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In Service of the Most High
Ronnie, Haritha & Fiona Gootam Newsletter – March 2019
Contact Info:
Ronnie Gootam
P.O. Box 80
Kakinada, AP India 533004
Phone:
USA(H): 001-901-866-9271.
USA(M): 001-732-407-6977.
India(H): 011-91-884-236-3697.
India(M):011-91-970-407-6677.
Email:
Find us on the web:
www.satyavanicoc.com
www.facebook.com/satyancoc
Overseeing Congregation:
Hickory Grove Church of Christ
1131 Hickory Grove Rd,
Almo, KY 42020.
Contact Info:
Larry Wyatt: (270) 227-2156
Marlin Pierce: (270) 759-9649
Preaching the Word
Preachers have been preaching the word of God since the days of
Noah. The Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy stressing to “Preach
the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2Ti 4:2).
I have taken up various professions in my life before but nothing is
more challenging and yet satisfying at the same time than preaching.
Preaching that’s what we do.
During my days in MSOP, I had the privilege to serve the Lord as
His servant in two congregations in Arkansas. My wife and I
travelled 400 miles each week to do so, which we did it with lot of
love for the Lord in our hearts and the souls and more importantly
we loved His Word. It is this love that compels us to preach the
Word.
During those days, if there was a Sunday or Wednesday that I could
not preach, I used to feel guilty. I could not wait until the next
opportunity to preach.
The Lord had blessed me with a lot of opportunities to preach His
Word during the month of February. The Lord has also blessed the
labors of His servant. I hope you are encouraged by this Newsletter
as I have been blessed to labor in His vineyard.
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
2-Day Seminar on Pslams
There is a similar size town near Kakinada called Rajahmundry (it means the City of Kings). It is a religious
town like Athens in Acts 20. It is also a holy place for the Hindus. Every 12 years Hindus from all over the
country come and take a dip in the river (Godavari) and believe that their sins have been washed away. It is also
a town for a lot of denominations. My father Joshua Gootam (who is the First New Testament Christian in
South India in the 20th
Century) has been highly instrumental to start a congregation in this town in the early
60s and 70s. Their valiant efforts resulted in handful congregations there and as well as in nearby villages.
Bro. S. John who once helped in the office here in the early 80s is preaching in that city. In this picture below
you can see my Dad, Bro. J.C. Bailey and Bro. S. John who worked tirelessly to stabilize the church in that
town taken in the 80s.
Bro. S. John has arranged a 2-Day seminar in Psalms in the congregation he and his family minister. He has 2
sons (one died a few years ago) and a daughter. His oldest son Bro. Prakash helps him with the ministry in that
town. They had come personally to Kakinada to invite my Dad to come and preach in the seminar. My Dad
suggested that they use me instead (as I have told many times to our family that I have taught Psalms as a
Sunday morning Bible class as well as Wednesday night bible study during the days of MSOP). Bro. S. John
asked me if I would preach for them and I was immediately reminded of the words of Jeremiah, “His word was
in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”(Jer.
20:9). I chose to speak on introduction to Psalm 3, Psalm 3 and Psalm 4.
The town is about an hour drive. The seminar was conducted on the 4th
and 5th
of February 2019. Surprisingly
the temperatures were on the rise during those days. But Paul has reminded us to “be instant in season and out
of season” (2Ti. 4:2). No amount of heat was going to keep us away from preaching His Word.
The seminar was attended by about 50 preachers and 50 members of the local Lord’s Church. I also had the
opportunity to speak to them about our monthly magazine on that occasion. About 20 people signed up for the
monthly magazine.
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
A brother from a another temple town for centuries in India (Tirupati) also happened to be present and he
introduced himself to me after the seminar on day 1 and said that he once worked in a school of preaching but
never knew the intricate details of introduction to Psalm 3. He later writes to me saying the following:
“Dear brother Ronnie Gootam, greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ, iam B.Vijaya Kumar from Tirupati,
yesterday were happy to study your lesson from Psalms 3rd chapter at Rajamandry, We appreciate your efforts
,hope that you had safest travel back to your home . we will be contacting you regarding your magazine.
Thanking you.
Yours brother in Christ.
B.Vijaya Kumar in master service.”
It was not a surprise to me that brethren even those that teach in some schools of preaching in India are not
aware of introductions to books of the bibles as well as some in the Psalms. Preachers in the past haven’t dealt
in those things much. Also the lack of availability of materials in Telugu also plays a factor in not having the
knowledge of such things. I thank our Lord for using me to bring those things in the forefront to those that seek
to know the biblical truths.
After the conclusion of the seminar, Bro. S. John honored me with a shawl (traditional) and a bouquet of
flowers. All the attendees gathered outside of the church building for a picture.
New Mission: Archiving and Digitizing Printed Material
What is it about?
Dad’s ministry has entered into 54th
year here in India. It involves thousands of articles, 100s of books, 100s of
tracts and a lot of printed material that has been published over the last 5 decades+ years. In these 54 years there
has been a lot of technical advantages that have happened. The next generation of 54 years ago is now the
outgoing generation. High-tech equipment 54 years ago are now antiques.
Nevertheless the constant never changing Word of God needs to be taught. There has not been one single
company in the world that is in existence for decades that hasn’t upgraded their systems. Can you imagine a
music company selling reels? Not tapes but reels? Likewise the Lord’s work needs to be upgraded into using the
latest and greatest methods without compromising the truth. Remember that the original manuscripts were
written on parchments and no one in 2019 writes on parchments.
This is now “smart phone” generation whether anyone agrees with me or not. Many millennial know the
concept of “app store” but do not know rotary phones. Many people look up their bible in church services using
their cellphones or tabs. It is not unique in America, here in India as well.
Challenges ahead of us
The challenges we will be facing soon are: (1) What about the truth preached and printed before all these
technical advances? (2) What good truth printed in 1970s and 80s is not available in the newer formats? (3)
What needs to be done to make these efforts of over 50 years go into the next 100+ years? (4) What needs to be
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
done the wisdom over the years be available to the following generations? I have asked myself these and many
more questions over the years.
I knew that we need to find a way to digitize all the printed material and the radio sermons as well. Lord has
shown us the way. It is now the matter of doing it. The radio sermons that were recorded in reels and tapes are
now in .mp3 format. My next challenge is to convert the printed material into .pdf.
The Lord shows the way
Bro. Damon Vincent has visited us in the month of February and he was like an answer to my prayers. He has
been working in India for over 40 years. He has built a website www.christian-growth.com (Remember there is
a hyphen in between) dedicated for preachers all over the world to come to a single website for materials. He
connected with us on this idea of having a website where anyone in the world can have access to the truth in
their respective language in one place. It is now the matter of making the best effort possible in order to convert
all the paper material into .pdf. I encourage anyone to visit the website and see for yourself.
What can YOU do to be involved?
We require a high-end scanner that can scan and email the material in matter of minutes with minimum human
labor time. I have obtained a quote from a dealer nearby who sells RICOH MPC 4504exSP scanner, printer and
copier (all-in-one). It costs $6,500 only. The same scanner in USA costs over $12,000. I encourage everyone to
support us to make it possible for us to purchase it and get started in bringing the hard work of 50+years into the
next gen. With the help of this equipment all the printed material can be digitized in rapid time. By doing so, we
are laying the foundation for the next generation gospel preaching aids to spread the gospel. Please check with
me if you have any questions.
Please Note: Every time we have made technical advances in reaching out to people there has been an increase
in reaching out to people. We are reminded of Paul writing to Corinthians saying, “I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave the increase. (1Co. 3:6).” My Dad’s generation planted, please help me water, and God
gives the increase in His infinite possible ways.
Gospel Meetings in Villages
A missionary team from Alabama has visited us in the month of February. They have recently taken over a
missionary’s labors after his retirement. While they were here we visited a number of villages in the few days
they have been here in town. It is always a thrill to visit villages and teach to them the gospel. It is also a
learning experience translating for the missionaries. My Dad says, it is how he learned to become a gospel
preacher. Thimmapuram is a village just outside Kakinada. Missionaries have worked there in the past and
started a children home. Our gospel meeting was held at that location. About 200 people attended the meeting.
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
That evening we visited another village about 2 hours from Kakinada. We had a wonderful meeting about 75-
100 gathered. I translated that night as well. This is a village where we had a lot of children come for the Lads 2
Leaders in December. The children were told we were coming and they wore T-shirts from the event. They
garlanded us after the meeting and showed their respect for us for taking time to preach to them.
Preacher’s Workshop in Kakinada
We conduct preacher’s workshop quite regularly. This is the time preacher’s that work through our ministry of
planting churches and studying with those that completed the Bible Correspondence Course. Every month about
100-150 preachers gather to be edified by one another. I translated one lesson and taught another lesson.
Thanksgiving Evening Meeting
A member of the congregation has notified us that they would like to have a thanksgiving meeting at their
residence. She alone in her entire family is Christian. Her husband, her son and daughter are still in the Hindu
religion. It is very difficult situation for our sister in Christ to see her family not in the church. She had gone
through a lot of troubling time in her family when she decided to obey the gospel. She recants how both her son
and her husband threatened to kill her if does not return to the Hindu faith. But she persisted. They saw how
Christianity is in her life. She is a faithful Christian and never misses a service or a meeting at any other
member’s place. She tells me that there is a denomination near to her house whose “pastor” visits her regularly
and invites her to come to “his church.” She in turn returns the invitation of the Lord’s church to that pastor.
She invited him and a few member of that denomination that night of the gospel meeting and Dad was asked to
preach. He knew about their presence hence preached about the one true church in the bible. She is now
bringing a member of that denomination regularly to our local congregation to know the truth. We never know
when the Lord opens her heart to the truth.
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
Ladies Class Teaching by Haritha
The elders have decided to use the godly women in the congregation to teach the regular Friday Ladies class
meetings. They have entrusted the task to teach to my lovely wife Haritha one Friday evening. Our baby Fiona
is very picky who is holding her. She wants her mom to do it and no one. So my wife held her in one hand and
taught the ladies class. About 25 ladies from the church attended the meeting. She preached on love. She later
tells me that Fiona was hungry in the middle of the lesson and she put on the apron and breastfed her and
continue to teach. May God bless her heart and all the mothers that love Him.
Training Program for Lads 2 Leaders
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Pro 22:6). After the
successful organization of Lads 2 Leaders earlier this year, it became evident for me to train youngones in the
congregation to be the next generation leaders. Thanks to the elders who okayed my plan to conduct Memory
Verses classes on Sunday morning with the children, we have over 15 kids that cann recite more than 200
verses and 20 kids that can recite over 100. We trained them for the month and conducted a memory work
recitation in the congregation as a Wednesday night class. I took under my care children from 7th
grade and
above. We have a goal to memorize all the 150 Psalms in one year time. Lord Willing we will achieve that.
The first ever reciting program for children is a huge success. I had arranged and picked about 25 children to
recite memory verses. But as the program went on, more children came up to me and said they wish to recite
memory verses. In them is a young boy of 4 years old. He told me he can only recite one verse and asked me
permission to do so. I was reminded of words of Jesus, “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them
not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 19:14). I gave him to do so. He sang
Gal.5:21-23.
It is my prayer that you will be able to watch videos of their recitaion and be encouraged by what innocent
children are capable of doing. I fear that it is not possible to report everything that happened that night in this
report. But I can do this, if you use WhatsApp text me on +1-732-407-6977, I can text you the videos of the
children reciting the verses. I hope and pray you will be encouraged by how sweet they say His Holy Word.
To my astonishment at least 10 children younger than 7
th grade student volunteered themselves to come and
memorize scriptures to my Sunday morning class. The youngest we have is in 3rd
grade and the oldest is a
senior in high school.
“Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
What are our current needs?
A. Since prayer support is so important to the success of this mission, please pray for us fervently. We are
constantly reminded as written by James, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.” (Jas. 5:16b).
1. Please pray for our continuous smooth running of our ministry. The government of India is
making up laws to try to stop mission works in India run smoothly.
2. The election season is coming up here in India, please pray that the new government will make
laws that will enhance the growth of the church.
B. Sufficient funds are required for us and for the Lord’s work.
1. We are about 40% short of monthly budget for the intended mission work.
2. We are seeking monthly commitment from individuals and congregations that are serious on
spreading the gospel to the whole world.
C. Need for Bibles.
1. There has been a 10% increase in the cost of the bibles from January 2019.
a. Souls that are edified and are saved due to our efforts require bibles to continue their
growth in the Lord.
b. Each month an average of 1,000 bibles are mailed/given away each month for free.
2. Currently there is a burden to pay $7500 (approx.) for the purchase of the bibles.
a. We already have $3,500 promised by East Hill Church of Christ, Pulaski TN.
b. We are in need for another $4,000 to pay off the purchase of the bibles.
3. Please help us meet the demand for a soul that would ask for a bible.
D. Need an all-in-one scanner, printer and copier.
1. A new scanner costs about $6,500.
a. It can scan to .pdf 100s of pages in matter of minutes.
b. The scanned pages will go into www.Christian-Growth.com website.
2. It also serves as printer and copier.
a. We currently do not have an office printer or copier.
b. At this time whenever we need a printing job to be done, it is sent outside and it gets
expensive.
c. This will serve also as office printer and copier for many years to come.
How can you help?
A. If you know of any good congregations or faithful Christians that have a heart to give for His work please
recommend our works to them.
B. Please send your regular contributions to our overseeing congregation and make a note saying, “India
Mission Work – Ronnie Gootam.”
C. Plan a visit to Kakinada, India to do mission work with us.
God Bless You All.
