Become a ground floor giver and provide a safe training location for our Asian pastors.
Training and equipping our Asian pastors is our first priority. As oppression and persecution increase in China, we sense the Lord opening a new door: a designated training center located in Asia!
Even as we write this, the stories coming out of China are concerning. Since 2018, freedoms have been shrinking and restrictions have been increasing for Chinese believers in general. More recently, our circle of contacts in China has been impacted. The home church of one of our national teachers has been forcibly closed, as has a church in the area where our discipleship school is housed. Our pastors are reporting increased surveillance and harassment. Some of our leaders have considered stepping down because their recognition by government authorities is threatening the safety of their congregations. As our OTAN ministry managers have often noted, “As China goes, so goes Asia.”
What will the center do?
- The Goodwin Asia Training Center will provide a designated venue in an open Asian country for our leaders in oppressed regions to gather, in addition to their ongoing, in-country trainings.
- It will allow us to host short-term trainings and provide a second location for our 2-year discipleship school for young adults.
- The center will allow us to offer a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program and would create opportunities for a new generation of American missionaries to immerse themselves in the culture of Asia.
How will the center be developed?
- Three different locations are currently being considered, with one venue having the most advantages.
- Any of the three options would need start-up funding to make the location livable.
- Initial funding will secure a social organization license, upgrade bathrooms and kitchens for group use, purchase basic furnishings, and begin general clean-up.
- Future upgrades include creating two apartments for live-in staff and visiting trainers, and adding on to the facility to house additional students.
As we celebrate our 40th year of ministry, we’re honored to be able to name the center after our founders Otis and Roxann Goodwin.
Would you consider being one of the “ground floor” givers that will help us launch the Goodwin Asia Training Center? Your gift today will allow us to secure a property and begin the many first steps and renovations.
To give securely online today, click the gold button and choose “Asia Training Center” from the giving menu.
Want to give by check? Send your gift to OTAN – PO Box 2440 – Winchester, VA 22604. Write “Asia Training Center” in the memo line.
OTAN – PO Box 2440 – Winchester VA 22604