‘The Lord is doing great things’
Growing ministry in Namakkal
During October 2023, GBM’s good friends Hanson and Jocelyn Manova visited the UK, joining us at Annual Mission Day. We were also delighted to welcome them to Mission Centre in Abingdon, when we heard more from them about their lives and ministry in Tamil Nadu
My wife Jocelyn and I have been blessed with two children. Our daughter, Amy, is thirteen years old, and our son, Hudson, is eleven. I am currently pastoring the Tamil Baptist Church in Namakkal, since my dad, Pastor Stanley Jones, passed away last February. I also teach at the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Asia Christian Academy in Hosur. I used to teach Church History, Greek and New Testament, but because of my workload with the church I am limited to teaching hermeneutics and homiletics now. We have more than 150 students across our master’s and doctoral programmes, coming from different parts of India and a few from other Asian countries.
During the week, Jocelyn works with kids with autism at Ray of Hope Autism Centre. The staff are mostly Christians, so they always pray together and work with a mission mind to reach the parents with the love of Christ.
We go to Namakkal each weekend. On Friday evenings we have a cottage meeting. On Saturdays we visit people, especially those who need immediate attention—like if someone is not coming to the church or is sick. Some days we will have a meeting for the pastors in the Namakkal area. On Sunday we have the regular church service, Bible study, youth meeting, and a different programme on Sunday evening. This could be a women’s fellowship, a men’s meeting for prayer, a couples’ meeting, or a singing night.
Jocelyn and I have a desire to get more involved in the society, to help them understand the love of Christ. As a church, we would love to buy a small piece of property in Namakkal and develop an old-age home. We have seen many old people abandoned by their families, living on the streets and begging. Using Jocelyn’s skills, we would like to start a daycare centre for children who have special needs. We would also love to start a small church-based Bible training programme where we can equip future church leaders.
Namakkal is one of the least Christian districts in India—with less than one percent Christian. But we have gospel work going in many villages—including churches at Sendamangalam, Kolli Hills and Kakkaveri from the time of the SBM missionaries. We restarted work in Irukkur and Srinallikovil. We have a ministry in Puduchatram and other villages where new churches were planted in the last twenty years.
Tamil Nadu is relatively peaceful and has a government that is not against Christians. But the central government is very pro-Hindu. The constitution gives freedom for everyone to practice our religion and to proclaim our religion. So officially, nobody can stop us or harm us—but unofficially there are persecutions all around. We used to have open-air meetings and village outreaches, which we are not able to conduct now. Sometimes when we go to a village people will say, ‘You’re not supposed to preach Christianity here. Please go away.’ But if we have a believer in a particular village, we will have prior meetings there, open for others to attend. Through building relationships, we try to share the gospel.
I would like to thank Grace Baptist Mission and the churches associated with GBM. Your prayers, love and support are not in vain. The Lord is doing great things in India, and we hope that some of you will visit us to see the fruit of the labours of your faith.