An Indian example for Americans for Church Security

Indian Churches face the possibility every day of violence against the pastor and the church members. Thousands of Christian homes have been burned in India in recent months.

A report that we received from one of our churches in South India can be an ecouragement to American churches that are in fear of their security.

After the service finished and everybody left, a young man was seen waiting for the pastor at the back. The pastor approached him and the young man was in tears. "I was sent by an anti-Christian group to kill you if possible. I sat in the front row, wanting to stab you when the opportunity came. When the church was praying with their eyes closed, I took out my knife to stab you, but my hand froze! I tried to withdraw my outstretched hand, but I realized that I could not do so. See, even now I am unable to bend my hand."

The pastor comforted him and praised God for protecting his life. Afterwards the pastor prayed for the young man and his hand became normal again.

There is much fear in American Churches these days because of recent violence that has come, but maybe the answer isn't more and more security guards but prayer.

God is good! When in fear, pray!

Your Financial Support Is a Great Blessing! Update.

Greetings, Friends:
Thank you for everyone who prays for us that we will see God's provision for our ministry. I am amazed each month as the bills get paid even though we receive significantly less each month than we are accustomed to. But our joy is full as we see God provide through so many means. We have our health insurance paid for and we are able to simplify our lives in material goods but we are very rich in joy as we feel this is where God has called us to serve, and where God guides, He provides.

Please pray for us as we seek to raise an additional $500 per month of support and that we grow in our faith so that we can truly be a blessing to Serve India and make a major impact on the villages of India.

We are continually humbled by the generosity of our friends and supporting churches. We have had two of our supporting churches that have kept us on their missions support roll even though they are going through financial hardships. Both of these churches needed to cut their budget, so they reduced everyone 10% and 25% so they wouldn't have to stop supporting any of their missionaries. This is such a blessing to us; it is almost like getting a raise! Their commitment truly honors God.

My prayer is that God will bless these churches greatly for their steps of faith. As well as churches, many of the families that support us do so out of sacrifice, and I know that God is pleased with their faith and commitment to reach India with the Gospel. I pray that God would bless each family that has sacrificed to support our work at Serve India, and I pray that their giving would be a continual work of joy.

Just as the native pastors are the unsung heroes of missions in India, so are the donors in America who have made church planting and evangelism a priority! I know that your commitment will be a legacy of faith that will glorify God.

Benjamin News and Photos

Benjamin and his friend Randy at the
Pine Wood Derby at church.










Benjamin with his Cusions Jace
and Jessica and Mia the dog.










Benjamin helping with with a
booth at a Home School Conference.











2nd Place Best of Show for
his pinewood derby car.











Look Mom! No Training Wheels! :)









Home School Bowling League,
ready for a strike!














Benjamin singing with Janey
at our home church in Harrison, AR.







Colorado Home School Conference.
A display that had several chess
games set up, Benjamin was
able to win several games!

Sunday at our home church in Harrison, Arkansas

We were very blessed to travel to Harrison, Arkansas, to speak to our home church, Grace Christian Center. Janey and Benjamin sang together the song "Praise Adonai," and it was a great blessing to see them worship God in song!

We were able to share the vision of Serve India Ministries and have the joy of visiting the church family that first put us in ministry 20 years ago. It was in 1989 that we first began to minister to the youth of Grace Christian Center and now some of the young people we first ministered to are nearing 40 years old!

While at Grace Christian Center, we began to go on missions trips with our pastors as well as taking our youth on several mission trips.

Now we are able to return 20 years later to Grace and share the vision for the future that our partnership will help plant 100,000 churches.

We praise the Lord for 250 new pastors this fall! Now we need sponsors.

As you know, we are now serving 450 independent pastors in India. You can feel the momentum in India start to build as more and more pastors are starting to get a vision for being a part of planting 100,000 churches. Isn't that a wonderful God-sized goal!

As of now we have 350 of these pastors sponsored, so PLEASE pray for the USA staff that we can quickly find the sponsors that God has prepared for our ministry.

I am preparing to send out some mailing to people we met at recent home school conferences asking them to sponsor a pastor or a Stepping Stone child. When Brother Ebey comes to the USA in the fall, he will have 250 more pastors. It is very important that Serve India Ministries Development Department goes to the next level. We hope to have our community-based web site launched by the end of the month, and it will be a tool that our key friends can use to recruit 20 donors to sponsor a specific mission field and they will be able to encourage each other and pray together on a community bulletin board specific to their mission field. We also plan on hosting an online prayer meeting.

We are also preparing for a two-month tour that Brother Ebey and Gene Mackie will be going on from September 18 through November 25, and during that time our prayer is to schedule speaking opportunities on each Sunday and Wednesday and personal visits with donors during weekdays. They will be traveling from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, then back to Iowa and Illinois before flying back to India in late November. The goal will be to sponsor 250 pastors and 1500 Stepping Stone children.

Denver Home School Conference

I was very blessed to take Benjamin with me to work the booth at the Denver Home School Conference. We got one of the worst booth locations in the building, but Benjamin was so enthusiastic we were able to get 96 people to sign up for a drawing of a Archaeological Study Bible and many of the people requested our e-newsletter and additional information. Benjamin is just like a street preacher and he asks (insists) people to sign up for the materials.

Benjamin is a great partner and his enthusiasm is contagious.

Good job Bennie Boo!

Jesus Has Need of Your Donkey

Greetings:

Recently I was preparing a message for my home church in Arkansas, and I thought to ask Benjamin what scripture he thought I might share. Benjamin told me to use

Matthew 21:2-3 (New King James Version)
2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

What I found so compelling about this scripture is that it described to a tee what our role is as we serve the Body of Christ and the ministry of Serve India. We are like the disciples whom Jesus sent out to retrieve the donkey and its colt.

This is a perfect picture of how we are to approach our fund-raising.

#1 The disciples heard from the Lord what to do.

#2 Jesus knew the need before the disciples, that very soon he would need a colt to ride on so to fulfill the scripture written in Zechariah 9:9 (New King James Version)

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

We can be sure that Jesus knows our needs way before we do and has prepared a provision that is waiting for us.

#3 The donors were waiting for the right opportunity to give the donkeys because God had already put it on their hearts to give them. All they needed to hear from the disciples was "the Lord has need of them."

#4 The Lord provided more than enough. A friend of ours pointed this out to me that Jesus needed only the colt but the donor supplied the donkey as well. We must remember that as we work to find the provision for the missionaries that God will also supply our family needs as well as the administrative cost needed to go find the donkey colts.

Thank you for your kind support and prayers for our ministry.

Michael, Jane and Benjamin Erwin

Helping reach millions with the Gospel