A Season to Plant, Nurture and Harvest

      

October 2010

Click here to help church planting in India and Guinea

I walked through the local farmers’ market the other day and enjoyed the aroma of the harvest— cauliflower, corn, and cucumbers, all locally grown by farmers in the area. I made my purchases—a fall crop of apples, some potatoes, a few tomatoes, and a hardy mum flower for the patio.

It was on my ride home through the countryside that I was reminded of the fact that someone took the time to plant the seed in early spring, nurture it, and observe its growth. Under my breath, I thanked the unknown farmers for their hard work.

Today I want to invite you to thank some church planters in a practical way with a monetary gift of $50, $100, or $200. These funds will support Christo and Sarah Emmanuel’s recently planted church in India, and allow us to engage in a second church planting opportunity there, as well as plant a church in Guinea, once sufficient funding is secured. I am looking for partners like you to help us reach our goal of $48,000 before the end of this calendar year.

Your special gift can provide TWO steel structure buildings for new church plants—a cost of $12,000 per unit—for a total expense of $24,000. You would also be helping us assist Christo and Sarah with their new church plant in Chennai. Read their amazing story and respond with your gift of support today.

And one more thing … the next time you visit your local farmers’ market, remember to thank God for those who have dedicated their lives to planting, with one goal in mind—the harvest!

—Rick Tozer, Director of Global Operations and Development for International Missions

A Time for Planting

CHRISTO & SARAH EMMANUEL: LIVING GOD CHURCH, CHENNAI, INDIA

I (Christo) was born and raised in India. God miraculously intervened in my notoriously rebellious life at age 18 in 2003, at an evangelistic meeting outside Chennai. Soon afterwards, I met my wife, Sarah, at a two-year program in missions training in British Columbia, Canada. I had enrolled in the program after the Lord impressed upon me that instead of a normal university education, which I was just about to begin, I was to prepare myself for service in full-time ministry. Sarah had grown up in a Christian home, and after accepting Christ at age 15, also felt called to serve in full-time ministry overseas. She enrolled in the same program, little knowing all that would unfold once it came to an end! Sarah and I started Living God Church five years ago. We want to invite you into our world of church planting, and encourage you to consider ways to be a part of this amazing journey! Please consider how you can help us meet the overwhelming needs in the community around us.

PLANTING SEEDS
When we first arrived, we weren’t sure where to begin, so we started a kids’ outreach on Saturday mornings, and a prayer gathering on Sunday evenings in our living room. Every week, I went from door to door, sharing the gospel and inviting people within the community to join us on Sundays. Sometimes no one showed up, but one year in, the living room overflowed with about 30 people. We used the money we received as wedding gifts to build a roof and walls on the upstairs terrace, and shortly afterwards the church was officially registered. Through open-air crusades, community outreaches and much prayer, we reached more than 80 members in 2008.Through God’s grace and generous sponsors, the church purchased a plot of land and built a larger, temporary building to accommodate the growing congregation.

BUMPER HARVEST!

The church continues to grow at more than 150 members. We reach a broad spectrum of people within the community—children and youth in the slums, educated young adults, poor widows, Hindus, Muslims and so many more. Every Sunday, we hold a special service for people from unreached Gypsy colonies, and we distribute food and other basic necessities, as well as cell ministry and free tutoring for their children throughout the week. We are seeing some beautiful fruit from this ministry—including conversions and baptisms! Every Sunday evening we open up the church for new believers to be discipled through joyful worship and foundational teachings. There are also more than 30 cell groups planted throughout the community.

Every year, we hold Vacation Bible School, and anywhere from 300 to 500 Hindu and Muslim children and teens from all over the community pack the church campus for a couple weeks of worship, dance, drama, games, hands-on activities and gospel messages. In a city where nearly 20% of the population lives in slums, Living God Church is dedicated to helping these communities and the young people to rise above their circumstances. Every weeknight, free tutoring is offered for more than 50 slum children and teens, and children's programs and sports activities are facilitated in the slums.

BE CO-LABOURERS WITH US
There is so much more that goes on here at Living God Church—broken lives are being reached and restored by the gospel. But we have some key areas of need for which we need help, including education materials for slum children, sports outreach supplies, funding for Vacation Bible School and youth camps, Bibles and resources for new believers, and operational costs. Please consider a giving a gift today towards the goal of $24,000 that can help us continue reaching distressed communities around us with the life changing message of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for doing your part to help us plant such incredible seeds in preparation for a tremendous harvest!

Christo and Sarah Emmanuel

P. S. Learn more about our activities in Chennai at www.changinglivesindia.blogspot.com.

Click here to help support church planting in India and Guinea.