Brief History
Strong tradition says that India received the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the first century. The Apostle Thomas, one among the 12 disciples of Jesus, became instrumental in bringing this wonderful Gospel to India. However India is not evangelized yet. Multitudes of perishing souls are yet to receive the life-transforming message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Odisha is one of the states in India where there is great need to reach out the unreached. The government has passed an anti-conversion law, so Christians have been facing strong opposition and persecution.In the midst of such challenges God has enabled me to start the “REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP”. While I was a university student, I met the Lord Jesus in the year 1997.
Being from a non-Christian family, I faced opposition from my family, friends, neighbors and village people. But there was a unmistakable call on my life to preach the Gospel. God gave me the conviction that I was to be a witness for Him. God took me through years of preparation.This course consisted training of four years in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary which is one of the best reformed seminaries in India. It is in P.T.S. that I met Dr.George Hutchinson. Encouraged by him I started personal evangelism, tract distribution,open-air preaching, youth meetings, seekers retreats, etc.
God blessed my effort and house churches started in many villages. We have 32 evangelist at present.
Prayer concerns
i. Pray that we will have freedom to share the Gospel in Odisha. Pray for the continuing opposition to the gospel from various groups, for the need of religious tolerance in Odisha.
ii.Pray that God will open the eyes of the lost to see the life in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Craftiness and deception of the devil will be bound.
iii.Pray for God’s provision of funds to buy a piece of land for the teaching seminar for the evangelist.
Goal
Our goal is to see the indigenous reformed Churches in Odisha
The Mission trip of Prof. Don Williams is blessing, encouraging and fruit abiding. Thank you so much that you are planing to come to Odisha in near future.You are most welcome. Kindly you will let me know the exact dates so that I will plan for your trip well ahead of time.Kindly continue to pray for us.
Rev. Kartik Pal
PASTORS CONFERENCE 2025
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Dear Friends in Christ,
God in the Bible identifies himself as “I am who I am” – a very present help. That indicates we must be faithful to every responsibility God has given us. The past is retreating from us and the future is not yet. Let us take the present as a gift from our maker. Trusting and praying that the LORD’s salvation story would continue to uphold in glorious ways in and through our lives today and the days ahead.
With much thankfulness and praise to our Living God I take special delight to share briefly what the Lord is accomplishing through Reformed Gospel Fellowship. From 18-26 of January, we had our RGF Pastors’ conference. More than 200 Pastors from the villages of Odisha attended the conference. When they sang songs in their own regional languages, I remembered Philippians 2:10-11 “Every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”.
Professor Donald Williams and Dr.George were our Guest teachers this time. They arrived in Bhubaneswar on 18th of January. Professor Donald William left his computer in the flight, which was recovered soon but the luggage of Dr.George did not arrive when they landed in Bhubaneswar. In fact, with many differences such as food, weather, and even culture they identified with us. They were very delighted in teaching and preaching forgetting everything. Professor Donald taught Christian Ethics based on the 10 commandments and Dr. George did the exegesis of 1 Peter. Dr. George also taught concerning logos software. On Friday 24th of February, we had Lords supper and after the lunch all the pastors returned home praising God. Indeed, we were very much blessed by their ministry of teaching and preaching. On 25th of February, we had sightseeing of Chilika Lake, Bay of Bengal, Konark, Puri of Odisha. The Sovereign Lord gave both of them good health during the entire trip and Dr.George also could recover all his things by the end of his trip. Thanks to Professor Donald and Dr. George for all their sacrifice.
I must mention that the late Pastor George Hutchinson, who started this teaching ministry among 11 pastors in a small room at Bhawanipatana in 2011, gradually RGF grew up, and 200 pastors attended the conference this year. God’s blessings are evident. I can join with the psalmist and say this is the LORD’s doing and it is marvelous to our eyes (Psalm: 118:23). Following the footsteps of Pastor George Hutchinson Professor Donald Williams, Pastor Dewey Roberts, Pastor Jim, Pastor Jason, Dr. Dale, Dr, George made their mission trip to Odisha and taught RGF pastors. In His time God called home Pastor Hutchinson and pastor Jim. But their legacy continues. They are greatly missed
Am thankful to all the Board members of CPI who prayerfully considered to support and encourage us to make impact for the cause of the Gospel in an unreached place of Odisha. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all who have been praying and supporting our ministry. Special thanks to auntie Linda who gives me every update. Many assured their prayers support while having our conference. May God bless you all according to his riches in glory. Kindly continue to pray for: God’s abiding fruits on our humble efforts, for all the pastors and their ministry in the villages, for all our house churches, for our ministerial needs, for God’s protections during persecutions, for God’s provisions for our summer evangelistic work from March 2025. In 2024 we have extended our tent of evangelism. God is faithful in providing all our needs. We trust the Sovereign Lord more and more and expect great things for the Lord of harvest as we move forward.
Please mail your donation to:
Church Planting International,
Po box 836, Gainesville, GA 30503,
Yours In His Grace
Rev. Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Now All the Glory to Him and to Him Alone. Kindly Continue to Pray for Us
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP
MINISTRY UPDATE: SEPTEMBER SPECIAL OUTREACH
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings. The Bible speaks profoundly about the faithfulness of God and Human responsibilities as stewards of His calling. In 1 Peter 4:10, we are reminded: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” This teaching emphasises that stewardship is not merely about managing our resources but about actively using the gifts bestowed upon us for the benefit of others and the glory of God. In this reflection, we must ask ourselves an essential question: Have we been faithful to the mandate that God has given us? This introspection is crucial, as it challenges us to assess our commitment not only to God but also to the calling, He has placed on our lives. Here are some of the ways in which we were able to minister this month. This is my privilege to let you know how God is at work in and through RGF very specially during our special outreach in the September.
Nuakhai festival was celebrated on September 8. But People celebrated throughout the month. It was an agricultural festival. This festival was celebrated across the state of Odishsa but particularly in the western part of Odisha. The word Nua means new and khai means food. We had a good time to come together people from western Odisha in Bhubaneswar on September 14. In fact, it was exclusively my efforts to bring them in one place. Some of them wore cultural dresses, while some others emphasized languages of western Odisha. It was very good to see some of them gave importance to unique songs, music and dance. Above all I had a wonderful time to preach the Gospel. Many were blessed by the message.
Nuakhai festival also brings family members, relatives and friends together. People from far and distance came and celebrated it with great joy. This is the time people forget their past grudges and meet each other with love and respect. The ministry of reconciliation takes place as the broken relationship gets restored. This time I also had a great privilege to meet not only my family members but also to all my neighbours, brothers, friends and relatives.
I am glad to let you know that God opened the opportunity for me to share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in my village. I must mention that I was born and brought up in a Hindu family. But God saved me and I Praise God for that. In fact, I was the only Christians in that area. But today God has blessed my efforts and many came to know the Lord. I took the advantage and emphasized the importance of relationship and fellowship in the Gospel whenever I met the people. I recollected from the Gospel Jesus praying for the unity and reminded people that we should love each other and live in a unity. I had the privilege to meet many of my school, college and university friends. They are educated and it was good for me to challenge them with the life changing message of the Gospel. I had also time to share my testimony to many people and they were very much touched. They were amazed at the work of God in my life.
I am so glad to state that our house churches made a tremendous impact in the villages. RGF
evangelists took active part in sharing the Gospel to many people. It was a wonderful
opportunity to reach out the unreached in the rural areas of western Odisha. God blessed our
efforts.
I am thankful to all our prayer partners, supporters for our outreach programs. Kindly
continue to pray for our upcoming winter evangelistic work which will start from October 7.
Please remember in your prayers as we have our pastors conference in January 2025.
Professor Donald Williams and Dr. George Gatgounis are coming to teach Pastors of Odisha.
We have been praying that God will open the doors of His provision for the Pastors
conference.
Please mail your donation to:
Church Planting International,
PO Box 836, Gainesville, GA 30503,
Contributions of all sizes are needed and appreciated.
Now all the glory to God for what has been accomplished. Kindly continue to pray for us.
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Ministry Update: July-August 2024
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings to you in Jesus most precious name. Reformed Gospel Fellowship is thankful to God for the privilege to demonstrate faith in the midst of faith-less community. At this point I remember Soren Kierkegaard. “For Kierkegaard, to speak of the story of Abraham’s trial is to speak of the paradox of faith. It evokes both marvel and horror; it’s a story of the immense pain of sacrificing his beloved son and the joy of receiving him back in this life itself. True faith is rare and demanding. Those who claim to have it without experiencing the pain and struggle of resignation deceive themselves. Faith is not merely an aesthetic emotion or simple conviction but a profound spiritual act integrating the finite and infinite. Infinite resignation involves accepting loss and finding peace through personal strength, while faith goes further by believing in the absurd—that despite renouncing everything, one will receive it back through assurance in God’s power.”
These two months we thank God for the many opportunities He gave us to share the Gospel and proclaim His name. Our village churches and evangelists are actively involved to share the Gospel to their neighbourhood. The famous festival “Ratha Yatra” 2024 was in the first week of July. It is a week-long festival and celebrated in the first week of July. We as RGF took a step of faith to share the Gospel to the people during the festival. This time, I was able to share on What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? —a question many believers ponder over. We praise God for the engagement and the good response.
The Independence Day of India, which is celebrated; throughout the Country on the 15th of August every year, holds tremendous ground in the list of national days, since it reminds every Indian about the dawn of a new beginning, the beginning of an era of deliverance from the clutches of British colonialism of more than 200 years. It was on 15th August 1947 that India was declared independent from British colonialism, and the reins of control were handed over to the leaders of the Country. But the genuine question still hangs on in our mind that do we really have a freedom? I am reminded from the scripture while Apostle Paul writing in Galatians, 5:1- Paul reminds the Galatian believers that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Believers’ sins are forgiven on the basis of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Now believers can live in freedom from the law, and they can live in freedom from the consequences and power of sin. The NLT says, “Christ has truly set us free”; believers are “truly free” to live for the things of God. RGF took this opportunity to share that the true freedom Christ has set us free to many educated Hindus.
Rakhis was celebrated on 19th of August. Down through the centuries this festival has been celebrated in all over India. This festival highlights the important relationship between brothers and sisters. On the morning of the festival day, brothers and sisters shall gather together with their families. Sisters tie Rakhis (threads) as a symbol of protection. A group of Asian Christian theologian while writing the commentary for South Asia they emphasized that this relationship is very important. Therefore, we must not ignore. Taking this opportunity, we have taken steps to apply Gospel principle to the festival.
Kindly pray that for our upcoming special outreach in the month of September in Western Part of Odisha on the occasion of Nuakhai. September 7,8 and 9 is our official holiday for this festival. This is an agricultural festival of the people of Odisha. The festival is observed for a month across the state, but it is particularly important in the life and culture of Western Odisha. Nuakhai is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat. The word ‘nua‘ means ‘new’ and khai means food, so this is a harvest festival to celebrate the gathering of the rice crop. Moreover, this time everyone wears new clothes, eat together with family members and relatives, meet everyone forgetting their past grudge. We will have our two outreach teams this time and they will cover 8 districts of Odisha. In October, we will have our regular winter evangelistic work as usual every year. We will carry on our evangelistic work in both the areas. Our evangelists are ready for the outreach work.
God willing January 19 through January 26, 2025 we will have our pastors conference. Professor Donald William (Board member of CPI) and Dr.George Gatgounis (Board Member of Reformed Evangelistic Fellowship) are coming for the Pastors conference in 2025. Professor Donald made his visit in the past and for Dr. George this is his first trip to Odisha. Kindly pray for their preparation for this mission trip. Please pray that God will provide the sufficient funds for our Upcoming Pastors conference.
Many of our house churches having problem due to heavy rain. Pastor Sushanta and Bhagirathi have complained for that. Kindly pray for our house churches, please continue to pray for our continuous evangelistic efforts in this challenging land, this time we have again the Government who are not happy with our progress. In this month the Hindu activist has got together to plan to persecute Christians again. I do not know what will happen to Christians in India. Your prayers are very much appreciated.
In the Olympics, everyone must set our eyes on the prize. May our brothers and sisters in Christ run their races well, winning many laurels. And may we all run the race set before us, striving to hear the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” As I share this thought from the scripture I am remembering Pastor Jim. In the month of August God called him home. Please remember Pastor Jim’s wife Karan Ma’am and their family members in your prayers. The late Pastor George Hutchinson made his first mission trip to Odisha in 2011.
Following his footsteps Pastor Jim made his 6th mission trips to Odisha and he was preparing for his 7th mission trip to Odisha. But he could not make his 7th mission trip to Odisha.
He trained many pastors of Odisha and he will be greatly missed. We have lost one more servant of God and CPI has been losing their Board members.
All the Glory to God. Kindly continue to pray for us.
Please mail your donation to:
Church Planting International,
Po box 836, Gainesville, GA 30503,
Contributions of all sizes are needed and appreciated.
Yours in His Service
Rev.Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP
Ministry update -May 2024
Dear Friends in Christ,
The true motives of ours are to save people’s souls. We want to unite people in Holy Truth, and bring people into God’s love. The primary goal is to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the place where people have not heard the name Jesus. It means just to give everyone the opportunity to hear about who Jesus is and what He did for us and to respond to that. Then to teach those who do respond positively how to obey everything He taught us. We remember the fact that conversion to Christianity is not the work of our hands but a supernatural act.
We have been truly blessed to engage in various programmes throughout the month of May. Here is a glimpse of some of our activities in the field. RGF evangelist travel by bicycles or foot to remote village Odisha sharing the life changing story of Jesus. We have offered Bibles, Gospel packets, message of love to the villagers, helping them to grow in the love of God and ultimately to see the churches in that place. Seeker’s retreats have been conducted in many villages. Primary goal was to help those seekers of the truth and guide them to Christ. We conducted Q and A sessions addressing their doubts and confusion and regarding God’s Grace and salvation. Q and A sessions were well received and all the sessions were eye opening times for many educated Hindus.
There was discussion among participants and breakout into groups. We guided them through some brainstorming exercises and conversations to help them thinking about their experiences with self-help. We then worked them through a special exercise created to help them design an intentional seeking God.
We are proclaiming the Gospel in remote often unreached villages and establishing house churches where believers meet in their houses. We have also built house churches for them as the Lord provides the funds. A local pastor is appointed by RGF to take care of the spiritual needs of these churches, conduct worship and teach. We help the pastors to train and teach to take care the house churches. Local prayer cell groups are set up as neighbours get together for a time of testimony, prayers and listening to the message of Christ.
Thank you so much for your prayers, support and encouragement. We are grateful for your partnership and commitment to the mission of God. Auntie Linda writes to me about your prayers and support towards RGF, India, Odisha. RGF can make lot more impact because of the generosity of our prayer partners. I would value your prayers for our upcoming discipleship classes and training pastors and evangelist, that the Lord’s presence would be very tangible, that all attending would be encouraged to continue to stand firm and that there would be no obstacles and oppositions. Please pray for the state of Odisha. Anti-conversion las has been passed already. For the first time BJP-anti Christian Government is forming the Government. Christians now stand endangered with constant news of violence, attacks and objectionable laws and policies introduced against the Christian community. Religious intolerance is being experienced after the Hindu government has come to power in most of the states. Still, we believe that amidst these discouraging moments, God’s work will carry on when the body of Christ prays together.
Kishan,my student,sometime helped in our driving during conference got marry 22nd of May. Some my students went to the wedding of Kishan. Pastor Jakhaya’s daughter got marry on 24th of May. I had the privilege of attending both the weddinga and bless the couple.
Please mail your donations to:
Church Planting International
PO Box 836, Gainesville, GA 30503
Contributions of all sizes are needed and appreciated.
Yours in His service
Rev, Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Reformed Gospel Fellowship Winter evangelistic work 2022
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With much thankfulness and praise to our living God I take special delight to share how the Sovereign Lord is at work in and through Reformed Gospel Fellowship. As we took our steps out for the winter evangelistic work we believed that the transforming power of God is underneath all that we do in the villages. In India, Odisha, we face aggression from the Hindu organizations who believe that India belongs to Hinduism. All these organization stand against conversion and put the petition in the supreme court. On November 14, 2022, the supreme court reminded the union Government to make its stand very clear on the law against forceful and deceitful religious conversion. While on the other hand the term “Ghar Wapsi” (home coming) has been warmly welcomed when a person converted to Christianity returns to the fold of Hinduism. But above all God is at work and mightily moving in Odisha, India despite global pandemic, opposition and persecution. Jesus is building His Church and we get to be part of it. As we engage in evangelism it is difficult, challenging and costly. But it is worth.
We started our winter evangelistic work in November 1, and on the same day we got a controversial statement by Puri Sankaracharya Swami Nischalanaada Saraswati. He made a statement that “Jesus Christ was a Hindu. He was the disciple of Vaishnava sect. He stayed in India for 10 years, he also added that out of 10 years He stayed 3 years in Puri, Odisha and was in touch with the then Sankaracharya” Some of my friends said this idea is not a new one, many are familiar with such statement, there is no historical basis for the claim and many more. But it certainly confuses the seekers. We considered it as a greater opportunity to explain the true uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Due to the controversial statement, I got privilege to communicate the Gospel to the educated people as they were keen to discuss with me about Jesus being in Odisha, India. It seems like God already planned our winter evangelistic work in eternity is a fruitful one.
We scattered in the villages to share the Gospel, knocked the doors to give them Gospel packets, met people under the tree, in the street, in the market places and shared the Gospel, spent special time in personal evangelism. We were able to conduct many programs in the villages and gathered people to share the Gospel to the villagers. In our village churches, we conducted cottage prayer meeting to encourage fellow believers through prayer, worship, preaching the word of God and gave invitation to the neighbours.
Last two weeks before Christmas we focused on the Christmas narratives and presented the Gospel of our saviour coming to the world for those who do not know this news. It was our clear presentation that Christmas is the festival of everyone to clear the mind-set of Hindus as they assume Christmas is the festival of only Christians. Skits were performed, children were presented a small Christmas gift, to touch people with the Gospel.
The seeds planted by our evangelism often grow into new house churches. We praise God as we see new believers begin gathering in a home in the village for fellowship where people worship God and devote themselves to listen to the word of God. As their community grows, we pray for the Lord’s provision to construct a tin-roof church, and God willing in future a church building.
RGF AS PRAYING COMMUNITY
God has been blessing our humble efforts. I must emphasize that there is an earnest prayer behind the growth of RGF. Prayer initiative is put in the first place to cover all that RGF is doing and standing for. The response from the RGF community is overwhelming. When we do evangelistic work, carry on special outreach ministry, conduct pastors conference and even for our ministerial needs, people in the house churches approach to the throne of Grace. RGF continues to grow as a community to trust God and consistently pray to God. The entire community testifies that praying to God brings tremendous blessings.
PASTORS CONFERENCE IN JANUARY 23-27,2023
God enabled us to have our pastors conference from January 23-January 27 in 2023. Pastor Jim and pastor Jason arrived on 20th of January, visited some of the tourist places of Odisha, preached in the house churches, and taught in the conference. Pastor Jim taught the book of Philippians and Pastor Jason taught introduction to the Reformed theology. We had a wonderful teaching sessions, a time of thanks giving and Holy communion in the closing ceremony. There was a vibrant worship time where the congregation sang songs in four different languages and praised God. Some of the local Christian leaders witnessed this closing service and praised God. Some of RGF pastors received the certificates of “Diploma in Ministry” from Pastor Jim. All the pastors were blessed by the teachings and returned home by praising God. This time we had 90 pastors from 15 districts of Odisha. We thank pastor Jim and pastor Jason for being blessing to pastors of Odisha. We are also thankful to those who prayed and supported for this conference. Above all we praise God such a fruitful conference.
A VEHICLE – GOD’S PROVIDENCE
We thank God for His provision of funds for a suitable vehicle for our ministry. Auntie Linda has informed me about the hard efforts, wisdom and generous donations of many people of God behind getting this vehicle. I want to thank to all the Board members of CPI for their prayers, guidance and support. I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the generous donors for their sacrificial donations towards the vehicle. God knows each one of you for your generous hearts and He will reward you in His reaches and glory.
AS I LOOK BACK…
As I look back, I remember the late pastor George who met me in Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dehradun while I was in my M.Div. final years in 2002. He is the one who not only encouraged me to return back to Odisha for the Gospel work but also, he made his first mission trip to Odisha in 2011. That time I did not realize the significance of his encouragement. Now a day as I share the stage with other influential Christian leaders and stand in front of the crowd to preach the Gospel in Odisha I remember his words and encouragement of the late pastor George and its tremendous impact. He was truly a man of vision.
I also remember the prayerful consideration, continuous support and constant encouragement of CPI Board members and eminent men of God like professor Donald William, Pastor Dewey Roberts, Pastor Jim Romaine who made their mission trip following the footsteps of the late Pastor George. Mission trip of servants of God like Pastor Ted and Pastor Jason will never be parted from my memories. In spite of many differences all of them made their mission trip to Odisha. I am thankful to each one of them for their selfless and capable service in training pastors and evangelist in Odisha. God has blessed their efforts as RGF pastors and other pastors of Odisha are encouraged and challenged to give leadership in their house churches.
PRAYER CONCERNS
Dear people of God, I am convinced that the Sovereign Lord has a great deal to accomplish in and through us. The task ahead is awesome as we work in the midst of strong opposition for the Gospel. We are keenly aware of the fact that we can do nothing alone. We covet your continued prayers. We need you to continue to stand with us, pray for us and help us. Together we can make a difference and do great things for God. Above all we need God to go with us in our challenging journey. We are very thankful to the Lord for His help thus far. He has truly been “Ebenezer” to us. We trust that He will continue to lead us and guide us.
Kindly pray for God’s blessing on our evangelistic effort, favourable situation to preach the Gospel, God’s provision of funds for our summer evangelistic work, RGF pastors and house churches, our new contacts in the villages and intentional discipleship efforts, God’s provision of funds for a piece of land for RGF office and training centre.
Now to Him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise and honour and glory and power forever and ever.
Yours in His Grace
Rev.Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
September Outreach 2022
Dear Friends in Christ.
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With much thankfulness to our living Lord Jesus I am excited to share our special outreach ministry of first two weeks of September. Always I wish to proudly testify with Apostle Paul that God chose me from an orthodox Hindu family to be servant of Jesus Christ for the non-Christians to do the work of a priest in the service of His good news, so that non-Christians might be an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy spirit. (Romans15:15-16)
For this special outreach, our focus was on my friends, neighbors and family members. I considered this time as divine opportunity to touch my own people with the love of Christ because everyone takes out their time from their busy schedule for a cultural festival called “Nuakhai”. In this festival, everyone offers their first crops to the Lord and enjoy wearing new clothes, eating newly harvested foods by the farmers in leaf, greeting each other, fellowshipping with friends and even enemies. This is an occasion for people to lay their differences and start relationships afresh. Remembering again the encouragement from Apostle Paul making the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16) we planned prayerfully to share the Gospel to the unreached.
We had a time of prayers, worship with traditional cultural music and simple Gospel message was shared. I also shared my own testimony of God’s Grace in my life and the transformed life I have been experiencing. Many were surprised, and filled with God’s work. There was also an intentional discipleship time where questions being answered, doubt being cleared and an invitation was given to them to receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
God has blessed our humble efforts. I can see the changes in the minds of many Hindus. My own parents who once closed the house for me opened their house for me, my college friends Lucky, Krushna, Manikya, Champe, Karna, Samarendra who used to argue with me in my college days, now accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
I am sad to let you know the death of Pastor Saul Senapati. He was my wife’s elder brother. He always encouraged me to be faithful in serving God. He attended the classes of the late Pastor George and Professor Donald Williams. Due to his illness, he was bed ridden for years and passed away on August 21. He was an adviser for me and helped me in the registration of Reformed Gospel Fellowship. Kindly pray for his wife and four children.
Thanks to all who have been praying for us. Your prayers and support are indeed a real encouragement for us as we work in the most challenging land of persecution. Thanks to Auntie Linda for all her encouragement who reminds me about your generous donations towards our humble ministry. Thanks to all the CPI Board members for their prayers, support and encouragements. Kindly continue to pray for our upcoming winter evangelistic work in November-December, Pastors conference in January 2023, God’s provision of funds for our ministerial needs specially for a vehicle for our outreach ministry.
May God’s name be glorified and honored.
Yours in His Grace
Rev. Kartik Pal
Romaine India Report June 2022
Ministry Team and Indian Pastors
Dear Friends,
From May 19th to May 30th Dr. Donald Williams, and Church Planting International Board member, and myself ministered to a group of about 40 Indian village pastors who are members of the Reformed Gospel Fellowship in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. This was the ten-year anniversary of God’s faithfulness to the RGF so our concluding service was a time of celebration, thanksgiving, and worship.
Jim Teaching Isaiah Don Teaching Apologetics
Praise and testimonies Serving Communion with Pastor Kartik
Pastor Kartik enjoying lunch!
Thank you for your gifts and prayers that makes this ministry possible. Please continue to pray
for the Indian pastors as they return home to a hostile environment. Pray for them, their
families, and their churches that they will be encouraged by the teaching at the conference.
With thanks,
Dr. Jim Romaine
Church Planting International
PO Box 836 Gainesville, GA. 30503
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP
April 2022
GOD’S PROVISION FOR OUR MINISTERIAL NEEDS
We want to thank God for His provision for our ministerial needs. Thanks to CPI for their prayerful consideration in providing a motor bike for our outreach ministry and metal roofing sheet for five house churches.
Picture below is a house church at Tundel. We have to walk 15 Kilometers from the main road to reach Tundel. Pastor Pravin is pastoring in this church.
Picture below is a house church at Puijhori. We have to walk 20 kilometers from the main road to reach this Puijhori. Pastor Sunarsingh is pastoring in this church.
Kindly continue to pray for us. Kartik
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP, ODISHA
WINTER EVANGELISTIC WORK 2021-22
Dear Friends in Christ,
Happy new year 2022. In spite of many challenges God gave another opportunity to be useful for His glory and for the extension of His kingdom. The Scriptures tell us to “…make the most of every opportunity…” (Colossians 4:5-6). This means for me as an evangelist, always I should be ready to share the Gospel (Ephesians 6:15). Every time I use to share our faith in Christ is of priceless and eternal value. Keeping all these encouragement in the heart we continued our winter evangelistic work.
Programs conducted in the villages to communicate the Gospel
Different programs were conducted to communicate the Gospel. Villagers were touched when RGF Pastors’ children performed dance and praised God. RGF pastors did small skit and showed the significance of accepting Christ as their savior. They emphasized how their present lives in Christ is different from the past. Cottage prayer meeting was conducted specially to touch the neighbors with the Gospel. RGF pastors shared their testimony and encourage to accept Christ. We had a time of worship and prayers in Cottage prayers meeting before sharing the Gospel message. We walked door to door and distributed Gospel packets, spent time in personal evangelism.
This time God gave me opportunity to preach series of sermons from 25th of December till 31st of December 2021, in Gajapati District (south Odisha). 1500-2000 people attended the service. Though there was a restriction by the Government (Permission for 50 persons to attend the service as Omicron is spreading rapidly) yet we had no problem. It was first time for me to preach in front of a huge crowd. I thank God for blessing my humble efforts. I thank God for using such an ordinary person like me for His glory and for the extension of His kingdom.
As apostle Paul frequently used athletic competition as a metaphor for the challenges of Christian life, I encouraged the youth from God’s word at sports youth camp. It was a wonderful platform where crowd who got together to see the match could hear the Gospel message.
Preaching Gospel message at the sports camp, at Kotagaon
I must thank all whose love, prayers, and financial support have encouraged us to share the Gospel in the land of persecution like Odisha. I know each one of you and your generous gift through Auntie Linda. Special word of thanks to CPI Board members for their prayerful consideration, support and encouragement. Without their priceless contribution in every phase of my ministry it would have been difficult to accomplish so much. May God continue to reward you all for all that you have been doing for His Kingdom and Glory. Due to the Covid guidelines and restrictions set by the Indian Government no one from CPI could come to Odisha, India since last two years. We are praying and looking forward the mission trip of pastor Jim, his son and Rev. Steven in near future.
Kartik, Abigail(Glory), Caleb(Prince), Joshua(Josh), Ahalya(Ticky)
As per family, we trust God and live in spites of many needs and challenges. Caleb is in standard 9. He is having online classes and his final exam will be on February 20, 3days before his birthday. In the first week of March his admission for standard 10 will start. Higher the class the bigger the financial challenge. Joshua is also doing well though providing a good care of him is increasingly becoming difficult and a big challenge. Abigail is 2 years now and enjoying her childhood. Ticky is going through treatment for her back pain. She is as usual hard working and faithful in prayers as I continue to serve the Lord. Kindly continue to remember us in your prayers.
All the glory to Him and to Him alone.
Yours in His Grace
Rev. Kartik pal
Refomed Gospel Fellowship,Odisha, India
Kartikpal77@gmail.com
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP, ODISHA
WINTER EVANGELISTIC WORK 2021-22
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Outreach in September 2021
Dear friends in Christ,
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. With much thankfulness and praise to our Living God, I am excited to share about outreach ministry of September, 2021. Surrounded by Thousands of non-Christians(Hindu) community, I take every opportunity to share the Gospel. God opened such an opportunity during our “Nuakhai” celebration on September 11-13. This festival is very much cultural and therefore celebrated by everyone irrespective of religions. Wearing new clothes, eating delicious foods, having fellowship with friends and even enemies, and greeting each other were core parts of this celebration. Remembering the encouragement from Apostle Paul “making the most of every opportunity… (Ephesians 5:16) I planned prayerfully to share the Gospel to my classmates of my school, college and university on our “Nuakhai” celebration of Odisha.
We had a time of prayers and worship. Gospel songs with traditional music touched the hearts of many of my friends. Right after the worship the Gospel message was delivered. Next, we had the time of questionnaire and group discussion. We kept this session as they are eager to learn more about Christian faith. Some of our RGF evangelist joined me and led the worship, I preached and helped in answering their questions. In the end invitation was given to them to receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior. I shared my own testimony and many were filled with wonders at God’s work. God blessed our humble efforts and three of my friends Krushna, Champe, and Manikya gave their lives to the Lord. Odiya New Testament was given to them. God also opened the door for me to peach in one of the ancient churches in Odisha on 19th of September. Church was established in 1833.
Thanks to all Who have been praying for us. Your prayers and support are indeed a real encouragement for us. Auntie Linda often reminds me about your prayers and generous donation for which I am thankful. Thanks to all the members of CPI board for their prayers, support and encouragement. Kindly pray for God’s blessing on our effort, our upcoming Pastors conference and winter evangelistic work. May God’s name be glorified and honored.
Rev.Kartik Pal kartikpal77@gmail.com
June 25, 2021 Update
Rev. Kartik Pal and India have been devastated by Covid-19
CPI supports Rev. Kartik Pal in India and the Reformed Gospel Fellowship. Kartik wrote me on June 12, 2021 as follows:
“Dear Pastor,
Greetings. Thanks for your prayer, support and encouragement. I am also thankful to all the Board members of CPI for their faithful standing with us in our most difficult times.
At present the situation is not good here. We have lost many of our dear ones and many are still struggling. Due to lockdown many people have lost their jobs. Living life has been terribly affected. They are crying out for help. May God open the door of His provision for the desperate. May God raise compassionate hearts and generous hands towards the helpless.
My parents, uncle, younger brother and nephew were diagnosed Covid positive. My uncle passed away already and the rest are going through the treatment. My mother is very weak now.
Kindly continue to pray for us.
Yours in His Grace,
Rev. Kartik”
Covid-19 has been particularly devastating in India in recent months and weeks. CPI will be sending some money to Kartik to help him and others with whom he ministers. Your help is appreciated.
July 2020 Letter from Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
Summer Evangelistic work 2020
Dear Friends,
Greetings. The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is defining global health crisis of our time and no doubt, this is the greatest challenge we have faced since World War Two. The question as a believer of Jesus Christ we must ask at this point is- How are we persevering through this COVID-19 season? Are we hopeful? Expectant? Obvious answer is yes, just because of the Gospel of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. With this affirmative answer let me take special delight to share how we as a small group like RGF in Odisha persevere being engaged to extend the kingdom of God.
It was a great shocking news for all of us when Indian Government declared a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, limiting movement of the entire 1.3 billion population of India as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 pandemic in India. Soon after that we turned to God in prayers for a week long. We approached to God with all our worries. Taking this crisis as an opportunity we turned to our beloved saviour in trust so as to rest in His merciful hands. Along with RGF Pastors many others also joined with us in prayers. I was powerfully led by God to share God’s word from John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it in abundance.” In the context of death, disease, and disappointment words from our saviour brought lots of healing, comfort and peace. It was truly a time of blessing as many souls are comforted, strengthened and encouraged to face the challenges brought by Coronavirus.
Though we were restricted to meet as a group now, yet during the first lock down period we were able to continue our summer evangelistic work in the villages maintaining social distancing as per the order of the Government. By God’s grace sub collector from our district allowed me to travel and I was able to move different places for the cause of Gospel work.
Personal evangelism and cottage prayer meetings were two powerful wings this time to effectively evangelize the people in the villages. Bible study and discipleship classes being carried on. Seeker of the truth were conducted among the college students and Gospel packets have been distributed to them.
On May 21, Cyclone Amphan brought a great fear in the lives of people. However, God in His sovereignty reduced down the strength of the cyclone and it did not land in Odisha. But it just brushed touching the coastal belt of Odisha and landed in West Bengal our neighbour state. While crossing it affected mostly four districts Bhadrak, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and kendrapada. As usual the cyclone bent electric poles and uprooted trees. Nearly 34 lakh power consumers were affected. some of my friends and their family have experienced heavy damage. Their houses have been completely destroyed. One of RGF evangelist and their family (18 members) also experienced heavy damage and destruction. Lives and livelihoods of people tremendously affected by both corona virus and cyclone Amphan. RGF Pastors also have been going through tough time since they are unemployed due to lockdown. With the help of CPI, we were able provide some help to RGF Pastors and some who are in need. Lockdown continues and struggle also intensifies.
Indeed, we live in a very tough and challenging situation. In such situation, it is good to Remember the past and thank the Lord for all His abundant blessings upon us. Particularly I thank God for passionate servants of God like late pastor George, Professor Donald William, Pastor Dewey Roberts, pastor Jim ad Pastor Ted Lester who made their mission trip to Odisha. I draw consistently lots of encouragement from their lives and ministry to be faithful to the task God has entrusted to me. I am thankful to each one specially for their brave step to face the challenges in taking God’s mission ahead in Odisha. More inspiring for me was to see their involvement in teaching and preaching forgetting themselves completely. They were faithful in extending God’s kingdom with full of joy and spirit. They travelled hours by train, travelled by car on rough road, accommodated with different culture and food for the cause of Gospel to spread in Odisha. Now the fact is RGF is growing and at this point it is appropriate to say that without their selfless and capable service, it would have been very difficult for me to accomplish so much in a short time.
This year I wonder whether Pastor Jim Romaine would be able to come for the Pastors’ conference. Situation is very unique where People are still confused at what will happen next. Bus, train and the air travels are still not functioning properly. It is our prayer that Sovereign God will intervene soon and situation will get back to normal state where His kingdom activities will be carried on smoothly. However even in this situation people need Gospel. Realising the need to preach the Gospel we will continue to move as the Lord provides. So, we will appreciate your prayers, support and encouragement.
Kindly Continue to pray for RGF as we make our maximum impact to touch people with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for all our Pastors as they continue to work in the villages and lead the house churches, believers to grow in faith and new the contacts to make decision to follow Christ. Please pray for God’s grace and provision to persevere in this challenging situation. Please continue to pray for Caleb’s study. Due to nation-wide lock down his school is not opened yet and he has been attending online classes. Since he does not have a computer he is having hard time to join regular classes. Joshua’s therapy discontinued since March 22, Abigail is now 6 months old and fine by grace of God. My wife Ticky continue to join her hands in prayers with me as I become faithful to God’s Mission. Now, we want to give all the glory and honour to God for what has been accomplished in and through us.
Yours in His Grace
Rev.Kartik Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
February 2020 Letter from Kartik Pal
REFORMED GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP
PASTORS CONFERENCE & WINTER EVANGELISTIC WORK 2019-2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
No doubt there is a growing hostility against Christianity in India, Odisha at present. However, violence against Christians is not something new in Odisha. I cannot forget the year 1999 when Graham Staines, an Australian missionary and his two sons Philip and Timothy were burnt to death by a group of Hindu fundamentalist in Odisha. Again, in the year 2008, many Christian houses and places of worship were destroyed, Christians were attacked, brutally bitten and killed due to an organized and violent persecution. Strong opposition for the Gospel and persecution have often become part of our lives. Even at present, the anti-Christian Government is taking every step to stop the kingdom activity and making intentional effort to wipe out Christianity from India by 2021. In fact, anti-conversion bill has already been passed in Odisha and we are restricted to enjoy one of our fundamental right “freedom to express our faith”. It is from such a challenging place, the Sovereign Lord saved my life from an orthodox non-Christian (Hindu) family and called me to His ministry in 1999. Initially I did not realize it. But, in 2003, God in His sovereign plan gave me the privilege to meet late Pastor George Hutchinson, who encouraged me to work for the cause Gospel in Odisha. Now I am convinced that it is God who has been using me to touch the people with the Gospel. Therefore, in the very beginning itself I want to thank the Sovereign Lord as I share briefly the evidences of all His work in and through our lives.
Pastors Conference
We had our Pastors conference in the month of November 2019. We are very glad that pastor Jim and Pastor Ted came as resource persons this time. Pastor Jim taught 7 signs of the Gospel of John and Pastor Ted focused on 5 Solas of the Reformation. Both of their teaching was excellent and brought a great transformation in our lives. We had four days of teaching seminar and on the fifth day we had a time of worship and Holy Communion. Pastor Ted shared from the word of God and Pastor Jim helped in administrating Holy Communion. It was a blessed time of service and closing ceremony.
Indeed, it was a great privilege for me to host these two-wonderful men of God and spend time with them not only during the time in the conference but also outside while having conversation with them. Just being with them was so encouraging. Their ministry is truly inspiring and fruit abiding. We all were overwhelmed at the level of conviction and passion we gained through their teaching.
Winter Evangelistic work
We started winter evangelistic work soon after Pastor conference of November and continued till January 15. As usual all the evangelists got together for a time of prayer and planning before going to different villages. Distribution of Gospel packets, door to door evangelism, Open air preaching, personal evangelism were significant part of winter evangelistic work. Cottage prayer meetings, cultural programs, skits, Bhajan and Kirtan (local way to worship), Christmas programs were conducted in many different villages and simple Gospel message was preached.
As we set out to share the Gospel, we met people sometime in the street, under the tree, outside in the field and some other time at home, at the club and at the market place. In spite of local opposition for the Gospel we could see a real hunger and thrust for a Saviour in their lives. Though some religious teachers of Hinduism argued on Christ being the only Saviour of sin, yet they confessed that Jesus Christ is truly the way, the truth and the life.
RGF as Prayer Community
This year all the RGF Pastors committed to pray at least half an hour a day for the ministries in and through RGF, CPI, prayer partners and for all the supporters. We also kept a day of prayer and where pastors and their entire family members spent time in night chain prayers for different concerns of India very specially concerning the strong opposition for the Gospel by Hindu activist as well as by the Government. We have realized that God has been blessings these efforts and help us to grow as a praying community.
Kindly pray for all the house churches, pastors and their family as they continue to touch their neighbors and their surrounding with the Gospel of Christ. Please pray also for our new contacts. Please pray our ministerial needs, especially God’s provision for a piece of land to construct a multipurpose hall which will be used for discipleship classes, pastors conference, RGF office to effectively work at Odisha. Please remember also for God’s provision for our summer evangelistic work in near future from mid-March till May last, 2020.
Thanks
Thanks to all who have been praying and supporting financially towards Reformed Gospel Fellowship. Special thanks to Auntie Linda, Pastor Dewey Roberts, Pastor Jim, Professor Donald William and all the Board members of CPI for their faithful prayers, support and encouragement. We are grateful to Pastor Ted and his church for their rich generosity towards our ministerial needs. I am also indebted a huge amount of gratitude to Mrs. Mary Dorsey, Virginia Strom and their family for their consistent prayers and support.
As per family, all are fine by grace of God. November 28, 2019 God blessed us with a baby girl Abigail (Glory). Friends and neighbors join with us in celebrating the joy of her arrival. Caleb is getting ready for his annual/ final exam. Joshua’s therapy continues. My wife continues to approach to the throne of Grace as I become faithful to what God has entrusted to us. Now we take this time to give Him all the glory, honour for using such an ordinary people like us to accomplish His purpose. Kindly continue to pray for us.
Rev.Kartk Pal
Reformed Gospel Fellowship
2019 Update
I (Jim Romaine) just returned from Bhubaneswar, India. Where I took part in a weeklong seminar with about 40 Indian pastors and evangelists. This was my fourth trip to India and this year Rev. Ted Lester also accompanied me, which made the long trip much more enjoyable. Our host was Rev. Kartik Pal who did a very good job of organizing the conference and finding us a good meeting place and comfortable facilities.
Rev. Lester taught on the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation and I taught on the 7 Signs in John’s Gospel. The lessons were well received and encouraged the men. Rev. Lester taught in the mornings and I taught in the afternoons. Each day, Monday through Thursday, we had two 1 ½ hour teaching sessions each morning and two 1 ½ hour teaching sessions each afternoon. With breaks for tea and lunch. The men also had times of worship and prayer together before breakfast and after dinner each day. After each time of sharing, both morning and evening, the men broke up into pairs and prayed for each other. I believe these times of worship, sharing, and prayer helped build a strong bond between the men and encouraged them greatly.
One of their greatest discouragements is the feeling of loneliness in the face of constant persecution. Bhubaneswar is in the state of Odisha which is the most fanatically Hindu area in India. Several of the men spoke of being attacked by roving gangs of fanatic Hindus who seek to drive them out of their homes.
One of the highlights of the conference was the worship and communion service we celebrated on our last day together. Rev. Lester preached on, “The Whole Armor of God” from Ephesians 6:10-20 and I assisted Rev. Pal with serving Communion.
Rev. Pal and the men thanked us many times for coming to encouraging them and for praying for them. Now the group is preparing for their month-long village evangelism campaign in January. They asked us to pray for their safety and much fruit during this time of ministry.
This trip was sponsored by Church Planting International. If you would like more information about this ongoing ministry, please contact me personally.
Sincerely, with thanks,
Jim Romaine
drjimromaine@gmail.com