Colombo, Sri Lanka Congregation

Gurgaon, India Congregation

Islamabad, Pakistan Congregation

Nepalgunj, Nepal Congregation

Proposed Model Church Building -Nepal

Village Church - Nepal

Village Churches

Model Churches

In 2002, I set a twenty-year goal to establish one significant model church each year in South Asia. These congregations serve their regions as working examples of solid New Testament government, innovative vision and sustainable growth. I generally locate a model church in a major city where we target middle-income families. My purpose is that these model churches will become financial centers where the work in the outlying areas can be directed and funded from resources within the model church.

In the first year of that twenty-year vision we established a congregation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I fully supported the church for one year, paying the building rent, the pastor's salary and the outreach expenses. In the second year I reduced the monthly support by 30% and in the third year another 30%. We set a growth goal of 100 adult members by the end of the first year and to double in size each year for the next three years. We grew to 375 adults by the end of the third year. The Colombo congregation has continued to grow steadily and has reached about 700 adult members and has served as a pattern for our ongoing church planting efforts.

Our second church plant was in Gurgaon, India. I worked together with Pastor Victor Nazareth. Victor was already the pastor of a successful congregation in Delhi. We were able to help him launch a sister church in Gurgaon, a fast growing commercial center south of Delhi. Victor has successfully raised up pastors for both the Delhi and Gurgaon congregations and has planted 18 other congregations in the Delhi region. The Gurgaon congregation is middle to upper income, English speaking, and was fully self-supported within one year.

Our third model church was launched July 2004 in Bhaktapur, Nepal. It has not grown as quickly as our other church plants but it is a solid work of about 75 adults. Bhaktapur is a difficult Hindu stronghold and we expected this work to be a challenge. We established a small orphanage with 13 children along with this church and we are extremely pleased with how this ministry of compassion has progressed. The children are a delight to our hearts!

Our fourth model church was launched in March of 2005 just outside Islamabad, Pakistan. This rapidly growing congregation reached an adult membership of 800 by 2008 and continues to grow steadily.

Our fifth church was a bit of an exception from our other model works. Led by pastor K.B. Basel and his wife Sushilla, the ministry was already functioning well before we began to help. We helped K.B. to expand his base church and to add 50 village churches in the unreached villages of south west Nepal. We purchased property for K.B. in 2007 and in 2008 began construction on a 1,000 seat auditorium.

Village Church Plants

In 2002 we began working closely with Bethany World Prayer Center, my home church, to facilitate church planting among the unreached people of South Asia. In that first year, Bethany provided funding for us to plant 30 churches. Since that time, Bethany has helped us to launch over 500 churches in South Asia.

changing the world...one congregation at a time