Jossy Chacko

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.

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.

11 years ago, when I started Empart, I thought I knew my Bible and had all my theology sorted out. How wrong I was! Since then I have been in continual instruction at the best and biggest theological seminary in the world: the Asian Church.

My life has been turned upside-down by my teachers in the Asian Church. Many of them are new believers who have only known Jesus for 1 – 2 years; some of them don’t even have a Bible. But their intuitive and cultural understanding of what it means to truly follow Christ, to be a real disciple, is profound.   Every trip I make to North India is like another adventure of faith. It is like walking through the New Testament. These believers in the Asian Church have not only impacted my life but the lives of hundreds of other people who have gone on short term trips with Empart.

Ironically, most people going on short term trips think they are going to give – but almost all of them return home know they have received more than they had given. They leave Asia grateful for the privilege of sharing in the lives of our brothers and sisters. It is these new believers – the poorest of the poor, who have only just learned about God for the first time in their lives but live as radical disciples – who are powerfully impacting the people from the west.

Kathy, a mum from the US, remembers her experience – “My trips to India with Empart have changed how I view missions forever!  I was unprepared to be as blessed as I visited Empart children’s homes where the children sang for us, recited Bible verses and danced and promised to pray for the children in our church in America.  My spirit was renewed by the passion for God’s Word in the young men from the Training Centre.  I was humbled by the hundreds of Pastors at the pastor’s conference who labor faithfully in the midst of opposition and discouragement that I will never experience.  We were inspired by the young women of the Sewing Centre, and thrilled to present them with their Certificate of Graduation and their new sewing machine.  And I was encouraged by the Indian leadership team who serve with passion, skill, and an unwavering focus on the mission – I will never be the same”

Ian, a business owner, also from the US, has just returned from an Empart mission trip to India. “I now think of my Christian faith from an international perspective. The cross cultural worship gave me a glimpse of the future, with the knowledge that I will worship the Lord together with these dear Indian believers in Heaven. My understanding of worship has been changed”

“I saw a demon-possessed girl and was able to pray for her. I saw firsthand how powerful the Name of Jesus is. I went there expecting to leave a mark but instead a mark was left on my heart. The staff really impacted me – their courageous faith and desire for God. God took me on an adventure! He taught me how to be less of a control freak and instead trust Him for my every day. I learnt how to be bolder and more faith-filled,” said Leonie from Australia.

“My trip with Empart to north India was an adventure of a lifetime! We visited the front lines of Gospel proclamation and saw first-hand what a world without Jesus looks like. It is nothing short of life-changing to worship with people who have truly counted the cost and paid the price to follow Jesus. Most of them have nothing but Jesus, and by comparison, I realized how impoverished I am in my affluence. I quickly realized that these Indian believers had far more to teach me than I had to offer them. It was such a privilege to serve and encourage these superstars of the faith. I pray for these brothers daily, and look forward to God opening the way for me to serve them in person again soon,” said Jeff, a businessman from the USA.

Friends, we can learn much from books and theories but there is nothing like meeting people who are on the frontline, and learning directly from them.  Just going to see the Asian Church will not guarantee your learning – you need to go in humility, with a heart willing to learn. If you do, I know you will be changed forever!
My good friend Ps. Bob Roberts from Northwood Church in Dallas says,  ‘The hope for the western church is to learn from the Asian church… they are gaining ground for the Kingdom and we are losing it…’

If you have been blessed through believers in developing counties I would love to hear from you. Where did you go? How did they bless you? What did you learn? write your thoughts in comments.
For more life-changing information about short term trips, please click or in US visit www.empartusa.org

Have a wonderful day – look out for what God may want to teach and show you from people and ways that you may not expect.  Blessings and love in Christ
Jossy Chacko

“Thank you so much for helping me get out of this place. I thought I was going to die here!”
Brothers and sisters, our prayers have been answered. After 15 days of harassment and interrogation in prison, Kusulia, one of our church workers, has been set free. Why was Kusulia thrown in jail? For the simple act of sharing the word of God with some of the poorest people in Asia.
It’s going to take Kusulia a long time to recover – he’s physically and emotionally drained and his body is bearing the fresh scars of abuse and torment. We’ve already organised emergency medical care and counseling for him. He said of his ordeal, “I hope none of our brothers and sisters ever have to go through this.” I just want to thank every one of you who has prayed non-stop for Kusulia’s release, and also for others facing incredible persecution. Your devotion and dedication was worth it. It took much negotiation with the Government, and continued prayer from our Empart supporters around the world, to ensure that he was released safe, and alive.

Although Kusulia is now free, he was released with a warning from local police,” Be careful – next time things might be different”. Kusulia lives and works amongst an unreached tribal people in a remote forest area of Northern India. Despite his work in assisting the untouchables with literacy and education programs, not all are impressed with his teachings. You see, Kusulia, along with our Empart workers, teach the people of Asia the word of God, that they are all equal in His eyes. But not everyone wants to be considered equal with a dalit, especially not those who profit from their enslavement.

This remains the biggest opposition faced by Empart workers – they teach people that they are created in the image and likeness of God; they have equal value, worth and dignity to every other human being. But this teaching cuts to the core of “castisam and re-incarnation” through which India is able to keep 760 million people as ’slaves’. Yet some of these so-called ’slaves’ are no longer bowing to the wishes of the ‘higher cast’. Some members of the higher caste are retaliating, and these workers of God have become the enemy.

Please continue to pray for Kusulia and other Empart workers in these dangerous regions, that they will know God’s peace and presence. The Empart leaders and I remain unfazed, and more determined than ever to continue to take the liberating teachings of Christ to everyone of these 760 million people. Will you consider joining with me so that together, we can bring them the freedom that they deserve? Log onto www.empart.org or www.empartusa.org now to learn just how easy it is to bring the word of God, and courage and freedom to our brothers and sisters in Asia.

A faithful area leader in India has paid the ultimate sacrifice in his work to save the unreached.        

For the last three months Babulal had been working in an unreached village, not far from his own village. Then, on 24^th November, as he and some other believers left this village and headed for home, they  innocently accepted a lift on a tractor laden with heavy rock. As the tractor climbed a steep hill, the driver released the hydraulic lever. The tractor trolley tipped backward and rocks tumbled down on the passengers.  Babulal was killed instantly.  The sister of another Church Planter died on the way to hospital, and eight new believers were seriously wounded by the falling rock.

Babulal was a victim of his own faith in the Lord. A group of Hindu right wing militants had been watching him, and had paid the tractor driver to kill him off, and stop him from spreading the word of the Jesus.

In Rajasthan, killing believers under the pretence of an accident is the latest strategy of religious fundamentalists. While the militants may have succeeded in taking two precious lives, they can never take the love of the Lord from the hearts of the people Babulal introduced to Him. Empart worker, Saroj said, “They may try to kill all of us, and yes, they have taken Pastor Babulal but they have not taken his vision. We will fulfil his vision”.

Babulal was crushed to death only four days before he was to baptise 25 new believers. Yet Babulal’s work is far from over.  His legacy of his love for the Lord remains. Since graduating from the Empart training centre in 2007, Babulal planted three churches with 225 members, he had already raised up four other workers and had had inspired many others with a great vision to see his whole region reached with the love of Christ.

In his own village, Babulal was well respected as a great leader and a strong organiser. His villagers loved him because of all the opportunities he brought them. He is survived by his wife, Hugli and three children.  To prevent his children facing an uncertain future just because of their father’s love for Jesus, I’ve established a special fund to help them, and other families who have suffered for their faith.  If you feel moved to contribute, log onto www.empart.org

In October, I had the joy of spending three days with Babulal.  Even then, as I left Babulal and these other heroes, I was mindful that this could be the last time we meet.  Now I look forward to the day I see Babulal again, in heaven.

Each day, families, leaders and workers risk their lives for the sake of the millions of people who have never heard of Jesus. Please, remember them in your prayers. Never forget them.

If you have met Victor you will never forget him, he is tall and passionate, a man deeply in love with Jesus and on a mission to take His love to those who have never heard it.
I first met Victor 10 years ago, a very young man with a dream to see churches planted. He joined my first team of church planters and we have been serving the Lord since the beginning of our ministry.  In a very difficult region of North India God has used him to plant over 120 churches.
Along the way we have seen mighty miracles and also some incredible challenges but nothing like what he is facing right now. On the weekend he went to a special prayer meeting in a remote village. They had an incredible evening of prayer hundreds of people gathered inside and outside of a village hut, Victor and team did not want to disappoint anyone so they did not want stop until everyone was prayed for.  After four hours, exhausted and tired, they got in their vehicle and started the journey home.
It was very dark and all they could think about was a good night’s sleep. They suddenly noticed a group of people blocking the road. They stopped and got out to talk to them  but they did not get many words out before they heard shouting from a distance “yes it is them – kill them”.  Then they heard shots being fired. They started to run but they were caught and beaten up with metal rods, they pleaded with them to stop but then he and Pastor Ashok both were hit with the bar on their heads they both fell to the ground and bleeding heavily, they were unconscious.  Everyone thought they were dead, so someone called the police and reported that some robbers came to rob them and that they took defensive action and it seems that they might be dead please come and get them. So the police came and took them to the office and after four days they are still unconscious and on life support.  Their hands and legs are broken and have serious head injuries and internal bleeding.  And now they also have potential court case because of false accusations that they were robbers.
Friends, please pray for Victor, Ashok and their team as well as for them families and church members. There have been further threats made to believers that if they don’t stop worshiping Jesus they also could face a similar situation.
In this hour we also need to do more than praying, they need significant financial support to help with medical bills and also for the long road to recovery. If you are able to help in any way please make a donation online www.empart.org  or please send your contribution designated to “for Victor and team support”.
Please share this with your friends, family and church and remember them in your prayers.
I am on my way to India, you can find my updates on Twitter, face book also – please stay connected we need every bit of prayer and support that we can get right now.
Thank you for partnering with me – Jossy Chacko

People often ask why Jenni and I started Empart. This article answers that question. It is in the current edition of the Salvation Army’s Magazine, Warcry. Enjoy! http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/warcry/default.asp?contentID=1386