Threats of violence forced us to move the baptism service last minute.

Nalpur Baptisms from Seth Jones on Vimeo.

Three years ago I went to India for the first time and I felt God calling me to start churches and schools in areas where no such ministries existed. Since that time a few friends have come along side to expand that vision and take it to a whole new level.  These days God is allowing us to make an unbelievable difference in India, but we really need your help.

We now help run projects in five places around Kolkata, several of which I’ll tell you about in this post. There is so much need in India. Though estimates vary, roughly 50% of India’s 1.2 billion people live on less than $2 per day. Fully, one third of the world’s poor live in India. What you’ll see is that most of our projects are in rural areas, some of them quite remote. With so much poverty, you can go anywhere in India and serve the poor. We focus on areas where no other organization is doing work. These days the rural poor are often neglected. As followers of Jesus, we want the gospel to touch every corner of the world – including every corner of India – in as many ways as possible. For us, that currently means running churches, schools, feeding programs, and vocational training at each of our locations.  Our schools teach bible lessons and Christian morals but we welcome Hindus, Muslims, and Christians to attend – and they all do. In fact, very few of our students are currently Christian.

Last February, we partnered with two churches to expand the work we’d undertaken. One of the pastors of one of those churches, Skyler Goodman of Northwest Family Church in Chicago, traveled with us to India this year. This is what he had to say about the work he saw in India:

“I’m almost ashamed to admit that I had to fly to the other side of the world for God to reach my heart.  Days after returning from visiting the projects in Kolkata, I’m still processing what I witnessed.  God is doing an amazing work in India.  My perspective is still being wrecked.  I’m praying each day that I can see the side of God that some of these people are seeing.  They seem to understand and fully grasp that EVERYTHING IS SPIRITUAL.  They take nothing for granted and are fleshing out the Gospel.  Lives are being changed each day. A generation that was left to fend for itself is now getting a voice.  And it is a loud one!  Seeing what God is doing through them has awakened a desire to do more than just maintain life as usual.  I want to invest in something much bigger than myself.  My perspective is being crushed and I couldn’t be happier!”

Skyler partnered with us last year. It’s not only impacted India, but his life and the life of those in his church. Today, I’m asking churches (and maybe a few individuals) to partner with us in bringing justice, hope, education, and the gospel to hundreds of people currently living in poverty.

Below is a summary of the projects and programs we’re seeking partners for. If you want a chance to change the world, or at least a very small, often overlooked, sliver of the world,  just shoot me an email at pete@crosspoint.tv.

KHALPAR PROJECT – 110 students

Slum in the Salt Lake area of downtown Kolkata. Residents live on less than $1/day.

Basic School and Expanded Feeding Program – $1000/month (education only in Bengali language)

• Sends 110 students to school. Covers teacher salary, school clothes and shoes, school supplies, boarding school fees for 9 students in at-risk situations, spiritual teacher honorarium.

• A significant issue of poverty is malnutrition. Malnutrition not only stunts a child’s physical growth but also their intellectual growth. Studies have shown that malnourished children are, on average, 20-30 IQ points below those who aren’t malnourished. Education is a great thing but the students’ bodies and brains need to be at their best. We currently provide one hot meal per day. We would like to supplement this with daily nutritional drinks which have been proven to help children stay healthy.

Advanced School – $500/month (education in Bengali and English)

• Helps cover salaries for dance, music, art, English teachers. Helps build a small computer lab.

Church and Vocational Training – $1000/month

• Most of the mothers in Khapar work 10 hours a day seven days a week as maids and make about 50 cents per day. This work schedule has thus far prevented us from planting a formal church in the slum. Presently, we hold a bible club on Fridays for the kids and those whose parents are around. Our great desire is to train the mothers in jewelry-making and basket-making so they can gain more income. This would allow us to start a church that would, according to our surveys, be widely attended.

• Covers pastor salary, spiritual materials (bibles and bible study materials)

• Covers cost of jewelry-making teacher, basket-making teacher, sales and distribution, and supplies at the beginning of the vocational training

GHORAGHATA PROJECT – 110 students

Ghoraghata is a small rural village about 1.5 hours west of downtown Kolkata. The main source of income is growing flowers – specifically, china roses – which are used in many Hindu festivals. Ghoraghata is the first project where we created a vocational training program. The women who participate in this program typically work for 3 hours in the flower fields each day and they make an average of one dollar PER MONTH. Through our jewelry-making program, they can easily make that in a day. It’s made a huge difference in the lives of their children who are now eating more and better food.

Advanced School – $500/month (education in Bengali and English)

• Helps cover salaries for dance, music, art, English teachers. Helps us build a small computer lab. Ghoraghata, in particular, has some incredibly bright students whose horizons could be greatly broadened

NALPUR PROJECT – 110 students

Nalpur is a rural village 2 hours west of downtown Kolkata. The Christians in Nalpur are experiencing persecution – both as a church and, for some, individually from their parents. Debasish, a 21-year old university student has been disowned by his family for becoming a Christian and being baptized while we were there. In spite of this, the Friday before we left 20 Hindu families from the village asked for their children to be admitted to our school. Unfortunately, our school is already at capacity. Northwest Family Church in Chicago supports much of this village, but we want to expand our current curriculum and also build another school to accommodate more students.

Advanced School – $500/month (education in Bengali and English)

• Helps cover salaries for dance, music, art, English teachers. Helps us build a small computer lab.

School Expansion – $1000/month

• Helps us hire additional teachers to educate another 100+ kids. Allows us to build another school. Provides one hot meal per day for each of the kids, school uniforms, school shoes, and school supplies.

I would love to answer any questions you may have as well as dream with you about possibly partnering with us on one of the programs above. Hit me up: pete@crosspoint.tv

To be successful at this activity you need one or more of the following gifts or supplies.

1) The ability to act out Bible lessons. You must be very animated.
2) The ability to teach and sing a song with great hand motions.
3) A puppet
4) Crayons and a coloring sheet.
5) A card trick or some other cool illusion such as being able to make it appear that you can detach your thumb from your hand.

If you don’t have any of those skills you better reach deep or your in trouble.

Me and Seth Jones?

We reached deep.

What secret talent can you pull out to keep a kid entertained?

Let me introduce you to Bishal Barik.

This kid grabbed my heart from the moment I met him. Maybe it’s because he’s 8 like my oldest or maybe it’s his contagious smile, but we instantly hit it off. Bishal is a student at the school we’ve started in the Khalpar slum.

His mother abandoned him the day he was born and another family took him in. There were complications with his birth which have left Bishal battling issues with his legs. He walks with a limp and is often in pain after a day of playing outside. He’s in desperate need of physical therapy but obviously that’s just not a reality in his situation. The couple who took him in are both employed and combined make just over one dollar a day.

You’ll have to trust me when I say Bishal is a special kid. When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up he quickly responded, “I want to be a pastor.” I said, “Why do you want to be a pastor, Bishal?” He said, “Well, because I Iove Jesus.”  And boy does he ever! This kid has Jesus written all over him.

Despite his physical hardships and extreme poverty he simply loves anyone and everyone who comes in his path.

His laughter is a sweet sound in a sea of despair.

His kindness is a light in deep darkness.

His joy is a miraculous contradiction in a hopeless slum.

While Bishal dreams of one day being a pastor he doesn’t even realize he’s more pastor than I’ll ever be.

Matthew 22: 37-40
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

How can you love God and people better today?

I haven’t read the book (I do plan on reading it as I think this is a very important topic)  so I’m not really sure where Lupton is going, but he’s already creating some controversy. Apparently he’s in favor of seeing sweeping changes when it comes to American charitable giving.

The news here is painful. Our self-centeredness contributes to the problem. We evaluate our giving, Lupton argues, “by the rewards we receive through service, rather than the benefits received by the served.”

Short-term mission trips are a case in point. Such “junkets” involve expenditures of between $2.5-5 billion annually, yet produce little lasting change, often displace local labor, and distract indigenous church leaders from more important work. We get more than we give when we go.

Meanwhile, our relief-oriented, commodity-based charity flourishes at home because even though its effects are irresponsible, it feels good to the givers. Lupton grieves that “our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency.”

I often get similar questions asked of me when it comes to short term missions. Cross Point takes a dozen or so (and we hope to add many more soon) short term mission trips every year to the Dominican Republic, India, Africa, Honduras and Haiti.

I’m sure there are some people who go on these trips simply to feel better about themselves, but I think overall these trips are very productive. Here’s why:

1) Trips stretch people. Every person that goes on one of these trips is generally stretched beyond their comfort zone. These trips build enormous confidence in people and allows them to more freely trust God in the future.

2) People who go on mission trips tend to  give more. Typically people who go on these short term mission trips are more likely to give financially toward missions. They’ve seen the need first hand and their heart has been softened.

3) People who go on mission trips serve more. I’ve noticed that people who go on international short term trips tend to serve the poor more actively  at home when they return. They don’t use their trip as an excuse to sit on the sidelines as if they’ve met their serving quota. Generally it’s quite the opposite.

4) Trips call people to action. Sure there are people who go on these trips and little to nothing changes, but often it’s a life changing catalyst for them. I could go on and on with stories of people who are now changing the world because of a short term mission trip.

My friend, Rhonda, went to Africa a few years ago and since then has helped us start micro-businesses that are employing women with AIDS.

My friend, Melissa, went to Africa and has since helped start an orphanage.

My friends, Seth and Andy, went to India with me a year ago. Since then they’ve returned on their own and are starting a non-profit that’s going to impact hundreds there in India.

So what do you think? Do short term mission trips make a difference or is it just something we do to make ourselves feel better?

Statistics are not good for these inner city kids. The chance that they’ll get involved in gangs, drug and alcohol abuse, crime, and a slew of other destructive lifestyles is pretty high.

For many of them, the focused attention of Preston Taylor volunteers on a consistent basis is the most positive influential presence they will have over the course of their childhood. Now that is powerful.

Many of you have heard me talk about my lunch buddy Ledarius. We’ve been having lunch for years now and I can honestly say it’s one of the best investments of my time that I could ever make. We don’t even like read the Bible or do anything particularly spiritual, we just hang out. But over time God has formed a special bond between us that I pray will only get stronger over the years.

I’d like to challenge you today. If you live in the Nashville area, would you step up and invest in the life a PTM child who desperately needs to believe he/she is valued, loved and destined for greatness?

We need about 10 more lunch buddies and several after school tutors and I believe we can fill these slots today with your help in spreading the word or answering the call.

If you’d like to start volunteering with PTM shoot Ryan Bult our missions pastor an email at Ryan@crosspoint.tv and he’ll make it happen. Can’t wait to see what God is going to do here!!

I’m really excited to tell you about a new movie premiering this October. It’s called 58 and it’s  the inspiring true story of the global Church in action. Witness bravery and determined faith in a journey from the slums of Kenya to the streets of New York. Confront the brutality of extreme poverty and meet those who live out the True Fast of Isaiah 58 and create stunning new possibilities for the future.

Travel from the sun-scorched plains of rural Ethiopia to British shopping centers, from Brazilian ganglands and the enslaving quarries of India to western churches, businesses and conferences.

58: invites audiences to discover the incredible work of God through His people in our hurting world. Meet ordinary people, hear their stories, and see their struggles and their victories as 58: shows the relentlessly loving God at work through His Church bringing hope to the darkest challenges of our day. Experience eye-opening reasons to lift our expectations of the future.

So here’s the scoop:

I really want to encourage you to go HERE to request a complimentary screening kit for your church or group. There are a host of resources, photo galleries, and tips on planning and promoting available to you immediately.

And I just found out I get to extend a really cool offer to you guys. You can now also attend one of the 50 premiere event screenings happening in theaters nationwide. Just go HERE to register and use the access code: PETEWILSON to get your tickets.    

Check out this trailer:

Introducing God Behind Bars

This ministry is the real deal and if you’ve been looking for something to support, get involved with or pray for, you definitely want to check this out.

God’s prompting of the founder, Jake Bodine, and the skyrocketing number of incarcerated men and women in the United States has led directly to the creation of this one of a kind prison ministry.

Here are some of the features of what makes God Behind Bars unique:

• Unique four-step strategy that will allow a person to have full life change instead of some life change.

• Partner with churches and faith-based organizations to stream live, dynamic, high-quality worship experiences into prisons all over the world.

• Online campus called “Church With Inmates” that allows the families of prisoners to see and experience the same service that their loved one is watching from inside the prison.

• Intentional about family reunification through outreach ministries such as their promising new children’s ministry “Project 22”, a ministry focused on providing children of inmates with a safe place to live and restoring the child and parents relationship through biblical principals.

• Next-generation aftercare program that pledges to walk with and care for each former prisoner who completes the three prerequisite steps. Among some things that will be provided initially by the ministry are temporary living quarters, groceries, gas, a cell phone, clothes, employment training and placement.
  

This video tells the story of God Behind Bars. To get involved or learn more, click on one of the links below.

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My new addiction, thanks to Blake Bergstrom, is Geo Hive. This site is full of interesting international statistics like the following graph…

I’ve blogged a lot about our ministry in India but this one simple graph explains why I think it’s so important to have a thriving ministry there.

Where did you go on your last mission trip?

This past Saturday over 700 volunteers showed up for Serving Saturday, a regular opportunity we offer as a way to get out into the community of Nashville and serve the surrounding ministries, schools, churches and organizations that need some TLC. 700 volunteers!  On a Saturday morning in the dog days of  Nashville summer heat! I’m not so much surprised because that is what makes Cross Point, Cross Point.  I am just so incredibly grateful for the way God is moving in the hearts of the people around here and the relationships we’re building with folks in our community who might not expect an outpouring of love. It’s what breathes life into the the words of Jesus:

“Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment..” Mark 12:31

Every person counts, every pair of hands, young or old, weak or strong; every spirit, every heart in every condition, every path.  Together we make a difference.

Thanks to Ryan and the entire team for pulling off such an incredible day. The community of Nashville is uniting like never before through God’s willing and faithful servants. For more information on any of the ministries we partnered with and served, or to see how you can join with us, visit here. To check out  more amazing photos from the day go here.

We CAN end poverty.

While I think most people like the idea of fighting poverty when it’s convenient, I seriously doubt many of us actually think it’s beatable.

What if I told you I believed it is possible for the Church to end extreme poverty in our lifetime?

What If I told you I believed it is time for our low expectations in the church to change?

I know the statistics are staggering and at times overwhelming but here’s the amazing news: extreme poverty is ending. In just 25 years the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has been cut in half. (52% to  26%)  And every statistic is showing momentum toward zero in our lifetime.

There’s an awesome new movement called 58.  I don’t know if you saw the USA Today article on this Monday, but I’m so excited this is getting national headlines. It’s not about coming around a brand but under the only banner that really matters – the name of Jesus Christ. And so we are coming together.

Do me a favor and check this out.  Just CLICK here for more information about 58.  “Like” the facebook page and then RT this post. Let’s see if we can’t get behind this as a community.

We CAN end poverty.