Humble Settings, Hungry People

A dirt field, bare wires strung across dead trees, lights hung on a rusty nail, a rustic stage, a makeshift pulpit... The last three evenings have been held in villages, two of them out under the stars. The team set up a portable P.A. system and a keyboard, and when the worship began people gathered from all around.

A few times the power went out and we raised our voices and preached with two penlights illuminating us. But people heard the Gospel and people committed their lives to Jesus!

The work that the pastors are doing in the small villages is very important. There is no other Christian influence, and the Kingdom is growing because of their labor.

I counted it a privilege to minister in such difficult circumstances to such hungry people. Tomorrow we get up early to travel to a Koya village (a half-days drive over some very difficult terrain). I know it will be great day of ministry! Thank you for sharing in it with me as you follow this Blog.

India Video!

Putting Away Idols

Monday was a bit of a "catching-up day for rest" as we have been going strong for seven days straight. Pastor Daniel and I visited this evening in the home of a family who as Christians, have been witnessing to their next-door neighbors. The second family have recently come to know Christ, but their home was still full of Hindu idols.

We were asked to come over and pray that they would have the courage to "clean house". Please remember that we are talking about a religion that goes back literally thousands of years in most Hindu families. It's not like switching TV channels. There is persecution, disownment from their wider family, and generally they become social outcasts in their communities.

After a time of worship, I had the privilege of sharing a word of encouragement with them. Pastor Daniel and I prayed for the father of the house (he is very ill), and the entire household, and then another local pastor (a graduate of the Immanuel's School of the Bible in India) went through the house and "bagged up" all the statues, pictures and any other false god or indication of their former religion.

It was a HUGE day for the family and a HUGE day for me!

Salvation, Signs & Wonders

Saturday began with an excellent time of worship at the first of three crusade meetings that day. The first speaker preached in Telugu (I did my best to understand...). Pastor Charles spoke next (in English) on leaving a legacy to our children and grandchildren. What a great encouragement to believers!

Following the afternoon service, we had a time of water baptism. Pastor Daniel asked me to join him in the baptism "tank" and share in the baptism of over 60 new believers. What an incredible experience! To have the opportunity to personally lay hands on, pray for, and baptize 30+ Indian believers while Pastor Daniel baptized the others was an experience I will not forget. Many of the new converts to Christianity were Koya, an Indian people group that until very recently was unreached. The highlight of that highlight was when Pastor Daniel asked me to baptize his teenage daughter Susan (pictured with me), whom I had shared Christ with last May as we traveled on the train to Kashmir. WOW!

That evening Pastor Charles and I shared the platform and both preached messages of the hope and salvation of the Gospel. Close to 4,000 people gathered, and at the altar call time, upwards of 450 people responded to the invitation to follow Christ! After they were led in a prayer, Pastor Charles and I anointed everyone who came forward with oil, praying for the power of God, and healing on their lives.

This morning at the Sunday worship service (around 3,000 attending), Pastor Charles and I again shared the speaking responsibilities. This time he went first, as he had a plane to catch and return to the U.S.A. (I will be staying several more days to minister with Pastor Daniel in various venues.) The service concluded with me praying for the sick. Again the Lord was faithful to save, heal and deliver many people. The little boy I am pictured with was deaf in one ear and now he can hear! What a week!

The Big Weekend!

On Thursday evening we began the great evangelistic crusade, and it continued into Friday, with meetings in the morning, afternoon and evening. Pastor Charles and I shared Friday morning preaching duties (the usual way here is two messages in the morning, and two in the evening).

I had the afternoon service on my own (one message, then a time of prayer for the sick), and then after a brief rest and dinner break we were back at it in the evening with Pastor Daniel's brother Phillip preaching the first message and then Pastor Charles concluded the night with a powerful message on the woman at the well in John 4.

Hundreds came to give their lives to Christ as Pastor Daniel called them forward to make commitments. What an exciting event to experience! Seeing the hungry and even desperate spiritual condition of a person without Christ as their lives are transformed by their faith in Jesus is overwhelming! Glory to God!

What is also impressing me is the exuberance with which the Indian believers express while worshiping. Led by Pastor Daniel's young nephew Alfred (affectionately called Freddy), he and his team sing, worship exhort and guide the crowd to the throne of God with musical skill and powerful anointing. Keyboards, drums (some of them native Indian), flute, singers, dance and flags all combine to offer a passionate and intimate offering to the Lord! (Click here to view Freddy's music video.)

I have been with Freddy four times now over the past year, and it is exciting to see the maturity and greater level of skill and anointing that rests on his life. His diligent practice and hunger for the Lord have set him apart as a premier worship leader. His humble spirit only magnifies his effectiveness. It is an honor that he has allowed me to spend time with him and speak into his life as a bit of a mentor and leader.

Today we have a full day of crusade meetings, again with Pastor Charles as the main speaker. I will have the privilege of sharing the pulpit with him this evening as we conclude this great crusade.

May the Lord provide a great harvest of souls for His Kingdom!

Graduation

This morning we held the commencement exercise for the 10th graduating class of the Immanuel's Bible Training Center in India. It was a solemn and at the same time a celebrative atmosphere as the 30 graduates were charged by Pastor Charles and later given their diplomas.

This morning's event capped-off the previous two days of teaching, led mainly by Pastor Charles with contributions by two of Pastor Daniel's brothers and myself. I count it a privilege to commission and send out young, excited and trained workers into the mission field of India. May the harvest be plentiful!

This evening we begin a great evangelistic crusade where Pastor Charles and myself will be preaching to thousands of attendees who will be coming from all over the city and surrounding areas. We know that it will be a great beginning to the crusade which will last through Saturday evening.

Watch for great reports!

Hungry

The title of this post does not refer to the need for food in the stomach. Rather, it refers to the condition of the hearts that are present in the Bible School students.

As the Word of God is taught during the six sessions throughout each day, the expectation among the students, both present and former, is electric! It is almost as if one can hear them crying out, "More, more!"

The take notes with diligence. They hang on every word, spoken both by Pastor Charles (or myself) and the translator. They respond at the end of each session with renewed commitment to serving the Lord. This is truly a remarkable, dedicated, eager and passionate group.

Pastor Charles has been teaching on the Song of Solomon, highlighting the love of the bridegroom for his bride, and the love of the bride for her husband. With the same devotion that is described by Solomon, we are being encouraged to love our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also hearing about young men and women in the scriptures who were passionately in love with the Father, and who had given themselves whole-heartedly to serving the Lord.

I am teaching on Elisha, another from God's Word who was passionately in love with the Father, and who was fully committed to serving Him. His encounter with Elijah, as Elijah was about to be taken up to heaven, is giving an excellent backdrop for teaching and encouragement to be humble, serving and passionate about following after God.

This afternoon and evening will be more of the same, and we will conclude tomorrow morning with the commencement exercises for the 10th graduating class! Then beginning tomorrow evening, a great evangelistic crusade starts, and we are expecting to see many come to trust in Jesus and many to receive healing and restoration as we pray for them.

The move of God is strong here in India! Continue to pray that it gets stronger!

The Ministry Begins!

Greetings from India! Right now it is Tuesday afternoon in Kazipet, and we have begun the time of ministry among the Bible School students, graduates and alumni. On Monday evening, the day Pastor Charles and I arrived, we gave the graduation presents to the 30 graduates that make up the 10th graduating class of the Immanuel's School of the Bible in India.

It was exciting to see the joy in the faces of the graduates, as they were presented with bicycles, P.A. systems or sewing machines (whichever would best suit their ministry needs). They expressed their thanks to the people of Immanuel's Church who provided the gifts, and who regularly support the work of the Bible School here in India.

This morning Pastor Charles spoke to the 360+ current and past students out of the Song of Solomon, encouraging them that they are loved by the Lord, as a bridegroom loves his bride. The passion and heart for the Lord is very evident in their lives as they worshipped, prayed and received the Word from Pastor Charles.

I will be speaking this afternoon, and Pastor Charles will speak again this evening.

It is a privilege to be among so many who are completely committed to the work of the Lord among their people. I am honored to be here and see what God is doing in this part of the world.

More to come!

The Adventure Begins... Not Yet!

It's Saturday morning, February 28th, and I'm sitting in the JFK airport in New York. My flight out of Baltimore was delayed on Friday evening because of high winds in New York, and when we finally landed, I watched my Emirates connecting flight lifting off!

The next flight for me leaves sometime after 11:00 am on Saturday (that one is delayed also - I'm looking out the window at it right now.). With the help of Gina Emmanuel, calling her and bothering her after 11:30 pm on Friday, I was able to contact Pastor Daniel's son Jesher to notify him of my delay. (Many thanks to Gina!)

But, now worries from me! Other than a long night on a bench at JFK, I'm no worse for wear and enjoying the time alone reading and studying (and a new song may be brewing in my heart). The only downside is that I was supposed to preach at Pastor Daniel's church on Sunday morning but that won't happen because I don't arrive in India until Sunday night.

Well, the adventure has already started... and it hasn't even started! Stay tuned...

A Message Of Hope... In Difficult Times

This Friday it's "wheels up" as I leave for India. I will be arriving in Hyderabad early on Sunday morning, and after a 2 1/2 hour drive to Kazipet, I will be partnering with Pastor Daniel Kalyanapu at the Immanuel's School of the Bible in India. My senior pastor, Charles Schmitt, will arrive on Monday from Israel, and together we will minister to the Bible School graduates, to the church at Kazipet, and at a crusade in the city.

Once again the opportunity was offered to me to come and minister to a people much like you and me, but who live in a different culture and have a different understanding of life. Neither ours nor theirs is wrong, better than the other, or worse than the other. Simply different.

Here in America, the people of our country are reeling under the pressures of a recessionairy economy. Many people's retirement funds have lost upwards of 30%. Layoffs have numbered in the hundreds of thousands. People are not able to take the expensive vacations they had planned, but must settle for recreation and entertainment closer to home.

In India, the vast majority of people for generations are simply seeking to feed their families the next meal, to accumulate enough rupees to take the hugely overcrowded bus to visit their relatives two hours away, and wait for the power to come back on during the daily blackouts so they can continue to cook supper.

Not better, not worse, simply different.

And so I go to India, equipped with the message of hope in Jesus. It's the same message that Americans need to hear: not because of the economy, nor because of the difficult times we are facing. But rather because hope is a universal need.

Differing cultures describe difficult times in different terms. But, all peoples need to hear the message of hope in Jesus because simply stated, all people are in need of hope.

Coming Soon... India 2009!

In less than two weeks I will be leaving once again for India for a couple of weeks of ministry. I will be joining up with my Senior Pastor, Charles Schmitt, who will be traveling to Israel for a week and then on to India.

Please visit this Blog often for regular updates of our trip. Our first day of ministry will be Sunday, March 1st.

Also, visit the Immanuel's Church website beginning next week for a special devotional tracing the journey of Pastor Charles and his team as they "walk where Jesus walked".

India is in my heart. Allow me to share my heart with you through this Blog.