Animism — the belief that objects, places and creatures possess a distinct spiritual essence — is 6the belief system of many indigenous peoples. Here you will find stories of how the message of God's love is impacting animistic unreached people groups and learn how you can be a part of God's work among them.
Photo courtesy of Kelly and Jenni Conrady. Used by permission (personal correspondence)
The Garifuna people of Central America number approximately 75,000 and live in the countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.1 They are known for their music and dance — in 2001, their music, dance, and language were proclaimed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.2
Photo courtesy of Zechariah Cunningham. Used by permission (personal correspondence).
When Zechariah Cunningham played football in high school, he trained as hard as he could so that he would be assured that he would not sit on the sidelines when it came time for games.
Listen to Bryan Webb, Assemblies of God World Missions Area Director for Pacific Oceania, describe a recent conversation he had with Zechariah about how that same type of commitment plays out in Zechariah’s walk with Jesus:
Of the three parallel passages which tell the story of Jesus receiving children to Himself (when His disciples tried to hinder them), the most descriptive is Mark 10:13-16:
Photo courtesy of Dr. Heather Marten. Used by permission (personal correspondence)
Dr. Heather Marten is a missionary pediatrician to the nation of Zambia in south-central Africa.
Heather first felt called to missions when she was 12 years old, but wasn’t sure what that would mean. Through a variety of influences, she ended up in Zambia where she uses her knowledge and experience in pediatrics and tropical medicine to bring both spiritual and physical hope and healing to the Zambian people.
Photo courtesy of Nate Craft. Used by permission (personal correspondence)
Nate Craft had a dream. And he had a plan to reach his dream, a plan to live the life he had always wanted. He was a Division 1 football player at Jacksonville State University. He was a pre-med major with a 4.0 grade point average. Nate was popular on campus. He was on his way to being happy and successful. Nate had a plan.
God also had a plan. God had a plan for the 92 unreached people groups who live in the jungles of the Amazon Basin which surround the end of the road where the town of Yurimaguas lies in the region of Loreto, Peru.
Hans Bär, a missionary with OMF International, has been involved in evangelism and leadership training among the Karen people in Thailand for over twenty-five years. The Karen people have an animistic background and worldview and that affects how they understand teaching from the Bible.
Please pray for the areas surrounding these twenty rail stations: Akihabara, Shin-Okachimachi, Asakusa, Minami-Senju, Kita-Senju, Aoi, Rokucho, Yashio, Misato-chuo, Minami-Nagareyama, Nagareyama-centralpark, Nagareyama-otakanomori, Kashiwanoha-campus, Kashiwa-Tanaka, Moriya, Miraidaira, Midorino, Bampaku-kinenkoen, Kenkyu-gakuen, and Tsukuba
Pray that God would raise up church planters and send forth laborers into the harvest fields surrounding these stations (Luke 10:2-4).
Pray that God would help these church planters identify persons of peace in the areas surrounding these stations (Luke 10:5-8).
Pray that God would enable these church planters to speak the word of God with boldness in these areas (Luke 10:9b).
Pray that the proclamation of God’s word in the areas surrounding these stations would be accompanied by demonstrations of God’s compassion and power (Luke 10:9a).