Finding Lost Souls Volume 28 Page 4

Page 4

The Life of a Pastor in India - The early March journey had been a long, hot, and tiring seven-hour drive. Pastors Britto and Richard, Kathy, and I were on our way to visit five of the ICII branch pastors, whose churches Pastors Britto and Richard had helped to plant years ago. We rested for the evening, and the next morning arrived at a small village named Atthipallam. As we threaded our way along the narrow dusty footpaths, the normal sounds of life in a rural South Indian village were gradually overcome by a different sound, a sound of joy. From the house we were approaching there came singing, clapping of hands, and shouts of praise in Tamil. We removed our shoes and bent down to enter the low doorway of the tiny one-room house, where we saw Pastor Samuel standing, Bible in hand, vigorously leading his small flock in songs of worship. Soon, the songs gave way to the strong voice of the pastor as he brought forth the Word of God amid shouts of "Hallelujah!" from the enthusiastic congregation. There were no pews or seats for the believers, who sat cross-legged on the floor. The house was barely fifteen feet square, with one window and no fan. The tropical sun beating down on the low sheet metal roof had turned the room into a sweltering oven, yet the worshippers hung on every word, and then with bowed heads prayed fervently. The 57-member church has Sunday morning service and Wednesday evening Bible study in that small room, which also serves as living quarters for Pastor Samuel's family of five.

Pastor Samuel is one of ICII's five Branch Pastors, partnering with ICII to help spread the Gospel into the many thousands of villages scattered across the state of Tamilnadu, South India. The calling upon a Christian pastor in a remote South Indian village makes for a difficult and demanding life. Living day to day is a struggle because of desperate poverty. Pastors bear a strong stigma in the eyes of the primarily Hindu villagers, and often will be rejected by their families and persecuted by the people. Unsung heroes, they suffer patiently and labor diligently to build the kingdom of God, one soul at a time. The hours they put in are long. In addition to services at the church, Pastor Samuel does weekly ministry in sixteen other villages, which means he goes to two or three villages daily.

Pastor Samuel (left center) standing with Pastor Britto and the Smiths with some of his church members.

ICII provided DVD players and the "Gospel of John"and "The Risen Lord" DVDs as a gift to their ministries, so they can play them in the villages they are reaching.

He has no vehicle but his bicycle that ICII bought for him to travel the miles as he visits believers, prays for the sick, and conducts home Bible studies. He also does evangelism, preaching the Gospel in new villages every month. Reaching the lost is the main goal of ICII's branch pastors, and they take the calling very seriously. At a meeting with several of the pastors, we gave them each a DVD player and over 500 gospel tracts.The next day, we spoke with another branch pastor named Sambath about how to help his ministry further. One thing he requested was more tracts. We asked about the 500 he had just received. He told us he and his team had gone out witnessing right after the meeting and had given them all away that same evening and the next morning. Pastor Sambath, age 34, leads an evangelism team that reaches five new villages each week. In addition, every week he conducts services at two churches and ministers to believers in seven villages, including five children's ministry per week and also prayer and fasting days, Bible studies, women's ministry, and prayer for the sick.

Pastor Sambath shared one testimony typical of many of the pastors told us concerning God's miraculous works. One day, he and his wife were praying when the Lord revealed to them that there was a girl with a tumor for whom they must pray for healing. They did not know her name or even the village where she was. But by faith they just went out and began to seek her. Sure enough, in one village they found a girl named Ambika who had a tumor. They went to her and told her how Jesus had sent them to find her and pray for her so that she would be healed. Then they prayed for her, and she was indeed healed of the tumor. Ambika and her whole family became believers in Jesus Christ, and she is now coming to Pastor Sambath's church. Through this miraculous act, God also touched many other people in her village. God is using these pastors to touch lives in a big way. Through home meetings and Bible studies, they are ministering regularly to hundreds of people, and through evangelism reaching thousands with the Gospel. You can sponsor a missionary and equip them to reach more souls for Christ.

ICII Produces DVDs that are Reaching Thousands! Last fall, Lowell and Kathy Smith, with the help of Pastor Britto narrating, produced the Gospel message on Video called "Jesus Christ - The Risen Lord" and also began working on the word-for-word "The Gospel of John" from the Bible. As the Gospel is narrated, and the Bible is read, the videos show beautiful scenery, wild animals, sea life in video format, along with background music. So far, in Tamil language there are no tools like this. The Gospel teams are taking these DVDs and playing them on laptop computers with battery-powered speakers. Illiterate people and those who have never heard the Word of God can hear the Bible and see God's beautiful creation. Thousands in the villages have seen these two videos and have been touched! Many have accepted Christ through them!

Pastor Britto showing the Gospel of John on a laptop computer at a village.

At a village the team will show a chapter of the Gospel of John and then they will have a Bible study on the chapter they played so they can teach the people the Word of God very effectively. ICII believes that these are powerful and effective new Gospel tools that can eventually bring the Word of God to millions of souls in India.

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