Sword & Trowel 2015: Issue 1
witnessed to him. He survived the fi nal stages of the war in which thousands of Tamils were killed or maimed. After the war ended he evan- gelised the jungle area where he now lives, and a church was begun with Pastor Jeyakanth’s help, meeting under the shelter of a large tree. To start with he lived in a nearby lorry container, moving later to a simple dwelling beside the church. We formally opened their fi rst church building, and a number of local Hindu dignitar- ies attended the thronged service and heard the Gospel. Many children were present, Sunday Schools being a feature of all the churches we visited. The church which was pastored by Rajendran, killed in a road accident, is now overseen by Pastor Mahen- dran and has congregations of 3-400 on Sundays. Their outreach includes compassionate work for the local vil- lagers, and the provision of means of income for widows. The church’s fi rst very small building still stands close to the present premises, a silent testimony to the blessing of the Lord. Schools, pre-schools and an orphanage have been established by
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Pastor Jeyakanth, and take in children from all religious backgrounds. His own church at Thampalagaman, the fi rst of the present Lanka group, is now overseen by Pastor Kanna, and also sees congregations of about 400. A confer- ence on the charismatic
movement, arranged for the churches in the Trinco- malee area, was thronged by 500 people.
While the pastors and 14
believers spread the Gos- pel energetically, they lack the tools we take for granted. The number of reformed commentaries
and books in Tamil is very small, and Pastor Jeyakanth is trying to accelerate a translation and printing programme. In the meantime, Trincomalee Grace Baptist Bible College meets one day each month, and a pastors’ conference meets three times each year to provide instruction on doctrinal and pastoral topics, the lectures being recorded for the use of the men.
Long queues of people wait to see
Pastor Jeyakanth during his visits, in- cluding pastors facing diffi cult issues in need of his advice. There is an urgent need for him to spend an increasing amount of time in Sri Lanka to over- see the work, especially in view of the passing of his deputy leader, Pastor Rajendran.
15 page 24 Visit to Sri Lanka
(13) & (14) The children’s home at Six- Mile Post – the girls/boys ready to depart for school. (15) A fl edgling church near Pastor Yogarasa’s in the jungle.
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