In 2003 after years on the run, a prominent Muslim soldier, Emir Hashim (not his real name), surrendered himself, his band of renegades and his firearms to the government (country withheld for security purposes), all for enough money to live peacefully in an area that is a Muslim stronghold. Prior to the surrender, they were made to understand that life would always be hard for him and his group if they didn’t take advantage of this “government reconciliation program.”

By 2007 it became obvious that the government would not keep their promise of livelihood-support money. So Hashim went back to his former headquarters planning to gather firearms, soldiers and resources to resume his life as a wanted man and Muslim leader.

Plotting his next move, he returned to his secluded hut, but mosquitoes kept him from sleeping. Searching in a trash heap for something to burn so they would go away, he found an old book with no cover and was about to throw it into the fire when he felt something stop him. Without realizing it was a Bible, he read the Old Testament, then the New Testament and the story of Jesus in the Gospels. With conviction from the Holy Spirit, he surrendered his life to Isa Almasih (“Jesus Christ” to Muslims).

For eight years after his conversion, he searched for understanding of God and Scripture, associating himself with pastors and missionaries from various Christian denominations. However, his experience with them was more destructive than beneficial; they used him to raise funds intended for his livelihood which he never received. He had every right to be discouraged but somehow never turned away from God.

A year ago Bro. Hashim met a missionary working with Muslims. At great risk to himself, this missionary had settled in the town to penetrate this Muslim area with the gospel. Through the power of God, he crossed paths with Hashim, who had decided to work alone and attend church planting classes. As their association grew, Hashim was again challenged to continue his Muslim work.

In November 2015 at a BMA association meeting, Hashim shared his powerful testimony, challenging attendees to help him reach Muslims in his area with the gospel. After the meeting, a local pastor told him about Lifeword Community Radio and how it could effectively reach his Muslim brothers and sisters. Hashim became very excited, believing that, given the danger of his work, it would be the best way to reach them. Passionately, Hashim told his new friend that he would willingly give his life for such a work.

This pastor said of Hashim, “God has opened the door for us to reach Muslims with Christ’s saving power. He is the modern Apostle Paul sent by God to us. We couldn’t penetrate the gospel to the Muslim world without this converted brother. For years Christian groups have worked to reach Muslims without substantial results. God has given him to lead us to them. We might not have another opportunity as this. God has gifted us with LPFM technology (Lifeword Community Radio) and preparing me and my trained leaders and Emir for a great harvest of souls in this Muslim area.”

Hashim returned to the area with a great excitement for his ministry and several media tools (a used video projector, DVD players and films produced in the dialect) given to him by area pastors. Hashim thanked them for the gifts and said they he would use them for house-to-house and group evangelistic meetings with Muslims.

Lifeword is currently working with Hashim to determine the type of broadcast to best reach this volatile area. Local Lifeword trainers and leaders are surveying the area, and plans are being made to possibly use a combination of traditional broadcasting and strategically-placed Lifeword Community Radio equipment in “more favorable” Muslim areas. Please pray for this ground-breaking effort and a harvest of souls.

By Jonathan Wilson
DiscipleGuide Director of Marketing

DiscipleGuide is pleased to announce that We The Union will perform Concert for the Nations at SOAR 2016. Concerts have always been a highlight of SOAR student conference. However, nothing will compare to what We the Union has in store with Concert for the Nations.

The Bible describes the throne room of heaven as a place where people from every tribe, tongue and nation join together praising the Lamb who was slain before the creation of the world. During Concert for the Nations, We The Union will lead students to sing in languages from many tribes, tongues and nations. It will be a small preview of what awaits in heaven.

For over three years now, We The Union has served as SOAR band. According to DiscipleGuide Director Scott Attebery, “We can’t imagine a more fitting artist for this year’s concert. SOAR conference owes so much to the commitment We The Union has made to our students over the years.” Aaron Williams, lead singer of We The Union, attended SOAR as a youth group member and later as a member of SOAR worship band. Now as lead singer, he continues to bless SOAR with the talents God has given him. We The Union is in the process of recording a new album that will be released later this year. They also have an EP (extended play) available on iTunes.

For more information on SOAR 2016 and to register your group, visit gosoar.com today. Conference registration is $110 until June 10, 2016. Hotel booking is also now open for the Hilton Anatole, Dallas, TX at gosoar.com. For the latest news and updates, follow @soarconference on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

(If you’ve ever been curious about Lifeword’s broadcasts and what they sound like, the following article by Rick Russell will explain how different formats are used for different cultures. Continue to pray for the already-recorded Swahili broadcast, which should go live in April or May, making Swahili the 37^th Lifeword language.)

“Bro. Rick, there has never been a Swahili radio program like this. I believe the people will like it a lot!” Those were the words of one of our Swahili broadcasters at the end of our first day of training in December 2015.

The idea for this format came from our Garifuna brethren in Central America. At their first opportunity to create a broadcast format all of their own in 2009, they did something that no American broadcaster would ever do, which may be exactly why it works so well in their culture. The Garifuna program has eight pastors sitting around a table, all talking at once! When Lifeword Program Director Luis Ortega questioned the advisability of so many voices talking at once, it was explained, “This is how the Garifuna always do!”

Since the Garifuna people group has its origins in Africa, Luis and I suspected that a similar format might work well in the Swahili culture. Sure enough, in our planning conversations last year with Renatus Kanunu, we discovered that there is a well-known Swahili custom for making village decisions. The chief calls together the heads of the various families and presents the issue. One by one, they offer possible solutions. If the group cannot come to a consensus, it falls to the chief, as the village’s ultimate authority, to render a decision.

In Lifeword’s new Swahili program NenoUzima (WordLife), the Bible is personified as the words of our “chief”. It is his directives and principles which we look to in order to make the proper decisions in all aspects of our lives.

The first thing we do on each week’s program is to have the discussion leader (personifying the chief) explain the issue or question under discussion. The pastors then take a couple of minutes to put forward “man’s answers”, prefacing each statement with things like, “My father used to say…”, or “It’s always been the Swahili custom to…”, or “Some religions say….” Then relevant Bible passages are introduced. In the last five minutes of the program, the “chief” correlates the instruction of those verses, allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible and bringing the group to agreement regarding the Bible’s instruction on that particular question. The program then culminates in a prayer thanking God for providing his Word as the trustworthy guide for our lives.

After BMA Productions puts the finishing touches on the broadcast, TWR will broadcast NenoUzima by shortwave and satellite and we will find local FM affiliates in as many cities as possible where the churches of the Taborah Baptist Association are located (widely dispersed across western Tanzania and into Burundi and Rhwanda).

Pray that NenoUzima will be used by God in a powerful way to touch the lives of Swahili believers and non-believers to bring his light to this still-unreached people group.

Hey Supporters!

We are always grateful for another opportunity to share with you what’s going on over here in Thailand. The past month has been really busy. Lots of exciting things to share with you, and situations and people we need you to pray for.

Philippines Conference:

This trip was such a blessing. BMA Missionary Care put on a retreat/conference to help encourage missionaries who serve in Asia. As you can see we had a good group. I enjoyed hearing their stories and getting to know leaders, helpers, and other missionaries that serve on this side of the world. We are so glad God made it possible for us to go. The things we learned about (prayer, communication with spouse, ways to handle stress, and parenting tips) are still fresh on our mind and we are trying to live it out.

Baby #2:

Two days ago we went for a check up and both Brittney and the baby are doing well. So far this pregnancy has been more challenging than the last, but we are thankful the little man is growing and will be making his way into the world in June (Lord willing).

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