Worship leader Pa Vumsuan read out Romans 15:5-6 and the worship team led the congregation in singing hymns of praise to the Almighty. Mass prayer by the congregation followed.
Pastor Lamkhanthang welcomed the congregation and first timers to the church service and spoke a blessing over them. He said that it is a great blessing for the church to be a launch pad for Niksram and Enkhamson who are going as missionaries to Gambia. He challenged the congregation and especially the youths in Delhi to respond to the command of Jesus to go and preach the gospel to the world. He expressed his desire that everyone may be able to say like Isaiah, ‘Here I am Lord, send me’. He reminded the congregation that there are various ways to take steps to respond like financial support to missionaries, praying for them and physically going out as missionaries. He also said that he is looking forward to sending youths from Delhi as missionaries to other countries. He then called upon Niksram and Enkhamson to share their thoughts with the congregation, one after another.
Sharing by Niksram
Quoting the bible verse on how beautiful the feet of those who bring the good news are, he informed the congregation about his background. Hailing from west Garo Hills in Meghalaya, he belonged to the Garo Baptist Church. There are eight members in his family. As Christians, his parent tried their best to lead him in following God’s law but he was naughty and stubborn as a child. His parents sent him to Sunday school and he went as a means of escaping from doing household chores rather than with a deep desire to worship God. In his teenage years, he grew more stubborn and indulged in drinks and smoking weeds but his parents never gave up on him. He praised God that through his parents’ prayers, he is able to stand here today.
In the beginning of 2015, he started dreaming strange things. His dreamt about dark powers and fighting with the devil. One dream that he can’t forget was while he was standing in the middle of a crowd, a lion came and attacked the people around him. He related the dream to the verse in 1 Peter 5:8 which says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Sensing that the dream was from God, he started to change his ways. He repented of his sinful ways and shed tears asking forgiveness from God and his family. It was hard for him in the beginning. But he prayed and sought the Lord. A desire to worship God with his people arose in him. Though his trousers were torn, he went to church wearing it knowing that God sees the heart and not what we wear. From then on, he stated to worship God whole heartedly.
In 2019, he attended a training course in NECTAR, Shillong where he learnt about Islam. The Holy Spirit works in him to develop a compassion for the muslims. He made a decision to work among the muslim community. He wanted to go and work in Bangladesh. In 2021 while doing a Missionary course at UCTM in Dimapur, he was informed of the opportunity to go to Gambia in Africa. He never thought that he would be going to Africa but he knew that God called him to go there, a muslim country where he wanted to go. He thanked the congregation for their support and encouragement and requested them to uphold him in their prayers so that he would stay committed to God, no matter what.
Sharing by Enkhamson
Giving a brief background about Gambia, a small country in Africa, he informed that Muslims constitutes 96% of the population while Christians and traditional beliefs/others made up the rest. As per the age-group breakdown in 2018, majority of the population are youths with 37 % under 15 years, 29.3 % under 15-29 years and 19.2% under 30-44 years. He talked about how it is a great opportunity for missions and shared his burden to train up the children/youths who can later on, work in their own country.
Quoting Matthew 28: 18-20, he reminded the congregation about the great Commission given by Jesus Christ. He said that if we don’t obey it, there is the danger that we will be held accountable for the blood of the non-believers. But if we do the work Christ commissioned us, He promised us a reward in Heaven. Just as God told Ezekiel, we are the watchman for the non-believers around us. He also urged the congregation to be a follower of Christ who gave us the great Commission and to think about how He humbled Himself and came down from heaven to die for us (Phillipians 2). Human authority, earthly glory and worldly things are temporary and are nothing compared to Christ. He invited everyone not to let worldly things hinder them but to take higher steps to bring the lost souls to Christ in whatever ways they can.
Speaking on the need to serve God with our talents, he said that people in Delhi can let their life preach the gospel rather than by their lips at the workplace and in their dealings with non-believers. Through their life, they can let others see that God is trustworthy and dependable and thus lead the lost souls to Christ. He urged everyone to realize how fortunate they are to have Christ and take steps to let the non-believers see Christ in them through their words, actions and way of living for the glory of God.
Presentation of a special number by Nu Florence Sonkim followed.
TBUC Chairman H. Kamsuanthang challenged the congregation on what their response was and is going to be to the great Commission given by Jesus Christ. He said that the Book of the Act of the Apostles does not end at Chapter 28. Chapter 29 is being written now and everyone can have a part in it. It is up to each one on how their works for Christ will be written. Giving God praise and glory for giving EBCC Delhi the opportunity to be the launch pad for Niksram and Enkhamson just as the Antiokh church was for Paul and Barnabas, he urged everyone to heed the still small voice and bring out offerings/gifts for the two missionaries as a first step towards fulfilling the great Commission given by Jesus Christ. Thereafter, the congregation came one by one and put their offerings/gifts on the cloth spread out and held by the members of the Missions Committee. Ordained elder T. Tuanmuanthang dedicated the offerings to the Lord.
Led by the worship team, the congregation sang the last hymn and ordained elder T. Thiankhanmuan closed the service with a prayer and benediction.
