Pam Arland's journey from Kansas City to the remote mountains of Western China unfolds as an extraordinary testament to how God uses the most unexpected gifts to reach the unreached.
"The greatest injustice on earth," Pam explains, is that millions of people in China would live their entire lives without the opportunity to hear about Jesus. This realization propelled her from being a self-described "geeky, nerdy" linguistics lover to becoming a Bible translator and church planter in one of the world's most challenging environments.
At elevations reaching 16,000 feet along the disputed borders of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, Pam learned three languages over seven years, bought a cheap bicycle to reach remote villages, and drew stick figures to share the gospel when language barriers remained. Her breakthrough came unexpectedly when a woman grabbed her coat and demanded, "I've heard you know about God and I want you to tell my entire family." This led to an entire household choosing to follow Jesus together – a powerful lesson in how collective cultures often make faith decisions as communities rather than individuals.
Beyond her personal ministry, Pam offers valuable insights into church planting movements, particularly regarding gender balance. Her research revealed that movements with either too many women or too many men often fail to transform entire societies. The most successful movements maintain balanced involvement, recognizing both genders as vital to reaching all segments of a community.
Today, Pam serves as editor for Perspectives, a curriculum that has transformed nearly 300,000 people's understanding of God's global purposes. Her story reminds us that whether it's diagramming sentences, riding bicycles at high altitudes, or drawing stick figures, God can use our seemingly ordinary skills for extraordinary kingdom purposes. What gifts might you offer that could make His name great among the nations?
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