Duncanville church changes lives halfway around the world

DUNCANVILLE—First Baptist Church of Duncanville’s involvement in India grew out of a vision God placed in the heart of Pastor Keith Brister.

“I went to this mission conference. God put on my heart that we needed to do some specific and direct work in India. … So, the idea was birthed that we would long-term partner with a specific ministry there,” Brister said.

First Baptist Church formed a partnership in India through one of its members. Sastry Meesala, who was born in India and moved to Texas to attend Dallas Baptist University, has been the main connection between the church and its work in India.

The church centers its India ministry on an orphanage founded by Kantharao Meesala, Sastry Meesala’s father, through Rehoboth Ministries.

“Because of the relationship with the young man from India, we have grown to love his father now and brothers and this little community (where the orphanage is located). It is a place where we can plug in,” Brister said.

Sastry Meesala, international representative for Rehoboth Ministries, views the orphanage as an opportunity not only to change the lives of the children, but also to spread the gospel.

“Out of the 25 children now residing at the orphanage, 22 of them are now believers. They are being spiritually and physically healed from the mistreatment and trauma before adoption,” he said. “Now, they go to public schools and often tell fellow classmates about Jesus Christ. This opens up many opportunities for the lost children to share with their families so that they may also attend our churches.”

The Duncanville church’s relationship to India predated the partnership with the orphanage. It began when First Baptist Church adopted a people group as a prayer focus.

Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays Email Address Sastry Meesala, who was born in India and came to the United States to attend Dallas Baptist University, has been the main connection between First Baptist Church in Duncanville and its work in India.

“When I first came to be pastor here 14 years ago, I contacted (the International Mission Board) to find a group that our church could adopt, and they chose the Mina Indians in east India,” Brister said. “There was no one working with that people group when we started working with them, and there were no known believers there at that time.”

Members have seen the results of their prayers and financial support.

“Now, there are many believers and full-time missionaries there,” Brister said.

In addition to supporting the ophanage, Rehoboth Ministries also is training indigenous missionaries.

“It’s a ministry that’s basically training pastors and missionaries to go to small villages all over southeast India,” Brister said. “We’re trying to encourage and disciple young pastors as they plant churches … and trying to strengthen the church there.”

The Duncanville church’s work in India ranges from love offerings to mission trips to gifts sent to the orphans for Christmas, Brister said.

“Our church has caught the vision through this young Indian student, and he is now entering the doctoral program at Southwestern Seminary, pursuing an evangelism and missions doctorate. And he plans to go back to India and start a seminary there that we will be a part of in the next decade, or so,” Brister said.

Meesala views the future seminary as an essential part of spreading the gospel in this area of India.

“Currently, we only have a school that trains missionaries for 40 days. We would like to build this up to seminary standards. The need for a seminary is a huge hope of ours,” Meesala said.

Pastor Kantharao Meesala and Chris Brister, a member of First Baptist Church in Duncanville, enjoy a meal at an orphanage in India.

The need goes beyond simply a seminary for Christians in India, who often are disowned by their families and excluded from society.

“There is a need for a cemetery,” Meesala said. “We do not have a place for Christians to put bodies. Hindus do not allow us to put these bodies in their land. There is a huge need for this. When we do have land, this will open up more opportunity to minister to surrounding families.“

Meesala has high hopes for the future of the ministry in India.

“I see that the harvest is so plentiful, and as I continue to do this work, I realize that I have more and more to do,” he said. “Many times we don’t recognize how valuable we are in the sight of God. We don’t realize how important it is to just be there for others and tell them that Jesus loves them and wants them.”

Churches can support the work being done not only in the orphanage, but also in the future of the seminary.

“American churches need to be involved because of the upward call in Christ Jesus that we have as an entire body, not limited to country,” Meesala said.

“American churches are our brothers and sisters, and we want to stay unified, mostly through prayer. We also would like American churches to tell us how we can pray for them.”