By the grace of God, more than 1200 people chose to follow the Lord Jesus in Christian baptism in eastern India during a three-week evangelism series sponsored by The Quiet Hour and ShareHim, February 1-16, 2008.

Twenty-seven teams of volunteer evangelists led by Pastor Bill Tucker, president of The Quiet Hour, ministered in two districts near the city of Chennai, formerly called Madras. The teams were assigned to cities and villages where Bible studies and village evangelism had been carried out. Months beforehand, The Quiet Hour sent funds (from you, the financial supporters) for preparation in the villages where the meetings were to be held. Bible workers were assigned to the various villages, and church workers had launched the construction of eight chapels. (This was the Seek phase of The Quiet Hour’s “Seek-Reap-Keep” evangelism. The evangelism meetings began the Reap phase.)

In addition to nightly meetings with health talks, family talks, a children’s program with felts or puppets, and Bible messages; evangelism team members visited orphanages during the day and distributed school supplies, toys, and food; and they held health clinics.

In some villages, the sound system at the outdoor meeting was loud enough to broadcast the gospel into nearby houses, so more people heard the gospel than actually attended the meetings and participated.

Rumors and fact
While there were some disturbances resulting in the closing of the meetings three days early, “At no time were the lives of our teams in jeopardy,” wrote Pastor Tucker in an e-mail. “There were three villages where one or two individuals brought authorities into the villages. Four of our team members were brought into the police station and questioned. The police officers were polite; however, one of the militants, a lawyer, wanted our people to be arrested, but it didn’t happen. The officers did temporarily take projectors, computers, cameras, and a Bible. However, except for one camera, all of the items did get back in the hands of our teams later.”

He continues, “The police asked the four team members (two married couples), for their own safety, to get into a vehicle when more protesters began to create a stir. They brought them to the hotel and kept police at our hotel to maintain peace and security of the area.”

Pastor Tucker said that when they boarded two buses, police made sure that no one would get close. They were given a police escort to Bangalore. “We were saddened by not being able to say goodbye to the new friends and brothers and sisters from all of the villages.”

Continue to pray for Indian people
As the third phase of “Seek-Reap-Keep” evangelism, Bible teachers and pastors, Indian nationals, will continue to work in these villages, and many more people are preparing for baptism. Quiet Hour chapels are being constructed in several of the villages and more will be built in the coming weeks.

“Continue to keep each village and new member in your prayers,” is the mantra of Bill and Jackie Tucker, and Dené Tyler, administrative assistant in The Quiet Hour’s planned giving department.

Dené worked as a children’s ministry coordinator on this short-term mission. For weeks beforehand, she prepared her program of activities, stories, and music; and as the mother of two active sons, she is a veteran child-wrangler. So when the large group of Indian children became rambunctious during a program, Dené and her helpers had the kids do calisthenics to expend some energy.

From the beginning of the adventure in evangelism, Pastor Tucker described his experiences in a series of e-mails sent from Tiruvannamalai, their assigned city. “Arriving in this city, we immediately were drawn to several magnificent ornate towers at the compound of one of the Hindu world’s revered places of worship, the vast Arunachaleswarar Temple, to the worship of Shiva, one of the five main deities. As one of the five largest temples in India, this sprawling compound sets the stage for one of the main centers of Hindu worship. We are staying only a stone’s throw away, in the Trishul Hotel.”

Pastor Tucker’s teams had come to a Hindu stronghold, but they were able to expose 21 villages to the Christian gospel. They were told that this was the first public Christian evangelism series ever held by foreign evangelists in that city. “For reasons that God only knows, we came to this place for such a time as this in earth’s history to be a testimony of God’s love and grace in the midst of a religious but pagan community,” says Pastor Tucker.

Jackie Tucker said, “In the villages the response has been amazing. These are people who have never even heard the name of Jesus. Every night the sound systems blast the messages into every home in the village. People are hearing the message whether they want to or not. From the reports we are hearing from the speakers, the people are responding to the calls to accept Jesus as their Savior. It is an exciting experience to be sharing Jesus in an area that is so steeped in Hinduism.”

Jackie tells this story of a volunteer evangelist: “Because Carrie Klaus had done so much good in her village she was defended by villagers at the police station. They related how she had purchased cooking pans for a young lady whose husband had abandoned her with a small baby, and how she and the nurse had gone through the village helping those who were sick. Carrie felt compelled to hug one of the ladies who had been mean to her. She told her, “God loves you and so do I.” The next day this same lady was smiling and told Carrie how much she enjoyed the meeting. Carrie later learned that this lady's son and his wife were baptized.”

Across the state of Tamil Nadu in Vellore, additional Quiet Hour/Share Him teams conducted meetings in predominantly-Hindu villages, though in this area, Christianity has a better foothold.

Real people, real needs
In an e-mail from India, Jackie Tucker wrote: “Our meetings are going well. We have more children every night. There are so many kids that we are really challenged just to share a story and sing songs. I shared a health talk about smoking last night. I challenged the children to make a commitment not to ever smoke. They all promised they would not smoke. We pray they will remember that promise. The children are beautiful and so loving. Last night we had about 35 children from an orphanage – most of the kids were orphaned by the tsunami. We will be visiting their home to take them some gifts.”

Jackie said when she’d returned home, “Our visits to orphanages and hostels revealed some very real needs. The children in the hostel range from age 4-15 years of age. These children live in the hostel so that they can receive a Christian education. Many of them do not see their parents for six to eight months at a time. The hostel has no furniture! The children sleep on the floor, they sit on the floor to eat, and they have no chairs or tables to sit on to do their school work. Yet, these children know scriptures by heart and can sing in both English and Tamil lots of songs about Jesus.”

Bill reported that he had visited four villages near Tiruvannamalai where Quiet Hour chapels are being constructed, and “these precious Hindu people were very warm toward us and indicated their interest in the meetings. To think that these Christian chapels are being constructed in the heart of Hindu villages is truly miraculous and amazing. This is pioneer evangelism, where there are no established churches, only three house groups.”

He continued, “The devil is hard at work, but we have already seen miracles of healing from different sites. The teams are ecstatic about how the villages are opening up to them.”

Says Pastor Tucker, “Our people in India face challenges on a regular basis, but God has done a marvelous work that has created waves of light throughout many villages. India will have the continued blessing of God’s miracle-working power in the days ahead.”

Team members Lonnie and Denise Oltmanns, from North Platte, Nebraska, visited the homes in “their” village, praying for and ministering to families. Every home presented physical, emotional, financial, and especially spiritual challenges that needed God’s blessing. They saw lives changed, people healed, and new Christians whose joy was real as they discovered what it meant to be enfolded in God’s arms.

Volunteer evangelists appreciate help
Volunteer evangelist Sherry Renee Harrison, of Dalton, Georgia, reported that the preparations for her meetings, held in an open field, were excellent. The people were friendly and open to the messages. Forty people accepted Christ, 17 were baptized, and 20 are studying the Bible and planning baptism soon. Despite the quick exit before she could conclude the meetings, she was able to leave the children’s teaching felts, the Jesus DVD, and the Truth for Today sermon DVD for the interpreter.

Pastor Robert and Gladys Chase, evangelists from Bronston, Kentucky, wrote that at their meetings, also held in an open field, “the program started with singing, then the Jesus video, children’s story, family talk, health talk, then the sermon. The people were very attentive. When the appeals were made the response was overwhelming.” They rejoiced at 40 decisions for Christ and 10 baptisms.

Quiet Hour chapels rise from dust
Since the evangelists returned from India, Pastor Tucker has received several e-mails from his colleagues there. One new friend is Pastor Kumar Selvam, who sent images of The Quiet Hour chapels being constructed. He wrote: “Hello, This is the church buildings coming up in various places in Melpennathur, Mudiyanur, and Muthanur. I thank you so much for your fund for God's church. Your dream will be fulfilled within a week. All the churches soon will be ready for the services, except Melpennathur. Pray for the other constructions in other places. Thank you once again for your love and kind with prayers. I pray for you and your ministry, too. All the best in your ministry. With Love, Pastor Kumar S.”

Glad to be home, thankful for new family in Christ
The 54 volunteer evangelists who made up the 27 teams who ministered in India are home safely, and their hearts are bursting with love for the people they left behind. From the Indian people who accepted Jesus into their hearts, the Indian denominational employees who meet and overcome so many obstacles in their ministry, the volunteer evangelists, and The Quiet Hour organizers and staff: Thank you so much for your sacrificial giving that made this ministry possible.

There are evangelism meetings around the world, every month of every year, and countless worthy mission projects with very real needs that could overwhelm us — if we looked only to our own resources. But we trust that the Lord, whose eyes roam over all His creation, will inspire His people to give as they are able. And we have faith that He directs the use of those resources down to the last dollar and last goodbye handshake, and last shingle on that village chapel!

Christy K. Robinson is editor of The Quiet Hour Echoes magazine and other communications.