You bring hope to their hearts
In Sri Lanka, putting faith in Christ can mean losing other freedoms. In the predominantly Buddhist country, Christians can find themselves cast out by their families, marginalized in the workplace, pressured to recant their faith, or under physical attack. Yet, here is where God is growing his church. But when 8 in 10 pastors lack training on how to faithfully preach the Bible, growing congregations are left vulnerable to false teaching and struggle to follow Jesus.
This is why, together with you, Langham is urgently committed to training local pastors and lay leaders in Sri Lanka to faithfully shepherd their congregations and communities with hope and truth from God’s Word.
Shanmugam (pictured left) and Jesupalan are two of these leaders, and they have a unique platform that allows them to reach millions with God’s Word: the air waves. Their multimedia preaching ministry reaches the entire nation, and beyond, through radio and television broadcasts.
It’s support from faithful friends like you that made it possible for Jesupalan and Shanmugam to attend Langham training on how to study and understand God’s Word in a Sri Lankan, post-civil war context—and then pass it on with clarity and relevance. And though they say other pastors and ministries are speaking and teaching, Jesupalan notes they are “far away from the Scripture.” He adds that even those who follow Christ struggle with doctrinal issues due to wrong teachings from some churches.
Jesupalan (at right) admits that before the training from Langham, he thought he was preaching God’s Word correctly. But, he says, “Langham really taught me how to preach using biblical methods.” Through their ministry, Jesupalan (the ministry officer) and Shanmugam (the radio and TV program producer) engage with people from all cultural, social and religious groups, providing them with the opportunity to watch or listen to Christ’s teachings in the privacy of their homes. People can listen to the broadcasts at any time of the day, but for Jesupalan (pictured below) it’s the morning hours that allow listeners some special time with God.
“It’s really encouraging people to start with the Lord and think about the Word of God and be encouraged by the Word of God,” he says. “People have actually begun to hope. They’re getting strength in their hearts.” It is an abundance of God’s grace, and your faithful partnership with Langham, that allows us to equip faithful saints like Jesupalan and Shanmugam who bring hope and healing from God’s Word into Sri Lanka and around the world. Thank you!
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