Update from Pastor Suresh Purra in India [August 2024]

Pictured above: Pastor Suresh Purra with his family in Hyderabad, India.

Dear FFBC Friends,

Greetings to you all! It is always a joy to share the updates. We are thankful to our God for His love and care in our lives; we also praise His name for everything.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Eph. 1:3)

It has been a while since our last letter. We want to thank you all for your continued financial support and prayers.

We as a family are doing well. Prathibha is great in taking care of us. Our two daughters, Susan and Suhana, are busy with their school; they are now in 7th and 5th grades.

As I have shared earlier, my father, Pastor Yesu Rathnam, passed away on June 17th. It was a great loss for me personally. Our hearts were broken as he was my mentor and great help in the ministry. I am going to miss his advice and prayers; he was 74 years old. Please pray for my mother.

It is always a blessing to teach the word of God! I am preaching from 1 John on our regular Sundays. Presently we are in the second chapter. It is so rich; I am learning so much while I prepare for every Sunday. People are very connected to the Word. God’s Word transforms lives, not human techniques, and we see the result and growth. We praise God for that. I am also teaching theology on Tuesday and Saturday nights in two different Bible Studies (I use the same notes for both groups).

Pastoral Training is continuing. Some of the men who attend are already leaders in their churches. They enjoy learning the Bible and theology. We have these classes once every two weeks and classes include more than 10 hours of teaching and preaching. Normally we have classes on every other Tuesday and Wednesday, and the men stay overnight. That is very helpful as it works with their schedules. We have set up a small kitchen for cooking at the church building, and they sleep on the floor. It is like a one-night campout for all of us! We have more time to interact with each other in the evening so that it is not only academic but also a great fellowship. We are enjoying each other’s company. Some of our church people are also joining in the evening sessions. It is great to see their interest to learn the Word more. We need to provide two days’ meals for the students and study materials. Most of them are not able to pay for the cost. Please pray for the expenses.

Moses, one of our interns, has completed his time with us and returned to his hometown to continue his ministry. He was a graduate of Calvary Baptist Bible College, Mumbai, and he has been with us almost a year. He was a great encouragement to people here, but we are very happy he is going to teach the Bible in his father’s ministry for one year before he starts new church plant. It is much needed in that area. He is from the state of Andhra Pradesh which is 850 kilometers [about 530 miles] from our place. Please pray for him.

We also had a youth camp in May of 2024. I and some of our fellow pastors from the same region prayed and decided to have a camp for the young people from our churches, as this was our long-time desire. We had more people than we expected; in total, over 70 young people, girls and boys, aged 13-20! There were 18 kids from our three congregations. God has miraculously saved 11 teenagers connected to our ministry, and many kids from other churches. These 11 kids are being discipled by Prasad, who is one of our interns. We are so thankful to God for their precious lives. After this camp we have learned that ministry to young people is very much needed these days because young minds are easily influenced and misguided by worldly philosophy. It is a great opportunity to teach the Bible because God’s Word alone will help them to think rightly. Lord willing, we will be continuing this youth camp every summer, in April or May. Please pray with us.

Once again, we want to thank you all for your prayers and love. Soli Deo Gloria!!

In Christ,

Suresh, Prathibha, Susan and Suhana

Col 1:28-29