GLOBAL BANJARA BAPTIST MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC: Form 990EZ, tax year 2019
View the entire original 990 at ProPublica ↗
- Organization
- GLOBAL BANJARA BAPTIST MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC (EIN 26-2493387)
- Tax period
- 2019-01-01 to 2019-12-31
- Filed
- 2020-07-27
- IRS object ID
- 202032099349200503
- Schema version
- 2019v5.0
- Source
- Download XML · Original 990 at ProPublica
Every field in the e-filed return. Faint text is the IRS element name, for citing.
Return header ReturnHeader
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Return | 2020-07-27T06:21:16-07:00 | ReturnTs |
| Tax Period End | 2019-12-31 | TaxPeriodEndDt |
Preparer Firm PreparerFirmGrp
Preparer Firm Name PreparerFirmName
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name Line1 | Targeted Services PC | BusinessNameLine1Txt |
Preparer US Address PreparerUSAddress
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Address Line1 | 709 Clay Street Suite 102 | AddressLine1Txt |
| City | Fort Wayne | CityNm |
| State Abbreviation | IN | StateAbbreviationCd |
| ZIP | 46802 | ZIPCd |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Return Type | 990EZ | ReturnTypeCd |
| Tax Period Begin | 2019-01-01 | TaxPeriodBeginDt |
Filer Filer
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| EIN | 262493387 | EIN |
Business Name BusinessName
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name Line1 | Global Banjara Baptist Ministries | BusinessNameLine1Txt |
| Business Name Line2 | International Inc | BusinessNameLine2Txt |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name Control | GLOB | BusinessNameControlTxt |
| Phone | 2547495468 | PhoneNum |
US Address USAddress
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Address Line1 | PO Box 248 | AddressLine1Txt |
| City | Leo | CityNm |
| State Abbreviation | IN | StateAbbreviationCd |
| ZIP | 46765 | ZIPCd |
Business Officer BusinessOfficerGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Person | Willie Gomez | PersonNm |
| Person Title | President | PersonTitleTxt |
| Signature | 2020-07-27 | SignatureDt |
| Discuss With Paid Preparer | Yes (true) | DiscussWithPaidPreparerInd |
Preparer Person PreparerPersonGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Preparer Person | Patricia Oppor | PreparerPersonNm |
| PTIN | P00234243 | PTIN |
| Phone | 2602033121 | PhoneNum |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | 2019 | TaxYr |
| Build TS | 2020-11-19 02:30:22Z | BuildTS |
Form 990-EZ IRS990EZ
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Method Of Accounting Cash | Yes (X) | MethodOfAccountingCashInd |
| Website Address | www.gbbmi.org | WebsiteAddressTxt |
| Organization501c3 | Yes (X) | Organization501c3Ind |
| Type Of Organization Corp | Yes (X) | TypeOfOrganizationCorpInd |
| Gross Receipts | $166,555 | GrossReceiptsAmt |
| Info In Schedule O Part I | Yes (X) | InfoInScheduleOPartIInd |
| Contributions Gifts Grants Etc | $156,333 | ContributionsGiftsGrantsEtcAmt |
| Investment Income | $4 | InvestmentIncomeAmt |
| Cost Or Other Basis Expense Sale | $0 | CostOrOtherBasisExpenseSaleAmt |
| Fundraising Gross Income | $0 | FundraisingGrossIncomeAmt |
| Special Events Direct Expenses | $0 | SpecialEventsDirectExpensesAmt |
| Gross Sales Of Inventory | $10,218 | GrossSalesOfInventoryAmt |
| Cost Of Goods Sold | $1,205 | CostOfGoodsSoldAmt |
| Gross Profit Loss Sls Of Invntry | $9,013 | GrossProfitLossSlsOfInvntryAmt |
| Total Revenue | $165,350 | TotalRevenueAmt |
| Grants And Similar Amounts Paid | $104,940 | GrantsAndSimilarAmountsPaidAmt |
| Fees And Other Pymt To Ind Cntrct | $5,591 | FeesAndOtherPymtToIndCntrctAmt |
| Other Expenses Total | $13,215 | OtherExpensesTotalAmt |
| Total Expenses | $123,746 | TotalExpensesAmt |
| Excess Or Deficit For Year | $41,604 | ExcessOrDeficitForYearAmt |
| Net Assets Or Fund Balances BOY | $65,457 | NetAssetsOrFundBalancesBOYAmt |
| Net Assets Or Fund Balances EOY | $107,061 | NetAssetsOrFundBalancesEOYAmt |
Cash Savings And Investments CashSavingsAndInvestmentsGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| BOY | $65,457 | BOYAmt |
| EOY | $107,061 | EOYAmt |
Form990 Total Assets Form990TotalAssetsGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| BOY | $65,457 | BOYAmt |
| EOY | $107,061 | EOYAmt |
Net Assets Or Fund Balances NetAssetsOrFundBalancesGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| BOY | $65,457 | BOYAmt |
| EOY | $107,061 | EOYAmt |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Exempt Purpose | To support the community service, agricultural and humanitarian aid projects of Global Banjara Baptist Ministries in India, through organization, training and fund raising in the United States of America. | PrimaryExemptPurposeTxt |
Program Srvc Accomplishment ProgramSrvcAccomplishmentGrp (2 entries)
| Description Program Srvc AccomDescriptionProgramSrvcAccomTxt | Grants And AllocationsGrantsAndAllocationsAmt | Foreign GrantsForeignGrantsInd | Program Service ExpensesProgramServiceExpensesAmt |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBBMI funded 160 scholarships to Aletheia Banjara School (ABS), which classroom teaching and extra-curricular activities. Please see Schedule O. | $114,740 | Yes (X) | $104,940 |
| Social Welfare: Through Global Banjara Baptist Ministries in Hyderabad, India, GBBMI provides medical, vocational and other support to the Banjara People. Please see Schedule O. |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Program Service Expenses | $114,740 | TotalProgramServiceExpensesAmt |
Officer Director Trustee Empl OfficerDirectorTrusteeEmplGrp (9 entries)
| TitleTitleTxt | Average Hrs Per Wk Devoted To PosAverageHrsPerWkDevotedToPosRt | CompensationCompensationAmt |
|---|---|---|
| Willie Gomez | ||
| President | 10.00 | $0 |
| Todd Ewing | ||
| Vice President | 1.00 | $0 |
| Srinivasa Naik Khethavath | ||
| Ex Officio | 10.00 | $0 |
| Marcia Whitehorn | ||
| Scholarships | 15.00 | $0 |
| Jungium Park | ||
| Advisor | 0.25 | $0 |
| Benny Cherry | ||
| Advisor | 0.25 | $0 |
| Morris George | ||
| Advisor | 0.25 | $0 |
| Robert Crandall | ||
| Advisor | 0.25 | $0 |
| Russel Daws | ||
| Advisor | 0 | $0 |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Activities Not Previously Rpt | false | ActivitiesNotPreviouslyRptInd |
| Chg Made To Orgnzng Doc Not Rpt | false | ChgMadeToOrgnzngDocNotRptInd |
| Organization Had UBI | false | OrganizationHadUBIInd |
| Subject To Proxy Tax | false | SubjectToProxyTaxInd |
| Organization Dissolved Etc | false | OrganizationDissolvedEtcInd |
| Form1120 Pol Filed | false | Form1120PolFiledInd |
| Made Loans To From Officers | false | MadeLoansToFromOfficersInd |
| Tax Imposed Under IRC4911 | $0 | TaxImposedUnderIRC4911Amt |
| Tax Imposed Under IRC4912 | $0 | TaxImposedUnderIRC4912Amt |
| Tax Imposed Under IRC4955 | $0 | TaxImposedUnderIRC4955Amt |
| Engaged In Excess Benefit Trans | false | EngagedInExcessBenefitTransInd |
| Tax Imposed On Organization Mgr | $0 | TaxImposedOnOrganizationMgrAmt |
| Tax Reimbursed By Organization | $0 | TaxReimbursedByOrganizationAmt |
| Prohibited Tax Shelter Trans | false | ProhibitedTaxShelterTransInd |
| States Where Copy Of Return Is Fld | IN | StatesWhereCopyOfReturnIsFldCd |
Books In Care Of Detail BooksInCareOfDetail
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Person | Targeted Services PC | PersonNm |
US Address USAddress
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Address Line1 | 709 Clay Steet Ste 102 | AddressLine1Txt |
| City | Fort Wayne | CityNm |
| State Abbreviation | IN | StateAbbreviationCd |
| ZIP | 46802 | ZIPCd |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 2602033121 | PhoneNum |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign Financial Account | false | ForeignFinancialAccountInd |
| Foreign Office | false | ForeignOfficeInd |
| Donor Advised Fnds | false | DonorAdvisedFndsInd |
| Operate Hospital | false | OperateHospitalInd |
| Tanning Services Provided | false | TanningServicesProvidedInd |
| Related Organization Ctrl Ent | false | RelatedOrganizationCtrlEntInd |
| Transaction With Control Ent | false | TransactionWithControlEntInd |
| Political Campaign Acty | false | PoliticalCampaignActyInd |
| Lobbying Activities | false | LobbyingActivitiesInd |
| School Operating | false | SchoolOperatingInd |
| Trnsfr Exmpt Non Chrtbl Rltd Org | false | TrnsfrExmptNonChrtblRltdOrgInd |
| Part VI Of Comp Of Hghst Pd Empl | NONE | PartVIOfCompOfHghstPdEmplTxt |
| Part VI Hghst Pd Cntrct Prof Srvc | NONE | PartVIHghstPdCntrctProfSrvcTxt |
| Filed Schedule A | Yes (true) | FiledScheduleAInd |
Schedule A IRS990ScheduleA
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Public Organization170 | Yes (X) | PublicOrganization170Ind |
Gifts Grants Contri Rcvd170 GiftsGrantsContriRcvd170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Current Tax Year Minus4 Years | $198,107 | CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus3 Years | $174,546 | CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus2 Years | $174,840 | CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus1 Year | $177,864 | CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt |
| Current Tax Year | $156,333 | CurrentTaxYearAmt |
| Total | $881,690 | TotalAmt |
Tax Rev Levied Orgnztnl Bnft170 TaxRevLeviedOrgnztnlBnft170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $0 | TotalAmt |
Govt Furn Srvc Fclts Vl170 GovtFurnSrvcFcltsVl170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $0 | TotalAmt |
Total Calendar Year170 TotalCalendarYear170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Current Tax Year Minus4 Years | $198,107 | CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus3 Years | $174,546 | CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus2 Years | $174,840 | CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus1 Year | $177,864 | CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt |
| Current Tax Year | $156,333 | CurrentTaxYearAmt |
| Total | $881,690 | TotalAmt |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Substantial Contributors Tot | $25,586 | SubstantialContributorsTotAmt |
| Public Support Total170 | $856,104 | PublicSupportTotal170Amt |
Gross Investment Income170 GrossInvestmentIncome170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Current Tax Year Minus4 Years | $66 | CurrentTaxYearMinus4YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus3 Years | $2 | CurrentTaxYearMinus3YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus2 Years | $2 | CurrentTaxYearMinus2YearsAmt |
| Current Tax Year Minus1 Year | $5 | CurrentTaxYearMinus1YearAmt |
| Current Tax Year | $4 | CurrentTaxYearAmt |
| Total | $79 | TotalAmt |
Unrelated Business Net Incm170 UnrelatedBusinessNetIncm170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $0 | TotalAmt |
Other Income170 OtherIncome170Grp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $0 | TotalAmt |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Support | $881,769 | TotalSupportAmt |
| Public Support CY170 | 0.97090 | PublicSupportCY170Pct |
| Public Support PY170 | 0.92640 | PublicSupportPY170Pct |
| Thirty Thr Pct Suprt Tests CY170 | Yes (X) | ThirtyThrPctSuprtTestsCY170Ind |
Schedule B IRS990ScheduleB
Contributor Information ContributorInformationGrp
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Contributor | RESTRICTED | ContributorNum |
Contributor Business Name ContributorBusinessName
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name Line1 | RESTRICTED | BusinessNameLine1 |
Contributor US Address ContributorUSAddress
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Address Line1 | RESTRICTED | AddressLine1 |
| Address Line2 | RESTRICTED | AddressLine2 |
| City | RESTRICTED | City |
| State | RESTRICTED | State |
| ZIP Code | RESTRICTED | ZIPCode |
| Field | Value | IRS element (for citing) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Contributions | RESTRICTED | TotalContributionsAmt |
Schedule O IRS990ScheduleO
Supplemental Information Detail SupplementalInformationDetail (8 entries)
| Form And Line ReferenceFormAndLineReferenceDesc | ExplanationExplanationTxt |
|---|---|
| Grants and Similar Amounts Paid In Excess of $5,000.3 | | Donee's Name: Compassion Ministries | Cash Amount Given: $104940 |
| Other Expenses.1002 | Office Expenses $1627 |
| Other Expenses.1003 | Information Technology $15 |
| Other Expenses.1005 | Travel $9785 |
| Other Expenses.1007 | Conferences, Conventions, and Meetings $1395 |
| Other Expenses.1 | Unclassified expenses $393 |
| Part III, line 28 (continued): | GLOBAL BANJARA BAPTIST MINISTRIES, INDIAANNUAL REPORT 2019 Funds raised by Global Banjara Baptist Ministries International support Christian education and outreach carried out by Global Banjara Baptist Ministries (GBBM) in Hyderabad, India. GBBMs activities in 2019 are summarized as follows. The year 2019 has been a very rough year for me, my family, and all at GBBM & ABS. Our three children (Sharron, Aaron, and Joy Naik) met with a house fire accident in Collierville, TN-USA on the night of December 23, 2018 which took four lives including the host mother. This has changed the lives of Sujatha, my wife, and I forever. God is Gracious in comforting and supplying us with necessary daily strength to cope with the situation. In spite of this devastating situation, The Lord God has been Faithful in leading and using us as an Organization for His Kingdom's work throughout the year. Though Sujatha and I weren't able to go out much, all of our committed staff members continued the work very faithfully.School Project - Aletheia Banjara School:Vision Statement To develop passionate leaders who are adequately equipped academically, socially, physically, and spiritually to influence the world for Christ. Mission StatementAletheia Banjara School offers Christ-centered education in a nurturing atmosphere which enables its students to develop their talents to their fullest potential for service in all areas of God's Kingdom. We know that every individual student is a unique image bearer of God, and we don't let any of them fall through the cracks. Our students thrive here both in the classroom and in many extra-curricular activities. Aletheia Banjara School (ABS) is a landmark in Gurrapu Thanda and was inaugurated in July, 2009. Pastor K. Srinivas Naik was born in Gurrapu Thanda where there was no school. He had to go to a school far away from his house. Pastor Naik was a recipient of a Government Merit Scholarship, which enabled him to join a reputed Government Residential School in Hyderabad. He successfully completed 10th Grade. He desired to become an engineer after completing the pre-university course. During his study, Pastor Naik met with a Christian family who supported his studies and introduced him to church and ultimately lead him to accept Jesus Christ and become a Christian. Pastor Naik did not forget his past and fellow-Banjara children who neither had proper education nor were aware of the truth that Jesus Christ is the savior. The Banjara were engrossed in weird superstitions and animistic beliefs. They were illiterate, nomadic tribes, very backward and economically weak. He realized that it was all because of a lack of education that the community remained down-trodden. Pastor Srinivas Naiks association with Global Banjara Baptist Ministries (GBBM) helped him draw their attention to this remote village. GBBM felt that education would be a powerful tool for the economic and social uplift of the community, and more importantly it would enable them to reason and to understand the Gospel. With a clear vision from God, and unflinching faith in Him, GBBM laid the foundation for its first school on 4 Dec 2005 at Gurrapu Thanda. ABS has successfully completed ten academic years and is in the middle of its eleventh year. The School has introduced many unique features for its students, which no other school in the district has. These are apart from the regular activities that a school should have. Let us briefly discuss some of these features. The school continued in 2019 to encourage education for girls; emphasizing English; taking high school students on educational tours; conducting science fairs; conducting competitions in literary activities; teaching students how to maintain health and hygiene; providing safe drinking water, providing a power-packed drink at 10:10 AM & nutritious mid-day meal for lunch; mentoring through character building classes; promoting eco-friendly environment by planting thousands of trees in the locality; observed Indian Republic Day, Independence Day, Teachers Day, Children's Day, Christmas Day and many other special days.Praise God for Continual Plentiful Water: Rainfall in this drought-prone region is insufficient and the last three years have been dry. The bore-well which was drilled at the school in 2016 with the help of a generous donor from Fellowship Bible Church, Waco, TX is supplying sufficient water for the needs of the school. We praise God for that. We remember how much suffering there was in the past due to dried bore-wells.Boarding Facilities: At present, we have 95 boarders in the School. They are being accommodated in classrooms and sleeping on the floors. During this academic year, nearly 100 students left the school due to lack of boarding facilities. It was a sad moment for both students and parents to leave the school. Due to continuous drought in the region, parents of the students were constrained to put their children in boarding schools in order to migrate to other places in search of livelihood. To arrest this trend, ABS would like to provide boarding facilities to at least 200 students. ABS is looking for donors to provide 100 2-tier cots (beds) and 200 mattresses. Construction of Teachers Quarters: An amount of $20,000 was granted against the Water Melon Project for construction of teachers quarters at ABS in 2016. We have laid the roof for the first floor for four sleeping quarters. We still need $30,000 to complete the construction of the first floor. We needed to finish construction of at least the first floor as soon as possible to attract better teachers to join ABS. We are praying and waiting on God to provide funds for last four years.II. Health: Medical Camp at ABS was conducted as part of an annual medical screening of all students at Aletheia. General checkups, eye tests, ear cleaning, and dental checkups were done on every student. Medical & Awareness Camps were conducted in several regions where GBBM is active in ministry. HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns helped many victims to get treatment and counseling. Thirty (30) individuals are receiving regular medicines for HIV/AIDS. III. Farmers Training: Mr. C. V. Abraham, one of the Board Members of GBBM India, has been a great blessing to the small and uneducated farmers. Seminars, field visits and help with phone services were provided to over 200 Banjara farmers in four regions.IV. Church Planting: The loss of Pastor Naik's children has affected all families including missionaries. It took several months to get over the shock. Except for a few trainings, and regular weekly worships services, nothing took place during the first half of 2019 for new church planting.Christmas Celebrations: Staff Christmas, Regional Christmas Celebrations, United Banjara Christmas Celebrations for Banjara Pastors and families were conducted.Christmas Party Clubs: Christmas Party Clubs were conducted with the help of Child Evangelism Fellowship (India), an international organization 80 years old. Over 7,000 children participated in this program from over one hundred villages. The Christmas Story was shared with all of the children. Snacks and refreshments were served.V. On-going Training for Rural Leaders: GBBM is striving to equip the pastors, evangelists, Church planters and leaders of numerous village churches with various levels of training and imparting practical knowledge to them. Teams and individuals who visited India during the reporting period: Under the leadership of Mr. Larry O'Malley, a team from Harvest Church of Memphis visited us in first week of February, 2019. Over 100 leaders from various churches atteneded. President Dr. Jim Kirchner and another Bord Member of Global Assist (Formerly Kingdom's Harvest International) of Lincoln, NE visited India. A Partners Summit was conducted in New Delhi in August, 2019. The Team had also visited Aletheia Banjara School and few villages.GLOBAL BANJARA BAPTIST MINISTRIES Key areas for Growth 2019# of Villages covered 207Total # of persons heard the Gospel 34626a. # of persons heard the Gospel for the first time 15337b. # of persons heard the Gospel for more than one time 16864# of persons accepted Jesus Christ 540# of children reached through Children Clubs 2040# of worship centres attending less than 10 Believers 64# of worship centres attending more than 10 Believers 55Total # of Believers attending worship in a week 1552Offerings collected from January to December 2019 in Indian Rupees1,83,923# of Second line Leaders 74# of new worship centres 16# of Baptisms 140 |
| Part III, line 28 (continued): | II. Health Medical & Awareness Camps were conducted in several regions where GBBM is active in ministry. HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns helped many victims to get treatment and counseling. Sixty-eight (68) individuals are receiving regular medicines for HIV/AIDS, four HIV positive children were admitted in a special boarding school meant only for such candidates.III. Farmers Training Mr. C. V. Abraham, one of the Board Members of GBBM India, has been a great blessing to the small and uneducated farmers. IV. Church Planting: As in the past few years, the Global Banjara Baptist Ministries (GBBM) efforts to win souls from the Banjara Community is becoming more and more challenging. The present government is craftily enacting laws to decimate Christianity. To appease the majority religious communities towards polarization for political gains, the authorities in power are supporting fanatic groups. The Indian populace is so polarized now that it is becoming very difficult to publicly preach the Gospel. The uncertain and hostile environment is making it very difficult for GBBM to achieve its goals. The pastors and evangelists, having tasted the joy and the benefits of salvation, are continuously witnessing to the Banjara and others. The events in various parts of the country are very disturbing. Even the media is gagged and the news of attacks on Christians have literally disappeared from the TV, newspapers, and e-media, etc. The present situation is very disheartening and creating terror and immense fear among the pastors and evangelists and dissuading them not to venture into areas where the Gospel is yet to spread. The incidents of brutal and continuous attacks on Christians in many parts of India, especially Odisha, and forcefully reconverting the hitherto converted Christians to Hinduism is deterring those who are willing to accept Jesus as their personal savior. They are afraid that someday even they will have to face such hostile situations. We commend the GBBM evangelists and Church planters who bravely are upholding Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel to the unreached in spite of untoward situations. The results may not be great, but hard work and efforts against the vehement opposition is noteworthy. GBBMs work is based upon four principles: Reaching (sowing the seed); Discipling (help to follow Christ); Leading (equipping/training); and Transforming (encouraging to reach others). Reaching: GBBM works amongst Banjara Community in four states of India: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The Banjara people are very conservative and inhabit remote villages called thandas. They give a lot of prominence to their religion, religious customs and culture, and perform their religious festivals fervently and with zeal. GBBM pastors and believers and their families too inhabit these thandas and frequently face threats and attacks. The Government is extending sops, such as free education, government jobs, and hostel/boarding facilities to students, etc., to Schedule Tribes, which includes the Banjara Community, as well. In a few, states if anyone becomes a Christian, he/she tends to lose these benefits. These are the major hurdles that the GBBM is experiencing in all Banjara villages. It should be taken into consideration that our pastors work under these adverse conditions where it is not easy to convince a non-believer to accept Gospel. But these circumstances do not deter our pastors to shirk their responsibilities of spreading the Word. GBBM work is spread in 195 villages. 31,478 persons heard the Gospel and 866 have accepted Christ as their personal Savior. This we consider a major achievement under the present political situation and concerted efforts of the anti-Christian elements who time and time disturb and discourage the Banjaras from knowing the truth. Discipleship: Banjara are very sensitive and religious people. Religion had always been a bone of contention and they never allowed anyone to interfere and influence them with regard to religion and religious practices. Open preaching of the Gospel is met with opposition and attracted physical attacks. A better way of communicating with them is the man-to-man approach. Even this approach is met with suspicion and resistance, but to some extent is successful. Some of the believers who accepted Jesus Christ are baptized and trained to become disciples. When the Banjara believers come to know the truth they become very staunch Christians and strive to share their salvation experience with others. These disciples leave everything that they possess and take up the cross. GBBM has many such disciples who reach out to the Banjara Community and win souls. One hundred and forty four (144) believers have been baptized. Leading: The literacy rate among the Banjara is very low. Many of our believers cannot read or write. Those believers who are literate are picked up and trained to share the Gospel and help in worship services. GBBM recruited Harvest Church of Memphis, Tennessee and Kingdoms Harvest International (KHI) to help train the pastors, evangelists and church planters. A brief report is given under the heading On-going Training for Pastors and Leaders. Transforming: GBBM has a wonderful plan of shaping a believer into a fisherman. The three steps (reaching, discipleship and leading) leads to transforming. It is a painstaking effort to change a believer into a fisherman, i.e., a fisher of men. GBBM has been very successful in this aspect and there are many dedicated and sincere servants of God who involve a believer and help him/her take steps to reach this level. V. On-going Training for Rural Leaders GBBM is striving to equip the pastors, evangelists, Church planters and leaders of numerous village churches with various levels of training and imparting practical knowledge to them. Harvest Church of Memphis is sending three teams a year to help in this area. Kingdoms Harvest International (KHI) and few other individuals also are helping GBBM in the training. |
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