WILLS POINT, TX — It’s one of the most remarkable stories in the colossal quest to provide clean drinking water to every person on the planet.
The “Jesus Wells” project, a monumental undertaking of Texas-based mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org), is 25 years old this year — and on the cusp of delivering safe, clean drinking water to its 40 millionth beneficiary.
CLEAN WATER AVAILABLE FOR MILLIONS: The “Jesus Wells” project, a monumental undertaking of Texas-based mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org), is 25 years old this year — and on the cusp of providing safe drinking water to its 40 millionth beneficiary.
“As we mark World Water Day this month, we’re grateful for all who have sacrificed and labored to make the Jesus Wells project what it is today,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan.
So far, the project has supplied reliable, clean drinking water to more than 39 million people in some of the world’s poorest communities — often in remote, parched areas — through a combination of new wells, water pipelines and filters.
This year, it aims to surpass 40 million beneficiaries, launching hundreds of new projects across Africa and Asia.
They’re called “Jesus Wells” because they display a plaque quoting Jesus in the Gospel of John: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”
‘Hidden Catastrophe’
According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, 2.2 billion people worldwide — more than 1 in every 4 — lack safe drinking water.
Every year, it’s estimated more than 500,000 people worldwide die from diseases such as cholera and dysentery due to drinking dirty water.
“It’s a global catastrophe that’s largely hidden from us in America,” Yohannan said.
In Asia, GFA World’s team constructed an almost two-mile-long water pipeline through a mountain rainforest infested with blood-sucking leeches to rescue villagers whose water source was swamped with mud, feces, dead snakes and rotting animal carcasses.
The pipeline feeds water tanks that supply filtered spring water to every home. The organization has installed a similar water system in nine more villages in the area.
Since then, the attitude toward Christians in the area has “completely changed,” Yohannan said.
“They welcome the missionaries into their homes to share God’s love,” he said. “They witnessed for themselves how Christians love and care for people, regardless of their religion or social background.”
About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, discussing Kylan and his village’s struggle with unclean water, and the access to clean water through newly installed GFA World Jesus Wells.
Ten times each day, 20 minutes each way—Kylan and his wife, Esmai, spent cumulative hours on one task. Back and forth, the parents of two performed the same errand. They had to keep doing it for their survival.
Needing Water Every Day
Every day, Kylan and Esmae made the 20-minute journey to their village’s nearest water source. Nearly 10 times a day, depending on how much water they needed, the husband and wife trekked to the waterhole. There, they filled up their water cans as full as they could. Unfortunately, the road to the waterhole curved downhill. Trekking uphill with full jugs several times a day was taxing for Kylan and Esmae and it was even worse during the rainy seasons.
The rain made the roads difficult to traverse, and both husband and wife had fallen multiple times due to the slippery, muddy trails. Sometimes, the rain fell so hard that the road itself flooded, cutting off access to the waterhole. Adding to their misery, during the rainy season the quality of the water was even worse than normal.
“When the water level rises,” Kylan said, “the water from outside actually gets into the well … and the water becomes dirty … but we didn’t have any choice, we had to collect that water and bring it home.”
The water they gathered already was already dirty and untreated on a good day. The family tried to filter the water as best they could, but they could not remove all the pathogens.
“Because of consuming water from that well … we had problems like upset stomachs and even fevers,” Kylan said. “And also, we had skin diseases because of bathing in that water.”
Easily Drawing Clean Water
Thanks, the new Jesus Well, like the one pictured, Kylan’s village now has easy access to clean, pure water.
“We don’t have to go and fetch water from that [old] water source which is time consuming,” Kylan said. “Moreover, the water from the open source was not clean … it was very unhygienic and impure to drink.”
However, the water from the newly installed Jesus Well was clean and pure.
“We didn’t have to filter the water,” Kylan remarked on the Jesus Well, “because the well was dug very deep.”
Nearly everybody in the community uses the Jesus Well now. Kylan said, “The Jesus Well water is more [than] enough for all the villagers here in this village.”
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Provide a Village with Access to Clean Water. GFA’s clean water program is supplying safe, disease-free water to families across Asia through Jesus Wells. Each Jesus Well offers clean drinking water to roughly 300 people at a cost of less than $5 per person.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionary workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
WILLS POINT, TX — Mission agency GFA World (Gospel for Asia) now provides a water lifeline to nearly 40 million desperate people – a number roughly equal to the entire population of California.
Globally, 663 million people lack clean water. Every year, around 500,000 people — including 360,000 children under the age of five — die from waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery and typhoid.
“These are overwhelming numbers,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan. “The good news is we can help save many precious lives, one community at a time.”
Texas-based GFA World has installed more than 40,000 wells — called “Jesus Wells” — and 95,000 BioSand water filters, providing safe drinking water to more than 39 million highly vulnerable people in Asia.
‘JESUS WELL’ PROJECT ENDS VILLAGE ‘WATER WOES’: Texas-based mission agency GFA World (http://www.gospelforasia.net) teamed up with a village church in Nepal to dig a “Jesus Well.” The resulting “miracle” means villagers no longer have to drink from contaminated ponds. Across Asia, GFA World’s water projects serve nearly 40 million people.
Altercations Over Water
In one village in Nepal, quarrels and fights sometimes erupted as villagers waited in line for up to two hours to fill their jars at a community water pipe, reduced to a trickle by months of drought.
Aware of their plight, GFA World came alongside the local church to help make a new well a reality. At first, the believers in this mountainside village began digging by hand, but – when they hit solid rock – their task seemed hopeless. A crew with drilling machines arrived to help, but even they soon gave up.
“The pastor had been praying for two years for God to solve the water problem in the community,” Yohannan said. “[The church members] continued to dig manually, and God did a miracle. Breaking through rock at 33-feet deep, they reached a spring.”
Astonished village leaders said, “This is a great service the church has done… you have become a blessing for us.”
Speaking of the community impact, Yohannan said, “Children won’t miss school anymore because of water-hauling duties, and people no longer get sick from drinking contaminated water from dirty ponds and mudholes.”
“Jesus Wells transform entire communities, Yohannan said, showing people “God really cares about them and answers their prayers.”
Give Clean Water, Fresh Hope! — You can help change tragic outcomes caused by water scarcity and waterborne disease. Help provide villages and families with clean, safe drinking water and give them fresh hope.
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this first part of a Special Report on the unstoppable compassion force of national missionary workers.
Compassion Sweeps ‘Forgotten Islands’
In what are known as the “forgotten islands” of South Asia, remote outposts dotted along the shoreline of the Indian Ocean, villagers still use oxen as a mode of transportation and wash themselves, their dirty clothes and their dishes in the same stagnant ponds they drink from.
Ritesh and his national missionaries are constantly on the move to show the love of Jesus to the “forgotten islands” in South Asia, to which they sail on boats, walking several miles a day, then riding on bicycles.
No clean water. No schools. No medical clinics. Life seems hopeless—and improvement seems impossible—for many of the “forgotten” people of these islands. But a team of young GFA World national workers was changing all that. Traveling on rickety boats from island to island, these committed young workers brought hope and good news to islanders on the brink of giving up.
“It is not we who have been doing ministry, but it is God who has been doing ministry through us,” said group leader Taj, whose team earned the trust of hundreds of villagers as they prayed for the sick and showed these “hidden” people the love of God.
Their hands-on compassion and care has built strong bonds.
“You are my son,” one elderly widow told a member of the team. “You are my mother,” the young missionary replied.
When Gospel for Asia (GFA World) launched its child sponsorship program on several of the islands, the impact on children who’d never before had the chance to go to school before was staggering, resulting in a new birth of hope and purpose.
But Taj and his team weren’t done yet. “I began to pray that we may have enough resources of water,” Taj said.
Jesus Wells meet practical needs in communities for safe, clean drinking water, and in doing so, convey the love Jesus has for the people in these villages.
The answer to his prayers came: Teams drilled new Jesus Wells, bringing clean water for the first time to thousands of islanders who had only tasted water from filthy ponds, which were contaminated and often caused children to fall sick and even die.
In just two years, the commitment and perseverance of Taj and his team brought new hope and good news to dozens of islands, showering the love of God on everyone they met—including the boat drivers who ferried them from place to place.
Such perseverance is a hallmark of faith-filled national workers who have a deep interest in the well-being and health of their fellow countrymen, propelling them to great lengths to share the wholeness and inner peace they’ve discovered themselves.
As a child, Pastor Marty often dug through garbage to fill his empty stomach. Now he is living in the same slum he grew up in, showing the love of Jesus by meeting practical needs of people who are going through the same struggles he went through.
A Native of the Slums Brings Hope
Marty, an indigenous pastor, has dedicated many years to transforming life for the children in the sprawling South Asia slum he was born in. He recalls digging through the garbage as a boy, desperate to find scraps to relieve his hunger. When his alcoholic father died, Marty, who was still only a boy, became his family’s provider.
Every morning Pastor Marty goes on a neighborhood prayer walk, interacting with residents, praying over the community (shown above) and asking for help in showing the love of Jesus in practical ways. It is only through the power of prayer and tangible help that these communities in South Asia can be transformed.
Having experienced the pain, struggles and addictions that plague children every day in the slums, Marty’s eyes tear up as he describes his heartache for children wallowing in extreme poverty, sifting through the trash without hope—like he once did. That’s why he and his wife, Prina, are so passionate about serving the slum dwellers.
“Most of these children’s parents are my friends. We went to school together,” Marty said. “But most of them dropped out. … They started indulging [in] wrong things. … Some of them are even dead. So I started thinking about their children. Why [don’t] we do something for their children?”
Every morning, Marty goes on a neighborhood “prayer walk.” He prays for each individual by name, and the people in the slum—who embrace him as one of their own—recognize there’s something different about him, something almost heavenly.
“[He] is a great example for us,” says one of his neighbors. “He does what Jesus would have done. Helping the poor and needy and also loving people … He is always willing to help people. … He knows the situation… He understands better than anyone else.”
After serving his neighbors in the slum for 15 years, Marty’s perseverance has turned gray skies into blue. He’s launched two child sponsorship initiatives, turning others’ despair into hope and his own tears into joy.
“Ever since my childhood, the pain and difficult situations and poverty—all those things,” Marty says, “when I look back, [they] were … to make me strong and to trust and [have] faith in [God].”
“Pastor Marty … grew up in [this slum] and now is back serving with his family.” says GFA World’s Yohannan. “Serving here is not easy. … Pastor Marty and many other [national workers] are faithfully serving in the slums.”
Across Asia, thousands upon thousands of national missionaries toil and labor every day, trekking miles on foot—often barefoot in extreme heat or cold—to bring hope and good news to their own people who struggle to see any purpose in their lives or reason to go on living.
With a heavy-duty bicycle like this one, two women missionaries can visit many more ladies than they could on foot, travelling from one village to another, meeting practical needs for personal help, hope and encouragement.
Inspired by Jesus’ love for the poor, these workers press on. Even in the face of hunger, disease, dangerous journeys and other hardships, they refuse to give up.
To reach the remotest villages that are too far to reach by walking, national workers turn to pedal power.
In 2020, amidst the pandemic, hundreds of trained workers on bicycles—a compassion crew on wheels—ventured to remote villages across Asia. Working in conjunction with local authorities within pandemic restrictions, with the heart of Christ they provided help for people in desperate need.
Before the pandemic took hold, bicycles were already helping workers to make the most of their time. Rainer saw how he could help even more people, and he prayed for two years for a bicycle so he could encourage and help a cluster of villages nine miles from his home. Months passed with no sign of a bicycle, but Rainer refused to give up hope. Eventually, he got news that he would receive a bicycle, which was provided through generous donations of people in the West. Rainer cried tears of joy. Today, he rides to 10 villages too far away to visit on foot. His bicycle has even become the local “ambulance,” transporting sick villagers to the nearest clinic. In short, Rainer and his bicycle have been a blessing beyond all expectations.
Because of a bicycle Gospel for Asia (GFA) national worker Rainer has been able to travel to various communities and their churches to show the love of Christ by encouraging the believers, meeting practical needs within the villages for food, clean drinking water and health care, and to support other national workers present in those neighborhoods.
National & Non-National: A Beautiful Partnership
Rainer’s story is a wonderful example of how missions-minded people all around the world can link their lives with the lives of national workers on the frontlines, bringing hope into places they could never go. By supporting and sponsoring a national missionary—perhaps by purchasing a bicycle for them, providing monthly financial support, or committing to pray for them—a beautiful partnership is formed, blessing everyone involved.
The unstoppable, never-give-up attitude of national workers like Rainer is a soul-searching challenge to all who desire to bring hope and love to their neighbors in their own communities, wherever they live—a challenge presented in Yohannan’s new book, aptly titled Never Give Up.
“A day will come when all your family, friends, responsibilities, possessions, degrees, popularity, all of it will be gone,” Yohannan writes. “It’s just going to be you and Christ and nothing else. Let the decisions you make today be ones that will reflect well in the light of that moment.”
“Let me ask you, when was the last time you actively went out of your way to show the love of Christ to someone, and then to talk to them about His love for them?”
“Do you sense a growing ache for those who do not know the love of Christ?”
“Do you feel a deeper burden to care for the suffering and needy… widows and orphans as He did?”
“The choice not to give up is mine. It is also yours.”
As we ponder how to personally convey God’s love in word and deed to those within our spheres of influence, we can also partner with a national missionary who is dedicated to being an unstoppable force for compassion in areas of the world we could never reach on our own. Our prayers and financial support of their commitment to bring practical help and hope to people desperately in need is one way we can never give up in the effort to share good news to a world in need of Christ’s love.
If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to help national workers show Jesus’ love by meeting practical needs, then make a generous one time or monthly gift to support a national missionary in Asia or Africa.
GFA World (Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
Learn more by reading this Special Report from Gospel for Asia on the Lord’s work in 2020 through GFA and the partnerships worldwide while following Him in His work in 16 nations, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Suhana, a victim of child marriage, the desperate need for clean water, extreme poverty, illiteracy, and the Gospel for Asia provided Jesus Well that brought stability and hope for a future.
Nine-year-old Suhana stood in her bridal dress, her childish face masked under heavy kohl eye liner, and the red powder on her forehead signaling her entrance into the adult rite of marriage. Her young husband, closer to adulthood than herself, placed a floral garland around her neck. After the ceremony, Suhana moved to her husband’s village, where another newcomer had arrived just a couple years before her—a Jesus Well.
Harmful Customs Sustained by Need to Survive
Suhana
Suhana’s people lived in rural forests, mountains and valleys where they practiced the same traditional way of life for thousands of years. Predominantly farmers, they cultivated their land to produce rice, vegetables and cotton, which were their main economic resources.
The goal for these farmers was simple and straightforward: survive. But there were many obstacles to overcome. Ponds, which irrigated the fields and provided water for households, dried up during the summer and were reduced to mud holes. Sometimes the area experienced droughts so severe entire villages had to relocate, leaving behind anything they could not carry and becoming poorer in the process.
The need for clean water is not unique to Suhana’s people; it is an urgent issue for 783 million people worldwide.
The lack of fundamental needs, such as water, traps many communities into a life dedicated to obtaining basic necessities. Initiating community development projects, like drilling wells or educating children, are unattainable luxuries for many families. The effects of poverty are especially strong on young girls, who are not seen as able to contribute to the family’s survival—and are subsequently married off at a very young age, making them the in-law’s responsibility to support.
783 million people worldwide don’t have clean water
Open sources of water quickly become polluted when hundreds of families use them for everything from washing clothes and watering animals to cooking and bathing.
Suhana established herself in her new community and joined the other wives in daily visits to the well. She balanced water jugs on her head as she carried back clean water for cooking the family meals.
When the Jesus Well came, everyone rejoiced in the immediate benefits, but the long-term benefits had not yet been imagined.
Suhana visits with a neighbor while she gives her cow a drink of water at the Jesus Well. This well, located a stone’s throw from Suhana’s home, was constructed shortly before she arrived in the village as a young wife.
Consistent Water a Stabilizing Influence
Within a year of becoming a wife, Suhana became a mother, and then quickly had two more children in the next few years. She worked hard on her daily household chores and earned extra income doing manual labor at construction sites working with bricks, sand and cement. Her husband worked as a painter, and they both cultivated their land to feed their growing family.
The Jesus Well assisted Suhana in almost every task, from watering her crops and animals to washing dishes and cooking food. Since the Jesus Well was nearby, Suhana did not have to spend extra time hauling water back and forth from a distant water source.
With their basic needs taken care of, Suhana could send her children to school rather than to the fields or to earn money as daily laborers.
The Jesus Well blessed more than just Suhana’s family. People from all over the village came to the Jesus Well every day. During summer droughts, the Jesus Well faithfully poured out clean, pure water, attracting people from other villages whose water supplies had dried up. Even with the additional burden of more people drawing water, the Jesus Well flowed continually, giving life to Suhana’s community and many others.
Suhana uses water from the Jesus Well for almost all of her household tasks, like preparing a meal for her family. The Jesus Well has eliminated the water crisis in Suhana’s village and brought stability to the residents’ daily life.
“This Jesus Well water is more than sufficient for the entire village and also for some neighboring villages,” shares Suhana. “It never dries up during summer, whereas many other water sources dry up. The more we draw water out of this well, the cleaner and purer the water comes out. Everybody comes here and takes water every day, and good water keeps coming out of this well. Everybody is satisfied with the water.”
Village Steadily Transforms
As years went by, Suhana’s children grew and so did the community’s dependence on the Jesus Well. With a reliable source of pure water, children weren’t as sick and missed fewer school days. People could grow their crops and did not have to leave their homes looking for water, and children didn’t need to help their parents earn money.
Eventually, a girls’ school was built nearby, and the daughters of the village attended school instead of preparing for marriage at a young age. Each day on their breaks, students would come to the Jesus Well for drinks and to play and laugh in the cool water.
Suhana and the Jesus Well have lived in this village for almost 20 years now. They have both become part of the fabric of the community.
A local Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, whose church building is located next to the Jesus Well, shared the impact this gift has made in the community.
“I feel very happy to know that this is one of the first Jesus Wells…” — the local pastor
“I feel very happy to know that this is one of the first Jesus Wells,” the pastor said. “It’s not easy to have a well maintained for this many years; because anybody can install a well, but maintaining it for almost [20] years, where it still gives clean and good drinking water, it is not easy. That makes me very proud and happy, and I am so glad that this well is [by] our church.”
The Jesus Well has brought stability and health to this village and surrounding villages, serving hundreds of families, including Suhana’s, whose children now have the option of continuing their education and no longer have to give up their dreams in exchange for the daily struggle to survive.
Over its 20-year life, this Jesus Well has served hundreds of people thousands of gallons of pure clean water.
Each person that comes to well is presented with the Scripture declaring Christ as the Living Water: “Jesus answered and said to her: ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”—John 4:13–14
You can help bring relief to an entire community through a gift towards a Jesus Well, establishing a legacy of God’s love and goodness for hundreds of people.
Jesus Wells are a wise investment and we keep the costs low too. For only $45, you can provide clean water for up to nine people for around 20 years. See more ways to provide clean water »
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
esperate for water, Madhura and Jaival pushed the handle up and down on the old, abandoned hand pump. A brown substance spilled from the dirty pipe. It was not fit to drink or cook with in any other circumstance, yet it is what they were forced to use. They had no other choice. If they didn’t drink water, they would die; if they drank it, maybe they would die from waterborne diseases. This is what Madhura and Jaival faced every single day for five years.
Pastor Jaanai (pictured here with his family) serves his congregation faithfully and loves to share with others the hope of Jesus.
Pastor Sees Villagers Suffering
From one household to another, everyone seemed to be crying out for clean water—or any water—to quench their thirst and meet their needs. Our pastor Jaanai’s heart broke and welled up with love for the people God had called him to serve. He knew many had never heard of Jesus and His love, and on top of this, they were suffering from lack of pure water. In one day alone, it was not rare for him to pray for several individuals who were sick from waterborne illnesses.
Within Jaival’s village, there were 750 villagers, and they shared three hand pumps. But the pumps were old and damaged—and only one supplied any water. But just one small hand pump wasn’t sufficient for everyone.
Struggling for water was not uncommon or unfamiliar for most people in this region of Asia, but Jaival and his wife Madhura suffered from water crisis worse than most. Madhura was accused of performing witchcraft that took the life of another villager, and with no trial, her neighbors and friends banned her and Jaival from all the village activities, and worst of all, from the village hand pumps.
Water was limited, and clean water was even harder to come by. Villagers suffered from waterborne diseases continually because of polluted water sources, like this well.
When Jaival and Madhura met Pastor Jaanai, they poured out their struggles to his listening ears. Pastor Jaanai told them about his hopes to get a Jesus Well in their village, and the couple began praying within their hearts that this God of love the pastor shared about would help them. Maybe He would give them what their neighbors refused them. Though they didn’t attend church, Jaival and Madhura became curious and watched to see what this God would do. Maybe He wouldn’t cast them aside unjustly.
Faithfully loving Jesus because He first loved them, Jaival and Madhura are now growing in their knowledge of God’s pure love, which never runs dry!
When Jaival and Madhura saw how Jesus answered their prayers and accepted them even when so many people had rejected them, they decided they wanted the Living Water in their lives every day. Faithfully loving Jesus because He first loved them, Jaival and Madhura are now growing in their knowledge of God’s pure love, which never runs dry!
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
If someone were to ask what a Gospel for Asia Jesus Well is worth, the most popular response from faithful followers of our work might be “$1,400.” That’s because we consistently remind our family of believers that a gift of $1,400 can fund the building of a brand-new Jesus Well.
However, $1,400 is what it costsGospel for Asia to install a well in drought-ridden villages across South Asia. The value of a Jesus Well is something entirely different.[1]
Defining the Value of a Jesus Well
Whether we realize it or not, we make nearly all of our purchases based on the value proposition of a business transaction. For example, if someone is buying a new tire for their car, their buying decision will take into account the expected length of time they intend to own the car. If they plan on trading the car in the near future, most people will choose to purchase a less expensive tire than they would if they were planning to keep the car for a long time. Price is an issue, but the amount the customer is willing to spend is primarily based on the value they expect to receive. Our point here is to try to establish the value of a Jesus Well.
Villages do not pay for installation or maintenance of Jesus Wells, so the value proposition is not based on cost at all. It is entirely about the benefit received. Christian businessman, Bill Westwood, explains biblical value proposition this way:
Christ’s work of salvation includes the potential for us to fulfill that mission of adding true value by collaborating with him in the process of bringing order out of chaos.
[The value proposition is] the combination of resulting experiences . . . which an organization delivers to a group . . . in some time frame.
Delivering value . . . , meeting their needs and, wherever possible, exceeding their expectations, is to fulfill the golden rule to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39). In serving and loving others, we are serving God inasmuch as humanity bears the imago Dei.[2]
So, defining the worth or value of a Jesus Well has to be ‘calculated’ in the eyes of the recipients.
The Need for Jesus Wells
Disease
“More than 1.8 million children under the age of five die each year from illness associated with contaminated drinking water. Primary diseases contracted from unclean drinking water include cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, roundworm, hepatitis, and dysentery.”[3]
“It is estimated that over 80% of India’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. Indians regularly drink water from lakes, ponds, and rivers. This is the same water used for bathing, laundry and watering cattle.”[4]
One child dies every 90 seconds due to waterborne disease.[5]
Poverty
Lack of readily available clean water is inextricably related to poverty.
“I don’t think people in the West can even begin to understand that there are people, like the Untouchables in India or Nepal, who have to walk eight, nine, or ten miles with a water pot to draw water from some pond. And often it’s a dirty pond because they are not allowed to draw water from the public well where the upper castes are also drawing water.”[6]
How can a person be productive and provide for their families if one or more of the people in the household has to spend several hours per day carrying pots to fetch water?
Education
When children are sick because of waterborne disease, they cannot attend school.
When children are needed to help carry water long distances, they cannot attend school.
What is a Jesus Well Worth?
Because Jesus Wells are gifts, every benefit derived from the provision of clean drinking water contributes to the value of the well. It is not easy to calculate each well’s precise value. However, we can make some reasonable assumptions based on an average village population of 300[7] where there are 260 adults and 40 children.
300 people will begin to become healthier because they are no longer drinking contaminated water. Jesus Wells are built to last 20 years or more. Imagine how improved health can change the lives of young children over a 20-year period.[8]
“Literature suggests that access to sanitation or drinking water may improve student participation or cognitive functions and therefore lead to better educational outcomes.”[9]
According to Gold Standard,
“Households [using clean water wells] are 9 times less likely to contract waterborne illnesses.”[10]
Clean water will improve the potential for school-aged children to escape poverty. A child’s education is affected by an increase in absenteeism, decrease in cognitive potential, and increased attention deficits, according to A Layman’s Guide to Clean Water.[11]
There could be a reduction in deaths of children age four and younger.
People over the age of 60 could live longer.
Immediate, local access to free, clean water could release women from the burden from an average of 20-30 hours a week spent fetching and carrying contaminated water.[12] These people are not lazy – which is readily evidenced by their willingness to do whatever it takes to provide water for their families. They are industrious. The time saved goes to finding new jobs and often a more stable lifestyle.
Wells are drilled during the dry season to ensure that they are deep enough to provide clean water year-round without villagers having to regress to daily treks to obtain water.
Jesus Wells are maintained by the local church at no cost to the community.
The love of Jesus is evidenced daily by the continued access to Jesus Wells for everyone in the village. “Whosoever will” may drink from the water of Jesus Wells.
Did You Know?
Did you know that the Jesus Well project is one of the largest clean water initiatives in the world?[13]
Did you know that Gospel for Asia has drilled over 11,000 Jesus Wells between 2016 and 2017?
Did you know that every Jesus Well features a plaque with the message John 4:13-14?[14]
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Did you know that when our Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and churches gift a well that you have funded, the people in the village want to understand why someone would do that for them? Most of them have been considered outcasts and have never experienced the unconditional kindness of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.[15]
Did you know that the greatest value proposition of a Jesus Well is that it is a visible and tangible demonstration of His love and grace? A Jesus Well is often their introduction to the one, true God who gives them life on earth and offers the proposition of everlasting life where they will lack nothing. There is no other value proposition that can compare.
In Jesus’ name, I come to you To share His love as He told me to. He said freely, freely, You have received Freely, freely, give. Go in My name And, because you believe, Others will know that I live.[16]
CHARLOTTE, NC — I find it of no small significance that K.P. entered the “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us between the Orthodox Church’s celebration of the Sunday of Holy Pascha and the Sunday of Saint Thomas—the disciple who first brought Christianity to India in AD 52. This constitutes a certain sign that the GFA World mission that began in India must continue until those who have not yet heard the name of Christ may say with Saint Thomas,
“My Lord and my God.”
How does one properly pay tribute to a saint?
Hank Hanegraaff with K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan)
I know Metropolitan K.P. Yohannan from many vantage points. First, as the most significant Christian leader of our generation—one committed to following truth wherever it leads. Then, as a husband, a father, a grandfather, and true friend.
As a Christian leader, K.P. personified vision, brilliance, and remarkable humility. Over the last half decade, we connected on average two to three times a week; and as I reflect on those interactions, our conversations were always seasoned by his passion to reach those who have not yet heard the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Long before I met K.P., I heard him characterized as extraordinarily gifted but also as a rather proud and authoritarian leader. In time, I came to know that nothing could be farther from the truth. While he was most certainly talented and consumed by a passion for the lost, above all else, he was humble, considerate, and extraordinarily selfless.
As a husband, he cared deeply about the well-being of his beloved Gisela. During one of our last conversations, K.P. spoke of his desire that her every need be attended to should he depart this earthly sojourn before her. He was obviously aware that his close-knit family would be there for his partner in life and ministry. Nonetheless, his expressed concern demonstrated the deep love and commitment he had toward the well-being of his bride.
K.P.’s prowess as a father lives on in the lives of his daughter Sarah and son Danny. Sarah is a godly mother, who along with her husband, Dr. Daniel, is raising children who are perhaps the ultimate testimony to their grandfather’s legacy. Bishop Danny, likewise, is a supremely talented and capable leader who not only provides positive leadership and direction to the mission of GFA World and Believer’s Eastern Church but is an exemplary husband to Erika and father to three beautiful and spiritually gifted children.
On a personal level, I am eternally grateful for K.P.’s friendship. From the first moment I met him, I loved him. And that love only grew stronger over time. I never had a better friend or role model. A man consumed by passion for the poor and downtrodden. A man who never disappointed me in character or behavior. A man who I genuinely consider to be a saint.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” —Hebrews 12:1–3
Hank Hanegraaff
President of Christian Research Institute (CRI)
About K P Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), until his passing into eternity on May 8, 2024, had written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
MOORESVILLE, NC — KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) — founder of missions agency GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) who died May 8 — once said to me: “I’m just a skinny kid from India who grew up to be a follower of Jesus.”
Genuine humility was the mark of the man — a man whom God would choose to launch one of the greatest missionary movements the world has ever seen.
KP Yohannan aka Metropolitan Yohan (1950-2024)
Born into obscurity in the village of Niranam in Kerala, South India, little “Yohannachan” — as he was known — was the youngest of six boys. His mother, a devout Christian, faithfully prayed and fasted for years that one of her sons would become a preacher of the gospel.
A shy, timid boy, KP would later say he was the most unlikely candidate to become an evangelist. He could barely speak to his neighbor, let alone preach to a crowd.
But, just like Moses in the Bible, God had made his sovereign choice of servant — a divine appointment that had its beginnings centuries earlier when St. Thomas, the Apostle, came to KP’s district and established the first church in India in A.D. 52.
Had it not been for St. Thomas — the “Doubter” turned fervent missionary — the gospel might not have come to Kerala; his mother might not have become a believer and dedicated her sons to God; and the story of KP Yohannan’s extraordinary life might have been very different.
‘Come, Die, and Live!’
Curious and excited, 16-year-old KP attended a local event where an American missionary named George Verwer, the leader of Operation Mobilization (OM), challenged the gathering of young people to a radical life of total abandonment to Jesus Christ: “I invite you to come, die to yourself, and live!”
From that moment, KP’s life was never the same.
His heart broke for the masses who’d never heard about God’s love for them, those living in poverty, widows, orphans, and children with eyes void of hope. An outrageous dream and vision grew in his mind: to share the love of Christ amid the villages across Asia, and throughout the entire world.
But how would this dream take flight?
When young KP came to America in 1974, fresh from the mission fields of India, he began to share his Holy Spirit-inspired vision with others. With an initial gift of $10, the vision grew fledgling wings. Gospel for Asia — now GFA World — was ready to fly.
Spurred by KP’s passionate preaching, churches in America and the West learned of those waiting to hear the message of God’s love and heavenly hope, multitudes eager for good news of Jesus. KP shared his dream: locally-trained native missionaries, supported by their brothers and sisters in the West, heading out on foot to the remotest villages, carrying nothing but the love of Christ and his life-transforming gospel.
Native — or national — missionaries, KP suggested, were better equipped and suited to reach their own people than Western missionaries who required years of language study and cultural orientation, and often faced obstacles and expenses that locals didn’t.
KP’s vision ignited a revolution in world missions — spawning a bestselling book of the same name. The resulting “national missionary” movement shook the missions world, turning the established Western missionary-sending model upside down.
His impassioned pleas on behalf of the suffering masses who’d never heard the gospel both challenged and rattled Western believers to the core. KP spoke with a compassionate authority. He told it like it was. While many Christians and churches in the West had slipped into lethargy and inertia, millions around the globe were sinking into eternity without knowing Christ.
‘Live in Light of Eternity’
“Live every day in light of eternity,” KP urged believers everywhere. “In 50 years’ time, nothing else will matter — only what you’ve done for Christ.”
As he passed his 70th birthday, KP’s focus on eternity — and his desire to “finish well” — only accelerated.
The last time we spoke, just weeks ago, he said: “I don’t have much time left. I want to serve the Lord more. I want to love him more deeply. To see his love transform the world.”
He even took time to pray with me.
A man full of grace. A man whose active compassion for others — no matter their station or position in life — shone with the love of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
KP Yohannan. Gigantic dreamer and missionary statesman.
Spiritual mentor and inspiration to millions.
Humbly, gently, loving others all the way into eternity.
==
Julian Lukins, InChrist Communications
About K P Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), until his passing into eternity on May 8, 2024, had written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
WILLS POINT, TX — K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, departed in the presence of God on May 8, 2024. He was a missionary statesman with an undying call to share the love of Christ with this world and to inspire others to follow in his footsteps. He reposed in Dallas, Texas, due to a sudden cardiac arrest while receiving treatment after being struck by a car while on his morning walk on May 7, the day prior.
KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) (1950-2024)
His life was a ceaseless effort to live in light of eternity, sharing love and the hope of Christ with the masses and the individual. Millions across the globe were touched by his words and his example. Thousands experienced his personal care for them as he invested in their lives.
As director of GFA World for nearly 50 years, K.P. Yohannan led the missions organization to become a significant bridge to fulfill the Great Commission, which is deeply committed to seeing communities transformed through the love of Christ demonstrated in word and deed.
He was also the Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, an indigenous church spread throughout 57 dioceses and more than 12,000 congregations throughout the world in 18 nations.
He had been crisscrossing the globe, challenging the Body of Christ to pick up their cross and follow Him. His call to a radical lifestyle—with an all-out commitment to Jesus—left its impact on nearly every continent. Yohannan’s life message was a fresh word to this generation, and yet as timeless as the scriptural mandate itself.
Born in South India in 1950 in one of the villages where Apostle St. Thomas planted one of his seven churches in 52 A.D., Yohannan was the youngest of six sons. His mother dedicated each of her children to the Lord and longed to see one of them commit their lives to ministry. She secretly fasted each Friday for three and a half years, praying, “Oh God, let just one of my boys preach!” Even as she prayed, her children were growing up, going into different kinds of work. Finally, the youngest, little “Yohannachan,” was left.
After Yohannan finished his schooling, he heard stories about mission fields from missionary statesman George Verwer, who was to become his lifelong mentor and friend. Yohannan’s heart was gripped and never the same. His mother’s faithful prayers were answered as he immediately decided to join a mission movement and go faraway from his home to help bring the Good News to the multitude of villages that had never heard of Christ. While preparing to go with this mission team, he was challenged by George Verwer again to live a life abandoned to Christ in radical discipleship. That night, Yohannan couldn’t sleep. What if God asked him to preach publicly in the streets? What if he was stoned and beaten?
Suddenly, God’s presence filled the room, and he knew he was not alone. “Lord God,” he prayed in surrender, “I’ll give myself to speak for You—but help me to know that You’re with me.”
The next morning, he awoke with a supernatural love and burden for the people around him. The Lord gave him courage to speak to the crowds he saw that day, and he continued to preach for the next seven years in that mission field.
In 1974, the Lord led him to the United States, where he received his theological training at Criswell College. He and his wife, Gisela, were married after his first term.
As a theology student, Yohannan began pastoring a local church in Dallas, where he served for four years.
Remembering the Millions in Asia
As the Lord reminded Yohannan of the millions in Asia still waiting to learn of His love for them, he resigned his pastorate, and he and Gisela began taking steps to start an organization to support national missionaries, which eventually became known as GFA World. They began meeting together each Tuesday night with a small, faithful group of believers to pray over world maps.
Because of Yohannan’s and Gisela’s faithful commitment to God and their passion to see others transformed by Christ’s love, GFA World is today one of the largest missions organizations in the world, coming alongside thousands of national workers in Africa and Asia through prayer and assistance as they bring hope to the neediest. GFA World is engaged in dozens of projects, such as caring for poor children, slum dwellers, and widows and orphans; providing clean water by funding wells; supporting medical missions; and meeting the needs of those in leprosy colonies. Through GFA’s Child Sponsorship Program, children are being rescued from the generational curses of poverty and hopelessness.
On February 6, 2003, he was consecrated as the Metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church. Under his leadership, the church has grown over the last two decades, with more than 12,000 parishes established in Asia and Africa.
In honor of Yohannan’s decades of demonstrating the heart of a father to the fatherless, the members of the Christian Men’s Network’s Global Fatherhood Initiative awarded him the Reggie White Fatherhood Award in 2016. In 2003, he was awarded Alumnus of the Year from Criswell College for his influence in the work of God. He served on the executive committee of World by Radio from 2004–2012 and as a board member with the National Religious Broadcasters Association (NRB) from 2013–2015. In recognition of his service, NRB presented Yohannan with its Individual Achievement in International Broadcasting award in 2003.
Yohannan was a prolific writer with more than 250 books published in Asia and 12 in the United States. With more than 4 million copies in print, Yohannan’s landmark book, Revolution in World Missions, has helped change the course of missions history in our generation. Yohannan’s other titles include The Road to Reality; Come, Let’s Reach the World; Living in the Light of Eternity; Reflecting His Image; Against the Wind; Touching Godliness; Destined to Soar; No Longer a Slumdog; Dance Not for Time; Little Things that Make a Big Difference and Never Give Up.
Yohannan is survived by his faithful wife, Gisela; son, Daniel; daughter, Sarah; and seven grandchildren (David, Esther, Jonah, Hannah, Lydia, Naomi and Noah); along with the millions of believers around the world whose lives are forever changed because of his tireless passion and service on their behalf.
There will be a public viewing on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 4-8pm, at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243. Following, the funeral will be held in Thiruvalla, India. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a special fund, “In Memory for Eternity”, to support the ministry projects that were closest to Yohannan’s heart these last few months.
K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), a faithful servant of the Lord, ran his race faithfully and with much endurance to the very end. His life bears testimony to all of us of what Jesus said to us in St. Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” While our hearts are broken over the sudden loss of our beloved mentor, friend and leader, we rejoice knowing his love, example, faithfulness and joy in being received into the long-awaited presence of his loving Savior.
About K P Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), until his passing into eternity on May 8, 2024, had written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In