South Asia | Just an Ordinary (Extraordinary) Guy

Others noticed the transformation and began asking, "What happened?"

Anil is an ordinary South Asian guy. He works at a gas station. Yet when he stood before a room full of highly educated missionaries and gospel movement leaders from around the world, his story of saying yes to Jesus made a profound impression.

Because this is what gospel movement is all about: ordinary men and women encountering Jesus and being empowered to share him with others in their networks.

This is the story Anil shared that day.

Anil came from a family that had never followed Jesus, and he’d never opened a Bible. He began attending a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) started by a local pastor, where 6–10 people gathered to read scripture, share their concerns, and pray for one another.

At his first DBS, Anil didn’t understand everything going on, so he just watched. The group discussed Genesis 1:1 and the story of creation. Anil’s understanding of how the world came into existence was very different from what he was reading in the Bible, but he found himself believing what scripture said. He went home and shared what he was learning with his wife.

After a few weeks, the DBS leader encouraged Anil to start a group of his own, and Anil said yes. He shared the creation story with a friend, and soon they began meeting together in the friend's home.

As they studied scripture, their lives began to change. They became more peaceful and forgiving and left behind destructive habits, including alcohol abuse. Anil eventually accepted Jesus and was baptized.

Others noticed the transformation and began asking, "What happened?" Anil told them about the DBS, and the group grew to ten participants. Seeing the change in people's lives inspired Anil's wife to start a DBS of her own in another community.

The DBS groups didn’t just study scripture; they also cared for one another. When Anil first joined the DBS, he and his wife were struggling with infertility. Their DBS group prayed for them, and today they have a son. Later, when Anil's wife became seriously ill, doctors told the family she was going to die. Once again, the DBS group prayed—and today she is healthy and doing well.

Now Anil and his wife lead four DBS groups, and many people have started following Jesus. Anil still works at the gas station. He simply said yes to Jesus—and God is using his faithfulness to help a movement spread across South Asia.