Around the World
Ensure a Great Harvest
By Tammy Swailes
In the following article names of countries, languages, and names have been redacted to protect the people involved.
George was born and raised in MMMM, a Muslim-majority country in South Asia. His ID card identifies him as a Christian, and he is from a country where Christ-followers are some of the most persecuted on the planet. George and his brothers in Christ know what it is to be denied medical treatment, be held hostage by rebels, have difficulty getting a lease on a house or even get their children into a school – all because they are Christian.
Along his journey George was introduced to an Open Bible missionary who told him about INSTE, a discipleship and leadership training program used throughout the world. George was interested in the program, and the missionary formed a team that included George, me, and two others. The team soon began to translate INSTE materials for use in his country. Over the past several years George and the INSTE team have developed a close relationship, partnered with a translation team on the ground, raised funds, and trained a handful of leaders from this country. Translation of the fourth INSTE book is currently being completed.
In 2019, six nationals were brought out of their country to a neutral location where our team trained them to start the first INSTE groups in their country. They told us their experiences of hardship and persecution because of their Christian faith. They shared with us testimonies of how God had spared their lives in dangerous situations and of their resolve to continue to go and evangelize despite the danger. Although they were there to be trained to lead INSTE groups, their stories taught us about bold faith and courageous Christian living.
Those six nationals went back to their homeland and immediately started INSTE groups of people eager to be discipled. We have planned another training in a neutral country for this year where our team will train one last group of leaders before the nationals begin to manage the process themselves. These leaders will provide the local team a qualified base from which to work to continue to disciple believers and train Christian leaders in a place where nearly 400 unreached people groups remain.
Instead of simply being concerned about their own country, George and his team came back to our INSTE team almost immediately and asked if we would consider translation of INSTE materials into MMMM, yet another language for another South Asian nation of people who are even more persecuted, more restricted, and in greater need of discipleship materials. We prayed and asked God to guide and help us.
About six months later, one of our team members got an email from a former INSTE leader who had traveled in some of these difficult Muslim-majority countries. He asked if INSTE had been translated specifically into the “MMMM” language — the very language George‘s team had asked for! Having seen the great need, the Holy Spirit put a desire in this INSTE leader’s heart to see the Church more fully equipped through INSTE. He backed up this desire with some seed money, and with that money we have started translation of the first book of INSTE into the MMMM language!
Our budget for translation and training is modest. Some money has already been pledged, but we still need $15,000 to cover translation costs and provide the initial training as we did for the other South Asians. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will speak to you and you will partner with us by investing in this project. If so, donate online at Global Missions or INSTE. Be sure it is tagged for “South Asia 2 INSTE.”
As with anything, we ask you to cover this project and our brothers and sisters with whom we partner in prayer. Their risk is great. Their sacrifice is great. May we help ensure that their harvest is also great.
To learn more about this project or to donate, click here.
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is the European Director for INSTE. She lives with a Ukrainian family in Ukraine but gets to work on various projects with INSTE around the world. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Intercultural Studies, Tammy loves black and white photography, languages, and meeting people from different cultures. Her life’s passion is to help the Church more effectively fulfill the Great Commission.
On October 31 – November 5, 2025, Japan Open Bible Churches celebrated their seventieth anniversary. Global Missions Director Vince and Lois McCarty, Open Bible President Michael and Julie Nortune and I were honored to join them for this celebratory occasion.
My own connection with Japan goes back to my twenty-third birthday when I boarded a plane to Kobe with two suitcases, only five words in my Japanese vocabulary, and a heart full of missionary zeal. During my six years there, the Japanese church shaped me deeply as both a missionary and a person. When I left Japan thirty-six years ago, I left a piece of my heart. Joining them again to celebrate seventy years brought me real joy!
When I left Japan thirty-six years ago, I left a piece of my heart.
Japan Open Bible has become a true partner in ministry with Open Bible Churches globally, a partnership especially visible across Asia. The anniversary celebration honored the legacy of Japan Open Bible missionaries and the heritage of churches they planted while also affirming the importance of today’s smaller, community-based congregations. We visited, preached in, and celebrated with churches and pastors in both eastern and western Japan.
Japan’s geographical isolation and a 250-year ban on Christian missions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gave Japan a reputation as “the missionaries’ graveyard.” Yet, after World War II some US veterans, having seen the spiritual vacuum in Japan, returned as carriers of the hope of the Gospel. The Jake Collins, Eddie Carnes, and Phil Rounds families were among the first in the 1950s era to be sent by Open Bible Churches.
From a handful of missionaries and new believers in the early years to a network of Open Bible Churches across Japan today, God’s presence has been a steady flame of hope in the darkness.
From a handful of missionaries and new believers in the early years to a network of Open Bible Churches across Japan today, God’s presence has been a steady flame of hope in the darkness. Even though fewer than one percent of Japanese identify as Christian, today across Japan we see our churches, large and small, alive with joy and power of the Holy Spirit.
One of the early converts, now ninety-year-old Yaeko Yoshinaga, is likely the oldest surviving member of those first Japan Open Bible congregations. As an eighteen-year-old, she lived with the Rounds family helping in the home. She loved their children and learned to love potatoes (more than rice) as they did, but even more, came to faith in Jesus Christ.
Yaeko says, “I would not have believed in Jesus if I had not met Mr. Rounds, the missionary.“ She and her husband later pastored for 45 years, and today her son and wife pastor the flourishing church. Decades later, the flame of God’s love still burns brightly in Yaeko sensei. Her love, joy, humility, and faith impact every generation in the church. She remains a powerful reminder of how one relationship can change the direction of an entire life.
Pastor Yoshio Ishikawa told me the story of how he came to Jesus as a young boy. In the late 1960s, ten-year-old Yoshio’s family lived near an Open Bible Church in the Sumida neighborhood of Tokyo. He recalls, “When I was ten, I saw a TV drama about an incurable disease. It scared me, and without really knowing why, I walked into the church in my neighborhood that I had passed by many times. That church was Sumida Open Bible – the church I now pastor.”
Today, Pastor Ishikawa uses his talent as a skilled musician to reach people in new, non-traditional ways. He teaches a group ukulele class as a bridge to the gospel. Students learn to play the ukulele, then hear a teaching from the Bible and join in prayer. Other approaches, like book clubs, English lessons, and choirs, give churches relational ways to connect and open doors for evangelism.
In fact, many “unconventional” forms of evangelism are used to touch lives in churches in Japan. Often, churches and Christians invest years building trust and relationships before someone decides to follow Jesus. In my own experience, I saw that converts under my ministry were often a result of groundwork laid by others before me.
Looking ahead, Japan Open Bible embraces a bold vision: to plant ten new churches throughout the country in the next decade. I, for one, believe it can happen! God has not abandoned Japan. The hope of the Gospel that the missionaries brought with them back in the 1950s continues to burn brightly in our brothers and sisters of Japan Open Bible. May God fan that flame as they carry His hope across the country in ways we have not yet imagined!
As I leave Japan once again, I reflect and am grateful to have shared in the celebrations of what God has done, excitedly anticipating what He will do next!
Listen to Yaeko Yoshinaga’s testimony:
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
Around the World
Hope Rising in Venezuela: How Open Bible Churches are Transforming a Nation Through Faith and Compassion
Despite Venezuela’s fifteen-year ongoing humanitarian crisis, with nearly seventy percent of the population enduring multi-tiered poverty and almost half facing severe humanitarian needs, a movement of hope has unfolded in Open Bible Churches. Across the country, Open Bible is not only responding to urgent physical needs but is also nurturing a generation of believers in faith and service to stabilize Venezuela’s future.
Open Bible is not only responding to urgent physical needs but is also nurturing a generation of believers in faith and service to stabilize Venezuela’s future.
Church soup kitchens have long ministered beyond their walls to ensure that vulnerable children receive a hot meal. They also see that families receive food supplies, clothing, and shoes, bringing tangible relief to their neighborhoods. The Church has also stepped in where public services falter through medical outreaches – with eye exams, vaccinations, and even free haircuts. Through these initiatives, a vibrant children and youth ministry has emerged. The youth are not just recipients of aid but have become leaders, actively involved in church life – in worship, evangelism, and home groups.
Often, children and youth have no Christian family support and are the only believers in their homes. Many were left with relatives when their parents went to nearby countries in search of a better life. So, the church teaches and empowers youth to grow spiritually and practically. These “little-big giants” are proving to be a wave of hope as they grow “in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Venezuela’s church is resilient, reinventing itself to meet the social, spiritual, and familial challenges with creativity
Over the years, events like the “Good News Festival” have sparked revival, resulting in Open Bible church plants. This festival, focused on children, reflects God’s heart for the youngest and most vulnerable, and brings new life and whole communities into faith. It is not unusual for entire families to be brought to Christ through their children.
Despite the widespread emigration of many adults, Venezuela’s church is resilient, reinventing itself to meet the social, spiritual, and familial challenges with creativity and, above all, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Open Bible brothers and sisters in Venezuela demonstrate how the Church can thrive despite adversity by living out Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, serve the least, and disciple this generation. Through continued partnership and prayer, we look forward to seeing Venezuela transformed by the hope, faith, and love found in Jesus. If you’d like to support our Open Bible family in Venezuela as they share Christ’s love and serve those in greatest need, please send a check to:
| Open Bible Churches 2020 Bell Ave. Des Moines, IA 50315 | Make checks payable to Global Missions of Open Bible Churches and write “Venezuela humanitarian aid” in the memo line. |
Thank you for partnering with us to extend Christ’s love and mercy in Venezuela.
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
One of wonderful things I get to do as Executive Director of Global Missions is discover new missionary candidates. God is still calling young people to be missionaries, the “sent out” ones. We are always looking for those who are called to help us reach the unreached people of the world with the gospel of Christ.
In today’s culture with high-tech technology, advanced communication, and even AI, we have a special need for young men and women who are able to respond to the Great Commission and spread the gospel in today’s context.
For this reason, we are excited to announce the appointment of our two newest missionaries, both of whom were presented at our recent national convention in Kissimmee, Florida.
McKendre Veenstra has been appointed to serve as a missionary in Japan. The leaders of Open Bible Churches in Japan have long desired to have a missionary come to teach English, not only as a means of learning the language but also as a tool for evangelism. In addition to teaching English, McKendre will also be using his God-given talents to assist our churches in Japan with worship and youth ministries. This collaboration between Global Missions of Open Bible Churches and Japan Open Bible Churches is a great effort to work together to reach the Japanese people with the gospel of Christ.
McKendre is currently itinerating in the Central Region to raise his support and hopes to go to Japan in fall of 2025. Thank you for your prayers and support! Donate to McKendre here.
Zac Anderson will be serving alongside the directors and staff of Puente de Amistad in Tijuana, Mexico. He will be leading teams and supporting existing ministries and churches in their work to reach the youth of Tijuana. Since 2010, Zac has impacted the lives of thousands of children throughout the Ohio region and around the world. His life verse is Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV).
Zac shares, “I know what it’s like to be ignored and feel unloved. My goal is to be the person someone feels comfortable talking to who will point them toward the Savior who changed my life.”
Zac will be itinerating in the Open Bible East Region in fall of 2025 and plans to move to Tijuana, Mexico, in January 2026. Thank you for your prayers and support!
Donate to Zac here.
God is still calling young people to be missionaries, the “sent out” ones.
Please pray for the Lord to anoint and bless McKendre and Zac as they begin their ministry overseas. We are expecting God to do great things through their lives and ministry as they obey God’s calling.
Vince McCarty serves as the Executive Director of Global Missions, giving oversight to Open Bible’s work in 55 countries of the world. He is thankful for the great missionary staff and all the national leaders he has the opportunity to serve with. He would like us to remember that the Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish alone and too important not to try to do together.
