Recent Updates
As this email arrives in your inbox, Gayle and I should be in flight on our way to the West Coast for 2 months of meetings in California, Oregon and Washington. I am looking forward to being with several pastors that are faithful supporters of Barnabas1040 Missions, as well as a few churches where we will be for the first time. We would appreciate your prayers as it will be a very busy October and November followed by a quick trip to Thailand in December and the Philippines in January.
The ministry continues to grow by God’s grace and I am just now beginning to gather the 3rd quarter reports from the 32 missionaries that oversee the 120 national pastors we support. As I mentioned in our last letter we added 11 new church planters in August so I am looking forward to hearing of God’s blessings upon those new families that we have the privilege of working with.
2023 has been a blessed year as the effects of Covid restrictions are decreasing world wide. For example here are the statistics for the first 2 quarters as far as salvation and baptisms.
January – March: 1,881 Salvation decisions – 270 Baptisms.
April – June: 2,500 Salvation decisions – 464 Baptisms.
I am excited to hear from our men how God was working through them July – September!
I also want to let all of our prayer partners and supporters know that we never pressure the pastors into feeling as if they must inflate the numbers in order to keep their support. I believe it would be sinful, and a great disappointment to our Lord as well as to you. Each quarter when I ask for the number of people saved and baptized I remind our workers that there is no expectation for large numbers, only an expectation that the pastors are soul winners doing what they can to reach people for Christ.
The men we support are working in difficult and sometimes dangerous areas filled with satanic, religious and political opposition. They must be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” to minister in the areas they serve in. Please join me in praying for their faithfulness, courage and safety.
Before I finish this brief letter, I would like to say thank you to all of those who partner with us through prayer and giving. We are grateful that the Lord has allowed us to work together to attempt to reach those who have the least access to the Gospel. It is an honor to serve alongside you!
God Bless You!
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Dear Friends,
We have the 2nd quarter accountability reports in from our national pastors and by God’s grace they were able to see 2,500 people trust Christ as Saviour and 464 new converts follow the Lord Jesus in water baptism in the past 3 months.
That brings the Year to Date total up to 4,281 professions of faith and 734 that were baptized into fellowship with a local church.
I am also pleased to let you know that we will be helping to sponsor 11 more national church planters in August.
These 11 new families will be planting churches in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Laos, Rwanda, Uganda, and Indonesia.
These are local believers who have been saved, baptized, discipled, and are now being sent out by local churches in their own communities. They will be under the mentorship of seasoned missionaries who live and work in their country.
God has blessed me with 30 different missionary partners in 20 countries. Those men are crucial in identifying, vetting and keeping the national pastors encouraged and accountable.
My role with Barnabas1040 has transitioned from basing in SE Asia to working from America. Formerly, from SE Asia, I personally visited each country to meet and vet the pastors that we support. Now I am basing in America and making annual trips to meet with our partners and the church planters they recommend.
It was not Covid that brought us back to America, but the fact that we needed someone here in the USA presenting, reporting and raising new funds if the ministry was to continue growing. For that reason, we returned to America and settled in the Pensacola, Florida area.
During the 3 years we have been back we have seen the Lord almost double the outreach of Barnabas1040. I never cease to be amazed by how our Sovereign God works!
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for the men and women that serve faithfully in countries and cultures that are hostile to Christianity.
- Please pray earnestly for the Indian state of Manipur. Manipur is located in NE India and borders the country of Myanmar. More than 60.000 people have been forced from their homes as entire villages have been destroyed in the violence that began a few weeks ago in May. It is estimated that more than 200 Christian churches have been burned to the ground and hundreds of Christians killed. Our ministry has been sending money to help with food and shelter as we are able, but it is difficult to communicate with our contacts in Manipur right now. Please pray.
- Please pray for more workers for the Harvest. Pray especially for the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Communist countries where the majority of our pastors are serving.
- Please pray for wisdom for me as I attempt to balance the need to raise support in the USA while also staying in contact with the missionaries and pastors we support overseas.
- Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the future of Barnabas1040 Missions. Pray for the Lord to raise up helpers to expand the ministry both in America and Overseas.
I want to end this letter by once again expressing my sincere thanks to every church and individual that bolsters our ministry through prayer and financial support. Your sacrifice has enabled us to go from a dream to a thriving ministry supporting 120 national pastors and reaching thousands of people for Christ in just 8 years. I am truly amazed and humbled by God’s grace and your willingness to partner with us.
God Bless You!
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Dear Friends,
The summer months are officially here and I am sure many of you are planning vacations, camps, and various other activities. The same is true for Gayle and I, although our summer plans no longer include camps for our children. We are, however, looking forward to having some of our grandchildren camp out with us at our home for a few days in July.
Our ministry in the 1040 region continues to expand by God’s grace. Since my last letter 6 weeks ago, we have added new church planters in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.
In addition to communicating electronically with our missionaries for the purpose of vetting new church planters overseas, the Lord allowed me to speak to churches in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Washington State. The visit with the church in Washington was via a Zoom call which was a huge help considering we also have been in the process of moving for the past few weeks. It has been a busy but productive 6 weeks.
As you know we support well over 100 families in 20 different countries through the faithful financial partnership of churches and individuals from America and Australia. Your financial support enables us to provide the money needed to keep the families fed and clothed while they dedicate themselves to evangelism and discipleship among their own people.
Those who serve in Restricted Access Nations also have unique needs for God’s protection. It is not uncommon for me to receive urgent prayer requests through secure channels. I would like to conclude by sharing some recent requests. Please join me in praying.
- There are several places in China where Christians are being targeted, harassed and some have been imprisoned for their faith.
- Myanmar (Burma) is still struggling as a result of a military coup that has produced thousands of political prisoners, dozens of villages destroyed and millions of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries such as Thailand, India, Bangladesh and other border countries. Some of the pastors we were supporting in Burma have disappeared.
- I was contacted by one of our men in India a few days ago pleading for prayer as the part of India where he serves is experiencing ethnic violence resulting in hundreds killed and many thousands hospitalized. I don’t want to say too much more about where in India this missionary serves, but according to his report more than 100 churches have already been destroyed. The situation is dire and these dear people need our prayers.
I have given you only 3 specific countries and recent prayer requests, but there are many more places in Asia and Africa where our Brothers and Sisters in Christ are in great need of our prayers.
Our money is obviously needed and appreciated but the greatest desire of these persecuted people is for us in the free world to love and pray for them, their families and their churches.
Would you be willing to make praying for God’s persecuted people a part of your daily prayer time?
As always I want to conclude by thanking the churches and individuals that make this ministry possible. Without you we could not do what we do.
God Bless You!
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
The last few days I have been gathering statistics from the more than 100 national pastors that are supported through Barnabas1040. We still have a few people in remote or war torn areas that we have not heard from but the vast majority have responded.
January-March Reports:
As of this point the pastors and missionaries have reported 1,850 professions of faith and 260 baptisms during the first quarter of 2023. We praise God for his blessings and for allowing you and our other partners to have a part in what God is doing through national pastors. In many cases these servants of God are putting their wellbeing at great risk to get the gospel to their own people.
Prayer Requests:
- *Please pray for boldness and protection as most of our pastors are serving in places with governmental or cultural restrictions on proclaiming the gospel.
- *Please pray for wisdom to proclaim the gospel in a loving and culturally acceptable manner.
- *Please pray for those who are currently being harassed and a few who have recently been arrested.
- *Please pray for wisdom as we are vetting several more church planters in SE Asia who have been recommended for support.
- *Please pray for wisdom and guidance as I plan our 2023 schedule, especially concerning overseas trips. I want to only go where I can be of the most use in encouraging those we already support and vetting new church planters.
Closing Thoughts:
As always I want to thank all those who pray for and support this church planting ministry. Were it not for your prayers and finances none of this would be possible. Together we are literally seeing an average of 20 people saved each and every day in a Restricted Access Nation somewhere in Asia or Africa. All glory goes to our gracious God for allowing us to have a small part in impacting eternity!
I will close this report with some pictures of recent converts, soul winning activities and services. Please remember that these could have been your photos, or those of your family, living in poverty with little or no access to the gospel. I rejoice that we can partner together to help these dear people…
God Bless You,
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: dtomlinsonlbc@gmail.com
USA Cell: (949) 880-9415
I trust this report finds you well and experiencing God’s best as we begin the month of March. Gayle and I have had an eventful and blessed beginning of 2023. Our travels have included meetings in Washington State, Maryland and Florida. It is an honor to be invited to participate in Missions Conferences as well as a one day Missions Emphasis. I thank God for the burden that our US pastors have to reach not only their own cities, but the world as well. This truly reflects the heart of God.
The men that we support through Barnabas1040 are continuing to daily reach out to the unsaved in whatever way they can. As you know our ministry supports national pastors who understand the cultural nuances of the local people. That is especially important in areas where Christianity is either banned by the government or culturally rejected by society. Our national pastors working in these sensitive areas have a much greater chance of success than outsiders.
Most of the countries we work in also have a problem of extreme poverty. Our pastors and their wives in those countries follow the example and commands of Jesus to minister not only to spiritual needs but also physical. This showing of compassion in helping to feed and clothe the poor in the name of Jesus often touches hearts and leads to salvation.
Here are just a few pictures illustrating this truth in remote villages in a communist country. Keep in mind that these are villages that a foreigner is not allowed to visit.
This is just one out of the 20 countries where literally every day someone is being ministered to in the name of Jesus. Hundreds of people each week are saved as a result of your prayers and giving that enables us to keep these men laboring in the harvest fields.
Each and every day multiple people will be saved, baptised and become part of a local church somewhere across Asia and Africa because of your gifts. I rejoice in the truth that one day we will meet each one of these precious people in Heaven.
Thank you for helping us help them!
“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed towards his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” —Hebrews 6:10
God Bless You,
Dwight & Gayle Tomlinson
Email: dtomlinsonlbc@gmail.com
USA Cell: (949) 880-9415
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