Ron On The Road: A Baptism in India
On a recent trip to India, I had the privilege to experience a picture of the Church when it is being a true community. It was near the end of a rather long journey, which took me to England, Scotland and India. It was a 20,500-mile trip that included visits to 11 different airports. On my last Sunday in India, I had the opportunity to preach at a church in which most of the congregation were Hindu converts. The service was held at 1:00pm on a warm day in a very small room. Needless to say it was extremely uncomfortable in the building. After the service the Pastor of the church asked if I would be willing to baptize a new believer in their Church. I agreed without much thought to what that actually meant. The thought of being involved in this young mans baptism was exciting until I realized that Hindu converts would only be baptized by full immersion. I have traveled enough in India to know that the rivers are not exactly the cleanest in the world. We agreed that we would meet the next afternoon, and find a river that be sufficient for this baptism.
That Monday I taught a pastor’s conference in which 415 pastors and leaders of various churches in the area attended. It was an exciting yet exhausting day. After the training, I met the young man and his pastor by the local river. The river was brown, smelly and fortunately way to shallow for a baptism. The pastor suggested we meet early the next morning, and travel up to the mountains where he knew of a stream that would be perfect for a baptism. So, the next morning we drove some 4-wheel drive vehicles up the mountain to search for the river. After getting stuck in the mud a few times, we finally started hiking up the mountain. It was at this time that I started feeling how much effort we were going through to baptize just one man. I was scheduled to leave in few hours and started feeling the pressure of time. I was also concerned that I may not have time to shower and change clothes before boarding a 20 plus hour flight back to the states. As all of these selfish thoughts came to me, I forgot what was really important. When we finally reached a section of the river that was deep enough for a baptism, I was exhausted from climbing the mountain.
The new believer was a young man from Nepal, he was engaged to be married in only a few days. When I asked him his testimony, he spoke very clearly about his faith in Christ. As I was bringing him up out of the river, I heard this loud alleluia coming from the banks of the river. I looked up to see about 25 people that had climbed that mountain to be a part of this young man’s baptism. All those people had been walking up this mountain with us, but I never noticed them. I was too consumed with my own discomfort to notice what God was doing that day. This was a picture of the Church being the Church. These 25 people spent a good part of their day hiking up this mountain to be there with their friend. But, even more important is the fact that they walked back down the mountain with this new believer. They walked back into his life to love and care for him and his new family. This was a great picture of the Church, and something that I needed to see that day.
Spotlight: Rodney Wilkinson & Gospel Fellowship, Boynton Beach
Hear from Rodney Wilkinson on the story of how Gospel Fellowship is making the Gospel relevant in Boynton Beach, Florida.
The Cartersville Project - A Mission of Grace
Recently, Jody Stancil updated us on what is happening in Cartersville, Georgia and the Cartersville project. Please pray along with us for Jody and The Cartersville Project.
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:1-2)
Our Lord spoke these words as He sent His disciples into the world to spread the good news of the gospel. He assured them that there was plenty of work to do, but that there would also be problems they would encounter. Our first two months living in Cartersville has brought many blessings, but also many challenges. The Lord has blessed us with a faithful group of committed laborers that make up our “launch team,” and we have begun meeting weekly for fellowship and training in launching this new church. However, as we assess our gift mix in light of the needs of Cartersville and our new church, we find ourselves in a situation similar to the first disciples…there is much work to be done, but the laborers are few. Though this challenge is far greater than we are able to handle on our own, we take great comfort in the Lord’s strength and His promise to build His church, as well as in the gift of prayer He has given us, to ask Him for the laborers needed to join us in gathering His harvest. With that said, we ask that you would pray to the Lord on our behalf – to provide us with more laborers who are gifted in the areas of evangelism, gathering people, music, and more – so that we can see our vision “that the glory of God to become the glory of Cartersville and the nations” developed into reality.
Praises and Prayer Requests
- Praise the Lord for providing 90% of our funds pledged! Please continue to pray that the Lord will provide for our partners that they may fulfill their pledges, and that He will bless us with additional partners through whom, He will get us to 100% of our funds raised.
- Pray for our upcoming Launch Team and Fourth Sunday Fellowship meetings. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom in choosing a name for the church, that He would continue adding more people to our group, and that He will show us what He wants this church to look like, that we may effectively minister to those around us. Pray for unity among our group, that we would love one another and the people of Cartersville well.
- Pray for the Lord to introduce us to many new people here, especially the lost. Pray that He would give us divine appointments that lead to relationships that lead to gospel conversations and conversions.
Ron on the Road: U.K. and India
It has been a busy yet rewarding week spent in the U.K. We arrived in London a little more than a week ago. During this week, I have had the opportunity to meet with over a dozen Church planting pastors. One of the highlights of my trip was attending the second ever service of Trinity Church Everton. This church is pastored by Peter Roberts, and is located in Liverpool, England. There were about 30 people meeting in a local community center. The church is a wonderful blend of cultures in a very deprived area of Liverpool. Peter and his wife Ruth moved into the area a little more than a year ago. They are expecting their first child in February. Please keep Peter and Ruth Roberts in your prayers as they minister to the folks in their neighborhood.
I am now on my way to India, where I will be visiting with John Khusal in Lucknow, and then onto Manipur State to spend some time with Khen Tombing. I will be teaching a Gospel Boot Camp to over 300 pastors in that area. Please pray that we make much of Jesus, and for protection for the pastors of this region of India.
Spotlight: Samuel Choi & Center Church
Samuel Choi shares his vision for Center Church in Irvine California