Preaching the Gospel to all creation

“Independence Day is celebrated in Pakistan on 14 August each year. It commemorates the partition of India into two parts: India (mainly Hindu) and Pakistan (mainly Muslim), which was itself divided into two wings — East Pakistan and West Pakistan.

“Save Pakistan Ministries arranged an Independence Day celebration with church congregations, where we have invited Muslim leaders also to come and join us.”

Haseeb Masih, a Climbing For Christ member from Pakistan who wrote those words, has boldly witnessed to the lost and the least in his country. He is the founder of Save Pakistan, which this year can count the following among the blessings it has offered:

• The distribution of food and Urdu Bibles to 16 widows and 25 orphans in January.
• Bible Schools for children.
• A well-attended Easter Celebration Program for widows and orphans.
• An open-air crusade attended by about 1,500 people in May.
• Annual Leadership Seminar, where about 200 pastors, evangelists, elders, and church leaders were trained.
• The opening of the Hope Sewing Center for poor women and girls. (“We select the name because we want to give them Hope for a bright future in their life,” Haseeb said.)
• “Basic necessities” — food, clothing, educational and medical care — for children of poor families.
• Prayer and assistance for many among the 200,000 affected by flooding in August.

Amidst all of this, Haseeb has and will continue to work with his Muslim friends and neighbors. “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right,” it says in James 2:8.

Haseeb Masih is doing right.

  Praying for blessings on sewing machines at a women's center in July (above) and praying with the poor at a poverty assistance gathering in August (below).

Pakistan is an Islamic Republic. It is nearly 96 percent Muslim. Open Doors ministry ranked Pakistan as the 11th worst place on the planet for Christian persecution in 2011. But it is possible to carry out evangelistic activities, distribute Gospel literature, and start house churches, according to Youth With A Mission.

Despite the notoriety of birthing terrorism and being a haven for fanatical Muslims, not all Pakistani people are to be feared.

“It’s true that sometimes we also face lots of problems from Muslims, but all Muslims are not the same,” Haseeb said. “Some are very kind-hearted and they are nice people.”

Haseeb invites Muslims to worship with the church on “special occasions — and they always come and join us.” He did so again on Pakistan’s Independence Day. “We had prayer for the peace of Pakistan together,” he said. “And I was thankful to Jesus Christ, who always works through Save Pakistan Ministries.”

Haseeb does not preach Chrislam. The 24-year-old evangelist is a lifelong Christian who is sold out for Jesus.

His favorite Scripture verse is Mark 16:15 (“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation’”). “This verse inspires me to reach out to the most needy and thirsty people all over Pakistan,” Haseeb said.

He shared this special “God moment”: “When I gave the message of God for the first time among 100 people, I was not knowing what to deliver. But when I went to the pulpit, the Lord has done a great work through me and people were blessed.”

When asked about climbing, Haseeb said, “I just don’t want to climb, but I want to reach out there (in the mountains).”

“Climbing For Christ means to me (that) it is hard work and nobody wants to climb to preach the Gospel. That’s the reason thousands of people are not yet reached by the Word of God.

“When I came to know (about the) Climbing For Christ ministry, I felt that it is very necessary and a great work for God to reach unreached people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. I have a vision to reach out climbing with you.”

This story appeared originally in The Climbing Way (Volume 22, Autumn 2011).