Profile on International Ministries
Introducing a work being done in India under the leadership of Pastor Sudarsanam Samuel.

What is your full name?

Ch. Sudarsanam Samuel

Where do you live exactly?

Gandepalli, Andhra Pradesh, India

Are you married?

I am Married.

If so, what is your spouse's name?

My wife's name is SHARA RANI

If so, how long have you been married?

We have been married for 1 ½ years.

Do you have children?

Yes.

If so, how many?

One.

If so, what are their names and ages?

SHIRLEY RACHEL. She is 2 months old.

Can you give a description of the region in which you live?

We live in a village called, Gandepalli located in Andhra Pradesh, in the district of East Godavari.  Gandepalli is the Mandal head quarters, and is head to 20 small villages.  There are lots of temples and idol worship in this region.  The main agricultural crop is rice.

Where are you located in relationship to any major cities?

We live near by a town called Rajahmundry.  Our major city is HYDERABAD which is about ten hours north.

Culturally, what is the religion of your country/region?

The major religion in our region is Hinduism.

How long have you been in Christ?

I was born and brought up in a Christian family and my father is a Pentecostal pastor.  I gave my life to Jesus and committed myself to the ministry at the age of 19. So since my childhood I have known the things of Christ, and been taught the ways of Christianity.

How did you come to choose the faith of Christ?

I have come to faith through the teaching of my parents, and I have loved the Lord very much from the very beginning.

What is your greatest experience in Christ to date?

God called me when I was 19 years for the ministry, like Jeremiah's call.  I was a boy during that time.  God said to me that He appointed me as his mouth piece and encouraged me to take the step of faith to do His mission. So I still remember the voice of the Lord which helped me to commit my life to the service of the Lord. It was the greatest experience in my life with Jesus Christ.

What is the name of your ministry?

GOOD SHEPHERD COMPASSION MINISTRIES.

Can you describe the ministry?

GOOD SHEPHERD COMPASSION MINISTRIES was registered in 2003.  It is non profit association.  We have our FC3 registration from the government of India and have permission to receive foreign funds for our ministry activities.  We have a great heart for the extension of God's kingdom.  It is my great vision since from my childhood to work among strong Hindu people. God put this desire in me to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  So, I formed a team with 6 young men and began to reach interior villages, distribute tracts, sing songs on the streets and conduct open air crusades to declare the power of Jesus and to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. 

We are also taking care of 32 orphan children.  As we minister in the villages, people give some rice as offerings, so we are feeding the children with the offerings of the poor people of our region. There are 12 poorer pastors working in the villages and we have seen their helpless situation. I know the church believers there go to the towns for the work and they come to their village once in 3 months so these poor pastors have to wait for those people till they come and conduct Sunday worship services and Friday meetings with the old people who are helpless. I could see that the pastors are not eating food twice in a day and their children are not having good clothes.  So I felt led to support them with 200 rupees per head, monthly.

I am praying that God will provide the means to do this.  Whenever God provides for me, I share the gifts with them.  So, I ask for your prayers for these poorer pastor's needs to be met and our ministry’s growth.

I have a heart to equip the churches through the word of God. I want to encourage pastors and leaders to work more for the extension of God's Kingdom. So I am praying for the ministry to lead the men of God and encourage them in all aspects.

Are there others who serve God with you there?

There are other young pastors working with me here.

Approximately how many?

There are nearly 12 pastors and 8 young men working with me in the ministry.

Can you describe how those who practice the faith of Christ come together to fellowship?

All the people who are in the faith of Jesus Christ would gather together every Sunday and we also gather on Friday night.  We conduct Friday night as fasting and prayer meetings and Sunday is our worship service.  So twice in a week we meet and worship the Lord and grow in the fellowship. We also meet in homes of fellow believers often, for food and fellowship.

What kind of natural challenges do you face?

We have heavy heat waves, cyclones, and contagious diseases here.  As we go to the villages for the ministry, it can be difficult for us. There is always the threat of catching a disease, or being injured. It is sometimes difficult to bear the heat as most churches and people have no air conditioning or even electricity.  Resources are very limited so we need to be creative in reaching the people; it is very challenging.

What kind of spiritual challenges do you face preaching Jesus Christ?

We Christians are minorities here, so we face lots of oppositions from the Hindu people.  Sometimes, they disturb gospel meetings and make problems with the sound.  In some places, the people do not allow us to say anything about Jesus, but in midst of these problems God is faithful and uses us mightily to extend the kingdom of God.

Are you affiliated with any local or international Christian organization?

Because we are an independent church, we are not affiliated with any international organization; we are affiliated with the Jesus the Way Ministries, located here in India.  We receive no support from them as they are a missionary organization and funded by donations.

Do you have ministries from other countries come to you in support of your efforts?

We don't have any ministries coming from other countries. We are totally independent until now and we are praying that God may give us such a blessed opportunity to work with some foreign ministries.

What is it that you desire of the Lord in your region?  What do you want to see happen there?

I have a vision to work among leaders and pastors of our region.  Most of them are not fully educated and they have never been to any theological seminaries. I have a vision to equip these people by teaching solid material, so that they would encourage the believers, so that we all can grow in fellowship.

I wish that all our region to be brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  There are many children spoiling their lives without education and they don't have proper clothing as well.  There are elderly people isolated by their children. So, it is my vision to take care of those people as God provides for me that they may know the love of Jesus Christ and accept Him as their savior and Lord.

Ultimately our goal is the salvation of the people of our region. I would like to see radical change in our region that all the followers of idols would become the followers of Jesus Christ.

What are those things that you would want other believers to pray with you for?

I tell all the believers to pray for the Indians to be saved.  I ask their prayers for ministry growth and the needs for the orphan children, and the poorer pastors to be met.