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 larger 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 a 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 during a BACA’s trip to Nawakali, Quetta on 9th February 2020:
“For me to live is Christ; to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
Imagine yourselves having to go to church, with armed sentries guarding the entrance to the colony, and standing guard at the doors of the churches. That’s what we did on Sunday as we attended a church in Quetta, led by Pastor Laris Sadiq. Laris has been very instrumental, in taking the gospel to the tribal peoples based in the rural areas of Pakistan. It is therefore, safe to say that he is on the frontline as it were, of true evangelistic mission work. He has been threatened many times, with phone calls and messages from Afghanistan and rural Pakistan where extremism thrives. Yet, by the grace of God, he is still with us and doing the Lord’s work.
This is a passionate community and it shows in their worship. I had some difficulty choosing a scripture and teaching for this meeting, what with the armed guards being Muslim, but eventually I decided on Colossians 3:1-4 and to focus on the Christian identity in Jesus. This is to encourage these believers, who are daily persecuted for their faith in Christ.
We identify with Jesus in his death, in the sense that we die to sin and our old way of life. In Quetta where hostility to the Gospel is so palpable, the threat of physical death is a reality many people live with every day, so in many ways they identify with the death of Jesus in a very real and literal way. We identify with Jesus in his resurrection, in the sense that we are born again, set free from sin and are new creatures in a Christ. For those who are faced with daily persecution, that reality is bound up with a desire to get to Heaven and be with Jesus. This can lead to a fatalist mindset, something which is not uncommon across all people of Pakistan. We must be frank with ourselves here, and understand that this should be the desire of all of us. We need to set our minds on heavenly things, not things of this world. (Colossians 3:2) We want to be with Jesus, so our focus should be on Christ and him alone.
Also we identify with Christ on his return. When Jesus returns he will gather us to be with him, where we will appear with him in glory. It is precisely because of this, that it is worth the wait and why we should live for Christ, because when we die, heaven and joy awaits. That’s the reality of the believers in Quetta and indeed Pakistan and many countries where Christians face death daily, which explains why their worship is so passionate, because it may be their last.
We are Christians, which means we are followers of Christ, which means we should be like Him in all areas of life. It’s interesting to note that Pakistan, was a state created by Muslims for Muslims, because they did not wish to be led by Hindus. That’s their identity. Yet, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, worshipped in a church the day of Pakistan’s independence and had to thank a Christian for the one vote, that made independence possible.
Pakistan’s Christians are just as integral to this nation today, as they were in its inception, so let us pray for this minority here and pray God protects them and grants unto them a greater knowledge of Christ and his Lordship.
Brother Leighton
