Revival Now!

This month’s story is the story of how God revealed Himself to two young men born into an untouchable family. Their family was very poor, and was deeply involved in idol worship and various kinds of witchcraft practices.

Younger brother P* was also deeply religious, and he followed in the path of his parents. He was 14 years old when some young people came to his school and, with the permission of the teachers, gave a book to every student. The young people were from one of our outreach teams, and the book was the Gospel of John. He received a book, which he took home with him. He did not have time to read it, but his older brother R* saw the book and began to read it. He was really interested in this story about a man named Jesus. Before this, he and his family had never heard the name of Jesus in their lives.

Who is this Man Called Jesus?

R* was so touched by the book that he took it to the priest in the village Hindu temple. When he showed him the book, he asked “Who is this man called Jesus? Do you know about him?” The temple priest said “Jesus is the God of Christians. We don’t read about him or think about him. We need to concentrate on our own gods and goddesses.”

R* agreed with the temple priest and decided that he would not think about Jesus or read his book. But when he got back home he couldn’t resist, and started to read John’s Gospel again. He told his brother P* about the book, and he too was very much touched by the Gospel. They were both feeling desperate to know more about the man called Jesus. After almost six months of searching, they finally found themselves in a small house church, only four miles from their home.

Fellowship of Suffering

In this house church they received Jesus as their personal savior. As they began to attend the house church, and were drawn closer to the Lord, people in the village misled their parents, and turned them against them. Slowly their parents, friends, relatives, teachers and classmates all turned against them because of their new faith in Jesus. The two brothers went through much persecution for their faith. Their parents locked both of them in a room without food and water. Their parents said “Reject Jesus, go to the temple and bow down to our idol. Then we will give you food.”

The young men refused. They starved for many days. During this time, their parents and relatives beat them repeatedly. They were not allowed in the school, and forbidden to talk to their friends. It was hard on both of them but they endured the rejection, pain, agony, and humiliation with humility. P* said “We don’t know how we were able to endure this. It was truly the Lord Jesus who gave us the strength.” Finally, the villagers forced both brothers out of the village. At only 16 and 14 years old, R* and P* were outcasts. They made their way to the house church, and with the help of some other believers, they rejoined their school and continued their studies.

Power of the Resurrection

During their education, they led many young people to the Lord. They continued their studies in the local college, and they were a great blessing to their fellow students. They started prayer meetings in the college, where students could come and receive prayer for their problems. Our mission leaders have personally heard the testimonies of numerous young people who have been delivered, healed, and touched through the ministry of the prayer groups. Today these prayer groups have grown and spread into several other colleges. They have become instrumental in leading hundreds of young people to the Lord.

By God’s grace, both R* and P* completed their college studies and are now employed by the government as teachers. A few weeks ago, our team was invited by R* to a meeting in his village. He told us that his parents, the same ones who had persecuted them for many months for going to prayer meetings, the same ones who forced them out of the village, now wanted to be baptized! He asked us to come to his village and give them baptism.

The Harvest is Plentiful

A few weeks ago, we were in his village, where around 200-250 people gathered together in the courtyard of his house. During the meeting, we were amazed to hear beautiful Hindi hymns sung by the people with great respect and reverence to God; these same people who have praised idols for many generations. When we shared the Gospel with them and taught them the meaning and importance of baptism in their lives, ninety-two people came forward to receive baptism. These are the same villagers who drove out R* and P*, and persecuted them. Today, R* and P* are the only college graduates in their village. The villagers told us “These brothers are really a blessing to all of us in the village. They show us the way to salvation and eternal life. We want our children to be like them: caring, loving and responsible.”

Today in that village more that 200 people regularly meet to worship the Lord in Spirit and truth. The villagers even donated a piece of land for a church building, and we were honored to lay the foundation stone.

As we traveled back to the main highway, R* took us to a number of villages, where we met several well-educated young men who have come to know the Lord through the prayer groups in the colleges led by R* and P*.

After seeing all this, while driving away, our hearts were filled with joy and gratitude to God. Today we are experiencing the fulfillment of the prayer we prayed many years ago “Lord how will these people hear the Gospel and who will share the Gospel with these people?” Today we know who will share it! Yes, our God is raising up native indigenous young men and women in the villages to be an effective witness of the Gospel. Jesus said “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18 KJV)

Sowing into the Harvest

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“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Matthew 16:18 KJV

In the last two weeks, our team was in an undisclosed location, to attend a meeting and a baptism service. When they arrived, a young girl brought some dessert packets and asked our team to bless them. She wanted to distribute them to the people in the meeting. We asked her what the occasion was. She said, “I have just graduated from nurses training and I got a job!” Then she said, “I am the only person in my community who is a trained nurse.”

The Suffering of the Untouchables

The young girl was M*, the daughter of G*, one of our missionaries. G* and his family are part of an untouchable tribal community. They were very poor and lived in a very poor village.

They had to walk 3 to 4 miles to get water even though there was a well in a nearby village. They were not allowed to draw water from that well because they were untouchables. Most of the time the tension with outsiders remained just under the surface. But almost 16 years ago G* was involved in a violent fight with a high caste person. In that fight G*’s right leg was stabbed so severely that it could not be saved. The doctors had to remove his leg. To make matters worse, during his time in the hospital he noticed that most of the hospital staff treated him and his family very badly because they were untouchables. People thought their presence would make the hospital unsanitary.

G*’s community lives in poverty. They are the largest nomadic group in India, often moving from one place to another. Some specialize in making broomsticks, iron tools, small farm equipment or needles. They may also repair tools or work with stone. Others believe that one does not have to work for a living; they derive income by “religious begging.” They sing and wear special make-up while begging in the name of a specific deity.

After his discharge, the authorities did not allow G*, nor his wife and three children, to return to the village. Having no place to go, they were now homeless, living on the street and sleeping under plastic sheets. He was unable to work, and the whole family began to beg. In tears he recalled “I was a beggar and my wife and children were begging in the streets all day and into the night. We sent our children to the local government school just because the school provided meals for the children. Ten years ago as a one-legged beggar, I was sitting under a tree on a hot summer day when two young men [two of our outreach team members] came to me. They sat beside me, under the same tree, and opened their lunch boxes. They started to eat and then one of them, noticing that I was hungry, shared his lunch with me. They talked kindly to me and gave me a booklet. Even though I couldn’t read I accepted it and took it back to my home. I gave it to my older daughter and she read it to me. It was the Gospel of John. I never heard about Jesus before so I did not understand it.”

The next day at the same lunch time G* met the young people again. This time his wife was with him. Our brothers shared their lunch with them and shared the Gospel with them. G* and his wife did not understand much but they were really touched by the behavior of these young men. After two weeks our outreach team went and visited G* and his family in their tent. G* said they were the first guests to visit their tent in 6 years. The outreach team invited G* and his family to their Sunday prayer meetings. For the first time in their lives they were allowed to sit with other people. (G*’s children had been seated separately in the government school because they are untouchables.)

God’s Mercy on the Untouchables

That Sunday G*’s 12-year-old daughter, M* came forward to receive Jesus as her personal savior. Within a few weeks, G* and his whole family came to the Lord. Since the day G*’s family received Jesus as their personal savior they stopped begging. They began to do small jobs. Soon the Lord opened a door for G* and his family. A high caste Hindu man, who was now a believer in Jesus, hired him and his wife to look after his farm. It felt like a miracle! Now G* and his wife both had good jobs and regular income. The farmer also provided G* and his family with a nice home. God had provided for them in an amazing way!

As G* and his family began to grow in the Lord and in God’s Word, he began to share the Gospel with others. They realized that they were the first Christians in their tribal community, which has a population of 1.5 million people. God gave G* a burden for his people group. When he shared this with the local church, the elders laid their hands on him and consecrated him for ministry.

G* told the farm owner that he wanted to reach his tribal people with the Gospel. The farm owner agreed, and allowed G* and his family to stay on the farm and gave him freedom to focus on the ministry. Over the past eight years, G* has reached out to his community in many different villages. They have ministered to thousands of people, and over that time more that 1400 people have believed and been baptized. Just this year, we assigned two outreach teams to help him reach his community. These two teams started a total of 26 prayer groups in different villages!

The Lord Touches the Untouchables

Today we are aware of a great move of God in this community. Recently, one of our leaders stopped to buy a broom on the roadside, and the lady selling them was wearing a cross. He asked her whether she was a Christian, and she said “Yes.” As she told them, she came to the Lord through G*. She went on to say that, in her village more than twenty-two families attend Sunday service at the village church, and they all came to know the Lord through G*. She continued “We never saw the need to send our children to school, but G* taught us how important it is educate our children, to make sure they learn how to read and write. Because of that, we now send our children to school.”

M* is only the first trained nurse from the community. In G*’s words “We were once beggars, but Jesus transformed our lives! Today we are the richest people, sharing the glorious Gospel which transforms the lives of those who receive it. It is the greatest kind of wealth, when Jesus came into our lives He blessed us with everything.”

Today hundreds of people from G*’s nomadic community travel and share the Gospel with members of their tribe living throughout India.

Investing in Revival

G*’s tribe is experiencing revival, given freely to them by the Lord, and our outreach teams don’t charge them either. But it wasn’t free for G*’s employer to allow him to share the Gospel. Our outreach teams need support, too. We are confident that this support will come, through people like you, whose hearts are touched by stories like G*’s. To become a financial partner with us, click on the Donate link above.

“God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness.”

2 Peter 1:3 CJB

I trust the testimonies this month have encouraged you. As you can see, when you invest in our church leader training program, you are not only giving an individual an opportunity to learn, grow, and become a leader. You are also impacting the entire community where that student lives. Will you prayerfully consider supporting a training center? It costs around $100 a month to maintain each training center, where around 25 students learn church leadership skills. Helping to support these training centers will allow much needed funds to be used for other needs, such as providing support for our missionaries and pastors.

Wherever you choose to give, and for whatever amount, you will have the satisfaction of helping to extend God’s Kingdom here on earth, and storing up riches in Heaven!

Discipling His People…

…until He comes,

Thomas

V* is a 22-year-old young man. He grew up hearing curses from his parents every day. Each had said “I wish you weren’t born in our family.” They saw him as a burden on the family. His parents viewed him as unwanted, and so they neglected him. His only comfort was his grandmother, but when he was 12 years old she passed away. This broke his heart.

He was forced to cook, clean, and do the household chores. He did his best to please his parents, but they never said a kind word to him; instead, they beat him and yelled at him whenever he made a mistake. As the years went by, he became more and more desperate; he thought about committing suicide or running away from home. At 22, he was full of hatred towards his parents.

One day, hope finally came when he answered a knock on the door and met two brothers from our house church leader training. They shared the Gospel with him, and gave him a New Testament.

The second time our bothers visited the village, he was waiting for them, eager to hear more about Jesus. As they shared, his eyes welled up with tears as he listened. On their third visit, V* came to a small prayer meeting our brothers started. That day in front of the village he repented from his hatred, and invited Jesus into his heart.

Along with the prayer group he started praying to Jesus about his situation at home, and for his parents. For

him, their cursing words did not matter anymore. He was happy with his newfound love for Jesus and His Word. Slowly, he noticed a change in his parent’s behavior towards him; his parents stopped cursing at him and abusing him.

V*’s heart swelled with joy. He saw his family transforming and Jesus answering his prayers. He shared the Gospel with his family regularly. His parents were angry at first, but over time they began to listen to him and sit with him in prayer. A couple of times his parents attended the prayer groups.

He joined our house church leader training program. After the 40 days of training, he slowly took the lead in the prayer group in his village. Over the past three years he has led hundreds of people to the Lord. The house church in his village has grown to a “full-grown” church with over 120 baptized believers (including his parents!). Last month we had a baptism service in that church, and 19 people were baptized!

Just imagine preparing for your wedding and budgeting for all the expenses involved. In India, a bride’s parents are not only expected to pay for the wedding; they’re also expected to pay the groom a dowry. In many cases, dowries aren’t just one simple payment to the groom; new husbands in India often make huge demands. Greedily, they pressure brides to make their families pay. If they don’t, new brides in India are often tortured, humiliated or beaten, by their husbands or in-laws. (In our churches we don’t practice the dowry system. But, we do allow voluntary gifts to be given to new couples.)

K*, whose marriage was torn apart because of her husband’s dowry demands, was devastated. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her parents about her husband’s insults and beatings, since they had already given so much. She quietly endured 2 years of abuse, but then things got worse. Her husband and in-law’s had wanted a boy, so when she gave birth to a girl they were furious. When the baby was 3 months old, she left, and went to live with her family. The next 6 years were very difficult. K* found a job as a field hand, which left her with an aching back and trembling legs, as well as many other health issues.

A year ago, she met some of our sisters who were attending a house church leader training program in her village. They shared the Gospel with K*, and prayed for her. They also told her about our tailoring center in a nearby village. K* joined the tailoring center, learning quickly. There she also gave her life to the Lord. Since then, she has regularly attended a worship group, and wants everyone to know the one true God she has met, who loves her just the way she is. After graduating from the training, K* started a small tailoring shop in her village. God blessed her and she is now earning enough to provide for herself and her daughter.

In addition to running a business, K* also joined our house church leader training this year. In the last few months, she has led more than 11 people to the Lord. Last week they were baptized in her training center.

S*: “I was an alcoholic. No one came near me, or talked to me, including my wife and children. I was miserable. The addiction took everything from me; my wealth, health, reputation, family and friends. I felt alone, and I even tried to commit suicide several times. One day a young man came by, sat down, and talked with me, with great affection and kindness. He told me how Jesus loves all sinners. I told him “You are wrong; no one loves sinners.” But he was persistent. He gave several examples from the Gospels that demonstrated God’s love for sinners. He told me about the woman caught in adultery, the thief on the cross, and finally, about the man in the temple, who prayed, ‘Lord have mercy on me!’ That day, under a mango tree, I asked the young man, ‘Can Jesus show his love to me?’ He said, ‘If you repent from your sin Jesus will pour His love in your heart and you will be transformed.’ I asked him to pray for me. He laid his hands on me and began to slowly pray for me. I was standing, but not for long. I felt so weak. My knees bent. Weeping, I asked Jesus to show kindness to me. When we finished prayer I felt fresh. I was smiling and felt light hearted. That day God saved me from the addiction, because of this young man who was willing to share Jesus with me and pray for me.”

S* went back to his home totally transformed. His family welcomed him back, and later the entire family received Jesus and became church members. A year later, he attended our training program. After graduating, he went back to his own people and friends, and the Lord helped him lead many people to Christ. Today he leads two house churches, one in his home and the other in the neighboring village.

When an Indian man or woman accepts Jesus as their personal Savior, they are very passionate and eager to share their newfound faith in Jesus with their friends and relatives. Unfortunately, when they are unable to answer their friends’ questions, they keep quiet because of their lack of knowledge. The house church leader training equips them with the knowledge they need. Once they are trained, they go back to their own communities, where there are almost no Christians. In their home village, God uses them to share the Gospel, and, miraculously, families and entire villages are transformed.

The house church leader training curriculum is a study based on the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus. Along with imparting knowledge, it is designed to help them develop a strong personal relationship with the Lord. Emphasis is placed on the importance of living a practical Christian life and sharing one’s faith with those who have never heard the Gospel. This takes place in their native environment, over the course of one year. Each student’s goal is to establish a strong, reproducing community of faith in their native village.

Every year we train hundreds of leaders in our training centers. This year we have 16 training centers and 394 trainees going through the program. Recently our ministry leaders spoke with individuals who completed the training program last year. This month we share some of their testimonies.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Tim. 2:15, NASB