"Sewing" Gospel Seeds

dsmith484
Jun 2
2 min read

Making disciples of Jesus and planting churches among unreached peoples in South Asia requires much prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Laborers must be willing to go to some of the hardest places and endure all kinds of affliction. This kind of missionary work takes fortitude and commitment combined with strategy and creativity. A ministry that God is blessing to produce lasting fruit among unreached people groups are sewing schools.

The Dorcas Sewing School was birthed and is being led by the adult daughter of a national mission leader. She had a burden to make disciples of young women in minority people groups that were unreached. Typically, these young ladies have very little education and opportunities. Sadly, they are at risk of being abused. The sewing schools train the women how to design and sew clothing. This skill gives them a means to provide for themselves and their families. The schools operate as mini boarding schools providing basic food and lodging for the young women. This format provides the best opportunity for comprehensive sewing training during the day and for intentional evangelism in the evenings. The ladies are taught the Bible from Genesis to Christ laying a biblical foundation.

Over the past several years, multiple sewing schools have been established among unreached people groups in two countries in South Asia. It has become a key ministry of Antioch International Missions, a national mission agency with whom we partner. While each sewing school is small and simple, God is blessing with lasting fruit. Many young women have come to Christ through a sewing school, have been discipled and are now being trained for future ministry. In coordination with other ministries, many of the ladies who come to Christ attend 40 days of discipleship training in which they are rooted and grounded in God's Word through an intense discipleship program. After completing the discipleship program, some have gone on to Bible College and have received missionary training to become missionaries to their own people by starting and leading new sewing schools.

The nature of our ministry has given us a close-up view of how God is using the Dorcas Sewing Schools. It's been a privilege to meet young ladies at a sewing school and then have the joy of teaching them a year later at a discipleship training seminar. To then teach them again 1-2 years later as students in a Bible college is a blessing that is hard to articulate. It's our joy to share with you the wonderful ways in which God is at work using Asian churches and mission agencies to creatively and strategically make disciples of Christ and plant churches. We look forward to seeing how God continues to use these young ladies for His glory.

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We're honored to serve alongside Asian churches and missionaries on the front lines to advance the Gospel and plant churches in the uttermost parts of Asia. Thank you for praying and partnering with us to help train Asian laborers to declare God's glory to the nations.

Praise the Lord with us,

Dave & Shawn

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