April 2015, Vol. 11, No. 3
A Church Building for Those Who Don’t Come
As the believers arrived, they sat down and filled the small room. More families came, looked inside and realized there was no room for them, so they took their seats outside the entryway. Worship songs arose, along with the hot sun that beat down on the necks of those who sat outside.
Sometimes, during the Sunday services, noise would blare into the rented room when the landlords, unhappy with the church, turned up the volume on their TV to disturb the congregation.
The small congregation lacked a church building, but it wasn't those who attended service that suffered most—it was those who didn’t.
Pastor’s Story Begins in a Church Building
Gajendra, the pastor of this congregation, had come to know the Lord in part because of a church building. As a youngster, Gajendra fell ill. For three months his family spent much money and sought help from many different sources, but nothing helped their son, until a relative recommended he go to a church for prayer. There the local pastor prayed for Gajendra, and the Lord healed him! As a result, Gajendra came to know Christ and serve Him.
No Building Means Few Visitors
In villages without church buildings, seekers may not know where the congregation will meet. In places like Gajendra’s village, if they did visit, there might not be room for them inside. These difficulties hinder many people across South Asia from learning more about Jesus.
But the believers in Pastor Gajendra’s congregation started to pray for a church building. Three years later, the Lord provided the land and, through friends of Gospel for Asia, the funding for their church building. The believers and even their neighbours contributed their labour to build the church.
For Those Who Come and Those Who Don’t
Now, when the believers in Pastor Gajendra’s congregation arrive on Sunday mornings, they can enter the church building. As more arrive, they look inside and find there is room for them, and they all worship the Lord under one roof.
The church building makes it easier to conduct Women’s Fellowship meetings and Sunday school, so the women and children are now growing more in their knowledge of Jesus.
Now those in greatest need, those who don’t come on Sunday mornings and who may be suffering like Pastor Gajendra once was, will pass the church building and be reminded of the Christians and their God. When any of them desire to come to a worship service, they’ll know there is room for them. There, they’ll learn about the God who loves them, and one day, they may even end up serving Him.
