At Timberlake we are all about what can be done to impact the most people for Christ. One of those places that we can have a great impact for a small amount of money is in India. People are coming to know Christ at an amazing rate, causing a violent reaction from the threatened Hindu Community. Those who have been subjugated through the caste system are now coming to Jesus by the tens of thousands.
We can maximize what God is doing for a pretty small investment. At a cost of $30.00 a month a person can provide support to an indigenous pastor, providing food and clothing for that pastor's family. A typical church would be 100-200 people. Some are larger, as much as 400-500. The members of these churches are either tribal peoples (a small geographic locale with a distinct dialect) or dalits (a low caste group) or outback caste people (so low that they are outside the caste system). Each pastor goes through a Bible school in Hyderabad. Every month each church provides sarees and soap to its widows.
If you are interested in participating we simply ask for a twelve month commitment. You can go to the online giving page and indicate India.
Timberlake Mission Fields:
India
India is home to more than 1.1 Billion people or three times the population of the United States and yet it is one third of size of America in landmass.
Bishop Joab Lohara is one of three Bishops overseeing over 1,000 Free Methodist Churches in India. A humble and tireless servant of our Lord, he and his wife Suchitra and family reside in Hyderabad, India. God's church is growing vibrantly throughout India with native pastors serving and responding to the call of the Lord.
23 years ago Joab and Suchitra responded to the call of the Lord to provide social and spiritual service to orphans, widows, leprosy victims, and the poorest of the poor in India. Since that time their ministry has been blessed by God to include 10 orphanages, 2 day care centers, 1 leprosy care center, 100 literacy centers, 10 widow centers, 10 sewing centers, 1 computer training center, 1 Biblical Seminary and 816 church plants!!
India has also been a land where Christians have been severely persecuted. In the fall of 2008 India experienced the worst anti-Christian violence since India's independence in 1947. In the state of Orissa, Hindu radicals attacked Christians and burned homes, and churches. Many people fled to the jungle in fear for their lives. More than 100 people were killed, and about 70,000 people were left homeless or in refugee camps. As of this writing the violence has subsided but much work is to be done to re-build churches and homes throughout the area.
Timberlake Church has sponsored over 70 pastors this past year in India. For $30 per month the basic needs of a pastor and family can be supported. Additionally Timberlake is committed to support the re-building of one of the burned churches in 2010.
Please go to the following link if you wish to be added to the periodic report and prayer request from Bishop Joab.
http://www.aimasia.net/
France
Marvin and Lisa Klein and family (Ian, Elyse and Amelie) have been Missionaries in France since 1998 and represent Timberlake's first family to leave for the overseas mission field.
They work with Free Methodist churches and leadership in France and Belgium, helping them grow and multiply. They organize conferences, retreats and training events for nationals and missionaries. Marvin is a member of the European Free Methodist Leadership team and he does Europe-wide planning in his role.
Recently Marvin has identified significant opportunities to bring Celebrate Recovery to the churches of Europe. This ministry helps meet people at their greatest point of need supported by the love and grace of our Lord and Savior.
Website and newsletters can be found at the following link: http://www.fmwm.org/missionary/index/klein.php
Thailand
The Williams family (Don, Kathy, Seth, Thaddeus, Josiah, Katelyn, and Michaela) serve as Free Methodist World Missionaries in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Don is the superintendent of Grace International School (GIS) in Chiang Mai and a member of Mission Thailand's Board of Administration and the Asia Leadership Team. Kathy is a teaching leader for Community Bible Study International. Don and Kathy have three sons in the U.S. and two daughters in high school attending GIS. Grace has more than 500 students from 20 nations; most are children of missionaries reaching Asia for Christ.
With great faith, Don and Kathy, answered the Lord's call and left for the overseas mission field in 2003. They also recently celebrated a new addition to their growing family, daughter in-law Megan, who married their son Tad, this past summer.
For more information about Grace International School please go to the following link:
http://www.gisthailand.org/
Don and Kathy also provide regular updates via the following blog:
http://kathykwms.blogspot.com/
Africa
David and Jennifer Hatley responded to the call of the Lord in April of 1985 and thus began an incredible journey to Kenya and many surrounding nations of Africa.
Christian Ministries in Africa (CMIA) and Church on the Rock ministry supports over 240 churches, 3 orphanages, an HIV clinic, 7 pre-primary schools, and 2 primary schools.
Currently there are approximately 150 orphaned children, from newborn to nineteen years of age, at the CMIA Grace Children's Centres. Located in four sites in three cities (Langata, Makindu, and Nakuru), the children are placed in humble, but clean settings where they find love, shelter, food and education.
Church on the Rock Academy Primary School in Langata, Nairobi, was established in 2002 to meet the growing need for quality primary education for both area children and the Grace Children's Centre child-residents - and most particularly for GCC's HIV/AIDS children, as the fear of HIV/AIDS had led to an unspoken policy of exclusion by many other schools.
To prepare children for the primary schools, CMIA operates a number of free-of-charge pre-school programs for three to six year olds. There are seven pre-primary schools throughout the country of Kenya, all in village and slum areas where parents are poor and therefore education opportunities for their children scarce, yearly preparing approximately 800 children for primary entrance and placement exams, while demonstrating the Love of Christ to their families.
248 churches have been planted, in Africa to date, by the ministry of CMIA:
- 210 in Kenya
- 16 in Democratic Republic of Congo
- 8 in Rwanda
- 6 in Burundi
- 2 in Tanzania
- 6 in Uganda
These numbers change weekly as God continues to raise up leaders desiring to see God's love spread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
These churches, named Church on the Rock, are shepherded and led by African national leadership who love the Lord and serve Him with great passion. With each passing year, more Churches on the Rock fellowships are birthed, reaching further with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
For further information on this ministry go to the following link:
http://www.christianministriesinafrica.org/index.html