Author: Pastor Ben Hiwale

India continues to become very secular and materialistic, and increased Western influence has brought additional challenges to a culture that was already in bondage. However, the greatest challenge to these young pastors right now comes from within the body of Christ. The consumer theology of American preaching is now being preached in India. Some so-called “pastors” and “teachers” have decided that it is unreasonable to think that challenges and struggles can be a regular part of God’s plan for people’s lives. In India the airwaves are filled American and western “evangelists” and “preachers” who lay out the formula for success in ministry, which in fact is perverted. Doesn’t Romans 8:29 say we are to be conformed to Christ’s image and not the image of the world, which measures how large particular congregations are, their building, programs, etc.? The Book of Acts tells how the first Christians were persecuted and scattered all over the world. I do not find any references to “name it and claim it”, “have more faith”, or “rebuke the devil”! The foolishness is obvious, but there is an insatiable desire within all of us to be successful, and that wrapped around the Word of God (taken out of context) can quickly turn momentum into a monument. My prayer for you and these men in India is that we never fall prey to this distorted teaching, or...

We thank the Lord for the unprecedented growth we have seen in the India Ministry. The early days of Pastor Ray and I making videos in the kitchen and mailing them to a few Indian pastors are still fresh in my mind. Now the ministry has grown to 90 churches, the School of Ministry just graduated its seventh class; we have opened a Medical Clinic and a Girls Home, and are reaching thousands with The God Story, an evangelism and discipleship program. We are seeing God do tremendous things among us, and yet trials, failures, setbacks, and persecution seem also to be operating at its highest level. The only antidote to all this is prayer! We have dedicated this issue to this year’s graduating class of KSOM. As you see these pictures, please pray for these men and the men who have gone before, who are pioneering, planting, evangelizing, and equipping the body of Christ in India. The entire India Connection has God’s fingerprints on it and I am thankful for that. I recall the investments made by many men of God who took a step of faith and traveled to India to help equip men, women, and children in the work of the ministry. As we look at our history over the past 20 years, we see are living in a time like in the Book of Acts....