Enoch inline chris prayingPastor J. D. Enoch leads Faith Baptist Ministries, which is headquartered in Bangalore, India, and has an application pending to join the International Partnership of Fundamental Baptist Ministries as a partner. Landing in Bangalore, Chris Hindal, director of Regular Baptist International, spent the first three of 16 days in India, ministering to this association’s churches and pastors.

Chris preached Sunday morning at Faith Baptist Church, founded by Pastor Enoch, in Devanahalli, a Bangalore suburb. Enoch told Chris, “I am not interested in building a big church, but rather starting churches in the villages throughout the entire region.” Over the past 22 years, God has used Pastor Enoch through others to start 109 churches that presently meetenoch inline scarf with pastors in their own buildings. In addition, 571 house churches meet regularly with pastoral leadership. Today more than 20 churches that are connected to Faith Baptist Ministries circle Bangalore.

On Sunday evening Chris preached the gospel at an open-air service in the village square of Puttaparthi to about 100 people seated on tarps. At the close of the service, the pastor invited all the women to come to the front, and Chris handed each one a scarf.

Monday morning, 100 pastors gathered at Faith Baptist Church in Devanahalli for a brief meeting. Chris spoke three times, first from 1 Peter 5 on the challenges of pastoral leadership, secondly giving a PowerPoint overview of the ministries of the IPFBM, and finally from 1 Timothy 1 on the profile of a warrior. Pastor Enoch said he invited only those pastors who lived “fairly close by.” However, several traveled 300 miles, and one group came from 500 miles away. Most of the pastors from smaller distances arrived on motorcycles.

Enoch inline sitting on tarpTuesday morning, Pastor Enoch took Chris to a gathering of 50 people at a village church, meeting under a tarp and tree. This church is entirely made up of the lowest caste of untouchables. The pastor in that village, himself an untouchable, ministers in 68 villages. That morning after Chris preached the gospel, six young women and two men trusted Christ as their personal Savior. Pastor Enoch led each one in a prayer of faith. That evening Chris spoke to a small church of about 25 in a remote village. The building has no lights, and, as is typical, the people sat on the floor with only a couple of candles lighting the room. The darkness of the room was overcome by the light of truth as Chris spoke from Colossians on the description of saints.

Pastor Enoch has made it a practice over the years to make friends in high places. He makes appointments with newly elected officials and presents them with new Bibles. On Monday and Tuesday evenings Chris and Pastor Enoch had dinner in the personal residences of two high-ranking officials. One is a professing Christian and the other is a Hindu.