Looking into the eyes of the pastors will convince you that our pastor’s conference is appropriately named the Hope Bible Conference. The name may have originally been taken from our organizational name, but God in His sovereignty knew that hope was not simply a title for these pastors, but a heartfelt need. They need hope. This may be a little hard for us as Americans to grasp, but these men and women desperately need someone to remind them of the hope they have in Christ Jesus.
As I look at the 700 or so faces I see men and women who face difficult circumstances. They are from small villages in rural areas where things we take for granted are luxuries for them. Running water often means running to the well. Electricity may or may not have come to their village, but if it has and if they have tapped into the lines, it is at best sporadic and only on a few hours a day. And if just daily life in the village is not challenging enough, many of them face hostility because of the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ. If they could add Jesus to the Hindu pantheon it would be ok, but Christianity is exclusive and that causes trouble.
They are worn down, hard-pressed, and just plain tired. Yes, the Hope Bible Conference is aptly named, because they need hope.
This conference started like every other one. We sang, we prayed, and like an American event all the necessary announcements were made. The music warmed their souls, and as John Meador opened Philippians and began to share you could almost feel the presence of the Holy Spirit connecting their hearts and minds with the Word of God.
A soberness fell over the conference that Friday and Saturday like never before. Our text for the Bible Conference was the book of Philippians. Paul’s words “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians. 1:21) seemed somehow more real.
Saturday evening we closed with a call to stand firm for the gospel. At the end of the event, a village pastor with his wife and son asked us to pray for them. When we asked specifically how to pray we learned that shortly before the Hope Bible Conference they had been driven from their village and their home had been burned. But now, even with twelve pastors missing and feared dead, they were encouraged by the Word and were going back to the village to continue to share the gospel. (See full story below.)
They came hopeless and downtrodden, they left encouraged and full of HOPE.