Hungry People, Needy People, Learners, Listening & Soaking It All Up

Testimony Of Pastor Pardeep & His Wife Sashi

It was a great privilege to host a 4-day MTM conference at Ludhiana,Punjab.Praise God for allowing Rev.Raymond Burkholder & his friends to come & teach us. This conference was a life changing event where around 70 Pastors & Key church leaders came together from different parts of state,Punjab.The key theme on this 4 days conference was”The ministry of The Holy Spirit & Servant-hood leadership”. In this conference we learnt that we need to offer ourselves as complete sacrifice in order to be accepted & used by God.We also learnt how to be filled with the Spirit of God by emptying ourselves. Thank you so much for edifying & encouraging us. After attending this conference our life & ministry has been changed. We appreciate your labor of love to come & serve us with the word & love of God. This conference was indeed very effective & had great impact on all who attended that they had asked to organize more of this conference ~ Pastor Pardeep & Sashi

Pastor Pardeep & Sashi

The Full North India Gospel Ministry Team

Back Row, L-R, Clinton Weaver (IGo Student), Zach Miller, (IGo Student), Raymond Burkholder (MTM Teacher), Milo Zehr (MTM Teacher) – Sitting In Front Row, Rosa King (Ransom /MTM Women’s Ministry Teacher), Sarah Good (IGo Student), Cindalyn Lantz (MTM Women’s Ministry Teacher), Rose Yoder (MTM Women’s Ministry Teacher), Joy Cressman (IGo Student)

How does one describe a week of ministry in India? Sometimes first impressions are temporary and second impressions replace first impressions. I will mention several first impressions. As we were landing in Delhi I noticed that the land was flat and I saw no farm machinery (although I did see some farm tractors and even a combine later). As we drove through Delhi and into the countryside I was impressed with the cows who lay, walked, and stood along and in the road as if they owned the road; these cows reminded me of the beliefs that produce these sights. And of course the driving–oh the driving. I will never forget the driving. Almost no traffic lights or stop signs, constant horn blowing, people passing when there is no room to pass, and near misses time after time. The amazing thing is that I saw no accidents the whole week. I wonder what the fatality rate is! (Be sure to click the link below and watch the video to see this)

But in the midst of these first impressions, some of which were also second and third impressions, I also had other impressions. I was impressed with the desire of the Indian people to serve those who had come to serve them. They cared about our every physical need; they served us in ways I have seldom experienced.

I was impressed by the number who knew English. The average attendance of pastors and women was about 70 plus a number of children, and about half the people knew some English and many of those attending took notes, including the children. Some of the children took notes in English. Listening. Soaking it up. Thanking us for coming. The people were passionate about their relationship with Christ and hungry to learn.

The Full Ludhiana Pastors Conference Group

Raymond spoke eight times about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. My impression was that there was great interest in the work of the Holy Spirit, especially in the gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues, and casting out demons, and very settled beliefs about these aspects of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But there seemed to be less understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life. These people are passionate about following Jesus but they are first generation Christians trying to develop their beliefs and find their way. My impression was that, despite the challenge of speaking through an interpreter, Raymond’s powerful and “to the point” messages spoke deeply to hungry hearts seeking a deeper understanding and filling of the Holy Spirit. I spoke eight times about the pastor as a suffering servant. My impression was that Mark 10:35-45 was especially applicable in their culture. In this passage Jesus tells his disciples, who wanted high positions in His Kingdom, that servant leadership in the Kingdom of God is not like earthly rulers who often want the highest position (want to be “first”) and want others to serve them. Both Raymond and I said things that were new and ran counter to what the people have believed in the past. But in the midst of these new ideas, the people received the teaching with open and grateful hearts. They took it in and soaked it up and thanked us for being there. Hungry people. Needy people. Learners. This is the kind of people we ministered to in far away India. The last evening Brother Raymond gave an invitation for anyone who wanted to surrender anything in their life that hindered God filling them with the fullness power of the Holy Spirit. Almost everyone came to the front with hands held high seeking forgiveness and filling.

The Altar Response

I had a lasting impression as I sat for eleven hours in the Chandigarh airport waiting for my flight on the way home. I watched as the many security personnel (policemen) worked with each other as they did their job. They were kind and respectful toward each other, often shaking (and even holding) hands and always smiling at each other. No one ever acted frustrated. Finally I went to one of them and said that I have been watching them all these hours and I noticed how well they relate to each other. I explained what I meant. Then I asked him why they relate to each other this way. He proceeded to describe their job (to keep the people of all countries safe and their people safe and to protect each other and their leaders). He then smiled at me and asked to see my ticket. I showed it to him and he started telling me what I would need to do to get my boarding pass. When he was finished I thanked him and told him that I didn’t talk to him because I needed help. I was talking to him because I wanted to thank him and his coworkers for demonstrating love and kindness toward each other and I wanted to know why they do that. He smiled and said thank you very much. But he didn’t tell me why they relate this way. The impression I had is that their department was following the command of Jesus to love one another better than many Christians do, although they probably didn’t know about Jesus’ command. We thank God for His presence and work in the hearts of people around the world.

Editor’s Note; This article was written by brother Milo Zehr who serves as Pastor of Shalom Mennonite Church, Cochranton, PA. Formerly Campus Pastor and Dean of Students at Faith Builders Educational Programs for twenty years. Thank you brother Milo for faithfully serving the Lord and these dear Indian people through MTM. Your teaching met a great need among these Indian church leaders ~ Raymond

MTM Women’s Ministry Testimonies

We were welcomed at the MTM conference in India with lots of smiles and hugs from the Christian ladies. It was an overwhelming feeling to think that for the next few days we had the opportunity to teach these ladies. There were language and cultural barriers we faced, but getting to know them and seeing their smiling faces every day was a huge blessing. There were seven ladies’ sessions with about 40 ladies ranging from ages 8-65. We were blessed with a Christian translator who cared deeply about the hearts of the ladies attending the conference. She was an answer to prayer and a blessing to us. The ladies were so hungry for the Word of God and for truth. Their hearts were very open as they soaked up the love we showed and the truths that were spoken. The ladies told us that most of the things that we shared they had never heard before. They also told us how thankful they were for our presence there. Spending time with the younger girls was a highlight as we laughed and played with them. One evening we taught the ladies the song “Bind us Together” after sharing about loving each other with Christ’s love. This truly gave us a picture of the body of Christ with our hearts bound together in love as the 40 of us stood in a circle clasping hands and clapping with the rhythm of the song. When leaving the conference, it felt like we left a part of our hearts there as the ladies told us how much they will miss us and even cried as we said goodbye. We are so grateful to God for the opportunity that we had in ministering to these Indian ladies and showing God’s love to them.