Category: Letters

From Allah to Jesus

On By Terry IvyIn Church, Church Planting, Letters, SalvationLeave a comment

BehaTraining church planters in India, raising support for orphans and missionaries, writing gospel tracks, and preaching through technology can be laborious, especially when all of that is on top of leading a church here in the USA. However, whenever I get a testimony like I just received, all I can do is fall on my knees before the Lord and thank Him for allowing me to be a small part of His work of the great commission.

This is the testimony I recently received from Beha*, who is pictured to the left. Read through the entire story and you’ll see the miraculous change that only Christ can do in the hearts of people. The entire testimony is below, including the words she capitalized for emphasis. Continue reading “From Allah to Jesus” →

The Power of Singing!

On By Terry IvyIn Church, Church Planting, Letters, Spirit Filled, Street ApologeticsLeave a comment

Lifted handsI feel that many times we underestimate the power of singing. When the presence of the Holy Spirit permeates our being, our songs are highways of evangelism and life to those walking in darkness. However, as the old saying goes, “A song is not a song until you sing it.” This became ever so true to me as I recently received this testimony from the missionaries I train in India. I pray you will take a moment and let it sink in on the many levels that are present throughout this testimony. Through singing and worship we can reveal the power of the Gospel to others. (The names are changed to protect all involved from radical Muslims and Hindus.)

My name is Sada. I really thank God for the Project India ministries , through which Lord has changed me completely and I received Jesus Christ as my Savior. Joy and hope has come into my life.
 
In 2013 I was planning to running and jumping in front of a train to kill myself. I had no peace, no employment, and starvation and poverty was ruling over my family.
 
I have visited 1347 Hindu gods and goddess temples asking them to give peace, joy, happiness and victory over my difficulties over poverty, and I have waited many years for them to answer me, but I never received an answer.

Continue reading “The Power of Singing!” →

Hindu Priest Comes to Christ

On By Terry IvyIn Church, Church Planting, Letters3 Comments

(Hindu Priest) cropThe power of the gospel to change a person’s being is the hope of mankind. Jesus Christ did not come to give us rules and regulations, or burden humanity with more laws and expectations. He came to die on the Cross of Calvary for the payment of our sins, and convict us through the power of the Holy Spirit. At salvation, the Lord changes our ‘being.’ Out of this change comes changed actions and attitudes. The gospel is not about imposing moral transformation or behavioral modification, it is about inward change of being that produces a outward demonstration of a changed life. And this only takes place through the work of the Holy Spirit at salvation.

Here is a testimony from a Hindu Priest in India. He shares how he came to Christ in November through Project India, the church planting ministry which began a little over three years ago. Continue reading “Hindu Priest Comes to Christ” →

Jesus is Still the Friend of Sinners!

On By Terry IvyIn Church, Church Planting, LettersLeave a comment

Rati (Madam)I get many testimonies from the front lines of church planting in rural India. They are filled with stories of the Holy Spirit’s work similar to what we read in the book of Acts. The Lord is just as committed to reaching men and women that are looking for truth as He has always been. After all, Jesus is the “same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) Thank God He is, and here is a story I recently received that demonstrates the Lord’s tender care for all people, regardless of where they have come from. The lady being baptized in the photo is Rati, who wrote this letter to me.

(Names and villages changed for security reasons) Continue reading “Jesus is Still the Friend of Sinners!” →

Allah Did Not Answer, But Jesus Did!

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Letters, Salvation2 Comments

Muslim lady and husbandThe power of the gospel is not limited to the written words of the Scriptures only. The Lord promised to pour out the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17) One of the most powerful promises that Jesus left for His followers is that He would speak and His sheep would hear His voice. That promise has been true down through the centuries since He walked the shores of Galilee. Jesus still speaks…and His sheep still hear His voice! (John 10:27)

Working among the rural areas of India, our PROJECT INDIA church planting team confronts many situations from atheism to pantheism, and from Islam to Hinduism. One such opportunity came to light recently as revealed in this testimony sent to me from a lady who was raised a Muslim. I’ll let you read the testimony she sent to me. (I have changed her name for security reasons. The capital letters in this message are the ones she added. This is the letter in its entirety.)

“Hello, my name is Herra, a follower of the Muslim religion. I had never heard about Jesus. Since I born and brought in Muslim religion and a traditional family, I was never allowed to hear about the other religions. The last few years my family has gone through much suffering and poverty. We were not able to bare it anymore and so we made plans to die by drinking poison. Many times we prayed to our Muslim god ALLA, BUT WE RECEIVED NO ANSWER from him.

3 months back a pastors wife Suvartharani visited our home. She shared her testimony how we could meet the Lord Jesus. And she also shared the powerful and loving message of cross through DVD where Pastor Terry Ivy shared about the love of Jesus. As I was hearing the word, I felt Jesus himself talk to me. Continue reading “Allah Did Not Answer, But Jesus Did!” →

A Tract…A Man…A Church

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Leadership, Letters, SalvationLeave a comment

New VillageA couple of weeks ago, our Project India team traveled and did outreach and evangelism in a village where people came to market in order to sell their vegetables, fruit and fish. Our team gathered small crowds and passed out gospel tracts. One tract, “The Cross” is a message I wrote last year for the team to translate and distribute. It discusses the plan of salvation from Creation, the fall of Adam, the promise of a Messiah, and the birth, life, death resurrection and ascension of Jesus. I wrote it in very simple language because it had to go through translation and printing for the rural villages we are reaching in India.

As our team passed out tracts, they gave one to a man who was at the village that day selling fish to get money to provide for his family. He lives in a coastal village several kilometers away. His coastal village has a high rate of illiteracy, and most of the population worship the water and fish hindu gods. Very few from his village can read or write, but he was one of the few. He took the tract, placed it in his pocket, and carried it back to his village after he had finished selling his fish.

After arriving back at his coastal village he discovered the tract and began to read it. As he did, his heart leaped with joy as he read the news about Jesus coming to die for the sins and forgiveness of mankind. When he reached the end of the tract, he prayed and Continue reading “A Tract…A Man…A Church” →

A Cry Through The Window

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Leadership, Letters, Salvation, Suffering4 Comments

India woman windowRecently, two of our Church Planters preached in an unreached village. They proclaimed that Jesus as the Only Begotten Son and the Savior of all. They shared how that man must come to Him through faith and repentance by believing the gospel. After preaching, some rogue elements of this village attacked and beat them up. As they ran them out of the village they said, “If you come back, we will kill you.”

These types of reports from the front lines of work through our Project India team are some of the hardest for me to hear. However, I am aware that suffering and persecution is the norm for proclaiming the gospel to a lost and dying world. In America, we are shielded from this by our laws, but even this seems to be changing as radical homosexuals and militant atheists are attempting to squash the proclamation of truth.

Our top three team leaders traveled to this rural village, asked for and was granted a meetingt with the village elders. They requested permission to continue to preach the gospel and to be protected from those who would attack them. We were not expecting to have a favorable meeting, but after a couple of days of seeking the Lord’s will we were holding out hope. Three of the village Elders said, “No.” However, the other five Continue reading “A Cry Through The Window” →

Go and Tell…

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Discipleship, Letters, SalvationLeave a comment

recording4A young man sits in an outreach meeting in a rural village in India. His name is Babu.* He listens as the Gospel is proclaimed in his village with clarity during a street meeting. Conviction comes upon his heart and he responds to the call to repent of his sins and surrender to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. When he does, his life is changed forever as God washes away his sins and makes him a new person in Christ. (2Cor. 5:17)

This story is unfolding time after time through the work of Project India, as we have seen nearly 4,000 come to Christ in the past 14 months and planted 41 churches in previously unreached villages. However, the story of this young man will help explain some of the phenomenal results we are seeing.

Soon after his conversion, Babu is praying and senses the Holy Spirit directing him to action. He obeys and is immediately thrust into action in the kingdom of God. What does he do? Babu is very poor, but feels he is to take all his money and buy a video camera and Continue reading “Go and Tell…” →

Jesus Still Protects His Church

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Letters, Suffering3 Comments

What if Jesus revealed Himself today as He did in the book of Acts? What would it look like? Would we recognize it? Last week I received another testimony from the front lines of church planting through our Project India ministry. In it, two Hindu ladies write telling of how the Lord appeared to them in a miraculous way. They described in detail what was going through their mind and their intent to destroy the local church because of the preaching of the gospel.

Jesus intervened in a very special way and they share what happened to them. I pray it encourages everyone, especially church planters, to look to our resurrected Lord to provide what is needed in our most desperate times.

**Some of the English is rough as it had to go through translation and names have been changed for security reasons.**

“Hello, my name is Sura and my friend’s name is Daga, we live in the village where Pastor Yohn has planted a PROJECT INDIA church.

We both are very bad people, we always enjoying sin and speaking very bad language. At the same time we are worshipers of 30,000 goddess and 67,000 gods. We are very strong worshipers of god ANGENAYA (MONKEY GOD) we also strong believers of  lord GANESHA. We never love any other religion, only Hindu gods. We hear about Jesus six months back and were so anger towards  project–India church believers. We used to think that jesus is not a god of India, but only god to the white people. Even we have seen many images of Jesus he never look like Indian. Our question is, “when we have 330 million gods and goddess, why do we want worship other nations other people god?”

When Pastor Yohn  is sharing  the gospel we asked him stop sharing about Jesus. We told him, “If you do more about Jesus we will kill you!” Continue reading “Jesus Still Protects His Church” →

Idolatrous Festival Director Comes to Christ

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Letters, SalvationLeave a comment

The power of the Gospel never fails to amaze me. The truth of God’s Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit can penetrate the depth of any darkness in the heart of man. Jesus alone has the power to change a person’s heart and give them purpose and fulfillment in life.

Here is a testimony received this week of God’s redemptive grace. Some of the English is rough, but the message is precious. We are witnessing testimonies like this every week of people coming to Christ through Project India.

Hello, I am Seriva B__.  I just want say what the Lord  Jesus has done in my life. I grew up a very strong Hindu idol worshiper. We have mother goddess in our family  and I used to worship 15,000 goddesses  every day. I used to worship and pray to them since my childhood. The last 35 years I was also zone goddess festival director, but not now because I have resigned.    

Last 3 months I could not find peace. Something was happening in my heart. My burden was very high and I was even planning  to drink to poisons because I did not want live any more. I had prayed to all my 15,000 goddesses to give me peace but I could not hear anything from them. My friend, Raja shared about Continue reading “Idolatrous Festival Director Comes to Christ” →

The Lord Reveals His Power to a Village

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Letters, PrayerLeave a comment

Over the past year the Lord has performed some astounding acts among rural villages in India. These villages had never heard the wonderful news of Jesus Christ before we reached them. They were no believers or church in their midst. This week I received a phone call of an event which demonstrates how the Holy Spirit is working among our church planters.

One of our church planters, Amand*, and his wife held an outreach service. (Pictured to the left along with their 3 boys.) They have planted two churches in two villages since January of this year. In preparation for outreach meetings, the believers give themselves to diligent prayer and fasting. Also, they pass out tracts and invitations to villagers who have never heard the Gospel. This particular outreach meeting was going to feature a DVD of one of the messages I shared at one of our Church Planters Conference. The subject was on “The Cross.”

The government leaders in these villages are upper caste Hindu. One of them, Bram*, suffered from serious heart conditions. He attended a physician and was told there was not anything which could be done to help him. He was sent home to die.

Bram received news about the outreach and, as a village elder, came to investigate what is was about. He listened to the message about “The Cross” and became convicted Continue reading “The Lord Reveals His Power to a Village” →

Persecution and the Power of the Gospel

On By Terry IvyIn Church Planting, Letters, Salvation, Suffering1 Comment

Sometimes, it is in the midst of persecution when Jesus reveals Himself as the Great Shepherd…protecting his sheep with His faithful hands. That is certainly true in this story. Through PROJECT INDIA we have planted 19 churches in the three months of December ’11 through February ’12, with well over 500 new souls brought to Christ and added to these fellowships. We knew it was only a matter of time before the enemy would show his colors and begin to bring persecution. Several events have taken place, but I want to share a special story which is still unfolding. (Names are changed for security reasons!)

In one of the villages Bro. Anand, our PROJECT INDIA church planter, led Mary to Christ. Her salvation, like many others in the villages we are reaching, is from a life of idolatry in the religious practice of Hinduism. However, Mary’s story goes beyond that…as her father is the Brahma Priest who leads worship in one of the local Hindu Temples. Therefore, her family is from the highest caste in Indian culture and has little to do with the lower castes. Continue reading “Persecution and the Power of the Gospel” →