Malabar Mission Society reports on 2014 outreach success in India

Children attend one of the Vacation Bible Schools put on by the Malabar Mission Circle and supported by the Malabar Mission Society.

INDIA – In its Winter 2014 newsletter, the Malabar Mission Society (MMS) reports a number of ministry successes in 2014, as the agency supports Lutheran outreach in India through the work of the Malabar Mission Circle (MMC).

“In all my annual visits to India I am impressed and inspired that in MMC’s local congregations, the witness of the Church is still vibrant and effective,” said Rev. Carlton Riemer, Project Officer for the MMS. “Laypeople and pastors make friends with their non-Christian neighbours and share the Gospel with them through personal conversations, house prayers, and other outreach events such as Vacation Bible School. They do so even in the face of persecution and discrimination.”

The MMS reports that the MMC held 20 Vacation Bible School camps in 2014, with a total of 921 children participating. The ministry opens doors to share the Good News of Christ with those who have not heard it before: of those children participating, 409 were Christian, 455 were Hindu, and 57 were Muslim. In fact, the Vacation Bible Schools held in at least two communities had only Hindus and Muslims in attendance.

“May God bless the Gospel seeds planted in the hearts and lives of these children,” Rev. Riemer said, “so that they yield a bountiful harvest in their families and communities.”

Among other ministry projects, the Malabar Mission Society further reports that an October youth camp in Sulthan Bathery had a record 81 participants, and that a November Family Convention in the same location saw 173 participants. Earlier in the year, a convention in Anantapur for converts from Islam to Christianity saw more than 70 people attend. Another project over the last year has seen work move forward in bringing the MMC’s Bible Correspondence Course program online.

The Malabar Mission Society supports the work of the Malabar Mission Circle (a ministry of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church) as it shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ along the Malabar Coast in India. The MMS is a listed service organization of Lutheran Church–Canada, and will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year with a banquet to be held April 10, 2015 at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Regina.

For more information on the Malabar Mission Society, visit their website at www.malabarmissionsociety.org.

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