July 2019 Letter

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The Right Thing

Dear Partners and Friends,

As I reflect on the stories in this month’s newsletter, I can’t help but think of a quote from Stephen Covey, the well-known business consultant who told us about seven habits that would help us be more effective. He said “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Understanding what is important, and then striving to keep that “main thing” always in focus. Gary Keller (of Keller-Williams) spoke about the “one thing,” about narrowing your focus on that which is your most important activity. But long before Stephen or Gary, Jesus said it best: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you.” (Matthew 6:33, MEV)

It’s not enough to focus on one thing, or to keep that one thing in place; we have to know and be convinced that the “one thing” is the right thing. The young men whose stories are featured in this month’s newsletter understand this. They have come to realize that the most important thing they can put their energy toward is sharing the Gospel, and specifically, sharing the Gospel with those who have never heard.

How can you and I stay focused? How can we be sure we are doing “the right main thing?” By immersing ourselves in the Word of God. His Word is a light to our path, and a lamp to our feet. His Word is what we hide in our hearts. His Word is the plumb line by which all other things are measured and compared. Feed on His Word, and then go and live your life accordingly. Share His Word with others around you, so they can come to know our Wonderful Savior.

If you need prayer, contact us. We would love to agree with you for God’s answer in your life. Just ask, and believe, and you will receive (Mark 11:24). And as He answers your prayers, please send us your testimony so we can rejoice with you. If you would like to partner with us, again, contact us. Our teams are actively working to advance God’s kingdom. For more inspiring and exciting testimonies, visit our home page.

We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The more people who receive this newsletter, the more hearts will be touched, and the more God will provide for our missionaries. With your help, the Gospel will be proclaimed, the Kingdom of Heaven will be advanced, and you will be blessed!

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

                        Thomas

Casting The Vision For Missions

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As we approach the end of Summer Outreach 2019, we look back in amazement on what God has accomplished. Eighty-six young men joined us for the four-month outreach, coming from different Indian states, different cultures, different languages and family backgrounds. They all joined together for one goal: “reach the unreached with the message of the Gospel”. Young men between the ages of 18 and 28, who once walked in the world, according to the world, living for worldly pleasure, seeking to please their flesh, and spiritually blind.

But God in His great mercy sent the message of the Gospel into their lives. Someone loved them enough to share this glorious message, and it transformed their lives, their way of thinking, and their character. Now they are trying to live according to God’s Word; trying to please the Master who laid His life down for them. They now want to become carriers of that glorious Gospel message to people who have never heard.

The purpose of our Summer Outreach program is not only reaching the unreached and starting prayer groups, but also casting the vision, burden, and importance of reaching the unreached to the younger generation. Before joining the outreach team these young men had a knowledge of missions, or were involved in local mission work around their church, but they had never experienced pioneer mission work. On the unreached mission field, there are no comforts of home, no friends or family nearby, a totally different culture, and a totally different lifestyle. Here, they have only one goal—reaching the lost.

The Vision Grows

Recently R* was in state where he was invited to meet with around 120 native missionaries who are involved in ministry in small tribal villages. The leader of that group is a young man in his thirties and a former Summer Outreach team member. He now leads 120 missionaries reaching this unreached people group. The young man said “Even before I joined the Summer Outreach team, I wanted to serve the Lord. But I had no idea in what capacity. During the outreach work, God gave me the vision and burden to reach the people around me who are perishing. I came back to my own people and started reaching the unreached people with the message of the Gospel. Since then, we have started more than 800 prayer groups and house churches in the surrounding counties around my home.” (emphasis mine)

Children hearing the Gospel message
Children responding to the Gospel!

Counting the Cost

V* is from a wealthy, Hindu high-caste family. In his own words “My family members have served as the temple priests in my village for many generations. My father is the current priest, and from childhood onward he has trained me to be the next priest in the temple. When I was 18, they sent me to learn Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language in which all Hindu scriptures are written). While studying (at a famous university) someone gave me a copy of the Gospel of John. That small book drew me to Jesus, and I soon gave my life to Him. When my family learned of my new faith, they rejected me and I was thrown out of my own home. My own father tried to poison me and kill me, but God in His mercy saved me from death. I was even more determined, and dedicated my life to the Lord’s service. Last February I joined the Summer Outreach team, and they sent me to a remote area to minister in one of the unreached people groups. Coming from a high-caste family, living among the “untouchables” was almost unbearable, but the Lord gave me endurance and His love with which I could love them. I felt Christ’s compassion for thousands of young men and women who lived in sin and idol worship, not knowing the only true Savior who can save them.

Together with the other team members, I shared the Gospel with people in 64 villages. Until now, they had lived under the curse of idol worship and in darkness. We experienced the joy of leading hundreds of people to the Lord, and started 24 prayer groups. The four-month outreach program has opened my eyes and transformed my life. It has given me a clear vision and goal, and built my faith in the Lord. My life goal has become this: share the Gospel with those who have never heard.” (emphasis mine)

How Will They Hear?

S* was a Summer Outreach team member in Bihar. “I would often hear the word ‘unreached’ but I never really understood what it meant until I went to the first village with the outreach team and asked people ‘do you know Jesus?’ I asked hundreds of people I met in the village, but I did not get even one positive answer. No one in any of the villages we visited knew Jesus, or even knew about Him. I felt very small. I finally realized the meaning of Romans 10:12-15 ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?’ I knew believing in Jesus was important, but I finally realized that, in order to believe, someone needs to hear, in order to hear, someone needs to preach, in order to preach someone needs to be sent, and finally, in order to be sent, someone needs to be willing to go! (emphasis mine) I praise the Lord I was willing to come for the outreach, and that you sent me to the unreached villages in Bihar. I shared the Gospel, thousands of people heard, and many believed in Jesus. As I return to Bible College to complete my studies, I rejoice in the Lord for the opportunity to reach thousands of families with the message of the Gospel, lead many to the Lord, and start hundreds of prayer groups in the unreached villages. I feel very encouraged   and spiritually edified. Knowing the importance and the urgency of sharing the Gospel to the unreached people has changed my priorities of life. Today I feel honored to be a part of the group mentioned in Romans 10:15 ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.’”

The Beautiful Feet

Thousands of young men have been a part of our Summer Outreach team over the past 20 years. They have become some of the finest pastors, evangelists, and mission leaders who have caught the vision of reaching the unreached in different states of India. When we travel to different places, they come up and shake our hands and tell us they were part of an outreach team, and how that experience has changed their lives, and given them a vision for reaching unreached people groups.

Help Us Shine the Light

Will you help us continue shining the Light of the Gospel in the darkest places of India? You can share in the blessings! To find out how you can help, or to have more inspiring and exciting stories delivered to your inbox, click on one of the links below. With your help, the Gospel will be proclaimed, and you will be blessed, along with thousands of others!

Join us in Proclaiming the Gospel…

                         …until He comes,

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The Light Overcomes Darkness

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One of the primary initiatives of our ministry is to raise up indigenous native leaders among unreached people groups to lead house churches in their own languages. By God’s grace, the hard work of our brothers and sisters, and the prayers and financial support of our partners, we were able to complete this year’s leadership training program. In 14 different training centers in different states, 389 men and women, students from all walks of life, completed the training program. Our leadership team crisscrossed northern India from one training center to another for the graduation ceremonies. We give praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for the impact of the training program on the unreached community in India.

We are training up native people in their own culture and empowering them to share the Gospel to their own community or village. By God’s grace these trainees are impacting, touching, and transforming hundreds of lives.

Called to Those Sitting In Darkness

Almost 7 years ago, Brother Aman and wife, along with their two children, came to one of our leaders and told him they wanted to move from the mission station where they had been working for 5 years, and go to a new, unreached village in Punjab. They had established a very good church, with more than 120 baptized believers, and had even built a church building. Our leader felt it was a foolish decision. He tried to explain to them the advantage of their present mission station, and all the disadvantages of starting a new mission station. But they were convinced that the Lord wanted them to leave their established mission station and go the unreached people group. We gave them three months of time to pray about it, saying “if you still feel the same way, we can think about it.” Meanwhile, we asked them to ask the Lord where He wanted to send them.After three months, they came back and told us they were sure, convinced that the Lord was asking them to move to an unreached village. They had heard about this unreached area through one of their relatives, which was 200 miles away from their established station. As soon as they could, they moved to the village, which was a well known haven for drug addiction, drug trafficking, alcoholism and witchcraft. Local authorities knew that 80% of the youth in that area were addicted to drugs or alcohol. The women in the families had resorted to all kinds of witchcraft, in an attempt to free their husbands or sons from their addictions. Spiritually speaking, the area was in total darkness.

It was into this spiritually dark place that Aman and his family moved, renting a house in the village. The very first day, their house was broken into, and clothes and important documents were stolen. A year and a half after moving to that area, we visited Aman and his family. They shared their disappointment with us. They had worked hard for 18 months, sharing the gospel in the village, but people had only mocked, ridiculed, and persecuted them in return. They had to endure many health issues and financial struggles. We encouraged them to continue to trust God and continue the good work they were doing. We also encouraged them to start prayer walking in the village.

The Light Has Dawned

It has been 7 seven years now, of hard work and sacrifice, and God has honored their faithfulness. More than 175 people from that area have come to know the Lord and have been delivered. Men who had been under the influence of drugs for many years, and women who had been involved in witchcraft for many years, have all been set free by the power of the gospel! Last year we started a training center in that area, and 22 men and women completed the program. Last month, our team was in that village for their graduation, and more than 250 people from that area attended the graduation ceremony.

Light Comes to the Land of Shadows

There is a remote area in the state of Rajasthan where a particular community lives, where they practice all kinds of pagan worship, including animal sacrifices. Violence is a way of life for these people, and until four years ago, no one there had ever heard the gospel. It was then that one of our outreach teams reached that area and began sharing the gospel. They told about Jesus, and prayed for everyone they met. God, in His mercy, healed many from sickness and delivered many from evil spirits. Our brothers started prayer groups in many of the villages. When it was time for the outreach team to leave, one young man decided to stay behind. God put in his heart a vision to continue to minister to that community. This young man was 23 years old, came from a good family and was accustomed to having all the comforts of life, but he decided to stay back in a remote village among people who live without any modern conveniences or comforts. He is his parents’ only son, and they were very upset by his decision. They tried everything they could to bring him back home, but this young man continued ministering among the tribal people. For the past 4 years, the Lord has blessed his efforts. A year ago he told us that they had 21 prayer groups. He said “it is almost impossible for me to reach every prayer group every week.” We asked him to start a training center in that area, and, glory to God, 26 men and women enrolled! Some of them had not yet been baptized. Usually we will not allow unbaptized people to attend the training, but for this center we made an exception. Last month our team was in that area for their graduation ceremony. After the graduation we had a baptism service, where 48 people (including 11 of the trainees) were given baptism.

Good News to the Poor

Many of you will remember the story of Pawan and his daughters and their slum ministry that we published a few month ago. Through Pawan and his daughters’ ministry to the underprivileged slum people, hundreds of people came forward, accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and received baptism. Of these, 23 men and women who had been delivered from witchcraft and idol worship attended one of our training centers (in Pawan’s house) for over a year. This April, they completed the training, and we had a graduation ceremony for them. As part of their practical training, these trainees did outreach in different slums. Through their outreach, many have come to faith in Christ, and they have started prayer groups in the slums. Just last week, 68 people received baptism because of the outreach of these trainees!

Will you help us continue shining the Light of the Gospel in the darkest places of India? Will you invest in the Great Harvest that Jesus spoke of, and is now taking place? You can share in the blessings! To find out how, just click one of the links below. Our missionaries will be blessed, and you will too!

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June 2019 Letter

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Shine your Light!

Dear Partners and Friends,

It’s a simple law of physics – light overcomes darkness. Darkness can seem powerful and frightening, until the smallest light is lit, and immediately darkness must retreat. Even the gloomiest shadows are no match for the smallest flicker of light from a candle or a small flashlight.

So it is with the Gospel. A single person, committed to Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, can transform an entire area engulfed in darkness. These are the stories in this month’s newsletter. One family moving into an unreached village. One young man who gives up his life of comfort to live in a tribal village. And these are just a few of the many stories we have heard among our outreach teams.

Do you feel outnumbered? Insignificant? The darkness around you is no match for the light within. If you have given your life to Christ, if He has filled you with His Spirit and His Power, as someone has said, God plus you equals a majority. When you fill your heart and mind with God’s Word, and then act on it, responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you can have a lasting impact on the people around you. You can bring the Kingdom of Heaven into the earth realm. You can change your neighborhood, your city.

Start shining your light in your area of influence, among the people you live with, the people you work with. Where there is discouragement, bring hope. Where there is pain and sorrow, bring the love of Christ in prayer. And watch what God will do. He is no respecter of persons. What He has done for others, He will do for you. Just ask, and believe, and you will receive. And as He answers your prayers, please send us your testimony so we can rejoice with you.

As I said last month, our mission work is limited, not by the willingness of our teams, but by the amount of funds we receive from our partners. Our teams are ready and willing to work. Will you help us to equip them? This month I am asking specifically, if you know of missions-minded people who have never heard of Exciting Word, please share this letter with them.

Please don’t feel pressured to give. If you are able to help, go to the Donate page. If you aren’t able to help this month, please pray. Your prayers are extremely important. And please share this newsletter with as many believers as you are able. Copy it, send them to our website, do whatever you can do to get the word out. We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The more people who receive this newsletter, the more hearts will be touched, and the more God will provide for our missionaries. Without your help, we could do nothing to promote the Gospel.

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

Thomas

Revival is Here – Embrace It!

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There is a state in northern India dominated by the great Himalayan mountains. Known as the “Abode of Snow,” and characterized by hills and forests, it is also sometimes referred to as “God’s own Abode.” The majority of the people in the state (98%) are Hindus. For many years it has been India’s least evangelized state. Every mountain in the state is named after a Hindu “god,” so it is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrimages. There is much devotion to idols.

The Lord opened the way for us to start our ministry in this least evangelized state in 1998. Almighty God is blessing the ministry and the work has progressed wonderfully. Over the past 20 years our Lord has enabled us to reach into thousands of villages and share the Gospel with people who had never heard the Gospel. We have established hundreds of house churches and led thousands of people to the Lord.

Revival in the Mountains

Recently, for nine days, two of our leaders traveled to some of the interior mountain villages where our brothers were able to reach and start house churches among the different communities. Wherever they stopped, the local believers joined them in worshiping the Lord. Most of them had been idol worshipers for many generations, living in spiritual darkness, under the bondage of sin, not knowing the way out. But the light of the Gospel has sprung up in hundreds of villages of this state and is transforming the lives of many people, especially the young people.

After a nine-hour drive, down a narrow road full of potholes, our two leaders finally reached the first of these mountain villages, almost 200 hundred miles away from their home. Here, some of the young believers had started several new prayer groups. The trip to the village had been very difficult. They had felt and sensed the attack of the enemy several times on the trip. At the same time, Almighty God was with them, as it says in 1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Throughout the trip they felt the Presence of the Lord and His divine protection. As they reached the village, a large crowd of people was waiting for them, gathered together from the surrounding hills and valleys. After quickly freshening up, they joined the meeting. Though they were physically exhausted, their spirits were rejoicing, that so many people walked so many miles to hear the Gospel.

Worship Sets You Free

During worship, the Spirit of God moved mightily in the meeting, setting people free from the bondage of evil spirits and sickness. Almost everyone who came forward for prayer had one of these problems in their lives. Many of them were in bondage to demonic spirits. When our team of brothers began worshiping, the demons threw the people to the ground screaming loudly, both men and women. As they continued to worship, the Presence of God came down to the meeting. They saw the demon possessed people crying out and the demons departing even before they laid hands on them. Our Lord touched the lives of hundreds of people, delivered them, healed them, and many were restored through prayer and the ministry of the Word. The presence of the Lord was so powerful the meeting went on until two in the morning.

The Presence of God Saves and Heals

The following morning they went to another village 22 miles away, where our missionary D is ministering. There again, people from the surrounding hill villages walked many miles to attend the meeting. The Lord helped them to share the Word and minister to the people, who came with many needs. Our Lord in His mercy healed the sick and delivered the demon-possessed, and touched many lives. Many people came after the meeting and shared with them that they were able to experience the touch of God in their lives in a fresh way.

The next destination was a village where they met a young lady, 22 years old, who had been unable to talk or hear from birth. Six months ago she was healed through the prayer of another young lady who was a new Christian. The lady who was healed was the daughter of a Hindu temple priest. Through her testimony, many people have believed in the Gospel and experienced the power of God in their life. The temple priest arranged a meeting in his house and invited the whole village to the meeting. To reach his village, our team had to walk about three and a half miles. They walked through the narrow paths and climbed the hills with God-given strength. Physically they were very tired, and when they reached the village their legs were swollen and ached with pain.

 

The prayer meeting there was a great blessing, with around 200 people attending. Before the meeting, the temple priest told our leader “There are lots of people in the village opposing me for allowing this meeting in my home, but my family has served many gods and goddesses for generations without any answer to prayer. Every day I used to spend 11 hours worshiping the gods and goddesses, but none of the gods and goddesses could help my only daughter. Jesus healed her and opened her ears and mouth, so I want to express my thanks to Jesus by conducting this meeting in my village and giving the people an opportunity to hear about Him.” During the meeting the Presence of God was so real in that place as we shared the gospel, 49 people, including the temple priest and his wife, publicly came forward to receive the Lord in response to the Gospel call. During prayer, our Lord in His mercy healed the sick, delivered the demon-possessed and restored broken families. After the meeting, a good number of people obeyed the Lord in water baptism.

All through the nine days our leaders spent in that hilly area they saw a tremendous move of God drawing hundreds of people to the Lord. In every village, people begged them to share the Gospel or come to their home for prayer. One man who accepted Jesus into his life was very upset. He asked them “Why were you so late coming to our village to share the Gospel? If you would have come just a few months ago, my wife and son, who died in an accident, would have heard the Gospel and would have gotten saved.” They literally cried with him. The “Macedonian Call” is ringing out from the villages of India today.

Answering the Macedonian Call

Paul received a vision that directed his missionary activities: A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Will you help us answer our own “Macedonian Call?” Will you help us take the Gospel to the remote villages of India? Will you invest in the Great Harvest that Jesus spoke of, and is now taking place? Just click one of the links below. Our missionaries will be blessed, and you will too!


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Support our missionaries

May 2019 Letter

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Revival is Here!

Dear Partners and Friends,

We live in a world where every day we are bombarded by TV, newspapers and radio with bad news. Now that the world is connected via satellite, it only takes a few minutes for an event on the other side of the globe to reach us in our living room, in our car, or in our office. Sometimes it gives us the impression that the world is falling apart, seemingly without any attention from God. We have to look harder, but the Good News is all around us, too. In fact, there is at least as much Good News as there is bad.

Revival isn’t coming.

IT’S HERE!

The stories in the enclosed newsletter are just the “tip of the iceberg.” God is on the move, and He’s looking for men and women (and children) to partner with Him. All authority was given to Jesus Christ, and He wants to share His authority with us. Our pastors and missionaries understand this. It isn’t their power that brings salvation, healing, and deliverance to the remote villages of India. It isn’t their wisdom that brings cultural transformation to societies that have worshiped idols for countless generations.

What brings salvation is the Compassion of God, combined with the Power of the Kingdom of Heaven that is Now being released on the earth. We have a choice. We can sit back and do nothing; or we can take action and watch the Kingdom be established before our eyes. It’s time to seek the Lord and take action. It’s time to be an instrument of His Love to the people around you. It’s time to share the message of Hope in Jesus Christ, and the testimonies of what He is doing around the world. This month, if you find yourself discouraged, call out to the Lord. Immerse yourself in His promises. Fill your mind with testimonies of His love and power. And expect Him to do the same in your own life. Keep believing, and keep expecting God to reward you as you seek His face. And send us your testimony when He sends the answer.

Much of what we accomplish is impacted by the amount of funds we receive from our partners. Our teams are ready and willing to work. Will you help us to equip them? If you are able to help, go to the Donate page. If you aren’t able to help this month, please pray. Your prayers are extremely important. And please share this newsletter with as many believers as you are able. Copy it, send them to our website, do whatever you can do to get the word out. We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The more people who receive this newsletter, the more hearts will be touched, and the more God will provide for our missionaries. Without your help, we could do nothing to promote the Gospel.

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

Thomas

April 2019 Letter

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Focus on the Positives

Dear Partners and Friends,

Here in the developed world, we take so many things for granted, things that are scarce or completely absent in the developing world. Electricity, clean water, and plentiful food are just the beginning. We expect roads to be paved and well-maintained. We expect free Wi-Fi to be everywhere. When things don’t go right, when we have a “glitch” in our plans, we get upset. Not so in developing countries.

In the villages of India, they are accustomed to problems, delays, and things going wrong. Amid the disappointments, they still manage to maintain a positive outlook on life. They focus on the positives among all the negatives. That’s part of our problem here in America, at least for me. I find myself constantly barraged by negative news stories and negative social media posts, even from some Christian friends.

This month’s newsletter brings us true stories of truly positive things happening across the world. Yes, life is difficult. Yes, there is corruption in society. Yes, there are wars and rumors of wars. But Jesus reminded us that “when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28)

Now is not the time to focus on negative things that can lead to discouragement. Now is the time to share the message of Hope in Jesus Christ, and the testimonies of what He is doing around the world. This month, if you find yourself discouraged, call out to the Lord. Immerse yourself in His promises. Fill your mind with testimonies of His love and power. And expect Him to do the same in your own life. Keep believing, and keep expecting God to reward you as you seek His face. And send us your testimony when He sends the answer.

Investing in the Future

Much of what we accomplish is impacted by the amount of funds we receive from our partners. Our teams are ready and willing to work. Will you help us to equip them? If you are able to help, complete the enclosed response card. If you aren’t able to help this month, please pray. Your prayers are extremely important. And please share this newsletter with as many believers as you are able. Copy it, send them to our website, do whatever you can do to get the word out. We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The more people who receive this newsletter, the more hearts will be touched, and the more God will provide for our missionaries. Without your help, we could do nothing to promote the Gospel.

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

Thomas

Life in the “Graveyard”

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Bihar is known as the “graveyard of missionaries” among the Indian missions. Bihar is the third largest state in India with 104 million people. It is one of India’s most densely populated states, with well over 2,850 people per square mile. The vast majority (89%) of the population are living in compact or clustered villages in the cultivated plains. Economically it is one of the poorest states according to the government standards. A large segment of the population lives below the poverty level, and the literacy rate is one of the lowest among the Indian states. Almost 58% of the population is below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state.

Bihar is also one of the least reached states in India with regard to the Gospel. According to the Joshua Project there are more than 450 people groups, out of which 430 are considered unreached by the Gospel. Idolatry, witchcraft, drug abuse, alcoholism, caste discrimination, looting, fighting, and every expression of spiritual darkness is prevalent in this state.

In the last 10 years we have seen tremendous church growth in Bihar. Many mission agencies are involved in reaching the people groups. Our organization alone has 26 full-time indigenous missionaries working in Bihar.

Over the past five years, the Lord has greatly blessed us and has given us a great harvest of souls in Bihar. Last week our coordinator, S*, visited the mission stations and submitted this report:

Passionate Worshipers of Jesus

On March 10, 2019, Pastor J* (a senior minister in our ministry) and I were picked up at the railway station and were rushed to a tribal area where the Lunia people live. In 2017 there were half a million Lunia people, without even as much as a single Christian among them. That year, we sent our outreach team with 13 young people to this Lunia community to share the gospel with them. In the beginning they met with hardship and persecution. Four of our brothers were jailed for three days for evangelizing among the Lunia community. Now, as we bounced down a dirt road in an old taxi, passing through the different villages, we felt the spiritual darkness in that area. As we reached the village where our brothers wanted to take us, we were led to a school building where more than four hundred people were worshiping together on a Sunday morning. J* and I were tired, but upon seeing the people and the way they worshipped our Lord, we forgot our weakness and with our whole heart we joined the worship. I can say it was one of the most touching worship services I ever attended in my life. There were no musical instruments but people were joining together, lifting their voices and singing, every word worshiping the Lord. During that time of worship we saw people delivered from evil spirits. After the service we learned that these people are from the Lunia community. Over the past two years more than 700 hundred people from the Lunia community have come to know Jesus through our brothers. Fourteen villages have a regular Sunday service, and another 17 villages have regular weekly prayer meetings. We were overwhelmed by what we saw and experienced. With tears of joy, we thanked the Lord for the harvest.

Powerful Move of the Holy Spirit

On March 13 we were led to another community called the Bhar, with over 2 million people also in the state of Bihar. As with the Lunia, there were very few Christians among them. Farming is the main occupation of the Bhar people, and they often work as laborers in fields owned by the higher caste people.

In February we had sent two teams, a total of 14 brothers from different communities, to do outreach for six weeks. By the grace of God, there were a lot people drawn to the Lord. Our outreach team led us to a prayer meeting they had started just a few weeks ago in the Bhar community. A prayer meeting was arranged in the courtyard of a house, and as we reached there around 25-30 people from the village were waiting. As we shared the gospel with them, the Spirit of God moved mightily in the meeting. People were being set free from the bondage of demonic spirits and disease. Everyone who came forward for prayer was afflicted by an evil spirit, and most of them had some kind of sickness that manifested in their life as well. When we laid hands on them and prayed, the demons threw the people to the ground and they began screaming loudly. Much of the same thing happened in all nine of the prayer groups we visited with our outreach team, in different villages in the Bhar community. Through prayer and the ministry of the Word, and by God’s rich grace and mercies, God delivered all of them completely.

We went from one place to another and visited all 9 of the prayer groups that our brothers have started in the last six weeks. We ministered to many people, and over 93 people received the Lord Jesus as their Savior. God is moving in a very special way among the unreached community, through signs and wonders, and deliverance. During the 9 days of the trip, we attended three of our local training centers. Eighty-four men and women graduated from different tribal communities after they had completed our 40- day house church leaders’ training this past year. Four new training centers have been started for this year in different areas, and one of them is among the Lunias.

Partnering With the Father

Jesus told us “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” (John 4:35-36). When you partner with us, you are a partner in the Great Harvest that Jesus spoke of, and is now taking place. Our missionaries will be blessed, and you will too!


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Heaven Comes to the Slums

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Brother P and his family are from the untouchable community. They lived in the slums with their five children. He used to drive a rickshaw and his wife was selling vegetables in the slum. Their youngest son who was four years at that time had a blood infection. Almost twice a year they had to give the boy a blood transfusion. It was a great burden on their life and their finances. They fell into a lot of debt. The family was dealing with starvation. There was no one to help them. Finally they decided to take their other four children to an orphanage where they would have at least enough food, and security for their young daughters who were 16 and 14 at that time.

One of the volunteers who gave blood for P’s son’s transfusion was from a Hindu radical group. He came to donate blood for P’s son. After knowing the situation he said, “In my village some Christians meet for worship every Sunday. They claim that their God heals sickness. I have heard that many people have been healed by their prayers. Why don’t you take your son to them and ask them to pray for him? Maybe he too will be healed!”

There is Healing Power in The Blood

The following Sunday, the desperate P and his wife took their son from the hospital to the prayer group. It was a house church with 30-35 people jam-packed in a small room. They were singing and worshiping the Lord. Brother P shared with them why their family was there. During the service the church came around P’s son and laid hands on him and prayed for him.

After the service when P’s family went back to the hospital, the doctor was very upset because they had taken his patient out of the hospital without his permission. The next day the boy was discharged. The family returned to the slum. People from the house church visited them and prayed over their son again and again. God in His mercy healed him completely. Since that day they have never had to give their son another blood transfusion. P and his wife attended the house church and they accepted the Lord as their personal Savior.

Five years ago, R was in the slum where P and his family lived. They wanted to have a meeting in their area for the people to hear the Gospel. R says he still remembers when they had that meeting in the slum. It was in a small soccer ground where 300 people came to hear the Gospel. The next day we gave baptism to P and his wife and their three older children. After the baptism P and his family joined our house church leader’s training, completed it and became leaders of a house church.

The Gospel Spreads Through the Slums

Through the public meeting so many people were attracted to the Gospel. Our brothers started a house church in P’s home and gradually people from the slum, each with different needs, began to come and attend the house church. Many were delivered and set free from different addictions. The house church in P’s home became a lighthouse in that slum. For many who lived in utter darkness the house church was a light for them. It was a place of deliverance. Last month R was in that area to lay a foundation stone for their planned church building. They are planning to build a shed for the worship meetings. More than 400 people from that slum attended the meeting. Most of them are born again believers. P and his family took R to five other slums around their town, where very poor, untouchable people, who are the lowest in the society, live in plastic tents. In almost freezing cold weather it was a very sad sight. But as they walked through the slum, people greeted them by saying ‘JAI MASIH’ meaning “Praise the Lord.” They were joined by many people in the slum who are born again and live for the Lord, and they were worshiping Him. In all five slums P and his family have started regular worship services, where hundreds of people meet each week. R and his wife were really touched and moved by the way the Lord is using P and his family to draw hundreds of people to the Lord. P’s daughters, Kajal and Sona, have started six Sunday schools in different slums, where more than 240 children attend regularly. Kajal and Sona attend college, but in the afternoon, when their college classes are finished, they teach the children Bible stories, from 3:30pm to 5pm. They also teach the children how to read and write. If that wasn’t enough, they have also started a women’s meeting in the slums!

Blessed to be a Blessing

In P’s own words, he said, “We went to a house church with a desperate situation because no one could help us. We asked the Lord to bless our son and heal him, but we never thought that we would become a blessing. Today the Lord has honored us and blessed us and made us a blessing to our community.”

The Bible says “The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.” Hundreds of people living in the slums, who sat in darkness for many generations, are seeing the glorious light of the Gospel through one family’s dedication to the Lord. They are able to do this work because of our Lord, and through your prayers and financial support. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers into the harvest field, and to provide them with the necessary financial support to be effective.

March 2019 Letter

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Dear Partners and Friends,

In today’s “microwave” society, we expect answers to come immediately. We have little tolerance for things that take time. When the Internet is going slow, we complain. When traffic is congested, we complain. On the other hand, when we pray, sometimes we don’t expect God to answer. We tell ourselves “He has other, more pressing things on His agenda.” So we can sometimes miss God’s provision and supply because we are looking in the wrong direction.

Let Your Kingdom Come

In this month’s newsletter, we share the story of Pastor P, a man whose family desperately needed God’s touch. But he didn’t know where to find help. For years, he struggled. But once he found the Lord, God brought healing and blessing into their lives. Once they committed their lives to the Lord, He took responsibility for their care and well being.

This month, if you find yourself in a desperate situation, call out to the Lord. His arm is not too short to save. But, remember, when you call out to Him, believe that He is both willing and able to meet your needs and bring restoration and healing to your life. As it says in the book of Hebrews “he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NASB So, keep believing, and keep expecting God to reward you as you seek His face. And send us your testimony when He sends the answer.

Please remember us in prayer. We are in the midst of lots of changes. Due to some financial difficulties, I have gone back to full-time secular work. As a result, Teri will be assuming most of the ministry workload, so please keep her in prayer. Meanwhile in India there has been an increase in persecution, along with terrorist activity along the border with Pakistan. We have suspended our travels to India until we have both the vacation time and the money to resume them, and until the terrorist activity decreases so it is safe for Americans to travel there. Our team leaders will probably be coming to the US sometime in the fall of 2019. Look for more information about this as the time gets closer.

Investing in the Future

Much of what we accomplish is impacted by the amount of funds we receive from our partners. Our teams are ready and willing to work. Will you help us to equip them? If you are able to help, complete the enclosed response card. If you aren’t able to help this month, please share this newsletter with as many believers as you are able. Copy it, send them to our website, do whatever you can do to get the word out. We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony. The more people who receive this newsletter, the more hearts will be touched, and the more God will provide for our missionaries. Without your help, we could do nothing to promote the Gospel.

Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,

Thomas