Go Beyond

I returned home from (undisclosed country) South Asia at the end of August. I ventured to an area that has recently witnessed some of the worst persecution of Christians — a place where the decision to follow Christ cannot be taken lightly.

In mid-2021, I learned about the plight of Christian families in servitude to Muslim note-holders. These families are trying to pay off debt they have either incurred or inherited from the previous generation. In most cases, these families in servitude earn a daily income of $5.00 or slightly more — certainly not enough to cover their living expenses and service their debt.

Being in debt means the entire family is obligated to pay the debt. So, the family, including kids, work long hours doing agricultural work or making bricks in order to chip away at their debt. The reality is that there is little hope that any of these families will ever know what it means to be debt free.

In order to give these families a brighter future, our missions ministry formed a strategic partnership with a regional Christian leader. Kingsland provides the funds for the payment of a family’s debt and our partner negotiates with the note-holder for the release of the family.

Once the debt is paid, Kingsland underwrites the relocation costs for the family and the purchase of farm animals or rickshaws or whatever will help the family to become self-employed and self-sustaining. To date we have freed 8 families with a total of 48 family members. We still have about 50 families in queue.

I had the opportunity to meet each family we have liberated and to hear about how their lives have changed. Their expressions of gratitude touched me deeply. For the first time their children are free to attend school and now have the hope of brighter future.

Another reason for traveling to this country was to meet families impacted by our Scripture distribution initiative. In January 2022 our missions ministry launched our 5511 Initiative — a collaborative initiative with our global partners to distribute 150,000 copies of the Scriptures around the world. Our partner in (undisclosed country) South Asia distributed both printed and audio Bibles. As a result, many people came to faith in Christ.

While in South Asia, our partner arranged for us to baptize these new believers. My friend Dr. Cesar Perez and I baptized 74 new believers in various locations. We baptized in secure areas and under the watchful eye of the armed security we were required to have — yet another reminder that choosing Christ is a serious matter for those who live in a place hostile to the gospel.

Cesar and I also led daily leadership training sessions for church planters, house church leaders, and one special session for mothers. We addressed key doctrinal questions as well as the role of parents as primary faith trainers. We spoke on these topics no less than four times a day in villages throughout the area.

We were reminded daily of the constant pressure Christ-followers live with and the reality that things can go bad in an instant — as they did in surrounding areas where Christians homes and Bibles were burned. We continue to work with our partner to address the needs of the many Christians who recently lost their homes and livelihoods because of acts of violence.

For those of us in the West, persecution is a possibility. For our friends in this particular country in South Asia, it is a certainty. It was humbling for us to see that the persecuted did not pray that their persecutors would be punished but that somehow they would come to experience God’s grace and ultimately become brothers and sisters in Christ.

If the day ever comes, may I be as concerned for the spiritual welfare of my persecutors as the brothers and sisters I met in South Asia. I am thankful for the time I spent among the enslaved and persecuted and what God taught me through them and their determination to pursue the purposes and passions of God in a difficult context.