A New Year's Message from Dani to the Church

" And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed." (Romans 13:11)

In the verse above, Paul exhorts us as Christ-followers to wake up from our slumber or sleep.
Here we would like to examine five kinds of sleep from Bible .

1. Death: Death is also equated to sleep. When Lazarus
was dead, Lord Jesus said that he was asleep. Spiritual
death is also a sleep. As Satan has blinded the spiritual
perception of people, they are asleep and would go into
everlasting sleep unless they turn to Lord Jesus Christ.
Awake to wake up many from eternal death.
The first and foremost awakening that should happen in a
Christian’s life is to wake up a person’s life
from the spiritual slumber, by sharing Gospel. When one
accept Jesus as Lord and savior with repentance and
humility he/she awakens from eternal death to life.
So the Church must awaken to wake up many from eternal death to eternal life.

2. Trance: Peter went into trance, where he was
physically sleeping but spiritually seeing God speaking to
him through a dream. That changed his perception about
the Gentiles. Therein, he was awakened to recognize other nations (groups of people).
This trance is good for His kingdom. Peter is a good
example, he was not able to understand the truth that all
people are created in the image of God irrespective of
their nationality. Up until this trance, he was not considering the salvation of
other people outside of Israel. The Lord had to wake him up with a trance that
changed his perspective or attitude towards other people.
The Church must wake up and go to other nations.

3. Deep sleep: Jonah after fleeing on a ship to Tarshish
went into deep sleep. He was not bothered or disturbed by
the commotion due to storm, wind, waves and shrieking cry
of the people. He was shaken out of sleep, when he
confessed his fleeing attempt from God’s plan.
Likewise, the Church must awaken to obey His commands.
God has great purpose for his people. He could use
humble, simple people to fulfill his great, wonderful
purposes. He wants us to wake up and obey the purpose
behind His call in our life, Go and preach the Gospel to
whole world.

4. Careless sleep: Samson slept in Delilah’s lap not
knowing that he was losing the indwelling presence of the
Holy Spirit and his power. When he woke up he not only
lost his physical strength, but also his spiritual
prowess.
The Church must awaken to God's purposes.
When using all our energy, knowledge, time, resources,
talents for Godly purposes, we find our true purpose in life. For that purpose,
God filled us with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

5. Drowsiness: This is lack of mental alertness. Or it
could be described as state of inactivity. Others may
think the person is awake and alert, but in reality, he
would be sleeping.
The Church must awaken to multiply Talents.
Some people are careless and negligent in their lives.
Like the person with one talent in the Parable of
Talents; many in the Church dig, bury and hide their talents instead of having
an attitude to utilize and multiply them. Be alert to share what God
has given us.

Now we are one year closer to Jesus' return. Let us be
conscious about the time and act accordingly. Let the Church awaken from her sleep and live to spread a passion for His glory as faithful servants.

Cultural Orientation - Driving in India

An Invitation from Dani

The call.

It is the traditional belief that Gospel came to India through a missionary journey of the Apostle Thomas in the first century. Two thousand years later the message is poised to penetrate 500,000 unreached Indian villages. There are many reasons that it has taken so long for the Gospel to spread in India. Among them are the vast cultural, geographical and ethno-linguistic changes from place to place. Although some areas share common cultural foundations, no two villages are alike. Dialects may change within a matter of miles. For this reason, it is very difficult for an Indian missionary to reach all these villages even though he may even speak the local language. Often the missionary himself must be accepted before his message will be.

Here e3 Partners, we are committed to equipping the local people to overcome these barriers and reach their own villages with the Gospel. We also encourage them by bringing them along to evangelize neighboring villages. These Indian nationals are then equipped to evangelize and establish new reproducing churches throughout their region. This is the greatest work given to mankind - to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ both near and far. Come to India and be a part of this wonderful work of God! Pray for us as we engage the lost!! Give generously so that more may be reached!!! Be part of e3 South Asia. We welcome you.

Join us in India on an e3 Mission Journey

Challenges and Opportunities in India

Background and Context

India is known as a land of immense complexity and diversity. Multiple languages, people groups, religions, castes, and regions make India one of the most complex nations in the world. In addition to its complexity, India is in the midst of tremendous change, which adds to the challenges of reaching India with the Gospel.

Complexity of India

Languages and people groups
India is really more like a continent than a nation, with 222 languages and 1650 dialects spoken by more than 10,000 people each (including 18 official languages), 25 scripts, and immense cultural differences between north and south, between west and northeast, and between urban, village and tribal. Dr. K.S. Singh of the Anthropological Survey of India (1991) has identified 4,693 communities or people groups. He says, “Nowhere in the world have so many streams mixed, with such diversity.” The India Missions Association records 960 castes and tribes with populations of at least 10,000.

Religions
According to Ebe Sunder Raj, former General Secretary of the India Missions Association, India is home to approximately 450 million Hindus. In addition, nearly 300 million people of lower castes have been classified as Hindus by the Census of India since1931, but since they do not practice the Brahminical religion, they are not properly called Hindus. In India we find the world’s largest block of accessible Muslims, about 123 million, as well as 22.2 million Sikhs, 6.5 million Buddhists and 3.8 million Jains.

Castes
Fundamental to Hinduism is the idea of caste. Traditionally caste divisions are related to occupational groupings and endogamous marriage arrangements (i.e. marriage within a similar social unit). However, when combined with religious ideas of purity and social practices of hierarchy, it has become for many an instrument of discrimination and oppression. At a recent UN conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, Indian Dalit leaders argued unsuccessfully for the identification of caste discrimination as a form of racism in the Indian context. Even though caste discrimination is forbidden by the Indian Constitution, it strongly influences social behavior and thinking for over 80% of the population, including many Christians.

Regions
Indians Christian leaders commonly speak in terms of three basic regions: the North, the South, and the Northeast. But even within these regions, there are profound and important cultural, linguistic and religious differences. Because of this complexity, it would be simplistic to think in terms of one approach or one set of needs for the entire country. In fact, it is very difficult to make generalizations that apply to all of India. Many Indian leaders have suggested it would be wise to approach leadership research and strategy on a regional level.

Change in India
The first word to keep in mind when we think about India is complexity. The second is change. India today is undergoing rapid changes in many areas.

Economics
The last decade and a half have brought the relaxation of restrictions on foreign investment, the privatization of a number of industries, and the explosion of the Indian software enterprise. India has become the second largest software producer in the world. More and more high-tech companies are establishing themselves in places like Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The middle class is growing rapidly in purchasing power. In the cities, motorbikes and private automobiles are replacing bicycles and rickshaws. Computers, cell phones, Internet cafes, and e-mail addresses on business cards are multiplying. Desire for material advancement and acquisition of consumer goods is an obsession for many in the urban middle class. But amidst these rapid changes, the gaps between the economic and technological “haves” and “have-nots” continue to grow.

Culture
The introduction of satellite TV, especially MTV, has contributed to far-reaching changes in the Indian economy as well as culture. Western soap operas, movie stars and rock bands receive wide exposure. Western values and morals are rapidly undermining many Indian social and family traditions. Divorce rates are rising. The influence of television reaches beyond the cities to impact the villages and rural areas as well. Television has changed patterns of home life, and has made it more difficult to do home visitation and to involve people in evening meetings.

Youth
Sixty-five percent of the Indian population is under the age of 30. Because of their early exposure to satellite TV, computers, the Internet, Western-style entertainment and advertisement, etc., especially in the urban areas, their values and behavior are changing rapidly in ways that are often incomprehensible to their parents. Urbanized young people identify more with their peers in other Asian as well as Western countries than they do with their parents’ generation. They are questioning old assumptions, and more open to new ideas than ever before. They are looking for reliable guidance, and for trustworthy role models. Perhaps 85% of those who become Christians do so before they reach the age of 18.

Families
The rapid changes related to urbanization, modernization and globalization have impacted the Indian family greatly. Divorce, previously almost unheard of, is becoming increasingly common, even among Christians. Moral failures by highly visible Indian leaders have been shattering for the churches. More young people are engaged in drugs, alcohol, and premarital sexual activity. AIDS is spreading with alarming speed. Traditional patterns of family life are breaking down as young people move to the cities for education and jobs.

Church leaders often do not know how to cope with the bewildering complexity of stresses and changes that people in their congregations are facing. They have never done premarital counseling. Nor do they know how to address parents who are contemplating divorce, or whose Christian children are becoming involved with drugs or the occult. With the changes coming in women’s roles, and the stresses of urban life, without the support system of extended families, many Christian leaders are facing unfamiliar tensions in their own marriages.

Urbanization
India is becoming increasingly urban. There are 600,000 villages in India, but there are also 346 cities with populations over 100,000, 33 cities with over one million, and eight cities with over three million. One hundred years ago, India was only 5% urban. It is presently about one-third urban, and is projected to be nearly 40% urban within ten years.

Yet traditionally, the ministry of the churches has been within the villages and the tribal areas, and among the lowest classes. Few churches and Christian organizations have even tried to develop strategies to reach the urban middle classes. The furthest that many churches have gone in urban ministry is to try to reach members of their own denomination who have moved from other cities, or who have migrated to the city from the village. Yet in a number of cities promising new models of ministry are emerging, both to the poor in the slums and to the middle class.

Opportunity
With the challenges of complexity and change in India, there is also tremendous opportunity.
It would be easy to become focused on the challenges. We at e3 Partners choose not to look past the challenges, for they surely need to be addressed. But our vision is not limited by the challenges, but is rather built upon the opportunities. There are unprecedented opportunities to impact India with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through equipping an army of indigenous laity to evangelize the over 1 billion lost, and to establish reproducing churches within walking distance of every person on the Sub-Continent. With man this may seem impossible. But with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Therefore, we depend upon God.

Answers to Questions about Becoming a Missionary

By John Piper November 2, 2005

Here are eight objections and a biblical response.

1. “I am not smart enough.”
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21)
“Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

2. “My body and my personality are not strong enough.”
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) “[Christ] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

3. “I am not a good speaker.”
“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:17) “Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:10-12)

4. “I am afraid of the horrors I read about in the newspapers.”
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore (katartisei—“mend” or “repair” your horribly disfigured body when the lions in the coliseum are through with you), confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:8-10)

5. “I am afraid I won’t be fruitful”
Your responsibility is not to be fruitful but to be faithful.
“And [Jesus] said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29) “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

6. “There is plenty to do here.”
True, but there is a division of labor and God calls some to MISSIONS, not just evangelism. The difference is seen in Romans 15:19-24: “So that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I [Paul] have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named. . . Now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions . . . I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain.” How could Paul say there was no room for work when there were millions in that region to be evangelized? Because evangelism is not missions.

7. “I am not married.”
The best spouse is found on the path of obedience.
“An excellent wife [or husband!] who can find? She [and he!] is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10). The finding is exceedingly hard. It will happen on the road of obedience.

8. “I fear that when I get there it might turn out I made a mistake and will come home with shame.” Which is worse, shame for having endeavored to follow Christ in missions, or fear to venture? Shame before others for making a mistake will not hurt you; it will humble you and can make you more useful in a new situation. But fear will make you useless everywhere. Consider Ecclesiastes 11:4 and what it says about risk: “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” Meaning: without taking the risk of sowing when the seed might be blown away and reaping when the rain might ruin the harvest, you will starve.

Oh, how precious is the freeing word of God,
Pastor John

© Desiring God www.desiringgod.org

Social Stats in India

Surveys revealed that the Very Rich comprise about six million people or a million households. Below them, the middle class consists of three segments: The Consuming Class accounting for thirty mission households or 150 million people, the bulk of whom could be in the market for all kinds of consumer durable; the Climbers, consisting of fifty million households or 275 million people; and the Aspirants numbering another 275 million.

The policy of economic liberalization provided the Indian middle class an excuse to even more blatantly separate its ‘world’ from the vast masses of the destitute and deprived in India. It deadened even further any remaining sense of concern in it for the disadvantaged. It gave a flamboyant ideological justification for the creation of two Indias, one aspiring to be globalized, and the other hopelessly, despairingly marginalized. One unfortunate aspect of this general atmosphere of hope and optimism was that it pushed even more into the background some rather inconvenient messages about the real condition of the Indian economy.

We should not forget that…

• Every day as many as 250 million Indians are still going to bed hungry.

• Every third human being in the world without safe and adequate water supply
is an Indian.

• Diarrhea still claims close to 1.5 million infants each year in this country – one every three minutes.

• Fifty-three percent of all Indian children below the age of five are underweight and malnourished (as against Ethiopia’s forty-eight percent).

• Infant mortality rate in India is one of the highest in the world.

• Rural female illiteracy in the country is close to seventy percent.

• Only fifteen percent of the scheduled caste women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the two most populous states in the country, are literate.

• More than half of all Indians living in cities have no access to sanitation facilities, and the absence of such a basic facility is as high as a staggering ninety-seven percent for rural Indians.

• Statistics can hardly convey the pulverizing, degrading poverty of the thirty-nine percent of Indians who, as per the government’s own admission, live below the poverty line. [Pages 182-183]

* Excerpted from: Pavan K. Varma, The Great Indian Middle Class, 1998, (© Penguin Books India, Kolkata, Pages 171, 180, 182-183.)