Amazing News from Pakistan!
I was talking to Fellowship International missionary Rod Black and heard the following amazing story. Rod and Donna served the Lord in Pakistan for many years. Hard years of sowing that is bearing fruit in these days. The Blacks represent so many faithful servants from Fellowship churches who left home for cross-cultural ministry in communities that are some of the most spiritually hostile to the Gospel. Read Rod’s story and be encouraged that our prayers are being answered.
“Someday in Heaven you will meet some very special friends of mine. They went from the USA to Pakistan as missionaries in the ‘50s—and yes, they went by boat!
“They raised families in a difficult setting—unpredictable electricity, no internet, and really bad roads. That team in the ‘50s worked tirelessly to see the Kingdom of God growing in rocky, hostile soil. Over the years the team dwindled as workers returned to the States for various reasons, and some outreach projects were closed.
“In the ‘80s a new wave of workers came from Canada and the States. That encouraged the team to revive outreach projects and begin new ones. At one time, there were 40 personnel in the Sindh province, and tremendous work was done in sowing seed and watering.
“Over the years, God called many of the original ‘50s missionaries home to glory, and the wave of ‘80s workers shrank due to children’s education, illness, and other reasons. By 2023 the number of personnel from the Fellowship and our partners in the States was zero. After 60 years of continuous ministry by dedicated personnel that I was honoured to serve with, the entire Church in Sindh still only numbered in the hundreds.
“We visited Pakistan in 2024, and we talked with our Pakistani colleagues who continued to work after the foreigners had to leave. Men who came to faith and were trained by foreigners from Canada and the States, are now working with passion to see the Kingdom come. Their wives who had been led to faith by their husbands are now sharing the faith fearlessly. These brothers and sisters are leading over 200 groups who gather each week for fellowship and worship. We heard stories of how people were being baptized and getting training to lead others—spouses, religious leaders, beggars, and tradesmen—counting the cost and paying the price for following Jesus.
“And over and over again, our brothers and sisters told us—we are building on what you and the other missionaries did before us. ‘Nothing we are now doing would be possible without the work that you all did.’ All those years. All those tears. Now bearing fruit.
“Those missionaries who came out in the ‘50s never got to see the amazing photos or hear the wonderful stories that we are receiving now every week. But the work is happening because of what they did through all those decades.
“Brothers and sisters—can I encourage you to keep on being faithful to our God and the ministry he has called you to? One clears the rocky soil, another plants, another waters, and still another harvests. And God gets the glory.”
Yes, God gets the glory. Thank you, Rod and Donna, for being faithful to God’s calling. We rejoice in what the Spirit of God is doing in the Sindh province in these days.
Please pray for believers in Pakistan and our Fellowship International missionaries serving throughout the world in some of the most difficult mission fields.