Our friends and colleagues in India are finishing three week-long training sessions with Pastor Chris Donavan from IMMERSED. During the training, our Bible Workers have received many blessings, and God has given them the opportunity to reach out to people in the local community.
During the training, several Bible Workers shared that they have learned a lot they didn’t know before, and many wished they could have stayed longer, Israel Prasad, our India Director, shared.
The Bible Workers learned how to show, share, serve, and send. Pastor Chris helped them better understand discipleship and how everything is centered around the love of Jesus. Other study topics included: who is a missionary, how to make disciples, and how to nurture churches.
The Bible Workers had homework and time for group discussions and prayer throughout the training. They also had the opportunity to fellowship and grow closer to one another through talent shows, games, and other activities.
Each morning, the Bible Workers were given time to go on prayer walks outside our property where the training was being held. After a while, people from nearby villages grew curious and wanted to know what they were doing. When the Bible Workers explained that they were praying, the villagers asked if they could pray for them also. Soon, villagers started waiting at the side of the road for the Bible Workers to come and pray with them. So many, in fact, that they were making them late for class. They had to start taking down names and visiting people in the afternoon during their free time!
We are praying that we can build a church for this village as the people learn more about Jesus.
Local kids who heard the Bible Workers praying and singing during the training came to see what was happening. They enjoyed spending time with the Bible Workers and even started staying for dinner!
God is amazing! He is able to take whatever we give Him and make it into something much better than we can imagine. That’s what He is doing with these Bible Workers, and we pray that the seeds being planted now will grow into a plentiful harvest. Please join us in praying for the villagers to accept Jesus and for the Bible Workers to use what they learned during training to bless others in their villages.
What’s Next for Bible Worker Training?
We have dreamed of using our property in India for extended Bible Worker training for many years now. After several delays (including COVID-19), we can finally move forward.
Our current plan is to have a six-month training program open to Bible Workers from around India and young people interested in ministry. We have received encouragement from the South East India Union to have and promote the training.
Union departmental directors, retired pastors, and, Lord willing, some foreign guests will be conducting the training. Bible Workers who live close enough will be able to go home on the weekends to care for the churches they are shepherding. The participants will be involved in outreach to the local community as well.
The facilities of our property were sufficient for this short training, but to handle a long-term training program, we need to make some repairs and improvements to the buildings.
We would also like to outfit the space with eight sets of desks and benches, five more dining tables, and ten more beds, which will cost around $1,700.
We also plan to build a school/church building to accommodate more students and give non-local students a place to worship on Sabbaths.
As we see how God has blessed this short training session with Pastor Chris Donavan, we are excited to see what He will do during our new training program. We pray that God will use it mightily to further equip His workers to share the Gospel in India.
Please join us in praying for this new program and the work that must be done before it can start. Please pray that God will bring the right people to run and attend the training.
If God is leading you to help make Bible Worker training programs like this possible, please click the button below.
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