How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!  Isaiah 52:7

Anuja Lal is a vibrant woman with dark, soft hair, dressed in a bright yellow Nepalese pant suit. She’s a woman with a message.

Lal and her husband, Deepak, plant churches in Nepal and Northern India and she empowers women through vocational training and micro-enterprise. Her message is this: “We women are pioneers!”[1] Yes, pioneers are still needed today.

But Lal isn’t talking about pioneering in this world, but in the Kingdom of God. She’s talking about carrying out what is called the Great Commission of 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.”

“Women are natural networkers!” Lal says exuberantly. “We talk about our children, our marriages, our work. Women are about relationship, and we readily invite each other into our homes.”  Lal says she finds that “wherever you go in the world, women are interested in spiritual things.” When the Church is looking for a “strategy” for sharing the hope of Jesus, Lal says, women are it!  “Today’s world is all about one-to-one dialogue, not monologue. The days of standing on street corners and preaching are long gone,” Lal explains.

Here’s how it works: “Tell your story, tell God’s story and tell how God’s story and your story came together.”[2] That’s it. You don’t need to memorize a script, go to Bible school or understand big theological terms. Your story, God’s story, and a conversation.

 

Resource reading: John 20:11-18

[1] Lal, Anuja. “Women AS Strategy.” Lecture, Finishing the Task Conference, Lake Forest, CA, December 7, 2016.

[2] Ibid.