This past week we experienced some very exciting milestones in Crosspoint of India. I am forcing myself to not share more than one exciting event per post. If you don’t want to miss the next exciting post than go ahead and subscribe to the blog while you are here.
In 2017 we began something new through our training center. We are passionate about training leaders and have a vision to send one for every 1,000 people in India! We are working way too slow to accomplish this vision in one lifetime. What bothered us the most is that we were only able to do that in 3 languages on our main campus. (A 2001 Census recorded 30 languages which were spoken by more than a million native speakers and 122 which were spoken by more than 10,000 people) This means that we were not training leaders in India’s other languages. In 2017 we launched 5 new campuses that teach our same curriculum, already translated, in 7 different languages. This allows us to train more leaders in more languages, faster.
The last week of classes we gathered these 5 different centers on our main campus for a conference and a time of discipleship. We welcomed 5 leaders from the US who came as speakers and encouragers for this week long event. It was an incredible time of growth in the students lives and ended with their graduation on March 9.
This was our largest graduating class to date. We were so encouraged to be able to train and send over 130 leaders this year.
Five of our graduates this year were from Lighthouse Children’s Home. They have grown into adults and chosen to pursue ministry. This is our greatest joy!
Vinay returned to us in 2017. He spent the last 3 years growing in a boy’s home of 400 boys. He and his brother Abhisheik, both orphans, had moved there after the closing of our children’s home. In the summer of 2016 Abhiskeik drowned in his Uncle’s village while on summer vacation. We were heartbroken to hear of this great loss for Vinay. He now has no immediate family. As soon as he turned 18 he left the boy’s home and came running home to us. It was heart breaking to have him without his brother but we rejoice that he knows God’s his Father, his only reason for hope. Not only has his relationship with God helped him through this very hard time but it has also given him a passion to share his story and hope with others. He joined the Bible School in 2017 and graduated in March 2018. He will live on staff with us this next year as he pursues ministry and his calling.
Joining him this year was also Jameson, Johnson, Viraj (pictures above with him) and Sonu. They all lived in our children’s home for over 5 years, some for 10. We are so proud of our “children.”
Starting in July 2018 we will be expanding to a possible 5 more campuses. They will include our first international campus AND India’s first training campus for the blind. We have exciting things ahead and we need your partnership to move forward. It is not a secret that the training center is our most underfunded area of ministry even though it has proven to be the most effective, has the fastest turnover for harvest and is growing quickly. We need your financial assistance. You can give online. Your designated gift goes 100% to training leaders in India.
