India 08 Report – Ministry in Port Blair and Vizag

Thank you for your prayers for our India 08 outreach! India is always a daunting challenge. With its 80 percent Hindu population, its idols, shrines, and the accompanying evil spirits I get the distinct impression that the evil one is not very happy when God’s children invade his domain for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God.

 In recent years India has become more and more closed to the gospel, especially by foreigners, but even Indian believers are experiencing increased persecution for their faith and their bold stand for Jesus. Churches have been burned and Christians have been beaten and even killed throughout India. While the government is officially tolerant of religion, they often seem to turn their backs when Hindus attack Christians.

Port Blair - Andaman Islands 

Because of this I have had to scale back on outdoor, publicized crusades, but there are still many opportunities to minister in India, when it is done discreetly, and kept under the radar. My first ministry stop was in the city of Port Blair, which is one of the Andaman Islands, a considerable distance off the coast of India. I visited here last year, and it is not normally my policy to go to the same place for two consecutive years. But because of the great desire and desperate need for ministry training on this remote island, I decided to return again this year and establish a Spirit of Grace School of Ministry there. I had been in frequent contact with Pastor Raja Wilson who strongly urged us to commit to a school there.

 Pastor Wilson is a remarkable man of God who along with his wife, have begun an orphanage which is touching many lives. In the last two years that orphanage has gone from just a few children to around sixty today. As I toured the orphanage I was blessed to see how clean and happy the children were. Not only were they being taken care of, but these children, almost all of them from a Hindu background, were being taught about Jesus and were giving their lives to Christ. Pastor Wilson reminded me of the great George Mueller, as he shared how they have had times where they couldn’t see where the money would come from to continue to feed the children, and then God would miraculously provide for them.

 Our schools of ministry are based on a two year program and focus on Biblical training by way of mp3 players and a library of Christian books that cover both theology and biographies of the great Christian leaders of church history. I shared for two evenings with the students on the importance of preparation for ministry and the value of God’s inspired word. We had 26 students there, eager to participate in the program and excited to be given the opportunity for this training which had never before been offered on the islands. It was a thrill to be able, at such a small cost, to provide a solid education for them in the word of God. They will be listening to teachings by Chuck Swindoll, James Kennedy, Greg Laurie, and other great teachers of God’s word on their mp3 players, and will be reading books by and about such great church leaders as George Whitefield, Andrew Murray, C. S. Lewis, Charles Finney, and many others.

 Local church leaders will be meeting weekly with the students and giving teachings and instructions in ministry specifically relevant to the body of Christ in India.

 After kicking off the school of ministry I then led a two day conference for pastors of the Andaman Islands. We had men traveling from some of the far islands and taking up to three days travel to participate in the conference. We had great meetings, despite the monsoon-like rains that fell throughout the conference. The Holy Spirit seemed pleased to richly bless the ministry and to encourage these wonderful men and women of God who face such difficulties ministering in places where Christianity is not welcomed and believers are considered an oddity.

Ministry in Vizag

 After ministering in the Andaman Islands I then flew to the city of Vizag to preach in a general church conference held annually by a wonderful man of God that I have come to dearly love and appreciate. Pastor George Raju is one of the most remarkable men I have ever known. In his youth he was a rebel and was considered the black sheep of the family, constantly getting into trouble of various kinds. In his adulthood he turned his considerable energies towards his career and became an important and highly successful government official. But after being born again George began sensing God’s calling on his life for ministry. It was a difficult decision to lay down his highly paid position to become a preacher of the gospel, but once it was made George never looked back. He is now in his seventies and has had a long and fruitful career in the ministry, and has become a spiritual father of many churches and individuals. One man who was converted under his ministry told me that it was George’s tears and tenderness that often surface when he preaches or shares Christ that convinced him of the reality of the gospel.

 Pastor George somehow has come to have a great love for our Lord’s return and for the nation of Israel. It is really a blessing to see his church singing Israeli songs with an Indian accent and solemnly praying for the peace of Jerusalem. “Shalom, shalom, Jerusalem” is one of their common declarations.

 I was blessed to be joined in Vizag by my great friend John Ishmael. It was through John that I first came to India, and he has been instrumental in the opening of many doors for my ministry there. John also taught in the conference and was a blessing to the people. John is one of the few Indian evangelists who preaches frequently on the Lord’s return. He also publishes a Christian magazine with a circulation that reaches throughout the nation.

 As we met together in morning and evening sessions we saw the crowd increasing each day. By the final night the large church was packed. More importantly there was a rich presence of the Holy Spirit moving upon our hearts as we sang and praised, and as I preached on the prophetic significance of Jerusalem.

 In the evening sessions I gave an invitation to receive Christ each night. Even though this was not technically a crusade, evangelism was definitely taking place as we saw dozens of Indians coming forward to give their lives to Jesus. After one service one of the ladies brought a friend she worked with to meet me. This lady was a Hindu, but had a secret interest in Jesus. She had lied to her husband about where she was going that night just to be able to come and hear about Jesus.

 Each night I laid hands on any who wanted prayer, and each night I was swamped with great numbers of people that surrounded me, eager for prayer. I’m sure many of them could not understand what I was praying but we both knew that our great God understands both English and Hindi and would not be limited by our lack of a common language.

The Love of God

 The more I do evangelism, the more convinced I am that evangelism is all about God’s love. The most popular of all verses tells us that “God so loved the world” He gave His only begotten Son. As I minister in the nations of the world I often sense God’s loving heartbeat towards His creation. And though the Hindus may attack the church they are not our enemy; they are among those for who Christ died. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers…”

 It is a high privilege to be a part of God’s plan of love for His creation. That plan is summed up in the words “the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Let us be about the spread of that gospel to all the nations of the world. If you cannot go, you can pray. If you cannot preach you can give. But we all must do something. Souls are too precious and time is too short for us to sit idly by while false religion leads untold millions to that place where the worm does not die and the fire is never quenched.

 God’s preference is always mercy. The Scriptures tell us that He would have all men to be saved; He is not willing that any should perish. May we pray and pour out our lives for the truth of those simple words of Jesus: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.”