A five-week trip: Part 2

Our next stop in India was the Leaders and Wives’ conference in Bangalore. The Commission group of Newfrontiers churches, formerly served by Guy Miller, but now by Vinu Paul, based in Mumbai, had gathered from about 80 churches scattered around the subcontinent.

It was such a joy to see so many friends, some of whom I’d not seen for several years and also many new faces including those for whom English was by no means their first language.

The other conference speaker was Mohaan Philip who leads a remarkable gospel ministry among the villages of Uttar Pradesh where hundreds of churches have been started.

If the vast state of Uttar Pradesh were a nation in its own right it would be the fifth largest nation in the world, a place of vast need, profound poverty and a deeply rooted caste system which traps millions of people. Praise God that the gospel is making inroads into that vast state. We enjoyed a fine conference together.

On to Mumbai

From there we flew to Mumbai where, on the Saturday, leaders of Steve Oliver’s Regions Beyond group of churches gathered for an excellent time together. On the Sunday twelve hundred  gathered from both spheres of churches in a great theatre. What a wonderful occasion! The placards said “Commissioned for Regions Beyond” and people from the two groups of churches enjoyed beautiful fellowship and responded enthusiastically to the word. A crowded leader’s day followed, once again gathering from the two spheres and celebrating excellent comradeship.

Finally, we once again visited Goa, where we had not been for many years. After a delightful three-day break provided for us by the believers, we enjoyed a full weekend with an excellent leaders’ conference followed again by a large Sunday Celebration attended by one thousand believers.

For many years we travelled to Goa to serve two or three churches. Now eight churches gathered for a superb time together.

How I thank God for all the gospel advances taking place in India, for leaders growing in spiritual stature and Godly maturity and a crowd of bright and exciting younger generation leaders and disciples emerging. It was sheer joy to be in India again.