A Passage 2 India 4 Jesus & Justice - 11 Apr 2006

Imagine an opportunity to serve in one of the giant nations on earth – imagine your very own passage to India. Imagine not just saying prayers for the nations but actually becoming your prayers in the nations. The legendary missions movement leader William Booth once turned to a young man who claimed he had never had a call from God. ‘What? You’ve never had a call? You mean you’ve never heard the call!’ Here is a call to pray for India this Easter and to be open to the possibility of serving on a mission team there in the near future. Are you hearing the call?

This Easter 3 willing fools who have heard God’s call to the nations are following the call of the wild into a very remote corner of south-east India in Andhra Pradesh to serve amongst one of the fastest growing church planting movements on the planet. In the last 8 years it is believed that around 60 000 new churches have emerged in India – this current move of God is quite literally phenomenal.

From 9-17th April our small team will be working alongside a church planting pioneer, Janaki Menni who is an amazing example of the extraordinary things God can do with ordinary people who remain open and obedient. Janaki became a Christian as a young Hindu through a dream in which Jesus called her to leave all and follow him. She was dying in hospital and the next day she began to make an unexpected and remarkable recovery.

After this supernatural call Janaki no longer followed Hindu gods. Instead she began an exciting and challenging journey of discovering Christ’s call in the power of the gospel, the pain of being marginalised by her Hindu family and the presence of God in the midst of social justice work amongst the very poorest of the poor. Janaki is now in her early 30s and has planted over 60 churches in the 12 years she has been a Christian.

Our team will be working alongside Janaki in her missions and social justice initiatives which are steadily bringing real social transformation to local villages in Nallajerla. We will be involved in; encouraging local leaders and church planters, visiting orphanages, hospitals and schools and sharing the gospel in a town-wide mission event, youth gatherings and in the local prison.

We hope to develop a partnership with Janaki Menni and the work of ‘Faith In Action’ and to build on this initial invitation with the possibility of providing a 24-7 missions/justice team to this region of India in the future. What do you have to do with your life? Perhaps it’s being part of a justice/mission team? Maybe next year you will find a passage to India…?

Please pray for our team in south-east India for their protection, safety and good health and that they will be a significant contribution to the life of the church and the local community. Be creative and put a note somewhere that will help to remind you to pray.

Thanks for praying.

‘Share the gospel at all times and if you really have to, use words.’ (St Francis of Assisi)

Justin Blake