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Editor’s note: Due to global security concerns names and specific locations of some CBF field personnel will not be publicized.

ATLANTA – On two islands in Southeast Asia, the presence of Christ can be found in ome unlikely places. Through a vegetable farm, a goat barn, water purification systems and a traveling medical boat, the love and hope of Jesus Christ is being shared with hundreds.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Bryan and Rebecca Rosser* provide leadership for these vital ministries, having spent more than a decade serving in this predominantly Muslim region of Southeast Asia. There, the Rossers have seen agriculture and medical ministries change not only lives but hearts, too.

There’s a growing group of local Christians that are starting churches, sharing the gospel and running with a vision to see their community transformed. And the Rossers help that happen.

“The biggest part of our job is making it possible for local Christians to build relationships. Through those relationships, they can share Christ,” Bryan said. “We work with Christians in a local organization that in turn works with individuals in the villages.”

Several other CBF field personnel also work with this local organization, which each month provides a variety of life-giving ministries. New water purification systems are being installed, providing safe water that doesn’t spread disease. A medical boat travels on local rivers, daily seeing up to 90 patients that normally don’t have access to basic healthcare. Goats are helping provide 20 families with milk, fertilizer and income.

The ministry also started a fishing cooperative and a scholarship program, which provides much-needed access to education. After graduating high school, one scholarship recipient felt called to be a pastor. With a scholarship he was able to complete Bible school and is now a bi-vocational pastor in the small village where he was raised.

“He is doing very well and reaching out to the community as well as being a pastor of the believers,” Bryan said.

As the global economy continues to contract, localized poverty in these river communities continues to grow, creating seemingly endless human need. With another doctor, dentist and agriculture worker, the Rossers are convinced more lives could be touched. But for now they focus on maximizing the impact through what God has already provided.

Each year numerous CBF partnering congregations provide prayer and other support to the ministry. Faith Baptist Church in Georgetown, Ky., has sent a three-person team – a doctor, dentist and electrician. Two Georgia churches – First Baptist Church in Rome and First Baptist Church in Columbus – have traveled to lead camp programs for children of field personnel. Several churches in Virginia have sold handicrafts made by local village artisans, and many other congregations contribute in other ways, such as praying for and funding ministry projects.

“Church partnerships have been very important to the existence and expansion of the ministries here,” Rebecca said. “Their prayers and support are essential.  We gain so much encouragement through these relationships with churches.”

And encouragement is sometimes just what the Rossers need. Their ministry doesn’t come without obstacles. Some of the villagers have not been initially supportive of the ministry, but the Rossers think that’s slowly changing. One man who is suspected of setting fire to a Christian’s house several years ago now regularly invites Christians to visit in his home.

Being open to God’s leadership was how the Rossers ended up in Southeast Asia. Serving as CBF field personnel has been the fulfillment of many years of discernment and following God in the small steps, whether going on a mission trip to Kentucky – where they met each other – or resisting the temptation to follow their own plans for their lives.

Both attended school in Virginia, where Bryan studied dairy science and Rebecca pursued engineering, each later pursuing graduate studies at other schools. In 1996, they left their careers and home in Michigan to become CBF field personnel.

“Our calling is to share Christ’s love to those that are in the greatest need,” Rebecca said. “It is a passion I feel from God over and over again to be here doing what we do.”

Like many CBF field personnel, the Rossers’ ministry is funded by gifts to CBF’s Offering for Global Missions. Without financial gifts to the Offering, Bryan and Rebecca would be unable to serve among people whose lives can be so significantly changed by the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

“The Offering for Global Missions is what makes it possible for us to live and work in Asia,” Bryan said. “When Fellowship Baptists give to the Offering, they are becoming a part of the work of CBF field personnel all over the world, not just what we are doing.”

Give to support this life-changing ministry and others at www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=GMOF5. This year’s goal is $6.1 million. Learn more at www.thefellowship.info/ogm.

For information on how you or your church can partner with the Rossers’ ministry, contact engage@thefellowship.info.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.