IN TOUCH

In the presence of the ONE they love

2011-11-21T16:42:00.003-08:00

Navapur convention now has been the attraction of the year for thousands of worshippers, pastors, leaders and those hungry for the word of God. None of them were disappointed, but rather they went back enriched in the presence of God. People hired cars and jeeps to come to the meeting this year. A group of 15 believers were crammed in a van that could hold eight people, and they had driven nine

What was new this time?

2011-11-21T16:40:00.001-08:00

At Navapur there were several things that set it apart from the other conventions so far. Some of the highlights as mentioned by various leaders and preachers were: • No one seemed to be ‘in-charge’ of the sessions, but it all was beautifully woven together into a beautiful tapestry. The Lord Almighty was in-charge! • The preachers, the worship leaders, the announcements were all in sync with

The police @ Navapur

2011-11-21T16:39:00.000-08:00

As a precautionary measure the district police officials have always deployed over 100 police personnel to the convention venue. Over the years, some of them have become familiar faces. With nothing much to do, they come, greet the people and then sit down to hear the word of God. One of the senior officials called me aside. I thought it was going to be a question and answer drill. But the

New Missionary Decisions

2011-09-27T08:13:00.001-07:00

Before the service began that night, the Holy Spirit urged me to go straight and ask young men and women to commit their lives to preaching the Gospel. So before saying anything, I shared the need and gave a call to all those who wanted to commit their lives for this. Twenty young men and women, from that one church stood up, and prayed a prayer of dedication. Right there, we prayed for an

Pipalpada - a church plant

2011-09-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

One of the church plants out of Parsari church is Pipalpada. This is a story of the first couple who came from that village. For ages, this lady was never well. She was being tormented by evil spirits. She experienced pains and aches all over her body. She took medical treatment and went to several places seeking help but suffered without much relief. People living nearby, who believed in

A 4 hr trek to hear the Word

2011-09-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

“Sir, I just wanted to come and greet and shake your hand,” said two young men who came to me after I taught sessions from the Word. “Oh sure, how are you and what is your name?” I was trying to talk but had no idea of what was coming up next. In fact, I was a bit ‘surprised’ that they were not staying for the evening service. The conversation continued. “I am Magra and this is my friend”

Seven Still Births and the Birth Of A Church

2011-09-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

In his own words, Pr. Vechiya of Parsari village in Maharastra, describes his story. We lost seven children one after the other. All the people told us that we had a demon in our house who was eating all our children. We were almost considered as outcasts of our village. When we had lost all hope, we heard that Jesus could save and also heal and give us our miracle. We went out of our village

Can a building further the Kingdom

2011-08-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I was able to visit our pastor Brother Ramesh M, in Chattisgarh, where a family helped the local congregation to build a small prayer hall. Though the work in not yet completed, they have begun worshipping there. With this new building, they are now able to sit properly and also invite new people to their congregation. The shape of the building does not look like a traditional

I was in prison and you

2011-08-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

Personally, I had a notion that prison ministry was something to be done, just once a year . To be honest, I never thought much about that group of our community ever. Though only until recently . My phone rang on a hot June weekday. Seeing the number, I happily picked the call thinking of making a small happy chat and then ending the conversation. But the voice was different on the other

Living People Living Communities

2011-08-09T02:14:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the Gujarat and Rajasthan border, the church hall was beautifully decorated with shining ribbons and new mats. Many evangelists and pastors were present to thank God for His goodness and be a part of the joyous celebration. The occasion was the dedication of a church building at Dhavdiya. This was after a wait of seven years! The hall was packed with men, women, children and

Healed to Heal

2011-06-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

"Pratap was exhibiting signs of extreme violence in the home. Anyone that woulc come hear him, he would try to strangle. He would talk to no one except his son. " Pratap was brought to the prayer room and people prayed for him there. Even there He was trying to stone those who were praying for him. It took some time for him to settle down and be prayed for. But he calmed down and the team

105 years of nomadic expereince ends

2011-06-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

Our team of committed workers, helped secure the rights for 40 homeless families, living on the roadside and helped them obtain government housing. As they felt the walls, the doors, the permanent roof, it was evident that they had mixed emotions. On one hand, they felt that this was too good to be true, while on the other, they were afraid that this would be taken away from them soon. But

The Widow's Mite

2011-03-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

"Years ago, I lost my husband and eveyrthing else with him, except this piece of land and my daughter. I went from bad to worse, until I found salvation in Jesus, through a passing evangelist." "We have been worshipping in the open for over a year now, and I want to give this piece of land to put up a prayer hall. God, who did so much for me, deserves the best. But this is all I have.

MountainTop Experience

2011-03-14T02:18:00.000-07:00

It is 11am. The sun is shining hot and the day is beginning to get warmer by the minute. We have been on the road for the past three hours through teak forests, rough peaks and even rougher roads. Right when we feel that we can go no longer before taking a break, the jeep swerves to the right and begins to climb a 60 Degree incline. A few scary minutes later, we reach a mountain top and the

Call from the Kutch

2011-02-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

“You have laid your hands on us and ordained us, now send us out to Bihar or Chattisgarh or any other place, because that is the biblical model.” We (Blesson and Betsy) said these words out of great desire and expectation. But the reply would come so soon, we never imagined. Immediately we were informed about the opportunity of going to the Kutch District of Gujarat and pioneering a work there

Blessed to be a blessing

2011-02-08T19:50:00.001-08:00

She was born into a family who were strong idol worshippers. One day her son fell very sick. She took her son to the village doctors and took treatment for several days but it did not help her son get better. This continued for several days and his physical condition deteriorated to a great extent. She then took him to the witch doctors who also took money for all the magic spells and sacrifice

Nani Bai's Witness

2011-02-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Nanibai, Pipalwas – Stood strong in her faith and a testimony in her village Nanibai comes from a poor family. She believed in idols and witchcraft. She spent large sum of borrowed money to please the witch doctors and earn the favor of their gods. One day her husband fell sick. She took him to the witch doctors, spent money, and took him to the hospital for treatment but nothing helped. His

Kidney stones too obey Jesus

2010-09-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

One day while I was praying I got a telephone call from Rajasthan. On the other end it was a lady describing the condition of her husband who was vomiting incessantly. Whenever he vomited blood came out of his mouth. I prayed earnestly for the man and Lord healed him from his ailment. Another testimony is about a lady named Guddi. She had been suffering from kidney stone for a long time and the

Blind Man Arrested for Preaching Jesus

2010-09-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

28 year old Balu, was arrested today for preaching the gospel and was charged with forcibly converting people to become Christians. Balu is totally blind, and he was arrested while he was leading a service in the village. He was led to the local police station where they framed the charges against him and remanded him to custody till the 25th of August. He was released after four days when a

From the jungles into the Vineyard

2010-05-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

“I was a robber and used to loot trucks on the highway,” shared Reysingh as he narrated his story. We were a gang of four and we would put obstacles on the road, as trucks would navigate a steep winding road through the jungles. We would loot them and run away with everything our hands would find. The police would chase us and we were in and out prison several times but I was too involved in

In the last days

2010-05-21T19:20:00.001-07:00