Fall is my favorite time of year. It’s been over five years since I was formally a student, but I still associate fall with the excitement of new beginnings due to the academic year kicking off around the same time that autumn weather sets in.
Perhaps it’s a bit paradoxical to associate fall with new beginnings, considering that nature’s signs of life fade away all around us this time of year. But the Gospel is a story of death and resurrection, and it is reflected in the seasons; autumn’s death paves the way for spring’s new life.
In light of this, I’m quite alright with the sense of excitement, ambition, and expectation of positive change that fill me every autumn.
This fall, Harvest Bridge stands at the cusp of an exciting new season. As we enter our second decade, we look back with much gratitude at 10 years of gradual growth in our ability to fulfill our mission: to be a bridge between Christians in the West and in South Asia.
We praise God for taking HB’s humble beginning, with only $1,325 and a few key relationships, and bringing about an organization that has equipped over 270 indigenous missionaries in eight countries to bring thousands of people to the Christian faith, help hundreds of oppressed and marginalized children, women and men escape extreme poverty, provide life-saving emergency relief and long-term disaster resilience training to dozens of communities, care for dozens of Christians who have been persecuted for their faith, and more.
The past decade has enabled us to learn, grow, and fine-tune our approach of equipping highly resourceful South Asian Christians to advance God’s kingdom in the most effective ways possible. Through your ongoing partnership, HB’s second decade can be a season in which all we have learned is leveraged to greatly multiply our impact.
Over the next 10 years, we intend to deepen our partnerships in the countries where we serve, fortifying our partners’ ability to accomplish every facet of the work to which God has called them. We also seek to continue learning from our South Asian brothers and sisters, and sharing their wisdom and example with the Western Church.
The result?
Christians on both sides of the globe strengthened and encouraged to walk in the way of Christ, living obedient lives of discipleship and disciple-making that produce transformative effects in their communities and nations.
As HB fulfills its mission in the next decade and beyond, strides will be made toward a South Asia no longer afflicted by extreme poverty and corruption, no longer highly vulnerable to natural disasters due to weak infrastructure and poor planning, and no longer constrained by a caste hierarchy that consigns vast swathes of the population to societal marginalization and extremely limited opportunities.
God has called us to play a part in bringing about a South Asia where every child has the ability to pursue his or her dreams; a South Asia where no one lives without the opportunity to hear the Gospel and join Christ’s body, the Church.
A South Asia holistically transformed by the love of Jesus.
We cannot thank you, our prayer partners and financial supporters, enough for your critical partnership in this work. Without you, Harvest Bridge simply could not exist, and our goals for the next decade and beyond will remain merely abstract ideas.
This fall, as nature reminds us of the Gospel’s life-from-death aspect, would you prayerfully consider how God may be calling you to participate in the next season of Harvest Bridge’s mission?
With your help, we will do our part to bring about a South Asia renewed by the Lord’s light and love.
Blessings in Christ,
Andrew David, Director of International Partnerships
