VISION 2025
Our goals for the future
OUR COVID RESPONSE
STORIES OF
Testimonies from the field
HOPE
Issue 01 2021
Nations Magazine
STORIES O In a world full of sad and bad news, I have great news. In fact, it is exciting news. Every day, the love of Jesus is touching people’s lives in meaningful and life-changing ways. World Outreach field workers (our missionaries) and their teams are actively demonstrating compassion and sharing the gospel with people in dire circumstances. One of our pioneer teams working in a sensitive area of South East Asia recently wrote that, despite the escalating number of COVID cases, only people with money are able to pay for the tests in the locality where they’re working. As a result, many sick people remain undetected and untreated. Against that background, she wrote that: “…we can move around the city relatively free which gives plenty of opportunity to reach out to those in need. Over the last few months we have been distributing many food packages and that have literally opened doors to homes and hearts to share the gospel and pray with people. We have seen more ministry opportunities over these months than in the previous five years together. The Lord is good, and he turns everything for good, according to his plans!” 2
We recently received a bequest through our UK office. Unless it is designated to a particular Field Worker or project, we generally disburse such money to our ministry accounts which fund our global work and projects. Due to the great need produced by the COVID pandemic, we designated a percentage to our COVIDappeal. In response to a request, we made some funds available to one of our field workers working in Thailand, who was able to use those funds to feed a whole Rohingya refugee village for a whole month.
OF HOPE
Photo Credit: UN Women/Allison Joyce via Flickr is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
When I received this report, I was really touched that, even though someone had passed away, their legacy was living on through their bequest. With the current global crisis, there are unprecedented challenges, but there are also unprecedented opportunities. We are experiencing some remarkable breakthroughs. So, please don’t be overwhelmed by the doom and gloom but be encouraged by stories of hope that are
happening even as you have read this short article. In this edition of Nations, we’re going to focus on what World Outreach has been and is doing to bring hope to people. God bless, Bruce Hills International Director 3
OUR COVID
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Middle East N
West Africa Total funds distributed:
$80,995* Out of this amount, $13,510 went towards our missionaries' personal needs, while the rest has gone into helping individuals and communities that our field workers are directly ministering to. *At the time of printing.
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South
D RESPONSE
East Asia
ENA
Northern Africa
East Africa
South East Asia
hern Africa
Over the next few pages are some testimonies from our missionaries during this pandemic... For security reasons, some names and locations are not identified.
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INDIA
Another 50 families In response to this pandemic, with the help and support of World Outreach, I reached another fifty families in my community. They are the ones who don’t know about the Lord Jesus Christ. I used this time of crisis as an opportunity to be a witness to these people. As I was handing over an assistance package, Mr S. who is a non-believer expressed, ‘I have seen Christian people giving priority to helping their own people, but you came to us and gave this package. We felt so important and you touched our heart. We are so grateful to you. You have shown care and love to us. My family is thankful to the giver.’ I am very grateful to WO for giving me this opportunity to serve these needy families. It’s really a joy to serve them. So far, you have helped me reach 200 non-Christian families from my community.
INDIA
Miraculous transformation A member of the church got a call from her village asking for prayer for a lady friend and her unborn child. They did an ultrasound and said that the fetus was deformed and without any limbs. Prayer was requested for her and was prayed for over the phone. This point was shared in the church and everyone prayed for her. Some time later she was called for consultations to see what needed to be done next and they repeated the scan only to find that the baby was perfectly normal. Praise God!
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INDIA
Helping those who can’t work RR has been ill for about a year but he is now slowly improving. After his illness, his wife has been the bread-earner of the family. She is a daily wage labourer but after the lockdown she is not able to engage in any work making it very difficult for her to run her family. Therefore, the help received has been of great help to her and her family. She is very thankful to WO’s entire team for the help. SR is a single woman and a daily wage labourer. After the lockdown she is not able to engage in any work and is facing a hard time to meet the family’s needs. The help received has been very beneficial and she is very grateful to the entire team of WO. CK is a daily wage labourer and the only earning member of the family. After the lockdown she is not able to engage herself in any work and is facing a lot of hardship. The help received has been very beneficial and she is very grateful to the entire team of WO.
“We are so grateful to you. You have shown care and love to us”
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SOUTH ASIA Pushed to extreme poverty
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire team of World Outreach for their willingness to help our house church believers during the pandemic when we needed help most. The sudden nationwide lockdown banned people from stepping out of their homes and prohibited people from engaging in any kind of work except work from home. The work from home concept has affected all strata of people especially the daily wage labourers who have no secure job or alternate source of income. The lockdown forced many people to be unemployed and pushed them to extreme poverty which they were not prepared for. Therefore, people are not able to afford their basic needs of even two meals a day. The help from WO has been greatly beneficial and improved the lives of many people especially the destitute. In one state, one hundred families benefited from the help and we are still catering to more families. Mr N is a church planter. He owns a small shop, but had to shut down his shop due to the lockdown. Since he has no alternate source of income and a family of five to feed, he faces a very hard time in maintaining the family’s needs. He is very thankful and expresses his gratitude to WO for the help given to him and his family. Mrs R is the bread-earner of the family. She has two children and an ill husband to look after. The lockdown has caused her many hardships as she cannot engage herself in any work to earn money. She was very overwhelmed with the help received from WO. Mdm S is a widow and a mother of two. Currently, she is unemployed due to the lockdown. She is facing a tough time in meeting her family’s needs. The help recieved has been of great help in meeting some of the basic needs of her family.
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Mr P is an auto driver and drives other people’s autos. After the declaration of the lockdown he is not able to earn and meet his family’s daily needs. Most of his earnings have to be spent on his daughter, who has been ill and bedridden for more than a year. The lockdown has shut down all his means of earning. Therefore, he is facing a very hard time. When the family were given help they were very happy and thankful to the team Mr B is a church planter. He has had a hard time meeting his family’s needs due to lockdown but he is very grateful to the WO team for their help. He is also very fortunate to be able to help others who are in need as well through WO.
“Covid-19 has become a boom for house churches”
SOUTH ASIA Multiplication
COVID-19 has become a boom for the houses churches. It seems they have hit pay-dirt, as multiplication in the last two months has been beyond the wildest thoughts I’ve had. Every house church has multiplied by at least five times.
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SOUTH EAST ASIA Stories from Team Sakura
We arrive in the middle of dilapidated, wooden houses and we see children walking around in torn clothes and barefooted. Abdullah is talking with someone about the fruit trees next to the house and Aisya is chatting away with a mother who is trying to get her newborn to sleep. I ask the mother
called for work for a long time. Every now and then they get something to eat from the neighbours, but it is not easy to get around. She also spoke about her lung problems – some time ago she got medication for it, but those are finished, and she can’t buy any new ones; also she is afraid to return to the
for the name of the baby, but she is still too young to have a name (usually children receive their name during a celebration when they are two months old). Out of the blue, Aisya says: “Just call her Silvia”. The mother’s mouth drops open… that’s exactly the name she has in mind for her. What a confirmation! It’s not very long till we hear various stories how COVID-19 has upset daily life – one husband lost his job, the other can’t sell his goods because people hardly buy anything anymore, children can’t go to school because there is no more money for school fees. After a while we get five food packages from the car for the various families.
hospital because she might get Covid there. I share a short testimony about Jesus and when I offer to pray with her in his name for healing of her lungs she gladly agrees. Before we continue our way, we leave a package with her.
While we are starting to make our way, we see a young lady arriving on her motorbike to visit her mother – we hear that she is sixteen years old and pregnant with her first child. Her mother tells us that this young family often doesn’t have food to eat so we end up giving this young mother-to-be a package too. While we continue our trip, we see a lady sitting in front of her house. I make some initial contact and hear that her husband is an on-call worker logger, but he hasn’t been 10
We meet with an elderly couple – the lady tells us that she is 110 years old. She and her husband don’t have children, so they have no one who takes care of them; fortunately, the neighbours are good to them and share a meal every now and then. While we ask some more, we hear that she hasn’t eaten yet since yesterday. Her eyes fill with tears when we give her a package and some extra money. She asks if we are being sent by the government to share these packages, but we explain that we are being sent by Jesus to share his love with them. When we are about to leave, she grabs me into a big hug – the thought flashes through my mind that this isn’t very wise during corona time, but I know that Jesus wants this hungry soul to know that he truly loves her and I am grateful to be his channel.
“We explain that we are being sent by Jesus to share His Love with them.”
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SOUTH EAST ASIA A new openness
In our main area, we have been able to pack and hand out fifty food parcels a week for six weeks. Each week God is doing new things. These are very exciting times. The tribe we live among has been known to be one of the most resistant tribes in our nation. We are surprised by the openness of the people we are visiting. We are going to the villages weekly, distributing food parcels, visiting the sick and praying for them. The first time we visited Mr Ak, who is about eighty years old, he was lying on a mattress not even able to open his eyes while we prayed for him. With our second visit he was sitting upright and we were told that two days earlier he had started eating again for the first time in weeks. The third time we visited him, he was sitting outside enjoying the sun. During our visits he, his wife and three of his adult children were touched by God and have accepted the free gift of forgiveness. We were asked to pray for another elderly gentleman. Mr A was paralyzed on his right side from a stroke a year ago. While being prayed for, his strength returned into his right arm and hand. On arrival, my wife had an impression from God that this man was going to dance down the passage that day. Initially she invited him to walk and lift his feet. In the end he was dancing and praising God for his healing. The man, his wife and two adult sons also received the free gift of forgiveness. The eldest son was eager to read the ‘Luke’ booklet he was given.
“My wife had an impression from God that this man was going to dance down the passage that day.” 12
KENYA Visions of Jesus
One of the first people we met when we moved into our new home, was a Muslim family lIving nearby. They soon realised that we were Christians and were really interested in learning more about Christianity. We began a weekly Alpha course with them and another Muslim background believer (MBB). The wife began requesting prayer from me and at least three times she has had a vision of Jesus when we’ve prayed. She also says how she feels peace whenever she is with us. One Thursday morning as we were conducting Alpha, her husband gave his life to Christ. Last week we bought him a Bible. We are seeing fruit as we sow and water where the Lord has placed us.
MALAWI
Protecting against COVID When the Government of Malawi eased COVID-19 restrictions we saw a great opportunity to teach leaders and their spouses how to protect themselves and also to encourage their faith during these trying times. Many are too poor to buy masks and have even been rejected from attending school without a mask. We supplied them with buckets for washing hands and soap. We also requested an expert to teach the participants on how to make a simple mask from locally available resources. We are grateful to God for his continued protection over Africa during this outbreak. Many predicted that Africa would be hit hard by the pandemic, especially due to poor health facilities. GOD HAS BEEN GRACIOUS. 13
SCHOOL OF New Resource!
World Outreach is excited to announce the launch of a new resource for developing leaders. Under the banner of the World Outreach ‘School of Leadership’, it is a whole curriculum of leadership development material ideal for both emerging, new and experienced leaders of all ages. Here are two examples of series which are available immediately…
Series One: Foundations of Leadership Module One Biblical Foundations of Leadership Module Two Character of a Leader Module Three Qualities & characteristics of Christian leaders Module Four Devotional Life of a Leader Module Five Self-leadership Series Two: Personal management of a Christian Leader Module One Managing Time Module Two Managing our Words/tongue Module Three Managing Stress Module Four Managing Finances Module Five Managing our Temper Module Six Managing Criticism Module Seven Managing Sexual Desires and Drives More series are being developed and will be uploaded month by month. Duration of each session Each session varies from 7-14 minutes, though averages out around 10 minutes each. So, they’re easy to stay focussed on.
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F LEADERSHIP Outlines of modules Outlines for each session are available for download from the webpage. How to use this resource This resource can be utilised in a number of ways: • Self-directed learning. Each module with each series is self-contained. Watch along at your own pace. • Group discussions. They’re ideally suited to a church leadership training course or a Bible College tutorial. • Staff training. Particular topics could be watched and discussed among ministry teams. A series on ‘team ministry’ will be available shortly. • Upskilling. Choose a topic on which you need to develop and use it to upskill in that particular area. There are many more series in development, so please check the webpage from time to time to see the latest additions.
Best of all, it’s all FREE of charge! See world-outreach.com/school-of-leadership
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VISION 2025 In late July (2020), we launched what we’re calling Vision 2025 (or V2025). V2025 is a clear picture of where we want to be as a mission by the end of 2025. Here are our goals for the end of 2025:
Unreached People Groups (UPGs) By the end of 2025, we want to increase the number of UPGs we are engaged with from (currently) 149 to 300. Unreached People Groups (UPGs) are our primary distinctive and focus. This distinctive governs virtually everything WO does. Most activities, initiatives, ministries, services and structures support and work toward the end goal of evangelising and discipling UPGs. All the other goals are there to accomplish this main goal. 16
Missionaries (Field Workers) To reach the audacious goal of engaging with 300 UPGs, we’ve set a goal to double the number of our missionaries from (currently) 250 to 500.
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National Workers Alongside our missionaries, we currently have around 350 national workers serving in a World Outreach ministry. We’ve also set a goal to increase that number from 350 to 500. This will take our total missions force from 600 (missionaries and national workers) to 1,000. 18
Field leaders To oversee the field and care for our missionaries, we’ve set a goal to increase the number of people serving in field leadership from around 30 to 100 people.
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Finance To accomplish all this, we’ll need a lot more income, so we’ve set a goal to increase our annual income by $1,000,000.
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Prayer All of this will be impossible without a prayer covering, so we’ve set a goal to increase our prayer base from (currently) 500 to 10,000 people. Just imagine thousands of people praying over a UPG, then one of our team going in to engage with them!
Call to action Will you believe with us in faith to see these goals become a reality? Will you sign up to regular pray for us? Will you financially partner with us? Or maybe the Lord is calling you to go and be part of the team reaching the UPGs. Will you partner with us in one of the greatest moments in modern day missions?
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JULY
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WE LIVE AT ONE OF THE PIVOTAL MOMENTS OF HISTORY. GOD IS MOVING IN THE WORLD ON AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE.
THERE IS AN AWAKENING! DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THIS AWAKENING AND HELP SHAPE HISTORY? HERE’S ONE WAY TO CATCH THE HEARTBEAT OF WHAT GOD IS DOING IN THE NATIONS. We will have amazing speakers, and you‘ll hear inspiring stories from the field. There will be workshops for missionaries, business people, pastors, and intercessors. You‘ll also have some time to chill with amazing people and enjoy delicious food! Our theme is AWAKENING! Why? Because an awakening has dawned. It is an awakening among the people groups, nations, churches, intercessors, business community, and in our hearts and lives. We’re inviting you to be part of it. Come...you’ll never be the same again!
For more information and registration, scan the QR code or visit world-outreach.com/global-summit-2021
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THE NATIONS COURSE Are you called to missions work? The Nations course is a six-week course designed to equip you for cross-cultural work. It has been developed to help new missionaries ensure their first term is successful and fruitful. The next course is scheduled for 13th June – 23rd July 2021 For more information and any Covid updates visit the website: world-outreach/nations-course.
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CHIEF EDITOR: Bruce Hills PUBLICATION MANAGER: Andrew M
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Make a difference by giving to a project or missionary.
PRAY
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Intercede for the unreached and the workers delivering the gospel.
Get started by learning about missions.
Become effective at sending people cross-culturally.
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International Director: Bruce Hills Field Ministries Director: Ben B Executive Manager: Andrew M International Board: Lorraine Dierck, Laura Kuimba, Wayne Freeman, Rachel B, Bruce Hills, Phil Somh, Choon Ooi, Martin S International Leadership Team: Bruce Hills, Ben B, Ivan Venter, Maria Ramos Sarah, Andrew M, Myriam W