In November 2010, we traveled with a group to a city in South Asia. God used 16 North Americans and 40 native pastors and Christian interpreters to proclaim the gospel. We were invited to partner with Indian national believers as they prayerfully appoached a population of 100,000 people scattered among 169 rural villages, or "thandas" . Fewer than 100 Christians were estimated to live in these villages.
The state in the country we went to was very populated. If it were a country, it would be the 10th most populated country in the world, with more than 113 million people! In rural areas surrounding the city we were near, the devastating poverty and spiritual darkness is among the worst in the world.
Our plans were to visit about 45 of the 169 thandas. Sharing the gospel openly is not legal in this area, so we had to be invited to each village by someone. Praise God that many of the villages we were invited to were home to family members or friends of our native pastors and translators. There were no believers in many of the thandas we visited. They had never heard the name "Jesus" before. God's favor was great as we were welcomed into every village, and treated with great respect and wonderful hospitality.
We had the opportunity to share the Good News with many who responded enthusiastically to the Gospel message. Members of our team saw entire villages profess faith in Jesus Christ! Men and women of peace (people who offered us hospitality; see Luke 10) were discovered in each thanda.
The word of God was given in their language as we studied together. It is stunning to see the faces of new believers as they read the word of God for the first time, and to see the conviction in their hearts, and to watch as they have understanding immediately, by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord permitted us to participate in a great harvest in India: More than 1,600 people heard the Good News. 768 adults professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, as did many more children and youth. Eight new churches were established - where a person of peace is willing to have the new Christian Community meet in their home.
Within days of our departure, follow-up with new believers by our national pastors revealed that fellowships were thriving in 15 other villages our team visited, in addition to the eight new churches we identified! Our national partners have a renewed commitment to ministry among their people, having been encouraged greatly by the work God did among us in November.
Please pray with us that every one of these new fellowships are examples of the seed falling on good soil.
(The trip indentified above was a TSC partnership trip with E3 Partners. TSC believes in the work of E3 Partners around the world as they share the Gospel with those who have not yet heard. For more information on E3 Partners, visit http://www.e3partners.org/)
(The trip indentified above was a TSC partnership trip with E3 Partners. TSC believes in the work of E3 Partners around the world as they share the Gospel with those who have not yet heard. For more information on E3 Partners, visit http://www.e3partners.org/)
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