Answering the Macedonian Call
SPECIAL REPORT: INTERNATIONAL RHEMA
"Come over into Macedonia and help us." —Acts 16:9
There's no denying it. The harvest of souls is ready to be reaped. Nowhere is this more evident than in Asia. Joe Purcell, a 1988 Rhema graduate, and his wife, Mary, have a heart to reach the billions of people who live on that huge continent. It's no wonder that God placed them in Singapore. This small city-state is located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. From there it is relatively easy to travel throughout Asia.
For more than a decade beginning in 1992, the Purcells lived in arctic Russia and the Russian Far East. There they established churches in Provideniya and Khabarovsk. During that time they started ministering throughout Asia. They began sensing a change in their ministry, and in 2004 the Lord directed them to relocate to Singapore.
At first Joe and Mary planned only to help at Rhema Singapore and use the island nation as a launching pad from which to minister. Before long, though, they were named the assistant directors of the school, and in 2006 they became the directors. In addition to overseeing Rhema Singapore, the Purcells supervise Rhema campuses they've opened in Russia, India, and East Malaysia. And they are assisting with the development of additional Rhema campuses in conjunction with Rhema India. In addition, Rhema Singapore furnishes instructors to assist at Rhema campuses in Thailand, Myanmar, and Nagpur, India, as well as at other Bible schools in Nepal and Vietnam.
Singapore
This year Rhema Singapore celebrates its 13th anniversary. Rhema Singapore grads also have the opportunity to enroll in the School of Ministry. This is an intensive program designed to further train those going into full-time Christian service. Since Rhema Singapore opened, approximately 390 students have graduated from the diploma program, and 18 School of Ministry grads are being utilized as instructors in Rhema extension campuses around Asia.
"A big focus of Rhema Singapore is to take Rhema to the nations," says Joe. "We are uniquely positioned to do that. Singapore is a strategic hub. A big push for Rhema Singapore is to raise up graduates who are called and gifted to serve as instructors, and along with our faculty, to help in the starting and staffing of additional Rhema campuses."
Rhema Singapore grads have put their hands to the plow with the Purcells and are busy working in this massive harvest field. Here is what some of them are doing.
Daniel, a 2010 School of Ministry grad, headed to Nepal to teach in a Bible school. Many students there were battling sickness, and Daniel taught them how to receive healing through faith. Sixteen students testified that God healed them from ailments including stomach cramps, migraine headaches, and even a toothache!
Vera, a 2008 grad from Khabarovsk, Russia, returned to Khabarovsk after graduation. She currently serves as assistant pastor at Fountain of Life Church in Khabarovsk.
Gyan and Joy Basumatary, '09 and '10 grads, went to Assam, India, to conduct a conference for about 50 pastors and lay leaders and 150 youth in the Lutheran denomination. A short time later, they were invited to minister at two conferences for the Lutheran church in Assam. The first conference was attended by over 3,000 people. And more than 5,000 people came to the second conference!
"A big focus of Rhema Singapore is to take Rhema to the nations." —Joe Purcell
Khabarovsk, Russia
The Purcells first began working in Russia over 22 years ago in Provideniya, which is in far northeast Russia. They never thought they would play a part in starting a Russian campus. But in January 2011, Rhema Russia-Khabarovsk opened. Students braved minus 30-degree temperatures to learn of their righteousness in Christ and the foundations of faith. These men and women eagerly studied God's rich Word, and in early December last year, 31 of them made up the school's charter graduating class.
Rhema Khabarovsk's opening yielded an interesting glimpse of God's provision. While the Purcells were living in Provideniya, they received half a shipping container full of Kenneth E. Hagin books printed in Russian. Many of those books were distributed throughout the surrounding region. The Purcells also sent a large shipment of the books to a pastor they met in Khabarovsk, situated more than 2,000 air miles southwest. He gave away many of the books. Then shortly before Rhema Russia-Khabarovsk opened, when the school was in need of books, the Purcells received several boxes of leftover books from this pastor's church. When Joe shipped those books to Khabarovsk 17 years earlier, little did he know that he was sending them to himself!
Shillong, India
Joe and Mary first ministered in India in 2010, participating in a pastors' conference. Later, when Gyan and Joy Basumatary returned to their hometown of Shillong, they desired for a Rhema campus to open there. The Purcells conferred with Narhari and Lata Thorat,* directors of Rhema India-Nagpur, who were delighted with the idea. Before long, Rhema India-Shillong opened its doors, and in early December last year, 32 students graduated. More than 20 of them had already been in full-time ministry before studying at Rhema Shillong. One graduate is a bishop in a Christian denomination that oversees 12,000 believers in 53 congregations. She is now bringing the message of faith to all those under her care.
The Thorats and their staff are aiming to open 30 Rhema campuses throughout India in the next 10 years, and the Purcells are working with them to make that happen.
East Malaysia
The largest Protestant denomination in East Malaysia invited Rhema Singapore to provide RBTC training in their part of Malaysia. Three Rhema campuses have opened—in the cities of Kota Kinabalu, Sibu, and Kuching.
Philip Lyn, senior pastor of Skyline Assembly in Kota Kinabalu, is grateful for the impact Rhema is having on members of his congregation. "It has helped us to fuse [the] Word and Spirit in a very powerful way that has enabled many of [us] not just to know the Word but to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, in learning to hear God, and to move in a more supernatural way."
Joe and Mary Purcell are traveling nonstop—as much as 130,000 miles a year—to answer their Macedonian call. They're focused on multiplying themselves and opening campuses in many Asian nations. As more students graduate and in turn multiply themselves, a great harvest will be reaped before the return of Christ!
Prayer Focus
- Wisdom for continued expansion of Rhema campuses in Asia
- The multiplication of ministers and mentors through the School of Ministry
- Finances to advance the vision
- Favor and doors of utterance
- Owning their own home in Asia
TO LEARN MORE
- about Narhari and Lata Thorat*, go to www.khm.com/qf9b.
- about Joe and Mary Purcell, go to www.JoePurcell.org.