THIS SEASON OF CHRISTMAS
Christ is yet to be born in the hearts of more than 999 million people (only 2% or less people know Jesus as their Savior!) in India. In the month of October India decorated their houses and plants with lights and celebrated ‘Diwali’ which means the festival of lights. We pray that this nation will find the true Light of Life in Jesus Christ during this season of Christmas.

THE 10th SEMINARY GRADUATION
This year God helped us to graduate 37 candidates: Six M.Div; Eight B.Th and Twenty three Diploma holders in Christian Ministry.

WE ARE STARTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF OUR NEW CAMPUS
Please pray for this urgent and immediate needs of finance for the construction. We are praying and looking for people who will commit themselves to pray and give $1000. during the period of one year for our construction needs. We always appreciate you and your prayers and financial support. We are praying for you.
AGAIN, HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND BLESSINGS! Yours in the Ministry of Christ Jesus,

Dr. Samuel & Susan Mathai

 

Construction of road inside the Campus site started

 

Labourers’ Working at the Road Construction

Dear Friends and Family:
Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray all is well with you!

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
We always enjoy reading the reports the pastors of our churches from different fields send to us. In this letter we want to share with you excerpts from some of the letters we received recently from the State of Odisa (Orissa) in India. Trust these reports will encourage you and give you a sense of how the church planting ministry is going on:

Komu M wrote: Greetings to you in the sweet name of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, I baptized 14 people on 28/5/2011 and shared Lord’s Supper with them along with other believers. Now there are 7-8 more people are ready to take baptism. Please pray for our believers that through them many people will come to know about Christ. Pray for me that the lord may strengthen me to do this ministry. Pray for a church building because there is no place to sit and worship. Pray for my brothers and my mother that they may come to Christ. Also, pray for a couple who believes for a child. Yours Faithfully, KM.

Shyam Sunda Suna wrote: Please pray against the persecution in the district of B….. In the village of T… persecution comes often. There are much opposition in my ministry. Many fanatics make problems to me, but God is giving me strength and encouraging me to move forward. Jesus told us to love your enemy and do good to those who hate you (Lk 6:27). Also pray for a bicycle for me to go and do the ministry. Sometimes I borrow from others. Otherwise, I will go by walking and do the ministry in the nearby villages. Your’s faithfully, SSS.

Sushil Dhanshil wrote: I am teaching about water Baptism in the church. There are six members in the village of T…. ready to take the water baptism. All together 12 families are coming to worship. I need a bicycle to do the God’s ministry. Pray for me as well. Yours faithfully, SD

Sanjay Kumar Bagh wrote: Greetings to you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ. I am doing God’s ministry in the villages of K…., Go…., and S..nagar. God is using me mightily for His kingdom sake. There are 32 families coming to worship from these three villages. SKB

Sanjay Kumar wrote: By the grace of God there are 57 believers are coming to worship in K…church. We are having three days of worship in K….. This is my prayer that all the believers will grow in the Lord.
• Pray for a church building
• Pray for the believers to grow in the Lord, SK

We love you and are praying for you.
Yours in the Ministry of Christ Jesus,
Dr. Samuel & Susan Mathai

We decided to write* a special newsletter this month on Nepal, where one of our Seminary graduates, Joyte (B.Th. 2000) is ministering. Joyte felt the call for Nepal and he went there in 2002 to raise up leaders and plant churches. Recently Joyte wrote:
“Thanks for your kind prayers and support. Now we (GNN/SSM) have 5 churches and 3 prayer fellowships. We have two fulltime workers and several lay leaders. Every Friday My wife is leading a Women’s Prayer Fellowship. Our ministry is progressing very well and many people are coming to Christ. The New believers are forsaking their idols and now worship the Living God. Hallelujah! Sometimes we have a special celebration when they give up their idols. We have many people who want to take Water Baptism, but we are teaching them the basic things about Christianity before they take the baptism.”

Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray all is well with you!

YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT AT WORKS

Some of our Church Planting ministries takes place in the interior parts of India, where the gospel has not been introduced nor has any evidence of the presence of Christians.  The South-west part our province is such an area  and two teenagers (Lal and Ram)  from there found Christ and came to one of our Bible Training Centers and studied the Word of God and trained as pastors in 2007-08 school year.

Standing the Left Our Two Pastors

After graduation in 2008, they both went back to their own people groups at the age of 19 as our partners and chose two places side by side as guided by the Lord. After three years they both have churches. Today, one of them has a church of over 75 members and the other about 45 people.  Very recently, we  were able to visit them and they conducted a combined service where over 150 people gathered for a powerful worship service.

This GNN church is the only church among the three people groups in that area. There is no presence of any churches within 35 KM. One of the church members promised to give enough land for a church building and we are praying for resources to build a church there.

GNN Church-Combined Service

Thank you for interceding for this ministry and for your continued financial support. Please continue to pray for the Campus Development.

Please note:  You can give to GNN ONLINE

We love you and are praying for you. Please e-mail us with your prayer requests or words of encouragement.

Pray with us for revival in South Asia.

Yours in the Ministry of Christ Jesus,
Dr. Samuel & Susan Mathai
P. S. Please keep our children in your prayers-Sybil & Finny, Syril & Jennifer, and Sycil – and their families along with our grandchildren: Ashton, Jeremy, Avery, Reagan, Mark, Zachary, and Timothy Joseph).

Ezekiel 37:3-4:

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, Thou knowest.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’

Recently, I had the privilege to meet up with two GNN workers in a village.  They told me that the village leaders gave them notices to leave the village or else they will “pack them” (i.e. that they would be killed).  After hearing their story, a fear gripped my heart and I suggested that they might leave that place and go to another village.  But their response was “We are called by God to this village and we will stay here and work – whether we live or die.

Dr. Samuel & Susan Mathai

 There are more approvals needed for the development of a New Campus, but God has given us favor with some of the people in the govt. who we think will help us. Please continue to pray and also for the resources to build.

Samuel and Susan Mathai