COVID Wreaks Havoc In India

 

The situation in India is bleak, but the Kingdom of God is expanding...

I know you have seen news reports of the huge increase of COVID cases and deaths in India. Our Believers in Kashmir are reporting the same news with a personal perspective. Kelu recently wrote in an email, "The situation of Kashmir is very critical. Every day here is only counting of dead bodies due to this pandemic in which five of our brothers have died due to this COVID. I am very helpless this time. We are not able to help these families; their children are hungry due to the curfews and lockdowns."

But, our Believers are doing what they can, distributing rice, flour, facemarks, and medical supplies when not restricted by lockdowns. 2wells is sending monthly support to help purchase these important supplies. Also, because of the generosity of one of our families who support 2wells, we were able to purchase two cows for two of our families. A cow produces enough milk to feed a family of four. This frees the father to minister full-time.

Kelu also writes, "7 more Brothers accept Jesus Christ in month of March!" So in spite of the hardship, the Kingdom of God continues to grow! Thank you for your prayers, and investment into the ministry of 2wells!
-Brad

How can you partner with 2wells?

• Pray that God will continue to open doors of ministry and His Word during the pandemic.
• Share this information with trusted and like-minded friends who want to stay informed about the work of 2wells in Kashmir. (For their protection, please do not post the above pictures on social media.)
• Give. Thank you for your regular support of our ministry. Our vision of investing in self-sustaining micro-businesses continues. Plus, the basic needs of food and medicine because of the virus and the political situation are always with the people.

Give through the CASH App (cashtag $2wellsOrg) or by clicking here.

Thank you!

COVID Can't Stop God's Work...

 

Even in the middle of a pandemic...

We saw a lot of great things happen through 2wells in 2020! And we were able to see them happen because of your faithfulness in praying and giving.

Here is a summary of what we were a part of in Kashmir in 2020:

• 113 Converted to Christ
• 18 Baptisms
• 340 Total Baptisms through our ministry
• 35 New villages visited for establishing house churches
• 76 total house churches established through our ministry
• 25 families received physical relief (food, clothing, essentials)
• 3 Cows purchased for micro-businesses to support our leaders (pastors)
• Provided monetary gifts to the widows of our two leaders who died from COVID
• Development of Friday evening house prayer meetings
• Fasting and prayer among our leaders on Mondays & Thursdays
• Wednesday morning prayer walks 

It is a privilege to partner with you in ministry to the people of Kashmir and northern India. Thank you for your faithfulness!

-Brad

Become a regular monthly donor!

We very much appreciate one-time gifts. Also, regular monthly donations allow us to budget our support and plan projects throughout the year. You can donate regularly through the CASH app (Cashtag: $2wellsorg), through PayPal (click the "Donate" link below, or via check (to the address below). Thank you!

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Our mailing address is:

2wells.org

382 Still Meadow Ln

Flintstone, GA  30725

COVID Won't Stop Kingdom Work!

New Brothers in God's Kingdom!

 The three individual pictures are new Believers from an unreached area where our team is doing pioneer work. It is slow and difficult, but these three are now 'with us'!

The fourth picture shows Kelu with a long-time friend who a few days ago committed his life to Christ. The Lord is good!

Believer's Baptism!

 Three people were baptized last month... A risky yet powerful step for them!

Two Micro-Businesses Begun!

 Because of your generosity, we were able to buy cows for two more Believer families so they can have their own self-supporting businesses, and therefore be able to devote themselves full-time to ministry.

Want to be a part of what God is doing?

Here are three ways you can partner with us:

• Pray that God will continue to open doors of ministry and His Word. The lives of these wonderful people were already difficult before the revoking of Article 370 and the Covid pandemic. Continue to open doors Lord!
• Share this information with trusted and like-minded friends who want to stay informed with about work of 2wells in Kashmir. (For their protection, please do not post the above pictures on social media.) Your friends can subscribe at the top of this page.
• Give. Thank you to those who regularly support our ministry. Our vision of investing in self-sustaining micro-businesses continues. Additionally, basic needs of food and medicine because of the virus and political situation are always before the people.

Give through the CASH App (cashtag $2wellsOrg) or click the 'Donate' button at the top left of this page.

Thank you!

-Brad

2wells is Now Officially a Non-Profit Organization!

Recently we received word from the IRS that we have been given our 501c3 federal tax-exempt status. We have been praying for this to happen for quite some time now, and needless to say we are celebrating!

This will allow our friends and supporters to receive tax benefits for contributing to the work of 2wells as we minister in India. From this point forward we will be sending end-of-year contribution statements to all of our friends who faithfully and sacrificially support our ministry. Thank you to those who have been sending financial support up to now. We are blessed!

Thank you for your continued investment into the ministry of 2wells. We are able transfer emergency funds to our leaders in Kashmir in spite of the lockdown. Plus, during my last mission trip there this past Spring, we stratagized and initiated several projects that we are continuing to fund.

Pray for miraculous provision for our Kashmiri Believers. Pray also that many Muslims will come to Christ because of the hardship there imposed by the government. We are seeing this situation not as a setback, but rather as an opportunity to expand the Kingdom of God!

We invite you to contribute to the ministry of 2wells in Kashmir by using the CASH App (Cashtag: $2wellsOrg) or click the 'Donate' button on the upper left of this page. Thank you!

Reflections Of India, Before I Go Again...

Today I leave for India with my oldest son. Over the last 10 years I have had the opportunity of traveling to India to conduct mission trips 15 times. I am truly blessed!

This morning as I was running, I began to remember the experiences and feelings that have impacted my life. As I share some of these, please know my heart: God gets all of the glory. I am only a carrier of His Presence. I have had the privilege to:

• Run for miles along the Indian Ocean in the south, and hiked for miles in the Himalayas in the north.
• Preach the Gospel to crowds of thousands, and sit on the dirt floor in houses of poor farmers to share the Gospel.
• Ride multiple times on the Indian Railway, including a 37 hour journey (the very first time I rode the train in India).
• Hold and pray for a special-needs boy as his family received medical care.
• Sit with a village official in his home and pray with him to commit his life to Christ.
• Stand under a banyan tree and share Christ with 12 women, and watched as seven committed their lives to Him.
• Raise finances for a well in a village that had no fresh water.
• Preach in hundreds of churches, homes, and open-air meetings.
• Sit in the executive office of one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in India, and pray with him to commit his life to Christ.
• Go house to house in a leaper colony, praying for and hugging the leapers.
• Dine in the homes of Indian church planters, hearing their stories of God's moving.
• Run on city and neighborhood streets, praying as I ran for the people and the cities.
• Speak at the chapel service of one of the most prestigious Indian medical schools, where over 400 doctors, patients, and staff heard the Gospel.
• Minister and conducted medical camps in an area that was ravaged by a 100-year flood.
• Walk through dozens of schools, encouraging and praying for students and teachers, and sharing the Gospel.
• Organize and conducted hundreds of free medical camps in villages.
• Direct money raised from supporters to equip several sewing centers where a skill is taught to young women, and who hear the Gospel as they learn.
• Stand on a mountainside and see the remains of a village that was completely covered by a mudslide, where 46 people died.
• See and experience countless miracles of physical healing, restoration, and demonic release.
• Hear countless stories of God's daily provision and the opening of doors, from a former Muslim Believer who daily lays his life on the line to reach the 1.3 million Muslims in his city.
• Baptize former Muslims as new Believers in Christ!

I could go on for pages... Remembering God's faithfulness in all of this makes me glad that I will go again, and give myself for the sake of the Kingdom! As my wife is fond of saying, "When Brad goes to India, God shows-off, and he gets to be a part of it!"

You can participate financially in ongoing ministry efforts (deep-water wells, sewing machines, medicines, setting-up businesses to support poor pastors) by clicking the Donate link at the top left of the main page. Thank you!

Stormy Weather

The past few weeks have produced some strong spring thunderstorms where I live. In other parts of the country, a fourth nor-easter of the month has hit. The weather seems to be more volatile than ever.

Actually, we have always had severe weather to contend with. It appears to be more severe and more frequent because of our access to instant news reports. And, the effect of social media by posting and reposting weather reports makes it seem worse that it really is.

When we encounter storms, and when we encounter the storms of life, we get concerned, nervous, and afraid. That is our natural reaction to the disruption of our normal lives. How we respond to those storms is a great indicator of what we are trusting in. Storms not only demonstrate our faith, but they also increase our faith.

Psalm 46:1-3 says: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

The psalmist is describing a great storm, one that could be weather related or a storm of life. He mentions trouble, fear, losing control (the earth give way), disruption of the normal (the mountains fall), ongoing problems (waters roar and foam), and foundations shaking (mountains quake).

One of the things that strikes me about this psalm (I encourage you to read all of it) is that it makes the assumption that storms will come, problems will arise, normal life will be disrupted. None of us can escape from storms.

Another thing that strikes me about this psalm is the lack of panic in the words and expression of the writer. There is a strong, secure “tone” that is expressed, even when describing the storms he is encountering.

Twice, in verses 7 and 11, the psalmist says these words: The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. He is assuring not only the readers of who his trust is placed in, but he is also reminding himself who his trust is placed in: The Lord.

Bottom line: Be ready for storms: They will come. Trust in the Lord before, after, and during the storm. Assure yourself of God’s help. (I memorized this psalm as a 16 year old and it is one of my personal go-to Scriptures.)

By the way, verse 10, Be still, and know that I am God is not a mandate for quiet worship. It is God telling us that amid storms, problems, difficulties, and obstacles, we need to stop fretting, worrying, and stressing. We are to rather be still (quiet, relaxed, calm) and trust God to protect us and take care of us

He has, He does, and He will. Lead Well!

If you would like to receive updates of my 2018 India Mission Trip, enter your email address at the top left of this page.

Coming... India 2018!

This week I confirmed dates with my India contacts, purchased airline tickets, and now things are gaining momentum... In May I am officially traveling to India for 16 days my 16th Mission Trip there!

Since 2007, I have traveled to India from the USA for the sole purpose of investing into the Indian people by providing deep water wells, medical care, workforce skills, medicine, leader training, and Gospel proclamation.

By partnering together with local pastors and leaders, we are able to provide physical and spiritual help to the less fortunate and unreached Indian people.

From large rallies with thousands in attendance where the Gospel is preached, to small villages where free medical camps are conducted and wells are dug, my trips are packed with early morning to late night ministry and service.

The impact of our time of ministry is continued and even multiplied because we always work through the local pastors and leaders who will continue the work in their regions.

This year I will be concentrating my focus of ministry in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu-Kashmir. I will be partnering with three very influential Indian leaders whom I have worked with for many years.

My wife and I are able to purchase my travel tickets for this trip, but with any endeavor of this size, I am seeking financial support for medicines, in-country travel, and gifts for poor local pastors.

If you would like to help support my 2018 India Mission Trip, click here on the "give" button from the drop-down menu at the top left of this page.

Thank you for your interest, investment, and prayer support... Lead Well!

(There are some things that I cannot publicly post to protect my partners in India, but if you would like more details and specifics of my trip, I invite you to sign-up for my India Mailing List by entering your email address from the drop-down menu at the top left of this page.)

Resolutions Or Revolution?

Here we go… a new year! Resolutions, commitments, goals, visions... And to motivate and encourage us, we read Blogs, posts, and words of wisdom. (I have posted my share.) But, instead of resolutions, how about if we start a revolution? Read on...

Allow me to be simple: As Believers, you and I have the sacred responsibility to be salt, light, encouragement, Disciple-makers, and Kingdom-builders. I am not referring to standing on the street corner with a bullhorn, being more of a nuisance than an inspiration.

Rather, I am referring to the pattern Jesus established for us: Daily, consistent, purposeful words and deeds, investing into the lives of others, to draw them to the Lord, and draw them to invest themselves in others.

Doesn’t sound that simple, does it? Allow me to give you an easy first step: Love. Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” How can we let the world know we are followers of Christ? It’s simple: Love each other.

Here are three suggestions that will demonstrate our love for others:

• Share Grace rather than Gossip. Listen to yourself: How often do you talk about others (including game officials, politicians, waiters, and strangers who take a long time in the line in front of us)? Jesus said that life doesn’t revolve around us. By seeing others as real people, with real needs, and real heartaches, instead of seeing them as inconveniences and people with contrary opinions, we'll stop our gossip.
• Pray For rather than Post About those we disagree with (again including game officials, politicians, waiters, and strangers). Imagine how your world and the world of a person would change if you stopped and prayed for the person you had a problem with, rather than publicly gossiped about them? (Isn’t that what posting displeasure is: Gossip?)
• Love rather than Judge others. We are quick to judge. Usually it’s because others are different from us: Different culture, different opinions, different tastes, even different worship styles. When we judge, we evaluate others based on what we think is right. As we see it, our opinion outweighs truth. And truth can only be found in God’s Word. When a person is contrary to God’s Word, we should love them to Him, not judge them away from Him.

I am believing that this next year will be a great year for the Kingdom of God. We can play a big part in expanding that Kingdom and building Disciples by being people of love. That’s how the world will know that we are His disciples. And that will revolutionize our lives.

Lead Well!

Putting Generosity On Pause At Christmas

I love being a Christian! And I love the Christmas season! Music, celebration, family, and the focused attention on Jesus Immanuel: God with us. It seems that most Westerners (Americans) love the Christmas season, even the ones who do not know the true meaning of it.

But Christmas is so much more than lights and music. It’s so much more than shopping and gift-giving. It’s so much more than and parties with food & drink. Or is it?

Look at these verses from God’s Word:

• James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress… 
• Luke 14:12-13 “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” (Jesus) said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”

We tend to focus on our needs, our friends & family, and our fun during the Christmas season. But as you see, we are instructed to look beyond ourselves. And not only during the Christmas season, but all year long.

I recently made this statement in a social media post: Don’t get so busy with Christmas, that you neglect being Christian. Allow me to ask you to go back, re-read, and consider those words.

As Believers, we are called to (and hopefully committed to) caring for the orphans and widows, and ministering to the poor, crippled, lame and blind. But often the busyness of life causes us to move away from our chosen lifestyle of care, compassion, and ministry. We get distracted by the ours in our lives, and forget about the others that God has placed in front of us.

May we set aside our needs, our desires, and our fun during the Christmas season. And may we be consistent all year long in being generous, caring, and ministry-focused, especially to those outside of our regular influence. Lead Well!

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Un-Thanksgiving Day

Imagine a world where we don't take off two days from work, don't gather and cook food to give away to the less fortunate, don't travel vast distances to be with our families, and don't fight voluminous crowds to get good deals at stores. What if we stopped celebrating Thanksgiving?

I heard a collective gasp as readers of this Blog placed their hands over their mouths in horror at the mere suggestion of the above paragraph. How un-American! How un-Christian! How un-Pilgrim! Stop celebrating Thanksgiving? Off with his head!

Why do we take one day a year to stop and be thankful for the wonderful things God has provided for us? Why do we take one day a year to give to the needy? Why do we take one day a year to cherish our families?

Allow me to ask it another way: Why aren't we thankful the other 364 days of the year? Why aren't we accumulating food and giving it to the poor regularly? Why aren't we cherishing our families every day?

Take a look at this: I Thessalonians 5:16-18 says Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

It seems to me that the biblical lifestyle presented here to Christians is to not wait until the fourth Thursday of November, but to always rejoice, to always pray, and to always and in everything give thanks. These aren't simply nice suggestions to add to our already crowded lives, but they are mandates for Believers to have as core values for their lives.

A bonus: For those who are truly seeking God's will for their lives (and I hope all Believers are), the above verses are God's will for our lives.

If we were always and in everything thankful, Thanksgiving Day would be just another day for us. Or rather, every day would be Thanksgiving Day. If we were always rejoicing, then we wouldn't have to wait for something good to come our way to cause us to have joy. If we were always praying, well imagine how powerful and effective our lives would be!

Imagine a world like I just described... Happy un-Thanksgiving Day! Lead Well!

The Truth About Worship Wars

Worship Wars. The very mention of that term causes Lead Pastors to sweat, and Worship Pastors to think about updating their resumes.

It may have only been coined as a term in the last few decades, but Worship Wars have been going on pretty much as long as people have been worshipping God.

Worship Wars. May I ask us to step back, and not define it as a conflict of musical styles (modern vs. traditional, old hymns vs. new praise songs, loud vs. soft,  pipe organ vs. Hammond B3, piano vs. band, etc.). Instead, may I suggest that instead of using the term Worship Wars, we use the term Pride Wars. (Please read on. Don't allow me to offend your pride at this point...)

Almost every conflict over musical style is based on personal preference. And almost every conflict over personal preference is based on... personal preference: What I Like vs. What You Like. And if we are honest, when I chose what I like over what you like, I am choosing me over you. And that translates into Pride. My way is better, My choice is better, My opinion is better.

This conflict based on personal preference which is ultimately rooted in Pride is not limited to musical/worship preferences in church. It is usually the root of any conflict between people. Cain and Abel conflicted over which type of sacrifice was better (My way is better). Gosh, even Adam and Eve conflicted over what to eat (My fruit is better).

Back to Worship Wars. Be honest: If you don't like a particular style, song, instrument, leader, etc., isn't it you who don't like it? (I can see you right now creating a mental list of others who agree with your preference). Your preference drives your likes and dislikes, but admit it: It is motivated by you and what you like or don't like.

I know of people who have gone to great lengths to find something to criticize about a particular church, ministry, or even songwriter simply because they don't like a style of a song(s) coming from that church, ministry, or songwriter. ("Hey! Let's gossip, slander, and bash someone because we don't like them. After all, that's what Christians are supposed to do, right?")

Worship Wars. Notice I haven't given my preferences about musical styles, songs, instruments, or leaders. Why? Because I want to make sure that my preferences don't bleed through because of my pride. I seek to offer biblical support of my theology of worship (then it becomes God's words, not mine). But I am simply asking us to look at personal preference and pride here.

Personal story: When I was being interviewed for my current Worship Ministry staff position (which I absolutely love), I was asked what my favorite style of music was. The smart answer was, "I like all styles." Instead I answered, "I believe the correct question is, 'What style of music will help a congregation to have freedom to intimately and passionately worship the Lord?' That is what we should be asking." (I got the job, so I guess that was a good answer.)

Then there's the question: How do we reach the next generation in our churches? Look at Galatians 5:13: You my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. If musical style is about our desires (pride), and we are not setting aside our preferences to reach others, we won't reach them. Period.

Worship Wars. The next time you find yourself disliking a particular musical style, song, instrument, or leader, ask yourself: Is this about making me happy, or is it about bringing honor to the Lord? Also ask: How can I lay aside my personal preferences and pride, and find a way to help someone else find the Lord, and help someone else worship Him intimately and passionately?

Lead Well!

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