The small motorbike was piled high with household goods. The stack resembled a rooster tail as it extended from behind the rider’s seat.
The bike was parked outside a humble, bright blue and green building along the main road through the village. It belonged to a rural pastor and evangelist, who had set aside the day to learn to more effectively share Jesus with people of other faiths, even though it meant he wouldn’t earn any income that day.
He was joined by three other evangelists, their families, and other believers from the area (about 30 in all) inside the narrow hall where the training was held.
This group of people was from the Hakki Pakki tribe, a people who once lived in the jungle, hunting birds and small animals for food, but have more recently become a little more integrated into mainstream society. Now, they farm on government land.
By God’s grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has reached this tribe, and many have received Jesus and worship Him!
When this group of four pastors heard about the training program ITMI’s David Kumar and his co-worker, Pastor Walter, travel to rural villages to give, they requested David and Walter come and equip them so they could gain a more Biblical perspective, grow closer to Jesus, and reach their Muslim friends and neighbors for Jesus!
As we shared last month, David and Walter travel to each training location about once a month to provide training sessions for six months. In between sessions, participants implement what they’ve learned in their everyday lives as they interact with their community.
Since 2015, two thousand fifty-seven pastors, leaders, and believers have attended at least one training session, and there are 54 rural locations that have a group of leaders and believers equipped to share Jesus with their Muslim friends and neighbors!
The Lord laid this ministry on David’s heart years ago as he observed that many believers didn’t have a Biblical posture toward their friends and neighbors of other faiths.
One of the biggest shifts in the thinking of those who come to David and Walter’s training is that as believers, they are called to offer Jesus lovingly to people of other faiths. Then, once they are equipped to do it, they become excited about following and obeying Jesus in this way!
