COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME FOR HIS NAME

In Acts 5 we read that after the Apostles were arrested they were beaten and commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and then they were let go. And we are told they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

In the western world today it is hard to believe that such persecution still happens. However, we can assure you that it does happen throughout India as well as in many other countries of the world. We know firsthand of instances that have happened to pastors and church planters that we are working with. Some have been beaten, others tied up and doused with gasoline only to be saved by sympathetic villagers before the match was lit, others have had their churches burned to the ground.

Hope and Help International recently received statistical information from the national missionaries that we are sponsoring as well as information from all of the pastors and church planters that are being trained in the Timothy Leadership Institute. We were thrilled to see what they have accomplished with few resources. In the first six months of 2008 these men report visiting 494 villages, making 993 new contacts, seeing 998 people trust Christ as their personal Savior, and baptizing 258. This is even more amazing when we realize that all of this has been accomplished by 55 pastors and church planters.

We are sometimes asked why so few people are baptized in relation to the number of people who have trusted Christ as Savior. In answering this question we will include a letter we recently received from one of our partners who was planning a baptism for 37 new believers.

“We had a baptism service and it was very hard but our God and your prayers allowed us to overcome. Some people from the area came over and made a big problem. I was only able to baptize 5 new believers before they stopped us by force. So please continue to pray for us.”

Because salvation is free to us we tend to forget that it came at a great price - the life of Jesus Christ. And even for those who are involved in the spread of the Good News of salvation today, many times there is a price to be paid. As you give to and pray for these missionaries, you are partnering with men who are worthy to suffer shame for His name.