News and Views
We have our fingers on the pulse of modern missions. Mission work is changing rapidly as the world's cultures and global conditions are changing. Ease of travel and communication impact how the Gospel is spread. But at the heart of missions, there is the work of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the obedience of the Church to carry out Jesus' command to go into all the earth.
We want to present challenging biblical truths, insights into today's missions environment, and progress reports on reaching the entire world with the Gospel. Please keep checking our blog regularly for updates, stories and challenging thoughts from Scripture!
After the military coup earlier this year, the situation in Myanmar has completely deteriorated into chaos and continued crisis. The people of Myanmar are facing numerous tragedies as you read these words. They need your help.
Our ministry leader in Myanmar, Brother Michael, is asking us to help in the midst of this dire situation. Violence is escalating. Protesters are on the streets. Healthcare workers aren’t allowed to treat the injured and many of them who have helped were forced into hiding. Medical supplies are scarce, and the healthcare system is collapsing. And the number...
Joy to the World! Are we still saying or singing this with confidence in the middle of a pandemic? As James, speaking to fractured and frightened house churches, said: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds …” (James 1:2). Our world is certainly facing trials that are testing our faith to its very core. I urge you to stand firm and hold on to your faith! Hold on to our faith now, in the middle of the storm, because God is with us. I say this to all of you — our friends, donors and field partners. God is in control, and He is here with us. ...
Paul says to the Church in Rome — and to us today — “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Romans 1:8). Being thankful, central to Jewish thought and practice, remains central in the New Testament and our faith. Making time and place for thanks is good for the soul and good for humanity. In this fast-paced world, we often do not take time to slow down and reflect on what God has done. Typically in the USA, we devote the Thanksgiving holiday to being thankful as a family unit and nation. This year, God has given the whole world...
Reach A Village is now one of the more than 2,400 Christ-centered churches and ministries accredited by ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). ECFA provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with the ECFA Standards pertaining to financial accountability, fundraising and board governance.
“We are pleased to accredit a ministry committed to train and equip local believers,” said Michael Martin, president of ECFA.
What does this mean for you as a donor supporting RAV’s ministry partners worldwide...
200 villages. 5 provinces. 2 hours. 1,435 people baptized. On September 6, 2020, a record-breaking baptism happened in Thailand. On that day 1,435 people from 200 villages in 5 provinces came together at Chon Daen to declare their faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized. Many of them heard about Jesus for the first time in 2020 through the ministry of Free in Jesus Christ Church Association (FJCCA) teams. All 1,435 people were baptized within 2 hours by only 20 FJCCA leaders. This event exceeded previous events: January 2019 (520 people baptized) and October 2019 (640 people baptized). As the...
Unlikely Choice – Cotton Fields and Construction Sites
"I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees” (Amos 7:14 NIV).
Fifty years in ministry for the Lord Jesus. I recently passed this milestone. God’s call on my life has been remarkable from the very beginning.
My earliest childhood memories are of our 8’ x 10’ camper trailer, which was our actual home. We always parked somewhere near the construction sites where my father was working hard to keep us out of the cotton fields of Alabama. By the time I was in sixth grade, I...
For over a decade I had heard my father, Robert Craft, talk about the church-planting teams he would visit while in Myanmar. He showed me pictures of them and the villages they were entering for the first time to share the Good News. These faithful brothers and sisters faithfully minister to start churches where there had never been any before.
What remained in my memory were the stories of shocking persecution – in the form of property damage, verbal threats and physical attacks – which was met with equally matched responses of perseverance by these national workers. These champions of the...
COVID-19 has already taught us the importance of “first responders” and frontline workers. This pandemic has also taught us to appreciate the unseen, unidentified essential workers and the willing volunteers who meet critical needs in times of crisis. My first experience with serving as a “first responder” came unexpectedly when I was a teenager.
One of my most vivid teenage memories is riding in a recently purchased fire truck to a fire in our small hometown. Like many rural communities, the fire department in our town is made up entirely of volunteers. My dad, the first mayor of our town...
Reach A Village continues to receive affirmation of our diligence in the area of accountability. Recently, Christianity Today featured our ministry in Thailand as part of a follow-up article about the Thai church growth movement from 2019. Bob Craft, Reach A Village’s Founder and President, and his son, Ellis, International Ministry Director for Southeast Asia, share about the risks of ministry and the increased interest in supporting our ministry leaders there.
“Our hope is that the CT article will bring attention here in the United States and in Thailand to the good practices and the...
How many of us would ever have believed that an unknown virus would change life for everyone on earth? Right now, I am in the midst of a 14-day self-quarantine at home after being in Cambodia for most of March. I got back to the U.S. on one of the last commercial flights recommended by the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. Suddenly, COVID-19 is impacting every aspect of our lives. Reach A Village’s local ministry partners around the world are experiencing stresses in their lives, too. Governments are restricting their movements. They have less income. They feel the threat of this virus in...
