Into India
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
On the last day of a pastor’s conference in India, elders from Southeast hid buckets of water and washcloths under tablecloths. They prayed about how to close out their time with Caleb Premanandam and the 25 pastors in Harvest Ministries who reach out in 10,465 villages in the Telangana District.
At the end of their final night meeting, the elders pulled the pans of water out from under the tables and began to wash the pastors’ feet. Some pastors cried. Others prayed.
When they were finished, for the next two hours, each person at the conference shared their story.
In spite of opposition, in the past 15 years, these Indian pastors have started 70 small groups, seven churches and baptized more than 11,000 people.
They live on meager funds in the villages where they evangelize.
Some have been beaten and threatened as they go from village to village on bicycle.
When a pastor was doused with acid and killed, it only strengthened their resolve. The dedication to evangelism shown by Harvest Ministries' pastors is
humbling, said Southeast Elder Gary Ottman.
That week, elders and pastors at the conference visited outreach ministries together. They saw women learning how to sew on machines donated by
Southeast. Once they graduate from the program, these women can support their families and repay the loan to purchase their sewing machine so
funds are available for the next group.
Elder John Schmitt, a business owner in Kentucky and Indiana, said the microenterprise model has worked well.
“There, a woman can make enough money to make the payment on their home or buy food for the children,” he said. “That means so much when they
are the only ones supporting their families, and the program is self-sustaining as women pay back their loans. Southeast has made a tremendous
investment in the ministry there.”
Hope with HIV
That same day, the group went to another outreach of Harvest Ministries—an HIV Clinic where patients receive medical care, support and help with food and medicine.
Though the clinic is for both men and women, Ottman said only women came for treatment while the elders were there.
“Caleb told us the men are either dead or have fled,” Ottman said.
Many of the women who come to the clinic are confined to one room of the family home. They are only allowed to leave for clinic appointments.
The group also visited a school, where 350 children live and learn. None would be able to attend school without sponsorships through Harvest
Ministries. Many have no parents, and others come from single-parent homes, where the mother is HIV-positive.
As the elders prepared to leave on June 30, Premanandam agreed to take in another 30 children. Eighteen of them had no sponsors.
Schmitt said the Harvest model of ministry is unique.
“Being in India changed my perspective of what we do in the U.S.,” Schmitt said. “We open our doors and expect people to show up. There, the pastors
went out into the community to show the love of Christ.”
In India 80.5 percent of the people are Hindu, 13.4 percent follow Islam and just 2.3 percent say they are Christians.
“Those who follow the Hindu religion have a thousand gods to appease,” said Southeast Elder Phil Flora. They work hard to be good enough, offer the
right sacrifices and pray to the right god. The only way they will see the difference in Christianity is to see it lived out.”
Flora saw lessons in the way Harvest Ministries' pastors reached out into the community with medical, dental and HIV clinics.
“We have everything anyone could want at Southeast,” he said. “All people have to do is come. The problem is, not everyone comes to us. We must go to
them. It’s what the apostles did, and it’s what Jesus did. He went to the woman at the well and to people’s homes. We will follow His example to take
ministry to the community. We will not neglect what we’re doing in the Sanctuary and within our walls, but we can reach out to the lost in our community.”
Pastors in India go into dangerous, difficult places to save people for eternity. They are creating house fellowships, training leaders and starting
outreach ministries that teach life skills, Ottman said.
An eternal investment
Outreach has a high priority at Southeast, where 16 ½ cents of every dollar go into the missions budget to support and empower ministries locally, in the
United States and around the world.
That 16 ½ cents is a great kingdom investment, Schmitt said.
“I believe God blesses our church because we are blessing others,” he said. "Places like India are key to reaching unreached people groups. One-sixth
of the people on the planet live in India, where only 2.6 percent of the population is Christian. There’s so much we can do there.”
The elders encouraged pastors in the conference as they shared lessons on leadership and faith.
In many ways, it was hard for the elders to leave.
Ottman said one purpose of the trip was to see firsthand the work being done in India.
“We saw our investment in Harvest Ministries multiply many times,” he said. “And we learned from the pastors there. We hope we were able to
encourage them.”