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Joy Through Hope
In recent reports from Central Asia one phrase kept recurring: ‘…the first time…’ It reflected the unique and thrilling opportunities for sharing the Gospel with Children and their parents through the complementary efforts of the Joy of Christmas Project and the ministry of SGA supported Hope Centres. Little Natalya*, accompanied by her devout Muslim mother, looks on and listens in wonder as the Christmas story of Jesus is told. ‘Is all of this true? Did Jesus come for my mum and me too?’
* Name changed
All of this is new to Natalya* – the joy and love of the believers, the bright singing, but most of all the story of Jesus and His coming into the world to rescue us from sin. She received her Christmas gift with gladness but the believers pray that she and many others will discover and receive the greatest of all gifts – eternal life through trusting Jesus.
The Joy of Christmas and the Hope Centres could be described as ‘holding hands’ in this thrilling ministry of bringing the Gospel for the first time to many children, and through them, to their families.
The sight of more than a hundred children hearing about Jesus for the first time was deeply moving.
A Lifeline for Many Local Children
In Tajikistan, a devoted missionary couple, Zafar* and his wife, maintain a vital Gospel ministry through the Hope Centre there. It could be described as a ‘lifeline’ for many local children, some of whom are orphans, and many others from difficult family backgrounds. At the Hope Centre they receive help for daily needs, and experience in a practical way the love of Jesus. Forty children, mostly Muslim, came to the Joy of Christmas event. Many were accompanied by their mothers, and all heard the Good News of Jesus and His gift of salvation. In another location children and parents, 70% of them from a Muslim background, heard for the very first time about Jesus the Saviour through the Joy of Christmas presentation.
At that event Pastor Amir* noticed two people standing nervously in the courtyard, keen to get Christmas gifts for their children, but fearful of entering this Christian ‘stronghold’! Eventually they plucked up courage to step inside and were deeply impacted by all that went on in the service. They were so affected that they expressed a desire to attend more such gatherings, and on the following Sunday both returned with their families and listened while Amir* told of his conversion to Christ. Precious contact has been established through the Hope Centres and Joy of Christmas twinned ministry, and Amir’s* response sums it up: ‘Praise the Lord for the Hope Centre and for the Joy of Christmas programme’!
In another large village where only one believing family lived, a first attempt was made to distribute 200 Christmas gift boxes. Some villagers were suspicious and critical of the believers, but when an invitation was shared by WhatsApp, around 120 children and 30 parents came to the home and crowded into a large room where they listened to the Gospel and the Christmas story presented by a visiting ministry team. The report came back that ‘the sight of more than a hundred children hearing about Jesus for the first time was deeply moving’. It was a clear sign of God at work, opening hearts where before there had been only fear and suspicion.
God Hears and Responds
Elsewhere a widow with six children lived in very basic and poor surroundings. There was no possibility of gifts for the family, but the mother was moved to pray and trust God to supply what was seemingly impossible. Through the Joy of Christmas event gifts did arrive in that home, to the astonishment of mother and children – a powerful testimony that God hears and responds to the simplest heartfelt prayers of those in need.
These are just a few examples of the fruit of this joint missionary thrust, Hope Centres and Joy of Christmas. Across Central Asia tens of thousands of children and parents heard the Gospel. The ministry also reached into Armenia and expansion into Eastern Europe is also in view as SGA moves forward in the confidence that the God who has supplied every need will provide for further advance in winning souls for Christ.