teaching them to observe
Training Nepali Believers from some of Nepal's more Remote Districts
The Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a good suggestion, and it appears in the New Testament at least five times. Mark 16:15-16 is most succinct, the SCOPE & RESULTS of the Commission. Verse 15 is the church's responsibility; verse 16 is the Lord's problem. Luke 24:46-48 reveals the MESSAGE of the Great Commission. Perhaps the three most important words of this message are "it is written." John 20:21 is the BADGE of the Great Commission. As Jesus Christ was sent to build His Church (cf. Matthew 16:18), even so are we sent to build His Church. The local church is to be the source and fruit of missions. Parachuch organizations, humanitarian NGOs, "raising awareness" . . . none of that stuff is the Great Commission any more than Mohammed was a prophet. The STRATEGY of the this Commission is clearly delineated in Acts 1:8. If you don't care about your next door neighbor, then you never will truly care about the man 10,000 miles away. Obedience to this commandment begins at home and ultimately invests in the nations. In other words, the training ground is not a college, seminary, or the foreign field. It's your Jerusalem. Finally, Matthew 28:19-10, reveals the three-fold GOAL of the Great Commission:
Making Disciples--Bringing people into a right relationship with the SON OF GOD
Baptizing Them--Bringing people into a right relationship with the CHURCH OF GOD
Teaching Them--Bringing people into a right relationship with the WORD OF GOD
Teaching Disciples, Bringing Them into a Right Relationship with the Word of God
By God's grace, Full Proof Gospel Ministries has been involved in each of these labors, over many years and in many places. In fact, it is this three-fold ministry as outlined at the end of the Gospel of Matthew that compels the specific three-fold objective we have embraced since our founding:
Public Proclamation of the WRITTEN Word of God
Publication & Mass Distribution of the PRINTED Word of God
Evangelism & Missions Training in the REVEALED Word of God
south asia
Recently, we returned from a very fruitful time of ministry in South Asia whereby our primary focus was "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), leading believers into a closer relationship with the Word of God. In doing so, the Lord allowed us to labor alongside our national partners in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh and to be involved in the training and discipling of a group of 9 Ladakhi believers (some former Muslims and some former Buddhists), Nepali believers representing local churches in the Surkhet and Jajarkhot Districts, a group of 15 Bangladeshi pastors, and believers involved with a Kathmandu church plant. It was a genuine blessing to teach on practical biblical subjects such as handling persecution, sin in the life of a believer, the Great Commission responsibilities that fall upon even the poorest of disciples, God's covenants, the roles of Israel & the Church, Jewish evangelism, and biblical marriage.
A true highlight of my time was at the end of a 3-day pastors training conference that I had been asked to lead in the Gopalganj District of Bangladesh. Just getting there involved a long drive amidst of slough of crazy drivers and the use of boat taxis. After hours of teaching on God’s Covenants, His plan and purpose for the ages, the relationship between Israel and the Church, and the Great Commission, I was asked to point in the direction of the City of Jerusalem. Fifteen pastors, some of them former Muslims, some former Hindus, and some former Catholics, then stretched out their hands toward Jerusalem and cried out to the Lord on behalf of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, petitioning the Lord to bring salvation to Zion. It was powerful.
There were many things for which to praise God. One of the Bangladeshi pastors referenced above took us down the river on a boat taxi to see the little church building where he pastors. Not long ago, that one-room edifice was used as a Hindu Temple. Now, it is a local church!
This Local Church in Bangladesh used to be a Hindu Temple.
I watched as another one of these pastors boldly and compassionately confronted a Hindu priest of Kali, the goddess of blood, right there in the temple. The priest listened and heard the Truth.
This Hindu Priest of the goddess Kali heard the Gospel clearly from a bold Bangladeshi Pastor
After the teaching sessions in India with the Ladakhi believers, I watched as Brother Bishnu and a young man from a village in Kargil worked together to translate one of our Project Jagerna Nepali Gospel Tracts into Urdu, the language of Kargil. The interesting thing about this newly-baptized believer, aside from his knowledge of three languages, is that he used to be the one who belted out the call of prayer from the mosque in his Muslim village.
Brother Bishnu, a former Hindu, and a former Muslim work together to translate a Nepali Gospel Tract into the Urdu Language.
I went to South Asia to teach, but when I saw poor believers, some who came from miles and miles away and others who would sit for hours and petition for the teaching to continue late into the night, I realized that it was I who was being taught by these and thereby brought under the conviction of the Holy Ghost. Who was I to teach the least of these who would one day be great in the Kingdom of God?
Wherever we traveled, all who came were so grateful and adamant that they had been blessed by the teachings.
Though our main focus was TEACHING, we also enjoyed some times of PUBLIC PROCLAMATION and DISTRIBUTION. The Word went out in Nepali village, on the crowded streets of Kathmandu, and while walking the dusty byways of the giant river delta that is rural Bangladesh.
Open-Air Preaching in Kathmandu
We were genuinely appreciative of the 3-man team from New Testament Christian Fellowship in North Carolina who came to labor alongside us in Nepal and for a good brother from California who accompanied us in both Nepal and Bangladesh. The fellowship of the brethren on foreign fields and in the work of the Lord is a special thing.
Our 2017 Team (from left to right): Bob Hill, Gene Mitchler, and Daniel Middleton from NTCF; Tim Mejia from California; Jesse Boyd, FPGM President
Here's an interesting tidbit. Back in 2008, New Testament Christian Fellowship sent a team to Nepal that we took with us out to Nepalgunj in the West. From there, we took a day and journeyed by jeep up into Surkhet, preaching and distributing the Word of God all along the road. At a remote village called Chhinchu, we stopped and turned around, but not before praying that the Lord would allow the Gospel to someday go out in similar fashion along the road beyond Chhinchu. Brother Bob Hill, one of the NTCF elders and a member of FPGM's Board of Directors, was there back in 2008. He came again this time around. We remembered that prayer, and I believe the picture below is worth a thousand words. The NTCF brothers are standing there with Gospel tracts and Scriptures portions 70km farther up the same road from where we had stopped nine years ago. In partnership with local believers, we gave out a lot of Gospels of John that day in Jajarkhot District. Praise God, He does answer specific prayers in His own good time.
Proof that God Hears and Answers Specific Prayers
Please pray for our national partners in South Asia: Brother Bishnu Shrestha (Nepal), Brother James Roy (Bangladesh), and Brother Gulzar Husen (India). These labor tirelessly for the Kingdom and put their lives on the line to do so. It's an honor to come alongside and to support their efforts.
jewish missions
In September of 2013, in recognition and support of a young man's gifts and calling who had come on board to labor with us, FPGM committed to make Jewish missions a vital arm of its labor for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ (i.e. in addition to public proclamation, mass distribution, and trainings for local churches). This young man was put in charge of this arm of labor and was entrusted with its fulfillment as a missionary to the Jewish people. For three years, he was part of many adventures sharing the Word of God with Israeli backpackers in South America and South Asia, Jewish diaspora in South Africa and the United States, and those living in the Land of Israel. This brother is no longer with us, but we remain committed to the work of Jewish missions and will continue therein as the Lord equips and enables us. Until such time as the Lord raises up another laborer or faithful couple to assume charge of this arm of FPGM, my wife and I will be taking the reins of Jewish missions and giving our full attention to it while also trying to balance our partnerships in South Asia, Project Jagerna, and the work of making the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ an unavoidable issue for as many people as possible all over the world, and just around the corner. We covet your prayers during this exciting time of transition.
The past two summers, we have seen great success with Team Yeshua in Ladakh. In 2015, we hosted and trained seven young people. During our time together, 25 Hebrew New Testaments went into the hands of Israeli travelers, and the Gospel was shared with people of 36 different nations. In 2016, we hosted a new team of seven, and this time, 28 Hebrew New Testaments went out, and the Gospel was proclaimed to people from 41 different countries. Of the fourteen people involved with those two teams, three have since returned to South Asia on their own, two have spent extensive time in Israel, and two have gotten married to each other. What blessed fruit!
Team Yeshua 2015
Team Yeshua 2016
This summer, we are doing something a little different, yet a Team Yeshua nonetheless. Sometime in late June, we will be taking three young people, one who served with our 2015 Team and two who served with our 2016 Team, down to South America for 4-6 weeks. Our summers (i.e. the austral winter) are typically when the Israelis traveling in South America move north out of Argentina and Chile and head closer to the Equator. From June through August, they can be found in Bolivia, Peru, the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, Ecuador, and on the beaches and hill treks of Colombia. Starting in either Catagena or Bogota, we will begin working our way south, traveling light and traveling like the Israelis do. Our goal is to eventually make it overland to Northern Chile, seeking out Israelis backpackers and the Jewish haunts all along this gringo trail. We did a trip like this in Peru back in 2013 and had many encounters with the lost sheep of the house of Israel high up in the Andes. As with our 2013 trek around the Cordillera Huayhuash, we will travel against the normal flow of tourists so as to confront as many as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah. Lord willing, we will be doing the Huayhuash Trek again and much, much more. Please pray for us as we try to put all this together, and pray for those who will be returning to labor once again alongside FPGM.
Sharing with Israelis along the Huayhuash Trek in Peru back in 2013
the driving force of the great commission
As mentioned, the Great Commission of our Lord & Saviour can be found five times in the New Testament. And, Matthew 28:19-20 outlines the three-fold goal of this responsibility belonging to all believers and local New Testament churches. It amazes me, however, that verse 18 is typically overlooked or swept aside in any discussion about the Great Commission. The summer VBS kids only memorize verses 19-20. Why?
My grandfather pastored for more than fifty years and preached many sound exegetical sermons from across the Scriptures. When encountering a "therefore" in the text, he would always compel the student of God's Word to ask WHAT IS IT THERE FOR? The Great Commission as found inMatthew 28:19-20 begins "Go ye therefore . . ." Well, what is the "therefore" there for? You have to back up to verse 18:
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Why should we go preaching, baptizing, and teaching? The answer is simple, and it should be the driving force: THE JESUS CHRIST THAT WE DECLARE HAS ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. He's no dead prophet; He's not hanging any longer on a cross; He's not a distant legend of another time. He is a Risen Saviour, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has all power and authority, and soon, He will return to claim it. If that's not enough motivation for us to go into all the world, I don't know what else could be.
The power & authority of the Lord Jesus Christ is motivation enough to go into all the world.
I've said this before, and I will say it again. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and cannot go into all nations with the Gospel, then you should GIVE so that others can. If you cannot go or give, you should PRAY. But, if you are like me, and you have the resources and the abilities to go, to give, and to pray, then be about the work of all three, and let Matthew 28:18 be your motivation.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Jesse Boyd