October 2004

Prayer Points for Punjabi of India

Stories from the field

Mission Projects: Christmas Projects and Projects South Asia

Mission Events and Info

Persecuted Church:

North Korea

Missionary Bio Byte:

Dr. Rebekah Naylor

Bible Study: Pain, Comfort, and Small Voices

Home > thE-TASK files > This week

People Group Focus: Punjabi of India

Punjabi men

Meet "Sydney," a twenty-two year old guy who has not been able to finish college because of his faith in Jesus. He has been persecuted physically, emotionally, and mentally because of his choice to follow Jesus and he was disowned by his Jat Sikh family. Sydney is working as an evangelist to see that his own people, the Jat Sikhs, have the chance to find eternal life in Jesus. In the past year Sydney has started one church and several house churches. He is training several other young men to share their faith and start new churches. Sydney has a vision to reach the 11 million Jat Sikhs. Read his story.

The Punjab state in Northwest India is one of the ancient civilizations of the world. The Jat Sikhs who comprise the majority people group of Punjabi speaking peoples are one of the India's most ancient peoples.

Jat Sikhs are known for their unvarnished manner, straightforward responses, and taste for a fight. They are a very proud people. They are also marked by the qualities of simple living and helping others.

Punjabi woman The Jat Sikhs are a ripe harvest field that remains neglected by Gospel sowers. Only a small percentage of India's 11 million Jat Sikhs are known to be believers in Jesus Christ. Read more about the Punjab and Punjabi peoples.

Who are the Sikhs?

Sikhism (pronounced SEEK-ism) is the newest of the world religions, and ranks 5th in size of all religions. Sikhism was founded in the Punjab about 500 years ago. Sikhs believe in one Immortal Being (God). They follow the ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of the Sikhs, considered to be the living guru). The word "Sikh" means "disciple." The Sikhs worship in gurdwaras (temples) where they read their scriptures in the Punjabi language.

Website about Sikhism

 

Prayer Points for Punjabis

1. Pray for "Sydney" and other Jats who have become believers in Jesus. Ask that these believers be able to boldly share their faith with their own people.

2. Ask that God would begin a mighty church-planting movement among the Jat Sikhs. Punjabi PrayerAsk that they be a catalyst to other Punjabi people groups who need to know Jesus.

3. Drug use has become a problem among the Punjabi youth. It is estimated that up to 80% of youth living near the border with Pakistan may be addicted to drugs or alcohol. Please pray that these youth will find freedom from addiction and true freedom in Jesus Christ.

4. There is a passage in the Sikh scriptures about man needing grace in order to go to heaven, but there is nothing written about how to find this grace. Please pray that the Punjabis would learn about the free gift of grace that God has given in Jesus Christ so that they can go to heaven.


DID YOU KNOW?

globeThe greatest pocket of lostness in the world is in the six north central states of India.

Map of India


Stories from the Field
Romania: A "Spiritual House" for the Deaf Brazil: Flying into the Amazon
Chinese Teachers Learn About Jesus Niger: Kara Goes to the Market
Zambia: What is a Baptist? Philippines: The Fruit of Obedience
Thailand: From Their Mouths to God's Ears Iraq: Jihadists Target Freedom, Not Just Christians
Apartment Sharing in Paris Postcards from Moscow
Greece: Reaching the World Befriending South Asians in the USA

More Stories from the Field on TCOnline.


Mission Projects

Christmas Projects:

Christmas Caroling and manger Scene Evangelism

Tokyo, Japan

Project #72723, 72724 & 72725

Dates: Any 10 days btwn 11/25/04 & 1/5/05

Cost: $938 plus airfare

Stand on some of the busiest street corners in the world and tell the TRUE meaning of Christmas at a time when Japanese are very open to Christianity! Dress up and sing like "Old Time" Christmas carolers and/or dress up as living manger scenes.

Read more . . .

Apply Now!

Christmas in Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

Project # 67252

Dates: 12/21 - 12/31/04

Cost: $223 plus airfare

Celebrate the real meaning of Christmas by bringing hope, peace and joy to the lives of 1000's of Bangkokians through media distribution and prayer walking, increasing awareness of who Jesus is, and praying that God would raise up His Church in Bangkok. Explore this city, this culture, and even your own heart, and anticipate the changes God will bring this Christmas!

Read more . . .

Apply Now!

Operation Andres

Uruguay

Project #72931

Dates: Flexible btwn 12/27/04 & 1/10/05

Cost: $336 plus airfare

Conduct pre-arranged visits in homes, home worship services, community outreach and sports and recreation ministries in 2 cities. Independent spirits who can be creative, bold and organized are needed. Functional Spanish is recommended. Musical skills are helpful.
Read More . . .

Apply Now!

Jale [Jolly] Christmas

India

Project #73439

Dates: 12/20/04 - 1/5/05

Cost: $270 plus airfare

The word Jalé, (pronounced Jolly) means to illuminate greatly. You will illuminate the city of A-Town and bring the joy of Christ to as many people as humanly possible through mass evangelization efforts, including storytelling, passing out gospel tapes, participating in Christmas parties, literature distribution, and showing the J-Film.
Read more . . .

Apply Now!

Projects in South Asia

Youth Projects

Qualifications for Service

College/Seminary Projects

Qualifications for Service

International World Changers

Delhi, India

Project #72804

Dates: 6/30 - 7/9/05

Cost: $650 plus airfare

Assignments: Work with orphans and street children, encourage local believers, provide meals to the poor, lead VBS, and share your personal testimony.

Read more

Apply now!

International World Changers

Delhi, India

Project #72804

Dates: 6/30 - 7/9/05

Cost: $650 plus airfare

Assignments: Work with orphans and street children, encourage local believers, provide meals to the poor, lead VBS, and share your personal testimony.

Read more

Apply now!

International World Changers

Penang, Malaysia

Dates: 6/1 - 25/05

Cost: $800 plus airfare
Assignments: Bring light to this community through sports evangelism, children's camp, youth ministry, light construction and home visitation.

Apply now!

Sand Surfing Camel Safari

Project #73437

Dates: Any 10 days btwn 11/1/04 - 10/31/06

Cost: $500 plus airfare

Teams are neeed to build relationships with the Rajputs. Many Rajputs have entered the tourist industry, so tourists are needed to enjoy the desert and camel culture of the great safaris in order to find Rajputs interested in knowing more about the Eternal King.

Read more

Apply now!

International World Changers

Amman, Jordan

Dates: 7/3 - 12/05

Cost: $650 plus airfare

Assignments: Host an English language camp for 150 2 nd-6 th grade children, serve a local school through light construction projects, host a community youth night and visit several Biblical sites throughout Jordan.

Apply now!

Sherpa Outreach

Project #72378

Dates: 5/25 - 7/3/05

Cost: $1107 plus airfare

Six-member teams are needed to serve in Nepal, the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. Idol worship abounds and temples can be seen on every corner. Spiritualism is very real to the Nepalese with much of their daily religious activity aimed at appeasing one or more gods.

Read more

Apply now!

International World Changers

Ufa, Russia

Dates: 7/23 - 20/05

Cost: $495 plus airfare**
Assignments: Distribute food, clothes and literature to this community along with light construction, personal and sports evangelism , creative arts, home visits, Scripture distribution and ministry to orphans in order to serve the people of Ufa, the peaceful Islamic capital of Russia.

Apply now!

Rajasthani Neigbors

Project #73604

Dates: 5/25 - 7/3/04

Cost: $1140 plus airfare

Learn CAMEL training and use it to seek a person of peace and show the Jesus film in order to reach the lost neighbors in Jaipur, Amer, and some of the "burbs."

Read more

Apply now!

More IWC projects


Video Clips: Sexual Purity editon of The Task

Eloise-Gman

Eloise: Hangin' with the Gman

Dial-up modem

Cable modem

T1 line

From Russia With Love

Dial-up modem

Cable modem

T1 line

facesofthedying

Faces

of the Dying

 

Dial-up modem

Cable modem

T1 line

Taskbox

The Task video

Sexual Purity

Fall 2004

Order it!

Clips on sexual/spiritual purity for your students! It’s all here: abortion clip, STD stats, AIDS outreach in Africa, and redemption in Russia!

Plus the music video Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James

TeamTajTeam Taj

Explore the peoples, cultures, languages, and strategies of an unreached people group in South Asia.

Team Taj focuses on the various Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Tribal peoples and places of India , Nepal , Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. From the mighty Himalayas to the Ganges River to exotic tropical islands...from urban sprawl to remote villages...from mountain-top kingdoms to ancient civilizations...from majestic temples to lowly shacks...from Buddhist monks to rickshaw drivers, nearly 1.4 billion people in South Asia don't know Jesus. Join God in the marvelous things He wants to do among these people and experience a vision of the world so unique it will change yours forever! View Team Taj requests (search for Journeyman options in Asia)

View short-term requests in South Asia


Persecuted Church: North Korea

By Magda Hornemann, Forum 18 News Service

A North Korean army general who become a Christian was, after he had begun to evangelise in his unit, shot dead by another senior army officer in 2003, Protestant sources have told Forum 18 News Service. Other known Christians are in some cases martyred by being shot, or are imprisoned. The sentence is dependent upon the situation. Forum 18 knows of the execution and torture of Christians continuing, but has not been able to establish if followers of other religions have suffered similarly. North Korean Protestants are said to be "very, very strong believers", resisting material inducements in prison to recant their faith, but when they stubbornly refuse to recant they are then shot.

More on the violation of religious freedom at Forum 18.


American woman greeting Indian woman in traditional bowMissionary Bio Byte: Dr. Rebekah Naylor

Would God allow you work in a job you love and serve Him? Absolutely! Just ask missionary surgeon Rebekah Naylor. Combining God's call to missions when she was 13 years old and her interest in medicine, Dr. Naylor has served in the Bangalore Baptist Hospital for more than 30 years. She plowed new ground with her decision to be a missionary doctor by training in medicine in the 1960s when few women were becoming physicians, much less surgeons. Dr. Naylor says that her ambition in medicine has been her avenue for sharing her faith in Christ.

Read more . . .

 


Bible Study: Pain, Comfort and Small Voices

By April Joy Whitmore, Journeyman to Brazil

As I sat down to write up a Bible study about missions and about my time here in Brazil as a journeyman missionary for the IMB , I was tempted to ravage through all the huge miracles and missionary/third world stories I could find in my memory.   The more I searched the more I sensed I needed to leave that temptation behind.   Not that there aren't God-sized stories.   There are.   And not that there aren't goose-bump raising accounts of God's glory in this little corner of the world.   There are.   But too often these stories become the reality of what missions is and yet it's not what missions is about - not entirely. Read more . . .


Send this newsletter to a friend,
and encourage them to sign up for thE-TASK themselves!

You are currently subscribed to [[newslettername]] as: [[email]].
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [[unsubscribe]]

 

God is at work all around the world through . . .
Your PrayingYour Giving
Your GoingYou - On Mission

A Southern Baptist Convention entity supported by the Cooperative Program
and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering®.
® Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is a registered trademark of Woman’s Missionary Union


© Copyright 2002, 2003 International Mission Board.
All rights reserved.

Additional questions, Comments, Concerns... Can't Find It?
TO RECEIVE PERSONAL ATTENTION contact your IMB Webservant.