India (MNN) — The Grace Ministries team working in the Hyderabad area is looking for a place of worship. The owner of the building previously rented by the Muthyalas (moothy-allahs) wants them to vacate.
It is hard to find someone willing to rent them a place for church outreach. Many refuse to rent to Christian organizations. Grace Ministries International's Sam Vinton agrees. "To find a place of worship without moving completely out of that area (which then would mean that all the people living in that area would not be able to attend) — that's really the pressure that they're living under right now."
Add to that the devaluation of the rupee, and the situation threatens the young church that Subash and Sandra have been cultivating. The Muthyalas planted three churches in Kakinada area and are also involved in leadership training, youth ministry and Sunday school teacher seminars.
In the meantime, Vinton says, "They're continuing on with their ministry, but I think it's going to be very affected if they do not have a place for regular church services. That is the biggest problem. This does not stop the ministry, especially with Christmas now. They're continuing to do things. Sometimes they go out and try to look for a hall to rent."
Evidence of the growth of the church can be seen in the results of a recent open air "Musical Nite" put on by the worship team of the Berean Bible Church of Hyderabad in a community 20 kilometres from the church. This evangelistic outreach drew over 150 people who heard the Gospel.
The following Sunday, the village church on the outskirts of Hyderabad, as well as the Berean Bible Church, held their annual day of gratitude with an open air meeting where many non-church people attended.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God to bring to faith those who heard the Gospel for the first time. Pray, too, that God would provide a church home.
