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, Essa Nagri, Karachi:
“Repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15)
Today we visited Essa Nagri for the second time and it truly is a sad and desolate place. High unemployment coupled with major drug abuse and alcoholism, plus family breakdowns and you really have a Sodom and Gomorrah type situation. I have prayed and fasted for this place numerous times and when you see it you realise why organisations like the BPCA exist. There is much wrong with the churches here, which is why the subject of my sermon is repentance.
Pastor Asif is our contact and as we are late, we get straight on with our meeting. The worship is beautiful, with a really gifted harmonium player and singer leading it. My Scripture passage is from 1 Kings 8:46-53, where the focus is on repentance and coming home. Solomon built the temple to be a place where God would come home and be with His people; where He would fill it with His presence.
Solomon said in verse 46, that all are sinners and need to repent and I believe that much repentance needs to be done in this community. You see, what with the coming of Jesus as the new temple, which was knocked down and raised in 3 days (John 2:19), the old sacrificial system was no more. But now with the advent of the Holy Spirit, we are now that sacred space where God will come and dwell.
The main points I cover, are that firstly, sin is the greatest evil, to quote Samuel Bolton a well known puritan from the 17th century. In Pakistan among less educated communities, there is a tendency to blame everything on the devil, without realising that it’s actually our fallen state that’s the biggest problem. The people refuse to realise this, leading to a lack of accountability and responsibility in familial areas. This means behaviour patterns do not change and the cycle of sin goes on from generation to generation.
Second, it’s important to confess your sin to a holy and just God, who hates sin and must punish it. We must remember, payment has already been made by the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Even if we have to confess to one another, accountability is important.
Lastly, when we repent, it’s like going home, and God comes to us and we feel peace and happiness. Sin really takes us to the bottom and this is where Essa Nagri is right now, mired in sin.
It certainly had an effect, the Pastor said he had never heard teaching like that before and after the meeting a certain gentleman, whom I shall not name, asked me to pray with him because he had to repent. Essa Nagri desperately needs our help. The people here do not just need financial help, with regards to education, orphanages and sewing centres – more importantly they also need spiritual growth. The problems here are immense and we have barely scratched the surface. Please pray for this part of Pakistan, and may over time, the greater populous, repent of their sin and go home.
