Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel. 

Praise God! He has helped me share His Word with many. During this time, I have been able to talk with people over the phone, sharing the Gospel with them and encouraging them in the Word. I have also been able to study God’s Word. I was able to finish the book of Galatians.

Corona is bad. It is spreading and increasing. Thank you for your prayers. By God’s grace, He has kept us safe. So far, our community is also safe. However, nearby places are affected.

Since monsoon started, the grass started growing. I have been doing campus cleaning, including grass cutting etc. The first round is over, now the grass has grown and the campus grounds need cleaned up again. In the coming days, we will be working on cleaning the campus grounds. In this heavy rain, there are landslides and many people have died. Pray for the people who are affected. Please pray also for our state. Our state is going through different calamities. including a flood, landslides, and Corona. Many people have died.

Thank all of you who are praying for us and supporting us.

God bless you,

Pastor 5* Family

*Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons. 

By the grace of God my family is doing fine. Our fall semester started with many challenges which continued until the very end of the semester. I often appeared in court and went to the police station in order to safeguard our ministry. We have experienced God’s grace and protection every day in our lives. Thank you very much for praying for us and being partners with us in reaching the unreached.

During the semester, despite the many challenges and distractions, I was able to teach our students through the book of Matthew. It was very challenging for me to face the many questions from the students and help them understand the Word of God. I myself learned many things while explaining the Word. Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7 and also chapters 24-25 were very challenging! I also taught our mid-week Wednesday night Bible study for students and any visitors who came.

My daughter completed 12th grade and she has been staying with us for the last few months. Now she has left for college. She is studying nursing.

I pray you have a wonderful Christmas with loved ones and that your New Year is established on the wonderful mercies of our God. Thank you for your love and support of my family and the ministry God has allowed us to serve Him in.

Please pray for:

• My daughter to do well in her studies and adjust to her new settings as a first year college student.
• For our students who are in field ministry in-between semesters. Our students will be doing Christmas outreaches and Gospel presentations in remote unreached villages.
• For new students who want to attend our school next semester and grow in God’s Word.
• For many young people to be equipped for the ministry and continue our work to the next generation.
• For the people we did outreach among this semester, especially when there was flooding. Pray they may come to know the Lord.
• For our nation, that we would have the freedom to share the Gospel to the unreached.

Many blessings from my family to yours,

Pastor 5 and Family

Praise the Lord!

   First of all, I would like to thank God for everything. He is doing great things in my life and ministry.  
   Secondly, I would like to thank my leaders, financial partners and prayer supporters. Thank you for all of your contributions in my life.

  The last two months here were very busy within different areas in the campus. Last semester, I was teaching the Gospel of Luke. Our students were really encouraged by the book and the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. As always, my heart is to reach the unreached people. When my students come and say they are blessed by my teaching, that gives me joy in the Lord. 
   Most of our students are from an area that is very difficult to reach. But, the Lord is in control. He is the one who enabled me to serve in that area for seven years. When I look back on those years, I am reminded of how God protected us from persecution there. A few times, I had to run away from the places where we were doing baptisms. A few of our current students have had to flee to the forest with their families as a result of persecution. But all of those times, God is our Comforter. A few of our students have already studied in a Bible College, but after coming to our college they are really blessed to learn the Bible book by book and chapter by chapter. On occasion, I like to spend time with students in my home over coffee to talk about what the Lord is doing in their lives and to share stories about the ministry.

Last month, I was so happy to see our Northern team come to our Southern campus. We had a great time encouraging each other with the things God is doing in our lives and ministry. Our staff and students had a special day at the beach together, which was a highlight for everyone!

   The town we are living in now is a small community. It consists of 75 families; virtually none of them are believers. Out of 75 families, we and one other family next to us are the only Christians.  I have been working with the local people and sharing the love of Jesus. Many times, they listen to me.  This is my prayer, that the message they have heard will work in their hearts and in the coming days they will come to know the love of God. As a result of sharing the Gospel around the area we live, a few weeks ago, one man came to our fellowship. I invited him to our house for coffee, and we had some good conversation. He said he was really happy to come to our church. A few more locals have also been coming for our midweek Bible study.  This is a big praise report for our area! As you will see below, the Christian climate in South Asia has become increasingly hostile, and small steps forward are big causes for praise!

If you google “Current situation of Christianity in ____(our country)”, here are some interesting facts and needs for prayer that you will find:

1) The Church’s growth presents many needs, especially in matters of discipleship and leadership development. The systematic targeting of the Church by radicals of the Hindu religion also brings to the surface other needs, like preparing the Church to respond positively to the onslaught of persecution and a need for greater unity and cooperation between the various denominations.

2) People in the majority Hindu religion here see Christians as a threat to the nation (because of their growth in numbers). The number of violent incidents in which Christians have been attacked has gone up dramatically since the religious political party took over power and their candidate became our country’s leader. Since the government refuses to take proper action, radicals feel they can attack Christians without fear of repercussion.

3) Discrimination is very common in our country, and it is based on the age-old caste system. It affects Christians all over the country because most converts to Christianity come from the lower castes or from the “Untouchables”. By converting to Christianity, they hope to be freed from societal discrimination. But, these new Christians soon experience that the caste system even permeates the Christian community. This partly explains why the “Homecoming” campaigns by radicals in the majority religion have been effective. (In this movement, people who have been converted from Hinduism to Christianity are encouraged/threatened to return to the majority religion.)

4) Christian organizations are targeted for detailed interrogation by different Government departments (e.g. by the income tax office and intelligence bureaus) in attempts to find faults and accuse them of being involved in anti-national activity (especially concerning conversions to Christianity).

5) There is a significant increase in the number of local pro-Hindu political groups and youth wings, plus an increased number of open meetings and camps where youngsters are educated in nationalism and are encouraged to display hatred towards other religions, such as Christianity.

6) There is an increasing emphasis on the Hindu religion in public schools.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for unity among the staff. Many times, the devil has tried to distract us.

Please pray for new student recruitments for the next semester.

Pray for the students who have gone back to their homes and villages. Pray that they will reach their places with the Gospel.

Please pray for my daughter’s education. She finished high school, and the result came yesterday that she passed with a 90%. Thanks for all of your prayers. She wants to go to college to be a nurse. Please pray for all of the financial needs for her studies. It will cost around 10,000 USD. This includes fees and her boarding for 4 years of her studies.

God bless you,

Pastor 5 and Family

Hello Friends,

 Praise the Lord! I am excited to share with you all what God has been doing these last few months.

Last semester, I was teaching the Gospel of John at the Bible College. It was a great joy for me to teach the young people. At the same time, teaching also helped me understand Jesus more closely in my own life.

Since I last updated you all, in addition to continuing my responsibilities at the Bible College campus, I also started traveling to different states in the North. It was a great joy for me to meet some of my friends in different states. It was also a great opportunity for me to share about Calvary Chapel ministries, introduce our Bible College, and challenge many young people to join the ministry. I shared about my life and experiences I had while serving the Lord in the North and I also spent time teaching the Word of God chapter by chapter. People are very eager to listen to God’s Word and experience Jesus more closely in their life!

CHURCH AFTER CHURCH

One Sunday, while I was visiting one state, I had the privilege to teach in five different Sunday church services! You may wonder how it is possible! These five pastors arranged their church timing in such a way that I could attend their churches one after another. I rode a motorcycle from morning until evening reaching church after church and teaching the Word of God. The believers are so eager to hear the Word of God that it makes these difficulties worth it!

THE LAND OF RICE

In January 2019 I was in another state for two weeks. I was so excited to visit some of these tribes and tribal believers and live with them. It was so cold there in the jungle/forest and mountain areas. It is fascinating to see how these people get everything from the forest for their daily needs. Most people don’t own their own land. Instead, they cultivate in the surrounding forest. They make cooking oil from the jungle seeds, and hunt the animals that roam. They are not very educated but when they worship the Living God you see many with tears.

There are not good roads in these areas and no form of public transportation. You have to either travel by motorbike, bicycle, or foot. These are the only three modes of transportation in these areas. A motorbike was arranged for my travel. In six days I traveled around 300 miles through the forest and village roads. Sometimes we had to travel a long distance, and even into the night, to reach the village where I was staying.

WHERE DID HE GO?

While visiting different churches, we got the help of a local believer to show us the correct way to reach each destination. We found a brother who knows the area and he accompanied us.

One day, I was driving my motorbike with another brother sitting behind me. The road was very narrow. A big truck came from the opposite direction and I had to stop my bike to make room for the truck. When I stopped to let the truck pass, the brother who was riding behind me got off the motorcycle. I did not realize this! After the truck passed I started driving on, not realizing that the brother was not on the bike with me! Thinking that he was still behind me, I continued talking to him. After a long time, I noticed that he was not responding to me. Then, I looked back and I realized that the brother was not with me! By this time, I had already gone about 2 miles. I turned around to look for him in the forest. Finally, I found him walking toward me. He had tried to call my cell phone, but that area did not have cell service!

SHORT SUFFERINGS BUT ETERNAL REWARDS

While I was in this area, I had no connection with the outside world. For a whole week I had no contact with my wife and children. However, I want to praise God that as a result of my visit to this state, several students joined the Bible College this semester! I had many traveling struggles. Yet, when I see these young men who have come to study the Word of God and prepare themselves for the ministry–I rejoice in the Lord!

Pray that many more young people may come from this tribal belt to join the ministry. Then, they can go back to win their people for the Lord.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please pray that I can return to these areas to train up the local pastors. They loved the teaching style of Calvary Chapel and are interested in learning more about how to teach the Bible. There are many needs in these areas for the local pastors. The areas are very remote and the people are very poor. Oftentimes, the pastors are walking 12 miles to different areas to encourage the believers. They don’t have proper homes or bicycles.

I met with one pastor who came to our campus last summer for a Conference. His wife has breast cancer. He spent a lot of money and sold many of his possessions to pay for her treatment. Finally he had to sell his motorcycle. This pastor travels 10-12 miles to reach his mission field in the forest areas. He let me know his request that, if it is possible, he needs a bicycle to make these long journeys rather than walking. Please pray for him and also for complete healing of his wife’s cancer.

Many pastors in this region are facing physical persecution, threats on their life and disruption of their church services by the anti-Christian groups. Please pray these pastors will stand strong in their faith and that the Lord would keep His hand of protection over them and their congregation.

Please pray for my health. I am suffering from frequent back pain. Please also pray for my need of a new cell phone. Please pray for my daughter as she finishes her last year of high school.

Thank you for your prayers for myself, my family and the ministry!

God bless you,

Pastor 5

Hello Friends,

I want to start by saying that I thank God from the bottom of my heart for being with me all the way, for never leaving me; for loving me.

Overseeing Construction Throughout the Campus

God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Praise the Lord! It’s a great joy and honor to work for the Lord and be a part of establishing a Calvary Chapel Bible College here.

I moved my family to this new location in September of last year. My main focus since arriving has been overseeing the construction projects on campus. All the existing buildings have been refurbished as well as new buildings constructed. I have been on the ground with the workers from morning until evening to make sure the work is done to code and according to our standards.

In April we were able to start classes with 6 students. It is amazing how God is bringing these students from all over the country to learn from the Word of God. I am still overseeing small construction projects on campus, but teaching has also been added to one of my roles. I am currently taking our students through the Gospel of John. I enjoy interacting with our students and answering their questions.

In the month of June we will be hosting a Pastor’s Conference for those currently working around the country. These Pastors will travel for days from remote villages to be encouraged and equipped in the Word of God and to learn more about our ministry and possible partnership opportunities. I thank God for using the gifts and talents He has given me over the years to continue starting and growing new works for the Lord in the places He has called me to.

My family and I covet your prayers and support in this ministry being established.

The Lord Bless You,

Pastor 5 and Family

Pastor 5* has been in minister for over 40 years as a missionary, pastor, teacher and servant of Jesus throughout his home country. He has been apart of establishing bible training centers, raising up leaders, and caring for the affairs of several ministries throughout the years. This past year, he stepped away from ministering in the Northern area of his home country to join SGWM in establishing a new ministry campus and Calvary Chapel Bible College in the South. His heart remains focused on reaching the unreached with the Gospel and training others to do the same. Pastor 5* is married and has three children and two grandchildren.

*Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons.