INDIA EVANGELISM

RUSSEL G. BELL, EVANGELIST
5712 S.W. 35th Street
Topeka, Kansas 66614-4594
Phone: (785) 272-0711
U.S.A.

UNDER THE OVERSIGHT OF
LAPOYNOR CHURCH OF CHRIST
P.O. Box 61
Larue, Texas 75770
Phone: (903) 876-4334

Russel Bell's India Report — January 12–February 22, 2010

Dear Supporters and Interested,

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:2). Trip number 49 to India is now history, and all went well. God is good! My health stayed good the entire 6 weeks.

India continues to be the ripest field in the world for harvesting souls. Thousands of Indians are becoming Christians each year and hundreds of churches of Christ started. Our Indian brothers and sisters are doing most of the evangelism day to day. We just get in on the harvest for a few weeks while in country. More churches are appointing elders and deacons or working very hard to that end.

Two thirds of this trip was in lectureships and graduations all across India and from one end of the country to the other. They are listed below.

Lectureships and Graduations – Jan. 29 – Feb. 22

Bangalore with C.H. Jacobs, Jan. 29–31
Mumbai Lectures with Mark Sharp and area preachers, Feb. 3–7
Aurangabad Bible College and Graduation with Amol Bansod and Regendra Charpode, Feb. 8–12
National Bible College Lectures and Graduation with Peter Solomon, Feb. 13–15
Chandagarh/North Bible College Lectures and Graduation, Feb. 17–19

All of these went well and were exciting events. A few words about each one:

Bangalore

Speaking opportunities in Bangalore involved several village churches plus two large churches in the city, one of which has 4 elders and 11 deacons. The other will install elders any day now. Both of these churches encouraged me to speak on elders and I did.

Mumbai and Pune

Both of these cities have very large population, 20,000,000 and 5,000,000 people. Had meetings for five days with area churches and preachers. Most of these churches are self-supported with churches paying their own preacher or preachers working secular jobs to support themselves.

Aurangabad

West–End Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN fully funds this 2–year school of preaching with 15 men graduating and 15 new students starting every February. West–End pulpit minister, Russell Cook and two businessmen from their mission committee, Kirk Schaad and Jim Denton, invited me to work with them for 6 days. It was a joy working with these great men of God. They (West–End) have an excellent exit strategy with this mission work. It is a great school of preaching.

National Bible College/Chennai

We had our 28th annual lectureship plus graduation of 34 men and women. The late Gene Reneau and myself started these lectures in 1982 and what is now National Bible College in the same decade. No other school of preaching in India has a greater effect on our churches in India than this one. Graduates of NBC have started hundreds of churches and 21 other schools of preaching in India and other adjacent countries. Eight of us from the U.S. took part in these lectures and graduation. The Greymeer church of Christ in Columbia, TN oversees this good work.

North India Bible College/Chandagarh

This was our fourth lectureship and graduation here in Chandagarh with Earnest Gill, the director. We had about 70 preachers from a dozen states come for lectures and graduation. Three Americans participated. The McEwen church of Christ in McEwen, TN oversees this good work, and it is one of Bear Valley's satellite schools. These two days were an encouragement to all.

Statistics from the just completed work

Presented 56 lessons.
Saw 217 baptized.
Five of India's states were part of my work this trip: A.P., T.N., Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Punjab.
Delivered and shipped 5,000 full Bibles, song books, bicycles, worship supplies, and good religious books in their language to churches and preachers all over India.
Conducted a 5 day preacher school in Draksharama, E.G. Dt., A.P. with John O'Neal, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Mon.–Fri.
All is well at Sister Patricia Orphanage with 91 children. We used the large church building at this orphanage to host a 5 day preacher school. This was John's and my home for 6 days and nights.
Met up and worked briefly with 15 to 20 other Americans on this trip.
Saw for the first time the new, large church building in Paderu.
It took 2 overnight train rides plus 10 flights inside India to complete this work.
Monies spent that were not in my budge(about $8,000):
- 10,000 unbreakable communion cups, $333.
- 10,000 song books in 6 languages plus N.T. I donated $5,440. Sai Nagar church of Christ donated the other $4,000.
- Help on new church building on St. Thomas Mt., $2,000.

2010 India Evangelism Projects

1.	10,000 full Bibles		$20,000
2.	10,000 New Testaments	5,000
3.	10,000 Telugu song books		5,000
4.	100 bicycles		6,500
5.	400 sets of worship supplies		3,500
6.	200 portable pulpits		3,500
7.	104 helps on 104 permanent church buildings	24,000
8.	Sister Patricia Orphanage (91 children)	20,000
9.	Plane tickets, hotels, food, etc.	5,500
10.	Office supplies and stamps		2,000
			$95,000

Half of these things were purchased and delivered on this trip and half are yet to be purchased and delivered next Aug./Sept. Trip thus completing my 50th trip to India. Will you help with this $47,500 need for this second work this year. Here is my plan to raise this money. I am asking churches and individuals to donate $300 to $1,000 each. Some churches and individuals are donating once or twice each year, while others are donating monthly. Any amount would be helpful and appreciated.

You can send your donations now or any time. Please make your checks payable to INDIA EVANGELISM or CHURCH OF CHRIST and send to either of the addresses on this report letterhead or use the self-addressed envelope enclosed. Thank you for supporting this work.

There are now more churches of Christ in India than in the U.S. They are growing in maturity and in number. Your donations to this ministry are helping to achieve this. God bless you.

Special thanks to the LaPoynor church of Christ for helping financially plus overseeing this work. Also, a special thanks to the churches and individuals that support my family and me plus provide the $95,000 for these projects. My books, “Rightly Dividing the Word of God,” Volume I, II, III, IV, and V, are available for $5 each. “God Man Money” at $10 per copy, postage paid. All money from the sale of these books go to India Evangelism.

My next work in India and Myanmar will be July 27 to Sept. 6, 2010. If you have any questions, please write or call. God Bless you.

Love,

Russel G. Bell

A ministry to assist churches, preachers, and church leaders to develop self-supported churches
in India and around the world. Financial help may be sent to either of the addresses above.