Pray BFF #65                                   November 1, 2004

Observing God's Work in India

It was like stepping into a revival. God has been doing great things on the east coast of India. In just four years the church in Vizianagaram has doubled. When Hindus (non-Christians) heard we were there, not a few would come asking for prayer. Indeed there are vast numbers of unsaved Indians. But we praise God for His wonderful work which He has begun and will continue.

God used the pastor seminars to strengthen, equip and further encourage pastors, church planters and evangelists. We sponsered two pastor seminars that were very well attended and greatly enjoyed. Altogether, over 330 sat through the three days of meetings in the heat and humidity. God mightily answered your prayers.

We also held two other 3 day meetings which were not quite as intense for both pastors and laypeople. Each had about 130-150 attending by the end. Besides these Paul also had a chance to speak at seven other places including some tribal villages high in the mountains.

My prayer is that the work that was accomplished while I was there will be dwarfed next to what our Lord does in the upcoming days through that training. Each seminar attendee received a wonderfully done spiral bound 150 page book (full page). It was a translation of the BFF Godly Man Series into Telugu. They are incredibly happy with the translation and the material (printed for US$1.15 each). I praise God for supporting Pastor Stephen in the many heroic efforts that he made in faith. He knew we didn't have money to go until the very last moment, and yet he diligently prepared everything by faith. They were tremendously happy to see me at the airport!

Stephen's father had a serious talk with me, reviewing my time there. He is a well-known church planter/evangelist. He told me that the meetings were very well accepted, and that people very much want me to return. He mentioned perhaps going to larger cities. Pastor Stephen said that some suggested starting a correspondence school. We are glad for the positive response to the new ADT (Advanced Discipleship Training) material. It seems that God still has further plans to use that material.

If you somehow missed our prayer notes while in India, click here.
We also have a few pictures provided with the longer summary and review.

Back in the States

When busy in India, I realized that I could not easily focus on the ongoing web ministry through BFF. In prayer I trusted that ministry into the Lord's hands. Upon my return, I saw our faithful God doing tremendous things in other parts of the world. Praise God for a web-based ministry! Here are just three reports that we received upon my arrival at home.

We received a phone call from a couple in Brazil who were greatly helped through the Overcoming Anxiety seminar as well the Parenting series. Through the materials they have come out of a cult and now the husband, a physicist, feels a call to pastor.

A Detroit pastor is using the BFF Parenting materials to teach a class of 30 couples every Thursday evening. He says the first class was very well received. His van with the BFF Library was stolen; he wanted another BFF Library right away.

Pray for a man in Tasmania who wants to use BFF materials to teach while on a mission to a smaller Tasmanian island at the end of October.

We just want to thank you for your prayers and financial support. Only God could or would raise 88% of our support ($7,700) in just ten days! He confirmed His hand upon this ministry by supplying the needed funds at the very last minute.