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Generosity Is Transforming North India
God has used sacrificial giving to spread the gospel throughout my nation.
By Rosaline John
What is generosity? Winston Churchill once said: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” We will not fully comprehend the full meaning of generosity unless we have been a recipient of it, or unless we have allowed generosity to flow out of our lives.
Generosity is a divine attribute. It flows from the heart and character of God the Father, who gave His only Son. It overwhelms us when we think of God the Son when He generously poured out His love for us on the Cross. It renews us and empowers us when we stand in awe of God the Spirit, when He generously allows His river to flow through us!
Generosity is going that “extra mile” when you don’t need to. It is casting the only “two coins” into the box when you don’t have to. It is showing kindness to the “stranger on the road” when it’s not expected of you. Generosity is not an act but an attitude!
When we give generously we see a great harvest in God’s kingdom. He uses our generous giving to multiply and manifest His glory in this world. When we give to build God’s kingdom, it is like throwing a little stone in the water. The stone remains in that one place, but the ripples it creates reach far and wide!
I have seen the true impact of generosity as we watched God bless our ministry in North India. The IPHC in North India is celebrating its centenary this year, so it is the perfect time look back in thanksgiving at what God has done through the generous giving of His people.
A man named John Turner landed in India with his young wife in 1921 and sowed the seeds of the gospel in North India. Missionaries from United States poured out their lives generously to grow churches. God’s people from the United States irrigated this insignificant sapling to grow with their prayers and continuous sacrificial giving.
Now, after 100 years, we have spread all over North India and beyond. Today there are hundreds of organized local congregations and more than 1,000 house churches. Thousands of people have been touched and transformed; yet because India has more than a billion people, the task is still huge.
The city of Varanasi is situated on the banks of the river Ganges, which is revered by Hindus. God sent my husband, Michael John, to this city on a cold winter day in 2001. Back then he was full of uncertainty. Now, in 2020, we can hardly believe what God had accomplished in response to obedience.
The first few years of our ministry seemed discouraging. We saw little or no results. Sometimes it was like sowingon dry ground and waiting for rain! But God opened up a little spring that broke out on the dry ground and began to flow until it became a river.
The Divya Aashray congregation in Varanasi has grown exponentially in 19 years.
God gave Michael a vision of God’s river flooding the city and the surrounding areas. In 2003, we started the church in our rented apartment when I was pregnant with our daughter. But we believed God would bring people. We fasted during the weekdays and prayed that God would fulfill His promises.
The numbers kept growing, and the church moved from our rented house to a school, and then to another believer’s house. More and more people were healed and set free from the powers of darkness. Eventually Dr. John and Evelyn Letteiri sent a generous donation to purchase the land so we could construct a small prayer room in 2010.
During the intervening years God led us to plant house churches in local villages. Rev. Van and Jane Bloss were sent by God to generously give so this movement could grow. This was the beginning of a new era in IPHC ministry in India, and the results were unbelievable. Hundreds of people were drawn to Christ.
Village after village heard the good news of salvation in Jesus! Today, Divya Aashray—which means “Divine Shelter”—is truly a place of hope for the hundreds of believers who worship every week.
Many leaders have been trained for ministry at the Divya Aashray church.
During a visit to our church, Bishop Talmadge Gardner, Executive Director of IPHC World Missions, felt God wanted to build a sanctuary for Divya Aashray. To fulfill this vision, God prompted the IPHC’s Wing Kwong Church in Hong Kong, and the Golden West Conference, to give generously.
Our new sanctuary was dedicated in 2016. It can seat more than 1000 people, and the training center houses 100 delegates. Today hundreds of Indians are worshiping Jesus in this sanctuary because of God’s generous people. And there are now hundreds of house churches in and around Varanasi!
As we began visiting villages we realized the availability of clean drinking water was a major problem. This was an urgent need, because the lack of clean water was causing the spread of disease. We thank God that Rev. and Mrs. Van Bloss, along with the IPHC’s People to People Ministries, raised support for this water project. So far we have installed more than 200 wells in needy areas.
Many IPHC pastors in North India have similar stories to tell. We have churches in remote tribal areas of Jharkhand and Bihar where there are no paved roads. Yet the gospel is spreading. Hundreds of congregations are still in need of a simple block building where the people can gather for worship. Some meet in houses, and some listen to God’s Word under shade of leaves. But the Lord is raising the Indian church to give to missionary work.
In 2019, through the Building Together Project, we were able to build 11 new church buildings! Six more buildings are under construction this year. A new era is dawning for the IPHC in India, as God is raising up a new generation who are truly a “People of Promise”!
In addition, thousands of children have been able to attend school through the People to People ministry. Many of the sponsored children are now serving as pastors and leaders in IPHC North India, including my husband.
We continue to celebrate God’s faithfulness. He has provided for every need in the mission fields through thousands of faithful people who have stepped forward to give and see God’s Kingdom extended in this part of the world.
The task is still huge. Millions have yet to hear. The harvest is ripe. We are called to join hands together for the completion of the great commission. And the generosity of God’s people is making this possible.
ROSALINE JOHN is an ordained minister with the IPHC’s North India Conference. She serves as pastor of the Divya Aashray PH Church, along with her husband, Michael, in Varanasi, India. Rosaline has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Madras University in Chennai, and a Master of Divinity from Southern Asia Bible College in Bangalore. She is the first Indian woman to be ordained by the IPHC in India. She and her husband have one daughter, Shaanvi Jessica, who just graduated from high school.
