Indian Young People Move Forward by Prayer
By Derald Bhengra
Youth in India are hungry for God. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and I’ve been privileged to watch God work on their behalf.
Not long ago, a dedicated group of young professionals decided to leave their high paying jobs and go into full time ministry. They made this choice because they had a passion for other young people in India to come to know Jesus. As they prayed and sought God’s will, this small group felt God leading them to start an Indian Youth Congress where youth from all over the country could come together, learning about the truths of the Gospel.
When I met this group, I realized that these young people are very highly qualified individuals who have forsaken the pleasures of world and are seeking to live a life totally dependent on God’s will. They do not ask for money from anyone for their survival or their work. They are learning to depend upon God and His providences alone.
When this group of youth started making plans to host the first Indian Youth Congress, they had nothing, nor any budget to work with. They just went ahead in faith, planning the entire meeting and believing that God would provide. Since that time, three Indian Youth Congress’ have been conducted very successfully, changing the lives of many young people.
Last year, the group planned an Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Their purpose was to reach the youth in Northern India. However, they had no funds to start with or to promote the upcoming conference. They began to pray earnestly. As the group was pleading with the Lord to grant them the resources to conduct an IYC at Hapur, a donor came forward and gave them an envelope with Rs.15,000 in it (The equivalent of $230 USD). The youth leader told me he talked to the donor to make sure that he was not giving this amount from his tithes and offerings. The donor assured him that the Rs.15,000 was actually the amount he had set aside for ministry after returning his tithes and offering. Overjoyed and praising God, the youth leader was able to travel to various states of Northern India promoting IYC for the fall of 2017.
To make a long story short, about 300 youth came from all over India for the 2017 IYC, the vast majority coming from Northern India. The youth who came to attend these meetings were genuinely seeking God; they paid their own train tickets, traveling in sleeper class, while others traveled in unreserved train compartments. Some trains were delayed 24 hours! That didn’t deter the youth or dim their enthusiasm to attend the congress.
And God provided the IYC team with funds through which they could clear all the dues. As a result of the Holy Spirit’s leading, 25 young people made the decision to be baptized. A Hindu mother and her son also accepted Christ. We praise the Lord for these decisions!
It’s been amazing to watch the faith of these young people grow as they are learning that truly God can and will supply all their needs. I praise God for the youth of our Church.
Gerald Bhengra is Northern India Union Treasurer writing from New Delhi, India.
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World Church Prayer Requests
for Nov. 26 – Dec. 3, 2017
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for Gary Krause, director of Adventist Mission, and Homer Trecartin, associate director for Adventist Mission, to have God’s wisdom and direction as they lead Adventist Mission initiatives at the world church headquarters.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for Douglas Venn, director of Mission to the Cities and Global Mission’s Urban Centers, to have wisdom and Holy Spirit direction as he coordinates and promotes centers of influence all over the world.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray that church leaders and laity all over the world will be inspired to help share Christ in their cities, or send missionaries to one of the 43 currently unreached cities with a population of more than 1 million people. There is great need for sacrificial laborers for the field.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for “Centers of Influence” to be developed in the unreached cities and that they will be managed well and reach thousands for Jesus.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Pray for our young people of the church to have a hunger to work for Christ rather than spending their life in idle pursuits that won’t count for eternity.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for the thousands of ethnic groups around the world (69% of earth’s population) who have not had a clear presentation of Jesus. We pray for God to change the hearts of those radicalized in other religions—that the Holy Spirit would speak to them and draw them to Jesus.