Graduation Report
Thank you for all your prayers and support. India now has the 29th state of the union formed – named Telangana. The national elections are over with reports of 800 million voters! The BJP, a party usually described as Hindu nationalists, defeated the Congress party. During the last year, the political situation has not been good for the people of our state or for the ministry. We have dealt with riots, strikes, vehicles being damaged by mobs, fires and roadblocks, civil unrest, government offices closed, schools shut down, teachers on strike, and more! But we know that through it all, God is in still in control . By God’s grace, the ministry is doing well. Officially, the state has been split, and now we are now dealing with the end of the political elections. The BJP party I mentioned earlier has been known in the past to be unfriendly to Christians. Please pray for our safety during this transition. Also pray for the new party that is in power, for our state, A .P., for the new state (Telangana), and for the country of India. In the midst of this, we had the highlight of our year with 39 new graduates being commissioned and sent into the harvest field! We also held our annual pastor’s conference, where pastors from North India, South India, and in-between gathered and were encouraged, refreshed and equipped to go back into the harvest field planting new churches and fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission in the land of India. I am grateful for our keynote speakers including Dr. Ron Hammonds, Dr. Sonny Conatser and Dr. Doug and Cyndi Erickson. This year’s theme was “Discipleship” and all speakers had great teachings and encouraging words for the graduates and delegates. A special thanks to all of our teams that have taken their own resources and time to come and serve on campus: · Pastor Julian & Wendy Richards and CVCC Church team · Pastor Trevor Bucknell from Harvest Bible College · Pastor Ron Lewis and Pastor Gabriel Hensley and the COTR Kansas City team · Pastor Mike and Ruth Edwards and trustees from Wales · Pastor Ben and Jamie Starr and team from C3 Australia · Howard Poole and Don Einam from Australia · Dr. Greg Haynes and Scott Smith from Carry the Light Ministries in the US In our state, the economic climate is also changing with the uncertainty and instability in the government. The cost of rice, vegetables, eggs and chicken have risen dramatically. Our city is one of the top three choices to become the new capital of our state, causing land prices to rise as well. This has made it difficult to purchase land to build new churches. The urgency for Christ for India to become more self-sufficient from within India is becoming critical . One of our main projects this year is to buy a rice paddy, as we are now providing almost 3,000 meals per day! Rice is one of our most expensive food costs and we can save valuable funds by cultivating it ourselves. Please prayerfully consider helping us with this project! We need to buy 17 acres of rice paddy with the approximate cost at $20,000 per acre. In addition, we continue to have many children who need sponsorship, seminary students who need scholarships and 150+ pastors who need monthly sponsorships as they plant and pioneer churches in unreached villages . Since 1981, God has provided for all of our needs in all areas of ministry. God is faithful! Thank you for all that you do and your consideration on all projects this year. Training thousands to reach the millions, Jameson Titus
Key Projects in 2014
Although there are many needs of the ministry of Christ For India (CFI), I would like to highlight these 5 for 2014: 1) New dining hall and kitchen for the children attending school on their campus 2) Sheet metal roofing for Worship Center and Junior College 3) Romans 12:12 project – Support at $100 per month for 144 new pastors and evangelists taking Christ’s message to the villages. 4) Acquiring a small rubber tree plantation for self support. 5) Solar power for campus. Of these, the Romans 12:12 project specifically takes the CFI ministry to another dimension of impact as it is equipping and supporting CFI seminary graduates and pastors who are fulfilling the most important role of the Lord’s Army. They are the “foot soldiers” that have “one-on-one” contact with the people living in the territory (villages) assigned to them by God. They face the forces of evil, often alone, and are on the front lines of salvation. The 12th chapter of Romans provides excellent guidelines for our graduates. More succinctly, Ro. 12:12 – “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continually instant in prayer” is a great foundation. Likewise, 144 pastors and evangelists sponsored at $100 per month equals $14,400. And 12X12 =144 which is the number needed to be sponsored. They begin their journey “rejoicing” that God has chosen them to go forth, and they go rejoicing in the victories they encounter. As they experience trials, turmoil, and tribulation, they are steadfast and do not falter. They are patient in what they are doing for God. Prayer is their constant partner. They are continually in prayer in every situation they encounter. Like any army, supplies come from behind the front lines – from the base camps, the central support and Headquarters. Foot soldiers depend on their supply lines to keep them in the field and effective for as long as they are on the front lines. Every aspect of CFI’s ministry is important and appreciates your support. If you determine you would like to support this project, mark your contributions “Ro 12:12”
Christmas Update
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Christ for India! Johnson, Helen, Mary and and all of the family send their love and greetings to each of you and your families. I would like to give a special thanks to all those who hosted me and Mary as we traveled throughout the year. I also appreciate, so much, the Christ for India Board Members who serve the ministry in giving of their time, talents, and treasures. I thank God for our many prayer and financial partners over the years that have made this ministry possible. This year our focus was (1) To train young men and women to become pastors and evangelists. (2) To plant churches in unreached areas and build places of worship. (3) To alleviate pain and suffering through humanitarian outreaches at our hospital on campus, village medical camps and eye clinics. (4) To give children an opportunity to be educated and become the future leaders of India. This is all made possible by your continued prayers and giving. We are praying and believing that God will challenge 500 new prayer and financial partners to commit to praying for our family and ministry as well as financially supporting Christ for India each month with a gift of $100 or more. In these challenging times, several of our new partners are reaching the $100 monthly goal by joining with friends and pledging smaller amounts together. If you are currently not partnering monthly with Christ for India, please prayerfully consider being one of the “India 500”. What a fantastic opportunity this is to be an instrument of God in bringing the Gospel to lost and needy souls! On campus, over 1,000 people are being ministered to daily. Together we are providing pastors and their families with financial support each month which allows them to be in the mission field. Currently we have 144 Pastors that are in need of a sponsor. Would you consider sponsoring a Pastor monthly? $100 per month will sponsor a Pastor and family with rice and rent. This year the children’s home and school has taken in 950 children off the streets. We have given them love, hope and Jesus. Many of these children are now young adults serving in ministry and becoming productive citizens of India. Currently we have over 300 children still in need of sponsorship. Would you consider sponsoring a child at $40 per month? Through the medical camps and the hospital on campus, we are ministering to many young people and elderly who would not receive healthcare otherwise. Please consider planting a seed by making a year-end donation. Your gift can be in honor of a beloved friend or family member. There are many ways to give to Christ for India. We accept stocks/shares and gifts in kind. For more information please contact us at cfimin@christforindia.org or visit our website at christforindia.com.au. Thank you for being part of this miracle ministry in India. We pray that you are richly blessed this holiday season. Blessings for the New Year, Jameson Titus and Family
Praise Report on the Cyclonic Storm!
Dear Partners, Thank you for all your prayers! Here is a Praise Report from Johnson Titus on Campus: “Now we see after the morning that it all mostly the Cyclone went to Odisa and Srikakulam where our Pastor Karun Kumar is. They got heavy rains, winds, but no major damage. The major storm went north of us. There is damage and flooding, but nothing like ‘The Indian Katrina’ as they were calling it. It is reported that over 1,000,000 people were evacuated, so no loss of life in our area, although there were 14 deaths from the storm in the region. We don’t know the full details yet on the lives lost; more property damage than anything. Praise God! Let all know we are safe, with no major problems. Thanks for their prayers.” – Johnson Titus We ask that you will keep covering our campus and the people in the region with prayer for the rebuilding and as people return to their homes. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Blessings, Jameson Titus, President
A Brief Word from Campus about the Coming Storm
Dear Partners , We need your prayers, as a weather storm approaches our campus, in the next few hours we are facing a Cyclone on our coast and all along the shoreline of Andhra and Odisha, eastern India. I just received this from Johnson, my brother, direct from the campus: “[I] Don’t know if you have seen news. Coastal Andhra from Visak up to Odisha, West Bengal are in the path of a cyclone, “Indian Katrina”, coming to land fall by Saturday night. We are praying that it doesn’t come to close to us, but we are going to get the heavy rains and some winds all in our area. We may be out of communications for a while: no electricity, cells, etc. I have no way of knowing what this means or where it is going. We are preparing to keep all things tied down. Let all our friends know to keep us in prayer.“ -Johnson Titus Thank you again for all your prayers. Read this article for more information on the storm Blessings, Jameson
Steering Through Chaos…
Greetings from India! Thank you so much for all your prayers for us on campus and our state! All of the children who live on campus are safe, as well as the faculty and staff. Our school has been open for only 6 days total since July 31st. We even opened the school on two Saturdays to make up for lost days this month. Today, August 28th, we are closed. We hope to be open tomorrow and the rest of the week. Each day we wait for news on the strike to see if the school buses can run and if the city is shut down for the day. The city’s public transportation is still shut down, so it is very hard for people to go to work, shop, etc. The teacher’s association has also joined in on the strike. Our teachers want to continue working with our kids on campus, but cannot due to the association. Our Junior College opened on August 19th for the first time since the state split. The very next day, a mob of people from outside the village came onto our school campus and demanded we close down the school immediately and send the kids out on the streets because it was a day of strike. This mob is led by a retired government employee and his group tells the schools and shops in the area when to shut down due to the strikes. We feared this mob could have done physical damage, so we complied and shut down the Junior College for the day. The seminary students are all doing well and continuing in classes on campus. Some of our evangelistic efforts by the students have been hindered though. Many of our students were going out to the public government school to teach moral science. Since these schools are now closed, we’ve lost that opportunity. The church plants in Hyderabad and others cities on both sides of the state are all safe. Please keep praying for all the children, students, pastors and the whole team at Christ for India. Also, continue to pray for our state and that the politicians will make wise decisions during this time. Blessings Jameson
