The silence of the great hall in Kochi was broken only by soft, choking sobs. The Spirit of God was moving over the room with awesome power, convicting of sin and calling men and women into His service.
Before the meeting ended, 120 of the 1,200 pastors and Christian leaders present made their way to the altar, responding to the Great Commission.
They made the choice to leave home, village and family, business or career and go where they would be hated and feared. Meanwhile, another 600 pastors pledged to return to their congregations and pray for more workers who would go to the needy regions.
I stood silently in the holy hush, praying for the earnest pastors crowded around the altar. I was humbled by the presence of God.
As I prayed, my heart ached for these men. How many would be beaten and go hungry or be cold and lonely in the years ahead? How many would sit in jails for their faith? I prayed for the blessing and protection of God on them — and for more sponsors across the seas to stand with them.
They were leaving material comforts, family ties and personal ambitions. Ahead lay a new life among strangers. But I also knew they would witness spiritual victory as many turned to Christ and helped form new fellowships in the unreached villages.
Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
With me in the meeting was David Mains, a serious student of revival. He had joined us in Kochi as one of the conference speakers. He later testified how the Lord had taken over the meeting in a most unusual way.
“It would hardly have been different,” he wrote later, “had Jesus Himself been bodily among us. The spirit of worship filled the hall. The singing was electrifying. The power of the Holy Spirit came upon the audience. Men actually groaned aloud. I have read of such conviction in early church history and during the two Great Awakenings, but I had never anticipated experiencing it firsthand.”
But the Lord is not simply calling out huge numbers of national workers. God is at work saving people in numbers we never before dreamed possible. People are coming to know the love of Christ all across Asia at an accelerated rate wherever Christ is being proclaimed. In areas such as China, Malaysia, Myanmar and others, it is not uncommon now for the Christian community to grow as much in only one month as it formerly did in a whole year.
Typical of the many indigenous missionary movements that have sprung up overnight is the work of a brother from India, Jesu Das, a former military officer who gave up a commission and army career to help start a ministry team in an unreached area. He now leads more than 400 full-time missionaries.
Like other indigenous mission leaders, he has discipled 10 “Timothys” who are directing the work. Each of them in turn will be able to lead dozens of additional workers who will have their own disciples.
Das and his wife set an apostolic pattern for their workers similar to that of the apostle Paul. On one mission tour that lasted 53 days, he and his family traveled by bullock cart and foot into some of the most needy areas of an eastern state. There, working in the intense heat among people whose lifestyle was extremely primitive, he saw hundreds come to know the Lord.
Throughout the journey, demons were cast out and miraculous physical healings took place daily. Thousands heard the good news eagerly. In just one month, he formed 15 fellowships and assigned elders to stay behind and build them up in the faith.
Similar miraculous movements are starting almost everywhere in Asia. {eoa}
K.P. Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
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Charisma Staff 
Larry Tomczak 
Bill Wiese 
