National Baptist Church of Pakistan (NBCP)
MISSION TRIP
Headed by
President NBCP
June & July, 2022
INTRODUCTION
The National Baptist Church of Pakistan (NBCP) is an indigenous Church Ministry serving the Lord since 1990. Bishop Ishaq Mazhar Sandhu is the founding member of NBCP in Pakistan. At present NBCP has its presence in Islamabad, the Capital city and in Punjab Province of Pakistan, maintaining its headquarters in Islamabad. The Church has constructed 15 Community Based Churches, including a church in Islamabad. It has also planted 35 Home Churches in different slums and rural areas of Pakistan.
NBCP envisions to reach out to those who have never heard the Gospel, make them disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. NBCP endeavors to provide assistance to the oppressed and marginalized communities of Pakistan through its development wing by offering humanitarian assistance; finding avenues to share the Good News with non-believers and unsaved people, enabling them to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
CHURCH OUTREACH
The National Baptist Church of Pakistan (NBCP) endeavors to reach out to the non-believers and the unsaved to share the Good News so that they may accept Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
In the month of June 2022, a four member team headed by Sajid Sandhu, President NBCP, visited different districts of the Punjab Province, including Baddomalhi, Lahore and Gujranwala. Despite the unbearable heat of the month of June, the church members welcomed the visiting team vehemently.
The team visited four NBCP churches during the field trip: One NBCP church in Baddomalhi; one NBCP church in Lahore: Jallo Pind and two NBCP churches in Gujranwala: Chand Da Qilla and Bhoper Village.
It was highly encouraging that the church members were eager to hear the Gospel and reassuring still that majority of the church members knew the references in the Bible. It was heartening to observe that even with limited resources the church choir, comprising youth members, was highly passionate in their worship; not only did they have beautiful voices but they played the instruments quite professionally.
The Word of God was shared by Sajid Sandhu, President NBCP, who was visiting Pakistan during the summer break; he is currently enrolled in The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, pursuing Masters in Apologetics.
The President of NBCP, Sajid Sandhu reached out to the members of four churches of NBCP and his main emphasis was to share the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
The President’s message helped the church members realize the gaps that existed between their (not so good) understanding of the Bible and the true teachings of the Christ. They admitted that they had never really understood the great commandment of Jesus Christ in its true letter and spirit. They acknowledged that the Great Commission was not only given to disciples, bishops, pastors, deacons and elders but was actually meant for all Christians. Several of the members presented themselves and committed to carry out the Great Commission from within their families, friends, colleagues and other non-believers that they might know.
The services ended with special prayers for those who were sick, possessed or were going through difficult times in their lives. We were fortunate to experience the Mighty Hand of God who released those church members who were in the bondage of Satan.
A fellowship meal was offered by Sajid Sandhu, President NBCP, which served as a good opportunity to interact with the church members on individual basis.
CHURCH NEEDS
During the Mission Trip the team has identified the following needs that must be addressed on urgent basis:
- Strengthening of Existing Ministries
- Capacity Building of Pastors and Evangelists
In today’s age where there is inundation of information that is difficult to sift through for authenticity, there is confusion as what to believe and what to reject. Hence the need is to empower the pastors and evangelists with comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and the true teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ so that they may easily handle questions, queries, observations, ambiguities and criticism while sharing the Gospel with non-believers and the unsaved.
There is also a need is to create a support group of believers where personal and professional experiences of their evangelistic endeavors can be shared for a better learning experience for other group members.
Capacity building of pastors on periodic basis plays a vital role in equipping them with strategies for evangelizing in a radical Islamic State where evangelism among Muslims and their conversion to any other faith is punishable by law; the evangelists can also face dire consequences.
- Strengthen Sunday School Ministry
In order to cultivate steadfast disciples and stewards from within the Christian community in Pakistan, there is a dire need to educate Christian children regarding the teachings of the Bible at the Sunday School; it has been observed that there is great lacking in this regard at the church in Pakistan.
It also needs to be highlighted that Christian children studying in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are not offered Bible Studies at school or college level hence the only means of making them proficient is through Sunday School Ministry.
- Strengthen Youth Ministry
It has been observed that the church in Pakistan does not have the required youth ministers to serve among the youth, who are the future of the nation.
The youth of Pakistan make up 63% of the total population which means that there is ample ground to work on. By strengthening the Youth Ministry we will empower Christian youth with the true teachings of Jesus Christ for upholding their faith among Muslim majority.
The youth ministers will engage the youth through Bible Studies, sports, youth camps and study tours for channelizing their energies to win souls.
- Strengthen Evangelical Ministry
There is grave misconception among the Christian masses in comprehending the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20):
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Christians commonly believe that the Great Commission only addresses those who are already serving the Lord whereas it commands each one of us to take up the responsibility of sharing the Good News, preparing people for credo baptism and making them disciples. The Evangelical Ministry will ensure that all church members are cognizant of the true connotation of the Great Commission so that they may be involved in evangelical activities.
- Infrastructural improvement
The House of the Lord should always be in immaculate condition!
With time infrastructure needs repair and improvement. The same is the case with present church buildings of NBCP which have varying requirements such as repainting, plaster, flooring, carpeting, lighting and construction of additional spaces for Sunday School Ministry.
The churches also need chairs as presently all members are seated on the floor. This gives a very unruly appearance to the church as lines are not maintained and people seat themselves as they wish.
- NEW INITIATIVES
- Education Ministry
- Adult Education
The poor masses of Pakistan are illiterate as they have never had the opportunity to obtain formal education. Similarly, most of the NBCP church members who are residing in shanty areas or in far flung villages have limited access to education. This has greatly impacted their abilities to understand the Bible as they cannot read it themselves and are completely dependent on what they hear and retain. The Education Ministry will encourage adult church members to learn to read Urdu Language so that they independently read their Bibles. The literate members of the Church will be engaged for conducting Adult Education classes.
- Establish Educational Complex
NBCP believes that the church should take the lead to provide an educational institution where children of non-affording Christian families could obtain good quality education. NBCP envisions to provide a residential educational facility where students would be groomed in all spheres of life so that they may become disciples and vital citizens of the country.
NBCP CHURCHES IN PAKISTAN
