Ministry shares positive stories about mission work during pandemic: God's doing amazing things
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, a new blog has been launched in an effort to share positive stories about the influential work of Christian missionaries as many around the world suffer enormous hardships.
The “Field Stories of Hope” blog, spearheaded by the ministry e3 Partners, features “weekly stories of how God is working around the world.” “God is always at work,” the blog states. “Even in the midst of this pandemic, He is doing amazing things, and we want to share them with you!”
Most of the six entries currently published on the blog highlight how Christian missionaries have used the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly two million people worldwide and infected many more, as a force for good. One story detailed how the pandemic caused “many to experience hope and love like they never had before” as e3’s national partners distributed more than 4,000 hot meals and 300 grocery bags to impoverished South Asians, enough to feed a family for two to three weeks.
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Additionally, the distribution of the food by e3 Partners enabled “the gospel to be shared,” resulting in “more than 1,500 lost souls” learning about the Gospel for the first time. By the time the 17-day period of food distribution was over, 600 of those “lost souls” had agreed to give their lives to Jesus Christ.
Another entry illustrated an additional example of how “COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns are opening doors of opportunity to spread the gospel to new people and places.” That particular blog focused on “a migrant worker laboring in one of the most populous cities in South Asia,” which was located more than 700 miles away from his home village.
As lockdowns began to take effect, the migrant worker, referred to by the pseudonym “Rohit,” elected to make the long journey back to his home village rather than “starve here in the city.” Throughout his journey, he shared the Gospel with those he encountered and when he finally reached his village, he shared the Gospel with his family and friends.
“As people came to faith, he equipped them and together they reached out to acquaintances in surrounding villages. So far, Rohit has planted 10 new house churches since the lockdown began. And still, his passion to see the good news available to all people everywhere burns strong.”
A third story of hope revealed how the pandemic forced three Oklahoma-based missionary families stationed in Asia to return to the United States. In spite of their inability to continue their missionary work overseas, one of their national partners started “more churches during the pandemic than he had during the previous two years combined.” As the missionary families remain in the United States, they have started several online Bible studies and are working to start a new house church in their home state of Oklahoma.
In addition to the stories shared on the “Field Stories of Hope Blog,” one prominent Christian activist in the United States has shared how her infection with the coronavirus allowed more people to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Joni Eareckson Tada, a disability rights advocate who founded the ministry “Joni and Friends,” was infected with the coronavirus earlier this month. In a Facebook post last week, she explained that in her case, “What COVID meant for evil, Christ meant for good.”
“My faith has widened, my hopes are higher, my love for Jesus has skyrocketed, my appreciation for others has deepened, and God’s promises are cemented further into my soul,” she said. Tada also discussed how her trip to the hospital to receive an antibody infusion enabled her husband Ken to share the Gospel with hospital staff.
“He was constantly giving out Gospel tracts, blessing nurses and aides in the name of Jesus, stopping to pray for them, and speaking words of Spirit-based blessed encouragement. He even did this at the pharmacy.”
