Report From Hyderabad, India

How God Led Me to Ezra Ministries

My name is Moses Boosa. The Lord has used me in different capacities of Christian ministry since I completed my theological education in Chennai in 1998. While I pastored in different churches (Baptist, Methodist) for my practical enrichment, I also completed my Bachelor of Divinity from a theological College in Hyderabad and graduated in the year 2001. Since that time, I have been teaching in some Bible colleges and was also involved in the ministry of different churches. There were some pastors who had invited me to get involved in their ministry now and then. After spending time with them, I could see the financial crisis they are facing, so I prayed to the Lord to help me to be of some benefit to these pastors. Whatever I owned, I used, to help them financially and materially.

Because the Lord had given me a call to plant churches and train young men and women, I have been praying about this since 1996. My Lord helped me to know more about the organizations that are involved in church planting and training men and women. I contacted those ones I felt the Lord was leading me to, but none gave me any response. In the meantime, I came across Ezra Ministries International. I prayed about this ministry for two weeks and then wrote to the Head Office. After some days, I heard from Dr. Abella Kasheke in response to the email I had sent. Really, when I received the email from the man of God, I praised the Lord for the positive response. I thank Rev. Dr. Abella Kasheke and the Board of Directors for accepting our plea and helping us to be a member of the family of Ezra Ministries. This is the will of the Lord that we should be part of the family members of Ezra. The night we registered Ezra Ministries in India, my wife and I committed to the Lord in prayer that we would be a family member of Ezra Ministries until the Lord departs us from this world.

How the Registration Was Instituted

It was indeed a miracle the way the Lord had helped us in registering Ezra Ministries of India. Registering a trust is a very difficult task in India. Generally it takes more than 15 days to register. I was very worried that the trust would not be accepted by the registrar since he would need to read through the constitution which in itself might have posed some problems. Not only that, since the trust deed was tailored by the International Organization, there were chances of having the deed rejected because there were several International Issues which would allow the registrar the right to reject. The day I submitted the trust deed, I was told by the official to come back the next day. I was praying that the Lord would soften the heart of the registrar, after I had a talked with him for more than five hours from 10:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. Standing by the side of his chair, he asked me to clear the status (the aims of the trust) of the ministry and I did. Miraculously, without any other question, he signed the documents and forwarded it to the clerk where I completed the registration and even had the registration number of the Trust the same day. Praise the Lord! This is how the Lord has been gracious to us in registering Ezra Ministries of India.

How the Ministry of India Has Progressed Since Registration

Ezra Ministries was registered in April, 2004. Since the inception of the ministry, the Lord has blessed us abundantly. More and more pastors are interested in joining the family. We have been able to open an office of Ezra Ministries of India in the city of Hyderabad, which was approved by the Board of Directors Ezra Ministries International. We have also opened a bank account in the name of the Ezra Ministries of India and are operating through the bank. So far, we have been able to plant three churches under the banner of Ezra Ministries of India. Applications for ordination for these pastors have already been sent to Ezra Ministries Credentials Committee for examination and approval.

Together with the three churches we have already planted and the vision we have for the future, it needs to be noted that we live in the 10/40 window; an area that has not been well evangelized. The region of India is the most unreached area in the 10/40 window. I am happy to say that the Lord gave us a vision of planting 250 churches by the end of this decade. Without your prayers and support we cannot reach that goal.

The Difficulties We Are Facing

By the grace of the Lord and the prayers and the support of the Ezra Ministries International we have not had too many difficulties. I really want to thank the head office for all the help they give to us in times of need. One of our biggest problems is communication within the office. We do not have a computer, internet service or a printer and equipment like that. It is very difficult to run things smoothly in the office as I have to go to an internet center to do office work and printing. Of course, since the work is in the initial stage, I expect as the days go by and the ministry expands, that we will need a computer and a printer of our own in order to work efficiently and effectively. It would be a blessing to us, to hear that someone who has read about this need would be willing to donate to this cause. We will be thankful, both to God and to you, as you accept to be used by God’s hand.

How Many Pastors & Churches Have Joined Ezra Ministries and What is Your Goal for this Year?

At present there are three pastors and churches that have joined Ezra Ministries of India:
1. Pastor G. Sudarshan of Logos Gospel Church in Hyderabad.
2. Pastor Epaphra of Good Shepherd Fellowship Church in Karimnagar of Andhra Pradesh.
3. Pastor Joseph of Good Shepherd Fellowship Church, Nalgonda of Andhra Pradesh.

If God be willing, the goal for this year is to plant at least eight churches and reach ten villages with the gospel.

An appeal from Rev. Dr. Abella Kasheke to God's servants and to members of Ezra Ministries international to support the work in India.

As you look closely, you can’t help but notice the heavy concentration of need in this region; no matter which 10/40 window criteria is used - - depth of poverty, percentage of illiteracy, total unreached population, the presence of spiritual strongholds. Like a laser beam, the Spirit of God has been drawing us into a tighter and tighter focus on the areas critical to the completion of the task of evangelization. Without supernatural intervention and your prayerful support accompanied by whatever financial support you can send us for this particular part of the world, the goal of a church for every kind of people and the gospel for every person by the year 2010, will not be reached.

Brethren, we need to support the pastors and evangelists that are part of our extended family with a financial love gift. A pastor’s family can live on a monthly income of $30 to $40 US. dollars. That is not a large amount to us in America, but to those who live in this poverty stricken area, it is enough to sustain the livelihood of a village pastor and his family in India. Presently, we have three pastors to support but in the coming years God will bless us with more pastors and churches. Let’s sow a seed today for the future harvest of tomorrow. May God bless you as you join with us in spreading the gospel to every creature.