Impacting the World for Christ
From Keith and Ryder-
As you can read on Shanti’s report, the Hyderabad seminar is now complete. We had a wonderful time with the pastors from the South. We flew Friday evening to Delhi, arriving at our room at 11:30 p.m. It has been a long day, but we are now looking forward to getting rest. Tomorrow, we fly to Lucknow. Both Ryder and I will be preaching Sunday in Lucknow. Then on Monday the seminar for the pastors from the north will begin. Thank you for your continued prayers.
From Shanthi,
It has been a wonderful week in the conference and as the proverb in English says ‘ ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END’ it is the final day in Hyderabad. Both Pastor Ryder and Dr. Keith looked exhausted due to the heat but they are given grace to teach so many hours to these precious pastors who are eager to learn through His Word. I am making preparations for the payments, closing ceremony,send offs etc.
The medical reports of Pastor Surya Kumar came out negative for malaria so we are relieved. He has improved a lot. Continue to pray for all these things.
Attached a few more pictures.
From R. and S. (regional directors)
Praise God for the opportunities given to spend in His presence hearing Him speaking through His Servants. After good night’s rest, the pastors looked fresh to receive the inputs given to them. They participated with great enthusiasm and we found them responding actively to the assignments.
I attached a few pictures showing their sincere study through the scriptures. Pastor Ryder taught from the Gospels of Mark and John and his overview was great that gave valuable insights. Dr. Keith took through Luke and Acts giving historical validity to the Gospel preached by Apostle Paul.
Continue to pray for pastor S. K., he has been taken to the hospital now by Ravi for check up. He is still suffering from fever with stomach pain.
The retreat centre people arranged a generator which is a great relief during power cuts.
From Keith and Ryder
The first training seminar in Hyderabad is off to a good start. The 50 pastors arrived safely and have been attentive and interactive with the New Testament Survey material. It is amazing to think that we have already completed the Gospels and Acts. Tomorrow, we begin two days on the Pauline Epistles. Pray for strength and stamina both for Ryder and me and for the pastors; it is unseasonably hot for Hyderabad with the daytime temperatures in the 90’s. The room we use does not have A/C. It gets very hot with no air movement, particularly in the afternoon. After a day of travel and with the heat, the men were somewhat glassy-eyed on Monday afternoon for session which began at 1:30 and went until 7:30 p.m. Yesterday, after a good night’s sleep (the temps are dropping to the high 60’s at night), the men were much more alert. Thanks for praying – the seminar is going well by God’s grace.
From Ryder Day 2 – Sunday, March 14
Today was a wonderful day of the worship of God with our Indian brothers and sisters. Ryder preached at Reheboth Assembly and I at Emmanuel House of prayer. During the afternoon, we enjoyed a walk for some Indian ice cream (in honor of Paul Brown!). With Ravi, Shanti, and Jesser, we completed the day making final arrangements for the seminar which begins tomorrow after lunch.
From R. and S., (Regional Directors) Monday 7:53 PM Los Angeles Time
It was a blessed first day in the conference. All the 50 pastors arrived here safely this time without any problems traveling for almost 12 to 16 hours.
The introductory session to the New Testament study started after lunch at 1.30p.m. Dr. Keith’s teaching was so amazing and it’s a wonderful experience hearing him teaching with such an authority and depth in the knowledge of the Word of God. We are privileged to have him here.
Yesterdays final session, Dr. Keith took 28 minutes (minus translation) to complete 28 chapters of Matthews Gospel!
[S. attached a few pictures – they are not real clear but she will take more tomorrow.]Kindly continue to pray for:
1. The frequent power cuts [outages]
2. Pastor. S. K., suffering from high fever
From Ryder Kumar – Sunday, 4:22 AM L.A. Time
We have arrived safely in Hyderabad, India. After over 24 hours of travel, 3 hours of sleep in a bed never felt so good! We enjoyed hot showers and
hearty breakfasts before spending the day in a board meeting with STN India board members. STN India needs to have a general committee of at least 15 members to meet government requirements. Please pray that the men nominated by the executive board might be the Lord’s choices and respond positively to the coming invitations. Pray also that a strong partnership can be forged between STN International and STN India.
Dr. Keith Essex and Pastor Ryder Kumar are getting ready to leave on a 2 week trip to teach the Bible to 100 pastors in India. Two week-long Bible seminars will be held – one in Southern India and one in Northern India. Please pray for:
Check back often for trip updates as they are available.
What a wonderful evening we had Saturday night! Thank you to all who attended – you are the ones who put the “fun” back in “fundraising!” The numbers aren’t all in yet, but it looks like we raised about $10,000 toward our trip and the ministry in India. Praise God! We also have 12 new sponsor commitments. Now that this big event is in the past, we can set our sails and focus on the final preparations for the trip. Please pray for the few days remaining that we will have clarity of thought as we work on our lessons and packing. The men will be teaching through the entire Old Testament in 5 days! They have so much material to cover and I know they are striving to do it excellently.
I want to thank all those who made this evening so successful! Thank you to Kim and Scott and the set up crew (Vaughna and Pat) Thank you SO MUCH to Rick and Dean and the excellent lighting and display for the art auction. Thanks to Jen for helping me hang all the art. Thanks to Gretchen for always being available to help with whatever we need. Thanks to Tammy for untold HOURS of work. Thank you Carrie and the rest of the office for your patience and help with all our projects. Thank you to Wayne and Jonathan for being “sound men.” Thanks to the ensemble for the beautiful music! Thanks to the artists for donating not only your time and talent, but your heart as well. Thank you, Larry, for photographing the event. Thank you Karla and Jeff for helping with the collections and clean up. Thank you to the young people who served so beautifully and helped clean up. Thank you, Sylvia, for the tasty appetizers. Thank you, Lord, for blessing the outcome.
Susan
We are getting ready to go to India and we definitely need your prayers. Unfortunately, due to a health issue, Michele will not be joining us for this trip. We are all disappointed that she will miss this opportunity and sad that we will be missing her there – teaching and ministering with us.Please pray that the Lord will bring her healing and encouragement.
Tonight is our big annual fundraiser and we are excited about what the Lord will do as we share our hearts for this ministry with those who come.
We are continuing to study to be prepared with lessons from God’s word and we will fill every minute between now and the time we get on the plane! Many of us will use the travel time to continue to study and prepare (and perhaps sleep). Check this blog as often as you can and we will do our best to keep it updated and even upload some pictures as we can.
Blessings,
Susan
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.