How Langham Preaching movements grow deep roots in South Asia

It’s not easy becoming a Christian in this South Asian country, where believers are often persecuted for their faith.

“You give up your identity. You give up your place in society. You give up your inheritance. And sometimes, your own family members are after your life,” said Veda*, who coordinates Langham’s preaching work there with her husband, Priyanshu*.

Persecution and pressure continue to rise, yet faith is exploding across the subcontinent.

“When we talk to our pastors and ask what made them become a Christian, they say, ‘What else can we do? This is true. This has given me life. And I want others who were my community members, I want them to have the same life and joy,’” Veda said.

A young church in search of training

About 3 percent (and growing) of the people in this country are Christians. Many are the first in their families to believe.

“98% of the pastors we train are first generation Christians,” Priyanshu said. That means the church and its leaders are young. New believers are still trying to understand their faith while sharing it with others. Because formal theological education isn’t an option yet for most pastors, Langham seminars play a key role in equipping these leaders for ministry.

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One newly trained pastor described the impact of training like this: “I‘m now confident to serve biryani every time I preach.” Biryani is a traditional dish, one that takes a long time to prepare and make. To skip the preparation time, people often order it from a restaurant instead of making it themselves.

Before Langham’s seminars, this pastor’s sermons were like that. Because he had no idea how to teach the Word, he would find sermons online instead of preparing his own. Now, with Langham’s training, he has the tools to read the Bible and preach it clearly, faithfully and relevantly.

A mustard seed, with great potential

Langham’s preaching work here began in 2010. But the subcontinent is so vast that in many parts of the country, the work is just beginning. The most effective way to train local pastors is to meet them where they’re at—in their own region, context and language. To do that, you need to equip local leaders who speak the language who can then train others.

Over the past seven years, Priyanshu and Veda have focused on launching preaching movements in more than five additional languages. They have trained more than 50 leaders to lead Langham Preaching seminars in their own heart languages.

“Sometimes I look at the availability of faithful, clear, relevant preachers of the Word in the subcontinent as being as small as a mustard seed,” Veda said. “But then I’m reminded that that same mustard seed can grow and give shade and shelter to many.”

A harvest in search of workers

Like a mustard seed, the work of Langham Preaching around the world also continues to grow in unexpected, wonderful ways. Over the past eight years, because of increased support by faithful supporters like you, Langham launched 41 new preaching movements. And just last year, 7,000 more local church leaders were trained because of that additional support.

As Veda shared recently, “The harvest is plentiful. Would you pray with me that the God of the harvest will raise up and send out more workers into his field?”

*Names changed for security reasons