“But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”
– 2 Timothy 4:17 (CSB)
*Names changed for security purposes.
In one leading city in Central Asia, police are on the lookout for Christian influence. Pastors have been called away from sermon preparation to counsel church members facing persecution. Muslims riot at the possibility of a church gathering. In the face of such hostility, how can the Word of God flow powerfully through the churches? Certainly we know the answer: by the Spirit of God empowering the people of God. And the Spirit empowers God’s people through means of grace. For the pastors who attend our workshops, those means of grace come in the form of God’s Word, Christian fellowship, and brotherly encouragement.
Pastors training pastors
Among the growing number of believers in Central Asia are pastors and church planters who are increasing in their love for God’s Word. After a recent workshop, our Regional Director for Central Asia recalled an encouraging supper time discussion with Pastor David:*
“He has a hard time getting my name right. He calls me ‘Jack,’ and then I call him ‘Darrius,’ and then we laugh. He is a regional pastor with influence. We connected well the last time I was here, though we don’t speak a word of each other’s language. He was describing the effect of the training on him: ‘We need this training! I’m a Pentecostal. But if we drift from the Word, what do we have for our people? Nothing!’”
These pastors and church planters in Central Asia depend on the strength they receive through God’s Word as they and their congregations suffer through persecution for the glory of Jesus’s name.
During breaks between sessions, pastors share the suffering their churches are facing. One pastor asked that we pray for a woman in his church kicked out of her family for following Jesus. Another told us of the opposition faced by fifty believers in a nearby city where there have been riots around the mosque: “They’re saying ‘Get rid of the Christian church!’”
Even as the church suffers in Central Asia, she is growing. One of the workshops welcomed eight new pastors and church planters who are all working in new cities. They are taking the gospel where Westerners can’t travel.
Persecution leads to unique pastoral care situations as well. One afternoon, two pastors, Samuel* and Aaron,* missed two hours of the session because they were on the phone counseling and encouraging a church member going through persecution. We all feel the sentiment expressed by our RD: “Who am I to be here ministering with brothers who deal with persecution on a continual basis?! When they talk about the persecution they face now, they say, ‘It’s not as bad as before,’ during what they call the ‘Great Persecution.’”
Even as the church suffers in Central Asia, she is growing. One of the workshops welcomed eight new pastors and church planters who are all working in new cities. They are taking the gospel where Westerners can’t travel. At another workshop, the pastors arrived with printed Scriptures for the first time. Until last year, they only had the Bible in their language on their phones. Now, with printed copies in their hands, they can see context and connections so much better.
The Lord continues to answer our prayers and multiply our workshops in the face of opposition. There is always a need for more translators, and two women have emerged as skilled translators. In this way, the Lord is strengthening the church in Central Asia with members of the body. He is also multiplying the training across the region as graduates, those we often call advanced trainers, are leading training sessions starting new workshops in more countries. Our RD remarked after one workshop, “This is some of the best replication work I have seen!”
As always, multiplication draws the attention of local officials. As the workshops conclude, we again pray for the pastors. Some will go home to face “interviews” by government officials, others will have to navigate the church registration process, and all will have to navigate living among people hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet they also return home strengthened through means of grace: equipped to preach God’s Word with God’s heart, encouraged through fellowship with other pastors, and empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
This is how they will grow. The work continues. God strengthens and shows us the way.
Strengthened by the Word together
