An illiterate South Asian man wanted to tell his village about the truth he learned. For three years, he prayed for an opportunity to share his faith, but he was unable to read God’s Word for himself, and he only knew small bits of information to share with others. Then he met Brennan and Veronica.*

In 2012, Brennan and Veronica Masterson* began regularly visiting the remote South Asian village. There they found a group of 30 “believers” whose biblical knowledge was, according to the Mastersons, “incomplete at best.”  Using the Ek Rasta (“One Way”) teaching and training process, Brennan and Veronica taught the small group 35 chronological Bible storying lessons. Ek Rasta is a full six-part process designed to facilitate the spiritual growth of a person who has never heard the name of Jesus into a self-sustaining disciple of Christ who can disciple others. Because the people group is illiterate, the Mastersons created picture books to match the 35 Bible lessons and a micro SD card containing the full audio Bible and the Ek Rasta teaching tools. The Mastersons intentionally designed the SD card to work on any mobile phone, not just “the expensive ones.”

The 30 believers embraced the training and began sharing the gospel story house-to-house with their families and neighbors. In just one month, the 30 believers started six Bible studies each — a total of 180 Bible studies in this remote area. As those disciples made disciples, the gospel began to spread beyond the boundaries of the village.

“Most of the people are itinerant agricultural day-laborers, and God’s Holy Spirit placed a desire in their hearts to take the gospel, on their SD card in their mobile phones, with them beyond the borders of their village,” Brennan said. “Some of these believers have traveled into other districts and other states sharing and making disciples. They have planted churches in some of the most remote and difficult places. In many of these areas, public transportation is not available, and they often walk many kilometers in extreme conditions from village to village.”

Over the years, this church planting movement has continued to grow. In 2019 alone, the Mastersons reported that 27,885 new believers were baptized; 65,912 people had the opportunity to hear the gospel; and 10,135 new churches were started.

And it all began with one illiterate South Asian man who prayed for a way to share his faith with his village.

*Name(s) changed for security