A June, 2016 Evangel Magazine

June, 2016

EVANGELISM: THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD Pastor John Varughese ACENSION MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN EVANGELISM Shibi John

Introducing Pastor John and Shibi Varughese

The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30).

Evangelism is the need of the hour. The Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly emphasized on the need for soul winning and discipleship even to His last minute on Earth (Mark 16: 15).A parting word is the most important thing in a man's heart. He accomplished the work of redemption on the

Cross of Calvary, and He left the work of witnessing for the salvation of lost souls in the hands of believers while He supports them with His presence. Every believer therefore, is called unto the ministry of soul winning. A soul saved, is a soul rescued from eternal punishment in Hell.

Pastor John Varughese

People perish everyday through various disasters, and other means.

Apostle Paul says that the preaching of the gospel is foolishness to them that perish, but to us who believe it is the wisdom of God. As believers, it is imperative for us to take evangelism very serious if indeed we love the Lord and the work of His kingdom.

No one does the work of God wholeheartedly with passion in vain. The book of

Mark 16:15-18 says, 15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Isaiah 52:7 says, 7How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! For as much as this is a commandment of God. John 15:14 also says, 14Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

May God give us the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, for populating the kingdom of God on earth. (AMEN)

These are the days of Harvest. Ascension Ministries disciples men and women in Biblical doctrine and evangelism that focuses on church planting in the unreached areas of India. AMI's vision is to train native missionaries from various languages and plant churches among various language speaking people groups of India.

For more information of Church Ministry, email at amimissions@gmail.com

The Old Testament speaks of several women who dedicated their time, homes, vocation, and unselfish service to God's church, setting an example for today's women.

Indeed, the Scriptures recognize that in Christ and thus in His service, men and women are of equal value (Gal. 3:28).

Elizabeth, mother of John

Throughout history, men as well as women have made important contributions to the progress of God's cause in different ways. Consider some biblical examples.

Jesus' earthly ministry was supported not only by the 12 male disciples, but also by several women disciples who followed Him and served Him actively (Luke 8:1-3).

Deborah, the prophetess,

On the Resurrection morning, it was to Mary Magdalene that Jesus first appeared.

Thus God gave her the privilege of announcing the immensely important news of the Resurrection to the disciples (Jon 20:11-18).

led Israel through decisive battles and judged God's people wisely, resulting in 40 years of peace and freedom from the Canaanites (Judges 4:4-7).

Huldah, a messenger of God, delivered the word of God to Josiah even when the message was not a pleasant one (2 Kings 22:14-20).

the Baptist, was filled by the Holy Spirit and announced to Mary that the Child she was carrying would be the Savior of the world (Luke 1:39-45).

Anna, a prophetess, saw her faithfulness and devotion to God rewarded when she saw the Child who would be the Redeemer (Luke 2:36-38).

Then there was Dorcas, who defined the compassionate concern involved in the

Shibi John gospel proclamation. Paul's ministerial partners included several women, some of whom are named in Romans 16.

Philip the evangelist had four daughters whom the Holy Spirit used to prophesy, supporting the mission of the infant church (Acts 21:8, 9).

All these biblical examples indicate not a token role for women in the church, but a vital contribution woman can and must make in the life and outreach of the church.

There are 600,000 villages in India that still remain unreached. India's population is 1,161, 869,000 and the total number of people groups are 2,500 and out of it 2,190 people groups are unreached with the Gospel or do not even have any single church or missionaries. In most of the villages, people have no place to worship, they come together under a tree or a small shed to worship God. Our Gospel team takes the Gospel to these villages and presents the truth through tract distribution, film evangelism, medical help, literacy programs, children ministry etc.

Widow Ministry: 27

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.� James 1:27.

The widows gather in various places and times for prayer, teaching and worshipping God. We support the widows by providing them with food, financial help, clothing and meeting their spiritual needs.

Outreach Winning souls for eternity at any cost! The Lord has given us a specific call and vision "...to bring HOPE in the hopeless lives!" JESUS is the only HOPE for the world and every human being needs to know this and experience the glorious HOPE in Christ.

The sad fact today is that the millions are still without salvation and are heading on a hopeless pathway... they need to be told, or else they will be lost for eternity...We as Evangel Outreach, an evangelistic wing of Ascension Ministries Intl., realize our role and tremendous responsibility to make JESUS known to the world around us, and have the passion to share the gospel to win souls by every possible means.

We want to be a Missionary Movement!

We have a goal to plant churches in every district/cities of every states and union territories of India reaching out to the unreached places and communities. Presently, we are focusing on the cities/districts /villages of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, New Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan etc.

Project Requirements 1. Requirement of Literatures: Gospel Tracts, Bibles etc‌ 2. To own places for worship in the Slums, Villages, and Towns 3. Motor Bikes for Missionary families 4. Four wheelers for the Evangelism Team.

Pastor John Varughese Evangelistic Outreaches

Partnership We say 'you stand with us' because without you ...... we couldn't do thus far!

You do what we do: As a Partner with Ascension Ministries, you can help plant churches among the unreached, feed, clothe, rescue, visit, and share the Gospel with many around the world.

Whatever work we do - your prayers and financial support are helping reach millions of unreached souls across the world with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to be a Covenant Partner? PARTNERSHIP is 2 or more people frequently working together toward one common goal. Your partnership is a decision to financially and prayerfully support the many activities of Ascension Ministries.

Where does the Money go? We commit to use your donations we receive in the areas where they are needed most and can make the greatest impact. We hope you know that your partnership is making everything we do possible; and, we understand it is a big decision to donate your money to us.

Stand with us… Thank you for prayerfully considering partnering with us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring relief to the many who are crying out for help.

Become a Covenant Partner: As a Covenant Partner of Ascension Ministries, you have the unique opportunity to participate in the exciting, mighty harvest of souls taking place around the world. Your seed of any amount, sown in the soil of this ministry, will bring a harvest to your life over and over again as you please our Precious Master, Jesus, by helping to win the lost of this world.

What a privilege it is to serve Him during these exciting times! God is accomplishing great and mighty things, and that is why I want to personally invite you to become a Covenant Partner so that together, we can fulfill the Great Commission and win the lost in His mighty name.

As a Covenant Partner, not only will you be making an impact around the globe, but when we minister to the unreached, you are there with us. When we go to the unreached places of India and other nations through Outreach and crusades, and when we see thousands of men, women, and children weeping as they accept Jesus in their lives, and added to God's Kingdom, you will be blessed with an eternal harvest for the seed you have sown.

Jesus said: “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” (John 4:36). That's why we count it such a privilege to share these ministry opportunities with you. We encourage you to prayerfully consider becoming a Covenant Partner as we move forward during the coming days and months to fulfill God's Great Commission.

From India to the most remote rural areas of the world, Pastor John's Ministries remains faithful to the call.

Be a Miracle Partner Today!

The Vision/Mission of Ascension Ministries has a God ordained mandate to impact the communities. We are called to take the Gospel to the lost, disciple people, plant churches in the unreached areas of India and other parts of the world, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, minister to the elderly, widows and orphans, and reach out to people of all ages and in all walks of life.

We teach people how to apply Biblical truths in every facet of their life and influence others who are living around them. (See Mathew 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-47; Acts 4:3235) With the prayers and the support of our brothers and sisters in the Lord around the world, we reach out to every unreached area and present the Love of God to the people. Our Goal is to reach every unreached people group, every language of India, and other countries with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.