(Map capture courtesy of Google Maps)

There is a bigger question being investigated now.  Why?

Global Advance equips and empowers national church leaders to share the message of a Savior with their countrymen. Their context is usually in countries hostile to the Gospel or in developing nations.  However, this tragedy struck close to their hearts for two reasons: first, because it’s a church body; second, because it happened in Texas, home to the ministry headquarters.  Founder David Shibley shared some of his thoughts in the moments following the breaking news:

“Our hearts and prayers are with the families forever affected by the despicable massacre of innocent worshippers at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas. This hideous display of cowardice defies reason. As we sort through this, we need to restate what we know for sure.

“As Scripture foretold, a spirit of lawlessness is now rampant in our nation and throughout much of the world. As followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we are to defy this by living and ministering in the opposite spirit. ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace …’ (Galatians 5:22). By God’s grace we will be instruments of His peace and proclaimers of His gospel of peace. Among other things this means we as Christians must allow God’s Spirit to filter what we say and the tone in which we say it. God grant us both civility and holy boldness. Mere ranting against evil is pointless and powerless. ‘The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God’ (James 1:20, ESV).

(Photo courtesy of www.ssfb.net)

“Attacks against churches are increasing here and worldwide. This is part of a satanic scheme that seeks to intimidate Christian believers from living out our faith in public worship. Again, let’s defy this by ‘not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near’ (Hebrews 10:25, ESV). To some of you ‘tough guys’ who send your wife and kids to church while you sit at home and drink beer — put on your big boy pants, take the reins of spiritual leadership in your family, and get back in church! Today’s events ought to make every true believer want to stand up and be counted with God’s people. This isn’t said in anger but as a siren call for us all to rise to the challenge of our times.

“I’m sure no one went to First Baptist in Sutherland Springs this morning intending to become a martyr. But tragedy has thrust upon them this noble status. They are now safe in the arms of Jesus. They were faithful unto death. They will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).

“A final thought: We need to be sensitized in prayer, and we need to be sensitized in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are to overcome evil with good.”

Reaching Pastors in Pakistan

(Photo courtesy of Global Advance)

“Pakistan is an incredible opportunity that has opened up for the Gospel’s advance recently. So far, we have held six training events in the nation of Pakistan, training and equipping indigenous leaders,” Global Advance’s Ken Janke shares.

“So far this year, I’m excited to report that we’ve trained 948 frontline leaders.”

The ministry still has two more training sessions to do in Pakistan before the year is done. Furthermore, there are over 400 unreached rural villages in Pakistan and one Global Advance pastor want this to change.

In fact, because of how unreached parts of Pakistan are, some of the frontline leaders being trained by Global Advance have never heard the Gospel preached in Pakistan. Now, Global Advance is trying to help change this by traveling into rural Pakistani villages where few Christians live.

“Our intent is to begin to serve the basic needs of these villages by providing water and resources. We have individuals who are going to these villages on a regular basis to share the Gospel and minister and encourage these families that are believers,” Janke explains.

Because of drought, sometimes water just simply isn’t available in these villages. And when it is, the water isn’t always drinkable. Global Advance is working with these villages to begin drilling wells and give these people access to fresh water.

By providing these basic needs, Global Advance pastors are building relationships through which they can share the Gospel, with the ultimate goal of bringing biblical training and seeing churches planted in these villages. Still, the process of getting to this point has taken three years.

Road to Success

“Part of our process has been one of building key relationships in the country with top leaders. And these leaders have effectively been able to gather and train believers, and these believers are being very careful and effective in the propagation of the Gospel,” Janke shares.

A major roadblock Pakistani Christians need to be careful about working around is the anti-conversion law. One way Global Advance is helping get around this law is through a satellite TV in the country.

Rather than going door to door to share the Gospel, Global Advance pastors wait until people come to Christ through the satellite TV, and then comes alongside them in their walk of faith. But, this method doesn’t take care of all the risks because Christians converting from Islam are often shut out and persecuted by their friends, family, and communities. They can even lose their jobs and careers.

(Photo Courtesy Global Advance via Facebook)

“When they are abandoned, it’s often nearly impossible for the local Christian church in Pakistan to receive them into the church immediately because of these laws,” Janke says.

“We’re in the process of developing safe homes throughout Pakistan where people who do convert can go … where they’ll be discipled, trained, and equipped–sometimes even taught business skills so that they can start new jobs.”

The combination of satellite TV ministry, training pastors, and reaching rural villages has helped Global Advance create a workable method to evangelize and reach Pakistan’s unreached. Global Advance helps connect pastors with each other so that they can keep in contact, pray for, and encourage each other.

How to Help

This month, Global Advance will be having some of these pastors come to the United States for more a time of training and encouragement.

“Please don’t give up on the Islamic nations. Please keep praying for our brothers and sisters in those nations. Pray for Pakistan. Pray for the leaders who are courageously and boldly standing up and declaring the Gospel,” Janke asks.

“Let’s not forget them and there is still work to be done. The Gospel is advancing, [but] there are people who still have not heard the Gospel message. Jesus Christ must be lifted high in Pakistan.”

Continue to pray for the Christians in Pakistan, their safety, and the Gospel’s advancement. Pray also for their encouragement, growth, and boldness in their faith.

For more ways to get involved, click here!

To give to Global Advance’s work in Pakistan, click here!

Conference for Pastors

Over 250 pastors and wives gathered from across Romania for a Global Advance FrontLine Pastors Conference.(Photo/Caption Courtesy of Global Advance via Facebook)

In partnership with the Bible League of Romania, Shibley and his wife, along with a couple of others, hosted a pastors training conference and a church planters training conference on the Black Sea.

The conference wasn’t just for learning. It was also meant to be a time of encouragement. The conference was attended by over 250 Romanian pastors and their wives.

In fact, the conference was so well received that on the last day, Shibley received a note from an attendee that said, ‘If heaven is anything like the fellowship we have here, it will be perfect for me.’

For many of these pastors, they’re bi-vocational. They work multiple jobs to support their families while also caring for a congregation. Yet, despite this, these pastors and church planters are still committed to the advancement of the Gospel.

“I’m very confident that missionaries are going to go from Romania as a result of this conference. They’ll be raised up by the churches represented there by the pastors, and that new churches will be planted,” Global Advance’s David Shibley shares.

Gospel Opportunity in Romania

So, what’s changed? The decline of persecution in the country.

“They don’t face the persecution that they faced of the last seventy, and to some degree, over the last eighty years. And now, they’re in this tremendous season of opportunity,” Shibley explains.

Dr. David and Naomi Shibley with our Global Ambassadors in Romania teaching Front Line Pastors. (Photo/Caption Courtesy of Global Advance via Facebook)

However, they’re facing other challenges instead. For example, these pastors and their churches need new and updated scripture translations.

And, despite the economy in Romania being stronger than it used to be, it’s still not particularly great. Pastors, church planters, and churches themselves still need financial help.

Another challenge is that Christians are also ministering in a strong Orthodox culture. Less than ten percent of the population in Romania are of evangelical persuasion. Still, these barriers aren’t dampening these Christian’s resolve to share the Gospel.

“ I think one of the great things that we need to be praying for, for our brothers and sisters there, is that they’ll simply be able to seize the day, that they’ll have the economic strength, that they’ll have the spiritual fortitude, and the clarity of vision to really make an impact for Christ, and strongly advance the Gospel in this great season,” Shibley says.

How to Help

Pray for these Christian leaders in Romania to be able to continue in unity and peace in Christ. Pray for them to be able to break through the challenges before them, particularly with the younger generation.

Also, pray for the small fires in Romania, which are burning for Christ, to be fed. And finally, pray for hearts to be opened to the Gospel and for the financial support they need to grow their ministries.

“I believe in many of these Eastern European countries, there’s a potential for a real resurgence of the Gospel…There is relative freedom for the advance of the Gospel without a great deal of opposition,” Shibley explains.

“Most of their opposition would be others who also name the name of Christ, but who are of a different ecclesiastical persuasion. Just as Paul said, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord would run swiftly and be glorified.”

For more information on Global Advance’s work in Romania, click here!

For how to get involved and donate, click here!

Thousands Affected by Disasters

GOES-16 captured this geocolor image of three hurricanes in the tropical Atlantic on the afternoon of September 8, 2017. Left to right, they are: Hurricane Katia, which made landfall in Mexico that night. Hurricane Irma, which was passing between Cuba and the Bahamas; and Hurricane José, which was churning in the open ocean. (Caption, photo courtesy of NOAA Satellites via Flickr: https://goo.gl/kxyXA4)

The flooding, caused by hurricanes and monsoons, has left thousands of people devastated, homeless, and in great need. However, little has been said about the destruction the monsoons have brought in South Asia. Instead, this news has been clouded by other devastating events.

Global Advance wants to address the needs in South Asia and the United States, through its ministry, Alpha Relief.

“[Alpha Relief was] birthed to minister in very concrete ways to persecuted believers around the world. And so, Alpha Relief does that,” Global Advance’s David Shibley explains.

However, a lot of Christian ministries are strained as they try to help the increasing need. And, Alpha Relief is no exception. Alpha Relief has already been providing aid to those who have stayed behind in Syria.

“We go in providing very practical things like heating oil, blankets, medications, and just ministering encouragement to Christians there in Syria.”

Opportunities for the Gospel

Still, this incredible time of need offers numerous opportunities for Christians to get involved and help their neighbor. While these disasters are anything but good, they do post an opportunity for an open door through which to share the Gospel.

“We need to stay Gospel-centered and put the Gospel front and center because many hearts are open right now,” Shibley shares.

“There are many who turn in disillusionment and bitterness, that’s true. But, there are others who are asking the big questions of life and we need to be there with the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.”

Alpha Relief Tips for Helping

With the increased need, Alpha Relief is in the assessment phase to know how best to use their resources and who the ministry can reach. Regardless of where the help goes, though, it’s going to be a long-term project for recovery in the United States, South Asia, Syria, and Mexico.

(Photo Courtesy Alpha Relief via Facebook)

So, how is Alpha Relief determining how and who to help?

“We just look at the human need, realizing that we cannot respond to everything, but we can respond to that which the Holy Spirit prompts us to do,” Shibley explains.

As missionary once told Shibley; the amount of need there is could put a single person in a thousand places today. However, there’s only one place you’re supposed to be–the place the God wants you to serve and help in.

Pray for Alpha Relief to decipher where the Holy Spirit is leading the ministry to help. Ask God what he wants you to do and where he wants you to be. Pray for people’s hearts to be sensitive to the need both in the United States and abroad. Finally, pray for the right people to step forward to address this enormous need.

“That mix altogether of the compassionate deeds, the supernatural touch of God’s grace, and the proclamation of the Gospel is going to have tremendous multiplied effect in these days,” Shibley shares.

Learn more about Alpha Relief or donate here!

North Korea (Photo courtesy of John Pavelka via Flickr)

The country is working toward an armament sophisticated enough to manage nuclear retaliation in a war.  At least, that’s what was intended in Sunday’s show of strength, which embarrassed the regime when the missile blew up on launch.  It did succeed in one area: provocation.

Calls for diplomacy have grown into a global chorus in an effort to stave off what would be a costly and deadly conflagration.  However, North Korea remains defiant, says Alpha Relief’s Director at Global Advance, Ben Gabriel.  “North Korea, as a governmental entity, cares not for its people.  The implementation of technology and things that they’re trying to advance in is very military-focused and very much toward what they can present to the world.”

At what cost?  North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un is also faced with a humanitarian food crisis.  The United Nations estimates that two in five people are malnourished.  Seventy percent of the population relies on food aid.  Their report also noted that most North Koreans also lacked access to basic healthcare or sanitation.

Gabriel says, “The question is, how we respond to that?  How do we, as Christians, perceive these global situations in relation to the advance of the Gospel?”  We must ask, ‘How can we help the people?’

(Photo courtesy of Alpha Relief/Global Advance)

The answer to that question is complicated by the politics.  China has the ability to put pressure on Pyongyang and bring them in line.  However, recent efforts to get North Korea to even meet its nuclear envoy have been ignored.  There have also been hints at China’s patience is ebbing with the reclusive regime, but regardless of the snubs, it’s unlikely there will be a rift in the bilateral relationship.

Gabriel explains, “China does not want South Korea on its border because, in a sense, that means the United States is on its border.  So they almost see North Korea as a buffer zone for themselves and are willing to maintain that.”  It’s also in North Korea’s best interest to keep China pacified.  “A lot of aid that goes into North Korea flows through China and through the semi-open economic border between China and North Korea.”

The border between North and South Korea is a Demilitarized Zone.  If China puts border pressure on North Korea to shape up, Gabriel says things will get really convoluted.  “How do we continue to support North Koreans and their work if we end up with a closed border on both sides?”  Alpha Relief, the humanitarian arm of Global Advance, has a two-tiered approach to support for the underground Church in North Korea.

First, they work with Christians on the ground to distribute aid and basic needs.  They also are focused on Gospel advancement through supplying God’s Word.  The second bit gets tricky, as “it is extremely dangerous to have Bibles in North Korea.  If you’re caught with the Bible, it could mean a death sentence or at least a prison camp sentence.  But, how do we grow in our relationship with the Lord without His Word?”

Specifics on the operations couldn’t be shared for that reason, but Gabriel says, “We have to continue coming up with creative ways because the government starts catching on and starts tamping down on ways that we are able to get the Bible in through different smuggling operations — that’s one thing.  Then the other is those that are able to come out, to disciple them, train them up, and those that really are committed and really buy into life in Christ, to go back and disciple the Church in North Korea.”

(Photo courtesy of Alpha Relief/Global Advance)

Another way Alpha Relief helps is through safe houses, says Gabriel.  “Oftentimes, it’s been a traumatizing event that has caused them to leave, that has triggered their desperate dash for the border.  So [we work] to rehabilitate them, introduce them to the Gospel, if they’re not Christians already, and then help continue them on the journey.”

He explains that for those who do want to come out of North Korea, they have to get past China.  It’s very much a ‘rescue operation’.  Once out, they have to have a place to hide until they can get to South Korea, he says, but the first step is these safe houses on the frontier.

“If North Koreans are caught in China by the Chinese authorities, they are sent back.  If they’ve been in China for some time, then you have kids that have been born in China.  Their kids are left, and China won’t care for their kids.”  Alpha Relief also supports foster care for these children.

The reality is Alpha Relief partners are doing very dangerous work.  However, if we want to be Kingdom and Gospel people, then that needs to be our primary focus, says Gabriel, not fear.  “We want to make sure we have a level mind, a level head about it, in understanding how the Gospel is advancing, and then find a way to get involved.”

And of course, pray, he says.  “That’s why we need to be informed, so we know how to pray.  Pray for these people, pray for their safety and also pray for their provision and that the Gospel would continue to advance there.”

Click here for more about Alpha Relief and North Korea.

Flag of Rwanda (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia/CC)

In commemoration, United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres said the only way to honor the memory of the victims is to ensure such events never happen again.  The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security also said on Twitter, “We join the brave and resilient People of Rwanda in commemorating the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi #Kwibuka23. Together we say Never Again”.

The U.S Secretary of State, Rex W. Tillerson, said in a statement from Washington, DC that the United States stands side-by-side with the Rwandan people in remembrance of men, women, and children killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In just 100 days, beginning April 7th, 1994, some 800,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda by ethnic Hutu extremists.  A Flame of Remembrance will stay lit at the Kigali Memorial Center for the next three months to mark 100 days of commemoration which started on April 7th, and will end on July 4th, 2017.

Global Advance’s Jonathan Shibley is on his way to Rwanda this week.  “We are partnering with Regent University who created this center for economic development — it’s called BDC, Business Development Center, and we’ve helped sponsor Christian CEOs from America going over there to teach business principles, [and] to mentor emerging entrepreneurs.”

He says although it wasn’t planned to coincide with the commemoration, “What’s really cool is just to see how, literally, a nation is being rebuilt from within, and seeing how there’s been a wonderful move of God through the churches over the last decade and a half.  We are working with a new generation of Christian entrepreneurs and business people who have a vision to be rebuilders of the nation.”

(Image courtesy of Global Advance)

Global Advance is helping put on an annual business expo where business people come together to share ideas and network.  A ‘pitch’ gathering is planned where people will present business proposals and plans, and some will earn funding for growth capital.  Shibley adds, “We’re going to be doing all of this in conjunction with a Global Advance-sponsored Marketplace conference to not only teach business principles, but also help people see the spiritual aspects of their work and see how God can use them as a marketplace person to be an influence, and an agent [of] salt and light there in the nation.”

How does business connect to reconciliation and the Gospel?  He explains, “God stepped into a horrific situation and out of those ashes of devastation, there’s new life, there’s hope.  The hope of the Gospel continues to be lived out, and it’s exciting to see the Gospel, not only through proclamation, but also lived out in everyday life.”  More specifically, Global Advance notes that most of Jesus’ miracles took place in the marketplace, and their website further explains that His disciples were business people from a variety of professions.  God has always worked in and through His people in the marketplace.

(Photo courtesy of Global Advance/Marketplace Missions)

In places like Rwanda, he says, this approach plays a vital role in recovery from war.  “There’s obviously still room for healing and that’s only work that the Lord can do by the Spirit.  We’re encouraged to see what God has done and many wonderful stories of reconciliation between people from different tribal backgrounds, family histories, churches, coming together.”  Even as commemoration of Rwanda’s dark days moves on, there remains a focus on restoring dignity.  To that end, Shibley says, “Pray that God will really use us and give us the words to say that will be a light and an encouragement to the people there, and also for wisdom as we have a team of CEOs and business leaders from the States that are going to continue to mentor and partner with business development there in the nation.”

If you’d like to help support initiatives like these, click here.  There’s a $90k match challenge underway.

Some national leaders expressed concern about Pakistan, whose leaders skipped the weekend meeting. A senior Bangladesh official called for actions that would reduce Pakistan’s influence in SAARC.

“As member nations, we have not made the kind of progress we would have wanted to. The tragedy of SAARC, as I would like to call it, is that one member country is destroying it,” said Waliur Rahman, Adviser to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister on International Crimes.

(Wikipedia)

The SAARC leaders aren’t the only ones interested in the region’s future.

“We at Global Advance are giving a lot of focus to the SAARC region for the next several years,” says the ministry’s founder, David Shibley.

“21 percent of the world’s population are in those eight or nine countries. I believe the Church is going to continue to grow very rapidly.”

In a few weeks, Global Advance is holding training conferences for pastors and church planters, Christian business executives, and women leaders. Special focus and energy are being directed toward church planting in the SAARC region.

“They are prayerfully working on a strategy right now for how they will go about planting 10,000 new churches by the year 2030,” says Shibley.

“I would ask that those who are [reading] this on Mission Network News would be much in prayer. Focused prayer for this region is very important.”

Here’s how you can respond:

• Please pray for the protection of pastors and church planters in the SAARC region.
• Pray Global Advance’s training will equip and empower these indigenous leaders.
• Praise God for the growth and expansion of the Church in the SAARC region.
• Pray for courage for pastors and church planters as they face persecution.

“We need to remember that persecution is not new to many of these brothers in Christ…they live and work in that climate,” Shibley notes.

“The Great Commission, of course, has not been rescinded. They understand that, and they continue to be obedient to our Lord’s commission to us.”

Over 90 percent of pastors in developing nations will never have the chance to attend seminary or formal Bible training. Learn how Global Advance meets this need.

(SAARC logo courtesy of Wikipedia)

In one of his first actions in office, he withdrew the United States from the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and 11 Pacific Rim countries (other member states are: Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Peru).  With the US included, this 12-nation would-be bloc is already responsible for 40 percent of world trade.

The potential for upsetting the apple cart with China is significant because of its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.  Acknowledging Taiwan as a self-governed province and threatening additional tariffs on Chinese goods doesn’t bode well for the status quo.

(SAARC influence/Capture courtesy of Wikipedia)

If China falls out with the US, the next economic giant in line as a ‘successor’ is India.  Trump was set to speak Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try to solidify Indo-US ties.  Yet India is in the throes of its own difficulties with soaring inflation, a cash crisis, and infrastructure trouble.  What’s more, religious freedom groups have been quick to point out that the level of intolerance continues to increase, with Christians regularly attacked by radical Hindus.

It is becoming clear that the most efficient way to walk alongside the Body of Christ in India and in places where Muslim dominance (and many of the SAARC nations are Muslim dominant) makes work with Christian groups challenging is to train the trainers and then step aside.  What’s also becoming obvious is these are likely to be the nations that will be the financial powerhouses in the coming future.

Global Advance’s Ken Janke says they’ve been in communication with church leaders from the SAARC region.  SAARC stands for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.  It is a regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia.  Founded in 1985, the member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

“One of the things we strongly believe is [in] the power of the developing indigenous leaders to bring transformation to their nation.  So, Global Advance invests a lot of energy focusing training [and] encouragement to the indigenous leaders for the purposes of the Great Commission and the advancement of the Gospel.”

Of the eight nations that are part of SAARC, seven are on the Open Doors World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries known for the worst persecution of Christians.  There’s concern that as business windows open, ministry windows could close.

(Photo SAARC Secretariat courtesy of Wikipedia)

Having built a network of apostolic leaders from every one of the SAARC nations, it’s possible to respond quickly to the spiritual and physical needs where foreigners are no longer welcome.  Next month, Janke will be meeting with these leaders “for the purposes of training, encouraging, and equipping them.”

Global Advance is preparing for a time when the window of opportunity is closed to outsiders.  From there, he explains, “Each one of them are developing a national strategy for their nation and working to mobilize other indigenous leaders to execute on church planting, on training and equipping pastors, and advancing the Gospel.”

Will persecution follow?  “It’s not any surprise to me when persecution arises, because when the Church does what the Church is supposed to do, it gets real sticky, fast.”

The ministry also anticipated that shift.  “People would come to Christ and then experience incredible persecution.  Alpha Relief has been working to start establishing safe houses for these believers, where we help them to be discipled.”  Essentially, they’re following the example of Jesus Christ, who demonstrated amazing love and compassion to those in need.

“God is at work.  When the Church presses forward, the Gospel advances and the Kingdom comes near, and the voice and the breath of God is felt by the persecuted Church.”

Micah Tyler’s “You’ve Gotta Love Millennials” parody has over 2.5 million views on YouTube.
(Screenshot)

Millennials number about two billion worldwide or 27 percent of the global population. According to this July report, most of them live in one of five countries: India, China, the United States, Indonesia, or Brazil.

In Western nations, most Millennials are tech-savvy. That often puts them on the fast-track to management positions in the corporate world. As stated here, 50 percent of working Millennials are in leadership positions, and 41 percent have four or more people reporting to them.

When it comes to church leadership, Ken Janke of Global Advance says passing the baton is difficult for some leaders. But, maybe not for the reasons you assume.

“One of the things we kept hearing from these leaders was, ‘This Millennial generation…we want to involve them in the work of advancing the Gospel and completing the Great Commission…but we don’t understand what it takes to do that. Can you help us?’”

What Millennials have to offer

Earlier this year, Global Advance surveyed more than 400 Millennial Christians from 24 countries about their spiritual needs and perspectives. See their answers here.

The results of the survey were more than encouraging.

“We’re beginning to see how Millennials are wired up to walk in both of those fields of marketplace and pastoring, frontline leadership,” says Janke.

[Photo credit: Optician Training]

“I like to refer to it as a ‘pioneering’ gift among Millennials…. They have aspirations of starting entrepreneurial businesses that have social impact, or social justice mechanisms built into them, that can be powerfully leveraged for Kingdom impact.

“They just think differently about how to go about pioneering new things.”

It’s clear that a bright future lies ahead for Millennial leaders, but there are also challenges.

While Generation Y is confident in many ways, they’re also insecure. Respondents said self-awareness was their “greatest leadership challenge,” says Janke. Millennials admitted they didn’t know enough about themselves.

A second challenge involves those currently in authority.

“They’re looking for someone to champion them and to help them…take the next step in their ideas…for how to advance the Gospel in their context.”

Bridging the leadership gap

Knowledge is nothing without action. In 2017, Global Advance is taking their NextGen initiative to a new level.

(Photo courtesy of Global Advance)

“We’re trying to take real strategic steps to train and equip both Millennials as well as existing leadership on…leadership characteristics that are scriptural and biblical…that can help bridge this leadership gap,” Janke says.

“We’re going to nine nations in 2017 that we’ve never been to…Africa, Europe, Asia, [and the] Middle East, gathering Millennials, training and equipping them; but, not only that, we’re also gathering the pastors in those nations to learn about the seven leadership principles we pulled from this survey.”

Join a 2017 NextGen training initiative here.

It can seem like an overwhelmingly large national population to reach. But David Shibley with Global Advance says they have a plan for ministry in Nepal, and just trained 256 new church planters.

(Photo courtesy of Global Advance)

“Our key man there has identified 4,000 villages and towns that are in need of Gospel witness, and from this there has been a very clear vision that has emerged. We have been praying and asking the Lord for the training of 150 church planters by 2020. That was accomplished above and beyond last week.”

Shibley continues, “Also, we have wanted, out of that group, to recruit seven coaches for the seven states within Nepal. That too was accomplished. Also, seven prayer coordinators for each of the seven states, that also was accomplished.”

Now, as Global Advance partners move forward with outreach in Nepal, they have some tangible goals in making disciples for Christ.

“We are believing the Lord that within the next three years, what they are calling the 2020 vision, that there will be the planting of at least 75 new churches all over Nepal in each of the seven districts. So we are excited that that took a major step forward even in this month of September, and now we are going to begin to roll out that plan of the actual implementing and planting of these churches.”

It’s a ministry model not limited to Nepal, says Shibley. “Nepali believers who are trained and plant churches within their own nation, they then can model this in other nations.”

(Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

Since Nepal is nestled between India and China, and is a hotspot for tourists, it’s a strategic country to reach with the Gospel message.

“There are still certainly some restrictions that the church is facing over these last several years, [but] there has been unique opportunity for the growth of the Gospel, and we’re still in that time period for Gospel advance that can move very rapidly in Nepal. So we’re striking, in a sense, while the iron is hot.”

In addition to church planting, Global Advance also trained over two hundred Nepali women, under the Esther Initiative, to become prayer warriors and spiritual leaders in their communities.

“We’re very grateful for a wonderful team of women who went as trainers from the United States and shared with these precious Nepali sisters in Christ,” Shibley says.

“This is one of seven training events that are happening this September….. It can essentially be said that every week, there might be two or three exceptions in a year, but every week somewhere in the world there is some kind of training of believers going on to advance the Gospel for the fulfilling of the Great Commission through the hospices of Global Advance.”

(Photo courtesy of Global Advance)

The reception, according to Shibley, went “very, very well. I continue to hear reports, our team has just gotten back within the last few days, but this seems to be something of a catalytic meeting with these ladies…. This could have great ramifications to really raise up a true Esther force of women in the nation of Nepal who could be a tremendous strength and force of the advance of the Gospel throughout that nation.”

As these church planters and women leaders go out, ask the Holy Spirit to guide their ministry and draw the people of Nepal to Christ.

Click here to learn more about church planter training with Global Advance!

To find out about the Global Advance’s Esther Initiative, click here!