May 2026 New Horizons

The OPC’s Work in Asia: The Last Thirty-two Years

OP Missionaries Paul looked at the text that pinged on his smartphone. It was a coded message from a man interested in attending the English Bible study that Paul led. After deciphering that this man had a Christian background, Paul sent a photo of the Westminster Standards with some characters blacked out for security. The man messaged back, “I’m Reformed too! We can work together closely, brother.” In a society under an oppressive atheistic government, it’s shocking to find Christians who “want to be Reformed.” When the OPC Mission here began thirty-two years ago, in 1994, missionaries saw spiritual hunger, but no one that they talked to knew what Reformed theology was. Who would have guessed that God would be pleased to bring the Mission’s commitment to consistent Reformed teaching and practice into participation with a full-blown Reformed movement reaching every corner of this nation? The glorious Sovereign God knew and has used the Mission and your “yarpers” (prayers) to do ... Read more

Deacons as Unifiers

by Timothy Hopper and Christopher Cashen

One of the most persistent problems among God’s people throughout the ages is disunity and its expressions: strife, conflict, and discord. When Abram and Lot’s flocks grew so large that the land could no longer support them both, conflict arose between their servants. The Israelites were a murmuring, grumbling, and complaining group who feared they did not have enough to eat or drink. Their murmuring exposed their lack of unity. In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul calls out by name Euodia and Syntyche, two members of the church, who could not agree in ministry. That same struggle for unity continues to surface today among God’s people. A Connection between Unity and Compassion A closer look at disunity seems to connect it, at least at times, to a lack of compassion and mercy. When Jesus told the disciples to feed the five thousand, they balked. They were not united with Jesus in his desire to provide for the hungry crowd. Their lack of compassion for the crowd caused a rift with their ... Read more