Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) partners with Westminster Biblical Missions (WBM) to support the witness of the Bible-believing Lahore Church Council.
Lahore is the capital of the populous Punjab province next to the Indian border.
Occasionally incidents arise from unwise personal conflicts or, more recently, radi-calised elements. Despite this, the church continues to grow and has now extended beyond Lahore. Five congregations have been established in poor areas in a semicircle around the populous neighbouring industrial city of Faisalabad. Thousands are also able to hear the Word of God faithfully preached in the Urdu language over cable TV and the Internet. These messages are aired in many Pakistani villages, areas of greater Lahore, Faisalabad, and even in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Responses are very encouraging, with most of the feedback coming from young adults who telephone or who visit churches as a result.
Under British rule, large numbers of Pakistanis conversions came from the lowest, extremely poor, Hindu castes. Even today most Pakistani Christians are semi-literate labourers, with few qualified for church leadership. For this reason, the 32 churches that have been planted have a strong Christian education programme.
Additionally, over the past 25 years, three Calvin Academies have been established in slum areas of Lahore and one in Faisalabad, providing Bible-based education from nursery to high school for about 2,400 children.
