“January 2017 was a special month in the history of Feeding Events India [partners with The Elijah Challenge in India]. For the first time we did four evangelistic gospel events, using four of our Elijah Challenge-trained missionary pastors while a fifth pastor trained 238 pastors with The Elijah Challenge seeking to join our ministry network.
Three of the villages where our missionary pastors did Feeding Events are shown above. As a result, 1,480 enjoyed a nourishing meal and 990 (67%) made decisions to become believers and followers of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Simon Haq preaches before two million
While our pastors did the Feeding Events, Simon Haq, our ministry coordinator, elsewhere preached the gospel to 2 million people at one time, in a different area in India. As had been true in the two previous times Simon preached the gospel in this huge crusade, approximately 50% or 1 million unbelievers became believers and followers of Jesus the first time they heard the gospel. (See the photo below of the huge crowds in his 2014 event.)
This was the third time Simon had been invited to preach at this huge crusade, but this time for another ministry. Over the three years the total number of people hearing the gospel comes to about 6 million, with 3 million praying to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. As far as we know, God has never used any other evangelist to reach this number of people in India. Below are inside and outside pictures of the huge 50 acre tent and the overflow area between them where Simon preached to 2 million people. In addition to the tent shown below there were two other tents with 80,000 in each. Communication was through speakers located inside and outside the tents. As you can see from the pictures, it would be difficult to know how many decided to believe in Jesus, but it was a bunch. On the right, those standing were praying, and accepting Jesus as God’s only Son — the only way to heaven.
How do you top preaching the gospel to two million people at a time? Stay tuned, God is providing a way. We are currently negotiating with a large Christian ministry in India, about starting a weekly gospel television program. This Hindi language program has the potential of broadcasting the gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of millions of unbelievers every week. Please, as you read this, pray that God will open this ministry door for Simon.
This (unnamed) ministry group has already adopted evangelistic gospel events and pastor training as their new church planting model going forward and will begin doing gospel events soon. We have prayed for years for God to allow us to preach the gospel all over India. It appears that this ministry group may be at least part of the way God answers our prayers. They will be organizing and paying for village gospel events and pastor training and also pay Simon’s expenses to come minister to the lost. Only God could orchestrate something this big.”
-Bill & Sammye Willis of Feeding Events India, Partners with The Elijah Challenge in India