EFM Kolkata ministry started in 2003. In the beginning there were five fellowships in Kolkata’s slum area. I used to live in a slum, and I saw there was no one to preach the good news. There were 3,000 slums in Kolkata and God gave me a burden for the slum people. I prefer to do ministry in the slums.
God blessed our ministry. It started growing. First from Kolkata to Malda, then Gosaba Island, the orphanage, and then a few more districts in the state of West Bengal. At present we are working in eight districts. We have twenty-two churches and around eighty house churches. We hope and pray that these house churches will be full churches in near future.
In 2014, we started the ministry in the state of Uttarakhand. It is in extreme North India. Now we have four churches there. Two ministers are working there along with some volunteers. In this state we have two full churches and around forty house churches.
Altogether we have thirteen full-time ministers and eleven honorary ministers. God is so gracious to our ministry.
Apart from the church ministry, by God’s grace, we could start the following ministries:
- FBTI: “Friends Bible Training Institute” is for the young people of Friends Church. It is a one-year course and each year we take ten students from different districts of West Bengal. We have two Bible Training Schools: One in Kolkata among the Bengali speaking people and the other is in Uttarakhand among the Hindi speaking people. Together, 27 young boys and girls that benefit from this course.
- Children Project: In 2019, we started the Children Project in four districts of West Bengal. Each center has forty to sixty children attending and many more are waiting to join. They learn the Word of God and do their school homework. The teachers visit the homes of the children, pray for them, and invite them to our fellowships. Some miracles happen in these projects and all projects have made an impact in the neighborhood. Praise be to God.
- Women Empowerment Project: We have a church in Murshidabad district among the neighbors. The people are very poor and illiterate. The women are very much neglected because of their poverty. We started a tailoring school in that area and ten poor women come to learn about tailoring. With these skills, they will be able to support their family and impact the society. Praise the Lord.
- Business Training Program: We also have a business training program to support pastors and evangelists. They take the business training and then receive a grant for a small business which allows them to earn money.
- Red-light Area Ministry: We have a ministry among the prostitutes in Girish Park, Kolkata along with Inologic. In 2006, a New Zealand couple started a business to help prostitutes transition into a normal life. They run the business and we are responsible for the spiritual side of the girls. The name of the project is “Love Calcutta Arts.” By the grace of God, many girls have come to a normal life and few of them have come to Christ. Some of them are married and having families. Every Wednesday, my wife Choity goes there and conducts a Bible study and fellowship. Praise God for his abundant grace on these girls.
- Natural Calamity: This year we had a massive cyclone named BulBul. It destroyed the villages in the coastal area. We have ministry in three villages in that costal area. The names are Gosaba, Bali, and Nazatt. Many people lost their houses including our believers. By the help of Dan Cammack, our Executive Director, we were able to help 42 families. We gave them asbestos and bamboos to rebuild their houses. Thanks to the Lord and thanks to Dan Cammack and the EFM Board.
- We sent a small amount of money to support Emmanuel Hostel (an orphanage). They do not have enough support to run the hostel and we also do not have enough to give them. So, we are giving a small amount every year. Our Gosaba Friends Church is in the hostel campus.
- Almost every year, there is an addition of one or two churches within our ministry. We give importance to start more house churches, and our ministers are working hard for that. I am thankful to God for the ministers for their faithfulness and commitment to the task.
- Regular Function: Each month, we have our monthly meeting. We gather together to learn the Word of God. We share the blessings of God in our midst and thank him together. We spend the time in prayer for our needs, for each other problems, for our children, and for our states of West Bengal and Uttarakhand where we have ministry. Our country, India, is going through a difficult situation and we pray for the leaders of our country. God is in control and we believe he will take care our country.
K. & Choity Sarkar
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