After I received salvation, I started growing in knowledge of Christ through God’s grace and guidance. Myself and my wife began Sunday school classes in the slum areas of our neighbourhood. I owe this to the burden which God placed in our hearts. We started this children ministry in the year 2008 under a neem tree where the people were actually worshipping some IDOLS under the same tree. We chose that place because we did not have any other place to take children ministries. On the first day, only 5 children came to attend the Sunday class. After 3 weeks, God poured his great transformation power into these 5 children. They went and brought more than 50 Children and the people in that area by seeing this gathering, stopped worshipping the idol under that tree.
Usually in India, when people worship idols under a tree, they start building a big temple around that tree immediatelybut we had a big Sunday class formed by the mighty power of God. Every Sunday evening, my wife and 2 of my brothers in Christ continued the Sunday school for those 80 children. While the Sunday school was proceeding, myself and 2 other brothers would go to each child house, visit their parents and tell them the gospel. We proclaimed the gospel to more than 100 families in that same slum.
We faced many difficulties but learnt a lot through those difficulties. One witchcraft person who used to practice witchcraft against many people came against us including some antichristian people who always threatened us to go out of that place. But God taught us to overcome all these evil activities in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We went and prayed for many people who were under bondages of witchcraft, sickness and demons in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
We conducted special open-airmeetings in that place during which we used to enact skits, choreographed songs, played Jesus Christ films through projector on screens. This helped to create awareness about their sins and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ. We used to invite all the children and their parents to these programmes. After 2 years, the pastor of a church in that areatook charge of taking sunday classes in that slum place.
Then God placed a burden in my heart for conducting afasting prayer for my country India’s salvation. By the grace of God, we converted a small upper room of my house to a big prayer hall. We conduct prayer meetings in that hall everyfirst week Sunday and second week Saturday. More than 50 people gather and pray for our country. A preacher also joins and shares the Word of God. God started opening the doorsthrough that fasting prayer.
God showed me 3 tribal areas in the Indian states – Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa. We have to travel at least 600 kms to reach these places from my native place. Hence God showed me some existing ministries which is already happening in these places – those of whom we can support financially, through prayers and support through occasional visits to the missionary fields of these three ministries.
The ministries are taking place among the tribal people in the state of Gujarat (Shalom Ministry), Orissa (Living Bread of India) and Maharashtra (Sword of the God Ministry) Apart from these, the ministries where our team is directly involved are ministry in my native among fishermen and Village ministry in the state of Tamil Nadu (my native place).
Holy Spirit helps us in all these ministries through his power and guidance. We visit these mission fields during different times of year and help by building new churches for people who do not have churches to worship these areas. In many places, the church services are being conducted under a tree. More than 200 to 300 people gather and worship our God under the trees. Most of the tribal people live in the dense forest. There are huge trees and the Sunday services happen under those trees. We prayed to GOD for the needs to build churches. It should be noted that people in India have a huge respect for temples and thus Church is also of paramount importance for the new age Christians to be edified. By God`s immense grace, today we have built 19 churches in these 3 tribal areas and we are supporting 15 missionaries. We also support for the monthly expenses towards education of the children of missionaries who do the ministry work. We aim to build at least 2 to 3 churches by God’s grace.
Every year twice or thrice, I personally visit all of these areas where the missionaries are doing very hard work to bring the souls to Christ Jesus. I generally spend 2 to 3 weeks in this area and do the ministry in these mission fields…
Stalin John Manuel
Mahanaim 