Field Partners

What is Believers Eastern Church?

Believers Eastern Church is an evangelical, indigenous church movement within Asia. GFA works in partnership with them to fulfill the Great Commission, as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Through the faithful service of our GFA missionaries, churches were established. As these churches began to multiply, the elders of GFA’s ministry on the field decided to establish them under the name of Believers Eastern Church. This is based on Acts 2, where believers came together to worship the Lord. It’s so exciting to see new believers in these fellowships growing in the knowledge of God through the structured study of His Word and learning to be disciples of Jesus—just like the early Christians did! All that said, although the church was born through the ministry of our GFA-supported national missionaries, there is no legal binding between GFA and Believers Eastern Church.

In the early stages of Believers Eastern Church, the leaders met to decide on the church’s faith and order. Once again, they sought the Lord through His Word to find out the biblical description of the early Church, as explained in the book of Acts.

As a result, we discovered that for any movement to continue in the evangelical faith, with godliness and stability, there must be:

  1. A strong emphasis on God’s Word (a structured verse-by-verse teaching of the Word with practical application)
  2. A church governance that helps maintain peace, discipline, unity and accountability
  3. Godly traditions of faith (like the sacraments) regularly practiced
  4. An all-out commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission

The mission of our church is to glorify God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—by following in the footsteps of the ancient orthodox faith and practice of the holy church to worship God as He desires, to grow together in love and unity, to instruct and equip the body for the work of the ministry and to fulfill the great commission of the Lord Jesus by all means through word and deed.

Believers Eastern Church

What does a Church service look like?

A typical church service in a Believers Eastern Church includes 30 minutes of worship and 40 minutes of structured teaching from the Word of God with practical applications. It also includes prayers, Scripture readings and confession of the Nicene Creed or the Apostle’s Creed. These creeds help new believers become grounded in sound doctrine. Which is so important – especially in the beginning of our faith journey. Following a structured reading of God’s Word during the service is especially important for any illiterate people in the congregations, as they can consistently hear Scripture even though they cannot read it. Spontaneous prayer and worship is also enthusiastically encouraged and taught!

All this serves to help unify the 2.6 million believers across South Asia. It also gives followers of Jesus a sense of a greater community and involvement in the wider Church.

More about Believers Eastern Church from our founder…

We wanted to give you an inside look at how the Lord has led us over the years.

We at GFA World are committed – as a non-denominational missions movement – to the authority of God’s Word and the call of God upon His people to give all for the sake of the Great Commission. In South Asia we have contextualized this to the culture, and they have embraced the Good News in an extraordinary way. Multitudes are coming to the Lord!

I hope you will be encouraged to hear first-hand how the Lord has been going before us. Thank you for the part you are playing.

For those who have yet to hear

K.P. Yohannan, Founder of GFA World

In depth understanding of Believers Eastern Church

For a deeper understanding of Believers Eastern Church and their principles, download a copy of Guiding Principles (PDF).

In this book are the faith and practices of Believers Eastern Church.  It’s written for the benefit of the pastors and members of the church.

You can also learn more about the history, distinctives and mission of Believers Eastern Church online!