Changing Lives Through the WMO

By Kenneth Eagleton

The World Missions Offering is a crucial component in reaching the unreached with the gospel. The following stories highlight lives changed as a direct result of partnerships energized by the WMO.
(Names have been changed and locations are unspecified to protect ministry.)

From Imam to Pastor

Mohamed became deeply convicted about a “bad sin” he had committed. As an imam in a mosque, he could not recall anything in the Qur’an instructing him how to make restoration for his sin. Deeply troubled, he sought out a Muslim “holy man” and then an Islamic scholar. Neither could help him. Frantically searching the Qur’an, he found a passage saying Allah appointed Isa (Jesus) as our advocate to take away our sins.

Mohamed wanted to find a copy of the Injil (Gospels) to learn more about Jesus, but his district had no Christians or Bibles. He traveled to another district to purchase a copy of the New Testament. Because it was a William Carey translation from the early 19th century, he found it difficult to understand. He located a Bible study correspondence course offering a Bible upon successful completion of the course. He began to understand the truth of the gospel and came to faith in Jesus, finally finding peace for his sin-ridden conscience.

When he spoke about his faith, his father pressured him to renounce his belief in Christ. Mohamed refused, and his father whacked off one of his son’s fingers. This did not stop Mohamed from talking about how Jesus changed him with anyone who would listen. In 2019, he connected with IM partners in south Asia and took their training. Upon completion, he returned to his village. He has since planted four congregations in the area.

My traveling partner and I heard this church planter give his testimony in his south Asian country. We visited a gathering of believers in a courtyard of his village. Mohamed has sent five young men for training with our partners. These Christ-followers pay the price to be Christians who spread the Word.

Special Forces

In one of our south Asian partnerships, we cooperate on a project to send local workers from that country into a remote area with no Christians and no gospel witness. No one else is trying to reach these people in darkness—people who adhere to a radical form of Islam.

Early in 2022, our partnership allowed a team of two families to go live among this people group. In six months, the team saw nine people saved and baptized—truly a miracle of God. In July, the workers met a couple whose children studied at the same school as their children. This couple had cautiously looked for a Christian after the husband/father had a dream. In a vision, he saw Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Follow me and I will give you abundant life.” The couple wanted someone to tell them how to follow Jesus.

In August, the next-door neighbor of one of the workers had a seriously ill child. They had no money to take him to the doctor. The worker prayed for the child, and he was healed. The healing power of Jesus led this family with four children to come to faith in Christ.

So far this year, four more families have been sent to the area to minister. The risks are great, but they are willing to pay the cost for the gospel to reach every people, regardless of their religious views or the difficulties in reaching them.

Unreached Peoples

The Chakma, an unreached people group in south Asia, are comprised of more than a million people. The Chakma, a powerful Buddhist group in a predominantly Muslim country, are influential in their government and society.

This people group has few Christ-followers. The main reason is persecution. As conservative, devout Buddhists, many Chakma are Buddhist extremists. They often burn churches and kill Chakma believers. Recently, a baptism took place among the Chakma. Buddhist extremists asked the pastors what they were doing in the pond. When the pastors replied they were baptizing, the extremists drowned the pastors and believers in the pond.

The Chakma people do not have the Bible in their language. Several Chakma believers are building a team to translate the Bible. A Bible school student from the Chakma people group is part of this translation project. He is also an evangelist and church planter. Please pray for him as he shares the gospel among the Chakma and pray for the Chakma Bible translation.

From Radical Hindu to Pastor

In his youth, Saad, a Hindu, lived in a Muslim-majority country. For a period, great animosity between the two religions meant Muslims would not let Saad and his friends go to market or school. If the boys tried, they were beaten. This led Saad to join a radical Hindu group and train for terrorist activities. His first goal was to kill a Christian. His second was to burn down a church. He confessed, “I had a lot of hate in my heart and no peace.”

Saad’s cousin, a Christian, visited the family during vacation periods. He always talked about Jesus, who He was and what He could do. Saad never wanted to listen to his cousin. Once, he woke suddenly in the middle of the night with a strong stomachache. He had to get on the floor on his hands and knees. For some reason, he remembered about Jesus and told Him if He would relieve the pain, he would believe in Jesus. The pain stopped immediately. However, Saad’s Hindu beliefs were too strong, and he did not follow through on his promise. Over several years, his cousin continued talking to Saad about Christ.

Finally, Saad became the first member of his immediate family to believe. Today, his brother, his cousins, his nieces, his nephews, and even his parents have become Christians. But it took many years. He talked often to his parents about Jesus, until his mother demanded he stop talking to her about Jesus. She said they could not make that decision. Saad was upset. He couldn’t understand why his parents didn’t want to accept the only way to Heaven.

The Holy Spirit convicted him. He realized he was trying to force them to convert. He felt the Holy Spirit telling him, “That is not your job. It is mine.” From that time on, he and his wife prayed and fasted one day a week for his parents’ salvation. One day in 2019, Saad spoke with his mother on the phone and learned she and his father had come to believe in Jesus. On January 1, 2022, Saad baptized his parents.

Currently, Saad helps several Bible translation teams as they work to give their people the Word of God.

Mruchow New Testament

The Mruchow people live in the mountains of south Asia, in an area with much ethnic and political unrest. The Mruchow have waited 65 years to receive the Bible in their language. Our partners set up a volunteer Bible translation team of native Mruchow speakers. Working together intensely for one year, they translated the New Testament and had it checked.

At the end of last year, IM Global Partners, along with Free Will Baptists from Michigan, joined to fund the printing of the newly translated New Testament. On January 27, the New Testament was dedicated in the mountains, in an area where foreigners are not allowed. Praise the Lord, the Mruchow people have the Scripture in their own language!

Take the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

Because people gave to the WMO and directly to partnership accounts, people in areas previously unreached with the wonderful news of salvation through Jesus Christ now know Him as Savior. People who persecuted Christians now preach the gospel. People who have long awaited the Word of Life now have it in their own language.

Because people continue to give, IM’s partners reach further, share the Good News with the unreached, train pastors and leaders, build churches, and give people the Bible in their heart language.

Give to the WMO on August 27 (or whenever you choose). Fuel your financial gifts with prayer, asking God to continue to provide courage and perseverance to those taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

About the Author: After 18 years of missionary work in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenneth Eagleton and his wife Rejane transferred to Brazil in 2014. While serving there as a missionary, he also facilitated and promoted partnerships in countries without a missionary presence. The couple recently relocated to the States. Learn more: iminc.org.