Berean India Mission Update
“Go Multiply!”
It has been a tremendous trip to India: the joy of seeing friends, of teaching the youth, of enjoying the beauty of the sunrise over the Bay of Bengal with my wife. The list could go on and on. However, if I did not got to do anything other than what I had the privilege of doing the last day of the youth conference in Tamil Nadu it would have been worth the trip.
At times, the ministry in Tamil Nadu has struggled. Over the ten years that we have been involved, local leadership has changed a half a dozen times. Some men have gotten discouraged and left the ministry while others have transferred to different areas and ministries. Of all the men we have trained, we only have 13 pastors remaining. However, on Tuesday morning I got to pray a prayer of dedication over eight young men that were being commissioned for ministry. They have been given the title of “lay pastor,” but they represent another generation of Berean pastors to reach the villages and lost of Tamil Nadu.
Jesus made clear to His disciples the task of the church, “going, MAKE DISCIPLES of the nations.” Yep, this is it. This is what it is about. Multiplication! Jesus was saying the way we evangelize the world is to MULTIPLY! So, Pastor JD, who I have had the privilege of teaching and encouraging over the last ten years has taken that to heart. He has trained and equipped three young men to carry on the ministry, to make disciples. It has not been easy. In those ten years he has had a mentally handicapped son, who requires constant care. He had young twins, one of which was electrocuted as a young child. But when I gave the charge to these three young disciples and commended him for his faithfulness, the joy in his heart and on his face was palpable.
How will India be won for Christ? Through discipleship. JD has built several church buildings to minister in. They give him cred, allowing him to be considered viable in the eyes of the locals. I concede that, but buildings will not reach India, discipleship will. Multiply! That’s what Jesus said.
How will the United States be won for Christ? Through discipleship. Who are you discipling? Investing in? Pouring what you have learned into? The command remains, MULITIPLY!
Your brother,
Tom Walker
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