Evangelism & Discipleship in Southeast Asia

Eternal Fruit Born from Dying Grain in Laos

September 30, 2021

Family members of a woman in Laos who died earlier this year had let her waste away in poverty, refusing to care for her because of her faith. Workers for a local ministry arranged her burial, inviting villagers they had ministered to in various community and gospel outreaches.

Merchant in Laos Makes Christ Known Despite Opposition

February 18, 2021

The way a businesswoman in Laos drew people to Christ was the way the salvation message often spread in the first century: redeemed merchants and traders planting gospel seeds as they went about their everyday business.

Christian Boy in Laos Driven from Home for His Faith

January 21, 2021

The parents of Kimsan, a 15-year-old boy in Laos, gathered up all his belongings, stuffed them into a bag and threw it at his face.

Demonic Force Locks Lao Man in Despair

September 24, 2020

Filled with sorrow that his wife had left him, a young man in Laos was walking through Buddhist temple grounds when he felt something like a small bird hit him in the chest. A strange strength came over him, and relatives said that later he became violent and unable to communicate coherently. His parents and other villagers were unable to calm or communicate with him; they built a cage and locked him inside.

Drug-Addicted Couple Finds Surprising Path to Christ

March 19, 2020

Doing dangerous drugs with her boyfriend by night and earning a decent wage by day, Sarah dismissed a male friend’s talk of eternal life in Christ. In their native Philippines, they were too busy climbing the economic ladder in their urban metropolis to pay much attention to ancient things. Things changed, though, when Sarah ran into her friend – and the gospel – in a place that seemed like another planet.

New Christian Shakes Off Opposition in Vietnam

December 19, 2019

In a Vietnamese village where everyone worships the gods, goddesses and spirits of their ancestors, the gospel seemed a rude intruder. When a young man found Christ in another village and brought it back to his family, the God of his salvation message seemed to them a foreign imposter. Then the Holy Spirit began to stir their hearts.

Fired Police Officer Finds Hope for Ruined Life

November 14, 2019

A police officer in Burma (Myanmar), fired from the force after 10 years on duty due to a drug offense, was listening as a native ministry leader spoke of Christ at his prison. The leader provided the inmates with food as well as spiritual nourishment, and the former policeman, Nyan, sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit. As the ministry team left, the preacher had no way of knowing his impact on Nyan’s life.

Obstacles, Opposition Come with Kingdom Expansion

October 3, 2019

Relatives hostile to Christian faith, flooded roads that damage motorcycles, government restrictions on travel – all can instill fear in both native missionaries and new Christians in Laos. In one of the world’s last bastions of communism, a 2016 religion law known as Decree 315 threatens to cripple efforts to spread the gospel. Gathering together, holding worship services, traveling and planting churches where none existed require prior permission. Native missionaries are confronting a new level of fear and intimidation.

Overcoming Intense Opposition to the Gospel

July 11, 2019

In northwest Vietnam, a new Christian was telling a fellow villager about Christ recently when a man came up and struck him with a machete. Most Christians, knowing such hostilities could erupt from hard-liners, are careful to speak of Christ much more privately. While officials harass and arrest Christians whose worship becomes too large or noticeable, pressures from tribe, family and clan present the greatest challenge.

Proclaiming Christ amid Conflict and Opposition

June 20, 2019

Between ethnic rebels trying to recruit them as soldiers and evil spirits threatening to afflict them, young adults in Burma (Myanmar) have a lot to fear. Besides fearing that any illness may be a sign of punishment from a malevolent spirit world, young men in Burma also live in fear of militants from insurgent groups drawing recruits from ethnic groups. “They are frightened all the time, as they don’t know when rebels will come to their village and take them from their family and from their village,” a native ministry leader said.

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