Missionary Monday
Serving
Helping
Indigenous
Ministries
Serving Christ by Helping Indigenous Ministries in India and Myanmar.
Chad and I are extremely blessed have a strong Christian heritage. On the first installment of Missionary Monday last week, I shared about my Pa-paw and today I am honored to share with you the ministry Chad’s grandparents – Norm and Sharron Monroe – have built over the last 25 years. (If you are a pastor, small group leader or Sunday school teacher – please take time to read about this ministry. It is a worthy investment!)
While living in Minnesota in 1991, a pastor friend, Dr. Roger Peterson, approached Grandpa Monroe with the opportunity to go to India on a short-term trip to teach in a Bible college. Feeling the Lord’s call to go, Grandpa Monroe took his first trip to India January 1, 1992.
For three years, his trips consisted of teaching in the Bible College and building relationships with local pastors and believers. In 1995, he began preaching in evangelistic meetings, flying to towns and villages throughout the surrounding areas, in addition to teaching in the Bible College.
Since that first trip, he has taken 64 trips to India – that averages out to 3-4 trips per year! This year, Grandpa Monroe turned 80 years old, yet he says he feels more like 40. He attributes his health and stamina during these frequent, long trips to the Lord (and maybe a little to Grandma Monroe’s muffin’s and workout regimen : ).
Here is more of my interview with Grandpa Monroe:
Stephanie: What is the heartbeat of your ministry?
Grandpa Monroe: Obedience to the Great Commission is the heartbeat of the ministry. The purpose of my trips to India the last 25 years has been to evangelize the lost, edify the believers, establish churches and to equip STRONG and STEADFAST students to be SKILLFUL servants of Christ.”
Acts 14:21-23 states:
“ And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”
In training local pastors and leaders, we seek to carry out II Timothy 2:2:
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
In one of his most famous speeches during WWII, Winston Churchill called on America, saying:
“Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.”
We cannot do the work of the local pastors and believers in India. We work with indigenous people to teach and equip them to reach their own people with the gospel of Christ.
Stephanie: What’s something the Lord been done in your ministry lately?
Grandpa Monroe: One of the biggest needs of for the local pastors is funds to help some of these rural pastors purchase small plots of land on which to put up small buildings for worship. Many Indian people will not come to a house for Bible studies. Through generous donations of some of the individuals here in the States, we have been able to supply three local pastors with funds to help them in this process.
Stephanie: How can we pray for your ministry?
Grandpa Monroe: For the pastor and believers in India the greatest prayer is for their safety. In 2008, militant Hindus killed approximately 100 Christians and burned down countless churches. Thousands of Christians were displaced, so to this day because it is unsafe to return to their villages. While the constitution technically allows the freedom of religion, believers still face great persecution. Accepting Christ and being baptized in the Hindu culture means a believer will be disowned from their families, lose their jobs and be cut off from society.
For Grandma and I, just pray for our continued good health to carry on this work.
Stephanie: How can people donate to your ministry and partner with you?
Grandpa Monroe: We pass on 100% of the donations we receive directly to the local pastors in India. Having retired as an Air Traffic Controller with the Navy, we are blessed that we do not need to keep any of the funds for living expenses or operating costs. We are simply a conduit to organize and funnel resources from God’s people here to the believers there.
An ongoing gift of $100/month, can support a local pastor in India. Typically, a foreign missionary family needs $80,000-$90,000 a year of support to stay on the field. For just $100/month we can support a local pastor to reach his own people.
In addition to needing funds for land and church buildings, Bibles are needed. They cost about $3 each in local languages purchased in India.
We are also happy to travel to churches to share our work and more about our ministry. To schedule us for a missions conference or service at your church, to give to our ministry or to receive our newsletter, people can contact me directly here.
Grandpa & Grandma Monroe are extraordinary examples of how age does not define our ability to serve in the kingdom of God. I pray that many of your will partner in this work!