Ed Stevens Offering

By Mark Powell, Director of International Missions

ED STEVENS OFFERING TO ASSIST CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT IN INDIA

The legacy of Rev. Ed Stevens revolves around his incredible ability to expand the kingdom of God. In the few short years of his missionary service, General Baptists grew from one field (Guam) to four (Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Chi Chi Jima) and set in place our most significant mission effort to date in the Philippines.

The Ed Stevens Offering continues to foster that legacy of kingdom expansion. In 2021 the Ed Stevens Offering will seek to expand God's kingdom by assisting the two associations in India with funds for capital improvement. This year's offering goal is $50,000.

India has a current population of 1.336 billion people. Only 2.3% are Christian. Many Indians have never heard the good news of the gospel. General Baptist mission outreach in India is targeted in South India: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Each center trains an average of 20 poor and underprivileged women taught each day through devotions, prayer time, and three hours of training in tailoring.

Doctor Prakash and Jemima Pamu assumed the leadership of the ministry of the India Association upon the death of Jemima's father, Suvarna Raj. This ministry is in Andhra Pradesh which has a population of 84 million, with only 1.38% of the population being Christian.

Ministry centers for the India Association are in Kakinada and Pithapuram. The Ed Stevens Offering will assist with needed improvements to the mother church in Pithapuram and the new ministry center near the home of Prakash and Jemima in Kakinada.

The India Association, under the leadership of Prakash and Jemima, operates several significant ministries. Their ministry operates 10-15 Dorcas Sewing Centers (DSC) conducted for six months each year. Each center trains an average of 20 poor and underprivileged women taught each day through devotions, prayer time, and three hours of training in tailoring.

As part of the ministry, sewing machines are provided for the neediest of students. This program has transformed the lives of many families over the years by providing these ladies a means of livelihood.

Grace Home for Poor Women and Widows, also a ministry of the India Association, began with a General Baptist Women's Ministries visit in 2010.

The India Association assisted the poor women and widows with $2-$3 in rice, oil, essential commodities, or cash. The Home assists a variety of women in various locations each month.

The Bible Women of India Association are women of faith who have dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord. They reach Hindu women and share their witness among unbelievers. They assist with the Grace Home for Poor Women and Widows and in the service of Communion, meaning they take on the role of a deaconess. The women also prepare a monthly meal for the Pastor's retreats which provide spiritual training for 25-35 pastors. The pastors are provided travel expenses, Christian literature, and resources.

Rev. Charles Vemula started the Calvary Grace Association of General Baptists in 1984. Over the years, the association has primarily focused on evangelism and outreach ministries. Before the association connecting to General Baptists, Rev. Vemula planted 42 churches and helped prepare 27 pastors. Upon his death, September 7, 2013, the ministry was continued by his family, with Rev. Jessey Vemula becoming leader of the association.

General Baptists have expanded the outreach ministries to include Good Shepherd's Children's Home, which takes in children referred to the association from pastors, including street children, abandonment situations, and families that cannot care for themselves.

Lydia Sewing Centers (LSC) are similar to the Dorcas Sewing Centers of India Association and seek to assist women by teaching them to sew. This is a 5-6 month program. Since its inception, the Lydia Sewing Center has had 22 groups complete the program, with the most recent groups of 14 and 15 dear ladies completing the program in March 2021. Five in the group started attending the church sponsoring the class, and four between the two groups gave their lives to Jesus.

Calvary Grace Association has been very active in finding communities in need of water and providing wells for those communities. At the time of this writing, 31 water wells have been gifted to communities, each bearing this inscription, "Jesus said, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink,'" from John 7:37. By providing a water source, the association helps people in the area because they will not have to walk as far to obtain clean water.

The association has also conducted 19 medical camps. Thousands have been treated for basic medical needs and heard the gospel through this tremendous outreach. Funds have been raised for a medical ministry van which will be a tremendous asset to this ministry outreach.

The Ed Stevens offering portion for Calvary Grace Association will assist with the relocation of the Siddipet Church. The Siddipet Church is the mother church of the association, and it has recently purchased a piece of property for relocation and expansion. The church has assumed a loan for this purchase that this offering will help alleviate.

Ed Stevens was a General Baptist missionary who served on Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Chi Chi Jima from October 1946 until September 22, 1952, when he died on a ship en route to Guam for medical treatment.

General Baptists have set aside the third Sunday in September to remember his example of faith and missionary commitment with an annual offering for international missions.

Ed was born in Boonville, Indiana, on January 23, 1917. He was ordained by United Association Presbytery on September 29, 1945, and appointed by the then Foreign Mission Society to serve Guam in July 1946. Ed arrived at Guam via steam-ship on October 6, 1946, and led the first service on Saipan on April 4, 1948. Ed was the first General Baptist missionary to die while serving on the mission field. We remember the sacrifice made by Ed and Gertie Stevens as pioneering missionaries for General Baptists. Resources may be found at www.edstevensoffering.com.

This year the Ed Stevens offering will be taken on September 19, 2021. Donations for the Ed Stevens offering may be made at donate.generalbaptist.com or Ed Stevens Offering, 100 Stinson Drive, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Please be sure to write Ed Stevens Offering in the memo section of your check. You may also text "Give" to (573) 282-7171.