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This Seminar televises to 400,000 people.
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Tom preached for around 5-6 hours, each day.
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New Hope Ministries distributes Certificates of Completion to 90 people who attended the full Seminar.
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Tom preaches at NHCMP’s Second Home Church.
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Ordination of a new Pastor for NHCMP’s home Church.
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Back Row, L to R: Simon Rasheed, Regional Dir. (NHCMP), Sunil, Sam Gill, Founder and Dir. (NHCMP), Shaffi Masih (Elder)
Front Row L to R: Tom Mullenix, Saleem Masih (New Preacher), Sadiq Gill (Elder)
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What Tom Says about Pakistan
The Lord’s fingerprints are all over my now-completed mission trip to Pakistan. It began with a “chance” meeting between Laura and a young couple during the North American Christian Convention last summer. We were there to exhibit Laura’s ministry to ministry wives and they were there to exhibit Sam’s ministry in Pakistan (he is Pakistani). We hit it off and determined to keep in touch.
A two-day seminar studying the Holy Spirit was to be the centerpiece of the trip, plus other opportunities to encourage believers and hopes of some covert contacts with Muslims.
Christians are a small minority in Pakistan, about 3% of the population. Islam reigns, with nearly 97% of the people Muslim (as I learned in 72 differing sects). Pakistan is one of the “darkest” places, spiritually, in the world. Social advantages are directed toward the Muslim majority; a Christian is going against the flow to gain a government job or achieve in any way. Corruption and thievery is part of life there. Some Christianity there is more due to culture than to conversion. On this trip, I would be starting on the ground floor; with hopes of developing some positive rapport with the believers there and encouraging them. Laura began to recruit prayer partners for this vital mission – praise God, 62 committed to cover this trip in prayer.
The Pakistani believers embraced me from day one: I had the opportunity to stay in the home of Sadiq Gill, Sam’s father, and to spend time with much of his extended family. We hit it off immediately, many of the teens in the family speak English, and spiritual conversations ensued. The church members welcomed me with a shower of rose petals and responded favorably to my Sunday message. Evening Bible studies, which I developed from a list of topics suggested by the Pakistanis, were presented to a living room packed with people. Soon, they were discussing how they could keep me there!
Sam Gill had planted the New Hope Christian Church as a young man, a little over 10 years ago. He also helped to launch an elementary school. He then came to the United States to attend Boise Bible College and has just earned a Masters in Divinity at Cincinnati Christian University. He met Brittany at Boise and they are now expecting their first child. He is a quality Christian servant. I am confident that he will use his education and leadership skills well to advance Christ’s kingdom in Lahore, Pakistan.
The church and ministry had laid quality groundwork for the proposed seminar about the Holy Spirit (scheduled for February 28 & March 1). They had printed quality fliers, advertised on a cable TV community calendar, and arranged for chairs, refreshments and meals. The seminar was attended by ministers from many different denominations, church members and people from the immediate community. AND, a local Christian cable station recorded it on video, both days. In addition, they had Sam and I record a “commercial” for the next day’s session. On Saturday, as I was getting dressed for day two, I heard my voice coming from a television. It was from Friday’s lesson (# 2). The cable station had already begun to show the seminar. This channel has a potential coverage area of 500,000! Some Muslims have been known to watch that station’s programming, too. There is even a potential that the seminar video could be offered to even more Christian cable stations in Pakistan.
We were attempting to keep a low profile in Pakistan on this trip. Laura reminded me of that in a text message, and I responded, “I guess the Lord just UN-low-profiled me.” Please join us in prayer that our Lord will use the study on the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen believers, motivating them to expand Christ’s kingdom. Pray also that Muslims who watch will become curious and begin to read the New Testament.
[John 16:7 was the launch point for the seminar. Topics: Basics about the Holy Spirit; his method of operation has changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament; Changing our character; helping us to defeat our sinful nature; making our witness effective; and spiritual gifts. Because so many asked about “tongues,” we spent special time on that subject]
We traveled on March 2 to visit a village church (planted by New Hope). As we were preparing to leave (after dinner), a church leader with us noticed a spirit shelf in his brother’s home – his brother is a significant member of the village church. Shuffi convinced his brother and his family that the shelf was actually separating them from Jesus, and that they needed to get rid of it and honor Jesus only. (Spirit shelves are quite common throughout the world and are used to appease evil spirits or ancestors). We destroyed the shelf’s contents, read Joshua 24 and prayed for cleansing. Please join us in prayer that the family will experience the blessing of Jesus and be sold out to him.
I had the opportunity to preach about unity at a Pentecostal church on March 3. Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17:20-23 – our unity enhances our witness for Christ. Sad to say, Satan reads the Bible and works hard to prevent our unity.
We visited a Muslim shrine on Tuesday. I could feel Jesus’ heartbeat as I saw hundreds, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” People seeking spiritual blessing at the tomb of a dead Muslim leader – they need to learn of their risen Lord and Savior! I challenged the Christians of Lahore to use the Muslim call to prayer as our call to prayer – for workers for the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).
I experienced rapport, excitement and gracious response to my messages from Christians there (and continual requests to return some day). The sky is the limit to how our God will choose to use the video and the believers in Pakistan. I am praying that many Muslims will find their way out of darkness because of the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters there. |
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Christian Women’s Prayers Answered
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On February 26, 2014, NHCMP launched the Sam and Marilyn Schurter Sewing Center to Empower women in Pakistan. We knew that it would not have happened, without the help of God and your Spiritual and Moral Support.
All of the women were excited and thrilled to make a difference in their families. Their faces rejoiced, and it indicated the gratefulness of their hearts for your help.
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The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
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The Sewing Center Instructor.
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The Purpose of this Sewing Center
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The Plight of Christian Women in Pakistan
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The integral purpose of this Sewing Center is to help Christian women be self-sufficient, self-respected and self-esteemed, especially, in a country where Islamic Sharia laws are enhancing the forced conversions of Christian women, to Islam.
These laws can be easily used as a weapon against the Christian women who do not have marketable skills or an education. Especially, this law is targeted toward the Christian women who work for Muslim landlords, where they are treated as slaves (modern day slavery).
Just in the city of Lahore (where I grew up, a city of more than 10 million), more than 100,000 Christian women (of all ages) have been forced to clean toilets, houses, streets, and roads. They go from Muslim house to Muslim house, cleaning lawns, toilets, cattle stables, and garbage, while carrying human waste in baskets, on their heads.
These women are treated inhumanely as members of the lowest class community. Their low status makes them easily vulnerable to be blackmailed and abused, by Muslim Landlords. If they are attractive to the Muslim man, you can imagine the pressure that a penalty of torture or death, on themselves, or loved ones, NOW would have on these sisters, for the use of her body for his pleasure. After his pleasure is filled with her, she is discarded as would be a spoiled fruit.
We are hoping that you all keep supporting this project to help hundreds and thousands of women to stand up for their rights and to not be manipulated and abused.
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Standing with the Martyrs’ Families
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The NHCMP Staff with Peshawar friends, to distribute the funds to the Victims.
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Peshawar Relief Funds
We left our homes, at midnight to get to Peshawar, Pakistan, for the morning in order to have sufficient time to mingle with the suicide bomb victims, so we could empathize with and encourage them. On March 14, 2014, while we were on our way to the All Saints church, we heard news that at least nine people were killed and 35 others were injured, when a suicide bomber hit a police vehicle near Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar. Fortunately, this incident happened far from the place where we were heading. We decided to continue our journey, regardless of bad circumstances. It took us 12 hours to get to the destination, instead of a 6 to 7 hour journey. We found out that the steering wheel of our rental van got loose when our van driver suddenly slammed the brake pedal to stop it. It took us 2 to 3 hours to get it fixed.
By the grace of God, at last, we got to our destination. We met the Lead and Associate Pastor of the All Saints Church and told him of the tragedy we had, on the way to Peshawar. The Lead Pastor was kind enough to us, that he made 100 phone calls, on our behalf, to inform the victims’ family members to gather at the All Saints Church yard to receive the gifts. Within two hours, at 3pm, approximately 100 family members gathered in the All Saints Church yard, before the commencement of distributing financial help. We apologized to the victim family members for the delay. Our long driving stress, intimidation and fear turned into excitement, when we met our victim brothers and sisters, in the same church yard, which was once covered by human limbs and blood. Click the link, here, to see the video of the aftermath of the incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVswdMOBv6o
We, NHCMP Staff Members, were feeling so honored and humbled to be around them, who paid a priceless penalty for their faith in Christ, standing boldly and proudly. They admired our passion and love to visit them, even in all of the dreadful circumstances. We distributed the donations, in the form of checks, to the 100 people, who were relatives to the suicide bomb victims. After the distributions, we asked them how they had felt about the incident that had happened. They told us that, still, people are recovering, physically, mentally and emotionally. They also told us that some of the people may never recover, who have lost their immediate relatives, such as brothers, sisters, children and spouses. They told us that there is a great need of prayer, in order to overcome their emotional trauma. And we, the NHCMP Staff, are praying to God to send the Holy Spirit to be their Comforter and Counselor.
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Breaking Ground of a Church Building for our Second Church
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| All this time, our second NHCMP Church has been meeting outside, and/or in someone’s front yard. They have now begun a Church building. This is great progress for the Church.
Before this Church started, these people did not know what the Lord’s day was and also believed that there was not much difference between the Quran and the Bible. They believed that both books were from the same God. Elder Shuffi helped start this Church.
Shuffi used to live in this village, which is a predominate Muslim community and Fundamentalist Muslim stronghold. He left this village, while he was not a believer and had been involved in theft and drug-selling activities. He thought he could do better in his drug business, in the city. I remember when I met him, for the first time, in a town, near to Lahore. He had a small shop where he sold drugs to young people. I asked him to come to our Church. He reluctantly accepted my request. Long story short, there was a day when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit has entirely changed his character. Nobody was ready to believe.
His long-term commitment with the Church made people to believe his character. Later, he was chosen by the elders of our church, as an elder in our Main Church. One day, he surprised us all, when he told us that he wanted to go back to his village for evangelism. We could not stop him. We permitted him, with prayers. He started evangelism over there, and through his Christian character, he won many souls for Christ. This is the same village, today, where we have started a church building. If you are interested to read more about his life, please let us know. We have mentioned more about it in our previous newsletters, in detail.
We had 45 baptisms, during the summer of 2012, and 35 of those came from this Church. Here is a video where you can watch it, if you had missed it or had not seen it. Click HERE to see the video of the 45 Baptisms (Summer, 2012). |
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Graduation Announcement and Invitation:
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We would like to invite you to our upcoming Graduation, from Cincinnati Christian University. We are both graduating with our Master’s Degrees. Sam is graduating with a Master of Divinity, and Brittany is graduating with a Master of Arts in Religion.
We both are very grateful to CCU (Cincinnati Christian University) to the Professors, Staff and Faculty. We are thankful for the wonderful time we have had there, for the wonderful relationships, and also, for the education we have received. It will benefit NHCMP, greatly, in Pakistan.
The Graduation Ceremony will be Friday, May 16th, 2014, at 7:30pm, at Cincinnati Christian University’s Chapel and Worship Building: 2700 Glenway Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45204. We would love to see you all.
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Sponsor these outstanding Students for Christian education
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