Several years ago at a Lost Valley retreat I heard a speaker describe a ministry he had developed with a group of pastors in India. I was intrigued and wanted to take part. Before long I had become pen-pals with one of the pastors – Pastor Mark Baki. For a couple years we emailed back and forth. I was always encouraged and challenged by the intensity of his labor in the ministry. It was on my heart to get to know him better, and so I proposed that we start a bible study over Skype. Many of the Indian pastors involved in this ministry do not speak English well enough to easily converse over the phone, but fortunately for me, Pastor Mark speaks fluent English.
Over the past year, Pastor Mark and I have met once or twice a month on Thursdays – morning for me and evening for him. The first study we did was the Why Go To Work booklet from the Ministry in the Marketplace series. I love this booklet because it touches on a wide range of issues, including eternal rewards, the significance of work, and a biblical comparison of clergy vs. laymen. We are currently in the middle of the Establishing Your Purpose booklet. After we complete this booklet, we plan to go through Whose Job Is The Ministry with a small group of the elders in his church. A few months ago, he asked me to speak at an outreach program at his church. He set up his computer and a projector in his church, and from my home I preached the gospel to a jam-packed church in India!
Pastor Mark has become a great friend. He was raised in an orphanage in India, and it was in the orphanage that he first heard the gospel and committed his life to Christ. He and his family live near his church in a slum in Hyderabad, a city of nearly 7 million and the 4th largest city in India. He is married and has two teenage daughters. His oldest daughter just started pharmacy school and his youngest daughter hopes to go to medical school. Often before we start our studies, our families gather in front of the computer to say hi, his teenage daughters giggling at my young sons.
I marvel at the circumstances that led Pastor Mark and me to meet and minister to one another. But I also know that God authored it from the beginning of time. As the apostle Paul says, “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Colossians 1:29
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