Pakistan Christian Recording Ministries (PCRM) - March 2021 Update

PCRM is an interdenominational ministry reaching out to the people of Pakistan and neighboring countries with the message of the Gospel through Bible-centered audio and video programs via radio and social media. God gave the vision of the ministry to Rev. John W. Wilder in 1978. In 1982, a recording studio was built with the technical assistance of For East Broadcasting Association, UK which includes a recording room, music production hall, library, offices, and additional small studios.

In a 97% Muslim country with an estimated literacy rate of only 25%, radio, DVDs, and social media are the only ways many of Pakistan's 220 million can hear the message and learn about things they never heard before.

We are on the air every day with two thirty-minute programs on shortwave radio, local FM stations, and social media. Our programs incorporate general interest features/talks and four fifteen-minute Bible teaching programs i.e. Bible reading and discussion. Christian songs are aired on social media every week.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMarch 29, 2021Pakistan Christian Recording Ministries, Pakistan

Forman Christian College - March 2021 Update

Education is very important because it has made me a better person in all areas – I have gained consciousness of the world. It has made me learn to take care of not only myself but the world around me, my family, and the people who depend on me. To me, education is not something just for me, I want to use it to give it back and help people in the context of my specialization, which is psychology.

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School - March 2021 Update

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School (PBCS) was started in 1957 with a vision to reach out to people all over Pakistan with the message of God’s love for mankind through Bible correspondence courses, and a variety of other holistic programs and projects.

We are pleased to share an update that we recently received from Adeel Samuel, PBCS Principal:

Greetings in the Lord who is our refuge, strength, and very present help in trouble!

I am thankful to God that he sustained us in 2020. Though it was challenging, his mighty hand surrounded us with his grace and mercy.

We were able to visit several different churches and schools for promotions. We distributed our Urdu and English correspondence courses to the new students. I was able to meet with pastors, key leaders, and young emerging leaders. We discussed how to reach out to people by using new and effective methodologies. In 2020, we sent 63 Torahs to non-Christians in the Urdu language; 112 Urdu Bibles, and 562 New Testaments, certificates, and other books for gifts.

COVID-19 Appeal Pakistan

The Outreach Foundation is in regular contact with partners around the world, many of whom are sharing with us the upheaval that they are experiencing as the COVID-19 virus and the response to it burdens their ministries of medical outreach and compassionate service. We recently received the following COVID Appeal update from our partners in Pakistan and we were able to quickly release $5,000 from our COVID-19 Appeal because of your generous gifts!

Friends of Forman Launches COVID Relief Assistance

The effects of COVID-19 have been felt in many different ways all over our world. For some, it was the swift loss of a job in a shutdown. For others, it was the devastating news of the passing of a beloved relative. There was even the loss of touch with a church family that stopped meeting in person or enduring school from home with faulty internet service. Every change was a challenge, every loss was magnified by this pandemic.

Gujranwala Theological Seminary - December 2020 Update

By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Gujranwala Theological Seminary (GTS) has been educating theological students for 143 years. Millions of students have been well prepared by the seminary and are sharing their ministries all around the world.

Academic Development
After COVID-19 closed down the seminary, the academic session resumed on October 5th under the supervision of the principal, Rev. Nosheen Khan. Daily morning devotions are held for the students for their spiritual growth. Classes are arranged according to their subjects.

Organizational Development
GTS was able to provide online study during the shutdown. By the grace of the Lord, the seminary purchased the ERP School Management System. The various modules available in ERP include Students’ Management, Master Definition, Fee Collection, Students/Staff Attendance, Exam/Results, Account Management, HRM (Payroll, Attendance), and Users’ Managing Rights Module. As we have done for many decades, GTS featured an exhibit at Sialkot Convention 2020 for advertisement and goodwill.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 8, 2020Gujranwala Theological Seminary, Pakistan

Mini Libraries for Church Leaders in China - November 2020 Update

The Church in China is developing Chinese-language resources for training new believers. The Outreach Foundation partners with the Church at the provincial level, particularly in Shandong and Jiangsu, to make more of these resources available to them. We also work with a Hong Kong-based ministry, Christian Communications Ltd. (CCL), to ensure that graduates of each of the seminaries in China, along with leaders studying in several lay training centers, receive discipleship training materials, concordances, and other written resources as part of a “min-library” which each graduate receives. Last year alone, The Outreach Foundation made possible the distribution of study Bibles with notes by Chinese authors and books to thousands of pastoral leaders graduating from ten seminaries and Bible schools. We received this update from Matthew Fung, CCL Associate General Secretary:

May the peace and love of our Lord be with you and your family in the days of turmoil!

Christian Communications Limited (CCL) is grateful to partner with The Outreach Foundation for Christ’s kingdom over a decade with the vision to build faithful servants through book-gifting projects - the Graduates Book Package and the Servant-leaders Study Bible.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 25, 2020Mini Libraries for Church Leaders in China, China

Forman Christian College - November 2020 Update

Forman Christian College (founded in 1864 by Presbyterian missionary Charles Forman) continues to educate men and women, Christians, Muslims and Sikh students under the leadership of a Christian board led by the school motto, “By love serve one another.”

Denationalized and returned to Christian control from the government of Pakistan in 2003, Forman quietly has become again an educational leader in the liberal arts and sciences as it prepares men and women with moral values for peaceful service to their churches, communities, and nations.

In 2019 FCC graduated 928 students – 442 were women and 115 Christians. As COVID-19 hit Pakistan in 2020, Forman was able to move over 900 courses online and continue education at a distance. They are now using a hybrid model with ½ of the student body on campus at a time.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 12, 2020Forman Christian College, Pakistan

John McCall - September 2020 Update

Dear friends,

When churches or pastors invite me to come and speak at different events, I often am not exactly sure what the event is. Last year an aboriginal pastor from one of the Pastor Leadership Groups with whom I meet, asked me to come and speak at their church's weekend retreat. I agreed and didn’t ask many more questions. He told me that I would be speaking on Saturday afternoon and preaching at their service on Sunday morning.

The pastor told me to take the Mass Rapid Transit to the last station, and one of the church members would pick me up and take me to the retreat center. We left the station and began to wind up a mountain road. I had taken this road many years ago.

Asia, Missionaries, Global Workers, PartnershipThe Outreach FoundationSeptember 16, 2020John McCall, Taiwan

Vulnerable Children's Fund - July 2020 Update

The Situation

According to James 1:7, “True religion is this, that we care for orphans and widows in their distress…” We cannot be faithful to the whole Gospel if we do not express love and care for the most vulnerable in our midst. The Outreach Foundation believes this fundamentally and believes that children are the most vulnerable of all in our sinful, broken world. And The Outreach Foundation believes that all children have the right to survive, to thrive, and to fulfill their God-given potential. This means understanding the global situations facing children everywhere and committing to helping to provide access to basic services, care, and education to the children in their (Outreach’s) spheres of influence.

In the church, and around the world, there is an effort to provide comprehensive care for vulnerable children that addresses the physical, emotional, educational, social, and spiritual life of every child, recognizing that they are each created in God’s image. The ultimate focus is on value and dignity for children and their families.

Gujranwala Theological Seminary - July 2020 Update

Gujranwala Theological Seminary (GTS) prepares young men and women for ministry in the 300 largely rural congregations of Outreach partner, the Presbyterian Church in Pakistan. We recently received the following report from Gujranwala:

Academic Progress

Gujranwala students made wonderful progress in academics in 2019. Many different academic activities were held including Seminar on Leadership, Seminar on Women’s Ministry, Outreach Workshop, Sports Day, and Study. A farewell dinner for the graduating class and other social activities were also enjoyed.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJuly 16, 2020Gujranwala Theological Seminary, Pakistan

Forman Christian College - June 2020 Update

This spring semester in Lahore was shaping up to be one of the best in Forman Christian College’s 156-year history. Over 8,300 students were enrolled in the Intermediate, Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral programs. FCC Rector Dr. Tebbe recently wrote this report on the spring semester…

We had the biggest and best job fair ever this February with 108 companies coming to recruit our students. Our newly appointed Registrar was blown away by it all. He commented that there was nothing like this in all of Pakistan. International student exchange has been thriving. Internship placements have exploded and are being well managed.

Students and faculty who come to us from other universities assure us that there is no place like Forman Christian College in all of Pakistan.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJune 25, 2020Forman Christian College, Pakistan

Pakistan Christian Recording Ministries - May 2020 Update

Greetings in the most powerful and almighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Even though we are facing a pandemic situation, COVID-19 is much more than a health crisis. This virus is stressing every one of the countries in the world, with the potential to create shocking social, economic and political crises that can leave deep wounds in the world. But in every situation I believe that God’s Word is amazingly relevant and is the source of hope, encouragement, and truth. We can turn to it in the midst of this pandemic and any hardship we will ever face.

John McCall - May 2020 Update

Dear friends,

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the concept of space recently. Living in Asia for over 20 years has transformed the way I look at space. Taiwan has the population of Australia living on an island the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. Most of Taiwan’s landmass is made up of sparsely populated high mountains, so the bulk of the population lives in tightly-packed cities along the west coast. When walking on a sidewalk in Taiwan, it is hard to practice social distancing. Even during this pandemic, with 1.5 meters distancing lines on the floor of the grocery store, there just isn’t room to find adequate space while waiting in line to pay. In spite of the close quarters, the government here has done an excellent job of containing the spread of the virus, and schools and businesses have remained open.

Asia, Missionaries, PartnershipThe Outreach FoundationMay 26, 2020John McCall, Taiwan

Resources for Lay Leaders in China - April 2020 Update

Dear friends in the United States,

Here in Hong Kong, our colleagues and families are all fine. After gradually returning to work in the office in late March, we had to resume working from home in early April. Many of the students returning from overseas after Easter break brought back the virus although they were unaware of being infected. This led to a sudden, drastic increase in the number of confirmed cases.

Although working again from home, we continue to serve churches and individual Chinese speaking Christians by conducting training and providing literature through online platforms, which has been very well received! In March we held 57 online courses, seminars, and talks.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMay 8, 2020Resources for Lay Leaders in China, China

John McCall - March 2020 Update

Dear friends,

As we all join in prayer for the world community, especially the most vulnerable countries and people groups, I wanted to share a few glimpses from this part of the world:

+Taiwan has always been a mask-wearing culture. If people have a cold or are concerned about catching a cold, they will wear masks. So, this pandemic has just increased the number of people wearing masks in public to around 95% of the population. When you are in a public space, and everyone is wearing a mask, you only see the eyes. We tend to study the mouth and its expressions, but with everyone's mouth covered, you learn to study eyes. And eyes communicate a lot. They express fear when someone close to you coughs. They communicate a smile when the smile lines show at the edges of the eyes. They communicate a greeting. We are learning to read eyes here. And it is wonderful how many eyes respond to a smile with another smile. In this age of fear, the eyes communicate that we are one family on this earth. The eyes make a connection one-to-the-other. I have been grateful for the many times each day I see eyes that smile at me.

Asia, Missionaries, PartnershipElizabeth CarterMarch 25, 2020John McCall, Taiwan, China

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School - March 2020 Update

Pakistan Bible Correspondence School (PBCS) is a ministry established by a group of missionaries in Pakistan, the third-largest Muslim country in the world after Indonesia and Bangladesh. Its total population is about 180 million of whom 96% are Muslims, 2% are Christians and 2% are other minority groups. The ministry is now led by Pakistani Christ-followers.

It was started in 1957 with a vision to reach out to people all over Pakistan with the message of God’s love for mankind through Bible correspondence courses, and a variety of other holistic programs and projects.

The PBCS vision is, “To spread the Word of God and promote its study through correspondence courses and tuition so that no one should remain without knowing God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.”

Their mission is, “To share the love and compassion of God both by launching certain holistic projects and by imparting biblical knowledge through Bible correspondence courses and other biblical literature, throughout the country so that no one should remain without knowing the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.”

We are pleased to share with you the note below that we recently received from Adeel Samuel:

Greetings from Pakistan!

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMarch 18, 2020Pakistan Bible Correspondence School, Pakistan

Resources for Lay Leaders in China - December 2019 Update

He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2

“The biggest problem that we have is too many people and not enough leaders.” During a recent group visit to China coordinated by The Outreach Foundation, we had the privilege of meeting with leaders of the official Protestant Church in two of the provinces with the largest populations of Christians. In both meetings, the leaders shared how churches continue to grow in spite of the recent tightening of restrictions that religious groups in the country face. What concerned these influential leaders the most was not whether the church will survive but how to best provide sound guidance to the more than 600,000 new believers that are added to their congregations annually.

Asia, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 11, 2019Resources for Lay Leaders in China, China

Forman Christian College - Update

Dear friends,

On behalf of Forman Christian College (FCCU) in Lahore, Pakistan, thank you for your generosity and partnership. In this update, we share some stories about what the Lord is doing at Forman, equipping and educating men and women to serve the great nation of Pakistan.

Mrs. Gaylen Baxter, Friends of Forman Christian College board chair, notes: “I visited the campus first in 2011 and again in February of this year and was impressed by the number of new buildings and other improvements that were made in eight years. What hasn’t changed is the energy on campus: students, Christian and Muslim, are enthusiastically learning, playing, and growing together, supported by excellent faculty and resources. Friends of Forman has served as a key partner with Forman to make these and many other improvements happen. Visiting the school made it clear how important this work is. The Forman motto is brought to life, “by love serve one another,” as young people of a variety of faith and ethnic backgrounds prepare to serve as the next generation of leaders in Pakistan. They will bring with them the foundation of an excellent education gained in an environment of tolerance, mutual respect, and love.”

Asia, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationOctober 3, 2019Forman Christian College, Pakistan

Partner Updates