The Basic Series Impacts Over 70,000 believers ServeNow February 22, 2016 1
Introduction ServeNow was launched in December 2012, but did not enter into any major projects until April 2013. The first test projects were held in India and Ukraine, and in both locations a booklet called The Basic Things You Need to Know About Jesus was tested in Telugu and Russian. Approximately 1,000 copies were printed in each language. It became obvious that this way of presenting biblical truth in “small doses” was the answer to helping not only rural congregations, but also rural pastors. It was the kind of material they badly needed but at the same time could never have imagined to have available for themselves and their churches. Three years later over 200,000 copies are in print in four major countries, and more are being added this year. Every new believer is receiving one new booklet every three months, for up to seven years, creating an enormous basic knowledge about the Christian faith. The Material The Basic Series is made up of 30 booklets, 32 pages in each booklet, dealing with basic biblical concepts, written in an easy to understand form for people who have had no theological training or even read any Christian books. Right now the following 14 books are completed and will be used as of this year: The Basic Things You Need to Know About Jesus The Basic Things You Need to Know About Reading and Studying the Bible The Basic Things You Need to Know About Prayer The Basic Things You Need to Know About Salvation The Basic Things You Need to Know About the Bible The Basic Things You Need to Know About God The Basic Things You Need to Know About The Holy Spirit The Basic Things You Need to Know About the Church The Basic Things You Need to Know About Being a Christian The Basic Things You Need to Know About Sharing Your Faith The Basic Things You Need to Know About Living a Godly Life The Basic Things You Need to Know About Worship The Basic Things You Need to Know About Obedience The Basic Things You Need to Know About Serving The booklets are currently used in English, Spanish, Punjabi, Hindi, Nepali (for Nepal), Nepali (for India), Odhya, Bengali, Telugu, Ukrainian, Russian, Luganda, and Arabic, a total of 13 languages. 2
Over the next pages you will find impact stories which are beyond what anyone of us would have imagined three years ago. India Pastor Raju is highly impressed with the booklets. He has sixty members in his church and is very excited to nurture his congregation with these materials. Smiling, he commented, I am very glad to have such a simple method of understanding who Jesus is and the systematic way to read the Bible. These are also powerful tools for sharing the Good News to newcomers. Thank you for providing such useful books for our spiritual growth and for teaching people in a proper way. I pray that the ministry of ServeNow will reach this nation for his glory. One of the young men who stood up to give his testimony shared how his mother’s prayers saved him. Prithivi was in his final year of Engineering and “full of himself,” wanting to be cool. He became addicted to alcohol and entered a path to self-destruction. He also became addicted to pornography. He had to face reality when he failed all his classes, and therefore planned to commit suicide. However, as a result of his mother’s prayers, he returned to the Lord. He not only passed his exams but also found a good position. Today he is a strong follower of the Lord. He has a desire to know more about his faith and ServeNow’s national director (with him in the picture) mentioned that the Basic Series booklets have helped him to mature and grow . One reader recently commented, These books are like a walking stick for us. Without these booklets my understanding of basic Christianity and the ability to walk with Christ would be incomplete. 3
Pastor David, who comes from the tiny village of Garidhura in the foothills of the Himalayas, was born a Hindu. After a miraculous healing, he became a Christian. He completed his studies at a Bible school in Darjeeling, and started a church in his own village, as well as launched four other church plants in the surrounding villages. Pastor David states, I witnessed a great change in the lives of the believers in the church after they were introduced to ServeNow's Basic Series booklets. The believers have been sharing about the impact the books have had on them. These booklets are a wonderful tool to help the church as well as the leaders grow strong in their Christian faith . Another reader commented, These books help me to understand Bible truths in a clear way and has encouraged me to meditate on the Bible regularly. Now I am helping my family to read the Bible systematically. Kavita and her husband have five daughters, but they were also longing to have a son. Pastor Pramod, who is from a church in Hyderabad, prayed for them and God gave them a son. As a result of this miracle the entire family gave their hearts to Jesus and are now his followers. In fact the believers meet for worship in their house. During the last scripture distribution program with the Basic Series booklet, Kavita told the ServeNow staff, Although we have experienced Jesus in our lives through a miracle, it was the book that you have given us to read that gave us real understanding about our Savior and Lord. Thank you so much for this precious book. We cherish it and read it again and again. Pastor Samuel, from a church in Hyderabad recently commented, In spite of eight years of training and thirty years of ministry experience, I have learned things I did not know by reading this booklet. The believers in my church have also shared how helpful the first book has been for them to understand the Christian faith better. 4
Pastor Vineet, from Shimla, was born into an orthodox Hindu family. He came to the Lord at a Christian conference, which he attended as a teenager. He is not very educated but supports his pastoral ministry through his newspaper distribution business which he started some years ago. Vineet works among the Kashyap, Meghta and Darzi tribes of Himachal Pradesh. Pastor Vineet and the congregation were very excited to receive the Basic Series booklets. After reading the first book, the believers in my church understood clearly the basics about Jesus and the Christian faith. We are excited to receive the second book in the series and we hope that we will receive more insight and grow mature in our Christian faith. Pastor David Dass pastors a church of 50 in Chandigarh. Born into a Hindu family, he accepted the Lord while attending a home meeting with his friend. Here are his comments: My congregation has been encouraged by the booklets. Most of them have already read the first book at least ten times. Now we are excited to receive the next booklet in the series. These books are a blessing to the church and the believers. Amiya, a believer from a small church fellowship in central India: The booklet on ‘How to read and study the Bible’ has helped me so much. It has increased my eagerness and hunger to study God’s word in a disciplined way which I never did before. Pastor Kiran is from Sukna, located in the foothills of Darjeeling. Born to a family of tea garden laborers, Kiran was not able to complete his schooling or receive formal theological education. When he felt the call in his life for ministry, Kiran started a small church which has now grown to 70 members. Recently Kiran made this statement, The Basic Series booklets are a great blessing to the church and to me personally. These booklets have made my believers grow stronger in the Word of God. Through these books, three new families have come to the Lord in the last year. 5
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