Building a Christian hospital in an area 98% Muslim
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS - October 21, 2015)
-- God has given a Pakistani pastor the vision to build a 100-bed
Christian hospital in an area south of Lahore that is 98% Muslim. He’s
building a 10-foot-high wall around the property and housing for
security guards first.
In
1989, after Pastor Saleem Massey earned a seminary degree in the U.S.,
someone asked about his ministry vision as he returned to the land of
his birth.
“I
want to plant 12 churches, start a Bible school and a hospital,” he
told the inquirer. Some 26 years later, he has planted 16 churches,
multiple schools, and is on his way to fulfilling the totality of God’s
plan.
Poor
villages surround the five-acre parcel he purchased on a main highway
south of Lahore where he plans to build The Good Shepherd Christian
Hospital. There are no existing medical facilities in this area and his
plan is to treat the poor for free.
“My
passion is to introduce Jesus and spread the fame of Jesus by
compassion, love, and mercy, to let the Muslim world know we love them,”
Pastor Massey says. “It will be a charity hospital and the poor will
not pay,”
“The cross will be exalted on top of the hospital,” he adds.
Born
in a nominally Christian family, Pastor Massey accepted Jesus as his
Savior in 1972 after attending an evangelistic meeting conducted by his
cousin, Pastor Ashiq.
Pastor
Massey has encountered fierce opposition in his efforts to plant
churches in predominantly Muslim villages. “They don’t want us to plant
churches among Christians living in Muslim villages,” he notes.
“The Christians are working for the Muslims as bonded slaves. We go there so we can lift them up.”
A few years ago, Muslim opposition forced him to stop construction of a church in Ladi Village.
“We
do not allow you to build a church because you believe in the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit – that’s blasphemy,” his Muslim accusers said. “You
beat drums for your music and we have a mosque nearby and don’t want to
hear it. And, since Islam has come there is no need of any other
religion.”
Pastor Massey fought a legal battle to build his church for two years in the courts.
One
day he received three emails, two from churches in the U.S. and one
from a church in Australia, telling Pastor Massey they were praying for
him to get approval to build his church.
Then something amazing happened on the same day he received the email.
Photos:
1) Dr. Saleem Massey with orphans whose parents were burned alive by
radical Muslims. 2) Building the wall around the new hospital.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is senior correspondent for the ASSIST News service and also the founder of www.Godreports.com
, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church
aorund the world to build interest and involvement in world missions.
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
No comments:
Post a Comment