From the Superintendent's DESK

On Saturday, October 15, a young evangelist in Pakistan was invited to meet online with a group from Oregon who are currently visiting our churches in India. Last year, he came across a website for our church in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and was recently directed to contact the headquarters office in Portland. Following a few introductory email exchanges, the video call with the visitors to India was set. Afterward, our group reported, “The time spent with this young man and his family was a blessing and a joy.”

The Pakistani brother first contacted our Fort McMurray church in September of 2021. He began joining their Sunday evening webcasts and mid-week online Bible studies, and the Fort McMurray pastor, Reverend Marjorie Reid, expounded Bible doctrines to him so he could share them with his congregation. He also began translating and distributing our sermons to people in his area. In time, Sister Marjorie found that this group of Pakistani believers was thrilled with the Gospel message that they heard through the Apostolic Faith. Despite an eleven-hour time difference, they would rise very early in order to participate in the online services.

At the beginning of 2022, the Fort McMurray saints helped acquire Bibles for everyone in the Pakistan congregation, as well as a printer so they could print messages and Gospel literature from our website. Following the Easter services this year, the Pakistani brother wrote to Sister Marjorie, “We were so blessed in the worship service today. The sweet Holy Spirit was present, even the children loved the worship.” He has been reaching out to people in nearby communities, and there are now about three hundred people from four Pakistani groups who call themselves “Apostolic Faith Family.”

Following the October 15 meeting with the Oregon visitors to India, a second online meeting was set for the next day, but this time with the Reids from Canada, the India headquarters congregation, and about seventy Pakistani saints present as well. They held a short church service, with testimonies shared by individuals in India and Pakistan, and then a message taken from Romans 12. Afterward, the Pakistani brother said, “The saints were blessed to meet the Apostolic Faith ministers in India, and there is a great wish in their hearts to see them.”

Please pray for the potential of an Apostolic Faith work in Pakistan, and for God to bless those who have chosen to follow Christ there. Less than 2% of the population in Pakistan are Christian and they face extreme persecution for their faith. According to the organization OpenDoors, Pakistan is among the top ten nations with the worst oppression against Christians. It is encouraging to see this group embrace the Gospel, and we pray their witness will reach many more souls.