India’s Missionaries Committed To Win The Lost At Any Cost
Condensed from updates written by PG and Aby Vargis edited by Cristi Winkler
Every year, IET (India Evangelical Team) plants several hundred pioneer churches in distant villages and unreached tribes. In 2012 IET planted 611 new churches in the far north of India, where persecution is stronger than the south.
Once a congregation is birthed in an unreached tribe, it soon becomes strategic to build a ‘house of God’ for the congregation. A separate ‘house of God’ becomes critical in establishing the pioneer work. Why is a separate structure, even though it may be a tin roofed shed, important? There are several contextual, legal, and strategic reasons. Let me share some:
First, a church building creates a feeling of stability for the new believers. In most of Asia, particularly in South Asia, a sacred place of worship has proven to be an important element in establishing a new and respectful house of worship. We have repeatedly seen that the Christian faith establishes itself faster and spreads quicker when having a ‘house of God’ as part of the strategy. This is perhaps the most important element for me; I want to see the product of our energies and investments last till Christ returns.
Second, a separate structure accelerates financial self-sufficiency in a village church. Recently we found that in those villages where we constructed a simple tin roofed prayer shed, the congregation achieved at least 25% financial self-sufficiency within few months. Read more >
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