GFA Founder Urges Christian Support of Missionaries to Unreached World
by Allie Martin
August 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - The founder of Gospel for Asia is encouraging Christians in America to put more emphasis on helping native missionaries in unreached parts of the world who are working to share the gospel with those in their countries.K.P. Yohannan was born and raised in India but came to the United States in the mid-1970s to study at a Bible college in Texas. In 1978, he and his wife cashed in their life insurance, sold their possessions, and founded Gospel for Asia (GFA), a ministry that raises support for native missionaries throughout Asia.
Now, through the work of GFA, more than 14,500 native missionaries are on the field in ten Asian countries, planting an average of 12 new fellowships daily. It also runs 54 Bible colleges, training more than 8,000 students -- a level of ongoing fruitfulness that many domestic U.S. ministries with far more resources might envy.
Yohannan says God has blessed America with wealth, but with a purpose; that is, not to build bigger buildings but to help fulfill the Great Commission. "I heard about a church that split recently," he recalls, noting that the basic argument was over -- of all things -- a chandelier. "One group said they will spend $50,000 and another group said, 'No, we should buy a better one for $100,000,'" the ministry leader recounted. "What a silly thing, to argue about carpets and chandeliers when the world is going to hell."
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K.P. Yohannon (left) with AFR News/AgapePress reporter Allie Martin |
With so much at stake, Yohannan says, "I think the Lord's heart is glad when a church or pastor is willing to say, 'You know, my brothers and sisters, our journey on Earth is very brief. Let us pray and then commit ourselves to reach the lost world.'"High Calling, High Cost
GFA's vision is to send out 100,000 native missionaries into the most un-evangelized areas of the 10/40 window, the segment of the globe that lies between 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the Equator. This "window" contains roughly two-thirds of the Earth's people and is considered to be the part of the world with the least exposure to Christianity.
This section of the globe is a window of opportunity for those bent on playing a part in fulfilling the Great Commission, as the GFA-sponsored missionaries generally are. However, Yohannan points out, many of these soul-winners pay a high cost for sharing their faith.
"The price, many times, is laying down their life," the ministry founder says. "So when we send out our graduates, we literally tell them, 'You are given a one-way ticket. Jesus will go with you. If He gives you the privilege to lay down your life on the mission field, heaven is a much better place than here on Earth anyway. You wait there for us, and we'll come and see you later.'"
Sending these dedicated missionaries out into the field is always an emotional time, Yohannan notes. It is not uncommon to shed "lots of tears, when you do that," he says, "because I have laid my hands on some of the brothers and sent them out, and I know that they will not survive."
Nevertheless, the head of GFA and the missionaries that work with the organization feel the rewards of sharing the gospel, leading souls to Christ, and seeing lives transformed are well worth the occasional sacrifice. Yohannan urges believers in America and other places where the church is well established to pray for the missionaries in Asia and other nations in the 10/40 window, and to give generously to support their important work.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online. Allie recently returned from a trip to India where he interviewed many people who are benefiting from the ministry of Gospel for Asia.
