Jossy Chacko

We all know that the world around are changing and perhaps we are living through an extraordinary time in History that happens once in every 500 years or so! Some of this can be very exciting – as we enjoy the benefits of internet, Skype, iPones and internet. But there are other things that can be very scary and challenging.
Check out this video – it will open your eyes!

After I watched it I thought – wow, what does this mean for me, my children, churches, great commission, helping poor and needy people? I don’t have any answers to these questions but I do have one answer – Jesus. Who says I AM not was or will be but I AM.  He is never changing – He is alpha and omega, He is the same and He promised me that He will be with me and will never leave or forsake me.  If you ever felt that you don’t need God I tell you we need God more than ever not only for eternity but for here and now!
I don’t know how we can live in this changing world without an unchanging God? If you don’t have Him with you I pray that you will find Him soon and allow Him to lead and guide you through this life and into eternity.  If you do know Him – hang on to Him – don’t let Him go!
Tomorrow I leave for India and Singapore – thanks for your prayers.
Blessings – Jossy

In 2007, Jani came to an Empart Training Centre in Orissa with the vision to reach a remote and unreached forest-dwelling tribe in Orissa that had never heard the Gospel. After he graduated, Jani built a small home and a church and began ministering there. God blessed his obedience and the church began growing. But on July 18th, Jani’s church and home, along with four other houses, were completely destroyed when a herd of elephants charged through the village.
In the dark of night, everyone was woken by the sound of an earth-shattering elephant stampede. They got up and run to the forest. When they returned in the morning, all that remained was a pile of sticks. Pastor Jani is devastated by the destruction but he is very grateful to still be alive. “Thank God our lives were spared” he tells me. “I am sad that we lost everything but I know that God is in control”. They even laugh about it, saying “It looks like the elephants had a good time playing!”

Friends, please pray for Jani and the believers as they cope with the aftermath of the stampede. There are no houses available to rent because of their remote location in the forest. A temporary shelter has been created but the rainy season is approaching and our brothers and sisters are worried. In 2008 they dealt with severe persecution and now they have to rebuild everything again. However, they are trusting in God for another miracle and have requested your prayers.

Thank you for partnering with faithful Church Planters like Jani who have incredible vision and passion to take the Gospel to the least reached people on earth and help them practically. Without your prayers and financial support, they would not be able to go through such difficult situations. I thank God for you and want you to know that, together, we are changing lives both now and for eternity!
For the Lord and the lost,
Jossy Chacko
P.S. Visit www.empart.org/donate to donate to the Rebuilding Orissa Fund. We can rebuild for just $3000 per house and $15,000 will rebuild homes and churches affected by this devastation.

Most of us in the west have little idea about the cast system in India; even most Indians living in the west and the upper cast in India have little understanding about the evil of cast system. Unless you are one of the untouchables it is very difficult for us to comprehend this outdated system of slavery.  I was ignorant about this until I became friends with some of them and they started to share their pains with me. Let me share with you the story of Ram

Ram was enjoying a glass of chai (Indian tea) at an outdoor road side tea shop when his friend, Jimun, happened to stroll by.The two greeted each other warmly across the crowd, but his friend made a fatal error. Instead of greeting Ram as thus, he unwittingly yelled out Ram caste name.

That name was heard by every customer at the tea shop, and the shop keeper himself. A jovial mild mannered man one minute, and a whirlwind of anger and accusation the next the shop keeper ordered Ram to leave his premises.

“Get out” he roared. You are polluting my shop, my business will be ruined, he added, shaking his hefty fist at an astonished Ram.

You see, Ram might be a young, educated man, but he’s from one of India’s lowest castes  the potters’s caste.  India’s caste system might be outlawed, but the reality is, it’s flourishing. It’s also ensuring that young people like Ram, people with dreams and hopes, never rise above their status.

Ram was frozen with anger, but the shopkeeper’s tirade continued, You will have to pay for the ritual cleansing of my shop to get rid of any trace of you and your low caste presence.

At that time, a dog came by the shop and urinated on the leg of the table. The shopkeeper barely batted an eyelid. Ram dignity cracked; he threw his chai glass on the ground where it smashed into pieces, and fled. Worthless, useless, he was broken with the realisation that he was valued less than a dog.

The leaders of the untouchables are crying for help, one of them said why doesn’t anyone care to notice us, we are also humans like you, they are begging for help to lead their people out of bondage and slavery. I’m a little daunted; altogether, there are more than 700 million people who are in the untouchable group. They cry; will you help our children get education? Can you help us learn a skill so that we can do jobs that will give us dignity? Friends the chains of their caste are so strong unless we help from the outside these precious people will continue like they have for thousands of years.

Will you join with me? Are you prepared to use your time, talents and resources to bring freedom to over 700 million people? If you want to make a difference please let me know, I want to hear from you.

let us join together and change the the plight of 700 million people here and for eternity – Jossy Chacko

Students' notebooks from the whole year study and precious graduation gift packs were all burnt by the anti-Christian mob as the students were beaten and forced to watch the destruction. All this happened just days before their graduation.

Thank you to the thousands of partners who have been praying for our brothers from the Training centre in Chattisgarh. It is with joy that I can tell you the three imprisoned brothers have finally been released on bail! (Read the background story here.)

After enduring harsh beatings – and hospitalisation for some – these three brothers spent 10 long days in jail under false accusations. Our first application for bail was refused and finally, after two days in a higher court, the brothers have been given bail.

This is not the end of their ordeal as on ongoing case will now ensue. Under guidance of a Christian lawyer a case has been lodge to counter the allegations against our students. Although the initial case has failed, further legal action will be required to seek justice and clear the students. In the meantime the brothers’ bail conditions require them to report to court once a month.

Please continue to pray:

• for healing for the students – physically and emotionally
• for ongoing protection and safety of  the students and property
• for our leaders who are still in hiding for their own safety (amidst reports that this anti-Christian group is still looking for them)

I am currently in India with our brothers. They asked me to pass this message on: “Thank you for your earnest prayers and concern. Surely we needed your prayers and moral support. Once again our God has proved that He is a living God and even though the entire world may stand against us HE never fails us. And those who hope in Him will never be ashamed.”

Your partnership is invaluable to me and to each of these precious brothers. Their determination to continue to serve God and unreached people is inspiring. Please continue to pray – in eternity you will be so glad you did!

Brothers and sisters, I’ve spent the last few days in Singapore, meeting with business leaders and motivating them to lead a life of significance… it’s impressive, probably one of the most organised and cleanest cities in the world. 

Then the contrast – today I’ve woken in Lucknow, North India, it’s noisy, polluted, and it’s SO hot. There’s no air conditioning, but my hotel is still better than 90% of the homes in India.  I pick up the newspaper and its headline grabs me at the throat – “Not Enough Food… So Children Learn To Eat Mud.”

 The mud is laced with silica, it fills their distended bellies so for a brief moment, they imagine they are full. I think of my own four children, especially Joshua and Jasmine, aged 3 and 5. As a parent, how would it feel to watch your children eat mud because they are starving? You are helpless because you cannot feed yourself.

 Yet this is what is happening in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, a country with more millionaires than the entire population of Australia.  The song, “What a Wonderful World’, enters my mind but it’s an irony. How can we live in a world of such contrasts, a world with riches and excess and success, while one billion of our children live, and die in poverty? That’s one out of every two.  Asia, alongside Africa, accounts for the majority of underweight or stunted children. 

This is a huge problem. But not too huge that we cannot offer solutions.  There’s more than enough money in the world to solve all of the problems of poverty and health. But is there enough political and moral will?  Are there enough people willing to share their wealth? It made me think, if I had a billion dollars, what would I do?  Where would I spend it first? Who was most needy? It still wouldn’t be enough… the problems are insurmountable.  It’s all too hard…

But then I realised I was doing what we all do – getting stuck on the big problem, on the macro. We think about the big problem and become trapped… so we reach the conclusion that we can do nothing. The solutions required for such a huge problem are exactly that, HUGE.

Instead, we should be asking, what do I have, and what can I do?

 Today, through Empart’s initiatives, more than 3,500 children are cared for, given education, food and hope. And that’s because there are so many individuals who haven’t been overawed by the bigger problem. Instead they care to give and share what they have, rather than being paralysed by what they don’t have.

 So here’s what I can do – I can ask you for help – for the children who have to eat dirt. Go on, do a stock take of what you have? Take a chance – decided to use your skills, your gifts, your passion to change the world.  Could you tell me now, via this blog, commit in writing, what you’re willing to risk?  With this image of a little girl eating a handful of mud in your mind, what will you do?

Log onto www.empart.org and learn how your skills and your passion can help immediately.  In eternity you’ll be so glad you did.

It’s Easter… a wonderful time to remember what our faith is all about – both the pain, suffering and the great hope we share for this world and for eternity.
I believe the Easter message is just as relevant today as it was when Jesus hung on the cross then defeated death three days later. It is particularly important for the 1.8 billion people who have never heard, who are still waiting to hear this message for the first time.

It is also important for the millions of people who are faced today with war, fear of terrorism, natural disasters, poverty, loneliness, broken relationships, sickness and pain. While it can be overwhelming that so many innocent people experience such pain and grief, the Easter message is one of hope. Consider Jesus, Himself an innocent man, who experienced such horrific physical and emotional suffering on the Cross… in doing so, He identifies with and relates to the pain we experience here on earth. This enables us to seek God in those times of despair and sorrow, and know that He relates to the challenges we face.

This Easter, would you take time to pray for the persecuted Christian brothers and sisters around the world? While we enjoy Easter eggs and new life in Jesus, three of our own Empart brothers are in jail and 12 others are still in hospital recovering from the beatings they received. Why? Simply because they have chosen to believe the Easter message!

My heart goes out to these precious brothers and sisters that are persecuted – they are so special to me. At times I find it difficult to know why God gives you and me such freedom and others such extreme persecution. But I do know that when one member of the body hurts, the whole body hurts with them – including the head, Christ Himself! And I also know that ALL things will work together for good because we love Him.

No matter what your situation might be this Easter I encourage you to take hope because the suffering on the Cross wasn’t the end of the story, and neither is our current situation. The Resurrection reminds us that there is hope in the midst of the dark days. The Christian faith is not one of denial where we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that adversity is not around us. Rather, in the midst of our adversity, sickness and challenges, our faith in Jesus gives us the strength to rejoice like Paul and face life and all its obstacles head on! We know that God meets us where we’re at and takes us through.

I had the privilege last year of visiting the tomb where they buried Jesus in Jerusalem – and it’s empty! He is not there – He has risen. The Resurrection of Jesus remains the foundation of every believer’s faith in God.  It gives us hope against all odds.

Jenni and I are believing that your life, ministry, business and family will be anointed with the Resurrection power this Easter. We pray that you will be filled with hope beyond your circumstances and situations.
Blessings and love in Christ
Jossy Chacko

PS. As you celebrate this Easter you might like to help someone who has never heard about Jesus. You can at https://secure.empart.org/get_involved/give/projects/13300022/13304233

Our Students' Precious Bibles and Tracts, Now Burnt

My friends, I’ve attached some photos of the destruction left by the Hindu militants on the Chhattisgarh training centre – you may have seen them on the Empart website.  These images will leave you speechless, perhaps in utter despair. I know that’s how I felt…

Yet it was the wise words of our Regional Leader in Chhattisgarh that gave me comfort, strength, and a focus of the ultimate task before us – to go out and spread the word of God to those whose hearts or hardened, or who are isolated from the power of the Gospel.

The Regional Leader said,  “Jossy, the enemy will try to stop us making disciples and training leaders but he can not and will not stop God’s Kingdom expanding. We will not stop no matter what happens. Please ask everyone to stand with us in prayer. We are not going to run away. God has sent us here and we will continue to share God’s love in words and deeds but we need you to stand with us. Don’t be worried for us, just pray for us.”

Bedrooms were trashed, bedding and clothes destroyed

This was the Local Coordinator's Room. He Was Bashed and Had To Be Hospitalised

People, I really need you to pray. My friends, our Bibles have been burned, our lessons destroyed, our training centre in Chattisgarh in India has been targeted.
It was the phone call I never wanted to receive, at 1.30 in the morning, the sort of call when you’re still asleep and you hear the phone ringing, you feel immediate fear. And the voice of my old friend sobbing, “They attacked us… Prebhu is seriously injured… the police have arrested three students. What should we do?”

I’m in Melbourne, thousands of kilometres away. What could I do? At first I felt helpless. But I placed my trust in God – Hindu militants may have taken a torch to our training centre in Chattisgarh, but they haven’t extinguished the flame for the Lord in our hearts.

I didn’t have to see the carnage to feel the pain. Our students were attacked and beaten, the angry mob threw all of our materials on a massive pile and set them alight, our students forced to watch. Their own possessions, their uniforms, their study books – all gathered together and burnt.

And then the militants discovered our store room. Every Bible, every tract, every text was added to the flames, and our students, bleeding, wounded, made to sit in silence and watch, or receive further beatings. Our leaders were harassed for the personal details of other believers, and when they refused to give them up, the assaults resumed.

When the victims were admitted to hospital, they were turned away – the hospital feared being attacked as well. The wounded were forced to travel on public transport to hospitals in nearby towns. My heart is heavy for these men, and their families, who have given everything for their love of the Lord. I’m receiving regular updates, and I’ll keep you in the loop but Prebu, the local Empart leader remains in intensive care. The three students accused of defacing the Indian flag remain in custody.

I need you to pray. Please pray for our brothers and sisters who are risking their lives to share the gospel. Pray for a strength of faith among our students who are so close to graduation, so close to stepping out in faith and starting their own ministries. Pray that somehow, we’ll replace those Bibles for with these, we can continue to share the Gospel with millions of people throughout Asia. Log onto empart.org for full details.

Dear Friends,
I want to share an exciting opportunity with you! A friend of mine has made an amazing offer. For every bicycle you buy for our Church Planters/social worker  in India, he’ll buy one too. That’s right – for every $125 you donate for a bike, he’ll match you – up to 1,100 bikes. That means 2,200 new bikes for our Church Planters.

Praise God for our friend’s generosity, which will make such a difference to the daily journeys of our brothers and sisters in India. These bikes are not a hobby or for sport and fitness. In most places this is the only means of transport – a vital means to reach those who have little or no access to Jesus, education and much needed love and care.

In the Bike4Bike DVD (click here to view) I share with you Gautham Lal’s joy when he received his bicycle from me. It was such a privilege to give him this ministry tool. Two months later, I received the following letter from him. “Because of this incredible gift of the bicycle, I’m now able to reach three new villages. Already 15 people have come to Christ”.

He’s so confident that he’ll be able to plant a church in each of these three villages, reaching out to a combined population of more than 18,000 people. What an eternal return on an investment of $125!

Will you please help us buy bicycles? Act now and your gift will be doubled. And please, will you ask your church or friends to consider buying a bicycle as well? You can give online at www.empart.org or in the US www.empartusa.org

It is my personal goal that all of our workers are appropriately supported. They are willing to sacrifice their lives and take the gospel into regions bristling with hostility. The least we can do, as brothers and sisters in the West, is to ensure that they are supported appropriately.
Thank you for helping those on the front line – in eternity you will be so glad you did.
May God bless you and reward you for what you did for the least of these.
For the Lord and the lost,
Jossy Chacko
PS – Click here for our Bike4Bike powerpoint presentation – a valuable tool to share with friends and colleagues.

In India, more than 750 million people live in enforced slavery, by dint of their caste. They are known as ‘the untouchables’ – and 70% of Indians fall into these castes. Eighty percent of them are illiterate, they earn approximately 50 cents a day.

They live with no hope, and resigned to their fate of eking out a living performing menial tasks for the higher castes.  By law, caste discrimination is illegal but it rules every aspect of society. Millions of our brothers and sisters are trapped, and cannot find a way out. Watch my video – it will change how you think.