WILLS POINT, TX — A U.S. faith-based organization has hatched an “eggs-traordinary” challenge to help fight global poverty and hunger.
GFA World’s “chicken challenge” is part of its annual Christmas Critter Campaign that aims to “rescue families from poverty and show them Christ’s love.”
‘IM-PECK-ABLE’ TIMING: Just in time for the holidays, Texas-based mission agency GFA World has hatched the “chicken challenge,” part of its annual Christmas Critter Campaign to rescue families across Africa and Asia from poverty and hunger.
“This is not a one-time hand-out,” said Bishop Daniel, the organization’s president. “Providing a pair of chickens can assist a family out of the cycle of poverty. It impacts not only the family, but the entire community in a positive way, and helps the kids to be healthier.
“Everything we do provides the opportunity to share the love of Christ tangibly and practically.”
The “chicken challenge” invites people to donate a pair of chickens each month for a year, helping a dozen families in some of the poorest places in Africa and Asia fly the poverty coop.
Chickens and eggs not only provide a rich source of dietary protein but also generate a reliable income stream, according to GFA World. It supports thousands of indigenous — or national — missionaries who serve millions of the world’s poorest people on two continents.
For more than 45 years, national missionaries supported by the Texas-based Christian organization have helped transform communities through poverty-fighting initiatives, clean water projects, children and women’s programs, and by sharing the “good news.”
Eternity Is ‘Thing That Matters Most’
The Christmas Critter Campaign also gives people the opportunity to donate goats, pigs and water buffalo, as well as other life-changing gifts such as clean water filters, sewing machines, and warm winter clothing.
Practically sharing the love of Christ makes an eternal difference, the organization says.
Giving people who have never heard even the name of Jesus the opportunity to “experience Christ’s love and hope” was the driving force behind the organization’s founder K.P. Yohannan, who died after a car accident earlier this year.
“The only thing that will matter is what was done to impact (lives for) eternity,” he said, just weeks before his death.
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping thousands of national missionaries 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 hundreds of villages and remote communities, and helping more than 150,000 families break the cycle of poverty through income-generating gifts. More than 40,000 fresh water wells have been drilled since 2007, hundreds of thousands of women are now empowered through literacy training, and Christ-motivated ministry takes place every day throughout 18 nations. 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 — The final services for K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), GFA World founder and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, were a bittersweet time for friends, family, fellow servants of Christ, and what seemed like much of the world.
After his tragic death in the United States, K.P. Yohannan’s mortal remains were transported to the Kochi airport in his home state of Kerala, India. The state of Kerala provided a full escort and state honors to the man that had done so much for his home state and country. Being carried in a vehicle designed for public viewing, people watched from the sides of the road to see him pass by one last time, and as he approached his final resting place, the numbers increased especially as they approached the church in his birth village of Niranam for the second of the final services.
KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) speaking at the GFA World “Renewing Your Passion” conference in March 2022
The funeral and burial on May 21st were preceded with a day-long memorial service that was attended by tens of thousands from all walks of society. The surviving Yohannan family members were surrounded by over 10,000 Believers Eastern Church (B.E.C.) leaders, clergy and other church members who silently kept watch in the conference center where the public viewing was held at the church headquarters.
The day was a testimony of a man whose life policy was to love people regardless of caste, creed or religion, of a man who labored tirelessly for over 50 years for the sake of others. Under his guidance, B.E.C. had grown to over 12,000 parishes in Africa and Asia who for decades also labored under his direction to serve the poorest of the poor and share Christ’s love with those often ostracized by others in society.
During the memorial, the line of mourners processed continuously hour after hour and reached close to a quarter mile long at times. They were from all walks of life: Christian ministry leaders, rickshaw drivers, nurses and doctors from the church hospital, radio listeners, members of Believers Eastern Church from across the country and around the world as well as political leaders and prominent leaders from other faiths. The leaders of every episcopal church of Kerala personally paid their respects, comforted bishops and family and prayed.
Tearful mourners listened for hours as political and religious leaders eulogized the man who had touched their lives personally and bettered so many of the people they led. The continuous condolences included sentiments by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, various Kerala Cabinet Members, Leader of Opposition in Kerala VD Satheesan, All India Congress Council General Secretary KC Venugopal and CPM State Secretary MV Govindan. A Sri Lankan member of Parliament shared and brought written condolences from many country leaders, including the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Many leaders throughout India, from other Asian nations, Africa and Europe who were not able to attend sent their written condolences, including the Prime Minister of India who shared on Twitter, “I am pained by the passing away of the Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan. He will be remembered for his service to society and emphasis on improving the quality of life of the downtrodden. My thoughts are with his family and all devotees of the Believers Church. May his soul rest in peace.”
Memorial services were held in B.E.C. churches throughout the world as millions mourned the loss of their spiritual father.
The depth and multitude of sentiment expressed at the loss of K.P. Yohannan overwhelmingly testified to the life of service he lived and his single focus to care for others. One international Christian leader who also attended the services had also attended the late Billy Graham’s funeral and commented that he believed Metropolitan Yohan had touched more lives more deeply than even Graham.
Though the viewing had gone on for close to twenty-four hours, the procession had to be stopped for a final time of prayer followed by a government ceremony according to full state honors before a procession to St. Thomas Cathedral where the concluding rites and burial would occur.
An invitation-only group filled the cathedral to capacity as interim Metropolitan Bishop Samuel Mor Theophilus presided over the final funeral service. After which, the mortal remains of K.P. Yohanan, Metropolitan Yohan Mor Athanasius I, were laid to rest in a new tomb on the cathedral grounds during a tearful final ceremony.
On the wall in his personal study, K.P. Yohannan had a painting of a saint collapsing into the arms of Jesus as he entered heaven. The epithet on his grave starts with “Resting in the arms of Christ.” Nothing could be more fitting for a man who labored tirelessly for the sake of others as much as anyone in history. Those who were closest to him know that it was for Jesus that he labored, and the moment he looked forward to with all his heart more than anything else was when he would rest in His arm. No epithet could be more fitting.
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 he departed in the presence of God 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.
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.
It hasn’t been a full day yet since being told the news that K.P. Yohannan died.
As I sit at my desk and record my thoughts, I am fighting back tears. I sense I am still in shock.
I believe I am one of the few who still called him K.P. It’s how he introduced himself some decades back when we first met. As a young man he had asked me for time to share his dream of seeing Asia reached for Christ. He was also convinced that the mission strategy needed to transition from Western missionary leadership to one of national converts taking on that role in the near future.
What he excitedly talked to me about was later spelled out in detail in his groundbreaking book Revolution in World Missions.
He told me that he called his embryonic mission Gospel For Asia (now GFA World). “Why don’t you call it ‘Gospel for India’?” I suggested, sensing that his choice of name sounded a bit grandiose. He pushed back hard, explaining that his calling was bigger than just one country—even though his India homeland was soon to become the most populated nation in the world.
Before his death, he had characteristically added a second continent—Africa—where his thinking and actions would once again have a significant impact.
KP Yohannan and David Mains as young men some five decades ago
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told his twelve disciples that their job was to take His Kingdom of God message to all parts of the world. How overwhelmed they must have felt. But that’s what they did!
K.P. was up for that same kind of challenge, and what he accomplished on behalf of his Lord was nothing short of mind-boggling.
I consider myself fortunate to have known this man for a span of five decades.
So, in a few words, how might I describe him to someone who didn’t have that privilege?
He was…
A most remarkable visionary
A speaker who could stir your very soul
A strategic thinker
Someone who still believed in miracles
A prolific writer
A truly remarkable fundraiser
A man who laughed a lot, but was also deadly serious
A friend of the poor and the powerless
A church founder and beloved leader
A modern-day prophet
A person of incredible faith
Someone who could think God-sized thoughts
A man of the Word and of prayer
A man of personal integrity
A faithful husband, loving father and happy grandparent
A loyal friend
An enemy the devil hated.
My list is getting long, and it seems like I have hardly started.
I know I am only one of many whose tears continue to flow today.
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, authored 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 (along with seven grandchildren), 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.
GFA World aims to have the multi-specialty facility up and running by the end of next year. It will be one of the largest and best-equipped hospitals on the continent, according to the organization.
“The need for affordable and accessible healthcare and medicine in Africa is overwhelming,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), who launched the organization — previously known as Gospel for Asia — in 1979. “I’ve never before seen suffering on this scale.”
“Telemedicine is a game-changer that will save thousands upon thousands of lives, enabling people to have health conditions diagnosed and get professional help quickly,” said Yohannan. “With so much suffering in the world, now is the time to demonstrate God’s love.”
Medical teams will focus on preventing and treating diseases like malaria which claims more than 400,000 lives every year, equivalent to the entire population of Tampa, Florida.
While medical infrastructure in the region is perilously overloaded, Rwanda is considered one of the most stable nations in Africa.
“The reason we’re here is because of the love of Christ,” he said. “There’s no more powerful example than going to the poorest and neediest right where they are and being as Jesus to them.”
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 — Can a chicken really change someone’s life? It’s happening all around the globe, according to mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org).
The Texas-based organization has launched its annual Christmas “Chickens & Goats” campaign on WAY-FM Radio — an opportunity for people to buy life-changing gifts, such as chickens and goats, for families living in extreme poverty in Africa and Asia this festive season.
The campaign includes a “Chicken Challenge” to donate a pair of chickens every month for a year, for the cost of two lattes per month. Chickens multiply quickly and produce fresh eggs almost every day, a life-changer for families battling hunger, the mission agency says.
HATCHING HOPE: ‘CHRISTMAS CRITTER’ CAMPAIGN BACKED BY TOP CHRISTIAN BAND: Hit-making Christian band We Are Messengers is supporting mission agency GFA World’s annual “Chickens & Goats” Christmas campaign — an opportunity for people to buy life-changing gifts, including chickens and goats, for families in Africa and Asia living in extreme poverty. (Photo Courtesy of We Are Messengers)
The Christmas campaign is being supported by top Christian band We Are Messengers and its lead singer Darren Mulligan. The award-winning band has had 11 Top-10 radio hits, including the multi-week/multi-chart #1 radio single “Come What May” and the Gold-Certified “Maybe It’s OK.” You can find out more info and tour dates from the band at www.wearemessengersmusic.com.
Hatching Hope
“We see time and time again how the simple gift of a pair of chickens completely transforms the life of someone living in deepest poverty and gives them hope,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan).
Mayra, a widow who received two chickens that helped her out of hunger, told the organization’s workers, “I’m so happy because of your love and concern for me.”
“Our aim is not only to help people like Mayra and their communities escape hunger and poverty, but also to show them the love of Christ — the one who’s able to give them hope for eternity,” Yohannan said.
Other livestock gifts include pigs and water buffalo. Alternative gifts include mosquito nets that prevent malaria and other diseases, income-generating sewing machines, clean water, blankets, and Bibles.
Challenge to Impact Eternity
GFA World national missionaries share with people who’ve never heard about Jesus that they’re “created in the image of God.” They often trek many miles on foot or bicycle to some of the remotest places on earth to provide practical help and “show God’s love to the forgotten and abandoned,” such as outcast widows and those living with leprosy.
“This is the challenge to us all — where will we be in 100 years’ time?” Yohannan said. “The only thing that will matter is what we did to impact eternity.”
About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)
GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries 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 hundreds of villages and remote communities, over 40,000 clean water wells drilled since 2007, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 150,000 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 – KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia), which inspired numerous charities likeGospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide— shares on the impact of George Verwer, his life and ministry, radically changing lives.
George Verwer and K.P. Yohannan on a prayer walk together January, 31, 2020, in London, England.
“I invite you to come, die, and live.”
Those eight words! I’d never heard anything like it.
As a 17-year-old from a village in India, I listened open-mouthed at a mission conference as George Verwer issued that unforgettable challenge to 400 young people like me.
That night, I tossed and turned, agonizing over George’s invitation. I knew the Lord was calling me to go to places where people had never heard the name of Jesus, and the consequences could be persecution, sufferings, even death. These were the places George was always burning with readiness to go to.
On April 14, when George — radical evangelist and founder of Operation Mobilization (OM) — went to be with the Lord Jesus, the mission world lost a giant role model, and I lost my life mentor and one of my closest friends.
My life was fashioned, mentored, by one human being more than any other, George Verwer. I cannot think of anyone in my life journey that lived such an authentic, humble, broken life and showed such passion for the lost. I’ve studied the life of the Apostle Paul, and I watched George live out that same passion and focus. He showed me what it means to be both passionate about Christ and compassionate toward a hurting, lost world. George was among those incredibly rare believers who — like the Apostle Paul — could have said: “Follow my example, as I follow Christ’s.”
So Human, So Real
And follow George I did! In those early years, George would lead our youthful band of missionaries on the streets all day, handing out gospel tracts. At night, he’d lead prayer meetings that sometimes went on until 6 a.m. I’d never even heard of some of the places we were praying for, but George had such a genuine love for every nation. He was so human, so real.
When George came to India, he instilled in us the passion to reach our own people with the gospel at a time when everyone else was sending American and European missionaries. He showed us we could be missionaries. We could take the love of Christ to our people — and beyond.
George knew how to share Christ’s love like no one I’ve ever known. He loved people, and I experienced this personally. During a crisis in my own life, George flew from England to Texas to spend two days with me, praying with me and encouraging me. When others abandoned me, George stayed with me to the end.
And George was never interested in material comforts. He could have run a global empire. He could have lived like a king. Instead, he chose to live in a small house in England and drive a clunky, old car. When I showed up to visit, underdressed for the English weather, he gave me his scarf to keep me warm. That was the type of person George was.
George was among those incredibly rare believers who—like the Apostle Paul—could have said: “Follow my example, as I follow Christ’s.”
Catalyst That Launched A Global Movement
George Verwer and K.P. Yohannan at the Set Apart Retreat at GFA World in 2022.
Looking back, George’s invitation to “come, die, and live” was the catalyst that God would use to begin Gospel for Asia, now GFA World, the global mission I started and have been privileged to lead for almost 45 years.
During that sleepless night more than a half-century ago, I responded to George’s challenge: “Lord, I have nothing to offer you,” I prayed, “but if you want me, I give you everything I am.”
The Lord heard my prayer and used this skinny teenager from an unknown village. Over the past four decades, GFA World has trained over 100,000 young people in the knowledge of God, teaching them to serve millions of Asia’s poorest people through Christ’s love in word and deed, and is now expanding into Africa. All this through the incredible life and influence of one man — George Verwer.
George’s life was a real life, a radical life, a life lived for the nations of the world, a life completely given over to the will of Christ.
That’s why when people ask me, “Who’s been the greatest influence on your life?” there’s no hesitation. George Verwer walked a very narrow road. By God’s grace, I will walk that road, too.
And now I think about George in heaven. He is not dead; he is just departed to be with Christ. I can see him now busy talking with the saints like St. Paul and St. Thomas who planted a church in Niranam, India, where I was born. Lord, please help me to run my race and finish as George did, holy unto the faith.
About KP Yohannan
KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than four 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 (Gospel for Asia)
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 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 – GFA World (previously Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, discussing GFA World missionaries meet the need for pure water, fighting waterborne diseases, with BioSand Water Filters.
Families in Pastor Rainart’s area, including Kaigan’s, faced a similar situation. There was a pump well near Kaigan’s house, but it was improperly drilled. As a result, mud entered the well during the rainy seasons, contaminating the water and drastically increasing the risk of infection from disease. Kaigan noted his children would fall ill almost every week, complaining of stomach pains, a tell-tale symptom of dysentery.
The well wasn’t safe to drink from, period. But it was the only source of water available to them.
Within the communities they serve, GFA missionaries like Pastors Gaige and Rainart step up to identify the most pressing needs. But it’s because of gifts from our donors that GFA missionaries can meet these critical needs and demonstrate Christ’s tangible love to men and women in deprivation.
*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.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionaries 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.
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