Jossy Chacko

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 Unless you are one of the untouchables it is very difficult for us to comprehend this outdated system of slavery.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

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.

India is probably the most “spiritual” country I have ever known. No other country in the world is as spiritually hungry as India is; on the trains, streets and offices you can talk about spirituality. One of my favorite questions to perfect strangers in India is, “So what do you think about God?” Then I just sit back and listen to their ideas about God for the next hour – or day! This also gives me the opportunity to ask questions that make them think (in my view this is the best personal evangelism strategy). I have used the same question all over the world but in most other places the answer is not quite as long as it is in India!!

I would love you to take 3 minutes to watch this video from a Rat temple in North India, where people come from all over the world to worship, touch, stay with and eat with rats. Yes, it’s true. In a country where 340 million people struggle to have one meal a day, there is plenty of milk and food for the rats. And no, this is not from 500 or 200 years ago, this is happening here and now. These people worshiping the rats are not all foolish/stupid – many of them are well educated and some of them very wealthy. They all have one thing in common – they are all lost and in search of truth and salvation.

It is images like this that get me out of bed and compel me to do what I do with Empart. How can we, who believe in Christ, sit back and do nothing?? I am not saying that we should make them all into Christians but I am arguing the point that they should be given the opportunity to hear the truth (the teachings of Jesus) and know their Savior (Jesus). While we argue about postmodernism in the west, we fail to remember more than 80% of the world is still in the dark ages (without the light of the gospel).

What do you think? What is our responsibility? If you are a follower of Jesus, can I ask you what would Jesus do? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

For the Lord and the lost
Jossy Chacko

 

I just got a very sad message: a handsome and smart boy, Ajay Digal, from one of our children’s home in Orissa had been suffering from some heart related issues, but he has has now gone to be with the Lord. He had just got his school report and was top in the class. As you know, Orissa region is where Empart church planters and children’s homes suffered greatly during the persecution over the past 18 months. Five of our Empart children’s homes were destroyed, along with 72 churches. You can view a video about this. In these attacks more than 500 brothers, sisters and pastors lost their lives. And now they have to deal with another tragedy.

I know they are very strong in their faith. I had the joy of visiting and encouraging them 3 times during this persecution. Please remember to pray for the other children in the home, school, the church planters and believers. I know they will be very grateful for your thoughts and prayers.

In these remote regions there is very little or no medical assistance available. The nearest hospital to this children’s home was 7 hours by taxi. This is the reason that Empart organizes medical short term teams. If you would like to know more about the possibilities to join a short term team please contact Empart.

Thanks for your love and prayers.

Jossy Chacko

RecentlyI received one of the most encouraging letters from our field leaders, I know you will be blessed by reading this.

______

Dear partners and brothers and sisters in Christ,

Greetings from India and Nepal. We have never written like this before but we the leaders wanted you to know our thoughts and prayers during these days. 

Serving the Lord here has many challenges but we also understand the sacrifices you make to help us to reach the un-reached people, especially with the whole world facing economical issues.  And also we have heard from pastor Jossy that many children and pensioners sacrifice to give finances to enable us to carry out the Great Commission.  We know you don’t necessarily give because you have lots of money but because of your deep love for the Lord and the needy and lost people.  It is very hard for us to explain all the incredible things the Lord do through us but we want you to know that the efforts you make are having a big difference in India and Nepal.

What we don’t have, you help us with and we give all that we have and together we make great partnership and God is glorified.  Because of us together, everyday almost three new churches planted and thousands are hearing the gospel for the first time and hundreds of children and women experience the love and care of Jesus.  One day we will stand together before our Saviour and together we will hear great words and receive the rewards.

Friends we believe with all our heart that this is great harvest time, because multitude after multitude are coming to the Lord, so we ask you to do what you can to stand with us and not leave us alone.  We promise that all of us will give our 100%. Together we are strong, us alone we will be weak, so please continue to pray, give and come and not allow the current situations to take the focus away from what the Lord is doing. Our share market in Heaven will give you 100% reward on time. 

Every day all the children, women and believers are remembering to pray for you.  God does everything on time, whatever He does it is for our good, so do not lose heart, keep your eyes on Him and He will bring us through.

Thanks for your love, care and support.

With love and prayer in Christ, (signed by)

Abraham – For Chandigarh Region, James – For Lucknow Region  Jose – For Udaipur Region, Johnson – For Orissa Region  Vivek - For Nepal Region, Varghese - For Management Team  Paul – For Field Staff, Thomas – For Board