenew responsiveness. For ex-ample, the response ofChristian agencies during natural catastro-phe has built up an attitude of goodwill.However, the vast majority of converts citethe Baranada-like quality of the message asbeing the main reason for their conversion.The Baranada have a highly developed cul-ture and sense of historical tradition. Thus,adapting the forms of the message of theGospel to fit their patterns and to speak tothe needs of their society has been the keyfactor in establishing the fellowships. Thefollowing descriptions of these groups illus-trate this point.

Description of ConvertsThe majority of converts are farmers who, onthe average, are barely literate; economicallythey are self-supporting; and they are closeenough sociologically to be able to intermarry.Those showing the most rapid spiritualgrowth were formerly devout Muslims. Al-most all converts are reading the Bible (or hav-ing it read to them), praying and meeting to-gether informally in their village homes forworship—without the presence of a foreignmissionary. Witnessing to their neighbors andextended families began on the day of theirconversion and has been the major cause of re-production. Until now, it has not been the mis-sionary who has won these men to the Lord,with a very few exceptions. His role is basi-cally to give spiritual encouragement and bib-lical teaching. The believers have shown initia-tive and vision. After a study of 1 Corinthians12, one group on their own appointed an evan-gelist, an administrator, a prayer coordinatorand a pastor. A few of the wives and childrenhave accepted Christ, but this area of evange-lism still remains an obstacle. There has beenan appreciation of the supernatural on a practi-cal level, with visions and dreams of spiritualsignificance occurring fairly frequently. Thereis a simple faith that prayer is an instrument ofchange. Crying out to God and fasting are uti-lized to effect release from difficulty as well asto bring healing to the afflicted.

Form AdaptationsThe apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 setdown some practical theological guidelinesfor his involvement in the cross-cultural com-munication of the Gospel. In Barunda, we areseeking to minister within the same libertiesand restrictions that Paul experienced. The of-fense of the nature of God and the atonementof the Cross will and must remain. However,there are innumerable peripheral areas thatcan be subject to alteration without violationof scriptural command or principle. A list ofimplemented form adaptations follows:

PAUL PEARLMAN 685

The missionary1. Our men wear the clothing of the target

group, which is the village farmer. Ourwomen wear the local dress and at timeshave worn the veil covering, which hasbeen very much appreciated by the Mus-lim and convert community.

2. Several of our men have full beards,which is part of the appearance of a Mus-lim religious man.

3. Lifestyles are simple.4. Eating style corresponds to Muslims. No

pork is eaten.5. Time is regarded as more “event ori-

ented” than the traditional time abso-lutes of the West. Some have adopted the8 PM Barunda suppertime and thus haveentered into the social visitation patternof the society, which takes place eachevening between 6 and 8 PM.

The national1. A place for washing before prayer is pro-

vided for optional use. It is explainedthat there is no merit attached to suchceremonial washing.

2. Shoes are removed before entering theworship center.

3. All worshipers sit on the floor.4. Bibles are placed on folding stands such

as are used for the Koran.5. Occasionally, Greek and Hebrew Bibles

are placed in a prominent position in frontof the worshipers, thus demonstrating ourregard for the “original” Bible, such asMuslims feel toward the Arabic Koran.

6. Hands are lifted up Muslim style duringprayer times. Prostration is frequentlydone in Muslim fashion. Some pray withtheir eyes open, wearing traditionalprayer hats.

7. Muslim tunes with Christian words areutilized. Scripture is chanted, as are per-sonal testimonies.

8. The local Muslim dialect, rather than theanimist dialect of the Christian church, isspoken and read in the services.

9. Embracing is done in Muslim fashion.10. Days and times of worship are pragmati-

cally regulated.11. Fasting is an area of liberty, but is scrip-

turally explained.

12. A Muslim-convert, homogeneous churchhas developed rather than one of a het-erogeneous character.

13. Informal church organization is promoted,basically along the lines of the mosque.

14. The Muslim names of converts are re-tained.

15. The word Christian is avoided because ofnegative connotations. Presently Chris-tians are called “followers of Isa” (Jesus).

16. Bible study, prayer and fasting are em-phasized. A higher profile of religiousobservance is encouraged because Mus-lims feel Christians are spiritually lazywhen they are never seen praying.

17. The converts have chosen their ownleadership.

18. The church grows along family andfriendship lines.

Financial ConsiderationsGifts and employment opportunities from theWest have created a horizontal dependencesyndrome within the Barunda Christian com-munity. There is little motivation to give sacri-ficially or to pray about church needs whenone is assured budgets will be met with for-eign assistance. Christians are given preferen-tial treatment at mission hospitals and schools.A select few are granted theological scholar-ships abroad. Comparison of lifestyles be-tween nationals and missionaries convincesBarunda Christians that personal sacrifice isnot particularly relevant to the “dedicatedlife.” In my view, all of this points to a basicfailure on the part of missionaries to live,teach, and administer sound indigenous finan-cial policy in relationship to the nationalchurch. The crashing wave of a forced mis-sionary evacuation, which was only barelyaverted last December, would most likely re-duce our practicing Christian community by aminimum of 50 percent. In Mawasa there is afresh slate. No traditional Christians reside inthe area. The emerging Muslim convertchurch is the only worshipping group present.Our approach has been as follows:

Missionary adjustmentsOCMF possesses no compounds or pur-

chased property. This assures mobility aswell as a lower financial profile. Missionaries

Chapter 106 THE MATIGSALOGS687

God Wanted the Matigsalogs ReachedJun Balayo

live on as low a lifestyle as emotional andphysical health permit. One family presentlylives in a small bamboo hut with a mud floor.Others are in simple cement houses rentedfrom Muslim landlords.

Financial relationships with nationalsOCMF aims to preserve the financial au-

tonomy of the convert in relationship to him-self, his family and his peers. Existing eco-nomic structures should, at all costs, bepreserved. The convert is told from the startthat Christianity will only be credible amonghis Muslim friends if he stands without for-eign financial assistance. No option for flightfrom his village is offered. Jobs, scholarshipsand relief are not part and parcel of the Gos-pel. New believers must learn to stand ontheir own resources from the commencementof their pilgrimage of faith. OCMF has not

been involved in institution or relief work.We have no national evangelists, althoughwe have used Sadiq Jabbar occasionally asvolunteer help. The emphasis is on lay wit-ness and ministry.

The Existing Evangelistic TeamAt present six foreign missionaries and theforty national believers from among the con-verted Muslims comprise the major function-ing evangelistic team. Other Muslim convertshave and will continue to be involved on anitinerant basis. At present, the Baranadachurch with its animistic background hasbeen very wary of this Islamic-flavoredmovement. Those Christians are a potentialteam to assist with evangelism, as are themissionaries of other societies. However, forthe time being they have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and are uninvolved in this work.

T

Jun Balayo serves with O.C. Ministries in the Philippines. Reprinted by permission of Global Church GrowthBulletin. Copyright January-February 1980, Volume XVII, No. 1.

wo hours of Toyota land-cruisingover newly constructed roads cutthrough seemingly endless moun-

tains brought us to an altitude of over onethousand feet. The unfamiliar breeze wasnow cool, soothingly fresh and chilling. Fromthis mountain top one could view the majes-tic rain forest spread thick and deep as far asone’s eyes could see. This vast frontier is theheartland of Mindanao in the Philippines, theancestral territory of the Matigsalogs, a high-land tribe whose favorite habitats are thebanks of swift rivers.

The Matigsalogs are a group of peoplecharacterized by their shyness and indepen-dent-mindedness. Generally, they are peace-loving but may suddenly turn fierce and vio-lent when their cultural rights are violated.

Considered to be the largest culturalgroup numbering over 80,000 families, theMatigsalogs attracted national attention dur-ing a month-long rebellion in July, 1975. The

conflict was resolved only after theMatigsalogs, led by Datu Lorenzo Gawilan,obtained from the government a specific areawhich is now called the “Matigsalog Ances-tral Territory.”

The way the General Baptists (G.B.) re-ceived a mission to reach the Matigsalogswas a bit sensational. Totally devoid of anyprior human plans, it could only be ex-plained as part of God’s wonderful ways.

The G.B. work started in 1969 when AngelDigdigan, a rather small, unassuming youngfamily man, could not continue with his lastyear in the Bible school. Utterly frustratedand discouraged, he wandered adrift like arudderless banca (boat). In spite of his namewhich suggests celestial assets, Angel was nobetter than a bird with broken wings!

From Empty Bottles to a Clear VesselNot knowing what to do or where to go, An-gel could only roam the barrios in search of

JUN BALAYO 687

empty bottles to buy and then sell. This he didto make a few centavos to keep himself andhis family physically and spiritually intact.

Angel could not explain how the Lord ledhim to the land of the Matigsalogs inMindanao’s hinterland. It was like the experi-ence of the beloved apostle John who wasisolated on the Isle of Patmos by the HolySpirit. All that Angel can recall was that hereceived God’s definite call the moment hewas with the people. There the vision becameclear and the burden grew heavy.

Beckie, his understanding wife, had enter-tained thoughts that Angel might have diedsince she had not heard from him for threemonths. When at last he suddenly returnedhome, it was only to fetch his family so thattogether they would obey a clear vision, atruly exciting mission to reach precious soulsin the heartland of the “land of promise.”

Blazing the TrailIt does not always require academic trap-pings before a man can apply his basic prin-ciples in pioneering a church planting work.At times it only takes the yieldedness and thewillingness of a man to be usable in God’shand. Angel approached the delicate workwithin the very world of the Matigsalogs. Helived as one with them in their village. Hisown native hut was made out of split bam-boo and cogon grass. He easily learned theirdialect. He ate and played with them. His ac-ceptance with the people stems from the factthat Angel’s first friend was Datu MadutTawas, their influential village chieftain.

Aware of the basic problems of theMatigsalogs, Angel helped to explain govern-ment laws of which the people were igno-rant. In the very early part of the eveningsAngel and Beckie would teach from 80 to 100adults and children how to read and write.Since farming was still very primitive, Angelshared with them some simple techniques.He maintained a small vegetable garden forpurposes of actual demonstration and as asource of income to support their variousprojects. This includes a small elementaryschool which was started in 1971.

As the work expanded gradually throughthe years, more workers were needed. Duringa church growth workshop conducted by an

O.C. Ministries team for the General Baptistsin 1976, Angel presented a dramatic appeal byexhibiting four Datus garbed in their exquis-itely hand-woven, colorful, Matigsalog cos-tume. The timeliness of a principle in churchgrowth “to direct manpower and logistics toresponsive areas” strengthened Angel’s callfor immediate reinforcement.

The response of the G.B. mission was be-yond what Angel expected. Soon an intensi-fied program was decided upon and the Gen-eral Baptist Tribal Ministry became a majorministry.

Rev. Dean Trivitt, who now resides withhis family in Senuda Mission Station amongthe Matigsalogs, has been designated asmissionary in charge. Rev. Robert Carr, anew missionary, directs the Bible Schoolwhere some Matigsalogs are being trainedfor the ministry. Mrs. Mary Howard, a mis-sionary nurse, is in charge of a greatlyneeded paramedic program. AngelDigdigan has been given supervisory re-sponsibility over G.B. pioneering andchurch planting programs with about 14 na-tional workers.

As of April 1979, encouraging results hadalready been noted in the G.B. work amongthe Matigsalogs. Churches increased fromfour in 1976 to 13. Twenty-two other outsta-tions are being maintained which will even-tually be organized into local congregations.

At the height of the rebellion in 1975, An-gel was probably the only lowlander whoremained with the Matigsalogs when othersfled. He may have been the only lowlanderwho could enter the Matigsalog territoryand come out alive when it became a no-man’s-land. Angel must have been the onlylowlander who dared risk being caught inthe crossfire as he passionately intercededand pleaded with the authorities in the citiesand the rebels in the mountains to put anend to the senseless shedding of Filipinoblood by Filipinos themselves.

It is then no wonder that today the G.B.senjoy preferential treatment from a gratefulpeople. Such a privilege could only be thefruit of a precious seed of a dedicated lifethat is totally committed to God’s divine calland unreservedly devoted to the people thatHe seeks to win.

Chapter 107 SARABIA: AN INDIGENOUS ARAB CHURCH689

Sarabia: An Indigenous Arab ChurchGreg Livingstone

Achurch lives in Sarabia. It is a truly in-digenous church. The believers arebaptized, nationals are recognized

leaders, whole families are Christian, believ-ers meet regularly over the Word of God. Thechurch assumes responsibility for its own fi-nancial affairs, spiritual growth and witness.Long years of faithful labor on the part ofboth missionaries and nationals resulted inthis fellowship. It is one of a precious fewgatherings of mature Christians in Sarabia.More are sure to come.

Sarabia’s inhabitants include both Arabsand indigenous people of Berber descent. TheBerber existed before the Arabs settled, andnow consist of both Arabized Berbers andmountain rural Berbers of different kinds. TheMuslim government of Sarabia assumes thatevery Sarabian is a Muslim. Although the gov-ernment might be described as socialist, it isactually an eclectic mixture of Islam, socialismand the charismatic personalities of the rulers.

Because of the French colonial influence,the educated people speak mostly French,have had their education in French, and inmany cases do not even read Arabic well. Al-though the government has attempted toArabize the country, it is evident that Frenchwill dominate the culture until those born af-ter 1970 are in leadership. The people of thecapital city tend to be affected by French cul-ture with its pessimistic existentialism. Conse-quently, university students with no aware-ness of the Sermon on the Mount may be quitefamiliar with Camus and Sarte. The people ofSarabia, particularly those in the capital, arenot fanatical Muslims. Only a small percent-age perform the daily prayers. Most arecaught up eking out an existence, often due toa critical shortage of housing. Many show

little motivation to get ahead because mostbusiness and commerce is nationalized.

A Missionary PresenceAlthough Christian missionaries haveworked in Sarabia for a hundred years, theyhave never been present in great numbers. Itis probably safe to say that the capital cityhas never had as many as 25 missionaries atone time. As in most Muslim lands, Christianwork in Sarabia ebbs and flows. At one timethere were Arab pastors, salaried by theAmerican Methodist Church, but this is nolonger the case. Nevertheless, in the past twodecades, individual Muslims have respondedto Christ. Although there are no full-timeChristian workers, there are up to ten expa-triate workers in the city. Many of these havebeen working a full 20 years. It may be thatthe continuity of this expatriate presence en-abled a church to take root.

Each of these missionaries came to Sarabiawith a good working knowledge of Arabicand French. At least half were from secularuniversity backgrounds. One Americancouple seem to have been the major facilita-tors in starting the church that is now grow-ing. The husband continues as the only for-eigner of the seven elders in the church.Together with a former Inter-Varsity worker,this couple befriended students in a univer-sity reading room and began an investigativeBible study. About ten years ago, the investi-gative Bible study led to a believers’ Biblestudy. This led in turn to a worshiping groupand finally to an organized church with el-ders and membership. The church still meetsin that same room today. Because it iscrowded on Sunday mornings, they have amultiple-meeting system. Sunday School

Greg Livingstone is co-Founder and General Director of Frontiers, near London, England. Greg

helped launch Operation Mobilization and previously served as North American President of

North African Mission. He is also the author of Planting Churches in Muslim Cities.

GREG LIVINGSTONE 689

meets at a different time from worship ser-vices or in private homes while the adultsmeet in the reading room.

There may be as many as 100 known believ-ers in the capital city of Sarabia. Perhaps half ofthem are members of the church, committed toits purposes. Most believers are between 18and 40 years old, with the notable exception ofa few who, being older, have provided cred-ibility and stability to the group. A high per-centage of the converts come out of the univer-sity or technical colleges. This has resulted in acongregation that is well educated. The churchhas been hesitant to appoint young universitystudents to the position of elders before theyfind wives and marry. But since it is a long pro-cess in prayer, searching and family negotia-tion to find a Christian mate, only four of thecurrent elders are married.

Mid-week prayer meetings are relevantand dynamic times of dealing with real needsamong believers. They also provide occasionsfor salvation of other Muslims who have beeninvited to attend by the Muslim converts (note1 Cor 14:14-25). Although the Sarabian eldersorganize all meetings, the style is similar to thePlymouth Brethren format in that they are par-ticipatory services. Expatriates provide deeperBible study and training for six to eightSarabians at any one time. These TheologicalEducation by Extension (TEE) classes meet inthe homes of the expatriates.

The Testimony of Arab BelieversIt has been difficult for Sarabian Christians tounderstand that commitment to Christ, theHead, also means commitment to Christ’sBody. Sarabians do not normally committhemselves to people outside their own fami-lies. Many still fear repercussions or find littlemotivation to identify themselves with the es-tablished church. Still, for several years therehas been a good body life, supportive relation-ships, and, for the Muslim world, a reasonablyhigh level of trust — all making the Sarabiancongregation an attractive one. As Arabs areable to meet converted Arabs, the credibility ofChrist is greatly enhanced. The testimony ofan Arab believer is by far the primary meansof communicating the gospel.

Most Sarabians have grown up believingthat Christianity and the Western lifestyle are

synonymous and, therefore, that Christianityis an inferior and “dirty” religion. Because Is-lam and politics are completely integrated, theMuslim assumes that Western politics andChristianity are integrated as well. Rejection ofthe one brings rejection of the other. For mostSarabians, it is a totally new consideration thatone can be a follower of Christ and a goodSarabian. Christian baptism brings about suchalienation in this Muslim culture that it isthought best by many converts not to broad-cast such realities and let them be discoveredslowly. A number of the believers have nottold even their families that they are followersof Christ. Even their marriages, although boththe bride and groom are believers, are thoughtto be Muslim.

There has not been any organized opposi-tion to break up the congregation in the capi-tal city or to keep it from meeting. The policefrequently “raid” meetings of believers, butthey seem interested only in whether the un-authorized group has political intentions. Thefact of the raids, however, does keep thosewho fear repercussions from regular atten-dance. The stronger believers in the congre-gation have taken a bold stand with the po-lice and the result has been greater courageon the part of the weaker members.

A Call for Expatriate MissionariesExpatriates enter Sarabia initially as tourists,then move into Arabic study for which theycan get a resident visa. This visa can be goodfor two or three years, allowing enough timeto make contacts and secure a job. Job status isrequired for a long-term visa. These jobs areoften limited to six months to a year, however,and leave the expatriate worker looking for anew raison d’etre. Witnessing opportunitiesabound. Many Sarabians who have heard ra-dio programs from France and enrolled inBible correspondence courses, want to checkout Christianity through personal visits. Anumber, if not most, of the believers in thechurch initially were contacted through radioand Bible correspondence courses. Web evan-gelism, in which believers themselves witnessto friends and relatives, may be more commonnow than it was before.

Missionaries in Sarabia pray and plan care-fully with the national believers. They have

Chapter 108 AN UPPER CLASS PEOPLE MOVEMENT690

An Upper Class People MovementClyde W. Taylor

made plans to start a new house church in atleast four other cities, beginning with the oneto seven believers that already exist in thosecities. One of the leaders of the capital citychurch has been identified as an evangelist-church planter and helped financially to visitthese believers and hold house meetings inthese target cities. Nevertheless, both expatri-ates and Sarabians verbalize a tremendousneed for outside missionaries who can pioneerefforts in the country’s 15 cities with popula-tions of over 100,000. Except for the capital city,not one of them has an established church.

The church in the capital city emerged inthe midst of hardship mostly due to the skilland dedication of pivotal people. Three orfour Sarabians and three or four missionarieskept the goal of an indigenous church alwaysbefore them. The missionaries established thefollowing criteria for an indigenous church:a) baptized Christians, b) recognized nationalelders, c) Christian families, d) regular meet-ings for ministry of the Word in a place notprovided by foreigners, e) group responsibil-ity for finances, spiritual activity, discipline,administration of ordinances and witness.They taught that it is God’s purpose for thosewho accept Christ’s Lordship to also make acommitment to the existence of a church. Per-

haps because of their higher education, theSarabian believers were not as intimidated bysocial disapproval and government opposi-tion as some believers in other Muslim coun-tries. Perhaps the missionary presence over20 years provided a stability and continuitythat was crucial to the emerging church.

The church in the capital city provides amodel for what could happen in other citiesof Sarabia. It has also shown other missionar-ies what they can do. There are good pros-pects for church planting when missionariesand willing nationals team up on compatibleintellectual and spiritual levels. This will bepossible as soon as missionaries who canspeak both French and Arabic become avail-able. These missionaries must understandhow to set goals and how to motivate andcoach national Christians without makingthem overly dependent. Progress is slow inplanting a new church until there is a “criti-cal mass” of believers, enough to makeChristianity a viable alternative in the mindsof seekers. The church in the capital began asan investigative Bible study. Now Christiansfrom other cities can gain a vision of howthey, too, might plant an indigenouschurch— perhaps beginning, as well, with aninvestigative Bible study.

I

Clyde W. Taylor, a missionary to Latin America, directed the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA) and

the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), and served with the World Relief Corporation, the relief and

development arm of the NAE. He died in 1988. Reprinted by permission of Global Church Growth Bulletin.

Copyright March-April 1980, Volume XVII, No. 2.

n recent months I have become ac-quainted with a fascinating movement inLatin America where the Gospel is

spreading by a pattern as close to the NewTestament pattern as I have ever seen. I’ll notname a country, for the leaders do not wantany publicity. But what is happening is to theglory of God and represents a quite signifi-cant breakthrough.

I learned of it when I was invited to hold amissionary conference in that country a couple

of years ago. I was not prepared for what I en-countered. I understood the missionary in-volved had a small work, but I discovered theGospel was spreading in a way that Dr.McGavran would call a “people movement.”

The unusual aspect of this movement isthat its faith is spreading almost exclusivelyamong the upper-middle and the upperclasses of the nation. Furthermore, the num-ber of converts involved is relatively highfor the size of the segment of society in-

CLYDE W. TAYLOR 691

volved. Since the movement is intentionallynot highly structured, it is difficult to get ac-curate statistics; but my extensive conversa-tion with leaders lead me to conclude that aminimum of 2,000 converts were actively in-volved. The number could easily be as highas 5,000 or more.

BeginningsThe work of the missionary, whom I’ll call“John Swanson,” began in the 1950’s in some-what typical fashion as he witnessed andevangelized among the responsive lowerclasses. After several years of ministry in thecapital city, he had some 20 to 25 convertswhom he was training in his home. He cameto realize that he was really not a pastor andpreacher—his skills were in music and teach-ing and so asked another mission to shep-herd his little flock.

In 1962, Swanson moved to the secondlargest city in the nation where, after study-ing the methods of Paul in the books of Acts,he changed his approach. He went to theuniversity and started witnessing to stu-dents. Within a few months he won 12 ofthese to Christ whom he then began to trainin discipleship. For seven years he led themin their spiritual growth and trained themalso in theology, church history, books of theBible and so on.

While Swanson was writing, translatingand mimeographing materials for the dailysessions with his disciples, they were out wit-nessing to other students. By 1964 they hadwon and discipled about 300 others. Thesewere all baptized in and some became mem-bers of various churches in the city. (Atpresent about a dozen of these early convertsare full-time workers in some of thesechurches.) The movement at this point wasfocused in small groups meeting in privatehomes and university lounges.

Churches Grow and MultiplyThese early converts, it should be remembered,were all students and therefore single. In time,when some of them graduated and got mar-ried, they began thinking in terms of their ownchurch. In 1969, therefore, the first church withfive couples was organized in a home and asecond church was organized three years later.

In 1977 the first house church, which hadgrown to 120 members, divided into twoseparate churches of 60 members each. Thesecond church grew to 160 members and in1978 divided into two congregations of 80each. In February of that year another churchwas formed bringing the total to five housechurches with a combined membership ofabout 500.

This gives a partial picture only of thework, for, in addition to the many who joinedexisting churches, the leaders of this newmovement to Christ estimate that at least 50percent of their members have scattered toother sections of the country and even to theU.S. In many cases they begin the process ofwitnessing, training new converts and estab-lishing house churches all over again.

Furthermore, cells of believers have beenestablished in many of the universities of theregion. I was told, for instance, of a type ofchurch meeting for 35 medical students, an-other for 15 in the biology department andanother for 12 in the technical institute of oneuniversity.

In 1964 one of the original 12 leadersgraduated and returned to the capital city.He began a work along the same lines inwhich he had come to know the Lord andhad been trained. Swanson followed him afew years later.

When I visited there in 1979, I was toldthat there may be as many as 100 Christiancell meetings among the upper classes in thecity. These seem to be spreading on theirown. The churches (cells) directly identifiedwith Swanson and his workers, however,have grown to 15 with a total membershipapproaching 1,000. They told me about anumber of similar house churches in othercities as well.

An Inside ViewOne of the unique features of these housechurches is that they are made up of mem-bers from the upper-middle and the upperclasses of people. The churches in the capitalcity, in particular, are made up primarily ofthose from the highest circles of society. Thisis not to say that they are unconcerned aboutthe poor and less educated. They have evan-gelized among them and gained many con-

Chapter 108 AN UPPER CLASS PEOPLE MOVEMENT692

It is not a matter

of not wanting

to associate

with those on

lower rungs of

society, but a

matter of how

best to win the

most people to

Jesus Christ

on all levels.

verts. They discovered, however, that as soonas people from the lower and middle classesbegan attending their churches, ingatheringfrom among the upper class ceased.

Taking Paul’s statement that he became allthings to all men, they concluded that if theywere going to win upper class people theywere going to have to win them with Chris-tians who were likewise from the upperclasses. As soon as they gain enough convertsfrom the lower classes, therefore, they orga-nize separate churches for them. For these

leaders, it is not amatter of not want-ing to associate withthose on lowerrungs of society, buta matter of how bestto win the mostpeople to JesusChrist on all levels.

The growth ofthis cluster of con-gregations looks alot like that of NewTestament congrega-tions. The convertsmeet in homeswhere they worship,fellowship, studythe Word and are

sent out to bring others to Christ. Each con-vert is not so much “followed up” but re-ceives the Gospel in a very personal contextto begin with. For example, the group hasprinted and distributed millions of tracts, butnone of them have a name and addressprinted on them. Instead, the one passing outthe tract gives his own name and address.When someone comes to know the Lord, heis immediately given training in discipleship.

I talked with one girl, for example, whomeets with four new converts at 6 AM. Theypray, have fellowship and study the Word un-til breakfast at seven. She meets for lunch withthree other girls who are older Christians.They pray and discuss problems together.

Each church is completely independent,though they all carry the same name. Theydo not keep any membership lists, but theydo seem to know everyone who belongs.They baptize, serve communion and trainand ordain their own pastors whom they call“elders.” They are not highly structured, buttheir high level of caring and training bindsthem together.

It is an interesting paradox that these con-verts are wealthy but they can expand indefi-nitely with almost no funds since they meetin their large homes and ordain their own layand unpaid elders (pastors). They do give 20percent of their incomes on the average, how-ever. With these funds they send out mission-aries to other parts of Latin America andeven Europe. Money is never mentioned un-til someone is ready to go to the field andneeds support. Then it is not uncommon forsomeone to say, “I’ll give $200 a month,” andanother to say, “I’ll give $150," and so on.Support is thereby raised very quickly.

I heard of one missionary lady who is sup-ported by four of her friends, all executive sec-retaries. They give her full personal supportwhich is equal to what she would earn as anexecutive secretary in her home country. Theyalso pay her transportation to and from thefield and her ministry needs as well. One ofthe girls gives 80 percent of her salary, another60 percent, another 50 percent and another 30percent. Altogether the fellowship of housechurches fully supports 16 missionaries.

The exciting thing about this Christwardmovement is not just that millionaires, gov-ernment officials and leading businessmenare becoming believers. The Lord loves thepoorest beggar and his conversion is no lessprecious in His sight. It’s significant that dis-ciple-making and church planting is nowspreading quickly through a segment of soci-ety that has been heretofore unreached. If itcan happen in one nation of Latin America, itcan happen in others. The Lord of the har-vest—of all kinds of crops—will be pleasedwhen it does.

FATIMA MAHOUMET 693

Ann Croft and the FulaniFatima Mahoumet

Adapted from The Zwemer Institute Newsletter, Spring 1981. Used by permission of the Zwemer Institute, Fort

Wayne, IN.

Although Ann Croft’s father hadplanted many churches in the U. S.

Midwest during her childhood, shewasn’t thinking of herself as a missionarywhen she went to Nigeria. She was simply ateacher of English as a Second Language. Shewas able to get to know some of her Nigerianstudents better, joining them for some mealsand eventually reading and discussing sto-ries from the Bible. One student expressed anextraordinary interest in the Bible.

Open DoorsAs their friendship grew, her student openeddoors for her into the labyrinth of extendedfamily life among the Fulani people in herarea. He had many sisters who had marriedinto a number of families in the area. Whenher student visited them, Ann accompaniedhim and met each family member.

As a teacher, Ann was also respected bythe male leaders of the community. At theirrequest, she spent many hours answeringtheir questions about the Bible, helping themto understand more fully the biblical eventsand characters, including Jesus, whom theyhad encountered in the Qur’an. In prepara-tion she had done a comparative study of theQur’an and Bible, noting their uniqueness,differences and similarities. She used theirfolk tales as bridges for discussing Scripture.

Soon, Ann had access to every part of theMuslim community. As a woman, she wasable to meet the women related to all of hermale contacts, even those in the strictestpurdah (seclusion) who would otherwise bewell beyond the sphere of married, let alonesingle, Christian men. One of the women wasespecially drawn to Ann. She took her to allthe special ceremonies, such as naming cer-emonies, weddings and funerals. She helpedher with the language and provided manyneeded bridges of communication and expla-nations as Ann continued to learn about the

Muslim way of life. Ann also learned the tra-ditional stories of her new people and grewto deeply love and appreciate the rich fabricof their lives.

She discovered that being a single womanhad its advantages too. In response to ques-tions as to why she was not married, Ann re-ferred to 1 Corinthians 7 and a comparablepassage in the Qur’an about single womenbeing able to be totally involved in the workof the Lord. She added that the Bible, unlikethe Qur’an, allowed her to do so well pasther 20th birthday. Besides, she remarked,how could she otherwise teach their childrenand always be available to them any timethey were having trouble, day or night? Shewasn’t subject to the demands of marriage orthe constraints of purdah. She was alwaysfree to help.

Caring for CattleAnn began to focus her efforts among theFulani people of Northern Nigeria.

The Fulani are a largely nomadic people,whose search for good pasture for their cattlehas scattered them throughout sub-SaharanWest Africa. Strong clan fidelity and six cen-turies of Muslim evangelism have madethem the most effective champions of Islamin West Africa. Of 6.7 million Fulani, only 400are known Christians.

As Ann studied more about the people towhom God had sent her, she discoveredways of showing the Fulani cattle-herdersthat they are very special to God. She foundnumerous references in the Bible to nomadiccattle-herding peoples who played specialroles in biblical history.

Knowing the great importance of cattle tothem, Ann began to help upgrade the healthof the cattle with veterinary medicine and sohelped the Fulani begin to cope with some ofthe economic problems they faced with thegrowing pressure of urbanization.

Chapter 110 MONGOLS FOLLOW THE KHAN OF KHANS695

Brian Hogan was part of a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Church Planting team working in

Mongolia. Brian is currently a church planting trainer with YWAM–Church Planting Coaches in

Arcata, California. Adapted from Multiplying Churches Among Unreached People Groups:Guiding Principles, Kevin Sutter, YWAM Arcata, CA.

Distant Thunder: Mongols Followthe Khan of KhansBrian Hogan

Caring for cattle was the way to the Fulaniheart. On one occasion she helped a Fulani el-der get tuberculosis medicine for his son andworm medicine for himself. But it was not un-til she gave him medicine for his cows that hesaid, “Now I know you really love us!”

Ann was able to join forces with anothermission agency in a distant city that was plan-ning an evangelistic three-day “conference”especially for Fulani. Fulani people were toldthat it would be a religious conference study-ing one of the prophets—Abraham, a super-herdsman who had cows and sheep and don-keys and goats and camels. This was a bigevent for the Fulani, not accustomed to specialevents just for their people.

At the end of the evangelistic conference,the chief of the area said to Ann that he

wanted his people to become part of theChristian community. He had seen thatChristians and their Holy Book cared aboutthe needs of his people. Some of the greatestprophets, after all, like Abraham, were cattle-herders too! He also told her that to get a lotof people interested in the Christian faith,one of the best things she could do would beto continue to show a real, genuine interest inevery aspect of their culture.

Gathering new believers into viable fellow-ships is proving to be a tremendous challenge.It is hard enough for some Fulani youth tosettle down for Bible school. A permanent lo-cation for a tribe might unravel nomadic life.Perhaps now is the time for the Fulani people,as they move towards a future that is eco-nomically, politically and socially uncertain.

In the 13th Century the Mongol tribes,united under Genghis Khan, thunderedacross the steppes of Central Asia and ter-

rorized the known world. In a short time, thesefierce horsemen had carved out an empire thatdwarfed those of Cyrus and Caesar combined.

The Mongol empire was not to endure forlong. The Mongols embraced Tibetan Bud-dhism and became a backward hinterlandruled by a succession of Chinese dynasties. In1921, a Communist revolution turnedMongolia into the first “independent” Sovietsatellite. All missionaries were expelled be-fore any church had been planted, and thedarkness of Communism settled over this“closed” country. Mongolia was one of thevery few countries on earth with no church,and no known national believers.

Doors Begin to OpenFinally, in 1990, Communism released itsweakening hold. The doors—closed for solong—began to open. Creative strategiessparked the beginnings. A team of ChristianNative Americans entered Mongolia astourists in 1990. Their visit generated agreat deal of interest among Mongols andeven in the national press. By the end oftheir second visit in 1991, they had publiclybaptized 36 new Mongol believers. Thespiritual landscape of Mongolia wouldnever be the same.

A young Swedish couple, Magnus andMaria, came to Mongolia intending to helpplant churches. They settled in the capital,Ulaan Baatar, where they befriended some ofthe growing number of local believers.

BRIAN HOGAN 695

Eventually Magnus and Maria moved toErdenet, the third largest city of Mongolia.With them went a nineteen year old Mongo-lian believer named Bayaraa. The first to re-spond to their evangelism efforts were ahandful of teenage girls. It was not a promis-ing beginning, but after teaching on faith andrepentance, several of the girls invited theirfriends to follow Christ with them. In 1993,Mongolians were baptized in Erdenet for thefirst time in the city’s history. Fourteen werebaptized—all of them teenage girls!

The first fourteen converts were quicklyorganized into three “cell groups.” Theygathered for prayer, fellowship and teachingin an atmosphere of support and accountabil-ity. Together they learned to obey the twogreatest commandments: “Love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with allyour soul and with all your strength andwith all your mind ” and “Love your neigh-bor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

Active, faithful believers were equippedto lead the cells as they multiplied. Amonthly “celebration service” formed for allthe cells to unite. A year passed: the numberof believers grew to 120…still, mostly teen-age girls! At this point the embryonic“church” was not multi-generational or fam-ily based. It was essentially a rapidly grow-ing youth group.

After a year of language study in UlaanBaatar, the capital city, my wife Louise, ourthree daughters and I arrived to joinMagnus, Maria, and Bayaraa. We were laterjoined by others from Russia, America andSweden.

Breakthrough into the MainstreamWe all realized that teenage girls were notan appropriate foundation for starting achurch movement. At that time however,youth were only ones responding anywherein Mongolia. So we worked with the fruitthe Lord had provided and prayed for abreakthrough to begin reaching whole fami-lies. We established “provisional elders”(starting with two younger men andBayaraa) in order to begin the process of al-lowing a Mongolian style of church leader-ship to develop and to allow us to workmore in the background.

Breakthrough of relevanceThere was a great divide between the

youthful, urban circle of friends and the fam-ily-oriented heart of traditional Mongoliansociety. Even our early converts had the im-pressions that the gospel wasn’t relevant for“real Mongols.” To the Mongol understand-ing, “real Mongols” are the traditional shep-herds and gher (traditional round felt tents)dwellers. A visiting short-term team began topray for the sick in some of the traditionalgher suburbs on the outskirts of town. Godanswered prayer dramatically. One lame per-son, one deaf person, one mute person, andone blind person were all healed. Thesehealings provided a seal of authenticity rec-ognized by the older Mongols. The newsspread like wildfire and the fellowship wasflooded with growth from every age groupand segment of the city. The urbanized youthwere especially surprised that “realMongols” were coming to faith. Soon twoolder men who were heads of householdsjoined the ranks of our provisional elders.

Breakthrough of understandingThe second factor for the sudden accept-

ability of the good news by the older tradi-tional Mongols was the decision by ourteam and the “elders-in-training” to beginusing the Mongolian term “Burhan” to referto the God of the Bible. Many centuries be-fore, when the Buddhists arrived inMongolia, they adopted the term “burhan,”the generic Mongolian term for “god,” fortheir purposes. In the early 90’s, nearly allthe believers in Mongolia used another termfor God, Yertontsiin Ezen, which was a brandnew term composed by a translator in an at-tempt to avoid any potential confusion orsyncretism with the erroneous beliefs ofBuddhism. But the new term, which can betranslated “Master of the Universe,”sounded unfamiliar and unreal to theMongol’s ears. It had no intrinsic meaningand was essentially a foreign word made upof Mongolian elements. Although theErdenet elders-in-training were used to us-ing the term Yertontsiin Ezen, they decidedthe traditional term Burhan would be moreappropriate and acceptable and was capableof being filled with biblical meaning.

Chapter 110 MONGOLS FOLLOW THE KHAN OF KHANS697

DevelopingIndigenous LeadershipDuring this period of explosive growth ourteam deliberately stayed in “behind thescenes” roles, giving on-the-job training forthe emerging leaders. Care was taken to doeverything in imitable fashion—baptismswere in bathtubs, worship songs were not im-ported, but written by church members, etc.

The team recalled what we had learnedfrom veteran missionary George Pattersonbefore coming to Mongolia. He got to theheart of discipleship saying, “People aresaved to obey the Lord Jesus Christ in love.”So in the new church, Jesus’ basic commandswere taught in practical ways. The cells pro-vided the atmosphere of loving support andaccountability. Believers helped one anotherto “be doers of the word, not hearers only.”

Yet there were serious problems from ourpoint of view where the cultural norms ofMongolian society conflicted with some of themoral teaching of the scriptures. The elders-in-training were encouraged to search the scrip-tures to find solutions for sin problems in theemerging church. Cultural blind spots in theareas of sexual purity and courtship weredealt with by defining principles, then teach-ing and enforcing them. The solutions thatthese Mongol leaders crafted were both bibli-cal and culturally correct—much better thanany we missionaries could have crafted.

The emerging Mongolian church lookedfar different from any of the team’s homechurches in Sweden, Russia or America. Dra-mas and testimonies quickly became promi-nent features of the large celebration meet-ings (which went from once to twice amonth; and eventually weekly). The “dramateam” wrote and produced their own skits,plays, and dramatic dances from Bible storiesand everyday Mongolian life. This became apowerful teaching and evangelistic tool. Timewas always set aside for testimonies from“real Mongols”—often new believers in their60s just in off the steppes. These long and, toWestern ears, rambling stories of salvationgripped the fellowship in a state of rapt won-der and awe. God was on the move amongtheir people—dressed in the most traditionalof Mongolian clothing. Worship rose fromtheir hearts as they sang new songs that had

been written by their own people in theirown language and unique musical style. Thiswas no foreign fad or import!

About a year and a half into the church’s“life,” the Mongol “provisional elders” de-cided to politely decline further funds fromsupporting churches abroad. The funds hadbeen used to provide some of the Mongolchurch worker’s salaries for about a year.Their own people were now giving and thatwould suffice. When the foreign church in-sisted on sending the funds, they werepassed along to the daughter churches fortheir church workers, with the understandingthat this too was only temporary.

The expatriate team concentrated our ef-forts upon discipling, equipping and releas-ing Mongols to take the lead in building upthe church and reaching the lost. A school ofdiscipleship was formed and by its third classwas entirely Mongol led.

With the emphasis upon “learning by do-ing,” new leaders were trained locally in theministry rather than being sent away. Theleadership of the cells had been placed intotheir hands almost immediately, and soon thelocal believers also carried the majority of theresponsibility for the weekly services.

OvercomingAll of this progress and growth was not over-looked by the Enemy. Beginning in Novemberof 1994, our team and the fledgling church en-dured two solid months of unrelenting spiri-tual attacks: three cult groups targeted ourcity, the church was almost split, leaders fellinto sin, some were demonized. Our teamcame close to despairing and pulling out.

Finally, two sudden and unexplainabledeaths rocked the missionary team and thechurch. My only son, Jedidiah, had been bornon November 2nd. On the morning of Christ-mas Eve our apartment rang with screamswhen my wife discovered Jedidiah’s cold andlifeless body—dead of Sudden Infant DeathSyndrome at two months. We buried our boyand a piece of our hearts in the frozen soil ona cold windswept hillside outside of town.The next day a young girl in the church diedof no known cause.

In response the believers and our teamcame together for 24 hours of prayer and

BRIAN HOGAN 697

fasting in our office apartment. At three inthe morning, a breakthrough occured and ev-eryone knew it. The church has never beenoverwhelmed by an episode of spiritual war-fare like that since.

Explosive GrowthOne of the beauties of the cell church modelwas that, where other churches in Mongoliawere sorely hindered by government harass-ment that usually took the form of evictionsfrom Sunday meeting locations, the churchbeing planted in Erdenet was largely unaf-fected by such moves—since worship mainlytook place in living rooms all over town!Growth was constantly taking place in thecells and going months without “celebrationservices” didn’t slow things down. When thecells did gather, united in God’s presence, thebelievers were encouraged, seeing their num-bers continue to grow.

By early 1997, the celebration service hadgrown so that no building in the city couldhouse the 750 people who would attend! Sothey held two services. Recently appointedMongol pastor/elders lead their church madeup of over 57 cell groups. A healthy multi-gen-erational Mongol church had become a reality.

The Beginnings of a ChurchPlanting MovementWas this the mission breakthrough we hadbeen looking for? To stop with a singlechurch in a city of 70,000 and a country of 2.6million would mean we’d have gained al-most no ground in the task of discipling theMongols as a people. Our goal had alwaysbeen an indigenous movement of multiply-ing churches that would spread throughoutthe once spiritually barren land of Mongolia.

From the beginning we made it our aim tohelp the new leaders catch this vision. Wetaught them to treat their church as an organ-ism rather than thinking of it as an organiza-tion. All healthy, living organisms grow andreproduce. The Mongols saw that their churchshould become a “mother church” givingbirth to daughter churches and that could re-produce granddaughter churches. The localleaders presented the vision before their con-gregation: “God wants to work through ourchurch to create another new church!”

In 1993, the church sent teams of Mongoldeacons to a town 60 kilometers away. Theywere commissioned to plant a daughterchurch and, the next year, an elder was sentto lead it. As fellow Mongolians it was easyfor them to relate to the people in the newcommunity. God blessed their efforts as theyshared the gospel and discipled new believ-ers. A daughter church was born, and soon,two of the new leaders got busy plantinggranddaughter churches in other places thatwere even more remote from Erdenet.

The End of The BeginningThe work progressed to such an extent that in1996, after just three years, our team realizedwe had reached an important landmark. Ac-tually, we had been anticipating our “phase-out” from the beginning and had kept it inthe forefront of all our plans and activities.But that bitter-sweet time had come.

We reported to our supporters: “We wereblessed to hand over the authority in thechurch to the elders we had trained…thiswas the crowning moment for us.” A specialservice was held on Easter Sunday, 1996. Inthe midst of worship and prayer the team fol-lowed the example of Paul’s farewell to theEphesian elders: “Now I commit you to Godand to the word of His grace, which canbuild you up and give you an inheritance….”Half of the missionary team left Mongoliathat very day. The others remained throughJune as distant advisors while they finishedsecular teaching contract commitments.

The newly independent Mongol churchmoved ahead in faith and action as the HolySpirit led. At Christmas 1996, 101 new believ-ers were baptized! On Easter 1997, the firstanniversary of the “passing of the baton,” 120more were baptized.

The church is finding ways to bring bless-ing in Jesus’ name to their city. One ongoingeffort was initiated and is carried out by Mon-gol believers: Every day many of the city’scast-off street kids are offered food and cloth-ing (not a small matter in frigid Mongolia). Aprison ministry is also flourishing, as is a cellgroup among the garbage dump dwellers!

The movement continues. At last count,the mother church had given birth to 13daughter churches in towns scattered across

Chapter 111 CHRIST WORSHIPERS IN INDIA699

A Movement of ChristWorshipers in IndiaDean Hubbard

the province. The church they planted inDarhan, the second largest city in Mongolia,has over 100 in 11 cell groups and is quiteunique in Mongolia because it has mostlyfamilies and older people as members. Thisyoung body has reproduced two grand-daughter churches. A very satisfying reportconsidering we started five years earlierwith only teenage girls!

This movement has also begun to workcross-culturally, having planted a churchamong Erdenet’s Russian population. Teamsof Mongols have recently been sent to cultur-ally distinct peoples in two other countries,to an unrelated animistic forest tribal people,as well as to several remote Mongolian prov-inces. A missionary training school hasopened in Erdenet to train the church’s

emerging mission force. Some of the expatri-ate church planters have returned to lead theschool, but exercise no authority in the indig-enous church.

God seems to have made the spiritual soilof Mongolia especially fertile for churchplanting. The gospel continues to do its lifegiving and community-changing work.Churches continue to grow and reproduce. Aconservative estimate states that the numberof believers has grown from two in 1990 toover 10,000 believers in 1998. Given the zealof the believers, Mongolia will eventuallyshift from a mission field to being a powerfulmission force. As in a previous age, Mongolswill again thunder off to the nations beyondtheir barren hills—this time under the leader-ship of the “Khan of Khans”—King Jesus!

Dean Hubbard (a pseudonym) has served with Youth With A Mission in the Pacific and Asia region for over 20

years. For the last eight years he has lived in India with his family, serving an indigenous ministry among the poor,

helping develop church leadership. Names of persons and people groups have been changed.

Before 1991 the gospel had managed toattract very few converts in a particu-lar district in Central India. Seven

years later hundreds of newly baptized be-lievers from at least 24 different peoplegroups are learning to follow Jesus. They aregathering regularly in village level churchesunder the name, “Krista Bhakta Mandali”—”The Gathering of Christ Worshipers.” Howdid so many people suddenly turn to hope inChrist from centuries of practicing animisticspiritism blended with Hinduism?

A Key LeaderBhimrao was a local, third generation Chris-tian who had been a social and political activ-ist for impoverished farmers, serving, suffer-ing and going to jail with them over a severalyear period. Believing God wanted him toaddress the deeper spiritual needs of the ru-ral peoples among whom he had grown up,

he cooperated with an Indian mission organi-zation to open avenues for the gospel amongthe Kowadi people. As an agrarian peasantgroup, the Kowadis have largely adaptedtheir animistic traditions to the religiouspractices of the surrounding rural Hindu cul-ture. They had resisted previous mission ef-forts, viewing Christianity as a religion forpeoples of lower social standing than them-selves. To present the gospel to the Kowadisin a way that they could understand andvalue, Bhimrao first confronted the failure ofthe two sources of power in which they hadplaced their hopes for social and economicupliftment: the government and their tradi-tional gods. His message to them focused onJesus: Since Jesus had created the Kowadis,Jesus has always been their rightful Lord andGod. He loves them and is concerned aboutevery dimension of their lives-social, eco-nomic and spiritual. Yet they had never

DEAN HUBBARD 699

known his blessing because they had placedtheir hope in others. He had made the wayfor them to again come under his Lordshipand know his blessing, but only if theywould put their hope in him.

Bhimrao spent three months explainingthis message in 150 Kowadi villages. Finally,a large three-day gathering summoned theKowadis from these villages. The days werefilled with Kowadi songs, dances and presen-tations of Jesus’ teaching in their language.At the end, 41 Kowadi affirmed Jesus as“Their Lord and Lord of the Kowadi” by tak-ing baptism. Several of them were villageleaders who were now convinced that Jesuswas the true answer for their people.

Opposition Tests Faithand Attests to CredibilityHindu religious zealots immediately dis-rupted the intended plans for follow-up andestablishment of churches. The Kowadipeople, known for their timidity, appeared towithdraw from further contact with the mis-sionaries working with Bhimrao. Bhimrao hadto leave the area temporarily for the birth ofhis first child. When he returned three monthslater he discovered that the other Indian mis-sionaries themselves had withdrawn, discour-aged and uncertain how to proceed. Upon fur-ther investigation, Bhimrao, realized that therehad been some confusion following the perse-cution, but no lack of resolve. The convertsstill wanted to follow Jesus. With few re-sources and little support, Bhimrao had toform a new organization to facilitate the largerintent of serving the spiritual, church forma-tion and socio-economic development needsof the Kowadi. He called it, “Din Sevak —Servant to the Poor.” Bhimrao was joined by anon-Indian, Dean, and Bhimrao’s brother,Kishor, and their wives. Still, limited resourcesand personnel required that from the start thenew believers would do most of the ministryin the villages. As a result of the witness of vil-lage locals to their own friends and family,and partly helped by the publicity broughtabout by the initial persecution, many ap-proached Bhimrao for an explanation.

Bhimrao’s earlier social activist work hadearned him great credibility in their eyes. Thefalse accusations of the Hindu nationalist me-

dia was doubted because of the known charac-ter and longstanding service that Bhimrao hadperformed throughout the region. Members ofother people groups seemed to be asking, “Ifthis is good for the Kowadi who are so similarto us socially and economically, then will it notalso be good for us?” For decades the Indiangovernment had sought to remove caste segre-gation with minimal success. Now it appearedthat the gospel was leaping over traditionalcaste boundaries by virtue of a broader iden-tity based on socio-economic condition. Evensome of those opposed to conversion in prin-ciple opened up to the gospel along with thosewho were more readily responsive. As a result,doorways of opportunity began to open into avariety of people groups and their villages.

“Why Should We FollowSmall Gods?”With the intention of initiating a movement ofself-reproducing churches filled with worship-ers of Jesus and not merely a scattering of bap-tized believers, a group of potential leaderswere soon identified and gathered for a weekof teaching. Although limited in scope, itproved a watershed experience—not so muchfor the new believers as for Bhimrao andDean. A visiting foreign Christian researcherconducted one of the sessions. He simplyshared stories of people groups in other coun-tries that were embracing Christ as well. Atthe end of the week, participants indicatedthat that session had been the most significantfor them. “We can see now that this Jesus isgreater than all other gods. All the gods wehave ever known have been gods only of a vil-lage, a tribe, a region, or of the nation of India.But this Jesus, he has followers from all overthe world. Why should we follow small gods,when we can follow the greatest God of all?”

God Sends “Angels”This insight was further reinforced whenshort-term teams with foreigners would cometo help. One such team had located in a villagepopulated entirely by Poharis. The Poharis arehighly transient hunters who engage in ani-mistic rituals while honoring Hindubrahminical priestcraft. They had asked forsomeone to come and teach them also aboutChrist. But the only ones available were a

Chapter 111 CHRIST WORSHIPERS IN INDIA701

Seekers were called to follow

Christ, not to become members

of the Christian community,

which has generally come to be

perceived simply as a caste in

contrast to other castes.

short-term team of young Scandinavianwomen who could not have been further re-moved from them in almost every way.

While discussing Christ with these youngwomen with pale skin, bright blond hair andblue eyes, the Poharis began telling about aparticular priest in their village. Five yearsprior he had passed through a period whenmost of the people thought he was crazy. Heoften seemed tormented by spirits. Theybrought him repeatedly before various gods &goddesses for healing. All the while he keptsaying, “People who look like angels willcome from around the world to our village.They will tell us about the real God. Weshould follow him.” So the team asked himwhat he saw in his vision. He said, “I sawpeople like you, white kind of people—theywere angels. They will come and tell aboutGod.” When they asked, “Do you think thatwe are those people?” he responded, “I don’tknow yet.” But after four days of listening hetrusted the Lord Jesus Christ and received himas his savior. In the end, most of those residingin that particular village were baptized.

In spite of promising beginnings, the gen-eral timidity of the Kowadi and the remotelocation of many of their villages continuallyinhibited healthy church formation. The tran-sient hunting activities and almost universalilliteracy of the Poharis severely underminedeffective church leadership development. Butthe bold, settled situation of the Bansarisproved a different story.

The Bansari number in the millions andalso observe a mixture of folk religion andHindu practices. Continued hostility towardconversions from the local press had actedlike free publicity resulting in a young, edu-cated Bansari man coming to Bhimrao seek-ing help. Experiencing severe depression andcontemplating suicide, he finally found deliv-erance in Christ. Returning to his home in adistant area of the district he soon led 14friends to trust Christ. Of these, the roles ofthree proved especially effective for the ex-tension of the gospel. One was the leader ofthe Bansaris in his village. Another was aleader in a family that extended into manyvillages throughout that area. The third was atailor near the central bus stand wherepeople come from all the surrounding vil-

lages. All three began aggressively evangeliz-ing within their respective networks of rela-tionship. As people responded, they beganvisiting their villages.

By this time “Servant to the Poor” had ini-tiated a weekly time of fasting, prayer andteaching. These men were invited to join withmen and women from other people groupswho gathered weekly to learn how to betterserve the needs of the churches that wereforming in their villages. Very soon therewere too many villages with new believersfor them to care for. In the earliest stages theywere required to identify potential churchleaders. These also participated in the train-ing and soon groups were meeting for regu-lar worship in villages that were led by con-verts of the converts of the first convert.

Following Christ WithoutBetraying Family

The earlier experiences with other peoplegroups, both successes and failures, resultedin critical lessons that shaped the approachtaken with the emerging Bansari KristaBhakta Mandalis. Seekers were called to fol-low Christ, not to become members of theChristian community, which has generallycome to be perceived simply as a caste incontrast to other castes. To worship Christwas not to betray, but rather to fulfill theirpeople group’s highest destiny. This destinywas for their entire group, not just a few in-dividuals. New seekers from different com-munities are routinely welcomed into thesefellowships, but are encouraged to focustheir witness among people of their ownfamily and caste.

One reason that the Krista Bhakta Mandalihas not been perceived as a new Christiancaste is that the small gatherings of worship

DEAN HUBBARD 701

and teaching have been primarily people-group specific. Occasional celebrations areheld in which Christ worshipers from diversecastes come together to worship and partakeof what is referred to as “the Lord’s Meal.” Forsome it is the first time in their lives that theyhave shared bread with people from any othercaste community. The joy of sharing Christ to-gether affirms all the finest of what they nowhave in common without requiring them toabandon the identity with their community.Leadership for potential churches was identi-fied early and allowed to carry significant re-sponsibility for the discipling of others. Thosepotential elders were identified primarily onthe basis of initiative, faithfulness and effec-tiveness in imparting the gospel. Then theywere brought into the weekly training processthat focused on learning foundations of a Bib-lical worldview and simple obedience toChrist. Practical help would be given on howto break from old behavior patterns and tocope with the struggles of living for Jesus inan environment that was often diametricallyopposed to his values and teachings. All thewhile they would be active in witness andbearing responsibility for the welfare of newbelievers—not because they had been told todo so, but because they believed Jesus wantedthem to do so. They were held accountable totheir own declared commitment throughregular reporting and coaching visits to theirarea of work. The role of the “Din Sevak” teammembers was not primarily to direct, but toencourage, support and coach the village lead-ers. The support was given in several ways.Regular and special training opportunitieswere arranged. Both Indian and multi-na-tional teams were channeled to help themminister in their villages. Language and cul-

ture specific tools were made available; and ifnone existed, they were created, includingscripture translation, and the publication andpromotion of appropriate worship forms. Seedloans for farmers and income generation skillstraining for women were also implemented tolimited degrees.

Persecution: PurgingThen MultiplyingUnfortunately, hard lessons had precededthe later successes. A self-sustaining churchhas yet to develop among the Poharis. It isclear that even supernatural, propheticpreparation does not supersede the need forongoing discipling and development. Oppo-sition eventually took its toll on Kowadileaders. The Bansari leaders have until nowstood firm in the face of persecution, andthey seem to be demonstrating the greatestpotential for an actual movement of self-re-producing churches. Perhaps it is for thisreason that they are now experiencing someof the greatest persecution, not so muchfrom within their own group, but from themore traditional Hindus that surroundthem. Religious nationalism is gainingground in India’s places of power. Whatwere formerly verbal threats from localgroups have given way to physical violenceagainst some KBM village groups.

Yet, perhaps one of the most importantlessons from seven years of ministry has beenthat opposition has invariably resulted in a“purging then multiplying” effect on theoverall movement, especially when the lead-ers stood firm. What is intended to destroythis young movement may in the end makeits spontaneous multiplication unstoppable.May it be so!