Thursday, November 29, 2012
What was on throughout the Day
The meetings started at 8 am with a time set apart for intercession and worship. From there, it was straight into the word for an hour and half. At ten o clock, the sessions split into separate tracks. These sessions allowed the ministers to focus and speak to their audience and justice was done to the variety of people attending the convention. Pastors and church planters moved into a separate area, while the kids had their own worship tent. The rest of the people stayed in the main tent till noon.
At 1pm, lunch was served to all the registered delegates. This meant that over 75 volunteers were giving rice in leaf-plates (the original use and throw version) while another 75 kept pouring hot daal curry (lentils) on the plates. By the time you finished your meals, it was time for the afternoon meetings.
At 2.30pm for the next two hours, the youth gathered in one tent for worship and teaching. The kids gathered in the hall (by the second night there were over 400 kids). The pastors had their own conference hall while the sisters gathering in the main tent, used the rest of the space available.
At 5.30pm the sound system used to come alive for a 6pm start. This was the signal the people would wait before they began to pour into the main tent. It seemed that they could not afford to miss a single second of the service.
All of the sessions began before time and ended on time. As one person commented, “There was no need to wear a watch during the day. You just had to go with the flow from morning till evening. It was a timeless day.”
At 1pm, lunch was served to all the registered delegates. This meant that over 75 volunteers were giving rice in leaf-plates (the original use and throw version) while another 75 kept pouring hot daal curry (lentils) on the plates. By the time you finished your meals, it was time for the afternoon meetings.
At 2.30pm for the next two hours, the youth gathered in one tent for worship and teaching. The kids gathered in the hall (by the second night there were over 400 kids). The pastors had their own conference hall while the sisters gathering in the main tent, used the rest of the space available.
At 5.30pm the sound system used to come alive for a 6pm start. This was the signal the people would wait before they began to pour into the main tent. It seemed that they could not afford to miss a single second of the service.
All of the sessions began before time and ended on time. As one person commented, “There was no need to wear a watch during the day. You just had to go with the flow from morning till evening. It was a timeless day.”
Enthroned on the Praises
"I wish this would never end. I made a decision to come by myself at the last minute. How I want my family to be with me for this grand celebration,” This is what Ashok had to say, when he was caught on camera rejoicing in the presence of God. Ashok and his wife are recent believers, who decided to travel over 600 kilometers to worship Jesus with over 40,000 people at the 32nd Annual Convention of the Filadelfia Fellowship of Churches in India.
The presence of God was unmistakable throughout the week, with people worshipping, listening intently to the Word, crying their hearts out in prayer or just waiting on God in the main tent. Three and four year olds were found standing, clapping and waving their hands in the air while the adults were seated. It was a celebration of what God had done throughout the year, of what the people could do when they were united in their purpose and efforts.
By the third night, people were right in front of the stage vying for their share of space well before the service began at six pm. While they jostled among themselves, another group of worshippers at the far back were dancing away the praises of God in their tribal rhythm.
God was indeed enthroned on the praised of his people and that throne was right among the people throughout the six days!
The presence of God was unmistakable throughout the week, with people worshipping, listening intently to the Word, crying their hearts out in prayer or just waiting on God in the main tent. Three and four year olds were found standing, clapping and waving their hands in the air while the adults were seated. It was a celebration of what God had done throughout the year, of what the people could do when they were united in their purpose and efforts.
By the third night, people were right in front of the stage vying for their share of space well before the service began at six pm. While they jostled among themselves, another group of worshippers at the far back were dancing away the praises of God in their tribal rhythm.
God was indeed enthroned on the praised of his people and that throne was right among the people throughout the six days!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Will These Dry Bones Live
"We have not seen any results among this group of people in the last thirty years. The only thing that we can pray and believe is that God would directly intervene on our behalf"
The tone was not a tone of dejection, but as if it was how it was meant to be. A holy anger began to rise up in me. As I heard it, I really thought that it was a true dry bone situation. With a few men around me, we sat down to pray and God showed us two clear visions.
One was that of a tunnel under construction with light at the other end. The hard work was being done now. But a time was to come when the tunnel would break open on the other end and people would be able to travel to the light right through.
The second vision was that of a honeycomb. With hundreds of bees flying in with nectar, none of their efforts were being wasted, neither was it being visible at the onset. They would have to wait until all the work was done for them to come and settle down.
We encourage you to pray for the Kutch region, in western Gujarat. Brother Blessen and his team are working there trying to find foothold among the locals. Not by power, nor by might, but by God’s Spirit this region will also be reached.
The tone was not a tone of dejection, but as if it was how it was meant to be. A holy anger began to rise up in me. As I heard it, I really thought that it was a true dry bone situation. With a few men around me, we sat down to pray and God showed us two clear visions.
One was that of a tunnel under construction with light at the other end. The hard work was being done now. But a time was to come when the tunnel would break open on the other end and people would be able to travel to the light right through.
The second vision was that of a honeycomb. With hundreds of bees flying in with nectar, none of their efforts were being wasted, neither was it being visible at the onset. They would have to wait until all the work was done for them to come and settle down.
We encourage you to pray for the Kutch region, in western Gujarat. Brother Blessen and his team are working there trying to find foothold among the locals. Not by power, nor by might, but by God’s Spirit this region will also be reached.
Policeman turns planter
One of the church planters in K.... is a former policeman. "When I found Jesus, I wanted to share this with others and my job was not allowing me to freely share my faith. That is when I took the decision to quit my job and give myself to preaching the gospel full time."
It was not easy for him. He was thrown out by his family, rejected by friends and finally a crippling injury to his lower back was meant to throw him out of action for atleast a few years. But Deepak knew that He had heard God and persisted in his passion to serve God. Along the way, he got the dream of his life, Lilly, a Bible college graduate who spurred him even further.
Both of them are taking care of a school and also taking care of nine pastors, while helping pastor a church themselves. “It was not easy to adjust to meek surroundings and a meek behavior. As a policeman, I was used to being the boss. But being a pastor, it was a challenge to listen to all and also to serve all.”
God blessed them with a child last year and both of them are faithfully serving Jesus. It is not easy neither is it exciting. Many times both of them were almost ready to quit the mission field. But one after the other, God encouraged them.
Please pray for them as this is a difficult place to live and minister. “Even the air here feels heavy and thick, as if some oppressing spirits were lurking behind” But God is able to more than we ask, think or imagine.
But only if you join us in praying for Deepak, his wife Lillly and the several churches they are helping to plant.
It was not easy for him. He was thrown out by his family, rejected by friends and finally a crippling injury to his lower back was meant to throw him out of action for atleast a few years. But Deepak knew that He had heard God and persisted in his passion to serve God. Along the way, he got the dream of his life, Lilly, a Bible college graduate who spurred him even further.
Both of them are taking care of a school and also taking care of nine pastors, while helping pastor a church themselves. “It was not easy to adjust to meek surroundings and a meek behavior. As a policeman, I was used to being the boss. But being a pastor, it was a challenge to listen to all and also to serve all.”
God blessed them with a child last year and both of them are faithfully serving Jesus. It is not easy neither is it exciting. Many times both of them were almost ready to quit the mission field. But one after the other, God encouraged them.
Please pray for them as this is a difficult place to live and minister. “Even the air here feels heavy and thick, as if some oppressing spirits were lurking behind” But God is able to more than we ask, think or imagine.
But only if you join us in praying for Deepak, his wife Lillly and the several churches they are helping to plant.
Hattey and His Ten Mighty Men
David was not the only one who had mighty men surrounding him. Pastor Hattey has learnt a spiritual principle there. When it comes to ministry, raise up atleast ten men to do his job.
He knows the difficulty of finding a replacement when a young man is sent off to plant a church from his church. But now he has a steady stream of young men who are in informal training around him. They are the first ones to reach a midweek meeting site. They are the ones who reach a predetermined spot to pray into the night or to just prayer walk in the evening. In fact, for most part of the day, he has these men surrounding him.
Pastor Hattu, as he is lovingly known is known to release believers into new regions so that church growth can happen there also. In the last three years, they have effectively started nine new congregations. And each of them has a leader who was trained by Pastor Hattu.
He says “If I release them to do their own thing, this is what they will do.” “I have to train them and show them what is ministry and then they can handle any amount of pressure.”
Pastor Hattey has been arrested couple of times and cases are still pending in some of those cases. But he does not care. He prays hard, works hard and enjoys God’s favour hard.
He knows the difficulty of finding a replacement when a young man is sent off to plant a church from his church. But now he has a steady stream of young men who are in informal training around him. They are the first ones to reach a midweek meeting site. They are the ones who reach a predetermined spot to pray into the night or to just prayer walk in the evening. In fact, for most part of the day, he has these men surrounding him.
Pastor Hattu, as he is lovingly known is known to release believers into new regions so that church growth can happen there also. In the last three years, they have effectively started nine new congregations. And each of them has a leader who was trained by Pastor Hattu.
He says “If I release them to do their own thing, this is what they will do.” “I have to train them and show them what is ministry and then they can handle any amount of pressure.”
Pastor Hattey has been arrested couple of times and cases are still pending in some of those cases. But he does not care. He prays hard, works hard and enjoys God’s favour hard.
Pace to Increase
One of the famous statements that Dr. Thomas Mathews made was, "Whatever you do, make sure that you plant self multiplying, self supporting and self governing local churches.” Since his home call, this statement has been our bedrock and also our motivation.
But last month as the leaders gathered together at the National Convention, it was being heard all the more clearly. After much prayer and deliberation, the leaders dedicated themselves to the vision afresh and a goal of planting 1000 new churches with atleast 20 baptised new believers was set.
It is both small when compared to the billion+ people out there, but it is also a wake up call to all the churches to start multiplying and placing people and ministries strategically in locations that lacked witness.
Would you please join us in praying that we would accomplish this vision, not just for the sake of numbers, but for the sake of finishing the task? Your financial help and your contributions both big and small are welcome and mean a lot to us.
But last month as the leaders gathered together at the National Convention, it was being heard all the more clearly. After much prayer and deliberation, the leaders dedicated themselves to the vision afresh and a goal of planting 1000 new churches with atleast 20 baptised new believers was set.
It is both small when compared to the billion+ people out there, but it is also a wake up call to all the churches to start multiplying and placing people and ministries strategically in locations that lacked witness.
Would you please join us in praying that we would accomplish this vision, not just for the sake of numbers, but for the sake of finishing the task? Your financial help and your contributions both big and small are welcome and mean a lot to us.
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