INDIA – Things were going as planned until the day we all arrived in India. Two trainers joined me on this trip—one from South Africa and the other from America. The city where the church planting training was to take place had two major problems.
First, there was flooding. I was shown a video of the building that was provided for the meeting. The street was like white water rapids. In the video, I saw three people swept away while others on the sidewalks tried to save them. I didn’t see anyone rescued in the video.
Second, after the water receded, the man who was hosting the meeting at his business was confronted in front of the meeting location by an angry mob. The mob stayed in front of the meeting place the entire day, driving away customers and offering sacrifices to insult him and to show their allegiance to one of their thousands of gods. The decision was made to move the meeting to the outskirts of the city.
On day one of the training, 30 people attended. Day one went really well. People loved what they were learning, and they loved how simple but powerful the lessons were for them. On day two, we had 35 people in attendance. The translator stopped me at the end of the day and said, “Brother, I have a name for you. I hope you will not be offended.” I waited. The man said, “Your name is Game-Changer! Today was very excellent.” It was encouraging to see how motivated people were. Day three was probably the highlight for me as we learned about the characteristics of a healthy church. After teaching the lesson, I invited the participants to join me in a church meeting, and they were so excited. I taught them with the same method we use across South Asia. It was so much fun.
Looking back, I realize that Christians in this Indian state are hungry to learn. They are willing and desire to share the gospel with the 77 million lost people in their state.
One thing that I have learned about the Indian church—they pray. On one occasion we prayed for those we would share the gospel with in the next 30 days. Thank you for praying with us.
- Please pray that the Christians in this city will be doers of the Word and not merely hearers.
- Pray that they will impact their communities with the gospel and that many will come to know Christ because of their bold witness.
- Pray that God will strengthen and empower them by his Spirit, and that God will pour out his Spirit on this city and its entire state.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is by Jack Phillips, who disciples and trains South Asians to plant healthy churches among people who have little or no access to the gospel.