Sri Lanka Church Planters Update

Since the Easter bombings in 2019, Sri Lanka has never fully recovered. There have been many setbacks that have brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy. Additionally, the safety issues in the country have kept tourists away, which is the only industry that keeps their economy afloat. 

Unfortunately, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism has still not picked up leading to widespread unemployment and a shortage of money circulating in the economy. 

But God, in his infinite mercy, has allowed the ministry of our church planters to continue to happen. 

Here is a brief report from our church planters.

Church Planting Report

Pastor Satheesraj

Pastor Satheesraj’s ministry is continuing to grow at a steady pace. In the beginning of his church plant, he faced a lot of opposition. However, this has changed and he is now recognized as a “servant of God” by others. Incredible! 

Currently, there are 15 adults in his church that previously were a part of other faiths, but have accepted Jesus and attend their church gatherings weekly. Another 6 families have trusted Jesus but have not become part of the church yet. Another 10 families continue to seek Jesus but have not trusted quite yet.

Please keep these people in your prayers.

Pastor Antony

Antony is currently shepherding 14 adults and about 11 families total. The location of his church plant is anchored in Hinduism. From time to time he faces some opposition because of this. 

Additionally, he has been facing a lot of interruption by other Christians and leaders of other denominations, which has been disheartening. Another challenge he is facing is that they do not have a long-term location to gather in so, he literally gets kicked around by the landlords. 

Even with all of these challenges, he is faithfully training the 14 adult believers to disciple others.

Please add Antony to your prayer list and ask God to give him peace, encouragement, and open doors.

Pastor Thevaraj

Thevaraj has led 12 non-Christians to trust in Jesus so far. Amazing!

However, he is experiencing some challenges as well. Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, he and his fiance have not been able to go through with their wedding yet. Because of the culture in this area, being unmarried is restricting his reach among people. We are praying that this will change soon so that they can have their wedding and begin their life together.

His church plant doesn’t have a dedicated building at this time, so members take turns hosting the weekly gatherings in their homes. However, because this area is very spread out, he needs to be able to drive to the different locations. The shortage in supply of gas has greatly hampered his ability to visit with people in the church and has kept him from being able to reach as many people as he would like. 

Lift up Pastor Thevaraj with us: That his wedding would be able to happen soon and that he would have access to the transportation he needs.

Pastor Baskaran

Pastor Baskaran has been struggling with his church plant. Their numbers have fallen to 4 families now. The reason for this is that there are many larger churches in the area that people have migrated to post-lockdown.  

Pray that Pastor Baskaran would be able to find those people who truly need discipleship, mentorship, and a close-knit community. Pray that those currently interested in the Gospel that he is ministering to would receive it and come to know Jesus. 

Pastor Gajendran

Pastor Gajendran is not only currently planting a new church, but he also oversees all of our church planters in Sri Lanka. He has done an excellent job at supervising all the church planters, especially given all of the obstacles and challenges they have been facing.

While he continues to oversee these faithful men, we are also seeing his own church plant growing well. His span of ministry has substantially increased and he is doing additional ministry over the phone to cater to the spiritual needs of believers that cannot travel because of the gas crisis.

Pray over Pastor Gajendran and all of the important responsibilities he is currently juggling. Pray that his church plant will continue to grow and thrive. 

Thank you for taking the time to read the latest report on our church planters in Sri Lanka. We are grateful for your partnership in sending these men out to share the Gospel across the world. If you’d like to give towards these church planting efforts, you can do so by clicking HERE and selecting “church planting efforts” on the drop-down menu. 

A Tribute to Prema Jayakumar

This month, we’re sharing a special tribute to an incredibly special person in our REAP family - Prema Jayakumar. We lost Prema in May after long fought health battles. Our team put together a beautiful tribute for her that we’re sharing with you today.

Prema Jayakumar


June 09, 1954 – May 24, 2020

It has been 30 years since Jay founded the ministry of Bible-Believing Churches and Missions in India. While all of you may be aware of the ministry’s growth and impact, only a few know of an important person who remained backstage and co-labored to make all this happen.

On May 24, Prema, Jay’s most trusted companion in marriage and ministry and a beloved mother to her two children, departed into the presence of Jesus.

Born on June 09, 1954, Prema was the second of four children born to her parents Mr. Rajagambeeram and Mrs. Gnanamani. At age 11 she lost her parents within six months of each other. Once the family and security around her vanished life became an everyday struggle, until she married Jay in 1979 and had her own family.

The marriage also brought her close to the Lord. Over time she became an essential part of many families that she discipled through the years. In 1983, when Jay decided to pursue a full-time career in Christian ministry, Prema fully supported this decision and stood by him like a pillar of rock. She decided to do so, knowing fully well that she would be revisiting the “everyday struggle” she had previously been through in her youth. The only difference being that this time around, she would be doing it with her family by her side and also with her newfound faith in Jesus.

From 1983 to 1993, Prema labored hard to fund the financial needs of the family. She was an electrical engineer, but back in that day employment for her was merely a dream in a severely under-developed economy. She would walk a little over two miles every day to save on transportation costs while going to work. In addition, on weekends she would do the same to visit with families she was ministering to. She not only supported her family, but she also bore Jay’s tuition expenses for seminary.

In 1990, when the ministry was founded, Prema pledged all her jewelry and contributed all of the family’s savings to fund the capital needed to start. She was the first donor to the ministry. By 1994, the ministry was stable enough to support the basic needs of the family. About this time, Prema also developed an injured knee because of several hours of kneeling down in prayer as well as all the walking she had overdone. After resigning from her job, she began to invest more of her time in ministering to women that were demon-possessed, victims of domestic violence, victims of other forms of abuse, addicts, etc. This not only opened the doors to let Jesus into their homes, but it also gave their offspring the chance to grow in godliness.

Many of the people she ministered to were in utter poverty! Now their children have become homeowners! All this because while discipling people, Prema encouraged parents to educate their children despite all the odds stacked against them. She encouraged their children to do well in their academics. She also raised money from her network of contacts to support some with their tuition. Today some of them have become doctors, engineers, businessmen, and more. A few have even settled overseas in the developed world.

There were not many women graduates from seminaries in India during and before the 90’s. God provided for Prema’s seminary education through Jay. Her husband Jay is a great expositor of God’s word and understands the cultural realities better than any expert. Prema would write down pages and pages of his sermons and other Bible teachings. She would implore discussions with him, make arguments, and analyze in her own way to better understand God and his purpose. She would teach a lot of her learnings from Jay to the women she disciples. Many times, the women would easily understand her teaching more than what Jay was teaching. She broke difficult concepts down to a level even kids would understand. She is one of the chief architects of the children’s ministry at Calvary’s Grace Bible Church.

Prema was a prayer warrior! She spent several hours per day praying. She would rise early in the morning to enjoy the quiet time to sing, praise, and pray. She was very organized in her prayer time. She was passionate about prayer meetings, fasting and praying, supporting marriages in prayer, upholding others’ health needs, praying that her friends and relatives would be freed from the bondage of debt and other shackles. Her faith upon Jesus was unshakeable!

Even when she endured leukemia for more than a year or when she was bed-ridden during knee replacement surgery, her trust in God was unwavering. She believed God had a purpose in allowing these situations. She embraced these trials joyfully and endured its pain willingly.

Prema was an excellent mother! She did well to raise godly children, her son and daughter are very active in ministry today. Her son Samuel is currently leading the ministry of Bible-Believing Churches and Missions. He also serves as an elder and executive pastor. Her daughter Havilah is a speech-language pathologist and leads worship and the Teens ministry at Calvary’s Grace Bible Church. When Jay was away on ministry commitments, Prema held down the fort and made sure that Jay’s absence was minimally felt.

From being an excellent mother, God promoted her to be the favorite grandmother. She was blessed to see and be involved in the formative years of her four grandchildren: Jasi, Jay, Jude and Ronit.

Prema was also a faithful giver! She lived her entire life without saving one penny. There was no savings because whatever extra she had, she would give it away to someone in need. She said that in doing so she was saving up in heaven. In addition, she was a great hostess! God moved her and the family to 11 rented accommodations until she was blessed to have a home of her own. Almost every day there was someone or other that would come and visit – friends that live close by and friends from around the world. She would take a break from all her activities to attend to them. Almost every week, there would be people coming over to live in her home for a few days. She would serve and make them feel as comfortable as possible. In this way she has served people from all around the world.

As we bid a tearful farewell to Prema, we are reminded that she was not perfect! At the same time, through her life, we get to see how one is perfected in their lifetime as they seek to pursue the author and perfecter of our faith!

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2

A Tribute To John Stone

Our dear brother and Chairman of REAP, John Stone, passed away on June 17th and has gone to be with the Lord. John served faithfully as a part of our board for 20 years. He was an incredible husband, father, and leader.

To pay tribute to our remarkable friend, we thought it only fitting for the people who loved and served with him to share a few special words:

“My mentor, model, motivator. He was a man of God who showed how to live for Jesus and how to die for Jesus, because he firmly believed in the sovereignty of God, in all, through his life. Phyllis, his beloved wife stood with John as a strong pillar till his last breath. A saintly woman known for her love and hospitality now stands so firm in exhibiting her trust in the Lord. John made me a better husband, a better father, and a better leader.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving Dr. John Stone to us. We are confident we will meet him as we meet you in heaven.”

Jay and Prema, Sam and Diana, and Joshua and Havilah | Staff of BBCM

We would love to hear how John impacted your life too. You can drop thoughts, prayers, and memories right here.