Establishing New Mission Fields

India is the greatest harvest field in the world! While we wait for Jesus’ second coming, millions in India have not had the opportunity to hear about Jesus’ first coming. Serve India Ministries is currently partnering with 638 missionary-pastors in 11 states in India. Each one is being equipped to plant five churches over the next five years. That is 3,000 villages representing over 3,000,000 people living in these villages! One of our Serve India pastors had an interesting encounter in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India:

Thirsting for Living Water
Rolling like a log on the ground, propelling yourself with knees and elbows, is a grueling way to show devotion to your god. Add scorching heat and a long dry road and it becomes an ordeal. During an annual Hindu festival at a village in Tamil Nadu in India, Krishna traveled this way for two miles before fainting. Onlookers revived him with water, splashing it on him and offering him some to drink. But he refused to drink it, explaining that his destination was the temple and that he would incur the wrath of his gods if he took a drink before arriving there and performing certain rituals known as “pujas.”

Pastor Raju witnessed this scene, felt compassion, and silently prayed for the man as he resumed his horizontal trek. The man rolled only a few more feet before fainting again. Pastor Raju offered him water, and this time he immediately accepted it. “Sir,” said Krishna, “I do not know who you are, but you look like an angel of God and that is why I accepted the water you gave.” Pastor Raju accompanied Krishna to his home and stayed there for two days, offering him Living Water, telling him the good news of the Gospel.  The man and his entire family accepted Jesus as their Savior. They now get regular visits from the pastor and are part of a new prayer cell in the village.

Your donations helped send Pastor Raju to this village, and now an entire community will be changed forever. This is one of many reports we receive in our U.S. office telling of the mighty ways God is moving in India. Many of you have sacrificed to maintain your monthly support to the church-planting efforts in Asia. Because of your commitment, we were strengthened for the challenges that lay ahead. Together we placed our shoulder to the plow and forged forward while others would have walked away. We are grateful to each of you and the legacy of your faithfulness, which is seen in the lives of thousands that are changed forever by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This month we launch our Mission Field Development Fund drive for 2010. Our goal is to start fifteen new mission fields next year. Our operational budget falls far short in fulfilling these needs, and because of the urgency of these last days, Serve India Ministries is committed to growing instead of just maintaining.

Each new mission field of 20 pastors takes between six months to a year of work by our India leadership to develop. It costs approximately $3,000 to establish and maintain the field during this initial timeframe, while we wait an additional six months to find financial sponsors for each missionary-pastor in the field.

The goal for our 2010 Mission Field Development Fund is to raise at least $45,000; this will enable us to start fifteen new mission fields. Any additional funds raised will be used in the support of our un-sponsored missionary-pastors.  (Currently Serve India Ministries has 200 unsponsored missionary-pastors.) Serve India Ministries is committed to sendi

ng 100% of all designated funds to its specific mission field or project. (Each of the U.S. staff raises all of their support, and we take nothing out of mission field donations for our U.S. operations.) This Mission Field Development Fund will allow our leaders to start new mission fields and allow all our missionary-pastors to reach out to five villages with the Gospel for Jesus Christ.

With the current economic crisis that has impacted nearly everyone, most of us are cutting back to accommodate changes in our financial situation. We understand the financial pressure many of you and your families are under. Serve India Ministries as well has been forced to make many adjustments, but the harvest is so great that we can’t lose our momentum now!

So it is with sensitivity that we come to you today. We’re in this together, and while some of us are unable to do what we might like to do, perhaps all of us can do something. Please  consider how you might help Serve India Ministries grow in 2010. Just $3,000 will give the seed needed to establish a new mission field and eventually help plant 100 churches in unreached villages. $3,500 will support 100 missionary-pastors for an entire month. A donation of $105 will support a missionary-pastor’s outreach for three months.

We are inviting you to share through several different ways:  through cash giving, through volunteerism, and through in-kind contributions like publicly traded stock. In addition to the ability to give an online donation, you may also donate appreciated stock by clicking the link below and printing the "Stock Donation Form".

Imagine the hundreds of reports that will come into our office in coming months just like the report from Pastor Raju. These reports are more precious than gold. We are writing to ask your prayerful consideration of this opportunity, an investment in eternity. Our commitment is to steward your gifts with integrity and efficiency. Thank you for taking time to consider your involvement.

God bless you

Michael R. Erwin, Development Director

 

Print out the Stock Donation PDF

 

 

Donate to the Mission-Field Development Fund