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INDIA 2010:
New Beginnings for Breakthrough
By Frank R. Parrish
World MAP held two powerful Spiritual
Renewal and Equipping Seminars for pastors in India in 2010, both in cities
where we have not previously been.
The first of those cities was Pune in northwest India. As I was traveling to Pune, I received word that a bomb had exploded in a
café not far from our conference site, killing and wounding many people.
Because both Muslim and Hindu extremists target Christians, there was
concern as to whether or not we should still gather the 400+ pastors in Pune for the seminar.
As I began to pray, a strong peace came
into my heart about going ahead with the meetings. But I still wanted to
confer with our seminar coordinators, who assured me that the closed
compound in which we would meet was safe to gather the pastors. We also
received input from local authorities that the attack appeared to be a
Muslim-Hindu conflict, not one against Christians. So it was determined
that we would go ahead with the conference in Pune.
And how we praise the Lord that we did!
Salt and Light
Pune lies just outside Mumbai, the financial center of India.
The farther north in the subcontinent of India you go, the fewer
Christians there are. It is estimated that only 1 percent of the population in Pune
is Christian, with the rest split between Muslim and Hindu.
The World MAP ministry team included
Pastor Don Richter, Pastor Vic Torres and myself,
along with our seminar coordinators, Brothers Velu
and Prasanna from IBL Ministries.
As we arrived at the seminar site, we
were blessed to be greeted with such warmth and enthusiasm. It was evident
that the general age of this group of pastors was much younger than we
normally experience in India.
God was surely doing a new and fresh work in Pune,
raising up a strong and vibrant group of church
leaders to be salt and light to the lost souls all around them. We began to
sense the Lord’s desire for a great Harvest in this region of India!
A Powerful and Accelerated Work
From the moment the meetings began in Pune, the openness and eager hunger of these “young
lions” was clear and the Holy Spirit’s presence was strong. Allow me to
share with you some brief excerpts about this conference from my journal:
“The opening night began with a strong and responsive
time of worship. I spoke on the need for leaders to have clarity – of
vision, in our message and about our conflict. We paused during the
‘conflict’ portion to do spiritual warfare concerning the recent terrorist
attack... The pastors rose up strongly to receive and walk in their
now-understood place of spiritual oversight in their community. As my
message concluded, I moved into a ministry time… I dealt with
discouragement, failures, breakthroughs for marriages, and other words of
discernment… a powerful time as pastors wept, knelt at the altar, and
received the ministry of the Holy Spirit among them. “The following day,
Pastors Vic and Don ministered on working with God (not for God) and the
necessity of hearing the voice of the Lord to lead the Church to fulfill
the purposes of God… A strong day of teaching, ending with powerful
intercessory prayer. As we prayed, the Lord gave a vision of idols that
were deaf and dumb but had ruled over India, effectively blocking the
voice of the Lord, being pushed over. As we continued to pray, we were
impressed in our hearts that the idols were falling down, breaking into
pieces, and crumbling to dust. We sensed that the Lord and His Word would
be more freely heard and manifest in India! “The teachings on Day 3
were about hearing the voice of God and the things that may block our
hearing; the ways that God speaks; faith in the life of the church leaders,
what it is and how to grow in it; our position in Christ (Eph 2:6); God’s
intimate and personal call, and how that differs from our ministry
assignment; the need for pastors to be renewed in their intimacy with the
Lord; and the traits of a maturing leader… The last session of the day I
spoke on the Anointing of the Holy Spirit. I gave a brief doctrinal
foundation, and seven characteristics of true anointing… The pastors were
so hungry and ready to receive more of the Lord’s presence and Spirit.
“As I had them stand to worship and receive from the
Lord, the Holy Spirit began to move. There were many physical
manifestations as they received, as well as visions, words of direction and
correction, and even physical healings… I sensed the Lord doing a deep,
powerful yet accelerated work to prepare these leaders for the Harvest time
that was upon them. I later shared this impression with the pastors and
there was a roar of agreement and joy-filled affirmation through praise –
hallelujah!
“On the final day, I spoke on ‘Ten Essential
Principles of Ministry’ and ended the conference with us all giving thanks
and praise to God for what He had done in them and for what He was about to
do through them in the weeks and months, even years, ahead… Though every
World MAP conference is effective, this was one of the most powerful,
satisfying and fruitful conferences we have been part of.”
Doors Opening
After handing out Shepherd’s Staffs to
the pastors in Pune, along with books from IBL
Ministries and certificates of completion for the conference – and after
receiving many, many strong and extended hugs of thanks – we boarded our
flight southward for the next conference in Vijayawada.
Christians make up about 8 percent of the population in Vijayawada, with the majority of those
being women. However, only recently are more and more young men coming to
the Lord and entering the church doors. God is truly at work in the next
generation in India!
Christians and Muslims tend to get along
in Vijayawada,
as they are both minorities who live at the sufferance of the overwhelming
(and often aggressive) Hindu population. Radical Hindus do not attack
Muslims as frequently as they do Christians, however, because the Muslims
will strike back with equal violence.
A Lift In Faith
The ministry team arrived in Vijayawada a day ahead
of the start of the conference. As we began to mingle with the pastors who
were also arriving, we sensed that many were weary and somewhat
discouraged. The team spent a large part of that day talking and praying
together about the seminar that would begin the following evening, inviting
the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to come and encourage, equip and
refresh these faithful saints.
From my journal:
“At the opening session of the conference, the
facility was already at capacity with more than 750 pastors present. We
began with the usual formalities, and then entered into a time of worship.
I was sensing a need to be drawn more closely together in unity and further
into God’s presence to welcome His Spirit and lordship over the conference.
I prophetically exhorted the leaders about God’s desire and intent of high
purpose for the pastors of India
and for the believers they lead.
“After speaking briefly on Psalm 22:3, I led the
pastors to speak out their worship to God. Then we began to sing our
worship and a breakthrough began to come. I could sense the Holy Spirit
moving, and led pastors in recommitting their lives, ministries, families –
yielding all to the Lord that He might fulfill all He intended for them. I
had a sense that this conference was a significant beginning point for what
God desired to expand in and through these pastors into the future.
“I continued my message, then led another ministry
time especially for those who were struggling or discouraged, who felt
forgotten, etc. More than 100 pastors came forward for prayer, and the Holy
Spirit moved powerfully among them. As Pastors Vic and Don were praying for
them, I was declaring over them blessing, breakthrough, deliverance,
healing, peace, strength, renewed relationship
with God and more as the Holy Spirit led. It was a wonderful time, and provided
a lift in faith and anticipation for what God would also do in the days to
come.”
Empowered to Contend for the Kingdom
The next two days were packed with
teaching sessions, including such topics as the critical need for leaders
to hear the voice of God, and how to do that; the leader’s calling and
God’s equipping; raising up new leaders; the Kingdom of God and working to
build His Kingdom and not our own; character development; and laying down
our lives for the Lord’s sake.
Believers in North
America have their own challenges, both culturally and
spiritually. But we do not face the same type of almost overwhelming
spiritual oppression that believers in India experience every day.
They battle the weight of centuries of profound and pervasive idolatry
(demon worship) through the dominance of Hinduism in the culture (see Psalm 115:4-8 and 135:15-18). But this constant pressure only
intensified the pastors’ hunger for more of God’s Word of Truth and His
Spirit in their lives, their desire for more of His life and power flowing
into them and through them.
How important it was for the pastors at
this seminar to be encouraged, and to realize that God can and will speak
to them and empower them to contend for His Kingdom to come and His will to
be done in Vijayawada!
Powerful Wave of Outpouring
The momentum of the conference continued
to build with each session. It was my joy and privilege on the final
evening to minister to the pastors on the Anointing of the Holy Spirit. Again,
from my journal:
“I felt it was important to open this particular
teaching time with worship. It was evident as we sang that the Holy Spirit
was softening and preparing the hearts of the pastors. The pastors at this
conference were more reserved in general, but something was shifting. The
ministry team had thought the response in Pune
was one of the most open and powerful we had witnessed, but we were about
to see even more. Wow!
“I brought the teaching from the Word of God, then
had the pastors stand to receive what God had for them. Often at these
moments, there is a time of waiting in the Lord’s presence and asking the
Holy Spirit to come upon the pastors. But almost instantly, I could sense
the Holy Spirit moving among them. The signs of them being touched and
filled were more than evident, and our worship to the Lord began to
crescendo and build.
“I just waited and watched as the Holy Spirit was
touching the pastors. It must have been 20 minutes or more of just the team
praying and the church leaders powerfully receiving from the Holy Spirit.
Then the Lord quickened to me the story of the Israelite king coming to
Elisha and striking the arrows on the ground [2Ki 13:14-19]. I felt the
application for these pastors was that the Holy Spirit’s anointing and
refreshing was not only for them, but that they were to ask for and receive
on behalf of their ministries and churches, for Vijayawada, for Andhra
Pradesh and for all of India. There came an even more powerful wave of
outpouring as the pastors received and were filled, lifting their voices in
praise and intercessory prayer – HALLELUJAH!
“As I had prayed earlier in the day about this
evening’s session, I felt the Lord wanted to minister more healing for the
pastors. So I had them lay hands on each other and
pray, and many later attested to the fact that they had been physically
healed at that moment. I exhorted them to take what they had received this
week back to their churches, and to lead the people in anointing,
refreshing and healing by the power of the Holy Spirit!
“This conference was a mighty time in God, and the
pastors were truly blessed, encouraged, taught, refreshed and empowered.
Amen!”
Gratitude for Hope Fulfilled
On the final morning, we ended the
conference with a very fruitful question-and-answer period with the team and
the pastors. Then we had the joy of again handing out Shepherd’s Staffs and
certificates of completion to the pastors, along with copies of ACTS
Magazine and additional materials provided by IBL Ministries.
The pastors were so profoundly grateful
for both the conference and the training materials that World MAP provided.
The custom of some of the village pastors from this area was to slightly
bow and kiss our hand. This would normally be very uncomfortable, but it
was done with such humble sincerity and deeply-felt gratitude on their part
that it was clear they were really honoring the Lord and not men at all.
I wish there were some way you could
stand there with me to receive their warm handshakes and sincere hugs of
gratitude, since your prayers and support are what make all of this
possible. Yet I can only convey their deep thanks and their sense of hope
fulfilled because of what you have provided for them.
So thank you for your partnership in
ministry. I know the Lord will reward your generosity: “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which
increases to your account” (Phil 4:17 nas).
I truly look forward to that glorious day
when hundreds upon hundreds of church leaders will be able to thank you
face to face for all that you have allowed the Lord to do through your
faithfulness in prayer and giving.
“For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the
love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in
still ministering to the saints” (Heb 6:10).
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