Dear Beloved Brethren,
Greetings in the most exalted name of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.
Praise and thank God for you and your witness and participation in the growth and development of the Church. As the Psalmist declared, “The Lord has done great things for us, where of we are glad” (Ps 126:3). Surely the Lord has done great things for us.
The Baptist Church Hyderabad, which started as a house Church with a faithful few forty years ago on 14th December 1969, has now grown into a mega Church with a membership of 21026 worshipping in four different languages, Telugu, Banjara, Hindi and English. As on date the Church has 109 branch Churches, 540 preaching points and a staff of 150 full-time Pastors, Church- planters, Hospital-Chaplains, Evangelists and Office staff and workers (23 in the main Church, 100 in the Outreach, 23 in HBT and 4 in Baptist Centre-India). 16,739 persons have been baptized since 1969. Truly it is a Miracle of God. You are part of the miracle with awesome responsibility. While the first decade (1969-79) was a period of establishment, the second decade (1979-89) was a period of expansion; the third decade (1989-99) has been a period of Evangelism. With the commencement of the fourth decade of its witness and ministry on 14th December 1999, the Church has now entered into a period of “equipping” the saints. As part of the “Vision 2010”, the equipping of our members is considered as the most important aspect.
During the forty years of witness of ministry of this Church, our Lord enabled us to develop three-fold ministry through the Baptist Church Hyderabad (1969), Hyderabad Baptist Trust (1991) and Baptist Centre India (1993) having several activities; such as Sunday School, Youth, Women and Men Fellowship, Outreach and Church Planting, Counseling and Follow-up, Witnessing and preaching, Institute of Evangelism, Prayer Tower Ministries and Praising and Worshipping through Church; Orphanage, Old Age Home, Hyderabad Baptist School, Medical Ministry to cater both physical and spirituals needs of the community through Trust. We have T.V.Ministry titled “Arunodayam” (Day Spring) on every Saturday from 6:00 am to 6:30 am through Teja T.V. Channel, Miracle Net Channel on every Monday from 7:00 am to 7:30 am and also in Subhavaartha Telugu Family Channel on every Wednesday from 10:00 pm to 10:30 pm. Especially the 10 projects in Baptist Centre India is to serve our people in the New Millennium with a Vision and Mission to bless our nation through Multipurpose activities for His glory and for the extension of His Kingdom.
As your Pastor, I pray for you and encourage you to be partner in the ministries of our Church by your prayers, presence participation and partnership of every one, every gift and every day as it is found in the early Church.
Every one in the Church must become a living witness. Because unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (Eph. 4:7)
Every gift of the spirit must be used to equip the saints. No child of God can say that I have no gift. The Bible says that, “To each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for common good” (I Cor. 12:7).
Every day of our life must be planned to win souls. The early Church has a programme to win souls daily. The Bible says “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts. 2:47).
This must be supported by living and giving. As you are abound in every thing, even excel in giving.
So unless we involve every one, every gift and everyday, we cannot reach our country men with the gospel of JESUS CHRIST. Thank you for willing to be a partner in the divine commonwealth. God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Dr. G. Samuel
Senior Pastor
Baptist Church Hyderabad.