Reading Time: 5 minutesPakistan is an Islamic country in South Asia. It shares its border with India, Afghanistan, Iran, and China, and the good news is preached here. Pakistan is a member of the International Ministerial Congress.
Religious beliefs
Christians are free to worship and share the good news in most regions of Pakistan, as long as they and Muslims in those areas maintain good relationships with one another. If Christians speak openly against Islam, there will be a problem.
Muslims who do hear the gospel cannot convert to Christianity openly. If they do, they must move to another country safe from Muslim organizations that will seek to kill them. For their protection, Muslims who do convert do so inwardly.
Work and schooling
Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947. The country is governed by an elected parliament and supported by a strong military. Islamic Sharia law is also practiced, though limited. The government provides some protection for the rights of religious minorities, like Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs. But Muslims are favored in jobs.
Many Christians do not go to school due to lack of financial resources to pay for school items. Fortunately, Muslims trust Christians. If they complete their studies, some Muslims will hire Christians for better jobs.
Reaching Muslims
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, 20 to go, preach, and teach. If Christians respect and maintain good relationships with Muslims and other Christians, then we can share the good news to all people.
We also pray for Muslims, invite them to our programs, and go to theirs when they invite us, where we preach the Bible. The wife of one Muslim man was recently possessed by a demon. After Christians prayed for her, she was healed.
Pastors and members arrange prayer meetings in homes, where we give messages and pray for people. Other churches do not do this. We pray for and visit the sick and help when needed.
We give Bibles to some Muslim leaders and to those who can read and understand. When speaking to people of other religions, we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us.
People in Pakistan hunger for Bible truth. In 2015, we translated This We Believe into Urdu, our native language, and have since distributed many copies of it in pamphlet form.
Training
We also have a Bible seminary, so important for the growth of our church. People see that we have a real church, and pastors send their young people to our seminary for training. Our desire is to have seminaries in different regions of Pakistan. This year we are graduating more than 225 students who have completed four years of training. These graduates will serve in different areas of Punjab and Sindh states, where there are no pastors.
If God allows, we also hope to open CoG7 primary and secondary schools to educate our Christian people, most of whom are not well educated. If our children will study, they can support themselves and be strong in the Bible. In government schools, most students are Muslims and pressure Christian students to join them, causing the Christian students to become disheartened and stop attending.
Now and the future
With the help of GC Missions, Orphans and Widows Ministry, and Women’s Ministry, we have completed training women (mostly widows) in how to use sewing machines. We have purchased sewing machines in four different areas for more than one hundred women (sewing machines are $100 each). Before, they were working in brick kilns or Muslim homes, receiving a low income, and often financially indebted to their employers. Now, sewing clothes in their own businesses, they have no debt. They can send their children to school and give tithes and offerings to church.
Part of our vision is to start a clinic one day where boys and girls can be trained and eventually work as lab, Xray, EKG, and ultrasound technicians. We are also considering mobile medical testing and a dispensary for raising funds and carrying out evangelism in different areas. If we show the love of God and maintain good relationships with others, we can effectively share the Word of God with those in Pakistan.
If you and/or your church would like to support the ministry of the Church in Pakistan or another country where the Church of God (Seventh Day) exists, contact GC Missions at gcmissions@cog7.org. Write “GC Missions” on your check memo line or donate online at cog7.org/giving.
Testimony of Shamas Pervaiz
From childhood, my family kept the Sabbath, Friday night to Saturday evening. My father was a deacon in the Bethania church, a Sunday-observing church, and was always interested in Bible study. He said that we are to run our lives as the Bible says.
My grandfather was a Muslim. When he was young, however, an English-speaking man taught him about Christianity, and my grandfather was baptized. This happened before Pakistan became a nation.
When I was a child, my parents said I would serve God. But as a teenager, I ignored this. My friend, who worked as an Xray technician, told me that being a technician was a good job, and invited me to learn. When I was studying for the medical field, I was invited to serve in Campus Crusade for Christ as their Youth-in-Charge.
When I graduated in 1987, I worked as a lab technician. The job was good financially. However, I had problems with my employer when they said Christians were foolish. When they asked me to falsify tests, I decided it was time to leave.
Earlier in 1995, I began studying in a seminary. When I graduated in 2000, I started full-time church work, preaching to my relatives and friends. At the beginning of my ministry, I did not have my own church; we gathered in homes. Eight pastors worked with me, and I preached in their churches.
I always desired to join an organized church — not for money but to serve. I learned about the Church of God (Seventh Day) through the Internet and read about it on the Church’s website. I don’t know how I found CoG7, but I believe God directed me to this church to serve here. We started the CoG7 in 2006 with eight pastors.
In 2010, I helped start the Association of Bishops and Heads in Pakistan, and I am the chairman of it. This organization helps Christian leaders from more than seventy denominations strengthen their relationships and support one another. In 2012, I helped found an interfaith organization among Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and other religious organizations. I am the chairman of this organization as well. This group allows us to maintain good relationships with one another, resolve problems, and practice our Christian faith with as much freedom as possible. Wherever there are good relationships, our pastors have freedom to teach the Bible and share the good news.
In 2015, we received our first visit from GC Missions, and our church has grown quickly since that time. I have learned much. With the support and prayers of the Church of God (Seventh Day), we are teaching and serving well here in Pakistan.
- On Mission . . . In Pakistan - August 25, 2020
