Choice Hills Baptist Church attendees were privileged this past Sunday to meet a Christian pastor from a well-known region of Muslim control. Master Akbar Masih, founder and chairman of Sermon and Song Church Ministries in Punjab, Pakistan, addressed the Greenville church during the morning service. The Pakistani pastor is visiting the States for a short time to present his ministry to supporters and to receive some education in ministry work.
Akbar Masih lives in District Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan, which is not far from two colonies that were attacked and burned by Muslims in June and July of 2009. The attacks actually opened for Akbar a door of ministry into these colonies. But when he and others began to protest to the government, the Muslims threatened them with a similar fate. According to Akbar, Christians in Pakistan live daily in fear for their lives. At any moment they could be the object of Muslim wrath. As a result, they attempt to live peacefully. But sometimes they must protest against injustice, and when they do, they do it at their own peril. Most Christians are not fortunate enough to own their own homes in Pakistan. They must live in the home of a Muslim, and work for the homeowner to pay rent. This situation places them in a precarious position socially.
Of the three percent of Pakistanis who are Christian, half are Roman Catholic. Of the other one and a half percent, less than one fifth belong to the Baptist church, of which Akbar is a minister. He began to receive attention from Baptists in the U.S. almost a year ago, when he contacted Dr. Bennett Collins of Greenville, SC, through Dr. Collins’ website, sermonandsongministries.org. Akbar wrote to ask permission to translate Dr. Collins’ booklet “What is Salvation” into Urdu. Permission was granted, and a ministry relationship began to form.
At the time of his contacting Dr. Collins, Akbar and his wife had been going door to door in the village where they live with their three children. Their village is a Christian one, so they decided to begin there rather than in a Muslim area, their goal being to unify the Christians in prayer and the Scriptures for the founding of a church. As they spoke with people about educating their children in the Scriptures, they felt the lack of available printed materials. Thus, Akbar communicated with Dr. Collins, and soon had a printed booklet to give to families. The next step was to acquire some Bibles. Through Dr. Collins and others, 2000 Bibles have now been shipped to Pakistan and distributed.
The current problem that Akbar faces is the high illiteracy rate in Pakistan, particularly among the Christian villages. With a Muslim State in control, it is easy to understand that Christians are denied many privileges in Pakistan. Being a teacher by occupation, Akbar Masih desires to start primary schools in the Christian villages with the goal of teaching children to read the Bible. Another goal is to prepare Christian children early to understand how to live with the Muslims, so when they grow and are forced to study in Muslim schools, they will remain faithful to the Scriptures.
Recently, Akbar has been holding meetings in villages in Pakistan. 100 to 300 people often attend these conventions, with local police being called in for security. For this, and the publicity at recent protests, Sermon and Song Church Ministries, named after Dr. Collins’ own organization, is gaining recognition in Pakistan. This means more possibility of persecution. Christians in the U.S. need to pray for Akbar Masih and his family that God will protect them and allow them to see the schools come to fruition. Money is needed for buildings, and prayer and spiritual support are needed to encourage the Christians in Pakistan.
This article will appear in some form or other in this week's issue of The Times Examiner, a weekly newspaper published in Greenville, SC.
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