WHO ARE THE MARINERS?
|
The Mariners have been sea gypsies wandering throughout Southeast Asia for centuries. Scattered throughout thousands of islands in coastal villages, they number over 300,000 in population. No one is certain where they originate from. Only in recent decades have they begun to move from their boats to houses, as the government has provided assistance through various programs to acclimate them to life on land. Their strongest concentrations of villages are in the islands of “South Florida”. They make their living through working the sea. Whether through fishing, boat building or sea-weed farming, their lives still remain very strongly connected to the sea.
With only 2 known believers in Jesus, the Mariners are virtually 100% Muslim. However, they have a great deal of animism mixed in with their Muslim beliefs. To our knowledge, until we began engaging the Mariners, they had never had any individual, church or agency attempting to reach them with the Gospel in their entire history! Reaching the Mariners with the Gospel has its own unique set of challenges that our national team of church planters must face on a daily basis. As Muslims, the Mariners want nothing to do with the religion of Christianity. In the country where our team serves, it is illegal to convert a Muslim to the Christian faith. The national government works in conjunction with Muslim NGOs to promote Islam even in the few areas that are predominately Christian. Not only are the odds stacked against us, the odds are heavily tipped towards Islam in this country where we serve. |
Please continue to pray for dreams, visions and God’s unprecedented supernatural presence among the Mariners. Pray for continued & unlimited access for our national team of church planters. Please pray for their success and that small Mariner discipleship groups (the seeds of church plants) would be formed in all 17 Mariner villages we currently have access to.
|