Matt & Tris recently moved to Nepal. They moved in order to strengthen the few gospel believing and preaching churches in establishing a church based training center for pastors (a seminary).
The Hindu Dashain festival is currently being celebrated. It's a two-week holiday where people clean their homes and put out flowers to create a welcoming environment for the goddess Durga. Families will sacrifice animals to the goddess. During this time, new clothes are given, kites flown, the best food is eaten, and families travel across the country to gather and enjoy time together. People worship the supreme goddess Durga during this time because she defeated a buffalo demon. As they celebrate the victory of good over evil, they hope Durga will give them prosperity and happiness. Matt and Tris are reminded of the hope they have in Christ as he offered Himself as a sacrifice, gaining victory over sin and evil by sacrificial mercy and self-giving love displayed on the cross.
RCC celebrated one year of being a church this past Sunday. God has established and is building His church in Rowan County (Matt 16:18). In this first year, the church has gone from a dedicated few to several additional families and college students gathering weekly in a building adjacent to Morehead State University. The congregation is involved in several prongs of evangelism: two separate gatherings of college students are being discipled on campus, and adults are being engaged at work and through a women’s community group. New families have joined who are growing in their faith and experiencing church life in a deeper way. They are being used to engage long-time residents in the region. One father testified to how the church had helped them in a difficult season for their family. Another couple was recently saved and looking forward to being baptized into the church soon.
It seems more people are coming each week, with different sets of college students ducking in and out each week. There is marked growth across the body in being open to confessing sin, and growth in spiritual disciplines. Praise God, they now have members who are leading the congregation in worship. This is a direct answer to much prayer!
The New Testament is full of "one another" commands that cannot be obeyed apart from community. One way to find community is through GCG’s. They exist to encourage each other in faithfulness to the Lord by carrying one another's burdens and living on mission as a community grounded in the gospel.
Location:
Indonesia
Population:
1,250,000
Ev. Christian:
20%
Main Language:
Batak Karo
Spiritual Beliefs:
Mixed
Bible in Heart Language:
Yes
It is common for the Batak to live outside their homeland throughout Sumatra and Java. Many of the Batak are Christians, while others adhere to Islam.