As I write this, we are just two and a half weeks into the Summer Giving Match, and already at 28% of our $60,000 goal! I am continually humbled and honored by your generosity. Stewarding your gifts is something I never take for granted.

Each year, a portion of the Summer Match funds are put aside for disaster and emergency relief. This allows us to quickly respond to natural or manmade disasters, like the Myanmar earthquake in March or medical bills for a persecuted pastor. Part of the funds cover our ongoing operational expenses, making it possible for us to travel to visit our leaders in person, maintain secure communication, and continue to send funds safely overseas. And finally, a significant portion goes to our special projects or programs we don’t get as many designated gifts for. There’s really nothing better than being able to say yes to our country leaders when they have a vision for their ministry. Either to go deeper or wider in their mission.

Every year, with the help of our Summer Match funds, we’re able to help our leaders accomplish their goals for the year. Here are some of the types of projects and programs that are animating our leaders in South Asia and Myanmar this year!

Historically, Harvest Bridge has not supported a lot of physical building projects due to the relatively high cost compared to other projects. However, it sometimes fits very well into our model of coming alongside those who have done much with little and who are ministering in areas of high poverty, high persecution, and a low Christian population.

In Bangladesh, physical church buildings provide legal protection, safety during natural disasters, and opportunity for more social and spiritual programs. Right now, 12 congregations throughout the country have contributed enough of their own funds so that only between $720 and $2200 is needed to complete each church building! Pastor Darpan* explains how a physical church protects them legally:

“Well, if we can [build] it will provide security for the Christians. The people—non-believers, those who are the extremists—they can see that there is a Christian church building. They know that if they touch, if they [attack] any Christian people, then government will be very strong to take the care of Christian people. [In] Bangladesh, we Christians are the very minority. And the government wants to take care of us, but without infrastructure, without a church building, without a physical place, the government asks, ‘You have a church building? Where? We want to visit and see.’ And we can say that we are worshiping every Sunday of the year, but according to their very weak logic, they know that Christians are rich in the world and that they [normally] have a worship place. So, without the church building, we couldn’t stay among the community because the government does not recognize us to protect us. So it will be very good for us, as a security.”

In many of our countries, our leaders just want to do more of what they’re already doing. For example, Pastor Shalva*, our Nepal and Tibet leader, shared this:

“We have been supporting 55 missionaries (in Nepal 42 and in Tibet 13) and we would like to support more—at least 45 missionaries who we have been somehow providing occasional support to. If we can provide the support they will continue the ministry in their respective places so that the Church will get stronger and more leaders will be developed.”

And Pastor Ram*, our leader in the Andaman Islands said,

“During the summer vacation, VBS programme for the children and youth was an encouraging one. In that, many new children of Hindus and Muslims attended. All the pastors were so blessed in conducting the VBS through the special support from HB. We would like to do more in the future.”

For many of our leaders, with inflation so high, they just need a little extra help to cover their daily needs, even as we work towards the goal of helping them become more financially independent through economic development grants:

“The main problem of our country is inflation; due to that, all essentials are expensive. Pastors and missionaries found it very difficult to manage their family and do ministry. So we want to help them more.” —Pastor Prakash*, India

“For ministry tools, many missionaries faced difficulties. They often used old Bibles and lacked sufficient resources for outreach. This limited their ability to effectively reach non-believers.” —Pastor Jairaj*, India

In Myanmar, the two biggest goals for this year build on last year’s success with feeding more people and providing Bible training programs. Pastor Pan* said:

“Since there are many things ahead of us to do in this challenging time, we need more prayer and more supports so that we can together reach more people for Christ and help more refugees in our nation who have no food to eat and no place to live because of the civil war. It is our prayer to help at least 1,000 refugee families in this year 2025. Secondly, we are ready to organize or conduct more Bible training for the leaders of the church. According to our experiences which we previously conducted, we learned that because of lack of training, the progress of the Gospel work is delayed in our nation.

Please join us in prayer for this need to conduct at least seven Bible trainings in seven different townships where our partners are serving. Just now, who knows because of the fighter, because of the Civil War, even the church may be scattering here and there. In the time of those difficulties, what I want is just to have more Bible training before we are scattering here and there, so that the people will follow God’s will in their lives, and the people we train will make and train other people wherever they go. So the Bible training is one of the main purposes for this year.”

Priya*, in southern India, is also building on her work from last year—securing documentation, citizenship, and housing for gypsy and tribal communities who have been denied their rights for decades and treated as subhuman in their own country:

“I am having a big plan in my heart for [the gypsy and tribal communities]. Now that we are getting housing, then it will be easier for them to stay for long in a safe home with no debt. Even in rain and floods, everybody will be ok. They will be in a more safe place. The land belongs to them. And housing is also coming. ST certificate, Aadhaar card, voter card, every card is there. So now they are citizens of India. So every blessing you see, is a shower blessing from God, from heaven. And another thing is, I don’t want them to be like slave. I want them to be like a free person. They are also human beings. They are also having a heart. They can also do whatever they want. They are free now. This is my prayer.”

The ministry is diverse. But the goal across all countries is to share the love of God through word and deed. Your gifts help equip believers in South Asia and Myanmar to do that. Thank you to all who have given to the Summer Giving Match already! And if you plan to give, you still have time—up until August 10th!

In Christ, 

Kate,
Executive Director