The Brethren Church

Report of the Missionary Activities of the Brethren Mission in India 2005

In these last and tumultuous days, the Merciful and Mighty Lord has been using Rev. and Mrs. Prasanth Kumar extensively to reach the unsaved, to serve the needy and abandoned and to nurture & strengthen the believers in India which is a country infested with idolatry, witchcraft and superstition. Sowing the Gospel seed through preaching and tearful prayers many people have been added to the Church and 368 members have been baptized.

Praise and honor be to our Lord who has enabled us to cross the 10,000 mark of baptisms. Rev. Sudhir Kumar baptized 20 persons in the month of November, 2005 at Tanuku Village where Rev. Bill Wright witnessed to the gathering.

PERSONAL EVANGELISM: (1) Evangelism, (2) Proclamation, and (3) Service continue to be the means and method to reach, train and touch lives with Jesus’ love. House visiting, outreach, counseling and praying with members of the Church as well as people of other religions is a regular feature of Personal Evangelism activities.

MASS EVANGELISM: From the 10th of December to the 10th of January every year Rev. & Mrs. Prasanth Kumar and Rev. Sudhir Kumar visit the Brethren congregation in all the different places to celebrate what is called “Christmas Gospel.” The season is an opportune time to knock on the heart’s doors of people. Ramalingapuram, Tanuku, Savaram, Veluvalapalli, Bodasakurru, V. Kothapalem, S. N. Gollalapalem, and Mallavolu are the villages that have already been visited this Christmas season. As per the schedule, the other villages and congregation will be visited too.

WOMEN EVANGELISM: Four lady evangelists along with Mrs. Nirmala Prasanth Kumar have a door to door evangelism program every single day. Fasting and fervent intercessory prayers are conducted for 7 weeks in the homes of those with specific needs. Bible Study and Special Prayer is held on Thursday & women’s Fellowship on Saturdays. Since women play a very significant role in building and nurturing a family, Women’s evangelistic projects aim at establishing a spiritual and sound foundation amongst ladies. The pastor’s wives of the different Brethren congregation conduct women’s prayer meetings in their respective churches.

YOUTH EVANGELISM: Amidst circumstances where accepting Christ as their personal Saviour is a challenge and threat to young people, Rev. & Mrs. Prasanth Kumar reach them with a great burden. Through godly counsel, prayer and advice the youth are encouraged. Every (2nd & 4th) alternate week is dedicated to the nurture and building of the youth. In the past year we have witnessed miracles and life-changing and challenging testimonies by many young people. Among the people baptized, the youth are in large numbers.

VILLAGE EVANGELISM: So far 178 Churches & preaching points exist. The missionaries visit the village congregations every Sunday evening and conduct Gospel and Revival meetings throughout the year. The students who are trained in the Brethren Bible Institute plant churches in villages. Church buildings are built with the designated funds received from mission-minded Brethren in the U.S.A. One new Church Building was built and dedicated to the Glory of God in D. Chiruvuru Lanka and Nehru Nagar.

URBAN EVANGELISM: 40 Days Lenten Cottage Meetings were conducted in order to give a chance to the non-Christian neighbors to hear the Gospel. Bible Study is held on Wednesdays, ‘Personal and Healing Prayers’ are conducted by Rev. Prasanth Kumar every Friday. Through this ministry many non-Christians too have tasted the goodness of Jesus Christ and received miracles and answers to their prayers. Sicknesses have been healed, barren have borne children, unmarried people found life-partners, unemployed found jobs, and many strained family relationships have been reconciled in answer to these prayers and because of the “All-night Fasting Prayer” held on the last Friday of every month.

LAYMEN EVANGELISM: Every alternate Sunday at 5:00 PM is the time for Laymen Prayer Fellowship.

PROCLAMATION: Literature, music, Bible Institute & Christian education are the channels of proclamation. With the offerings & tithes of the Brethren in India, 1,000 copies of “SUVARTHIKUDU’ i.e., Evangelist in Telugu, are being printed & published which reach libraries, homes & prisons. Praise and worship services under the leadership of Mrs. Nirmala and Rev. Sudhir Kumar are setting people ablaze for God by invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Bible Institute continues to train pastors and the reading room opens the door for all to be informed.

ORPHANAGE: 35 boys and 45 girls who are unwanted and uncared for are sheltered in the Brethren Orphanage. They are fed, educated and trained and taken care of here. They are little evangelists in the ministry.

MEDICAL MINISTRY: 120 and more patients are treated at the Brethren Mission Hospital every day. By God’s grace and the benevolent support of the Brethren in U.S.A., a beautiful and spacious hospital building has been constructed & was dedicated by Rev. Ken Hunn during his trip to India. The marvelous reception and worship center is a contribution of the Milford Church. Rev. & Mrs. Prasanth Kumar express their thanks and deeply appreciate all the supporters. We also thank God for enabling us to add new departments and appoint more doctors and nurses this year. Two free medical camps were conducted in (1)Manginapudi and (2) Inavilli Lanka Villages. Mobile Medical Aid and relief work has been done in the areas devastated by the tsunami.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING: It is a great delight to report of the inauguration of the Free Computer Training Institute by Rev. Bill Wright during his visit in November, 2005, which aspires to equip unemployed youth for good jobs. The Sewing School & Type Institute continue to train the destitute widows & poor young men and women. So far 1,432 have benefited from the Type Institute and 1,465 have been trained at the Sewing School. Three sewing machines have been donated to poverty-stricken women.

My name is Mark Dalrymple from Winding Waters Brethren Church in Elkhart, Indiana and I bring you greetings from Pastor José Rivero of the Argentina church. Eleven members from our local church visited our sister church and several others while in Argentina on a mission trip. Pastor José was our guide and leaders for our twelve days in the country. We found the church and the people warm, exciting and full of the Holy Spirit. In the four church services that we attended, the worship was incredible.

Work was performed at the church in Firmat with Pastor Eduardo where we stained ceiling beams and boards and poured cement for the new sanctuary. At Camp Eden we painted almost the entire camp white and installed four gas radiant heaters in some of the rooms. We worshiped with our sister church at Gerli and were able to give Pastor Ricardo two separate cash gifts that totaled $6,600.00 for their church construction. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit the Argentina churches and receive such a blessing from them.

Take a closer look at Jesus Our Firm Foundation Brethren Church in the Philippines. Thanks to technology, we can “reach out and touch” dozens of photos of their church and ministry.

Jesus Our Firm Foundation at Yahoo! Photos