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7/31/2019 History Makers Magazine 05
1/8
>>FREE
ISSUE6Y O U T H M I S S I O N S M A GA ZI N E
HistoryMakers is a ministry of AsiaLink. Registered Charity No. 327165
7/31/2019 History Makers Magazine 05
2/8
C O N T E N T S
P E R S E C U T E D C H U R C H 0 2
N E PA L C O U N T RY P R O F I L E 0 3
FA Q S 0 4
R O S E A L L E N M U N T 0 4
R AY C O M F O RT I N T E RV I E W 0 5
F R O N T L I N E N E W S 0 6
INTRODUCTION
Rescue those being ledaway to death; holdback those staggering
toward slaughter.P R O V E R BS 2 4 : 1 1
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the worlddoes. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.2 C O R I N T H I A N S 1 0 : 2 - 4
Dear friends,
Theres a rule in the Armed Forces, Always obey the lastorder you got until you get new orders from command
headquarters. The last command Jesus gave is: Go,
make disciples of all nations. This should be first priority
for Christs followers.
The world is a spiritual battle-field in a cosmic war for souls
in which we are all called to serve as soldiers. The task? To
please our Commanding Officer, Jesus. Across the planet there
are areas where the enemy defences have held for centuries
places where entire people groups, tribes and languages
are without any Christian influence. Travel around Asia and
youll soon see that most people have never ever heard of
Jesus. Sometimes we think its bad where we l ive but try for
a moment and imagine what society would look like if it
were completely devoid of churches, the Bible or Christians!
E Q U I P P E D & W I L L I N G
Paul the Missionary recognizes we are all in a battle. If it is
war we are in then we should firstly prepare. That means every
soldier will need to be trained and equipped. Read Ephesians 6.
Its not good looks, intellect or a great personality that God
is asking of us. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that all God
requires is our willingness to serve and our obedience to go
where he tells us to (Is. 1:19).
E N D U R A N C E
We will at some point face hardships and sufferings that are
not always in the guise of persecution or imprisonment.
They come in other forms to being a disciple also meanssimplifying our lifestyles. We are also challenged to
persevere, endure hardships like a good soldier and to be
content whatever the circumstances.
F R O N T L I N E S
There are different roles in a wartime scenario. There are
those, for example, who send supplies to keep the soldiers
equipped on the front-lines. For us, that simply means
encouraging, praying and giving. Many indigenous workers
live on next to nothing and are inexpensive to support.
Most of all they need your prayers!
S E A R C H & R E S C U E
By staying informed we are able to search out areas of the
world that need our prayer and intercession the most. Ourobedience in sending others or going to the nations ourselves
is how we rescue those who are in the clutches of death.
W A R F A R E
Satan sets up strongholds in many cultures, ethnic groups
and religions that gain strength with every passing generation.
People are killed or mistreated, children go hungry, injustice
reigns. The key to unlocking these principalities and powers
begins with our obedience to Jesus commands. Prior, during
and after this, we are to engage in bold, aggressive and
determined spiritual warfare. It doesnt matter how hard we
try to persuade people to believe in Jesus, unless we are serious
about prayer and intercession, then the lost will remain lost.
God has to work.
This issue, we take a look at some of the countries where
the war for souls is raging the most. Why not pick one or two
nations mentioned and start praying for them. There are
other ways to get involved like telling your friends about the
unreached people groups, supporting the ministry or even a
short-term trip in the summer.
7/31/2019 History Makers Magazine 05
3/82Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those
who aremistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. H E B R E W S 1 3 : 3
PERSECUTEDChurch
We regularly receive requests for prayer from our
partners in Asia. The plea from workers is not that
we pray for the persecution to stop, but rather that
they would have the strength to endure.
IraqThe non-Muslim population has largely
been decimated in the last 10 years.
Kidnapping and murder in broad
daylight are commonplace.
Believers are few and far between.
Converting from Islam is a huge risk.
Pray for fearless Christian living.
N.KoreaFor the 6th year in a row, North Koreaheads the list of most severe and
consistent persecutors of Christians
in the world. State-imposed opposition
has purged the land of believers
for over half a century.
Pray for resolute perseverance.
LaosOne of the worlds most persecuted
countries, especially among minority
groups. Murder, forced registration,
abduction, torture and prison are a
reality for Christians. Pastors have
disappeared. Still the Lord builds His
work. Pray for unwavering disciples.
ChinaWhile over half of Chinas believers
belong to unregistered house churches,
they suffer from acute shortages of
Bibles, teaching materials and trained
leaders. Persecution is intense,
especially among recognised church
leaders. Pray for strength.
BurmaChristians among Burmas hill
tribes face persistent harassment.
Restrictions on movement,
public gatherings and public
evangelism are commonplace.
The Church continues to grow!
Pray for faithfulness.
MaldivesLeaving Islamis a frightening step
for many. Believers in these
islands dare not even meet together
for fear of reprisal. No churches
and no Bibles allowed here.
Pray for wisdom.
KashmirHistorical, political and cultural
tensions only accentuate dangers
for those choosing to be different
and express faith in Jesus Christ.
This is a Muslim-populated,
Hindu-controlled hot-bed of violence.
Pray for safety.
IndiaViolent Hindu opposition to
believers has led to deaths and
displacement. The state of Orissa
has taken the lives of many of
Gods people over the years, Indians
and foreign missionaries alike.
Pray for the Living Light to shine.
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NEPALP O P U L A T I O N 28 Mill ion
C A P I T A L C I T Y Kathmandu
R E L I G I O N S Hindu 75%; Buddhist 16%;
Muslim 5%; Christian 1.9%; Other 2.3%
L A N G U A G E S 124
P E O P L E G R O U P S 332, of which 308
are unreached
The Himalayan region includes a number of independent
countries as well as provinces of India. Some areas have
experienced remarkable revival for over fifty years and have
been sending out their own missionaries around the world.
Other places remain tightly closed, satanically bound and
deeply persecuted.
Nepal has never been colonised in the way many of her
neighbours have been. On the contrary, the country remained
tightly closed to outside influence until 1951. Since 1990 there
have been a series of destabilising influences, ranging from
civil unrest to the murders of the royal family in 1999. Nepal
remains heavily dependent on foreign aid and especially on
good relations with India.
C H U R C H / M I S S I O N A C T I V I T Y
Nepal is a Hindu kingdom which allows people to choose
their religion but prohibits the conversion of others.
Hindu extremists are often violent in the opposition to the
Church. Hindu extremists, Maoist guerrillas and even family
members are sometimes violent in their persecution of
believers. Nevertheless, the Church has grown and there may
be around 500,000 believers today.
M A I N U N R E A C H E D G R O U P S
Tibetan refugees and Tibetan-related Nepalese living in
the mountains have just a few congregations springing up.
Most of these peoples are Lamaistic Buddhists. Muslims with
Kashmiri, Bengali or Urdu backgrounds are increasing but
with only a dozen or so known believers among them. The
Awadhi (0.5 million) and the Maithili (3 million) from the
lowlands Indian border region have been generally unresponsive
to any Gospel approaches. The Tharu (1.3 million) have an
animistic rather than Hindi background and churches have
been appearing among them.
W H AT Y O U C A N D O
Prayer: Pray for this country, one of the poorest in the
world. Pray for the government. Pray for Christian leaders
to emerge and assume positions of responsibility. Pray
for national believers and churches within the country to
be strengthened.
Short-term: Please prayerfully consider your partnership
with us as we travel to Nepal in the summer. You could
also financially support those who are going or
contribute towards the cost of sending our Youth Officer.
25 buys 500 copies of John or 1000 copies of the Life
of Jesus tract to be distributed by our Nepalese partnersand short-term teams.
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted amongthe nations, I will be exalted in the earth. P S A L M 4 6 : 1 0
CHINA
INDIA
BURMA
BHUTAN
BANGLADESH
THAILAND
LAOS
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?R O S E A L L E N M U N T , E N G L A N D 1 5 5 7
Rose Allenjumped from her bed and peeked out the window.
There in front of her door stood a sheriff, two police officersand a crowd of people carrying torches. They were talking
with her father on the doorstep. She looked at the clock on
the mantel. It was two in the morning. Roses mother, Alice
Munt, had also been awakened by the loud pounding on the
door. What is it, Rose? she whispered. Theyve come to
get us, Mother, Rose whispered back. Rose could hear her
Father, William, letting the men in below. Then she heard
footsteps coming up the stairs. Friends had warned them of
the danger of not attending the official church, but their sense
of duty to the truth was stronger than their fears. They continued
to worship in secret places with few men and women of like
faith. Now the authorities had come to take them away...
T O F I N D O U T O U T W H A T H A P P E N E D T O R O S E
go to www.historymakers.info/martyr
MARTYR
I tell you, myfriends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that havenothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, afterhe has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! L U K E 1 2 : 4 - 5
INFORM
INSPIRE
So I can stay at home, live a comfortable life and just show up
at my local church every week, great!
No! This is a misunderstanding for many believers today. Go, means go!
It might not be your calling to go and plant a church among an
unreached people group but it doesn't mean you can't get involved in
numerous other ways.Like what?
Frontline missionaries and agencies need our prayers. Its this type of
intercession that breaks demonic strongholds in some of the darkest
places on the planet. Jesus also told us to pray for more workers because
the labourers are few.
Is that all?
Missionaries and mission agencies need our financial support.
You can give directly to missionaries or to ministries like AsiaLink and
HistoryMakers as well as to many others.
Anything else?
Yes! Short term trips can be life-changing. Ask anyone who's been andyoull get the same response. Amazing!. Often, seeing God at work in
some of the remotest corners of the earth is an unforgettable experience.
Plus, indigenous believers get the benefit from our hard work. Whether its
carrying literature into Communist countries or distribution among tribal
groups, national believers value our short term support.
Surely thats it!?
If God has called you to stay at home, then you can mobilize others
to go to the nations!
What if I feel God calling me to go to the ends of the earth?
Great! Email us at [email protected] well do our
best to advise you on ways you can be trained and equipped to
move into full time missionary work.
What is Missions?
Missions is calling the world to do what it was created to do,
namely, to enjoy making much of God forever.
I cant see the word used much in the Bible, where did it come from?
The word mission derives from a Latin word meaning send. It is
also a modern term for the Great Commission Jesus finalcommand to his followers.
Is the Great Commission for all Christians?
Yes. The Command that Jesus gave us is imperative. That means its
of vital importance that we respond to the authority of the One who
gave the command and we will be judged on how we obeyed it.
Surely it cant be that important? I don't see any mention
of it in other parts of the Bible.
A missionary in Asia once said if you take missions out of the Bible, all
you'll have left is the covers. From front to back we see one overriding
theme, God redeeming all peoples. Check out Genesis 12:3, Psalm 87,
Isaiah 49:6, Luke 24:44 and Revelation 7:9 and youll notice a lot of
talk of peoples and nations. This is the promise that the Church of
Jesus Christ will be established among every people group on earth!
So the jobs nearly done?
Its a common misconception that the task of missions is almost finished.
We're closer than weve ever been, but theres still lots to do.
Whats left to do?
Thousands of tribes, tongues and peoples are without a single Christian
witness and over 2000 languages are without a single portion of
Scripture. Approximately 2 billion people have never even heard of Jesus.
Do I have to go to the ends of the earth to obey the
Great Commission?
Not everyone will leave their homes to go to some far off place.
4
FAQS
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INSPIRE
Way of the Master season 3 is now
available. What is the main difference from
the previous episodes?
Its the same theme running throughout the
series (reaching the lost). However, it has
jumped up much higher in product ion value,
thanks to some very talented people.
How would you encourage people who dont
feel bold enough to witness to their own friends
and family, let alone complete strangers?
The issue isnt really one of boldness, but one
of love and compassion. If you saw a woman
and her children trapped on the third story ofa burning building, it is love and concern that
drives you to reach out to rescue her. The Bible
says And on some have compassion, making
a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling
them out of the fire . . . (Jude 22-23). If you are
not concerned for the salvation of others,
Im very concerned for yours.
How effective do you think street preaching
is in this fast-paced generation?A good street preacher can reach more sinners in
30 minutes than the average church does in 30
weeks. Sinners dont go to church, they go where
sin is. They hate the light, and they wont come
to the light in case their sin is exposed. We have
to go to them, as we have been commanded to
do (see Mark 16:15). If I didnt believe in open-
air preaching, I wouldnt have stood on a box
5,000 times and done it. It works. Jesus did it,
Paul did it, Stephen did it, and Spurgeon did it.
So did Wesley, Whitefield and Billy Graham. This
fast-paced generation wont hear the gospel if
we dont take it to them: And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
How beautiful are
the feet of those who
preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad
tidings of good things! (Romans 10:14-14).
Why is The Way of the Master method of
evangelism so relevant and contemporary?
It is relevant because its biblical. It speaks to
the conscience. Every generation has a
conscience that can be awakened by the Law of
God (the Ten Commandments). This generation
is no different in that respect than any other.
Remember, every generation thinks that its
modern. In 20 years time we will look backand laugh at todays advanced technology
like we laugh at dial-up connecting for the
Internet, audio cassettes and typewriters.
What would you say to Christians who think
that The Way of the Master method of
evangelism is the only correct method to use?
The question should never be, Is it the only
correct method, but Is it biblical?
If it is, then we should use it. If its not, it
should be discarded, as should every other
man-made method.
In your book, God Does Not Believe inAtheists, you discuss the analogy of
a painting as evidence of a painter
(and thus the creation as evidence
of a Creator) as an axiom of reason.
Has this proved to be successful?
The building, builder; painting, painter does
work. I have watched lights go on in the eyes,
where there has been nothing but darkness. I
have seen atheists backslide when they hear
that. This is because it is biblical: For every
house is built by some man; but He that built
all things is God (Hebrews 3:4), For since the
creation of the world His invisible attributes
are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power
and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse (Romans 1:20).
What are the most effective facts you use to
prove that evolution is nonsense?
The fact that there are no species-to-species
transitional forms in the fossil record, the fact
that evolution has no explanation for what was
in the beginning (the initial cause) and how
we have ended up with male and female
throughout all of creation. Did both male and
female of every species evolve together? I have
expounded these thoughts in The Charles
Darwin Bible (Holman Bible Publishers), due out
on Feb. 12th 2009 (Darwins 200th birthday).
How essential is prayer in the ministry to
which God has called you? Do you have any
tips for youngsters on how to improve their
prayer lives?
Make sure that you dont substitute prayer for
obedience. Prayer is the oxygen of Christianity,
but if we pray without preaching the gospel as we
have been commanded to, we are drawing near to
God with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him.
Make sure you put legs to your prayers and reach
out to those who are going to Hell. A.W. Tozer
warned, Have you noticed how much praying for
revival has been going on of late-and how little
revival has resulted? Considering the volume ofprayer that is ascending these days, rivers of
revival should be flowing in blessing throughout
the land. That no such results are in evidence
should not discourage us; rather it should stir us
to find out why our prayers are not answered....
I believe our problem is that we have been trying
to substitute praying for obeying; and it simply will
not work.... Prayer is never an acceptable substitute
for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts
no offering from His creatures that is not
accompanied by obedience. To pray for revival
while ignoring or actually flouting the plain
precept laid down in the Scriptures is to waste
a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble.
What has been the most memorable
answer to prayer you have experienced
since becoming a Christian?
It has been God answering my prayer to raise up
labourers. I cried out to God during the early
1980s for Him to use me to stir up the Church
to its moral responsibility to reach the lost. I am
overjoyed that our TV program now goes to 70countries and is on 31 networks. An amazing 22
million of our tracts are sold each year. More
than 14,000 sets of our Basic Training Course is
being used to train up Christians, and thousands
come to our Transformed conferences. It is a
great encouragement never to give up praying,
and never doubt the faithfulness of God.
Ray Comfort has been equipping Christians across the world for more than 30 years. His literature is used by the Moody Bible Institute, Campus
Crusade For Christ and the Institute for Scientific & Biblical Research. He has also written more than 60 books and is a regular platform speaker.
HistoryMakers interviewed Ray who has recently pioneered the fantastic Way of The Master course alongside Kirk Cameron.
EVANGELIST
The issue isnt really one of boldness,but one of love and compassion
If I didnt believe in open-air preaching,I wouldnt have stood on a
box 5,000 times and done it
I have seen atheists backslidewhen they hear that
put legs to your prayers and reachout to those who are going to Hell
7/31/2019 History Makers Magazine 05
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DEVELOPPROJECTSIRAQS DISAPPEARING CHRISTIANS
The Lord has always clearly directed
AsiaLink and brought us into
partnership with like minded people.
A staff member recently travelled to
Iraq to help us discern whether this
was a place where God was inviting
us to work with Him.
Iraqi Christians have been texting aMiddle-East Christian TV station
requesting urgent prayer: In the name
of Jesus, pray for Christians in Nineveh
province. Were under the weight of
killings and displacement.
Christians is an all-encompassing term
here. It includes Assyrians and Chaldeans,
Syrics and even Yezidis. They are non-Arabs
but among them are also found many of
Iraqs believers.
Their fears are justified. Many have lost
their lives in recent months. Some 3,000
Iraqi Christians have fled the northern city
of Mosul. Other reports have stated that
Christian homes have been bombed,
leaflets circulated and text messages sent
threatening Christians with death unless
they convert to Islam.
As security tightens in Baghdad, so Al Quedamoves northwards. One believer I met had
just lost his brother in law, shot dead the day
before in his own shop.
Not long ago there were over a million
Christians in Iraq from various backgrounds.
Now, there are possibly only 80,000. Some
have been kidnapped. Others killed. After
last years August bombings of four churches,
Iraqs own Minister for Migration estimated
that some 40,000 Iraqi Christians fled the
country within a space of two weeks. Here,
the Christian Church is barely surviving.
Praying for Iraqi pastors is a humblingexperience. They stood together in a row and
one by one we went down the line beseeching
the Lords help for them. Some were young
men, passionate and zealous for God. All had
witnessed firsthand what it means to follow
Christ. There is no cheap discipleship here.
CHINA BIBLESThe simple goal here is to help equip
China's Christians with God's Word.
The church in China is estimated tonumber 100 million (some say 30,000
new believers each day). AsiaLink has
for many years been serving
Christians inside China who are
print ing Bibles .
Cost: 1.50 covers the cost of
print ing and distributing one Bible.
150 provides enough for 100
Bibles. 100% of funds designated
for printing goes to this Bible
production.
The economy of many places like rural
Nepal, Kashmir or Burma is so poor that
there is little or nothing left in the localchurch for big expenses such as sending
an evangelist or a missionary to an
unreached area. In China, some house
church evangelists have even sold their
own blood at the hospital, receiving just a few pence as payment. They
then buy a few meals with this money, giving them enough strength to
continue to preach the Gospel for another week or two.
The Asian Workers Fund assists many of those workers who are
doing strategic work in Asia .Please pray about whether you, your
family, home fellowship or church could help support one or more of
these workers with 25 per month each. 100% of your gifts go to the
workers in need.
Poor use of pesticides and the
legacy of the massive abuse of
herbicides during the Vietnam War
have resulted in the birth of
thousands of Vietnamese children
with severe medical difficulties.
Project Smile helps children from
poor families in Vietnam who were
born with disabilities such as cleft
palates, cleft l ips and club feet.
Cost: A gift of 40 will help one child
to have a better life, and an opportunity
for his or her family to hear about
Jesus Christ for the first time.
Our youth ministry endeavours to work
alongside young people and help them
discover a passion for missions.
The goal is to awaken the next generation
in the Church to realize their potential in
Christ and in reaching the nations.
We believe that God has a history-making
role for every young person in His purposes. This missionary perspective
can only continue if we keep informing and inspiring young people.
Its a vital role of the ministry to partner with youth and church leadersin order to help them assume responsibility for the Great Commission.
Invest in the next generation of world-changing young people!
Cost: 1 100. Please pray about your partnership with us.
There are multiple ways in which you can financially support the work. Go to www.asialink.org.uk/giving to find out more.
HISTORYMAKERS
ASIAN WORKERS
6
PROJECT SMILE
7/31/2019 History Makers Magazine 05
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for the unreached people of Asia
HistoryMakers is a ministry of AsiaLink. Registered Charity No. 327165
This summer, invest yourself in something completely life-changing.
Take a missions trip to the rooftop of the world!
From the sanctuary of Annapurna
to the famed hills of Mustang,
Nepal is one of the truly great
must-see-before-you-die places.
Its also home to 23 million Hindus,
3 million Buddhists and 310 of the
worlds least-reached people groups.
And thats why were going!
This August, join AsiaLinks youth
department, HistoryMakers and
our Nepalese partners in sharing
Jesus Christ with people who have
never ever heard the Good News.
For more details, contact