A Million Dollars in Six Hours

On the night of April 17, more than 50,000 Christians from 55 countries gathered online to study the Bible, pray for the persecuted church, and take action to make Jesus known around the world.

Less than six hours later, something remarkable had happened: This global gathering of believers had contributed more than one million dollars to fund gospel work in ten of the hardest to reach countries in Asia.

One million dollars breaks a fundraising record for a single evening at Radical’s annual Secret Church event. But behind the big numbers are real people: 

By God’s grace, these gifts will help believers in places like China take the gospel to communities with little to no access to biblical teaching. They’ll help plant churches in parts of Vietnam where many have never heard the gospel. Pastors in Nepal will receive training to lead and teach with biblical clarity.

Pastors in Thailand will learn to faithfully lead in difficult spiritual environments, and churches will grow in dark corners of Myanmar. Believers in Malaysia will receive help sharing the gospel with neighbors who rarely hear about Jesus. Survivors of human trafficking in Cambodia will find physical provision and spiritual care. 

Biblical teaching in India will be translated into new local languages. Church leaders in Pakistan will receive help to guide believers in hostile environments, and teachers in the Philippines will be trained to faithfully explain God’s Word.

And because Secret Church participants exceeded Radical’s fundraising goal, we’ve identified gospel work in five additional countries that we hope to fund as well: Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Japan, and North Korea. 

All of these places are difficult to reach with the gospel, especially countries like North Korea—one of the most isolated and dangerous nations on earth. If North Korean Christians gather at all, they meet in extreme secrecy and at the risk of their lives. 

Believers like this actually inspired the idea for Secret Church: The six-hour event began nearly two decades ago as a way to remember the persecuted church by following the pattern many of them set as they meet in secret: a long night of praying, studying God’s Word, and remembering those suffering for faith in Christ. 

This year, the event focused on the story of Elijah, as Pastor David Platt taught through the ministry of this Old Testament prophet, and how his life pointed to the Savior to come. 

We pray many more will come to know this Savior, including those in places hardest to reach with the gospel. And we’re deeply grateful for the thousands of believers partnering with us to make Jesus known everywhere.