After Odisha Gospel Camp [Nov 2020] by Pastor Anil

Greetings, in the name of Jesus Christ! I thank our Lord and praise Him for having this opportunity to share my testimony regarding this Odisha Gospel Camp that took place from 24th to 26th of November 2020.

I am so thankful to God that He has allowed me the privilege of hosting and teaching during the Camp. I have never imagined before that I would be able to share and to preach as a Gospel Camp speaker. However, this time, God has allowed me to share the authentic Gospel with His people in the remote place through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Although we all have been praying for the Gospel camp and youth participants, I was not sure what will happen because I have never been to Odisha before. Besides, I was also worried about Pastor Nakul, who was the host in Odisha, that how he would manage the ministry since he was a very young minister in his early twenties.

Surprisingly, through the Holy Spirit, Pastor Nakul has not only done an incredible job as a host but also in his interpretation from English to Odia language. Furthermore, I had a chance to witness how God was leading him to do wonderful ministry in his region. Despite a harsh environment where there is no network for internet connection, no petrol stations within 100 kilometers, surrounded by hills and mountains, which made it very difficult to reach out to villagers and his church members, he was passionately serving the Lord.

Foremost, I was thankful that the Holy Spirit touched youths during the Gospel Camp and how the power of the Gospel made them not to be ashamed of proclaiming their own Gospel before others and to God.
Even though I have gone through six Gospel Camps already, I had many doubts in my mind regarding how all the participants of the camp would respond when they were challenged to proclaim their own Gospel.

I was praying to God that they would not be intimidated and filled with fear but filled with His perfect love that would cast out all the fear and the dominion of darkness. Once ‘My Gospel’ time came, by His grace, the Holy Spirit prepared their hearts to glorify the Gospel without any fear nor hesitation. And I was able to confess that it was solely the complete and perfect work of God.

There were so many genuine confessions and testimonies they have made. I want to share a few of them:

1) In the Gospel Camp, there were two brothers and their father was also present in the time of ‘My Gospel’. This would have been very difficult for these two brothers to share their own Gospel in front of their Father. When the time came to proclaim their Gospel, I have noticed the older brother standing at the stage and sharing his Gospel. Without any fear and shame, he shared how he was profaning and blaspheming God by indulging himself in watching pornographies and chasing after girls as a nominal Christian. Although his father was a pastor, born in a Christian family, gone to church all his life, he confessed that he was not a genuine believer. However, during the camp, he experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in renewing his heart and transforming his life. He proclaimed that he would live for the Lord and that he is set free from all kinds of addiction, including watching porn and shopping for brand-name clothing. He became a new creation in Christ Jesus.

2) There is another story of a brother. For the past two years, he was struggling with adultery and he could not overcome it. Because of this, he ended up leaving the church. Somehow he was drawn to the Gospel Camp when he was invited and he happened to join the meeting in the end. After listening to the series of lectures and experiencing the power of the Gospel, he has confessed that everything was His grace. Although he went to many church meetings and trained in programs, he was not able to encounter the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ. Boldly he proclaimed that God has transformed his heart and he offered himself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

3) Lastly, I want to share one more story of a sister. Although she had her upbringing in a Christian family, she was letting herself into temptations of sin and worldly things. Over time, these past experiences made her more frustrated and made her feel as if her entire life is a total failure of God. The more she strived to change her life by attending church all the time, the worse she has gotten. As a result, she was living a double life hiding her miserable side from other people by wearing a mask. As she listened to the lectures on the Gospel, she realized that she could not overcome nor be victorious with her power. So she began to seek and anticipate the power of the Gospel. Although there were many distractions and doubts in her mind, she started to witness the power of the Holy Spirit. In the evening session of the first day, the Holy Spirit came upon her and transformed her whole heart. She was not only set free from all kinds of addictions but also she was able to dedicate her life and the whole heart to the Lord as a new creation.

Through Odisha Gospel Camp, God has transformed everyone’s life by changing their hearts altogether. Most of the Christians in the village were enticed to the prosperity gospels due to their living conditions and poverty, however, this Gospel Camp made them realize the true heavenly blessing of God through Jesus Christ supersede that of earthly blessings that they were once desperately seeking before. When many youths came to me and shared their hearts to pursue God alone, I was so glad and thankful for how God changed their lives. They no longer seek any other things because God alone and God Himself is enough in their lives.

All of these things are what the Holy Spirit has done in Odisha. All Glory to God. Thank you, Jesus!

In Jesus,
Anil