Impacting the World for Christ
Remember to keep the hundreds of Christians forced from their homes during the recent rioting in Pakistan in your prayers. The country’s harsh blasphemy laws are being used as an excuse by some to justify violence. Please also remember to pray for those perpetrating the violence, so that they might come to a saving knowledge of Christ and know His peace..
Our January visit to Srikakulam was a very special one as we were joined by some of the sisters from our Rehoboth church in Hyderabad. After an 18 hour train journey and some time to refresh ourselves, we traveled by Jeep to the interior to visit Eguva Seedi, where members of the church there welcomed us in their traditional way by washing our feet and serving us coconut water to drink.
Shanthi & Ravi arrive at Eguva Seedi
Pastor S. K. ministers to the Savara tribe in the village, about 150 believers, as well as those Savara Christians in surrounding villages. The people there speak Telagu and work mostly in agriculture with the whole area full of cashew nut trees. A very beautiful place in God’s creation!
The church at Eguva Seedi has been under construction for the past three years as the work has been slowed by the difficulty in raising funds. We pray for God’s provision to complete the work.
The church in Eguva Seedi has been under construction for three years.
The believers currently worship in a thatched hut and praise God with music produced on instruments made from bamboo.
Despite lack of a church building, worship continues in a thatched hut.
On the second day, we traveled to Paata Barna and stopped for a time to see the church construction at Venkatapuram village. We received a warm welcome there and were very happy to participate in the dedication of the beautiful church there that stands as a testament to God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. Pastor N. S. led the dedication service, which included several baptisms, and all present expressed their joy and gratitude to the Lord for his gracious blessings.
Ravi speaks at joyful church dedication service.
Following the baptisms, we visited Maliveeduguda, another Savara tribal village, where the church building is also under construction. We then traveled on to Kotha Barna, where we participated in an evening service at their church before driving to Eetamanuguda, where three new converts testified in baptism in a beautiful nearby waterfall and spent some time in prayer.
Ravi and Shanthi participate in an evening service at Kotha Barna.
Baptisms near a waterfall
From Eetamanudguda, we left for Puligummi, where we conducted a service for the believers there (IMAGE 7) before returning by train to Hyderabad.
Ravi and Shanthi conduct a service in Eetamanuguda.
Thank you for your faithfulness in continuing to pray and contribute so much to the Lord’s work here. Much remains to be done, but God be praised for all that He has done and promises to do I the future through you!
Ryder Kumar is serving as our International Director. As one of the founding members of Shepherding the Nations, it was Ryder's vision to see pastors trained and equipped for ministry that became the foundation of Shepherding the Nations.
Shepherding the Nations has identified qualified and called men who are already working in unreached areas of India and Nepal. We are providing the training to better equip them and the financial resources to support them in their ministries.
Our directors have been equipped to teach our ten-volume training curriculum. These key men are training indigenous pastors and church planters while also providing accountability, resources materials, and support.
During our training program, we provide our ten volume set of curriculum from the Biblical Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) in their local language. We also provide essentials resources such as Bible Concordance and Study Bible. We have been able to provide these books to all of our pastors through the generous donations of our donors. These books can be purchased for about $10 each or an entire set for $100. Donate online.
There has been nothing so crucial to the on-going ministry of Shepherding the Nations as the continued prayer support of our sponsors and supporting churches. Those who commit to sponsoring our International Director, one of our Regional Directors, or a pastor, evangelist or church planter, will receive a photo and prayer requests so that you can be praying by name for those on the field. If you are not currently on our email mailing list, please consider subscribing so that you can receive prayer updates via email.