Dear Friends & Family, May 2018
I just returned from India, It was my first time back since 2015 and it was good to connect with old friends. My friend Josh hosts an annual event called “Alive.” This event is specifically targeted at teens and young professionals. It is an evangelistic outreach designed to challenge this new generation in India to put aside the rules and regulations of the past, and step into a new life of faith in Christ. In most of the countries I minister in, a translator is needed and this trip was no different. I did not invite him on stage, however, until the very last minute, utilizing him only when I began to read direct quotes from the Bible. It was a nice break to jump from English to Telegu at my leisure. Over 500 people were in attendance, many having traveled from great distances to be a part of this life-giving event. I was amazed when I saw the largely young believers and unchurched crowd respond to the Spirit of God. The faith stirred in them through the worship and Word allowed walls of fear and tradition to fall away, exposing hungry hearts to engage with a God who most of them had no intimate relationship with. My heart was overjoyed to see God’s grace again reaching out to the next generation!
My heart was overjoyed to see God’s grace again reaching out to the next generation!
When I had the opportunity to speak at a conference in Visak in 2005, it was a large outdoor event on the local beach. It was billed as a music conference with a local band called “Sound of The Nations.” That was 13 years ago and the impact of that event is still remembered around the city. I had a twenty-one year old young man and his father approach me after our first service last week. The young man told me how honored he was to be able to speak with me. He was seven years old in 2005 and he and his father had attended the conference that weekend. He recalled how God ignited something in him that was still burning in him thirteen years later. His father was volunteer at that time and is now pastoring a church in the community. It is moments like this that remind me that all I do is not about me, it is about HIM! He has given us the privilege of sharing His powerful Word with others!
Thanks again for helping me go into all the world!
- CHAD