Recent Updates
Dear Friends,
Gayle and I just returned from an incredible month in China, Laos and Hong Kong. By God’s grace we saw well over 50 people make professions of faith in Christ. In addition to these decisions, God moved upon many of His children to make spiritual decisions which we trust will bring much eternal fruit in the future. It was truly one of our most productive months since beginning Barnabas1040 more than four years ago.
Ministry Praises & Blessings:
China:
I was able to speak in China to the largest crowds ever, and to help in the great work that others are doing in that needy country. By God’s grace there are many who are laboring in China in spite of the challenges they are facing. The persecution is real and yet God has some of His most precious servants, both Chinese and foreigners, that are standing faithful. If you know of anyone who is serving in China please place them at the top of your prayer list! Pray for God’s grace and protection as well as boldness and wisdom in ministering in the world’s most populous country.
Laos:
From China I traveled to Laos with two co-workers. One American, and one Burmese. We were able to meet with seven of the eight national pastors that we support there. God blessed with at least six salvation decisions.
The highlight of the trip was participating in a Mission’s Conference with the combined Laotian and Hmong congregations we support. The speakers introduced the Biblical teachings of local church missions. What made the conference so unique was that the speakers were primarily Filipino and Burmese. It was a powerful illustration to have pastors from Third world countries testifying to the blessings of God upon their ministries that comes through biblical obedience and stewardship. These pastors were able to relate to the local people in a way that only a person from Southeast Asia can do. I am confident that God used the speakers to light a fire for world evangelism in our Laotian churches.
Hong Kong:
My wife and I were able to go from China and Laos to Hong Kong where I preached the 34th Anniversary of the Bible Baptist Church which we started while serving as missionaries in Hong Kong. The congregation is now a Filipino church pastored by a young man who was saved, baptized and trained at the church under the leadership of my dear friend the late Don Stone. Pastor Noveno is doing a wonderful job continuing to build the ministry of that great church. They had 592 in attendance, 52 salvation decisions and 13 baptisms.
Ministry Opportunities:
God is doing great things in the 1040 region of the world and I want to let you know of some opportunities for you to help make an eternal difference.
* Barnabas1040 is helping to build an orphanage in Myanmar which is operated by one of our national ministries in Yangon. The orphanage provides not only a loving home, but Christian education and training. They have a track record of children who grow up to love and serve God in the local churches in Burma.
Through the generosity of one of our supporters in America we were able to send a gift of $10,000.00 to begin the construction of a beautiful new home. It will require an additional $45,000.00 dollars to complete the building. Any money sent to Barnabas1040 and designated to the Hope Children’s Home will be forwarded to them to continue construction.
* We have an opportunity to take on six new church planters immediately. These men have all been vetted by me and are already serving as church planters. They need financial support but are not waiting for it. They will serve with or without our help which is exactly the type of men I want to support. One of these men is in Laos, three are in Vietnam and two are in the Philippines.
I am looking for six churches to take on these men for $100.00 each. Pastor, please email or call if you would like to help one or more of these new church plants. My number is 949-880-9415.
Ministry Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for the Christian workers in China.
- Please pray for the people of Hong Kong and peace to return that great city. Pray that many will turn to Christ.
- Please pray for the funds to finish construction of the Hope Children’s Home in Yangon, Burma.
- Please pray for funding for the six new church planters we are seeking to help.
- Please pray for God’s power, protection and blessings upon the more than 50 church planters Barnabas1040 is already supporting.
- Please pray for Gayle and I as we travel and present the ministry here in America for the next few months.
In conclusion, I want to say thank you once again for all of you who pray for and support this ministry. By God’s grace we are seeing hundreds of people saved each week across the 14 countries our pastors are serving. This could not happen without your partnership. Thank you and God bless you!
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: ran1040me@gmail.com
Cell: (949) 880-9415
China Cell: 086-1521-888-1511
Dear Friends,
As you read this report, Gayle and I will be once again on a flight to Asia where we will be doing ministry in two different communist countries. We covet your prayers for wisdom, blessing and safety as we serve.
We are now half way through 2019, and I am amazed at the grace and blessings of God upon the Barnabas1040 ministry. In the first six months of 2019 we were able to add four new countries to the growing list of restricted access nations in which we are now able to plant churches. We added Mali (98% Muslim), Senegal (94% Muslim), Myanmar (more than 90% Buddhist) and Egypt (95% Muslim).
In addition to these four new countries, we were able to expand our presence in India, Bangladesh and Laos.
The first six months of 2019 our fifty church planters serving in fourteen different countries reported seeing 1,126 salvation decisions and 377 new converts who followed Christ in baptism and became members of the local church that brought them the gospel. Please keep in mind that our men work exclusively in difficult areas where it is often dangerous to make a decision to follow Jesus and Christian baptism can lead to great persecution.
In addition to helping plant churches we have been privileged in the first 6 months of 2019 to invest $10,000.00 in building an orphanage in Burma, $3,000.00 to build a church and training center in Laos and $5,000.00 to help with relief efforts after the devastating Easter terrorist bombing in Sri Lanka.
All of these projects are being handled by soul-winning Independent Baptist missionaries and churches in the country who not only relieve the physical suffering of their people, but also point them to the Lord Jesus Christ who can heal the deepest needs of their hearts through the new birth.
As I write these words I am once again reminded of God’s incredible love for the lost, the poor and those who have little or no access to the gospel. God’s love, mercy and grace are the only explanation I can give for why He would bless our young ministry in such a huge way!
Growth always brings challenges however and I find myself in the position of having more good young men needing support than I can help. The need is especially critical in India and Vietnam at the moment. Pastor, for as little as one to four hundred dollars a month, depending upon the country and area, your church can put a gospel-preaching evangelist on the field. These men will be working in villages and cities where people have literally never heard the gospel. Many have never met a Christian. Please contact me by if I can help connect you to one of these men.
In closing I want to say once again how thankful Gayle and I are for each one who prays for and supports this ministry. None of these miracles could take place without God’s blessings upon your prayers and finances. Thank you for caring for those who are still waiting to hear the wonderful story of Jesus. Together we are shining the light in some of the darkest corners of the world.
We love you and we count it a great privilege to strive together with you in this ministry.
Prayer Requests:
* God’s protection on our Timothys in difficult places. Several have been visited and harassed by the police recently.
* Finances as we continue to expand in both church planting and humanitarian relief through the missionaries we work with.
* Health to deal with the strain of traveling to different time zones, climates, foods and normally unsanitary conditions on a regular basis.
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: ran1040me@gmail.com
Cell: (949) 880-9415
China Cell: 086-1521-888-1511
Growing Pains:
When my wife and I resigned the pastorate in the summer of 2015 to begin Barnabas1040 we had little more than a dream and a conviction. We were convinced that equipping native speakers to reach their own people for Christ was not only biblical, but also the most effective way to impact the world for Christ.
Our ministry structure is simple:
- We need someone in the USA presenting the ministry and raising prayer and financial support.
- We need someone overseas doing the critical work of vetting the nationals before we send support.
- There must be a missionary/pastor in the host country that can receive and distribute funds as well as insure accountability and mentoring.
In order to birth this ministry we spent 18 months casting the vision primarily to churches on the West Coast. We then moved to China for 2 years where we based while traveling to multiple countries in SE Asia developing a network of missionaries and church planters.
Today by God’s grace we support 55 national pastors through a network of 16 missionary pastors in 13 different countries reaching Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus and Communist people, most of whom are hearing the gospel for the very first time. Hundreds are being saved and baptized each month.
Our growing pains are that we now have more opportunities to plant churches then we have monthly financial support. Therefore we must make some logistical and personnel adjustments to see the ministry continue to grow.
Our plan for 2019 is to divide our time between Asia and America while praying for God to raise up likeminded helpers that will labour with us. If you would like for me to present the ministry to your church in 2019 or 2020, please contact me by email or at 949-880-9415.
New Church Planting Opportunities:
We have open doors to plant multiple churches right now in India, Egypt and Bangladesh. These are all men that I know personally. I have questioned them concerning their salvation, doctrinal beliefs and current ministry. They are ready and willing to win souls, baptize converts and plant churches in dangerous areas. They speak the language, understand the culture and can go places where foreign missionaries cannot. All they need is a little financial help from their brothers and sisters.
Would you consider sponsoring one or more of these families? All they need is $100.00 a month each. Any Pastor reading this email could lead your church to plant a church in one of the most unreached parts of the world for about $3.00 a day!
Caring for the most vulnerable:
Our primary focus will always be planting churches among unreached peoples using national pastors. One of the main benefits to Barnabas1040 is that we have eyes and ears on the ground. In my travels I see first hand the incredible needs and opportunities. There are thousands of children who are forcibly taken and sold into human trafficking. There are thousands more whose parents have died or simply cannot afford to care for them.
Praise God that some of our national churches are doing what they can with their meager resources to rescue unwanted children. Several weeks ago I was in Myanmar and visited a home where I met 29 beautiful Burmese children being cared for by one of the Baptist churches that we support. Those precious children live in conditions that no one reading this email would be willing to live in. They have a little rice and a few vegetables to eat daily and once a week they have a little chicken. God raised up a friend of our ministry to help, and now they are building a new building and have been able to greatly improve the amount and quality of food!
Many of the young people go on to do great things for God. Recently I preached in a church that was started by a former orphan raised in a children’s home. Children’s homes are not just rescuing kids from extreme poverty, they are training future spiritual leaders.
If you would like to sponsor one or more orphans, I can put you in contact with good Christian people who are providing loving homes and a Christian education. There is a great open door in Vietnam right now to help orphans. Please let me know if you would like more information.
In conclusion I want to let you know how grateful Gayle and I are for all those who pray for and support this ministry. We could not do what we do without your help. Thank you for striving together with us to make Christ known in some of the most spiritually dark areas of our world. By God’s amazing grace we are making a difference together.
Prayer Requests:
- Wisdom as we navigate the adjustments necessary for a growing ministry.
- More churches to sponsor the national pastors that we have waiting for support.
- Protection, safety, and power for the more than 50 church planters we are currently helping.
- Continued growth. My prayer is that we will soon be sponsoring 100 national church planters.
- Protection, safety and open doors as I seek those American churches that God wants us to partner with through Barnabas1040.
God bless you,
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: dtomlinsonlbc@gmail.com
U.S. Cell: (949) 880-9415
China Cell: 086-1521-888-1511
Dear Friends,
The first quarter of the year is not yet over but we have already seen God do some wonderful things. By His grace we are continuing to expand and grow.
• January We saw the expansion of the Barnabas1040 family into 2 African countries: Mali and Senegal.
• February We were able to make a trip into Myanmar where we taught, preached and vetted several national pastors. As a result of that trip we have committed to support 6 new national church planters and one orphanage. That gives us 10 churches, an orphanage and a Bible College we are helping in Myanmar.
• March 5 – 11 We spent in the Philippines with Pastor Gilbert Toquero in LaLoma Baptist Church in the Manila area. I was able to speak to over 200 pastors and missionaries and as a result of the trip to the Philippines, we are in the process of vetting church planters in the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh. I am praying that in the next few weeks we will be able to help several more church planters.
I anticipate 2019 being a great year of expansion as we still have meetings scheduled in Australia, Bangladesh, and Laos.
Our goal at Barnabas1040 is not just a large number of men to support. Our goal is to identify and come alongside godly men that are doctrinally sound, soul winners that will plant indigenous gospel preaching Baptist churches in the least evangelized parts of the world. All of the men we support work alongside missionaries that are able to provide mentoring and accountability. Our support enables these men to get into cities and villages that are often difficult for foreigners to penetrate. They already speak the language, understand the culture and are able to do the work for a fraction of what it would cost an outsider.
We now support well over 50 families in 13 of the least evangelized countries in the world. Our numbers would be greater if we did not take the time to vet these men, or if we sent them only a few dollars a month. Each of these families receives between $100.00 and $400.00 a month depending upon the economic level of the area where they are working. Our goal is to see them full time in the soul-winning/church planting ministry and for their church to be self supporting within 5 years. We are working towards sustainable ministries that can function without outside support. Our goal is the Great Commission, not Spiritual Colonization. Please pray for these men and their families.
The nature of this ministry requires that we continually pick up new supporting churches if we are going to continually add new church planters. I am seeking Pastors that will partner with us in church planting in the countries with the least access to the Gospel. Pastor, would you pray about your church planting a sister church in a restricted access nation?
My wife and I have our home base in Asia but we will be back in the USA some in 2019 and have a few open dates if there are any pastors who would like us to present or report on the Barnabas1040 ministry. We have some dates open in November and December of 2019. Please email me if you would be interested.
I want to close this brief update by once again acknowledging how grateful we are to God for each of you who support this ministry through prayer and finances. We know that we could not do what we do without you. Not a week goes by that we are not seeing multiple souls saved, baptized and added to local churches through those we are helping in 13 different countries across Asia. This is fruit that abounds to your account according to the promise of God in Philippians 4:14-19.
Thank you for standing with us in seeking the lost in the 1040 region.
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: dtomlinsonlbc@gmail.com
China Phone: 086-1521-888-1511
U.S. Office @ Liberty Baptist Church: (949) 760-5444
“The only thing worse than being lost, is being lost with no one looking for you”
Dear Friends,
China:
The New Year is off to a great start here in the 1040 Region of the world. The world’s largest human migration takes place annually here in China during the Lunar New Year as millions of people return to the hometown of their ancestors. Chinese New Year is every major holiday wrapped up in one package, and everything pretty much comes to a screeching halt for about 2 weeks as people travel.
One thing that has not come to a halt during this time is the ministry of Barnabas1040.
Africa:
By God’s grace in the first 6 weeks of 2019 we added 2 new countries to the areas where we are helping plant churches through national pastors. We are now supporting men in the West African countries of Mali and Senegal. The families we are helping are serving in Muslim areas. That means we are now helping to plant churches in 13 different countries in the least evangelized parts of the world.
Myanmar:
In addition to the Lord allowing us to expand into the Muslim parts of West Africa, Gayle and I just returned from a week in Yangon, Myanmar (formally known as Rangoon, Burma). This is the city where America’s first missionary Adoniram Judson labored 200 years ago.
Yangon is a city of 10 million people that is almost entirely Buddhist. I preached in the largest Independent Baptist Bible College in Myanmar as well as teaching missions classes to smaller Bible Institutes and preaching in local churches.
As a result of this trip we have an opportunity to help 6 national church planters establish strong soul winning Independent Baptist Churches in Yangon. I have personally met with all of these men and have confidence that they are worthy of our partnership. In addition to planting at least 6 new churches, we have the opportunity to help a children’s home that is providing food, shelter and spiritual training to precious Burmese children who have no one else to care for them. These children have very little materially. They eat a little rice 3 times a day, and once a week they have a little chicken to go with their rice. They are cared for by loving workers who once were themselves orphans in the same home. Our support will enable them to have meat more than once a week and also help them to expand and care for even more needy children.
Barnabas1040 already supports 9 evangelist/church planters in the Northern part of Myanmar, but by adding these 6 men in the South and helping the Baptist Children’s home we will be able to increase the number of people being given the opportunity to know Christ.
God has opened some great doors for us in Yangon and we must not fail to go through them!
Philippines:
In a few days we will leave China once again to make the 3 hour flight to Manila where I have been invited to preach a local Church Missions Conference and also speak to Filipino pastors and missionaries. My wife will be speaking to the pastor and missionary wives.
It is my prayer that the Lord will allow us to be a help to those who are on the front lines reaching people in this part of the world with the gospel. I also hope to meet men that we can help through our ministry to plant more churches that will in turn reproduce more churches for Christ. I look forward to giving you a report of God’s blessings next month when we return from the Philippines.
I also want to take a moment to say thank you to those churches and individuals who pray for and support Barnabas1040. We know that we could not continue this ministry without you. Together we are making a difference in the large cities and small villages in some of the poorest and neediest countries of the world. Please pray that God will be glorified and lives will be changed as we seek to make Him known in this part of the world.
Prayer Requests:
- We are asking God to raise up 6 new churches to sponsor the 6 men I met with in Burma last week. These men are called, trained and vetted. We can get them full time on the field for $100.00 a month each. If any pastor reading this would be willing to sponsor one of these men, please let me know and I will send you more information.
- Please pray for safety, protection and especially God’s grace to face the satanic opposition that always comes with doing ministry in this part of the world. I am not always at liberty to share details, but opposition is a given in the 1040 Region.
- Please pray for Gayle and I as we seek God’s leading in how He would have us continue to expand the ministry. By God’s grace we are helping more than 50 church plants, 3 Bible Colleges and 2 orphanages in 13 countries. We are maxed out as far as monthly support is concerned. I do not believe this is all God wants to accomplish. We need wisdom as to the best way to expand.
God bless you, and thank you once again for allowing us to represent you and our Savior in this part of the world. We love you.
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: dtomlinsonlbc@gmail.com
China Phone: 086-1521-888-1511
U.S. Office @ Liberty Baptist Church: (949) 760-5444
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