Big Life Kolkata visit 2025

  Off we set at 1pm “Indian” time i.e. more like 1.45pm to a relatively “new” village for the local team, much nearer to where we have been staying. The medical table was set up with a short introduction from a supported worker who radiates his faith (and whom has been beaten for it to a hair’s breadth of his life).   Things happen as the Holy Spirit leads – the Bible story of the lost sheep again attracted the children as well as being surreptitiously listened to by those queuing for the meds- followed by the stories of the lost coin and the Prodigal son.   These were interspersed with personal stories of coming to faith as well as action songs and   fun games.   One child made a commitment to follow Jesus – praise God! A few of the team went to two houses sharing faith and one experienced the privilege of leading a prayer of personal commitment.   This new believer will be discipled by the local team. We also had an encounter with a woman at the well (Joh...

  Today we headed South and worshipped with a group of people from three village fellowships, there were around 100 people! We are now used to singing, reading the bible and praying in Bengali! Luckily we have translators!  It was good to be able to share in these times with our reflections on the Bible passage, using a Discovery Bible Study approach.  Hearing the range of different perspectives as we read the passage was so enriching. After the worship we split into three groups and visited houses. We were asked to pray for their families, their houses and some difficult situations.   Some people’s needs are very basic and they just ask for work to bring money in to buy food for their families. This time away has made us realise how much we take for granted.   But being able to pray for people is so humbling and the way we have been welcomed is amazing.   There is true faith that Jesus will heal people and mend situations through us. We started the day wit...

We started the day reading the Bible together, with the birds and the Kolkata traffic singing away. Creation making a joyful noise to the Lord! We headed up to the north near the airport having amazing conversations in the car. Brother Benjamin was sharing about the closeness and faithfulness of his team - want to go fast go alone; want to go far, go together. But how do you find, sustain and keep a team over 10 years? He shared passionately about modelling his team around Jesus' and his lifestyle. Jesus prioritised being relational, always seeking to honour the person in front of them; Jesus was intentional, he had purpose and intent everywhere he went; and lastly Jesus was missional, his team had an aim and together they brought God's kingdom. We want to build teams like this! We paused at the side of the road waiting for our local motorbike guide to find us and help us locate the village. It looked like a jungle when we got out but quickly we were led to a home and welcomed ...

  Today we split as a team and went to two of the Biglife celebrations.   These are times when people from groups across the city gather together to celebrate Jesus.   As with the groups these celebrations take a three thirds format.   We look backwards with worship and sharing of stories of how the Lord has been at work in the past week.   Then we look up and a brother or sister shares a message from the word before people break into groups to consider the passage more using the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) questions.   Finally we look forwards and consider our response to what the Lord has said to us, and close in worship and prayer. We were struck by the tangible sense of the presence of God, and the heartfelt worship.   The worship cut across the language barriers with songs in Hindi, Amharic and English, with a real sense of the presence of God.   One of the songs has the words of God manifesting himself, and it felt so true for us this mornin...

Our day kicked off with the team’s three thirds bible study. We aim to meet for half an hour -we started at 9am and finished at 10:40am -God blessing us with things to share! Peter, Ashenafi and Ben went for a boys day out - discussing Biglife principles and enjoying authentic Italian cuisine -yes you did read that right -Italian. But fear not we have been delighting our taste buds with wonderful culinary Indian delights! At 11am the ladies on the team headed up to the conference room and were greeted by sisters from within the Biglife family. The ice (no chance of this over here -lol -not when temperature is tickling 20 degrees each day -sorry folks!) So, the ice was broken with some fabulous games which got us all giggling, grabbing and having a massive amount of fun. We worshiped God in Bengali, Hindi, and English. We were honoured with an amazing welcome dance from a young lady -which was so special and made us feel really privileged to be joining these women today. The team ...

  Over recent years I have had the privilege of taking teams from the UK for an immersive experience in the Biglife movement in India, where over the past 21 years we have seen the Lord work in amazing ways.   One of the key lessons for me has been to see people coming to faith and straight away being equipped to share their story of faith.   I am reminded of the Woman at the Well (John 4) who simply returned to her village and said “Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did” , or the blind man who said “I once was blind, but now I see” (John 9).    In India we are hearing stories of new believers immediately sharing their story and then seeing their family, friends and neighbours come to know Jesus.   Both teams have had some simple training in sharing their stories of faith, and it is a joy to see them doing this.   Stories are a powerful way of sharing the Good News.