How far would you go to grow?

By Susan Freese

They came from all over the state and risked so much – slept on concrete floors in 110 degrees Fahrenheit heat. Some were beaten for attending. Others lost jobs and were mocked. Yet, they still came. Women leaders representing who knows how many house churches were there.

They came to learn…to grow in their faith.

We taught each day for hours on end. The good old story. Their story. His purpose. Their purpose. We taught them how to grow…grow in God’s Word…grow in their dependence on the Holy Spirit…grow with each other.

We met women who returned from the last time we visited. The ones who took a stand before the Lord to serve in ministry. We heard their stories.

One woman was thrown out of her house for her faith commitment by her very own son. She persevered and started two house churches with 100 in attendance. Her son later turned to Christ.

We met a blind woman who walked to her surrounding villages daily to share what she learned. Asking Hindu women if she could share the gospel, she was told they didn’t have time. Too much housework to do. Unless, of course, she did their housework. She did. She washed their dishes and scrubbed their floors, so she could share the story of Jesus. If their work was already done, the women would tell her to give them a massage and then they would listen. As she rubbed their back and neck, she told them about Jesus. She does this every. single. day. She returned to the conference so she could learn more. To tell His story. To spread His fame.

How far would you go to grow?

We started for Delhi but missed the first day. Mechanical problems caused missed flights. We soon learned God scheduled divine appointments in New York. There were college girls, Heather and Vivian, who needed direction and encouragement in their walk with the Lord. Then, there was Judy. Searching for peace in all the wrong places. We lovingly shared the love story. She listened. She wondered. We prayed.

The Delhi conference drew women church leaders from across the city. In our absence, the local leaders scrambled to create Day One of the conference. Their choice…the profiles of Jesus found in the encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4). Learning this the night we arrived, we could see God’s hand in it all. Susan had already prepared a message for a revival scheduled later that week on the four responses of the Samaritan woman. The second conference day was quickly restructured to complement the first.

The Samaritan woman responds to Jesus…

Who am I? So, we taught about our identity in Christ.
Who are You? We discussed what it means for Jesus to be Lord. His purpose and their purpose.
How are we to worship? Jesus answers in Spirit and in Truth. We taught a biblically faithful approach to the dependence on the Holy Spirit. We taught how to study God’s word – the Truth – and how to apply it in their lives.
The Samaritan woman’s last response to Jesus found in John 4:28 “She put down her water jar and went…” She was changed and she brought change to her village. The conference women were challenged to do the same.

Early the next morning, we journeyed to Kanpur. For Christy and Susan, returning to Kanpur was a blessing in unique ways. Years before, Christy was sent by a mission sending agency (IMB) to prayer walk the city. For days, she walked and did not meet one believer. Now, she returned to a growing church. For Susan, Kanpur was the birthplace in 2011 for the intensive women’s discipleship conferences, which is the focus of All In Ministries International.

For four days we taught, we prayed, we gripped scripture tightly and Our Heavenly Father even more. Women who were lost were now found. Disease, despair, and destruction turned to deliverance. The prayer commissioning at the end of the conference brought supernatural healing. Broken bones immediately healed, deliverance from demon possession, and women committing their lives to ministry. We found the New Testament church is alive and well.

The city-wide revival ended our visit with 3,000 in attendance and hundreds responding to the gospel message. Kanpur newspapers covered both the conference and the revival, as local politicians and church leaders from across the city joined together as we exalted Jesus Christ. Hindu men, women, and children risked rejection and persecution to turn from their false religion. They wanted “Jesus only” for salvation. They came forward in an act of trust and humility to receive a Bible to grow in their new relationship with the One True God.

How far would you go to grow?

Make no mistake. Behind it all were Kingdom-minded believers who powerfully prayed and generously gave to see lives changed for eternity. If you invested your time and treasures in this mission, thank you! Truly, thank you. By God’s grace and your partnership, thousands were impacted. Keep praying for those seeds…and enjoy the photo show below put together especially for you.

This mission is not over. We’ve been invited back to India…to bring the conferences and revival to different cities. Yet, there are other places with new believers (with little to no discipleship resources available) that have asked us to come. Please pray for God to lead and grow All In to fulfill His purposes for His glory. Your ongoing partnership is cherished and needed. (GIVE)

To God be the glory!