Right after the graduation ceremony for 2008’s School of Theology (SOT) students, SOT Dean Bobby Chaw led a team up to India for a mission trip to two of City Harvest Church’s partner churches.
Arriving in New Delhi, the team conducted a successful revival meeting on 3 September for the 500-strong congregation of Pastor Daniel Kumar’s Good News Centre equipping, encouraging and empowering them to continue their efforts for the Kingdom.
Good News Centre has been actively reaching out to the lost in their community through social services and the creative arts. They serve underprivileged children by meeting their need for education, while sharing the gospel at the same time this ministry has borne lasting fruit. The church also runs two orphanages in New Delhi and Orissa, with 29 and 14 children respectively.
In the midst of a mighty move of God, Pastor Daniel urgently requested for Bobby to conduct leadership training and discipleship in order to sustain the growth that has come upon the church.
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| PHOTOS: Good News Centre |
The mission team also conducted a 3-day meeting at Bethel Mission Church in Kolar Gold Field, a two-and-a-half hour drive from the city of Bangalore and home to the world’s second deepest goldmine.
Kicking off with a leaders’ seminar with 500 people on Friday, 5 September, the number of people increased to 700 the next night, and hit 1,600 at the Sunday morning service on 7 September!
Each session saw people revived in their spiritual lives. Bethel Mission Church’s senior pastor, Pastor Frank Godberg, shared a vision to build a strong church that could win the whole town for Jesus Christ.
The church is actively serving the community through its Computer Centre, which runs a computer-training program established in 2000. The Centre has since graduated 1,200 students with certificates that have enabled them to gain admission into diploma and degree programmes, as well as get jobs in the city. The socio-economic status of the students has greatly increased as a result of this computer-training program, lifting many out of the grip of poverty. Through continual efforts to serve the community in more creative and efficient ways, growth will surely continue and the church be brought closer to fulfilling its vision from God.
Bethel Mission Church, like Good News Centre in New Delhi, also runs orphanages, which Bobby and the team had an opportunity to visit. The church is currently building a small farm that will generate agricultural produce and revenue to support the orphanages.
According to Bobby, the church was the “most outstanding” building in the town, in terms of “cleanliness, design and maintenance”. And Pastor Frank had excellent workers around him who were “serving, humble, honouring and swift in doing things”.
Said Bobby, “I am very impacted by their continual love for God, and their desire to build a church that will bring God glory. Although they don’t have the kind of resources that we do, they make use of what they have to serve God.”
Truly, there is no limit to what God can do with people who are willing to transform their society.
