Pastor Yehoshua wanted us to come to his village and conduct a youth retreat, as the young kids and teenagers are currently out of school because of the lockdown. We thought it was a great opportunity to share the gospel with them. There were nearly 20 to 30 students (ranging from kids to college-aged) who attended the meeting. Our Pastoral Assistant R.K. started the messages by speaking about the “Rich Young Ruler,” stressing the hopelessness of keeping the law, and the necessity of faith in Christ.
Afterward, we conducted a bible quiz on the book of Jonah. This raised a bit of curiosity among the children and the youth. The summary of the quiz was that God showed compassion towards gentiles in Nineveh by sending them his prophet Jonah, who testified of their need to repent of their sins. Brother Koty, a church member, shared with students a personal story on how the Lord saved him from a very difficult situation two years ago, along with how he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. He also shared the importance of the local church, and how it has helped him stay on the course when he has been tempted to run away from God.
In the end, I spoke with them about the exclusivity of the gospel and preached to them from the book of James on what it means to “know Jesus” (James 2:19). It was a very hot and sultry afternoon, but the young people seemed to have paid attention to what we said. Please pray that the seed which was sown may bring forth a great harvest.
We as a church want to help this village church in every possible. We desire to see it grow in heaps and bounds, spiritually speaking. Our goal in the future is to see this church planting other sound biblical churches in the region. We want to train these young men by conducting more youth camps in the future, hopefully seeing them grow in their faith, doctrine, and Christian living. Please pray.
In the end, we all went to play cricket. Even though I couldn’t compete with these young people, I still gave it a try and made some runs!! All in all, it was a very encouraging meeting with these young people, and we promised them that we would come again, to preach and disciple them. We praise God for these wonderful opportunities in these strange and unprecedented days!
