Passing on
the Baton of
FAITH
SHEPHERDED
80 YEARS
Table of Contents
Preface
Bro. Joe’s
Home-call
New Centres and
Advances
Worldwide Labours
Youth and
Children’s Camps
The Big Campaigns in Andhra Pradesh
Annual Retreat
Literature
Ministry
Television and Radio
Ministry
Internet Ministry
Conclusion
Preface
“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4)
We feel so humbled when we think of the tender mercies of God towards unworthy people like us. God has been so good and gracious to us. It is His sheer grace that has carried us these 80 years. Our hearts must be full of thanks and praise to Him. The Risen Saviour has been the Leader, Guide and Shepherd of this Fellowship. His promises have been our guiding light all these many years. We have seen His faithfulness. What a faithful God we have! Who are we, and what are we, that He has been so mindful of us!
The Bible says, “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4) So this heart of praise and gratitude is not for just one generation. From one generation to another we must praise the Lord and remember His mighty acts. Having tasted the goodness of the Lord down the generations in this Fellowship, we need to be full of gratitude to God. We must pass on the baton of faith to the next generation. Today many people have forgotten their humble beginnings and so they have not taught their children to remember the mercies of God.
Oh to have a heart full of gratitude and thanks to the dear Lord! When we recall God’s mercies, our hearts get filled with thanksgiving and melt with gratitude to God. Do we deserve His tender mercies? No, we don’t. Have we lived up to the light God has given us? No, we haven’t. But still the Lord is so gracious and longsuffering towards us. We should not take God’s mercies and goodness for granted. We have a long way to go! The Lord of Hosts Himself will go before us when we walk with deep gratitude in our hearts and with a humble and a broken spirit.
Without a grateful heart, we cannot glorify God. When we have a grumbling and complaining heart, we won’t give glory to God. But when we have a thankful heart, we will think of God’s many mercies towards us and we will glorify Him. In this one short life which God has given us, having tasted His goodness and mercies, let us live a life which brings great glory to the Crucified One!
When God called Bro. Daniel (senior) to leave his job and come to Chennai (Madras) to commence this work, he obeyed God implicitly. God gave him great promises, and taught him to walk by faith and not by sight. After him, Bro. Joe followed his dad’s footsteps of faith and prayed and prevailed with God and built this work with many tears. In answer to his heart-cry for revival, the Lord granted him to see revival outpourings in his labours in India and in many parts of the world. Now, are we going to build on this momentum of revival, with “gold, silver and precious stones” of faith, prayer and sacrifice? Or are we going to be selfish and worldly and thus build with “wood, hay and stubble”? It is time to examine our hearts as we enter the 81st year. We must pass on this heritage of faith to the next generation.
When comfort and money increase, faith and gratitude go down and our focus shifts from looking to the Lord to looking to the world. These are days of compromise when people choose the “broad way”, which leads to destruction, rather than the “narrow way”, which leads to life. We dare not deviate from the path we trod these 80 years of building on the promises of God. We must bear in mind what God said to Joshua, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7).
The Lord gave us the promise, “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation” (Isaiah 60:22). It is only when we walk with a grateful and humble heart in the narrow way of God’s will that we will become stronger and stronger and do great exploits for the Lord.
At a time when we are facing many challenges, our faith must increase. God has blessed us with a rich heritage of faith. The measure of our gratitude is linked directly to the measure of our faith. May God help us to walk before Him with a humble and broken spirit and a grateful heart so that He may do greater things in our midst! Let us pass on the baton of faith to our children and build this work with true sacrifice, faith and prayer. May God be glorified in all!
Brother Joe’s Home Call
Many a time Bro. Joe had proclaimed from the stage that he was ready to meet the Lord at any time and that he had no fear in his heart! Though he had a few close encounters with death, the Lord marvellously brought him back to life and he faithfully served His Master and Saviour all the days of his life. After a brief period of sickness, on October 18, 2014 he entered into glory to meet His Saviour!
After reading “Get Set…Go”, the first book on Bro. Joe’s life, Leonard Ravenhill, the well-known author and speaker, said, “Here is a fine record of the faithfulness of God and the obedience of man.” Yes, one can sum up Bro. Joe’s whole life in that one word—OBEDIENCE! His life had been one of implicit obedience to His Lord, whom he loved dearly and served faithfully all the days of his life. He always sought to decrease so that His Saviour might increase!
When God made his heart aflame with a passion and vision to reach the unreached millions in distant lands, he ran to remote and distant lands without bothering about his poor health condition. He had a pioneering spirit in him and he was a pioneer till the end. No wonder God used him in revival in India and many parts of the world and thousands of people were blessed greatly by his life and ministry.
It is a terrible loss for us all but what an inspiration and challenge his life brings to us! Now it is our turn to walk in his footsteps with the one goal to glorify Jesus.
At the Headquarters
The mortal remains of Bro. Joe were kept for public viewing at the headquarters on October 31. Apart from the Fellowship members who loved him much, many TV viewers who loved Bro. Joe’s straightforward messages, a few bishops, representatives of many Christian organisations who held him as “a preacher for the preachers” and several others who had received much blessing through his ministry down the years, turned up at the headquarters to pay their last respects to a great man of God.
At Beulah Gardens
People started pouring into Beulah Gardens, thousands and thousands of them from far and near, to have a last glimpse of Bro. Joe’s body as it was kept for public viewing on November 1. There were many from several countries who arrived in Beulah Gardens to pay their last respects to Bro. Joe.
Many of them were moved to tears as they remembered Bro. Joe’s loving labours among them. He had been such a great blessing to people around the world. At the time of bereavement, the love and prayers of the global family of God were a great support to Sister Lily and the children.
The big hall in Beulah Gardens was filled to capacity at the funeral service. Thousands of people sat before the big LED screens set up in the special temporary structures put up on both sides of the hall.
The proceedings of the funeral service were telecast on a popular Telugu channel and many thousands of people watched it. Our live webcast of the funeral, memorial and burial services were watched by many around the world.
Sister Lily and the children of Bro. Joe gave loving tributes to Bro. Joe and remembered his love for them and for the Lord and his compassion for people, irrespective of their economic and social backgrounds. The Lord stood with us in the service and granted His presence and comfort.
It was God’s great mercy that there was not a drop of rain on that day, though it was raining heavily the previous night. In answer to the prayers of many thousands, God gave us a clear sky.
At 4 pm, as the hearse began its long journey of 20 km to the famous cemetery at Kilpauk, where many of God’s children, including late Mr. N. Daniel and Mrs. N.D. Daniel, have been interred, a cavalcade of vehicles went with the hearse. The Chennai police did a commendable job by clearing the roads for the hearse to pass without any delay at any of the traffic signals of the busy city.
A huge crowd of a few thousand people gathered at the cemetery. We had a solemn burial service where God was greatly glorified, as all remembered Bro. Joe’s great love for God and his passion to reach the lost.
The Memorial Service in the afternoon of Sunday, November 2, at Beulah Gardens, was a time of great blessing as some of our brothers recalled the dedication, love and zeal of Bro. Joe towards God right from his youth and his great vision to reach eternal souls for whom he spent himself and laboured incessantly without taking any rest.
A documentary DVD on the life and ministry of Bro. Joe has been released in several languages.
NEW CENTRES AND ADVANCES
After Bro. Joe and Sister Lily visited Chiangmai, Thailand, and conducted revival meetings in February 2014, when so many people came under the Word of God, God opened the door for our television ministry in this Buddhist country. Though it incurs a big bill for us every month, we have launched this telecast by faith. Our Thai weekly telecast has been on air every Sunday since August 2014, from 9.00 to 9.30 PM on NBT TV.
The message is well received by the local people. Bro. Eisen writes from Thailand, “At such a time as this, the launching of ‘The Lord’s Challenge’ in Thailand is a great hope for the Thai people who are groping in darkness.”
Much prayer must go up for Thailand to make us break through to victory, and reap a rich harvest of souls. Let us also pray much for Bro. Eisen and his wife, that God may use them to build His work in Thailand.
Book Fairs in Myanmar (Burma)
The Lord in His mercy helped all the boxes packed with Bibles and Christian literature to reach Yangon, the capital of Myanmar (Burma), after passing through many check-points. It was nothing less than a miracle to see our boxes at the Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) where we had our book fair.
As soon as the book fair was declared open, people rushed in to avail themselves of the Bibles and books. More and more people began to come in during the next four days as they heard about the book fair. Bibles and books began to sell out quickly. Christian workers, pastors and the staff and students of the Bible colleges there bought many books for their personal use and for their libraries.
One woman who bought Mrs. Daniel’s book, “A Wise Woman Buildeth Her Home”, came back to buy more copies of that book as she was touched and blessed by reading it. Many copies of “Building Holy Homes” by Mrs. Daniel and our daily meditation book, “Faith is the Victory”, went out. All our stock of the small booklets and the calendars were sold out by the fourth day.
People were so excited, and it was a spiritual feast for them to see such a variety of good Christian books right in their city. During the last two days of the book fair many people were disappointed as our book tables were nearly empty. One Salvation Army officer from New Zealand was very surprised at the low prices of the books. There was a tremendous turnout at Yangon.
The Lord blessed our book fair in Kalaymyo also, which is the headquarters of the Kalay district. Many people came and bought books and Bibles.
We found the people and the Christian workers hungry for God’s Word. We have much more to do for the people of Myanmar. Burma is a Buddhist country where the doors are closed for the proclamation of the Gospel. Let us pray earnestly for Myanmar that God will make the way for our TV programme to reach the whole country with God’s Word.
The dear Lord enabled us to conduct the first UK Teenage Boys’ camp at a camp centre close to Oxford in August, for which much prayer had been lifted up. The boys who attended were fed God’s Word, godly practical guidance, some apologetics, testimonies of camp leaders, and the life story of Samuel Morris.
We do praise God for His great help in this camp! There was an attentive spirit in some of the boys. Please pray that none would go further down the path of destruction, that we can follow them up, and that the seed sown in the hearts will not be snatched away by Satan.
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the state of Odisha, formerly known as Orissa. With so many big Hindu temples there, this city is known as a temple city of India and one of eastern India’s most visited destinations for pilgrims and tourists.
For the past few years, our literature team has been visiting Orissa to run our bookstall in the popular annual book fair in this city. But we could not make much headway through this effort. Later on, we had our own book fair in a church compound and many people visited us and bought books and Bibles. This helped us to gauge the needs and challenges of this place.
Bro. Joe was much burdened about this capital city of Odisha, and wanted the Gospel light to shine in this dark place. As a result, one of our Bible students was sent there to explore and see what could be done to reach the people there. The abject immoral condition of this city is reflected in the fact that people would not even rent their house to an unmarried person. Somehow our brother managed to stay on with faith and he began a small ministry there. Since last October, we are having a regular Sunday worship meeting here.
Now that our worker, Joshua Francis, is married to one of our dear girls who is also deeply burdened about Odisha, let us pray that they both may march forward by faith and win souls.
Goa has been one of the biggest tourist attractions of this country. The Lord has given us a place of worship here where we have our Sunday services. Our dear brothers from Mumbai have been helping in the ministry here. It has been a slow and painstaking process to build our work here.
Now we have sent one of our trained workers, Mark Kiran, to labour in this area. Mark was helping in the bookstall in Shillong for many years. Let us pray that the Lord may add new souls and expand and deepen the work here. Pray for our brother and his family.
For a long time, we have been burdened to reach these people with our television programme in their native Konkani language. From August 2014, the Lord enabled us to start a new telecast in the Konkani language over Rophe TV every Sunday at 2 PM, which covers the whole of Goa and the neighbourhood. The Konkani language is the most widely spoken mother tongue of people in Goa and is largely responsible for unity among the Goan population. Let us pray that the Lord may touch many precious souls through this telecast.
Floods in Kashmir wreaked havoc in many parts of the state and it brought untold suffering upon thousands of people of Kashmir. Soon after the floods, there was a great need for medical camps due to various infections resulting from the floods.
Moved with the compassion of Christ, some of our Fellowship doctors from South India reached our JBM Hospital in Anantanag, Kashmir, with medical and relief supplies. They conducted medical camps straightaway for the people affected by the floods before any other NGO team appeared on the scene. Our team catered to the medical needs of about 11,000 patients in about 25 different villages, across the district of Anantanag, South Kashmir. Our help in the form of medical aid and household provisions was the first to reach the victims and so it was highly appreciated by the locals as well as the district officials. Our hospital sheltered various NGO teams as they came to provide relief to the victims. Our brothers and sisters and students worked day in and day out in the medical camps and helped the affected people.
This year, during May, we had a three-day free eye camp and we had about 2000 patients who were examined in the OPD and a total of 401 patients underwent cataract operation, free of cost. Even though the team worked till about 2 am in the night, they resumed their duties as early as 6 am the same morning. Though it drained them of their physical strength and energy, the result was gratifying and our Lord’s name was magnified through this eye camp.
The Lord is stirring the hearts of our Fellowship doctors and they are coming from South India and helping in the medical work here. We need to pray much for this medical team that they may be given the grace to win these non-Christian patients and others to the Lord.
In our Nursing School in Anantanag, Kashmir, which is called JBM School of Nursing, we have about 58 nursing students doing their ANM and GNM course. Though they are all from Moslem families, they hear God’s Word daily during the morning chapel services. Even our patients who are mostly from non-Christian backgrounds are given the gospel daily before the ward rounds. We must pray much for these needy people who are non-Christians.
The recent earthquake in Nepal resulted in many thousands losing their lives and their properties. So many big concrete buildings just caved in and crushed many people. It presented a pathetic sight. Some of our families, who are labouring for the Lord in Nepal, were moved with compassion to help the victims of this earthquake. With the help of some of our brothers from India, they reached out to these needy people with medical help and food items.
We must pray much for this poor country with its many challenges and problems. Our workers and families here are moving forward in this very difficult land. We need to agonize in prayer to win Nepal for the Lord as the Nepalese question their years of idol worship, saying, “What have our gods done for us?”
Please pray for Nepal as efforts are being made to have our first Nepali telecast to reach Nepal with the Gospel.
Needy Home, Imphal, Manipur
Bro. Joe’s heart always went after the poor and deprived people. Whenever he visited Imphal, Manipur, he made it a point to visit the ‘Needy Home’, which was taken care of by Bro. Chance and his wife under the guidance of Bro. Joe. This home shelters some of the needy and helpless young girls of this area. When Bro. Joe saw the place being too cramped, he wanted to build a spacious home for these girls. In answer to his prayer, the Lord graciously provided a plot of land near our centre here. Now in this place the dear Lord enabled us to construct two buildings with spacious rooms in which to house the precious girls of the Needy Home.
When Bro. John Daniel visited Imphal in May 2015, he opened the new building with prayer and the preaching of the Word of God. The girls of the Needy Home sang a special song on that occasion. It was a time of praise to God for His mercies in giving them this facility. Most of these girls are from Manipur and from neighbouring states like Tripura, Assam, Nagaland and Burma. The dear Lord touched and changed many of their lives. After marriage, some of them are serving the Lord in various centres in many parts of India. We must pray that the Needy Home be a place where these young girls’ lives are rebuilt by the Word of God.
Elephants roam around, leopards are active and bears are attracted by kitchen smells and come to investigate. In such a place as this, Bro. Joe chose a quiet camping spot in the mountains of Nilgiris, where he drew apart for prayer in June during the last few years of his life.
Wherever we go, our hearts are moved by the poor and those that have not heard the Gospel. Thus we have made a small start with a medical clinic for the jungle tribes who seem to be quite fixed in their resolve to hold fast to their primitive and wild ways. Their animistic worship and invoking of the spirits of the dead break our hearts.
A two-room Gospel Clinic has been built for this purpose. Dr. Franklin from Mettupalayam and Dr. Gladys from Coonoor make long journeys and go there alternately on Tuesdays and serve the poor patients with love. Apart from the free medical treatment, they are being given the Gospel. On the other days of the week, some of these people come to our clinic for medical help and receive loving treatment from our nurse who is stationed here with her husband.
Recently when Sister Lily spent some days here in June, waiting on the Lord, she was deeply moved to see two women who were wives of the poojaris (priests) of the local Hindu temple, who came for medical treatment. She spent much time with them and with a few other patients, counselling them to turn to the Living God.
After we started the medical work, a few of these local tribal patients come to our Sunday worship. There is so much to be done here amongst these poor and needy people. Please pray much for them that the Lord may open their eyes and bring them out of darkness into His marvellous light.
To our great surprise and delight, by the grace of God, one of our students from our Ponneri School, who wrote her Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination, got the first rank in the state, securing 499 out of 500 marks, which is no ordinary achievement. This is the first time we have seen one of our students topping the list on the state level. It goes without saying that the Word of God and our dedicated teachers and staff were behind this achievement. We praise God for His blessings.
In our Mettupalayam School in Tamil Nadu, all the 52 students passed in the first class in their Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination. Out of them, 17 students got 100% in Science, 83% passed with distinction, the highest mark being 496/500.
In our Salem School in Tamil Nadu also, all the students passed in the first class in their Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination, with 17 students scoring above 450/500.
In our Bansi School, in Uttar Pradesh, 35 students out of 38 who wrote their Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination scored above 80% in their examinations.
In our Elementary School in Nepal, we have to continually increase our facilities, as the total strength of the students has now touched 280. We have 14 teachers working in our school and we still need more dedicated teachers.
The children learn so many good things that there is a considerable stir among the local people. We are sure that many are watching us closely to see if there is any discrepancy between our profession and practice. The school fees is reasonably low compared to other schools in that area.
We praise God for the hardworking teachers of all our schools, who put in a lot of effort to train and teach these students. It is the Word of God which makes the difference. Let us pray that the Living God may touch these students and their parents and open their hearts to know that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
As we reach new places with the Word of God, some of our brothers and sisters have taken up new assignments at various centres like Churachandpur in Manipur, Aruppukottai, Palayamkottai and Kangayem in Tamil Nadu, Palakol, Pakala, Pakalapadu and the temple-town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
Let us pray that the Lord may give them a deep burden for souls and make them weep for the towns and cities where they have been sent, so that God may grant a rich harvest of souls.
WORLDWIDE LABOURS
Summer and Winter Retreat in UK
Though Bro. Joe could not go to the retreats in Europe in July due to his ill health, Bro. John Daniel filled the gap with the help of Rev. David Campbell. The Lord used them both mightily and spoke to many hearts. The seasons of prayer were times of humbling and refreshing in the presence of the Lord. We must pray for the Spirit’s continuing work in the hearts of all those who hear, translating into concrete obedience to God’s Word.
At the UK Winter Retreat, which was held from December 27 to 30, 2014, God brought earnest people and filled our prayer hall, which is at the back of the Beautiful Bookshop in London. We were thrilled to hear the testimonies of several brothers who were touched and transformed by the Lord.
God used Sister Lily to share God’s Word and the lessons God has taught her. Brother Johannes spoke on the different conditions of the human heart from the parable of the sower. God granted us His Word and used Bro. John mightily.
Let us pray earnestly for the desolate spiritual condition of the United Kingdom, that God would give a breakthrough in the hearts and lives of the dear people. Continue to pray for the United Kingdom.
On August 2, a one-day Retreat was held in Germany. Brother Johannes and Brother Olu travelled from London to share the Word. While Brother Johannes gave the messages, Olu shared his testimony and spoke on the parable of the sower. There were good group discussions on worldliness. Please pray that the seed that was sown may bear fruit in many hearts and lives.
The Lord blessed the one-day Retreat in Paris, France, on July 27 and used our brothers. Around 90 people gathered at this retreat. Let us pray that the seeds sown may bring forth fruit.
The meetings in Paris in April, addressed by Bro. John Daniel, seemed so small and inadequate for the need of the nation. Many who were present had migrated from Sri Lanka as refugees and are being taught God’s Word.
God is using Dhanush and Phebe, his wife, among the young people to teach them God’s Word. The young people’s meeting was held in the French language.
May the good Lord raise up young people to serve Him in Paris, who no longer possess the refugee mind, but the mind of Christ to fight against the wickedness spreading throughout Europe.
The Summer Retreat in the US was greatly blessed of the Lord. Many came from far distances and meant business with God. One family drove 16 hours to be present. The weather was unseasonably cold going down to 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
God used Bro. John Daniel and Bro. David Campbell at this Retreat. Bro. Johannes spoke on the parable of the sower, revealing the various conditions of the human heart. Several people were confessing their sins and putting things right with God and man. We pray that the Spirit of God will do a deep work in the hearts of the people and make them overcomers who lay up treasures in heaven.
All this involves heavy work for the little team. It is hard to imagine how Bridget Daniel, who had to fill Sister Lily’s role, looking after the kitchen, groceries, and other duties, managed to play the organ also at the services. God gave us His presence and wonderful oneness at the retreat.
God in His great mercy answered our prayers and kept the snow and ice away during the weekend of the retreat in November, as people had to travel long distances by various means of transportation. It is a privilege to draw apart to spend time hearing God’s Word and tuning one’s heart to get in line with God’s expectations for one’s life.
The world rushes on and people do not have time to think, but are blindly led by what is around them. Remembering God and all His mercies towards us with thankful hearts and putting His Kingdom first was the key focus of the message at this Retreat. God blessed the Word and gave us a good time of prayer.
At the Memorial Service for Bro. Joe, our small hall was packed with people such that there was no more room in the hall. We thank God for His goodness toward us.
God brought many earnest and hungry souls to the Easter Retreat. God in His great mercy granted us His Word, and Sister Lily was also able to share her experiences of faith. Learning faith, sacrifice and putting God’s kingdom first are the key principles which we have been taught at the retreats through the years around the world.
Many sadly find out the hard way that when they neglect the things of God, they eventually lose their own soul, as the Scripture warns us, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) God answered our prayer and gave us good weather as some had to drive over 400 miles to be present, while others flew in from faraway places. We praise God that many are learning to make the effort to be at the retreat and see the blessing of God in their lives.
The meetings held from November 14 to 18 in Georgetown, Guyana, were well attended by TV viewers, students and needy families. The Lord used Bro. John Daniel mightily amongst them. God has been blessing the labours of the team in Guyana and God is touching many souls. A woman who has turned to the Lord from Hinduism stated how she came with a bad foot which the Lord healed after prayer. Let us cry to the Lord to see great victory and to see many more students delivered from the evil in their hearts.
The last meeting was held in a place called Diamond Village where Dr. John Lazarus and Ruth, the eldest daughter of Dr. Danny, reside. Many people, who come from various places in Guyana, are being touched by the Lord. Our TV and Radio programme, “Lifting Guyana to Greatness”, is reaching many people who are being blessed by the message. People from near the borders of Brazil were present and heard God’s Word intently. Please do pray for the team in Guyana as they labour to reach many for the Lord.
YOUTH
AND CHILDREN’S CAMPS
The International Students’ Camp
God helped us graciously at the Students’ Camp in Beulah Gardens from January 14 to 18. The Lord brought around 6000 students from around the world and they were seen repenting and crying to God as God’s Word searched their hearts.
There were many students present from the continent of Africa. Two of them testified of how the Lord touched and transformed their lives after hearing God’s Word at our centre in Ludhiana, Punjab. We also enjoyed their special song which they sang in their own style, erupting in applause. We praise God and pray that the Lord may do a deep work in each heart and that the blessing of God may spread through that great continent. There were many present from North-East India where the Lord’s work is spreading to many needy areas and more and more souls are turning to the Lord. Many young people of North-East India who got converted were trained in Beulah Gardens and now they are serving the Lord in this region.
Although we missed Bro. Joe very much at this camp, God used Bro. John Daniel, Bro. Arthur and Dr. Jesu to share the Word. Sister Lily Daniel also shared her experiences which was a blessing to many. Our God is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Everything ran like clockwork as it is not an easy task to house and feed 6000 young people. The Lord graciously helped all the various support teams and took good care of us.
God blessed the prayer session on Saturday as the students cried to God with tears of repentance. Let us pray that the Word of God may sink in, that it may eternally transform young lives and that many will rise up to live and glorify the Lord.
The youth camp in Imphal has always been a time of great blessing for the youth of this region. Bro. Joe always loved to labour amongst these precious young people and many souls had been touched and transformed in this camp.
This year, the dear Lord brought Bro. John Daniel to labour in the camp, along with his wife and their children. Right from the first meeting, God granted His rich presence and used Bro. John mightily. The young people and teenagers listened to the messages with rapt attention. Many of them sought counsel and prayer, as they came under strong conviction of sin.
Young boys and girls who were in the stranglehold of sin and various vices began to confess their sins with tears and many earnestly prayed during the fasting prayer sessions. The whole camp was owned and blessed of the Lord. More than 1000 young people registered for this camp. Kindly pray that there would be continuity and depth in our ministry here and in other parts of North-East India.
During the last few years, we have been having youth camps in Stuartpuram for young people. Boys and girls from near and far poured in at this camp, held from August 15 to 17, and there were about 4000 young people resident at the camp this year.
God used many of our brothers mightily at this camp and granted them His rich presence and His Word. The prayer sessions were owned of the Lord as the students opened up their hearts and cried to God. The team was kept busy counselling needy souls for long hours.
We must pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts that they may rise up as mighty witnesses for the Lord.
Arunachal Pradesh, situated in the north-east of India, has long international borders with Bhutan to the west, China to the north and north-east and Myanmar (Burma) to the east. Upon the request of the students of NERIST (North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology) in Itanagar, where one of our sisters is working, a team of our brothers from the North-East went to conduct a youth camp there from Aug. 15 to 18. About ten percent of the university students were present in the camp and they all listened to the Word earnestly.
From the second day, the Spirit of God began to work in their hearts in a deeper way and a deep conviction of sin came upon them and they were seeking counsel till midnight. Many began to confess their sins and set their hearts right with God and man.
Please pray for these students that they may rise up to glorify the Lord and catch a vision for His Kingdom.
The Youth Retreat in Aizawl, Mizoram, the southernmost north-eastern state of India, was held in the Assam Rifles Chapel, where Bro. Joe had preached a few years ago. Many students from different institutes attended this retreat. There were about 200 young people. The Lord used our brothers and blessed the Retreat.
The prayer sessions were richly blessed of the Lord. Many earnestly sought God’s touch with tears and came forward for counselling and for prayer. One Assam Rifles soldier was deeply convicted and repented for his drunkenness and he threw away his liquor card which the Assam Rifles had given him. The need of the young people in Aizawl is so great and our small team there is trying their best to help them. They need our prayer support.
Apart from these youth camps, the Lord helped our teams to have meetings and youth camps in Dimapur, Nagaland, Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Ludhiana and Chandigarh in the Punjab, KGF in Karnataka and Bhavani and Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. The Lord used our brothers at these meetings and many souls have been touched.
The Lord helped the teams of our brothers and sisters to lift up the Crucified Saviour before the children at the Children’s Retreats in Dimapur in Nagaland, Calcutta in West Bengal, in Royapuram in North Chennai and at the headquarters and in a few other places also.
Many hundreds of children came under the sound teaching of the Word of God at these camps. Let us continue to pray for these children that they may understand the emptiness of the world quite early on in their lives and become faithful followers of the Lord.
In many of our centres, we had Vocational Bible Studies (VBS) for growing children. At these camps, the spotlight has always been on the needs of children, with programmes and classes tailored for them to meet their needs and to inspire them to follow God.
The Big Campaigns in Andhra
Pradesh
and Telangana
Over 100,000 gathered to hear God’s Word in the former criminal town of Stuartpuram. Our brothers had fasted and prayed many days for the meetings. When the meetings began on Wednesday 21 January, there was a continuous stream of people coming in right from the first day, using all kinds of transport. As the meetings continued, the hall was overflowing and was simply inadequate to contain the crowd of hungry souls.
God’s Word went out mightily and people cried out to the Lord for His mercy. It was good to see how orderly the huge crowd was! Yes, with a touch from God our lives can be transformed. It is amazing to see how this whole town has been changed by the preaching of God’s Word. Let us build on the foundation of revival by humbling ourselves before our Almighty God.
God blessed the meetings in Vijayawada. Many thousands came to hear God’s Word at the evening meetings in our vast grounds. The testimonies of our brothers, whom God has touched and transformed, are a blessing to many, in addition to God’s Word which grips the hearts of the people. God used Bro. John Daniel and Sister Lily who shared her experiences of what God had taught her.
The youth meeting at 7 am was well attended along with the morning general meeting at 10.30 am. We pray that the Lord will do a deep work in the hearts of all these people, who came to hear God’s Word with hungry hearts.
The dear Lord brought many people to hear His Word in Rajahmundry, a city full of idolatry. The young people were full of zeal, and the compound was full of people who heard God’s Word attentively. In this city, which is on the banks of the great river Godavari, Mr. Daniel and Bro. Joe laboured much. We must pray that God will raise up men and women after His own heart, who will build the work of God here with much prayer, vision and sacrifice.
Vishakapatnam is a large, growing city with a huge student population. At the meetings here from January 31 to February 3, our hall was full of people who drank in God’s Word with great hunger. Many came from neighbouring places and stayed in the compound. God used Bro. John Daniel powerfully. Sister Lily was able to speak with the women and counsel many, in addition to sharing what the Lord had taught her. Lydia was able to speak to young people and share with them the lessons God has been teaching her.
A special meeting for students held at the Andhra University auditorium, addressed by Bro. John Daniel, was blessed of the Lord. The students heard God’s Word with great attention. We praise God for the large team of people God has raised up here to serve Him and to testify of what God has done in their lives. We pray that the Lord will touch and transform many souls.
The meetings in Hyderabad from February 4 to 8 were well attended. Dr. Jesudas taught the Bible classes on the condition of the human heart, while many of our brothers and sisters testified of how the Lord had touched them and transformed their lives. God’s Word went out with great power as Bro. John Daniel preached. Dr. Jesu took the final closing meetings. We must pray that His Word will be written on the hearts of the people.
It is sad to see the suffering of people who have not heard the message of salvation and also the great need of people who do not live by God’s Word. Let us pray that the Lord will grant a great harvest of souls and that people will get a vision to serve the Lord rather than themselves.
Annual Retreat
This year’s Annual Retreat was a unique one in several ways. Though we all missed Bro. Joe very much, the Lord gave us His presence and the Word of God carried us along from the beginning till the end. We saw the good hand of God in every department. Faithful teams of our brothers and sisters served the huge crowds and everything ran like clockwork.
People began to pour into Beulah Gardens in thousands and there was a large group of our brothers and sisters from other countries also. In fact, the Retreat assumed the proportions of a small town!
How the Retreat kitchen managed to keep three meals ready for us on time, even when the numbers soared to nearly 10,000 people, is hard to explain. The diligent work done by our cooks was augmented by the hard work done by the tuck-shop where people could purchase some snacks and other refreshments.
More than everything else, the Word of the Lord was central. The dear Lord anointed Bro. John Daniel to give us powerful and deep messages which searched our hearts. The prayer sessions, which followed the main messages of the morning meetings, and also the the fasting prayer sessions, were greatly owned and blessed of the Lord as He poured His Spirit upon the crowds, and many were crying to God with tears. The Lord used Bro. John Branch and Bro. Arthur Hill also to bring the right Word to the people. God in His great mercy fed us with His Word abundantly.
There was a powerful spirit of prayer in the camp as the voice of prayer was heard all over Beulah Gardens in the night. Many were praying alone seeking the Lord’s face earnestly. Several groups of our brothers and sisters from our various centres gathered and had a season of prayer every day before the evening meeting. The corrective and cleansing quality of this Retreat was significant.
The testimonies of our young brothers at the evening meetings were very challenging. The stirring reports from the mission fields all over India and from Ireland, London, Guyana, Australia, Singapore, Nepal and Burma were very enlightening and touching.
“The Daniel 5”, as the Daniel children are called, sang some special songs in the evening meetings which were a blessing to many. This year, we had the joy of having the family of Bro. Andreas Heinzel from Ireland, in our midst. His children—three boys and three girls—could sing to us some meaningful and melodious songs in the morning meetings, which were enjoyed by people very much.
We thank God that many seem to have taken advantage of the live webcast of the Retreat on the internet in various parts of the world. Hundreds of DVDs of the Retreat messages were carried away by many.
Now we must pray much for the continuity of the Spirit’s work in each heart, and that the Seed of the Word of God may bear fruit a hundredfold.
Literature Ministry
As the Fellowship expands and presses on to reach new areas all the time, there is an urgent cry for more soul-winning and soul-nourishing literature. Hence we constantly publish good books and biographies in several languages.
The distribution of our books is always on the increase. As our books are continually in great demand, we constantly run out of stock of our publications. Our book fair teams take tons and tons of books and Bibles with them to various nooks and crannies of this country and neighbouring countries. So we have to supply them with the required literature. Bro. John Daniel is guiding our publication team to be proactive, keeping them on their toes. The spacious book-warehouse in Beulah Gardens is getting filled rack after rack with these beautiful books in many languages.
By God’s grace, we have brought out twelve new books and eight tracts in Hindi, five books in Tamil, one in Bengali and one in the Odia language. In Telugu, six new books have been published. A number of books had to be reprinted in all languages. We have also published the revised edition of “Mao and Marx Bound Us, Christ Freed Us” in English.
Some of our boys in our press in Beulah Gardens do work hard and there are times when the press runs all night. Seeing that many of them who help in the press are from our Bible School and work only part-time in the press, they are producing pretty commendable work. We of course aim at perfect and flawless work to lift up the matchless Saviour.
With prayer and greater dedication, hundreds of titles with really edifying and challenging material should be printed annually by us. God should raise up men with a dedication similar to that of the great missionary, William Carey. We should pray for our crew as they learn cutting-edge printing technology at our press.
Our book fairs are proving to be a very fruitful effort for reaching the public. It takes a large team of our young men together with much planning and precise logistics to convey the books to the right location at the appropriate time. For these book fairs, strategic, well-populated centres are first prayerfully chosen. Then our young men hire some suitable public facility or hall and run the book fair for a few days.
It is amazing how strangers come in, evince a great deal of interest and even excitement in some cases, and buy Bibles and books. The members of the public straightaway see that this is no commercial gimmick, when they find that the prices of the books are reasonable and even low. And when they see the content and the quality of our books, they immediately realize that we are really interested in their well-being. They even begin to share their problems with our team and reveal the desperate need which exists in their regions.
No less than 36 book fairs were organized in seven different states of India in this 80th year of the Fellowship. We also had two book fairs in Myanmar (Burma). Now it goes without saying, however, that this is a mere drop in the bucket, for the need is so great! Let us pray that the Lord may give us precious souls through these book fairs and help us to establish new centres in some of the needy places.
TELEVISION & RADIO MINISTRY
The Lord is enabling us to keep reaching out to new areas with our TV programmes. At present our TV programmes are going out over 22 channels in 18 languages, covering the greater part of the sub-continent of India. The dear Lord supplies every need for these telecasts.
These telecasts are bringing great enlightenment and blessing to many people who know little or nothing of the great and loving Saviour who died to bring them salvation. Let us cry to the Lord for His touch upon all the viewers. The Word of God is the only hope for all nations.
In UK, our Sunday morning telecast over Reality TV from 7.30 to 8.00 am and the Thursday evening telecast over Revelation TV from 8.00 to 8.30 pm cover almost the whole of Europe.
Our telecasts from Dusseldorf, in the heartland of German industry, must penetrate hitherto indifferent hearts. There is a steady increase in viewership.
Out of Paris, France, it is still a small effort, and the message is being received by many expatriates who have found shelter and refuge in France.
The nation of Guyana in South America continues to have the programme “The Lord’s Challenge” given to them both by radio and television every Sunday. This television ministry helps us to reach the people with the good news of the Gospel. More and more people are responding to the messages and call to tell us of the blessing they received from hearing God’s Word .
In Australia, 33 radio stations are now airing “The Lord’s Challenge”. In addition to these radio broadcasts in Australia, the message of God’s love and power goes out over television in the cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. God’s Word is bound to impact the practical bent of the Australian mind.
We must also pray that God must bless our ten weekly quarter-hour broadcasts in the US.
A true understanding of the purpose of our radio and television broadcasts, the wide scope of their blessing, and a live expectation that God will touch the hearts of millions, must grip our hearts.
Internet Ministry
Many needy people appeared to have tuned in to the messages of both morning and evening sessions of the Annual Retreat on our website in several parts of the globe. There were many hits and reports of blessing are coming in from places far removed from this part of the globe. Now even if a handful of people are blessed, we feel it is worth the effort and the expense involved.
The message which goes out every Sunday from our small church in Detroit, which is called Community Christ Church, at 10.00 AM EST (7.30 PM IST) is a blessing to many people.
CONCLUSION
Eighty years is a long period of time indeed! How faithful our God is! Who are we and what are we that our Lord should shower His mercies upon us! He is the Architect and Builder of this work. His promises have been the backbone of this work. He is our Ebenezer—“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us!” He will go before us and He is our Shepherd and Guide.
As a child, Bro. Joe was taught by his praying mother, who greatly treasured the life of St. Francis of Assisi, who is said to have preached to the birds and animals, that they should be grateful to God. She always warned her children that they should not commit the great sin of ingratitude. Let us be full of gratitude and praise to God!
When we walk before God with a humble and broken spirit, doing His good will in everything, He will help us to break through all barriers and do great exploits for Him in this 81st year!
Bro. Joe ran his race well and was faithful to the end. Now is the time for all of us to build with one accord on this great foundation and heritage of faith passed on to us—a great responsibility before God!
Let us walk faithfully and humbly, serving the Lord and following the truths God has taught us from His Word in the Fellowship. Let us pass on this great heritage of faith to the next generation so that our children may rise up to glorify the Living God and build His Kingdom. May the dear Lord be glorified in all!