By a Pioneer in South Asia

Our church here is in its tenth month and experiencing some tremendous growth! There are national leaders stepping up to lead small groups, to get the church ready for Sunday services, to lead Sunday school, to lead a Sunday afternoon service and to take initiative in outreach ministries.

The church is a very diverse group, having members from throughout the country as well as Canada, Congo, New Zealand and the U.S. It is a mix of rich and poor, highly educated and little education, students, teenagers, many kids under 12, broken vessels and mature Christians. We often have Muslim and Hindu have visitors as well.

A partner ministry recently sent leaders to train about 20 of our church members for Cross Current. It is a program to address emotional healing, specifically in sexual brokenness. One of our church members has had a heart to reach out to the transvestite and homosexual community, which is quite large here.

Many of them work on the streets as beggars and prostitutes. We already have a few men who have made the transition to wear men's clothing again, accepting Jesus and receiving healing. Two of our members who were former homosexuals were baptized two months ago. The program, which is designed for the sexually broken, has actually had a significantly positive affect on our church leadership. Since we have all been required to take the eight-week course ourselves, we have discovered our own personal issues that need healing. It has also helped to deepen friendships and build trust with other church leaders.

Our church hosts a growing Sunday school class for children, which recently divided into two different age groups. A youth group was formed for the teenagers and meets weekly. There is a night of worship and intercession weekly and also volunteers who visit a woman's shelter. The church collects food and cleaning supplies to donate each month to families in the community. Our pastors also run a spoken English school where they are building relationships. Two cell groups meet weekly for worship, Bible study and prayer. A core leadership team meets monthly for prayer, fellowship and leadership development. It's a privilege to be part of this growing community!