Month: December 2021

Our indigenous house church leaders are starting house churches in the unreached Hindu and Muslim dominated villages in Northern India. God is building His church through wonders and miracles done in His power, through simple believers who have committed to serve the Lord in difficult situations. Despite economic hardship and severe persecution, our brothers continue to reach the unreached.

A Child is Born

Sidhu and Lakshmi are a young couple from a tribal area. They were married at the young age of 18, as is the custom in their tribe. After 10 years of marriage, they still did not have any children. To help them conceive, their parents tried all kinds of witchcraft on Lakshmi but nothing worked. Finally, Sidhu’s family accused her and sent her back to her parents’ home, saying they don’t need a daughter-in-law who can’t bear a child. Sidhu loved his wife but under the pressure of his parents he was helpless. Three years ago, he went and took his wife and together they ran away from his village and came to a small city. There they met some believers who were praying together in a brick factory.  The believers introduced Sidhu and Lakshmi to this new idea of faith in Jesus. They laid hands on them, blessed them and prayed for the Lord to bless them with a child. In that small city, Sidhu and Lakshmi accepted the Lord, but after barely three months of fellowship with the believers, the pandemic struck and they were forced to go back to their tribal village.

Sidhu’s family was still not willing to accept Lakshmi, so they had to pitch a tent just outside the village. They were happy, and though they had many difficulties and hardships to endure, they had something new, the Joy of the Lord.

Sidhu and Lakshmi began to share their new faith in Jesus with their friends and the Gospel spread through the village. Through their prayers the Lord did wonders and miracles. Many people were touched, healed, and delivered through the power of God. The believers in the village began to come together regularly and hundreds of people came to know the Lord.

After 9 months, their joy knew no bounds when they came to know that Lakshmi was expecting a child! Just last month Regi and Sherly were in their village for the dedication of their son, Ashish. They had the privilege of dedicating the five-week-old boy for the glory of God, in front of 300 villagers who were the relatives and friends of Sidhu and Lakshmi. Regi shared a Gospel message, and 42 people responded to give their lives to the Lord. The same day they baptized 48 new believers from the surrounding village.

Today, there are sixteen villages in the area with new house churches. Previously a totally unreached area, the Gospel is now being shared around those villages. There are 178 baptized believers, hundreds of people are attending the house churches, and thousands have now heard the gospel.

The Child is Born

The story of Sidhu and Lakshmi reminds us of another birth we celebrate during this season. Joseph and Mary were a young couple from a small village. They, too, had some difficulties they had to overcome. Sidhu and Lakshmi ran away because of their love for one another, and to escape the persecution of their families. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to be registered for the government census that was taking place. After Jesus was born, they ran away to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod.

Sidhu and Lakshmi lived in a tent outside the village; Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable because there was no room in the inn. Sidhu and Lakshmi’s lives were transformed from sadness to joy because of the birth of their firstborn son. Mary and Joseph’s lives were transformed, and all our lives were transformed, from sadness to joy, because the Christ, the Savior of the World, was born!

This Christmas, our outreach teams have been busy sharing the Gospel door to door in many villages. 400 house church leaders (brothers and sisters in Christ) have been sharing the Gospel throughout unreached villages, along with the believers in their congregations. They have distributed 100,000 Gospel of John packets, and 60,000 New Testaments. From December 20th through the 27th they will be holding 60 public meetings in various areas. Picture a tent revival meeting, and you will get the idea of what a public meeting is like. As our brothers share the message of the Gospel, and demonstrate the Gospel through healings, miracles, signs, and wonders, pray for the hearts of the people attending, that they will desire a relationship with Jesus. Pray that extraordinary miracles will take place. Pray for boldness for every believer.

In addition to praying for the teams, please keep our leadership team in prayer. We ask for God’s wisdom and  grace to continue leading the ministry.

Help Us Share the Gospel

We thank God for ordinary people like Sidhu and Lakshmi whom God is using for His Glory and the expansion of His kingdom. Today the message of the Gospel is speeding into the unreached villages of India through native believers, transforming thousands of lives.

Did you enjoy this testimony? Will you help us continue sharing the Gospel in the darkest places of India? Ask Father God what He would have you do. To find out how to contact us, and to read more inspiring and exciting testimonies of what God is doing among the unreached people groups of India, click the links on the right, and keep reading!

Proclaiming the Gospel…

                      …until He comes,

Dear Partner,

As 2021 comes to an end, the leadership team at Exciting Word Ministries hopes each of you have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, and we wish you a Joyful and Happy New Year!

If you have any prayer requests, drop us a note so we can pray with you, believing for God’s answer.

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year!!

Tom & Teri

Regi & Sherly

Exciting Word Ministries

Paramjit Singh was born in a traditional Sikh family. His father was a priest in the Sikh temple in his village. Paramjit was brought up according to the Sikh traditions and religious practices. At the age of 7 he was afflicted by psoriasis. He was treated with modern medicine, eastern medicine, and religious rituals, but as the days went by it just got worse. The doctors advised his parents to cut his hair, but their religion does not allow it. Eventually, the skin disease spread over his entire body. All his hair fell out, and at the age of 10 he was completely bald. He was not allowed to leave the house, attend school, or play with other children. He spent most days alone, locked in the house for the next 11 years. Living in deep depression and pain, his body smelled very bad. No one entered his room; instead, they would leave food outside his door and leave. His siblings never talked to him; they all hated him, and cursed him for being in their home.

Three years ago, two young men, students of our house church leaders training program, shared the Gospel in an unreached village to fulfill their practical evangelism during the Christmas season. They passed out literature and shared the Gospel with every house in the village, praying for anyone who gave permission. They  came across an old woman with whom they shared the Gospel and asked if she needed prayer. She told them about Paramjit and took them to his house.  No one answered the door, so they went around back and called to Paramjit through the window. When he came to the window and saw the students with the old woman, he told them to go away. The old woman said to Paramjit “these people came from faraway and want to pray for you.” At first, he said he didn’t want to meet anyone and had no need for anyone’s prayer. But the old woman politely asked him to allow the students to pray for him. Because of her persistence, he allowed it. The students shared the story of how Jesus healed the leper (Mark 1:40). After sharing the story, they asked him to stretch his hands through the window, but Paramjit said “don’t touch me, the skin disease will spread to you!” But reluctantly he allowed them to hold his hands, which had no skin, only muscle tissue. The students blessed him and prayed for him. While they were praying, Paramjit’s family came around the back of the house. They shouted profanity at the students and the old woman and threatened to break their legs if they came again to meet Paramjit. The villagers heard the shouting and accused the students as thieves who came to loot the house. They called the police, who, after questioning the students, sent them home.

According to Paramjit, he would lie awake for hours every night, scratching his body, but that night he slept peacefully. The next morning, he noticed his body was dry. Until then, he would wake up wet from fluid and pus oozing from his sores. He was astonished by this new development, and knew that it was because of the prayers of the young people. He wanted to share with his parents but they wouldn’t listen. Every day his condition improved. Within 10 days the sores were all dried up, and only the marks were left. Paramjit’s mother noticed that something was going on. One day she opened Paramjit’s room and found her son free of sores and without any infection. For the first time in 11 years, he came out of his room. It was an amazing sight for his parents and family. They had lost all hope. Later, Paramjit’s parents shared in a public meeting that “several people suggested to us to secretly poison him and kill him, because our younger children would be infected with same skin disease, but we could not do it.” Now he stands in front of them healed by the power of Jesus, and they can hardly believe it is true.

Paramjit’s parents found the young students and brought them back to their village, and they, too, could hardly believe that he was the same Paramjit. Paramjit’s entire family accepted Jesus into their lives. According to Paramjit’s father “I was a Sikh priest for 29 years, singing praises in the temple to all the Masters, hoping that one day they would show mercy to my son, but Jesus, whom I have not known, not served, not prayed to, not offered anything in my life, sent His messengers to my family and healed my son. He alone shows Mercy to the afflicted.” Regi had the privilege and honor to give baptism to Paramjit and his family.

They endured physical, mental and emotional persecution from their community and relatives to deny Christ, but God gave them strength to stand.

During the COVID lockdown they were unable to attend any services, so they started a family prayer meeting with 4 members of their family. Every week attendance grew from their family, friends and nearby villages. Hundreds of people came to the Lord, many were delivered from addictions and demonic attacks, many were healed, and hundreds were touched by the Holy Spirit and accepted Jesus into their life.

Last week Regi was in Paramjit’s village to set the cornerstone for the church building they are planning to build. Over 250 people, mostly from Paramjit’s community, were worshiping the Lord. If not for the COVID restrictions, even more people would have come. That afternoon 29 people were baptized. Even during the lockdown, God is working, adding and calling people into the Kingdom of God. God is using this young man and his parents to expand His Kingdom. We need hundreds of Paramjits who have experienced the power of God in their life, have been saved by Grace, transformed by the Holy Spirit, and are transforming the lives of people around them.

Help Us Share the Gospel

We thank God for ordinary people like Paramjit whom God is using for His Glory and the expansion of His kingdom. Today the message of the gospel is speeding into the unreached villages of India through native believers, transforming thousands of lives.

Did you enjoy this testimony? Will you help us continue sharing the Gospel in the darkest places of India? Ask Father God what He would have you do. To find out how to contact us, and to read more inspiring and exciting testimonies of what God is doing among the unreached people groups of India, click the links on the right, and keep reading!

Proclaiming the Gospel…

                      …until He comes,

Dear Partner,

We have so much to be thankful for. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, soon followed by Christmas, let’s remember our blessings. Instead of dwelling on life’s challenges and struggles, let’s remind ourselves and one another of all the good things we have in life. Not everything we experience is good, but even during negative situations, we can find glimpses of good, if we look hard enough. You might love summertime. Instead of complaining that the days are getting colder and shorter, take notice of the brief interlude of warm days between the cold ones. Instead of dwelling on the cold weather, think of hot chocolate by a warm fire.

Travel and family gatherings might be difficult this year but cherish the memories of the past. If you can meet in person, make the most of every moment. If you can’t, remember that video calls can help to bridge the gap you might be feeling. If you or a family member is struggling with an illness or other problem, call out to the Lord for help. And drop us a note so we can pray with you, believing for God’s answer.

This month’s story is about bringing hope in a time of despair. As C.S. Lewis once said, we are all immortal beings, who will spend eternity somewhere. How can you reach out to someone around you, and help them draw closer to God? The message of the Gospel is not simply a message of the future. It’s a message for the present, too. May God to give you His eyes, so you can be His hands and feet for those around you. People need to hear the message you carry, and they need to see a demonstration of God’s love.

God is providing everything we need to continue His work in India. Ask Him how He wants you to partner with us. Keep believing and keep praying.

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

Thomas