The following is from the “Report of the Committee on Mission to the World to the 37th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America”:

ASIA/PACIFIC 2008 Minsitry Highlights

India – The historic MTW work in North India includes the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Grace Academy (700 students), the homes for children of parents with leprosy (700 children), Valley Bible Fellowship Church, and assisting the New Life Presbytery to develop more churches. In the last year or so, a strong church-planting work has been developed in South India, and in 2007 the first new presbytery was formed with 13 new churches. Two more groups of churches are being developed and will be formed into presbyteries in 2009. To help with training, the Presbyterian Theological Institute, a Bible school modeled after the Miami International Theological Seminary (MINTS) was formed in September 2008. A partnership of PCA churches is being formed to help both the historic work and the developing church-planting efforts.

Southeast Asia (secure country) – There are two foci in this work: the planting of house churches and training of pastors and church planters. In November 2008 the training institute graduated its first class of 23 students (six with one-year certificate degrees, seven with two-year certificate and 10 with associate bachelor degrees). Most of these graduates will help with the goal of establishing 20 new churches in 2009. Those new churches would join with the eleven that have already been planted.

Japan – For many years MTW has had two church-planting teams in Japan (Nagoya and Tokyo). In 2008 a third one was added and a fourth is forming now. It is expected that in 2009 or 2010, yet one more team will be formed bringing the total to five teams—four focusing on church planting and one focusing on developing the much needed new seminary, Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya.

Thailand – The Thai people are one of the most resistant to the gospel anywhere in the Asia area. But the MTW team has recently experienced some very encouraging break-throughs. After about eight hard years of work, the embryonic congregation of only a handful of people at the beginning of 2008 has now exploded to a healthy congregation of about 60-70, which is planning a couple of daughter churches and is facilitating a ministry to tribal people in the northern part of the country.