2025-03-25T13:46:22+00:00

Last updated on: March 25, 2025 at 1:46 pm   By
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WILLS POINT, TX — After 45 years of groundbreaking ministry in Asia that includes sending out thousands of national missionaries, a U.S.-based mission organization is expanding in Africa. Texas-based GFA World (www.gfa.org) — formerly known as Gospel for Asia — is moving into a new frontier, with the launch of a new missions base in Liberia in addition to projects already underway in Rwanda.

“Africa is bursting with possibilities,” said Bishop Daniel Timotheos Yohannan, the organization’s new president. “Roughly 40 percent of the population of Liberia, for example, is under the age of 15.”

GFA World Extends Missionary Movement to Liberia, West Africa
NEW WAVE OF HOPE ACROSS AFRICA: Texas-based GFA World (www.gfa.org) has launched a new mission base in Liberia, in addition to the construction of a large-scale multi-specialty hospital and training complex in Kigali, Rwanda — a “springboard” for ministry across Africa.

Across Africa, it is estimated at least 32 million children of primary age, mostly girls, do not attend school because their families cannot afford the fees. GFA World’s child sponsorship program seeks to change that, and actively partners with communities.

The organization is also launching projects and missionary training in Liberia.

Training and equipping nationals — or locals — to do missionary work is nothing new to GFA World. In the 1980s, its founder, K.P. Yohannan, launched what was described as a “revolution in world missions,” sending thousands of trained national missionaries on foot and bicycles to “share the love of God” in communities across Asia, bringing hope and healing to places where there was no previous exposure to the Gospel.

‘Never Met a Christian’

Many people in isolated villages have never heard the Gospel message — or even met a Christian — while millions live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ, the missions organization says.

“National missionaries know the local customs, languages, and beliefs, and don’t face travel or visa restrictions that cross-cultural workers have,” said Timotheos Yohannan, adding that local missionaries “can easily connect with their own people.”

Meanwhile, the organization’s ministry base in Kigali, Rwanda, continues to expand. With one of the highest-density populations in Africa, there is only one doctor for every 8,300 people. The organization is constructing a large-scale multi-specialty hospital and medical training complex that is modelled on its state-of-the-art facility in Asia that helps nearly 2,000 patients every day and trains hundreds of medical students.

The Rwanda-based hospital complex will train medical professionals from across Africa, as well as help set up a network of permanent health clinics.

Plans are underway for new projects in Liberia, mirroring the work in Rwanda — including educational opportunities for children, clean water projects known as “Jesus Wells,” and medical camps where the most at risk families can get free healthcare.

“One-third of the world’s communities are still waiting to experience Christ’s love for the first time,” said Timotheos Yohannan. “No one should die without knowing the love of Christ.”

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 freshwater 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]

2024-11-04T15:50:26+00:00

Last updated on: November 4, 2024 at 3:50 pm   By
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WILLS POINT, TX — At Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas on October 18, GFA World (www.gfa.org) led a special “Celebration of Life” service for its founder and leader, K.P. Yohannan, who passed tragically in May of this year. The service had over 250 attendees, including prominent Christian leaders and pastors such as Jack Graham, Francis Chan, Hank Hanegraaff, Johnnie Moore, David Mains, Frank Sontag, and Troy Miller.

As a pioneer of one of the largest mission movements in history, many leaders, friends, and family members reminded those in attendance of K.P. Yohannan’s impact across tens of thousands of communities in nearly 20 countries, thanks to his unwavering dedication to sharing the Gospel. During the service, attendees shared fond memories and reflections on K.P.’s legacy of humility, deep faith, and his genuine care for the hurting and those without Christ in this world.

“Metropolitan was a gift to all of us,” said Pastor Jack Graham. While recalling words to describe K.P., Graham said he considered him a revolutionary, visionary, man of God, passionate evangelist, spiritual leader, and a humble servant of Christ.

Francis Chan speaking at the KP Yohannan Memorial
Francis Chan prays at the conclusion of his remarks, celebrating the life of his friend K.P. Yohannan. (Photo Credit: GFA World)

“I don’t know who I would be had I not met and known him,” Francis Chan said of his friendship with K.P. “Every time he saw me, he’d go, ‘You know Francis, I pray for you every single day. I really do.’ Here’s a person who is doing exponentially more than I’ve ever done, and yet somehow he could keep this deep communion with Christ, and he could look at me and tell me that he loved me, and he honestly prayed for me every day. And that example is what I’m striving for now.”

“Metropolitan was no ordinary Christian,” Johnnie Moore said in his remarks. “He was a once-in-a-century figure whose ministry will live on after him for generations. This great leader, this history-making Christian figure, had surrendered his life entirely to Jesus once and for all at the very beginning of his ministry, and he surrendered it again and again every day for nearly 60 years of Christian service. He was faithful, and he was consistent.”

“I loved him the first moment I met him,” Hank Hanegraaff told those at the memorial. “And I have loved him ever since. I can tell you I have never, ever seen a more selfless leader than K. P. Yohannan. I thank God for the inspiration he has been in my life, and I pray that we might carry on the task that Jesus Christ has given to us.”

Addressing the future of the ministry, K.P.’s wife, Gisela, said, “What will happen to GFA World after he is gone now? GFA World will remain the same. We will keep on [sharing Christ’s love] through training and sending out national missionaries. And we will do it with the same heart and the same values my husband has passed on to all of us.”

“The future looks very bright for GFA World as President Bishop Daniel takes on the responsibility of the ministry,” Gisela added. “We are grateful to God that he is bringing the same genuine faith and compassion for the lost that his father had for this world.”

Bishop Daniel, K.P.’s son and now GFA World’s President, expressed heartfelt gratitude for the outpouring of love he has personally received since the death of his father. He was thankful that K.P.’s friends took the time to share the many ways they were personally encouraged by his father’s ministry and friendship.

“It’s so clear to me that my wonderful father is leaving a legacy of unwavering faith, selfless service, and genuine Christian love,” said Bishop Daniel. “Hearing his friends share how they were fundamentally changed by my father’s love and his sincere kindness gave me an incredible sense of joy and gratefulness. He blessed thousands of souls in need of Jesus, and yet, in his grand vision and bold missionary work, he never forgot to intentionally love his family and friends. Ten thousand miles away, or in his own home, he was the same Christ-like example wherever his feet were planted.”

For those looking to speak with Bishop Daniel to hear more about the life and legacy of K.P. Yohannan and the future of GFA World, please reach out to [email protected].

About Bishop Daniel

Bishop Daniel is a global Christian leader who serves as President of GFA World. He is also a consecrated bishop of Believers Eastern Church. In his role as president, Bishop Daniel serves as a primary link between thousands of Christian workers and missionaries serving throughout Asia and Africa and the rest of the church worldwide. At a very young age, Bishop Daniel sensed his own personal calling from the Lord and he dedicated the rest of his life to those who had not yet encountered the hope of Christ. He has been in ministry for more than four decades. While traveling frequently, he resides at GFA World headquarters in Texas.

About GFA World

Since 1979, GFA World (www.gfa.org) has been committed to serving the “least of these” in Asia and Africa, often in places where no one else is serving, so they can experience the love of God for the first time. GFA World supports national workers serving as the hands and feet of Christ in four main ways: Sponsoring national missionaries to minister to people’s needs, sponsoring children, investing in community development, and helping families in need of care or during disasters. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.

Learn more about KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan): Facebook | SourceWatch | 6 Remarkable Facts | 10 Milestones | Condolences | Tributes | Online Memorial

2024-10-10T19:24:15+00:00

Last updated on: October 10, 2024 at 7:24 pm   By
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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)

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]

2023-12-13T19:18:42+00:00

Last updated on: December 13, 2023 at 7:18 pm   By
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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]

2023-11-08T21:16:53+00:00

Last updated on: November 8, 2023 at 9:16 pm   By
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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)

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 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.

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

2023-10-04T15:42:44+00:00

Last updated on: October 4, 2023 at 3:42 pm   By
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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.

Mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) has launched an appeal to help thousands of “ostracized widows” at risk of starvation and abuse.
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.

2023-05-24T20:45:09+00:00

Last updated on: May 24, 2023 at 8:45 pm   By
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WILLS POINT, TX — A new three-month campaign aims to help some of the poorest families in Africa and Asia “sew their way out of poverty” — one stitch at a time.

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) Mission agency launches sewing machine campaign, empowers families in Africa and Asia to escape grinding poverty
‘SEW’ AMAZING: Texas-based mission GFA World’s “Sewing Their Way Out of Poverty” campaign aims to provide 500 new sewing machines and vocational training for 500 desperately poor families in Africa and Asia struggling to survive day-to-day. For more information, go to www.gfa.org/press/sew.

Texas-based mission GFA World’s “Sewing Their Way Out of Poverty” campaign aims to provide 500 new sewing machines and vocational training for 500 desperately poor families struggling to survive day-to-day.

“Countless people trapped in grinding poverty literally live from hand to mouth,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan. “It breaks my heart each time I see an ocean of slum dwellings in major cities, or when I watch children digging in garbage heaps for food scraps.”

A Stitch In Time Changes Everything

A sewing machine costing $100 — way beyond the reach of most families living in Africa and Asia — can change everything, giving parents the chance to earn a consistent income sewing and mending clothes.

Subia, a young mom in Asia, was increasingly anxious about how she’d manage to feed and clothe her young daughter. She and her husband — both casual day laborers like millions of others across Africa and Asia — often went days without finding any work.

“No work means nothing to eat,” Yohannan said.

Subia tearfully shared her struggles with her local pastor. “The pastor encouraged her and told her that God has a solution for every problem we face,” Yohannan said.

Sewing A Strong Community Fabric

When the local church took part in a program distributing income-generating gifts in her community, Subia couldn’t contain her excitement when she received a sewing machine — a real, practical answer to her prayers.

“The sewing machine has changed this family’s life,” Yohannan said. “Subia no longer has to go out in search of a day-labor job. She can stay home with her daughter while she sews clothes for the people in her neighborhood.”

Each year, GFA World supporters provide life-changing, income-generating gifts — including livestock, tools, and sewing machines — for thousands of families like Subia’s. GFA World workers run tailoring classes in local communities to teach men and women sewing skills they can turn into income.

“The need is great, but so is the opportunity to rescue one family at a time from poverty through showing them the love of God and giving them the gift of a sewing machine,” said Yohannan.

For more information, go to www.gfa.org/press/sew.

About GFA World (Gospel for Asia)

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) 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 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 that provides 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 Helps Families ‘Sew Their Way Out of Poverty’

Learn more by reading this GFA World special report: Poverty: Public Enemy #1 – Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

Help families sew their way out of poverty! — Let’s join together to show people the compassion of Christ by providing them with a simple tool to escape poverty and exploitation: a sewing machine.

Read more on Sewing Machine, Christmas Gift Catalog, and Escape Poverty on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

2023-04-11T17:07:14+00:00

Last updated on: April 11, 2023 at 5:07 pm   By
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WILLS POINT, TX — Mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) is challenging people to “pray tenaciously for the world’s vulnerable women like never before” — including the more than 250,000 women and girls who’ve disappeared without a trace in the U.S.

GFA World (also known as Gospel for Asia) spotlights hidden epidemic of missing women and girls on International Women’s Day
WOMEN FACE DANGER FROM ‘WOMB TO WIDOWHOOD’: To mark International Women’s Day in March, GFA World (http://gospelforasia.net/) is challenging people to “tenaciously pray for the world’s vulnerable women like never before” — including the more than 250,000 women and girls who’ve disappeared without a trace in the U.S.

As the annual International Women’s Day takes place in March, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported 257,000 women and girls were missing across America in 2021, the most recent year for statistics.

For most of us, it’s a distant thought, but across America and around the world today, millions of parents, spouses and children live with the daily, brutal reality of not even knowing if their daughter, wife or mother is still alive.

Danger From ‘Womb to Widowhood’

Globally, it’s estimated up to 100 million women and girls are “missing and unaccounted for” — the victims of gender-selective abortions, female infanticide, slavery, human trafficking, and abandonment.

“Around the world, women’s lives are threatened from the womb to widowhood, and millions of precious girls won’t survive to become mothers,” Yohannan said. “It’s vital we combat the culture of violence against women and girls — and shower this broken world with God’s love.”

The mission pioneer — who inspired a wave of national missionaries across Asia — said: “The hurdles faced by women around the world seem insurmountable. But if the global Body of Christ is committed in prayer and action, we can see change in our lifetime.”

World Day of Prayer

The annual World Day of Prayer in March mobilizes Christians worldwide to pray for women in mission work — and GFA World’s Texas-based workers will participate with special prayers for the courageous women missionaries serving women and girls in crisis around the world.

Across Asia, GFA World-supports tens of thousands of girls at risk of abandonment, exploitation, trafficking, and the threat of vanishing without a trace. Projects also provide vocational training and sewing machines for thousands of women at risk.

The ministry’s Sisters of Compassion — specially trained teams of women missionaries — have a burden for serving vulnerable women, including widows and those with leprosy who are shunned by their wider community. By cleaning and bandaging their open wounds, the Sisters show women scarred by leprosy “they’re loved and have priceless value in God’s eyes.”

“Our Christian compassion should drive us to prayer and action,” said Yohannan, whose organization has “shown God’s love” to the extreme poor in Asia for more than four decades.

Source: GFA World Digital Media Room, GFA World (also known as Gospel for Asia) Spotlights ‘Hidden Epidemic’ of Missing Women On International Women’s Day

Learn more by reading this GFA World special report: An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Learn more how to help alleviate the many struggles widows face through the GFA World Widows Ministry.

Read more on Missing Women and Girls, Widowhood and Sisters of Compassion on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

2023-04-11T17:06:17+00:00

Last updated on: April 11, 2023 at 5:06 pm   By
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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

Discussing Kylan & his village's struggle with unclean water, the access to clean water through newly installed Gospel for Asia Jesus Wells
Thanks, the new Jesus Well, like the one pictured, Kylan’s village now has easy access to clean, pure water.

But then, the Gospel for Asia (GFA World) pastor of Kylan and Esmae’s church broke the news to their congregation: A Jesus Well was going to be installed! They would finally have easy access to the clean water they needed. Upon the well’s completion, the entire community felt the benefits almost immediately.

“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.”

See how you can help more villages in need get access to pure, clean water.

*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.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Jesus Well Provides Easy Access to Clean Water

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.

Read more on National Missions, Clean Water Crisis and Jesus Wells on Patheos from GFA World (Gospel for Asia).

2023-04-11T17:05:17+00:00

Last updated on: April 11, 2023 at 5:05 pm   By
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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.

Water shouldn’t have a distinct red color when pulled from a well—but that’s exactly what thousands of impoverished families see when they go to draw water. Water shouldn’t make you sick—but that’s exactly the threat thousands of poverty-stricken people face from their only available source of drinking water.

A Global Water Crisis

Access to clean, pure water remains a major issue for destitute communities in Africa and Asia. Close to 785 million people collect water from contaminated sources, and around 144 million draw their water directly from ponds, rivers, lakes and streams.[1] Those same water sources can harbor numerous contaminants and are among the causes of 485,000 diarrheal related deaths every year.[2]

That is why Gospel for Asia (GFA World) missionaries make it a point to identify communities in need of pure water and help meet that need. Whether it is to raise awareness of the importance of clean water on World Water Day or provide solutions to water crises, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastors and missionaries will provide Jesus Wells or BioSand water filters to villages and individuals who need them most.

The Fight Against Unclean Water

Discussing Gospel for Asia (GFA World) missionaries meeting the need for pure water, fighting waterborne diseases, with BioSand Water Filters
Kaigan and his children, pictured, are now able to drink pure water thanks to their new BioSand water filter.

In their respective areas, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastors Gaige and Rainart discovered many people struggling with dirty water.

For those in Pastor Gaige’s region, the water was red—a color water should never be. Apparently, their water was highly contaminated with iron. Unfiltered, it was unfit for drinking. Most of the villagers had no filters they could use; farmers and daily laborers, they more than likely could not afford them. So, Pastor Gaige distributed 30 BioSand water filters. With the filters, the villagers no longer needed to fear drinking the red-colored water; they now had pure, clean water instead.

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.

After hearing of Kaigan’s children constantly falling ill, and of similar reports from other families in the village, Pastor Rainart stepped in and distributed 42 BioSand water filters to Kaigan and other families in need. After that, Kaigan’s children didn’t fall ill every week. Their new BioSand water filter helped keep them safe from waterborne diseases, including dysentery.

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.

See how you can join GFA missionaries in helping provide families with pure, clean water.

[1] “Drinking Water.” World Health Organization. 14 June 2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water
[2] “Drinking Water.” World Health Organization. 14 June 2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

*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.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Fighting Waterborne Diseases with Water Filters

Learn more about how to provide pure, clean water to families and villages through GFA World Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

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.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports:

Read more on National Missions, Clean Water Crisis and Jesus Wells on Patheos from GFA World (Gospel for Asia).

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