Millions Resort to Filthy Ponds for Drinking Water

Last updated on: March 24, 2025 at 3:59 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — Millions across Africa and Asia brace for the annual drought season that could result in catastrophic loss of life in coming months as millions turn to filthy, disease-ridden ponds as a last resort to find drinking water. A heartfelt call to arms comes from the global mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) as World Water Day on March 22 spotlights the pervasive water crisis.

GFA World warns before World Water Day millions drink dirty ponds. | Image courtesy of Gregg Wooding.

“About 2.2 billion people have no access to safe drinking water, and 829,000 of them will die this year from waterborne diseases, most of which could be prevented,” said Bishop Daniel Timotheos Yohannan, the organization’s president. “This is something we should all care about.”

Since 2007, the Texas-based organization has drilled 40,000 freshwater wells — known as “Jesus Wells” — and has supplied some 39 million people with safe drinking water in some of the world’s poorest and thirstiest regions.

They’re called “Jesus Wells” because they’re inscribed with Christ’s words recorded in John’s Gospel: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” The wells are much-frequented community gathering spots — like a town square — giving local Christians opportunities to “share God’s love,” Bishop Daniel said.

This year, GFA World aims to drill thousands more in drought-prone places across Africa and Asia. Each well reliably supplies clean drinking water to hundreds of people for 20 years or more, even during severe drought, the organization said.

Teams typically drill 600 feet to reach fresh water — and the end-result transforms local communities, saving countless lives at risk of cholera, typhoid and other often-fatal waterborne diseases.

In Vimal’s village in Asia, women had to line up for two hours every day to fill their water jugs from the nearest safe water source, with trips to the well adding up to ten miles a day. When the water dried up during periods of drought, fights broke out over water at the muddy village pond, their only other option.

All that changed when the mission organization partnered with a local pastor and his congregation to drill a new well, maintained by the local church.

“The women don’t have to spend half their days hauling water,” Bishop Daniel added, “the children no longer miss school searching for water, people don’t get sick from drinking polluted water, and the attitude of the villagers toward Christians has changed.”

For more about GFA World’s water projects in Africa and Asia, go to www.gfa.org/water/jesus-wells.

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

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.

For more details and to arrange an interview, contact: Gregg Wooding @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, Ahead of World Water Day on March 22, GFA World Notes Millions Resort to Filthy Ponds for Drinking Water

Christmas Chicken Challenge Helps Families Fly Poverty Coop

Last updated on: November 6, 2025 at 7:00 am By GFA Staff Writer

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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.”

Christmas Chicken Challenge Helps Families Fly Poverty Coop — **‘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.

Gift items, including literature in local languages, can be donated in his memory at http://www.gfa.org/press/critter.

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

For more details and to arrange an interview, contact: Gregg Wooding @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, Christmas ‘Chicken Challenge’ Helps Families Fly Poverty Coop

GFA World Responds to Hurricane Helene-Scale Flood in Nepal

Last updated on: June 23, 2025 at 9:51 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — U.S. mission organization GFA World (www.gfa.org) is responding to deadly floods in the South Asian nation of Nepal — a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Helene in the U.S.

As the Southeastern U.S. reels from the devastation and death toll caused by Helene, the landlocked nation of Nepal — famous for Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak — has also suffered deadly flooding on a massive scale.

Nepal Flood Relief: GFA World Respond Hurricane Helene Scale Flood — **RELIEF FOR NEPAL FLOOD VICTIMS:** Torrential monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides in Nepal that have claimed nearly 200 lives with dozens still missing. GFA World (*www.gfa.org) is providing relief aid through local partners in the South Asia nation, home to Mount Everest.*

In Nepal, torrential monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides that have claimed nearly 200 lives with dozens still missing, including in the capital, Kathmandu.

In Lalitpur, a city with 300,000 residents south of the capital, rescue teams were digging with their bare hands around the clock to reach people buried under thick mud and rubble, according to reports.

‘Heart-Wrenching’ Situation

“The situation in Nepal is heart-wrenching right now,” said Bishop Daniel, president of GFA World, a faith-based ministry that supports national missionaries across Asia and Africa.

Thousands of people are in desperate need of food and shelter after flood waters and rivers of thick mud barreled through the Kathmandu valley, the Texas-based organization reported.

“Our local partners in Nepal are providing relief aid such as food for those affected, and reports are trickling in of church members who’ve lost their homes,” Bishop Daniel said. “We’re asking people to keep all those suffering in Nepal in their prayers, along with those suffering in the southern U.S.”

Located between India and China, Nepal is used to heavy annual monsoon rains, but experts say the scale of this flooding is unprecedented, causing chaos across central and eastern parts of the country.

GFA World has played a leading role in supporting compassion-centered humanitarian projects in the isolated nation, which has a population of 31 million.

National missionaries trained and supported by the organization trek through the Himalaya Mountains to share the love of God with people in remote villages and pray with those who are sick.

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

For more details and to arrange an interview, contact: Gregg Wooding @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, GFA World Responds as Nepal Reels from Deadly Hurricane Helene-Scale Floods

Read more on Disaster Relief and Flooding on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Veil on Suffering of ‘Invisible’ Widows Lifted by GFA World

Last updated on: January 16, 2025 at 5:06 am By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — GFA World is lifting the veil on the incredible suffering of millions of “invisible” widows around the world — many even cast off by their own families.

In many places, widows face extreme hardships, abuse, exploitation and sexual violence.

Even their own families show them “little or no mercy,” according to GFA World (www.gfa.org), a faith-based organization that helps rescue widows suffering abandonment and neglect.

No Mercy: Texas Mission Lifts Veil on Suffering of Invisible Widows — **RESCUING ‘INVISIBLE’ SUFFERING WIDOWS:** Organizations like Texas-based GFA World (www.gfa.org) are helping widows in “forgotten corners” of Africa and Asia where they’re struggling to survive in societies that show them little or no mercy.

“Many (widows) end up as beggars and are often exploited for slave labor or are sex trafficked,” said Bishop Daniel Timotheos (Yohannan), the organization’s vice president. “In some cultures, widows are treated as outcasts, disowned by even their closest family members and thrown out of their home when their husband dies.”

International Widows’ Day on June 23 draws attention to their suffering — a plight the United Nations says is largely “invisible” to the world.

According to the U.N., out of approximately 258 million widows worldwide, nearly one-in-10 live in extreme poverty, often forcing them to beg or engage in sex work.

Huge numbers of women are widowed due to conflict and war. In some parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, it’s reported that a staggering 50% of women are widows. In Iraq, there are some three million widows; in Kabul, Afghanistan, more than 70,000 in a single city.

During armed conflicts, many widows are raped, mutilated and infected with the HIV virus, the U.N. reports.

Cruel Rituals

“Widows are coerced into participating in degrading and even life-threatening traditional practices as part of burial and mourning rites,” the U.N. says. “Rites may involve sexual relations with male relatives, shaving of the hair and scarification.”

Organizations like GFA World are helping widows in “forgotten corners” of Africa and Asia where they’re “struggling to survive in societies that show little or no mercy toward them,” Timotheos (Yohannan) said.

The Texas-based organization provides food, clothing, shelter, medical care, income-generating farm animals, literacy classes, and vocational training — giving desperate widows hope.

‘Rejected By Her Own Daughter’

Mysie, a 56-year-old widow, showed up in Pastor Surin’s village in Asia after being driven out of her home. Even her own daughter had no pity on her. For three years, she drifted from village to village, begging, digging for food scraps in garbage piles, and sleeping rough.

“But God had not forgotten her,” Timotheos (Yohannan) said.

A member of the local church built her a simple two-room mud house, right next-door to a family that helps look after her. GFA World supports thousands of village churches like Pastor Surin’s.

“Everything we do is wrapped in the hope that is found in the love of Christ,” Timotheos (Yohannan) said.

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 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.

For more details and to arrange an interview, contact: Gregg Wooding @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, ‘No Mercy:’ Texas Mission Lifts Veil on Suffering of ‘Invisible’ Widows

Read more on Widows on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

KP Yohannan in Radio: “That’s Something We’ll Cherish”

Last updated on: May 29, 2024 at 2:38 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — The public viewing for the late Dr. K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) on May 15 in Dallas, Texas, was attended by approximately a thousand mourners, including presidents of national Christian organizations; former dignitaries of the Indian parliament; bishops, priests and leaders of various Christian denominations; and many men and women who grew up listening to Yohannan on the radio overseas.

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“When I was very young, my mother, at 5:30 in the morning, would turn on the radio, and I would hear K.P.’s voice,” said one individual whose words were echoed by many who attended the public viewing.

K P Yohannan Radio Ministry: Touching Millions Across the Globe — Dr. K.P. Yohannan, founder of GFA World, doing his Athmik Yathra radio recording during the coronavirus lockdown in April 2020.

Victor Abraham, CEO and president of Skypass Group, knew Yohannan for more than 30 years and handled most of his travel.

“There is a special anointment that we see,” Abraham said while at the public viewing. “[Yohannan] has blessed many across the globe. You know, today still people are talking about when they wake-up in India they listen to Athmik Yathra radio. … That’s how they connect to him. … That’s something we’ll cherish the rest of our lives.”

K.P. Yohannan started broadcasting radio messages in 1986. In an article published in GFA World’s magazine,[1] Yohannan shared how his radio program (Athmik Yathra) began through the encouragement of longtime friend David Mains, Chapel of the Air radio broadcaster.

“[Mains] was doing a radio program and wanted it broadcast in my native Indian language,” Yohannan wrote. “I told him, ‘No problem. As soon as you can find someone to pay for it, we can find someone to do it.’ I didn’t expect him to say, ‘No, I want you to do it.’ I told him I didn’t have the formal language to do that. When I tried, I found out I didn’t know the biblical words in my native language because in my formative years I had been away from home. But I agreed to try, and so I stumbled along and recorded those 50 programs as best I could.”

It was Yohannan’s simple, informal language that helped many understand Christ’s love for the very first time. In the first years of Yohannan’s radio ministry, millions of letters and phone calls poured in from those whose lives were changed because of his powerful messages.

Troy Miller, president of the National Religious Broadcasters Association (NRB), traveled from Nashville to attended the public viewing of the late missionary stateman.

“K.P. and Gospel for Asia were longtime members of NRB and had a tremendous impact on our membership,” Miller said. “Many of our members have been encouraged, blessed and many people have gone into the ministry because of the work of K.P.”

Last year, Yohannan was on the international panel at the 2023 NRB convention and shared about what was happening around the world concerning missions.

“He brought that broader vision to the NRB audience,” Miller shared. “And of course, he was very much into broadcasting and used media to reach lost people and encourage and strengthen the Church. I think he was probably one of the early pioneers on that, particularly…across Asia.”

In 2003, NRB presented Yohannan with its Individual Achievement in International Broadcasting award in 2003.[2]

Today, K.P. Yohannan’s messages are aired in more than 110 languages across the world. In North America, people can listen to Yohannan’s radio program GFA Minute, which invites listeners to live in the light of eternity.[3]

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.

Notable News about KP Yohannan: MissionsBox | NRB | Patheos | Crosswalk

[1] GFA World. “Conversations: Honoring the Past, Pursuing the Future.” July 2019. https://www.gfa.org/gfa-world/2019/july-departments/#con-0719.

[2] NRB. “In Memoriam: Dr. K.P. Yohannan.” May 9, 2024. https://nrb.org/in-memoriam-dr-k-p-yohannan/.

[3] GFA World. “GFA Minute”. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/gfaminute/.

GFA World Launches Multi-Specialty Hospital in East Africa

Last updated on: June 23, 2025 at 9:45 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — GFA World (www.gfa.org) — one of the largest faith-based mission agencies — is launching a new 450-bed hospital, medical school, and training complex in East Africa.

The state-of-the-art medical facility and training center — being constructed in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali — will serve the poorest of the poor, and train new African doctors and nurses, the organization said.

Global Organization launches Multi-Specialty Hospital in East Africa — **GFA WORLD LAUNCHES MAJOR MEDICAL PROJECT IN EAST AFRICA:** Scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2025, a new 450-bed hospital, medical school, and training complex in Kigali, Rwanda, will act as a hub to launch medical missions across Africa, Texas-based GFA World (www.gfa.org) says.

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.”

The new 17-acre campus will launch medical missions across sub-Saharan Africa and into North Africa, “where millions have yet to hear about God’s love for them,” Yohannan said.

Telemedicine is a ‘Game-Changer’

A major thrust will be the expansion of telemedicine, enabling people in isolated villages without any healthcare facilities at all to get medical care remotely online.

“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.

African healthcare workers trained in Rwanda will lay the foundation for long-term community transformation, Yohannan said.

“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.

For more details and to arrange an interview, contact: Gregg Wooding @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, ‘Never Seen Suffering on This Scale:’ Global Organization Launches Multi-Specialty Hospital in East Africa

Read more on Africa and Medical Missions on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Jesus Wells to Reach 40 Million with Safe Drinking Water

Last updated on: April 4, 2024 at 8:33 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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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.

GFA World Jesus Wells project to reach 40 million with safe drinking water — **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.

Media interested in interviews with GFA World should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, ‘Jesus Wells’ Project Aims to Reach 40 Millionth Person with Safe Drinking Water

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

GFA World Does Christmas ‘Chickens & Goats’ to Fight Poverty

Last updated on: November 11, 2025 at 5:10 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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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.

GFA World Launches Christmas Chickens & Goats to Fight Poverty — **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.

Media interested in interviews with GFA World should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, GFA World Launches Christmas ‘Chickens & Goats’ to Fight Poverty

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

GFA, responds to Devastating Mag 6.4 Earthquake in Nepal

Last updated on: June 23, 2025 at 9:54 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — A U.S.-based global mission agency says several of its partner churches were left “broken” by a devastating earthquake that struck remote Western Nepal Nov. 3, killing more than 150 people.

“We have also lost cherished members of our church family in this heart-wrenching tragedy,” said K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder of Texas-based GFA World (www.gfa.org). “Our prayers are with all the affected families, and we share in their grief during this most challenging time.”

GFA World says several of its partner churches were left "broken" by a devastating earthquake that struck remote Western Nepal Nov. 3 — **GFA WORLD, LOCAL CHURCHES RUSH TO AID NEPAL QUAKE SURVIVORS:** Local church teams in remote Western Nepal are desperately trying to reach villages flattened by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake last Friday night that killed more than 150 people and left thousands without shelter. GFA World (www.gfa.org) is asking for prayer and support.

According to news reports, the magnitude 6.4 quake flattened mud-and-brick homes in the rugged Jajarkot and West Rukum districts, about 300 miles west of the capital, Kathmandu. It hit just before midnight local time when most people were in bed. Tremors were felt as far away as Delhi.

GFA World reported three churches were badly affected, and in one village three church members were killed.

One Nepalese church leader told the mission organization that local Christians were “broken” by the loss of life and many severe injuries.

Local Church Members Rush to Aid Survivors

“Just like when a quake rocked Nepal in 2015, our teams immediately mobilized. Local church members are actively involved in rescue and relief efforts in the region, with thousands of people in need of food, blankets and tents after their homes were destroyed,” said Yohannan.

Because many affected villages are in remote areas impassable by vehicles, church workers have to use motorbikes to reach them, a local church leader told GFA World. The organization supports national missionaries and helps millions of the poorest people in Africa and Asia.

Within hours, one church team reached a devastated village and began distributing food.

It’s estimated in some areas up to 90% of the simple mud-and-brick dwellings collapsed.

Yohannan urged Christians to pray for those suffering and those who’ve lost loved ones in Nepal. “Let our faith guide us in extending God’s love, aid, and hope to the people of Nepal,” he said. “Together, we can help them heal.”

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

Media interested in interviews with GFA World should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, GFA World Responds to Devastating Nepal Earthquake

GFA World’s Compassion Services is bringing Christ’s love to the suffering and needy in very practical ways. GFA-supported missionaries and volunteers assist survivors of natural disasters by providing food, water, medical care, clothing and even shelter. Teams also minister to slum dwellers and leprosy patients in some of Asia’s major cities. And all is done with a clear Gospel witness.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

GFA World Launches Appeal As ‘Ostracized Widows’ Face Life of Begging

Last updated on: October 4, 2023 at 3:42 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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WILLS POINT, TX — Mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) has launched an appeal to help thousands of “ostracized widows” around the globe at risk of starvation and abuse after being abandoned by their family and neighbors.

“Millions of widows live in societies where they are blamed for their husband’s death, regardless of the illness, accident or circumstances,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan (also known as Metropolitan Yohan). “They are considered a curse and are socially shunned, abused, neglected and often abandoned, along with their children.

**GFA WORLD LAUNCHES APPEAL ON BEHALF OF ‘OSTRACIZED WIDOWS’:** Mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) has launched an appeal to help thousands of “ostracized widows” at risk of starvation and abuse.

“For those married at a young age, they may carry the stigma of ‘widow’ for decades, even their entire adult life.”

For many of the estimated 258 million widows worldwide, especially those in Africa and Asia, the only way to survive is to scavenge and beg, said Yohannan.

“Their homelessness and hunger make them easy targets for exploitation, slave labor and the sex trade,” he said.

Alarming examples of the extreme mistreatment widows often face include:

Nigerian widows were locked in a room with their husbands’ corpses and forced to shave their own heads — a ritual of shame.
In Afghanistan, outcast widows had to establish their own “colony” on a hillside above a cemetery, excluded from mainstream life.
In Kenya, during the pandemic, there were reports of widows being driven out of their homes by in-laws who considered them to be an “excess burden.”
In many countries, city streets are the only place left for widows who’ve been abandoned by their families.

In some countries in Africa and Asia, new widows may have barely buried or cremated their husbands before someone tries to take their home, land or possessions, citing loss of property rights after the husband dies.

“Though their families and society have turned their backs on these precious women, God loves them dearly,” Yohannan said. “As the Bible says, we must ‘… care for orphans and widows in their distress’.”

‘God Answers Widow’s Cry’

GFA World and its network of national missionaries provide medical care, literacy classes, vocational training for young widows, and income-generating farm animals, such as cows and goats.

Kacia lives in a remote village where the homes are made out of bamboo poles and the walls are covered with mud. When her husband died, Kacia cried out to God in desperation. Her prayers were answered when local Christians came to comfort her and pray with her.

Supported by GFA World, they were able to give Kacia a goat so she could raise a small herd, sell milk, and have a steady income. “I was very much pleased because that gave me hope and dignity that I can somehow carry my life forward,” she said. “I am really grateful in my heart.”

For more information about supporting widows like Kacia, go to http://www.gfa.org.

About GFA World (Gospel for Asia)

GFA World (formerly 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 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/.

Media interested in interviews with GFA World should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, GFA World Launches Appeal As ‘Ostracized Widows’ Face Life of Begging

Learn more by reading this GFA World special report: Coronavirus Intensifies Hardships for Widows

Learn more about the GFA World’s Widows Ministry. For over more than 40 million widows in South Asia, life is a desperate struggle for survival. Blamed for their husbands’ deaths, many are forsaken by their families, shunned by their friends and despised by their communities. You can help lift widows out of destitution and restore their dignity.

Read more on Widows on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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