(no subject)
Please be in prayer for my dear friend Jim as he travels to India to share the Good News.
Dear Friends,
I will be leaving Saturday morning (September 16th) for India. I am not totally back to full strength, but am feeling much better and I still have another day for recovery before I leave. We so appreciated hearing from so many of you that were praying for me.
Before I give you specific things for which we would desire prayer, I want to explain briefly what we will be doing while in India. In 2002 there was an indigenous church planting movement that began among a tribal people group of 8 million people. [ I am unable to give you name of the people group or where they are located in India as there are some politically sensitive issues involved.] A team with the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention sent a team to evaluate this church planting movement in 2005. At the time of their study there were already 80,000 converts. The number of converts has doubled each year since 2002. One of the concerns they expressed in their study was a lack of basic theological training within this church planting movement. I will be a part of a team of four men who will be teaching 24 leaders selected from this tribal people group to receive some basic theological training. We will be covering 50 topics (i.e. the characteristics of God, the divinity of Jesus, the human Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus, justification, living under grace, faith etc.)
The Indian church planter that helped initiate this movement will be our host and interpreter. Our lessons will be interpreted into Hindi. Although all 24 of the students are proficient in Hindi, it is not their native language. There is also no Bible available in their native language.
The charge of these 24 indigenous leaders will be to take what they learn back to a people group that has an extremely high rate of illiteracy.
MUCH PRAYER IS NEEDED!!!!! Please pray:
- That each of us will be able to present our teaching very clearly free
of a cultural basis that would distort the gospel message.
- That the Holy Spirit provides his clear interpretation to these 24 men.
- That we will listen as we proceed and be ready to change our agenda
if necessary so that our agenda the Holy Spirit’s agenda are one.
- For supernatural strength and energy for our host. The four of us will be dividing the teaching. He will be interpreting for all us.
- For a supernatural focus and endurance for these 24 students that they might
be able to absorb and retain what they are being taught.
- That they would be given a supernatural understanding how to teach and
apply what they learn in a way that the church would be strengthened
within their people group.
- That all four of us on the team would have safe travel and that we
remain healthy.
I would again ask that while you are praying, that you also be listening. If God speaks something to you concerning us or the trip, would you please let us know?
Blessings,
Jim
Dear Friends,
I will be leaving Saturday morning (September 16th) for India. I am not totally back to full strength, but am feeling much better and I still have another day for recovery before I leave. We so appreciated hearing from so many of you that were praying for me.
Before I give you specific things for which we would desire prayer, I want to explain briefly what we will be doing while in India. In 2002 there was an indigenous church planting movement that began among a tribal people group of 8 million people. [ I am unable to give you name of the people group or where they are located in India as there are some politically sensitive issues involved.] A team with the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention sent a team to evaluate this church planting movement in 2005. At the time of their study there were already 80,000 converts. The number of converts has doubled each year since 2002. One of the concerns they expressed in their study was a lack of basic theological training within this church planting movement. I will be a part of a team of four men who will be teaching 24 leaders selected from this tribal people group to receive some basic theological training. We will be covering 50 topics (i.e. the characteristics of God, the divinity of Jesus, the human Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus, justification, living under grace, faith etc.)
The Indian church planter that helped initiate this movement will be our host and interpreter. Our lessons will be interpreted into Hindi. Although all 24 of the students are proficient in Hindi, it is not their native language. There is also no Bible available in their native language.
The charge of these 24 indigenous leaders will be to take what they learn back to a people group that has an extremely high rate of illiteracy.
MUCH PRAYER IS NEEDED!!!!! Please pray:
- That each of us will be able to present our teaching very clearly free
of a cultural basis that would distort the gospel message.
- That the Holy Spirit provides his clear interpretation to these 24 men.
- That we will listen as we proceed and be ready to change our agenda
if necessary so that our agenda the Holy Spirit’s agenda are one.
- For supernatural strength and energy for our host. The four of us will be dividing the teaching. He will be interpreting for all us.
- For a supernatural focus and endurance for these 24 students that they might
be able to absorb and retain what they are being taught.
- That they would be given a supernatural understanding how to teach and
apply what they learn in a way that the church would be strengthened
within their people group.
- That all four of us on the team would have safe travel and that we
remain healthy.
I would again ask that while you are praying, that you also be listening. If God speaks something to you concerning us or the trip, would you please let us know?
Blessings,
Jim