Two of e3’s Strategy Coordinators in South Asia, Joshua* and Ellie*, have been working with a national partner, David*, for seven years. David is a Tibetan Buddhist-background believer who had a small congregation of 40 men and women when Joshua and Ellie first met him. He now leads a network of more than 250 house churches spanning three states!
David and his wife Paige* have two children: 10-year old James* and 6-year-old Annie*.
“Through their intentional discipleship, James has become quite the Gospel warrior among his classmates,” Joshua said.
Recently, David received a call from James’s school administrators – who are Hindus – asking him to talk to his son and discourage him from sharing the Gospel while at school.
“Your son is talking about Christ while on the bus, in the classroom, and during lunch,” the administrators said. “All the kids seem to admire his God as being powerful and are expressing interest in becoming Christian when they grow up. Could you please ask Joel not to talk about his faith while at school?”
David told them, “It will be impossible for me to tell my son to stop preaching about Jesus because that is what I have given my life to encouraging people to do. If it’s too much of an issue we can look into changing schools.”
“While the verdict is pending on whether James will be forced to move schools, we’re encouraged by his faithful witness,” Joshua said. “This story is a microcosm of what our Father is doing on a large scale across South Asia to extend grace to more and more people.”
*Names and images have been changed to ensure safety and anonymity.