President's Blog

I was recently talking to Jack Chen, one of our Fellowship International missionaries, serving in India. Jack and Lorraine (whose home-going was just a few years ago) have served in the Kolkata region for many years in leadership development through the Fellowship’s “Leaders Formation” ministry and humanitarian relief work with support from our Fellowship Aid and International Relief (FAIR) department.

His news was so encouraging that I thought you would like to hear what the Lord is doing. I’ll let Jack share the news himself:

• “With 161 million in Bangladesh and 91 million in West Bengal and a miniscule Christian population of 0.6%, the 252 million Bengali-speaking people constitute the most unreached people-group in our world today.
• In Bengal there are 41,000 villages with hardly any Christian witness. The need for trained leaders is great.
• On January 4, 2014, Steve Jones and I celebrated with nearly 110 Bengali leaders who graduated as the first batch of pastors, lay leaders, evangelists, and church planters to complete our Fellowship’s LeadersFormation leadership development program.

“How did we get this far?”

• In Phase one, we recruited 55 selected pastors and leaders to come into Kolkata three times a year to complete the leadership development course of “The First Principles”. One pastor was murdered for the faith, two dropped out for various reasons, and 52 faithfully completed the course and graduated.
• In Phase two, we spread out to five locations over the entire state of West Bengal, taking the training to the areas that needed trained leadership the most. Over 80% of all pastors and leaders have less than a Grade 10 education and hence do not qualify for admission to Bible College. Of the 150 individuals who registered, 124 completed the course and graduated in November and December 2019.
• Phase three started on January 4, 2020, with 124 graduates committed to train 536 new leaders and pastors. The fruit over the last five years has been amazing — 44 new churches planted and nearly 500 new believers baptized. The five locations have become hubs to reach out to the villages around them.

“A 'Macedonian Call' to “Come here!”

“While in one of the villages, I received a phone call from a young man who practically cried out, “Come on over and help us!” This young man, Pintu, is a young leader with a team that gives oversight to over 50 house churches. He and his team of leaders are largely untrained and are part of the 536 being trained in Phase three.

“I was invited to speak at their annual Christmas rally. That was a Christmas to remember! An estimated 8,000 people came by bus, trucks, scooter, auto rickshaws and even bullock carts to celebrate the birth of Christ! After an evangelistic message proclaiming the Christ of Christmas, I gave an invitation for people to receive Christ. Half the crowd raised their hands and repeated the sinner’s prayer to receive Christ into their lives. Now Pintu and his fellow leaders have a huge follow up job to do!

On Mission During the Pandemic in India

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone economically, and the church has not been exempt, the Gospel is still being preached by our cohort leaders and pastors. Just in the month of November (2020), two of our leaders reported they baptized 52 new believers in village ponds! Another 35 took baptism classes in order to be baptized at Christmas 2020. All of these new believers have come out of another religion. Persecution from their families and neighbours will certainly befall some of these new believers.”

Humanitarian Relief work with FAIR and KHRIS

The Fellowship’s FAIR department has partnered with our Kolkata Hope Rising in the Slums (KHRIS) project. Fellowship churches have given to this project before. Jack provides an update:

“KHRIS continues to bring great hope to slum kids who deeply desire to better their lot through the opportunity to complete their education and thus find a way to get out of the slums where they currently live. Two of the girls, Puja and Nisha Paswan, have completed their BA degrees. Nisha is currently enrolled in her MA degree course! Two others are in college while a third is completing her hotel management course. An exciting development is the acquisition through long-term lease and outright purchase of two apartments to accommodate two families who are living away from the slums for the very first time in their lives!

Nothing expresses the joy and gratitude we feel in this great ministry of training leaders and showing the love and compassion of Christ better than the smiles from the Paswan sisters, the first family to benefit from FAIR’s KHRIS Rising Hope Fund.”

For more news of Jack’s work and ministry in a difficult part of the world, you can request his newsletter by sending an email to jackf_chen@hotmail.com

What a joy to hear the good news of the Gospel being advanced among a people where only 0.6% self-identify as Christian. I have met the sisters, Puja and Nisha. When I met them six years ago, their home was a makeshift tarp-tent on the side of a congested street in Kolkata. They proudly took me through their “home” and offered me tea. They got connected to Jack and Lorraine through the after-school tutoring program held at Carey Baptist Church (William Carey founded this church). Our FAIR appeal funds helped them complete high school, then college, supplied proper housing, prepared them for a career and, most importantly, offered them Living Water. They are both joyful Christian women thanks to many Fellowship churches supporting FAIR’s KHRIS appeal. Thank you for giving!