Leighton Medley our BPCA Outreach Minister has returned to Pakistan to reach new communities with the true Gospel of Christ and to continue discipling those who have been already been reached through our previous campaigns. Leighton’s remit for this work is quite simple, he is to bolster the faith of Christians who have little access to regular church services setting up bible study leaders who will one day become ministers of the Gospel in rural communities, he is to bring revival and better understanding to Christian churches in Pakistan many of which have adopted a very legalistic theology and have forgotten the need for repentance, faith in Christ and the need to place our trust in Him. Leighton has also been reaching out to Muslims and we hope that soon his work will provide a dividend by bringing others to the family of God.
He has been having great success with many believers expressing revival, churchgoers committing their lives to Christ, and Muslims taking an interest in the Gospel though yet to commit to Christ. We hope with further donations to make Leighton’s role a permanent one in two years time. For this we will need the help and support of those who was to see Christ’s gospel flourishing in Pakistan and seek you help to finance this important ministry. One of our costs is the purchase of bibles at £4 each. If you would like to help please donate by clicking (here).
Below is one of Leighton’s recent accounts of a trip to, Azam Basti, Karachi:
Today for the first time we visited the colony of Azam Basti in downtown Karachi. It was a highly unusual meeting, in the sense that ninety percent of the congregation were women. In fact, as a joke I asked at the start of the meeting, where their men were, at which they all laughed. There is no doubt, that in some of these colonies there is a huge problem with male attendance, regarding church worship. There is a single failure amongst the men folk, to take their duties seriously as heads of the families which is clearly biblical.
Also noted, were the lack of bibles, I could not remember seeing one holy bible on display amongst the listeners. Despite that, there were those who did try hard. There was nothing wrong with their worship, it was passionate and vibrant. What a shame these communities are largely leaderless in terms of spiritual leadership.
One gets the impression after speaking to one gentleman afterwards, who did not attend the meeting, that politics a is all the range. But what is the point of so called political success only to lose your own soul at the end of it.
I preach from Psalm 73, about perspective. This leaves me in a conundrum, due to the lack of men in attendance, but I plough on. The thrust of the message is to focus on having the right perspective, we should not be victims, nor should we languish in self pity. We should not be moaning Christians, as this will only bring us down and others. We should enter the sanctuary of God in prayer, and recognise the fact that God wants to make us holy; for God is good to Israel and to us.
Thankfully, due to the excellent translation by Mehwish, the congregation did understand and they are all only too well aware of their problems regarding the men’s apathy regarding spiritual matters. It is my prayer that upon our return to these parts, we should see a revival among the men, not just in church attendance, but godly leadership which is sorely lacking. Let us pray for revival and pray it happens soon.
On a lighter note, we visited Aleeza, the youngest victim of the terror atrocity in Quetta, during the festive period. This beautiful little girl has made a remarkable recovery, and all thanks be to God. But I want to also especially thank all the donors, that contributed to the funds for her recovery, it is priceless and may God bless them. We all pray together for the family and share some Holy Scripture which leads to tears and joy. There is much to be done yet here, but at least with faith and hard work, Aleeza may just have a chance. She may have lost one of her legs sadly, but with careful treatment and loving kindness she should live a normal life. May God use this as a great testimony and may we remember how fortunate we are in the West, to be able to live in relative comfort and security. Let us thank God for everything He has done for us, in Jesus name.
Brother Leighton
