You can help David Anwar meet the literature needs of a church under pressure.

In obedience to the word of God my mother offered her first child to the Lord.

My friends said they wanted to be policemen, doctors or teachers. I could say only that I was a servant of God.

My mother instructed and disciplined me daily. I was eight years old when I accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour. At thirteen I preached the word of God to 300 children.

 

Remember what you have been taught

I rebelled and broke my mother’s covenant. I stopped going to church and started staying out late. My mother wept and prayed for me every day. My father refused to talk to me.

I was determined to be admitted to university. I sat exams. I appealed to Muslim saints. I tried every possible way. Nothing worked. My personal failure and the challenges facing my country crushed and depressed me. I felt trapped, helpless and far from God.

My cousin gave me a book. Reading helped me to understand Pakistan’s problems and my position before God. I learned that God is good. He loves us. I repented and surrendered to God.

 

A reading Christian is a growing Christian

I read all the books my mother owned and began sharing books with my cousins. In 2010 I started collecting books. Soon there was not enough space in my home. I now rent a room in our neighbourhood to house our library. People come to read and be blessed.

By freeing us from habitual thinking, reading helps us to be creative. This is important not just for us personally but also for our nation. Reading makes us aware of other people’s needs. By allowing us to learn from other people’s experience, reading helps us to overcome challenges and solve problems.

 

Local writers with local understanding

My ambition is to publish books that meet the needs of the 4.5 million Christians in Pakistan. These books will be written by Pakistani Christians and address issues facing our nation, church and church leaders.

At Masihi Isha’at Khana (MIK) I work in art, graphic design and IT. I am the only member of my family with a job. I am grateful to be able to work doing what I love.

The workshop conducted by Brother Michael in Lahore was very useful. By adopting ideas we learned, I am able to work more skilfully. We learned that good design begins with key words and big ideas and is, therefore, the responsibility of writers and editors as well as designers.

Pray that God will provide the resources we need to write and publish good books. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use books to awaken and equip leaders to revive and grow the church.

 

David Anwar works with Masihi Isha’at Khana (The Christian Publishing House) in Lahore.

 

$6000 will deliver training to editors, designers and illustrators in Asia.

Where the gospel is preached, books are needed. Sparklit has the opportunity to send promising publishing professionals to LittWorld 2015 where they will receive strategic training and encouragement.

 

Reverend Sajid Imdad is responsible for course development at the Open Theological Seminary in Lahore. At LittWorld, Sajid will benefit from the experience and expertise of 260 Christian publishers from 50 countries. He will also have valuable things to share and will leave LittWorld a member of a global publishing family.

 

Our challenges

 

“The Church in Pakistan is suffering from a shortage of resources that are contextually relevant and in the local language. This limits the growth of the church and our opportunities to serve. By developing my understanding and skills in translation, editing, design and printing, I will be better prepared to navigate the challenges posed by each publishing project.”

 

My dreams

 

“I want to be a faithful servant of the Lord and serve the church through publications and research work. I hope to be more effective and skillful in this regard and am committed to pursuing further theological and professional training.”

 

My Expectations

 

“LittWorld will provide me with an opportunity to learn from other publishers. It will enrich and shape me, and introduce me to a world-wide network of professionals engaged in publishing ministries. I feel blessed to have been chosen and appointed by God to build up his church.”

 

Pray that at Littworld, Sajid will be encouraged and empowered.  Pray that through the unique training ministry of the Open Theological Seminary many will come to trust and obey our Heavenly Father and become agents of his grace and love in Pakistan.

 

You can send publishing professionals to LittWorld for vital networking, encouragement and training.

Has there ever been a culture as addicted to pleasure as our own? Comfort is king.

 

In the West we are risk averse and avoid pain at all costs. We complain bitterly when we are disappointed. When things don’t go our way, we are shattered.

 

Qaiser Julius tells me that Pakistani Christians are tempted just as we are to resist or flee from suffering.

 

Expect suffering

 

“We do not seek suffering. But when persecution comes Christians must embrace it. Not as victims but as disciples following in our master’s footsteps. Suffering is to be expected. We need to get used to it. The Bible teaches us that suffering is a gift and a source of joy. Joy and suffering are indispensable and inseparable parts of Christian living. This is how God is glorified.”

 

“How can we be salt and light if we hide from the world? Indeed, the church will only survive if we learn to embrace suffering. As the missionaries who brought the Good News to Pakistan had no experience of persecution, we Pakistani Christians are having to discover for ourselves how to respond to suffering.”

 

Show and tell

 

Because it is neither comfortable not intuitive, the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth does need to be both lived and explained. Show and tell.

 

We must faithfully and fearlessly preach Christ crucified, and repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name. To this we have been called because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we might follow in his steps.

 

Pray for Qaiser as he completes his doctoral studies in Australia and returns to continue his ministry in Pakistan.

 

Qaiser Julius director of the Open Theological Seminary in Lahore.

 

Today you can support the work of SparkLit and its partners in difficult places.

Qaiser Julius invites us to help him equip and strengthen a church under pressure.

 

While Pakistani law promises minorities a degree of religious freedom, in practice non-Muslims and moderate Muslims must practise their faith cautiously and under threat from Islamists.

 

In this hostile climate, Christian teaching and publishing ministries must be exercised with confidence and wisdom.

 

For over forty years the Open Theological Seminary (OTS) has been working to equip God’s people for work in his service in Pakistan. Each year since 2008 enrolments have grown by an average of thirteen percent. Local classes are conducted throughout the country by over 500 volunteer tutors.

 

Wherever Urdu is spoken

 

The OTS is now serving Urdu-speaking Christians not only in Pakistan but also in the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Australia. We currently provide contextually appropriate Bible teaching and lay leadership training to more than 5,000 men and women from many different churches. Students graduate with a certificate, diploma or bachelor degree in theology.

 

Not just a printer

 

Tutors receive training and help write, field-test and refine course material. At least two drafts of any new courses are circulated before it is published and released. This process of review and correction will be greatly facilitated if our editorial team can print draft curricula in-house.

 

Editions of 5,000 copies of the manuals and workbooks for our most popular courses are produced by commercial printers. However there is an urgent need to be able to efficiently print smaller editions in our office. Short print runs are required for gatherings, seminars, tutor training and material for our courses published in minority languages such as Sindhi, Farsi, Pushtu and English.

 

A secure investment

 

Current conditions make life difficult for Christians. The ability to print-on-demand will mean that sensitive material need not be stored in our office or a commercial print workshop. Having our own printer will increase our productivity, effectiveness and security.

 

We are very grateful to our friends and partners around the world who have contributed to the development of this strategic ministry. Your provision of a digital printer and photocopier will enable OTS to continue to flourish in adversity.

 

Will you pray that Christian leaders will be equipped to serve a church under pressure? Ask that we will be given the gifts of grace and courage so that our Heavenly Father might be praised and glorified.

 

Qaiser Julius is the director of the Open Theological Seminary in Lahore. He is currently completing doctoral studies at the Melbourne School of Theology.

 

$13,000 will provide the Open Theological Seminary with a high-speed, heavy-duty digital printer.