We praise God for the Saints in Chintaluru who are shining the Light of the Lord Jesus! What an amazing and inspiring week! We looked forward for months to visiting India and encouraging the saints there, and when the trip finally came, we found we went home encouraged in ways that mere words cannot express. We truly went home with much more than we brought.
Full conference photo at the end of the 3rd day. The average daily attendance was 200.
It was truly a blessed opportunity and privilege to worship with the saints in Chintaluru! This tiny village of about 3,000 souls is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh near the Bay of Bengal in southeast India. We enjoyed an inspiring week of fellowship which included 3 days of conferences, several nights of revival meetings at neighboring villages, a birthday party service for 7-year old Praveen, playing games and singing with the children, visiting congregations in remote mountain areas, and many opportunities for fellowship around tables laden with delicious Indian food.
The mission of MTM is to disciple native Christian pastors and mobilize them to reach their own unreached people for Christ. This conference in Chintaluru encouraged approximately 196 local pastors in their ministry for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brother Merle Flory taught on “The Importance of a Fruitful Ministry” from John 15, focusing on our proper relationship with God, with others, and with the world. Brother Michael Cook taught on “Running the Race of Faith” from Hebrews 12:1-3, with talks regarding the Focus of our Faith – Jesus Christ, the Response of our Faith – Worship, and the Trial of our Faith. Abraham Samuel, the local pastor whose father planted this congregation 30 years before, coordinated the conference and interpreted the messages into the local dialect of Telugu. What an example of faith to witness believers yearning for prayer and worshipping God with fervency!
It was very encouraging to see new churches being started in remote mountain villages. One congregation just dedicated their place of worship (a structure of poles with a roof), and are growing in numbers and faith. They recall with fondness when Brother Raymond came and preached to them in 2010.
MTM conference team, (L-R) Connor, Rebecca and Michael Cook, Joy, Abraham Samuel, Sharon, Judy and Merle Flory, and Landon Cook.
It was a “joy” to be with Abraham, his wife Sharon, and their 18 month-old daughter named Joy. Sharon was an excellent hostess and made us feel very welcomed and blessed. Another heart-warming experience was interacting with the 19 orphans being raised by Abraham and Sharon. They sang us a song about “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost – Three in One”. They taught us deep life lessons on how God can multiply his blessings to many others when a young pastor and his wife open their hearts and home to the fatherless.
We praise and thank the Lord for this opportunity and want to say “Thank You” from the bottom of our hearts to Merle and Judy, MTM, and Abraham and Sharon, who made this possible. It was with mixed feelings that we said “farewell” and piled into the vehicle for our bumpy ride back to our place of lodging after the conference was over. We could say with the Apostle Paul, from Philippians 1:6 – 7a, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart…”
May God receive all the praise! “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12
Editor’s note: This testimony was written by Brother Michael Cook from Claypool, Indiana. Michael’s wife Rebecca, and two sons, Landon and Connor, were a vital part of our conference team. We thank God for the way his family and congregation sacrificed to make this a blessing for all. Hallelujah!
Pastor Abraham Samuel’s Testimony; THANK YOU for sending MTM to bless me, Pastors and tribal churches. Thanks for MTM’s assistance to make this event a BIG blessing and success. The MTM team are very Loving and gave themselves to make us happy and feel blessed. Those days were really memorable as a result 200 pastors attended and 16 people took baptisms.
