During a recent trip to India (Kolkata), a World Impact leader learned how God performed a miracle to captivate a family hearing the Gospel for the first time. We serve a God who never fails to uniquely reveal His love for all of us!
World Impact wants to empower people experiencing poverty to own and lead their own ministry. Over the next five years, our goal is for 500 World Impact trained churches report increased health in their churches, equipping them to engage their communities.
As daunting as it may sound, we believe we can accomplish this God-sized task because He is already bringing people from all over the world to America’s urban centers. We find and engage leaders through a “glocal” strategy: we go global through our local partners. As we connect with leaders here in America, they take us global by introducing us to leaders in their countries of origin.
The “Glocal”Strategy:
We recently implemented this strategy in India. Mike Dicke, one of our American partners, connected us with a pastor in India who then introduced Dicke to a Person of Peace, a woman in Kolkata with a small house and a big heart. She has allowed the pastor’s ministry to come in and serve her community. Her positive influence has enabled us to build relationships with families in her community who are otherwise skittish of the Gospel.
India is both a thrilling and sobering mission field. In 2022, India overtook China as the world’s most populous country, with over 1.4 billion people. Only just over 2% are Christian in this predominantly Hindu country. Although most people live in rural villages, India is urbanizing rapidly. Around 40% of its population is expected to reside in towns and cities within the next ten years. It’s critical for the church to establish a healthy presence in India’s cities. Our ministries are uniquely tailored to meet the needs of urban churches. God brought us to the right place, at the right time.
Less than one percent of Kolkata’s 15.8 million residents identify as Christian. The massive city in West Bengal, India, ranks among the world’s most densely populated cities. It is also situated in one of India’s poorest and most overpopulated regions. There is an acute housing shortage, with many homes being tiny, unventilated, and often dilapidated single-story rooms.
Serving an Impoverished Community
The Indian pastor serves in an area we would call a slum community. The houses don’t have running water. On the walk to the woman’s home, Mike Dicke saw buckets stacked in the streets where water could be accessed. The main thoroughfare is so narrow that it’s almost possible to touch the buildings on either side as you walk. Motorcycles weave in and out of pedestrians.
When Dicke arrived at the home of the woman of peace, the pastor intended to make a brief introduction, but she invited the entire party in and insisted they stay. So, they took off their shoes, as is traditional, and enjoyed a meal with her and her family. The whole house consists of one room; five people live there.
While they visited, the pastor shared stories about his ministry in the neighborhood. He has a feeding program that serves the elderly and children. As a segue to the Gospel, he teaches the recipients how to pray and give thanks to God for the food after it’s received.
In this community, older people are referred to as golden agers; they don’t always have enough food. Three generations of family members often live in the same small house. Because homes are so small and food is so scarce, elderly parents are often seen as a burden rather than a blessing. When they pass away, this eases the strain on the family’s limited resources. It’s not uncommon for children to prioritize the well-being of younger generations, to the detriment of the golden agers.
A Miracle Over a Mealtime Prayer
God used this culturally accepted viewpoint to make His Presence known to a family in the community. One of the golden agers who received food at this pastor’s ministry began praying over her meals at home. One evening, after giving thanks and eating, she realized that her daughter-in-law had poisoned her food. Her son and his wife decided that it would be better for her to die. They had heard her pray and were watching and waiting for her to succumb to the poison. But nothing happened to the golden ager; she survived!
The next morning, the daughter-in-law became unaccountably ill and was hospitalized. Distraught, she confessed to poisoning her mother-in-law’s food and asked for prayer to be healed. She revived, asked for forgiveness, and their whole family came to the Lord after this divine intervention.
This is the best part of a glocal strategy: our ministry partners, like Mike Dicke, hear how God draws people from every tongue, tribe, and nation to Himself. When they return, they share the stories with those of us who resource the local ministries that sent the leaders. We’re a part of what God is doing all over the globe. We’re grateful to you; your partnership makes a difference!
