Many American Christians support foreign missionaries and
mission organizations—Asia International Mission among them. The
expectation is that we go, according to The Great Commission, and bring the
gospel to unreached souls. And we do.
Russ and I go, often with Mission Teams, and we encourage
struggling local ministries, coming alongside them on projects that will open
doors for the Gospel. We do humanitarian work according to your generous
partnership, alleviating the suffering and poverty of the people. We are
also “fish bait”, drawing curious crowds of unbelievers to see the strange
foreigners—and we preach about the One True God and the saving love of Jesus
Christ. We work hard. Difficulties and opposition are
overcome, and souls are ushered into the kingdom.
But, as Asia International Mission, we believe there is a
more effective way: Send national
missionaries and pastors to their own people. They know the
culture, the language, the nuances and the mindset of their neighbors who need
Christ. They are on the field in a fraction of the time it takes an
American missionary, to reap a harvest for God’s Kingdom.
A few major problems remain, and this is where we need your
help. When a village man comes to Christ and experiences a call to serve
Him, that man often has no schooling. No Biblical foundation. He has
often grown up with a Hindu or Islamic worldview and must learn to see the
world through God’s viewpoint: One True God instead of millions; a God of
mercy, and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Many have never owned a
Bible. Most of all, though they have passion and commitment, most have no
money to obtain an education.
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| Russ & Ravi |
AIM is always looking to the future, and we have found a
solution. In Hyderabad, India there is a godly pastor with years of experience in
training up other men, as well as hosting foreign missionaries and
speakers. His name is Pastor Ravi Sundar. AIM is partnering with
him and his Shalom
Bible College.
This venture is taking village men with a true calling to
spread the Gospel, and providing them with one year of intensive Bible
training. Three semesters filled with a basic Bible foundation; Old and
New Testament surveys; teaching in the fields of evangelism, scriptural
interpretation, eschatology (End Times theology); and other subjects that
American Christians take for granted. They are also given practical
training in preaching, church administration, leadership and other useful
areas.
Three full semesters for each student costs $450 including
room, board and books. That is only $50 a month. The men attend
free of charge except for chores/work on campus. We are asking you to partner with us financially to train these men for
God’s Kingdom.
What do Alumni have to say? Russ and I met with about
twenty of them on our last trip, and it was a varied and fascinating
group. One interesting graduate of Ravi's
college is his "bad boy" Udhay Kumar. He is 26, but looks 18, and
deceptively innocent. Ravi says he often ran away from the campus, sometimes
with Ravi’s car…
Kumar had asthma since the age of 2 and suffered miserably
for 8 years. After being healed at a
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| Udhay Kumar |
During his stay in 2009-2010, he and the College were
targeted by a radical fundamentalist Hindu group called RSS. (Their
saffron flags currently fly in many nearby neighborhoods, so the hostility is
not over.) They attacked the campus, broke all the lights and threatened
them if they didn’t discontinue operations.
When Kumar and his peers went out to evangelize, the group
attempted to assault them, but they made it back to the safety of the walled
compound. Today, Udhay Kumar ministers in K.P. Gudam, about 250km from Hyderabad and about 110km north of Guntur. His church is fairly large for
a village--55 members.
He has also begun a fledgling house church in Ramalabanda
village with 15 coming for prayer. But, opposition continues to
haunt and discourage him. A mob came to beat him, and one man threatened
to kill him if he held another service there. Sometimes he is so discouraged he wants to quit, but he says
“God is always faithful” and he hasn’t given up. Please pray for
this brave, but uneasy young man. His life is truly on the line for the
Gospel—something Americans have seldom experienced.
We have seen Ravi Sundar interact with these young men—a
combination of fatherly concern, laughter, respect and yet stern
discipline. They tell tales of how he implemented “food cuts”—banning
them from meals if they were caught walking around during personal prayer time,
or cutting chapel. If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,
then the way to his conscience can sometimes take the same route…
We are impressed by the training these men have received,
and the fruit that training is producing across Andhra Pradesh.
AIM is committed to helping national pastors and
missionaries reach their own people. For less than the cost of a
wide-screen TV or 90 days of Starbucks coffee, you can equip a man to plant and
pastor a new church in an unreached village
of India. He will preach
the Gospel there for years, evangelizing five surrounding villages on a
circuit. He will raise up new leaders for new churches in those villages
and send them back to Shalom
Bible College.
Each graduate is expected to plant ten churches in his lifetime.
Even if each church has only 50 members, think of the eternal
consequences.
America
is obsessed with the End Times; escalating world problems, climate anomalies,
and degradation of morality. Wars and rumors of wars assault us in the
media. Is Christ returning soon? The Bible says He will come
quickly. Are we filled with compassion, as Jesus was, for the multitudes
of lost souls, sheep without a shepherd? Or are we bogged down in our own
daily lives?
What happens if Christ returns, and these souls have never
heard the Gospel? Let’s DO
something! Help AIM to help these men reach their people by giving to the
Timothy Fund Now!
--Alice Sharrock
--Alice Sharrock
You may also send checks made out to: AIM
PO Box 1597
Stillwater, OK 74076
Please add a note stating this donation is for the "Timothy Project." Thank you for you generosity!
Asia International Mission is an
IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry.
All gifts are tax-deductible and
100% of donations are used as designated
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