Minister’s
Message – December 2008
Orissa Response
In August a terrible wave of persecution broke out against
the Christians in the Indian state of Orissa. They were attacked
in their churches and in their homes. Many were killed while
thousands fled into the forest. Homes and churches were burnt.
Many have been praying for these brothers and sisters in Christ
and seeking to help them materially. The response of a church
in India is shared below:
Last Sunday (2nd Nov), we attended morning service at a church
in a poor suburb of Bangalore. We went there for worship because
one of Elias friends was supposed to give the sermon that
day. The church is located in an impoverished area and the
size is hardly 800 sq feet. But there were more than 200 people
crowded into that building (sitting on the floor) and some
were sitting on the staircases also. Most of the people in
the church were daily wage labourers (street sweepers) and
people who sell fruits and vegetables on pushcarts. The Church
was similar to any other slum Church I had visited earlier.
The one thing which really caught my eye was the huge banner
with the map of India which asked the members to pray for
the missionaries the church is supporting (with the location
of the missionary). The banner had the list of the mission
agencies the missionaries belonged. Later I came to know that
the Church is supporting 50 full time missionaries across
India and even to Nepal and Sri Lanka. This information was
an eye opener for me. If such a small church with mostly first
generation Christians and people with no fixed monthly income
can support 50 missionaries then how much the whole Bangalore
can send considering the huge IT Christian population and
the biggest churches in India?
The pastor who is still a first generation convert allowed
Elias to speak about his Orissa trip. Elias shared the experience
we had during our time in Kandhamal and asked the believers
to pray earnestly for the people of Kandhamal. He just mentioned
that the climate in Kandhamal is very cold, but he didn't
share any of our needs other than Prayer. The Pastor, who
spoke next, told the congregation that he has been asking
Lord for an opportunity to help the people of Kandhamal and
asked the members not to pay any money for this years Carol
service. Instead he asked all the families to provide money
for one Blanket each by the third week of November. He told
them that there are 400 families in the church and they can
buy 400 best quality blankets from a wholesale shop in Bangalore
and send it along with our contacts in Kandhamal. He also
asked the Church families to buy an additional pair of dresses
if they are going to buy a new dress for their own children
for Christmas.
I was very much moved by the Pastors statement as in the
previous day meeting Elias and friends were debating on whether
to send an additional 350 blankets to Orissa. Such an example
of sacrificial giving is rarely seen in today's churches (including
my home church). Even when Elias was refusing to take this
offer from the Pastor, I felt that the Spirit of God spoke
to the Pastor to motivate ourselves in the big task ahead
(Reaching the yet Unreached folks of India – population
1.1billion), while the support for Orissa victims is a small
step in that direction.
Why I am sending this mail? As I was sharing this with Sunny
yesterday, he asked me to send this incident to the whole
group to encourage each other. Instead of expanding their
own Church building, the congregation is building our Lord's
churches across India. We need to pray for more congregations
(even existing churches need to change their priorities) like
these to come up all over India so that the big task is easily
attained in spite of all the difficult times ahead.
Rev. Dr. Dennis K. Muldoon, DD
(02) 9724-0877
|