Most of the world’s unreached people live in Asia. With more than 5,000 unreached people groups totaling 3 billion people, many places in Asia have no access to the gospel.
Despite the spiritual darkness in Asia, God is moving in incredible ways. He is transforming His enemies into evangelists, sustaining the persecuted, and empowering church planters.
Here are a few stories of how God is changing lives in Asia.
A Persecutor Becomes an Evangelist
Meera was a devout follower of Shiva and other gods. Being a devoted Hindu was Meera’s entire identity, and she renounced other beliefs. She hated Christians and would join others to persecute them.
One day, Meera became sick and discovered she had a tumor in her stomach. She immediately turned to her Hindu gods for healing. But her illness only became worse to the point that she became bedridden.
When she had lost all hope, Meera invited a Christian neighbor named Rohan to her home. Rohan shared the gospel with Meera and prayed that Jesus would heal her. But Meera’s heart was hardened, and she refused to believe.
After several months, Meera was desperate. She invited Rohan to her home again, and Rohan brought other friends to pray for Meera. Eventually, Meera’s heart softened, and her health improved day by day.
Miraculously, God healed her. Meera abandoned her life as a Hindu and began sharing the gospel with others.
Multiplying Disciples Amidst Persecution
Barata had been a Muslim all of his life in Southeast Asia. When God led an East-West missionary named Oscar to share the gospel with Barata, Barata knew he had to give his life to this wonderful Savior.
Oscar began discipling Barata, but progress was slow at first. Barata would often show up late or not at all to meetings with Oscar. Oscar’s teammates told him to stop wasting his time on Barata, but Oscar remained patient.
Eventually, Barata became more serious about his faith and began unashamedly sharing the gospel and making disciples himself. Barata’s wife, siblings, and uncle all decided to follow Jesus.
But this family’s newfound faith was met with persecution. Barata’s wife was kidnapped by her family, two of Barata’s sisters died, and his uncle lost his job. On top of that, two of his disciples have been martyred, and he’s had to relocate multiple times for his safety.
Despite these hardships, Barata has kept the faith and continues obediently sharing the gospel with his people group. Today, there are more than 200 baptized believers among Barata’s people group—in large part because of Barata’s faithfulness.
No Distance Too Far
In South Asia, Kavi heard the gospel and placed his faith in Jesus despite living in an unengaged unreached people group. When he became a believer, he wanted nothing more than to tell others about Jesus, especially those who had never heard the gospel.
Committed to this calling, Kavi would travel to places where taxis and buses couldn’t go. That meant walking up to 35 miles at times.
As Kavi shared the gospel in unreached villages, a movement began to form. He raised up more than 50 local leaders and planted more than 100 churches in his first four years of knowing Jesus.
Though the Lord was blessing Kavi’s work in various unreached areas, God was calling him to a new place, back to his own people group.
Last year, Kavi began sharing his testimony and Jesus’ story among his own people. By God’s grace, there are now two churches in Kavi’s people group.
These stories show just a fraction of how God is moving in Asia. Please pray that God would continue to soften the hearts of persecutors, strengthen the persecuted, and empower those carrying the light of the gospel.
Ministry in Asia
From the mountains of Central Asia to the tropical beaches of Southeast Asia, East-West is working to shine God’s light among the unreached in Asia. Learn about all the ways East-West is working in Asia.
