The country has about Malay 50.8%, Chinese 23.8%, Indigenous 10.9%, Indian 7.1%, non-Malaysian citizens 6.8 %, others 0.6%. The religious backgrounds include the country having about Islam (60.4%), Buddhism (19.2%), Christianity (9.1%), Hinduism (6.3%),Confucianism (2.6%), Animism (0.8%), others (including Taoism, Sikhism, Baha'i faith -- 0.4%), none (2.8%).
Zachary Harniess - Son
Jacob Harniess - Son
William Harniess - Son
Christina Harniess - Wife
Chad and Dargain work in North America and minister all over the globe. Their focus is on the missionary families. Chad directs every aspect of the Missionary Kid ministry, from pre-field to re-entry. As a former missionary to Europe, he also still does a few youth camps in Europe.
Slovenia is a country of 2 million people with a proud heritage and rich traditions, however it is a country that struggles deeply with alcoholism and depression. It has deep roots in Roman Catholicism, however the majority of the population has no personal relationship with Jesus. Currently there are 13 pentecostal churches and with about 1,000 evangelicals in the entire country.
The Portuguese speaking nations of Africa are home to some of the largest and fastest growing churches in Africa. The growth has greatly out-paced Biblically trained leadership needed to conserve help establish new believers in the faith and preserve established believers in that faith. The Assemblies of God in Angola with its 2.5 million members, is the second largest AG church in Africa, followed closely by Mozambique with nearly 2 million. The Bible college we began in Angola in 2012, since December, 2023, under complete Angolan leadership and we continue serving in a mentoring/consultant ministry. We have been asked to help in the same manner in Mozambique and will spend a part of February in that country.
Luke and Tanya McKinley’s mission field is the country of Estonia. Their primary focus is church planting in Tallinn, Estonia. They work with a team of missionaries in a multiplication network.
Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world. The cities are exploding with growth. According to the United Nations Environment Programme “By the year 2050, 60% of Africa will be urbanized.” This poses many challenges for these cities, but also great opportunity for the Church. Urban Tribes is positioned to plant high-impact churches in these cities to reach generations of Africans for Jesus Christ. Currently, our internship program has twenty-two participants, representing four different nationalities across Africa. We believe they are the future church planters for Urban Tribes to reach these cities.
Lithuania has a population of approximately 2.8 million people. It was the first country to gain freedom in 1991 from the Soviet Union, so, understanding the nuances that come with a culture that was under oppression for generations is important. Lithuania is predominately Catholic with between 75-80% professing Catholicism, 6% Secular, .8% other (Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist). Only .08% of Lithuanians are Evangelical Christian. Though Lithuania is a predominately catholic country, they like most European countries are experiencing a trend toward secularism, among the younger generations especially. Generational scars run deep, and a spirit of oppression rests on the people of Lithuania making it challenging for them to open up or build relationships. It is said that it takes approximately two years to establish a meaningful connection with one Lithuanian. With the war in Ukraine, there is a renewed fear of what Russia did just one generation ago, and a greater inward focus of self preservation and isolation. Even though they are under the protection of NATO, many Lithuanian people are weary to believe it will protect them from what Russia has been capable of doing in the past. Lithuania carries some pretty staggering statistics, they have the highest suicide rate in the European Union, (double of the United States). Depression is prevalent, yet mental health is avoided in conversation along with struggles in general. Lithuania is number 3 in the world for alcoholism, and 1 in 3 women will or have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime. The outward appearance of most Lithuanians is one of looking put together, accomplished, and successful, yet inwardly, many struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction and fear of failure.
One in five Gen Z adults now identify as LGBTQ+ while that number for other generations of adults (Boomers, Gen X, even Millennials) has remained the same - showing the impact that the woke media is having on our younger generation. Also, nearly 50% of students are now non-religious, one of the fastest growing demographics on our college campuses. The Secular Student Alliance (actually being promoted by some schools) is a growing organization on our campuses.
Patrick works as the coordinator of 4 schools for Bethany International Missions in Brazil and Paraguay, and his role has mainly been to expand the school programs in partnership with other churches and missions. Patrick also helps with supervision and member care for expatriate missionaries in the South American region. Both Patrick and Nedra are writers and will have books published in Portuguese in 2012.
Indonesia is the fourth most populated nation in the world; approximately 266 million people in which more than 80% are followers of Islam. Though with social and political persecution, Indonesian Constitution allows freedom of 5 major religion including Protestant churches. They allowed the Indonesian church to invite missionaries with religious visas, which is invaluable for evangelism.
I’m serving all over the continent of Africa. At the moment, leadership has asked me to temporarily base out of Springfield with the Africa’s Hope team here until a decision is made about where on the continent a new Africa’s Hope team will be based. Until then, I’m traveling regularly to different countries around Africa to teach, meet with church leaders and translation teams, and be involved with a variety of other ministry.
Most of the people that we minister to come from very simple educational/vocational backgrounds with low to modest income. Many of them live in rural areas or low-income neighborhoods in various cities. Some even live in very remote Amazonian villages with limited services (i.e., electricity, access to medical care, etc.). Even though they may be “simple” folks by our American standards, we know they are full of potential!