An Equipping Story
"I have known Jesus for many years . . . but I only knew him as a ‘prophet’ for most of my life. Living in Central Asia, my Islamic faith was simply a part of my heritage and Jesus was only a familiar name.
Just a few years ago, however, I became truly desperate for a deeper understanding of who God really is. In the process of searching for answers, I became a devout Muslim, praying five times a day, memorizing the Qur’an, and even growing a long beard. In my search, however, God responded to my plea for answers and taught me the Truth about Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
Although I have experienced severe persecution because of my faith in Jesus, the life that He offers me makes it worth the cost. God has given me boldness and has strengthened me through other believers. I meet regularly with two brothers in the faith [East-West national partners] who come to my home and teach me and my family about God’s Word.
These two brothers are teaching me how to boldly share my faith in Jesus and how to secretly lead a church in my own home. I am able to share these teachings with my neighbors so that they, too, can come to understand who Jesus truly is—more than just a prophet, a Savior."
– a covert evangelist and church planter in Central Asia
East-West believes that equipping local church leaders is the key to creating a reproducible, culturally appropriate ministry that can become self-sufficient over time.
Therefore, one of our core ministry strategies is to effectively train men and women to carry out the ministry of the church. We train church leaders to plant traditional or house churches, to lead ministry in a local church, or to lead an evangelistic ministry in conjunction with local churches.
In the next 5 years, our goal is to train 250,000 local church leaders in order to multiply the Kingdom of God.