by Clint Cook, Executive Director GAGB
Since I have been Executive Director, it has been an honor to visit many of our mission fields, visit many churches abroad, and get to know many of our national pastors. It is humbling to see firsthand how training institutes at the General Baptist Bible College and the Matigsalug Bible Institute in the Philippines are making such a difference in training our Filipino pastors and church leaders.
In India, Prakash and Jemima Pamu oversee the Dorcas Sewing Centers and assist local pastors in ministry on the eastern coast. In the central region, Jesse and Brittany Vemula work with local pastors and oversee the Lydia Sewing Centers. Who would have ever imagined that a simple tool like a sewing machine could be used as a pathway to spread the gospel? The local pastors make sure these women are not just taught how to sew. The sewing lessons include the clear presentation of the gospel. As a result, scores of Hindu and Muslim women have stepped over the line of faith and accepted Christ, changing the eternal course of precious families!
Our churches in Jamaica are on fire for Jesus! They are working diligently to gather funds to build an administration center and daycare so the gospel can be shared with families by caring for their children. In Honduras, Faith Home is thriving despite political tension. The local pastors are excited because they are now receiving essential leadership and pastoral training from our California Hispanic coordinator, Rene Rodriguez.
As I saw these ministries in action and dreamed of the potential our fields hold, I became overwhelmed with joy, and then immediately burdened with the need to do more! Can you imagine the number of souls that could be won if every General Baptist church partnered financially with our international work?
There are so many opportunities for you and your church to get connected with our international work. Have you ever sponsored a student at GBBC or MBI? We have scores of young people in the Philippines that need sponsors so they can receive training in ministry to pastor, lead worship, teach and plant churches. They have the passion and call, but not the means.
Would you like to make sure that the children at Faith Home receive the best care and education possible? You can do so through child sponsorship! Would you like to partner with our work in India and provide funds to buy more sewing machines and resources for the children and pastors there? Would your church contribute to the campaign in Jamaica to help a community hear the gospel through a daycare? There are ongoing needs in Mexico, Saipan, Guam, and Niger as well.
Please get involved today with International Ministries. Our Unified Giving provides general support for International Ministries. Special project support by your church, a Sunday School class, a small group, or a youth/children’s ministry could make an eternal investment in the Kingdom by sponsoring a child at Faith Home, a student at GBBC or MBI, or funding one of our other ministries throughout the world. We can do far more together than we could ever do alone.
When I stand before God one day I do not plan on standing there with my personal bank statement displaying a lot of zeros behind a dollar sign. I want to meet Him with a harvest of souls – many that I have never laid eyes on or met, but touched through my financial gifts. How will you and your church stand before Him one day? I pray it will be surrounded by souls.