India: Day Three – Saturday

Pastor’s and Ministry Workers Conference:Some traveled from as far as three hours by bus!

This morning we ate breakfast with a widow and her daughter. Two years ago she lost her husband and was suddenly unable to take care of herself and her daughter. 

Through the ministry Pastor Samuel has she receives monthly support, enough for her and her daughter to live on and enough for her daughter to go to school. I was reminded this morning of the scriptural mandate given to the church to take care of the widows and orphans. It was at work in front of my very eyes this morning.

Just prior to speaking at the Pastor’s Conference this morning a young woman ran into the church, obviously distraught. I could tell that something serious had happened. I couldn’t understand a word she was saying, but I knew it wasn’t good.

When she left the Pastor of the Church told me that her brother had just committed suicide! Hopelessness is everywhere… People are hurting all over the world.

We were expecting seventy-five to one hundred pastors and ministry workers at the conference. One hundred fifty came! It was exciting to see and meet so many ministry workers from the city and villages. These men and women make incredible sacrifices to be in the ministry.

Entrance to Church Where Conference Was Hosted

One of the pastors had been a First Class Engineer prior to becoming a pastor. When he felt God calling him into the ministry he left his job making $450 a month (about 20,000 rupees), a small fortune here. It was a huge sacrifice given that as an engineer he had more than enough money to not only support his family but build wealth. He went from making $450 a month to $70.00 a month as a pastor. A family member had agreed to help him if he went into the ministry but reneged on his commitment leaving the pastor and his family in difficulty. As he shared his story I could see the pain in his wife’s eyes. When Pastor Samuel agreed to provide the lost support that the pastor’s family member was not providing I could see the tears in his wife’s eyes well up and begin to come down.

Many of these pastors make great sacrifices to share the gospel and encourage people. A lot of them are on the front line in dealing with poverty, oppression, and hurts in the lives of other people. Even as few as four years ago, many of them were persecuted by political leaders opposed to Christianity. 

Today was all about encouraging them which would not have been possible were it not for so many of you who made donations toward blessing pastors. After four days of being on the ground here in India I am beginning to realize that life here is very complex and that overcoming poverty and oppression is no simple fix. I am also beginning to realize that when the church lives out the scriptural call to take care of widows, orphans, the poor and the needy that God is honored and the chains of injustice begin to break.

• Please pray for the woman (and her family) who lost her brother to suicide today!
• Please pray for the Pastor and His wife who sacrificed comfort and security to serve in ministry!
• Please pray for the pastors who came this morning, many of whom are dealing with persecution or poverty themselves!