Why Support Preacher Training Students in India?

1. QUALIFIED: Our preacher training students are well qualified. They must have been a Christian for more than two years and come with recommendations from sound brethren.

2. "EVANGELISTS": These preachers are being trained to be evangelists, not just preachers (II Timothy 2:2). They know they are taught to teach others.

3. SACRIFICE: They make great sacrifices to be in our program, receiving only a portion of what it takes to support their families. Wives and local brethren help in any way they can.

4. SOUND: The teachers (directors) in our program are sound men who love the truth and are set for the defense of the gospel (Phil. 1:17).

5. SELF SUPPORTED: Our preacher training students do not receive support after they graduate. By teaching them a trade, we help them to become self-supported. After graduation they do not receive support from the United States.

6. EXPERIENCED: Many of these men, even while students, are already preaching. Some preach for one, two, or sometimes three different congregations.

7. STEADFAST: 87% of the men who have been trained over the past twelve years are still faithfully teaching or preaching in the capacity in which they were trained.

8. OVERSIGHT: The Banner Elk elders are acquainted with these men. Don travels to India regularly. He teaches many of their classes and works side by side with them.

9. SUCCESSFUL: The program is working. Twelve years ago there were 72 known congregations in all of the state of Tamil Nadu. Today, there are over 1,500.

10. INDIA: There are one billion (1,100,000,000) souls in India and they are receptive to the gospel. It is a field white unto harvest (John 4:35).

11. DON AND CATHY IVERSON ARE SELF SUPPORTED: Don is a watercolor print artist and successful business man in Banner Elk. All funds sent to the Banner Elk congregation for preacher training students go directly for the student’s support. The church furnishes the Iverson's plane fares and accommodations. Cathy teaches the ladies of India.

12. ACCOUNTABILITY: Funds received in India are audited through three different methods. The elders at Banner Elk are very conscientious about how the funds are used.

13. $50 PER MONTH: Preparing these laborers for the vineyards is extremely economical.

MEET KARTHIK

Karthik (car-theek) has lived at Deva Anbu Illam for three years. He is extremely loving and thoughtful. He speaks the best English of all of our children, and wants to be a gospel preacher. Though he plays well with other children, Karthik is somewhat a loner. He seems very happy, almost always smiling. But sometimes when I (Don) see a distant isolated look in his eyes I wonder if he is remembering his past.

Because of the loss of his parents, at a very young age this boy was given to his grandparents. They trained him to beg on the streets, as a means of their own support, taking his daily earnings for themselves. They taught him clever English songs to sing for passers-by. Though Karthik will not talk about his past, children like this are often given a quota for daily expectations from their “masters.” If the cut is not met, they are punished, often forced to give up food.

We are thankful to our loving and merciful God who has provided this home for children like Karthik, and eighty of his brothers and sisters!

Why Support Children at Deva Anbu Illam?

A Home for Children without Parents in South India


1. TO PLEASE GOD: God reserves a special place in scriptures for fatherless children. “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5).

2. TO MAINTAIN PURE RELIGION: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows…” (James 1:27).

3. BECAUSE OF OUR COMPASSION: “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (I Peter. 3:8).

4. HEAVEN: Our first goal is to get these children to heaven. Bible classes are priority. Don often tells the staff, “If we bring these children from the streets and we don’t teach them how to get to heaven, we have done them no favors.”

5. PARENTLESS: With only a few exceptions, all children at DAI have lost both parents. These are the neediest.

6. HAPPY CHILDREN: Our children are placed in individual cottages. Each cottage contains five or six children and one faithful house mother. They bond together and love their brothers and sisters in their small unit. They also appreciate and love everyone in the larger program.

7. SOCIAL LEVEL: DAI children are not being Americanized. They sleep, eat, and bathe like the average Indian population. They have three outfits; a uniform for public school, an outfit for play, and clothing for worship services.

8. CHORES: Daily responsibilities are vital to help form proper values. Our children are currently raising 160 chickens in the hen house. They feed, water, and collect eggs. They grow banana trees, as well as corn and other important foods. They clean, paint, and do laundry. Our older boys do evangelism work in the community.

9. VOCATIONAL TRAINING: Our older children are learning trades such as driving, welding, auto mechanics, cooking, and masonry. Our oldest boy, Mark Stanley, has now graduated from the two-year Bible training program at Coimbatore Bible Institute and has secured employment.

10. EVANGELISTS FOR INDIA: All boys at DAI want to be gospel preachers. They lead in morning and evening devotionals. Some of the older boys teach Bible classes. Following their secular education in public schools, they attend an intensive two-year Bible program. India needs sound evangelists and our DAI men will be some of the best.

11. NO ADMINISTRATIVE SALARIES: Don and Cathy Iverson are self-supported. All funds given to support the children go directly for that program. The Iverson’s travel expenses come from a separate general fund.

12. $25 PER MONTH: The cost per child to supply food, clothing, electricity, and a small salary for the house mother is $25 per month. A small monthly contribution goes very far.

CONTACT: India Missions, Banner Elk church of Christ, P.O. Box 1413, Banner Elk, NC 28604 OR CALL: Don Iverson, 828-963-5172, OR E-MAIL: doniverson@juno.com

Welcome

Welcome to the newly established Tamil News Blog. This site will be used to communicate to our supporters and those interested in this work of The Lord in India. (Other Information Here.)

Our missionary to India is Don Iverson. Don works with the Banner Elk (North Carolina) Church of Christ and makes 3 to 4 trips per year to India. The work there consists of a Preacher's Training School, an Orphan's Home (Deva Anbu Illam), Tsunami Outreach, and other efforts to spread the Word.

Make Donations To:
Banner Elk Church of Christ
ATTN: India Missions
P.O. Box 1413
Banner Elk, NC 28604