A Ministry Journey With God

(From the Crescent Project, crescentproject.org) “During the Korean War, a husband and wife with six children were forced to flee the communist north for safety in the south. While they, like so many of their neighbors, were trying simply to survive, the sovereign Lord had something even better in mind.

“While in the south, the family’s mother met an American missionary, Vivianne Gladhill, and was converted. Then, one by one, their five surviving children (one died at age 9) also became Christians. Finally, the father converted while on his deathbed.

“After arriving in the United States, the widow and her young ones were taken under the wing of a Methodist family in Griffin, Georgia. The ESL teacher became her mentor. The Korean children’s understanding of the gospel grew rapidly, and eventually four of them were called to Christian ministry full time. One of them was Faith, who was called at age 16.

“Eventually, Faith met James Cha, the son of a minister. While James was in college, in 1983 a veteran missionary spoke about God’s call to reach Muslims. The missionary made a point that stuck with James: there was only one Christian worker for every million Muslims worldwide. Certainly Romans 10:14-15, “And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”, applied in this case. The visiting missionary asked his audience, “Who will come to reach the Muslims?” James stepped forward.

“On only James and Faith second date, they talked about God’s calling. On their third, he asked her to marry him, and she said yes. Soon they got married, started a family, and became missionaries to the Muslim world. An early assignment was planting house churches in Uzbekistan. One of their first-generation disciples became a pastor and a missionary. Now there are third- and fourth-generation disciples who have come out of the Chas’ ministry in the Central Asian nation.

“Both James and Faith lean heavily on their understanding of God’s sovereignty as they seek to obey His calling in their lives. James emphasizes Matthew 28:18, the Great Commission prelude, where Jesus declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” James says, “If Jesus is truly who he says he is, then he is indeed all-powerful; you must believe everything is in his sight. Bravery, strength, and boldness come from this knowledge.”

“Early in their mission work, to test the waters, they went to India with their three children. During their stay, their daughter became gravely ill. Despite fasting and praying, and with the medicine they administered not working, James and Faith feared they were going to lose her. But after several phone calls to fellow believers asking for prayers, the Lord sent a local Indian doctor who offered to help. He diagnosed a lung infection, administered an injection, and their daughter recovered within a couple of days. The sudden appearance and disappearance of the doctor reinforced their belief in God’s full authority. They saw that true ministry must come from a place of faith in God’s sovereignty, not out of man’s fear, pride, or agendas.

“Once on the mission field, Faith felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to speak to a shaman woman in the village and was reminded of the need for God’s powerful presence, as seen in Exodus 33:15: “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.'” Responding to the prompting, Faith declared, “I need your presence.” She and James didn’t want to approach the shaman without God’s presence…”

After serving for years in the mission field, James and Faith now continue serving the Lord with The Crescent Project, a ministry that teaches Christians how to reach Muslims with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And now James has written a book, “Fear Not: Living A Life Of No Regret”, very reasonably priced which you can purchase through Crescent Project. Just follow this link and click on the picture of the book:

https://mailchi.mp/crescentproject/the-digital-mission-field-6034611?e=1c06242503

And this brief video from thewaitingworld.net will give you more information about the Muslim World from thewaitingworld.net