Appealing for Bibles

Mission Moment (Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012)

Mariabad Mela is a festival in Pakistan that attracts about 90,000 people, who worship idols and do not recognize Jesus as Savior. Last year, the Climbing For Christ-affiliated Save Pakistan team distributed 3,000 Christian wall calendars while evangelizing at the event. Hundreds came to know Christ.

Distributing Christian wall calendars in 2011.

Save Pakistan is planning to again attend the festival in September. “It will be a great opportunity for us to reach them and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ among them,” said evangelist Haseeb, the C4C member who leads this Pakistan ministry. “It is really a golden opportunity for us to win thousands of souls for the kingdom of God.”

To do so, Haseeb has requested help to purchase of 1,000 Urdu Bibles to be distributed during the festival. “Hundreds of new people in Pakistan are asking for Bibles,” Haseeb said. “This is a sign of hunger for the Word of God. Many of the people who are turning to Christ have never read from or touched a Bible. They have little or no prior understanding of what Christianity teaches. They are impoverished in respect to knowledge of God, and His will and purpose for their lives.”

Bibles for distribution in Pakistan over the past year.

Climbing For Christ has provided funding for Save Pakistan to purchase 525 Bibles (nearly US$3,200) since Haseeb first requested 4,000 Urdu Bibles in September 2011. This is part of our ongoing Project Living Word.

We appeal to the hearts of those who may have numerous Bibles in their homes — Bibles that go unread and untouched. Look around your home; if you see a Bible collecting dust, consider sending $6 to Climbing For Christ to purchase a Book that will change the life of a Pakistani.

Pakistan is an Islamic nation. Open Doors, a ministry that works with the persecuted church, rank Pakistan 10th among the worst places to be a Christian. Recently, 11 Christian nurses were poisoned at a hospital as punishment for drinking tea during the day, when Ramadan is being observed by Muslims worldwide. (Ramadan, held this year from July 20-Aug. 18, is a month of fasting of food, drink and sexual relations from dawn until sunset.)

“The poisoning incident of 11 Christian nurses has spread a wave of fear among religious minorities of Pakistan and (a fear of) rising extremism in society,” Haseeb said.

It is in this desperate political and religious climate that people are hungering for the Bread of Life and thirsting for Living Water. It is in this state of persecution that Save Pakistan has a vision of distributing 1,000 Urdu Bibles.

“You know it is a really good chance to sow the seed of the Gospel and expect good results,” Haseeb said. “Please open your heart for these people. We can reach out to thousands of people and could make a difference (that will) impact their lives and bring them to the kingdom of God.”