What Is the Opportunity?

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan in South Asia and it is the tenth most-spoken language in the world. Around 231 million people speak Urdu—primarily in Pakistan, but also millions of people in India and almost a million people in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is essentially an Islamic country; Christians make up a very small minority of the population. Our brothers and sisters in Christ can face extreme persecution in Pakistan, both from Muslim communities and from terrorist groups active in the country. Additionally, Christians often face false legal charges under the nation’s blasphemy laws.

Yet despite intense opposition, faithful churches are being planted in Pakistan, and Christians in the region boldly witness to their Muslim neighbors. This presents a great opportunity to strengthen pastors and churches with faithful, biblical teaching in a language that has very few trustworthy Christian discipleship resources.

How Is Ligonier Meeting These Needs?

We strive to reach Urdu-speaking pastors, laypeople, and unbelievers from all walks of life through the following outreach efforts:

Web and Social Media

We are reaching Urdu-speaking people with the gospel in Pakistan, the surrounding countries, and in other places around the world. Ligonier’s dedicated Urdu website, together with our Facebook and Instagram pages, are providing ready access to trustworthy teaching. Our website contains several historic Christian creeds and confessions.

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

Confusion abounds regarding Christology—the doctrine of Christ—among Urdu-speaking people. As the church continues to grow, it is imperative that believers learn the truths of Scripture as summarized in the great confessions of faith. We produced The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology to help Christians know what the church has historically taught and to provide clarity on the person and work of Christ. Our goal is to distribute this statement worldwide, and it has already been translated into numerous languages, including Urdu.

Books

Growing interest in Reformed theology has sparked an eagerness for more resources from Dr. R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Our plans include translating and distributing the following titles:

• What Is the Church? by R.C. Sproul
• Who Is the Holy Spirit? by R.C. Sproul
• What Is Faith? by R.C. Sproul
• What Is the Gospel? by R.C. Sproul

Recently Published Books in Urdu

• Can I Know God’s Will? by R.C. Sproul
• What Is Repentance? by R.C. Sproul
• Who Is Jesus? by R.C. Sproul
• Can I Lose My Salvation? by R.C. Sproul

What Is Needed?

• Digital outreach — $12,332 USD (annually)

Funding needs reflect quoted estimates based on February 2024 foreign exchange rates and current translation fees.

How Do Your Gifts Help?

These are only a few of Ligonier’s many international outreach projects underway. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting these efforts through your financial gifts and prayers for the Urdu-speaking and global church. Your generosity helps to translate, print, and distribute trustworthy discipleship materials around the world, providing opportunities to reach people with the truth of God’s Word. You can donate here.

Our policy is to apply gifts given toward a specific program. If we receive more contributions than can be wisely used for a given project, we apply these funds to meet other pressing needs in our outreach efforts. We are committed to stewarding all gifts wisely toward the goal of proclaiming the holiness of God to as many people as possible. Ligonier Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.