Barnabas Ministries UK

Lawrence ,Getsie  and Binty Arumainayagam

Pastor Lawrence has been in full time ministry for 20 years. He is married to Getsie for 15 years and has two children, Benn (14 years) and Binti (9 years). Lawrence and Getsie serve as pastors, teachers as well as care for 210 needy children in six different locations in India. Lawrence did his commerce degree in India (1985) studied at Assemblies of God Bible College (1988), UK and at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, Philippines (1992).

ZION ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

From 1988 though 2002 Lawrence served as an associate pastor at Zion Assemblies of God Churches along with his father Peter Arumainayagam in the city of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Lawrence and Peter saw from one worship service grew to three. Pastor Charles Finny joined the ministry at Zion to provide further leadership and direction. Zion has grown both in quality and in numbers over the years. It has now several branch churches in three southern states of India.

INTOUCH FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL

In the year 2002 Lawrence and Getsie felt the direction of the Lord to pioneer a new ministry which would primarily focus the youth of this generation.  With the blessing of Zion’s leadership, they founded Intouch Fellowship International (theintouchfellowship.com). Over the next five years, they saw nearly 4 thousands of young people walk through their doors.  Many lives were changed by the powerful Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They have now planted youth churches in Bangalore (Karnataka), and Trichur (Kerala).  Praying, planning and preparations are going on plant another youth church in Chennai (capital of Tamil Nadu) from September 2008. The vision is to plant two new youth churches in all the educational centres of India. The vision of Intouch Fellowship is to REACH, TEACH AND RELEASE.

LIVING WORD BIBLE COLLEGE

In the year 2002 a month after the beginning of Intouch Fellowship, Living Word Bible College was born.  It was a long dream coming to fulfilment. Rev Stephen and Rev. Jean Liang from the U.S.A. joined Lawrence with the vision to train the called young people. Soon many ministers who never had a privilege to proper biblical training joined to be trained.

After completing her studies at LWBC, Getsie joined the faculty to teach and train. At present we have eight full time staff with over many years of ministry experience help in the training. So far LWBC graduated well over 100 ministers in the six years of history. 

LWBC began its first onsite training at KARAIKAL (a coastal town in Tamil Nadu) in the year 2007. Thirty five students completed their first year of study and received their certificate in Biblical Studies. Many of them are involved in church planting in the area.

OPEN HANDS INTERNATIONAL (INDIA)

Lawrence had the privilege of serving along with his father Peter Arumainayagam in setting up the children homes since 1983. Serving the children and ministering to the needy and the poor had been in Lawrence and Getsie’s heart for many years. They began a new charity called Open Hands International (India).  OHI is now responsible for the six children homes. OHI works with many other charities with similar aims and goals. OHI carried out many relief works in emergency situations such as earthquakes, and recently in the Tsunami affected areas.

OHI is currently building a children home for the boys and girls from Tribal areas in Kalrayan Hills, in central Tamil Nadu. Another home for girls is just started to cater for girls who otherwise will never have the opportunity to education in their lives. An acre of land is bought and plans are underway to build a brand new facility for 50 needy girls.

Gareth and Audrey Benton

After studying at Mattersey Hall, Gareth was undecided about his future and had thoughts of doing accountancy or joining the police. He had grown up with his father an AOG Minister and, frankly, wasn’t sure if church leadership was for him.  With his college studies coming to an end Gareth began to think about a normal job alongside getting involved in a local church..  But his plans were shaken when the AOG church in Portsmouth asked him to consider becoming their Pastor! His reaction was to turn the request down firmly. After all, he was only 21 years old, he had not trained to be a pastor and in his heart he thought it would be oppressive to tie himself to a group of people much older than he was.  Anyway, being a pastor just did not appeal to him. 

Gareth thought and prayed and agonised over the request, and in the end reluctantly accepted that this might be God’s plan for him.  So, in the summer of 1994 a vote was taken among the members and Gareth received their full support with no abstentions.  He started work as the Minister in September. Sadly about half of their members felt their church no longer belonged to them and left, but during the same period a similar number joined the church and it started to grow.         

The church building could hold at the most between 70-80 people and there was a mark lack of resources and people with leadership skills. He quickly discovered that he had to turn his hand to everything which needed to be done.   He had to lead the worship, preach, help with the children’s work and even fetch children from home when necessary. So it was that he took the brave step of closing the church getting people together over meals.  The regulars felt a sense of excitement; having recognised the need for change due to Colin’s teaching, they were hungry for growth.

Becoming part of the community

There was no doubt that the community needed the Gospel but the percentage of those reached was negligible and the one thing they did not want was for children and young people to move from other churches to join in with King’s Church. The desire was to reach out to unchurched people who lived around them and, of course, to attract some of the vast number of students now living locally.

These two kinds of people, local residents and students, needed different strategies.  Gareth knew he could not continue to do everything, so he began to look for other people to come and be part of a team to work with him.  To this end a young man with a vision for reaching students came and worked with Gareth for two or three years. Over the years since then quite a number of students have joined the church.  Some have found Christ directly or indirectly through the ministry to students.  Others were already Christians when they came to Portsmouth University and believed that the Gospel should be lived out in inner city areas such as Southsea Somerstown Estate. Some of these students have stayed on after their studies and joined the team as part-time volunteers   

One of Gareth’s convictions was that if the people living on the estate were to be reached by the Gospel then he and his family should live among them and bring the presence of Jesus into the community. To do this he and his young wife felt they needed to find and buy an ex-council house.  Living on the estate was a big step forward, but it needed more than that to have a spiritual impact on the lives of many of the families living there.  Gareth had heard of the success of the Kidz Klubs in the New York and of the various places in the UK where it was being successful.  Their own Kidz Klub was soon launched under the name ‘Mr Blobby Club’.  It began with great enthusiasm and about 75 children turned up for the first club meeting.  Initially the numbers levelled out at 40 to 50 each week but all these children were from unchurched families and Gareth had his work cut out to keep up with the weekly visiting and running the club.  He had already started working with young people and there were about ten regulars at the young people’s group.  Some of them were roped in to help with the new club, though their own group continued so that they were not left without teaching.  The numbers have grown steadily and in 2008 about 400 children were being visited each week with a staff of six to organise and help with all.

As time has gone by more and more activity in the local community has taken place, so much so that the church has come to the attention of various authorities. It works alongside the Council on projects like ‘Sure Start’, a Government programme which aims to achieve better outcomes for children, parents and communities by supporting parents and improving the health and emotional development for young children. The Government’s ten year strategy Choice for parents, the best start for children was announced in December 2004 and sets out its ‘commitment to invest in childcare, early education and work life balance so that families are able to secure the best start in life for their children.’  There are approximately 700 families signed up to Sure Start activities in the Somerstown area.  An IT suite was set up at King’s church and an agreement was reached to provide Sure Start with 12 hours (6 sessions) use of the IT suite and creche.

With an increased leadership team Gareth is able to give his time to new ideas that help the community in a variety of ways.  He set up the HOPE project - Helping Other People Excel, funded by The Children’s Fund.  The project takes conflict-management lessons in three inner-city schools, helps with a peer-mediation scheme and also takes part in mentoring in the schools.  The IT suite used by Sure Start doubles as an Internet café and this more technical way to reach out draws in people who want the opportunity to use computers.  Everyday practical help such as litter picking, painting and decorating, the provision of a ‘drop-in’ cafe and so on, are all ways to show the love of Jesus to the neighbours.  Some of these neighbours become involved in .the church and welcomed in the evangelistic cell groups where they are encouraged to bring their friends, either to the cell group or to a social which is held every couple of months. People come because they have heard what goes on and when they come they find love and friendship and a listening ear for their troubles.

Today the church is thriving.  The church currently has 250 who call King’s Church their home.  There is a staff of 10 people (not all paid full time) working mainly in community programs that serve the city of Portsmouth. 

Richard and Amba Keeble

We feel so privileged to be serving God as the new leaders of Willows Community Church in Grimsby. 

I gave my heart to the Lord when I was 12 years old and attended Robinswood Pentecostal Church in Gloucester during my teens.  In the few years that followed I was filled with the Holy Spirit and baptised in water.  I met Amba at church after she was saved at 15.  We really felt God brought us together when I was 16 and Amba was 17.  During our late teens we were both involved in youth missions which really stretched us and were great experiences in supporting churches in their outreach to young people. 

After School, Amba went down to Portsmouth to study a degree in Sociology and a year later I went to Mattersey Hall Bible College to complete a degree in Biblical Theology.  When Amba graduated she stayed on at the King’s Church in Portsmouth and worked as their youth worker reaching out into the local community and schools.  The following year I graduated from Mattersey which had been a very interesting and enjoyable time.  After we married on 1st September 2001, we felt God was calling us to settle for a time in Portsmouth and serve Him at King’s Church.  I supported Amba in the youth work and got involved with many other church outreach ministries and worked part-time at Asda.  This really helped me to get know local people and was a great learning experience.

In September 2002 I was invited onto the leadership team of King’s Church and Amba joined me on the team a year later.  My main area of ministry was in working with men, especially fathers.  God has really given be a heart to reach men with the Gospel and empower men to be spiritual fathers.  Also, myself and Amba were very involved with the teaching and preaching at church.  The Lord blessed us with a beautiful baby girl, Bethany, on the 1st June 2005 (and we are now expecting our second child early December this year!)

In August 2007 we really felt that God was speaking to us about moving on and needing a new challenge.  After a time of prayer and fasting in September we felt God had called us to lead a church somewhere in the north of England.  We shared this with the leaders of King’s Church and they were very supportive even though they were sad that we were going to be leaving.  We contacted the Assemblies of God East Pennine Region to share our hearts and ask for advice and they were so supportive through the whole process.

We were invited to speak on Sunday 20th January 2008 at the Willows Community Church in Grimsby and to meet with the Church Council.  We really felt at home the moment we arrived and the church were very receptive to our ministry.  After praying about it we felt God was saying we should go for it as this was the place He had prepared for us.  We said that we would like to lead the church and the church had already decided they would like us to lead them.

We moved on Saturday 19th April and started our new ministry on the 1st May.  Everyone has made us feel so welcome and we know God has called us here to build up the church and reach out into the community.  Our induction service was on Saturday 28th June and it was a great occasion with the Holy Spirit really moving in the service.  Visitors who do not know the Lord yet were really touched by the service and we are praying that lives will be changed through the witness of Willows Community Church.

The last few months have been full of changes for us (a new church, new house, new town, new baby on the way!)  We are very excited about the future and our heart is to reach the people of Willows with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  God is already opening doors for outreach on the Willows Estate and we are seeing new people coming along to our meetings.  We are believing God to provide us with a new building so we can extend our work in the local community.  Together we are moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit and expect to see great things because we serve a great God!

REV. ANTHONY AND TRACY HODGKINSON

Pastor Anthony was raised in a classical Pentecostal environment under the leadership of Pastors David Powell, Paul, Mercy, Aeron Morgan, and Ernest Anderson.

He met his wife in Church in 1980 and married her in that same Church where he was raised, on the 18th May, 1985.

Tracy is a Bereavement Midwife and together they have 3 beautiful daughters, Rachel, Bethany and Esther.

The call to leadership came in the early 80’s and after a number of years serving local church in various capacities, Anthony went to Mattersey Hall in 1989.

Upon graduation Anthony went to London, to his first Pastorate, where he served alongside his good friends John and Angela Butcher in Hampden Chapel, Hackney.

After 10 wonderful years there he left in April 2001 to work alongside Pastor Doug Williams in Emmanuel Christian Centre, Walthamstow, where he still serves as Doug’s Senior Associate Leader with a special brief in Christian Education.

Anthony’s passion is the discipling of believers through biblical literacy, challenging but affirming relationships, and a leadership culture that makes people feel welcome, but gives diligent attention to Christian character, lifestyle, and the discovery, development, and deployment of our greatest asset - Christ-centred Missional people.

Oh, and he loves a good curry !

Too often… And too much.

Chris and Terry Prakasam

Pastor John Chris Prakasam is the eldest son of Pastors David & Ketzy Prakasam and is currently assisting them in the ministry.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Portland Bible College and is finishing his M.A. in Missions with Mattersey Hall.

He is currently the Principal of Bethel Faith Spark Bible College and also assists in the youth ministry at Bethel City Cathedral and leads worship in the English services there.

John Prakasam has also been instrumental in establishing 6 extension centers of the Bible College and travels around preaching and inspiring young people to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Terry Prakasam is the second son of Pastors David & Ketzy Prakasam and is currently assisting them in the ministry. He completed his Bible College training in Canada following which he served as a missionary in Kenya for a period of one year. He did a short-term course in Crossroads, Canada, in Television production.  Following which he completed his Mth through Mattersey Bible College in England and is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Ministry through the Bakke Grauate University of Ministry. He is currently the media director for Bethel City Cathedral and also serves as a full time pastor for the English and youth congregation. He continues to travel to many cities both locally and internationally preaching and encouraging young people to be passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.

I have known these two young men since they were small children and it is a delight to see them come to Christ and note how they have fully matured and now serving Him in a very vital manner for His glory in the salvation of India.

Rev. Peter, Johnny , Trphena Prakasam

Peter Prakasam began his ministerial calling with theological training in the Mattersey Bible College in England in the year 1982, where Dr. David Petts was his leader and mentor, who laid the foundations for molding him into a man of God that he is today. He returned back with a renewed zeal to take India for Jesus, and started helping his father with the church work in 1982. Later on in 1987, he started digging fresh ground in a place called Kovaipudur, in the outskirts of the Coimbatore City. It was a humble beginning but the work grew consistently and in 1991, Rev. Roy David, along with Peter’s father Job and his brother David, gave him ordination for Pastoral Ministry.

Now he also serves as the Secretary of the Indian Pentecostal Assemblies trust where he enjoys being a channel of blessing for more than 450 churches and 300 leaders, blessing hundreds of orphans and poor children, old widows, lepers and the handicapped people throughout India.

The work in Kovaipudur has branched out to impact the society by starting a healing center in Kovaipudur, in memory of his late wife Hepsibah, where sick people are taught the word of God and receive healing from God by Faith. He is also the correspondent of a Primary school that was started with the help of his father Job, which now educates around 700 children from the slum areas most of whom are Muslims. A Children Home with 25 boys and an old age home for the widowed women also functions under his care. Many boys have been blessed and placed in rewarding career tracks which have a promising future. The Film Ministry has been thriving under his care for the past 15 years in many parts of TamilNadu where hundreds of people are touched through watching the film on the Life of Jesus. God inspired him to publish a book in English and Tamil titled “Daily faith confessions” where 5000 copies have already been sold.  Now his church has 500 and growing members with multifaceted church ministries.

His daughter Tryphena, who is 20 is doing her final year in grad school in Business Management and has a vision to work among the young people. His son Johnny, 15 is in the 10th grade and is faring well.

Pastor Peter Prakasam has been consumed with a burden and vision for North India specially for the state of Harayana from the year 2006. He is now taking teams with him to the North and is evangelizing the districts there with a goal to pioneer 12 churches in a span of 2 years by conducting mini crusades and prayer walks.

God has bestowed leadership skills and he is presently training leaders in his Own local church. He conducts pastor’s seminars and teaches on the topic of Leadership and vision and thus motivates people towards serving God in the different callings and capacities.

RALLY CALL AS GENERAL SUPERINTEDENT STEPS DOWN

REV. & MRS. PAUL WEAVER

AOG’S OUTGOING GENERAL Superintendent Paul Weaver urged upcoming leaders to be ’strong, brave and daring for God’.

After his resignation, Paul, who has served as a national leader with the denomination for more than 20 years, showed his fatherly passion by addressing the movement’s future leaders.

In his annual report, he wrote, ‘I have enjoyed amazing support from the Fellowship that I was birthed in, and want to place on record my deep appreciation and thanks to all who have stood with me and encouraged me along the way.

‘I thank God for the young leaders who are doing wonderful things for God; we have worked hard to provide a better day for you. I say to you, “Be strong, be brave and daring for God, attempt the impossible, but at all times guard your character, your family relationships and love each other with a pure love; people matter to God.”

‘This next stage of the journey calls for us to be strong, loyal and active for the better days that I believe are beckoning us all. This is a time to build, to stand together and to appreciate so much that we take for granted. ‘I strongly believe in the future of our fellowship, and hold to the promise that was given to me in 1984 that “God hasn’t finished with the Assemblies of God”.’

Paul officially stepped down at this year’s annual conference, where he was publicly thanked for 25 years’ service as a  national leader in the movement. He has fulfilled roles on the national executive, as assistant General Superintendent and latterly, General Superintendent; a role occupied since 1995.

He said his resignation followed ‘prolonged discussions’ with the National Leadership Team on seasons of leadership, style and vision.

And, despite suffering a heart attack last year, Paul says he is fitter than he been for years, and there is no long term damage to his heart.

At the conference including, tributes were made to Paul, a heartwarming speech from former national leader, Alan Hewit and presentation of a watch. An offering was also taken up for Paul and faithful wife, Jenn.

Paul, meanwhile, said he didn’t know what he was going to do next. In typical fashion, he publicly offered his services as a mentor to any young leaders wanting discipleship and spiritual input.

THE FOUR REMAINING MEMBERS

of AoG’s National Leadership Team say there is ‘great hope for the future’ as a new chapter in the movement begins.

Following the resignation of Superintendent Paul Weaver, ministers David Shearman, Doug Williams, Paul Alexander and John Andrews will take on the leadership of the movement. All have said they won’t be taking on the role of Superintendent at this stage.

Pastor Shearman said it was the teams job to find who God has anointed to take the movement forward. He added, ‘The heart of the fellowship is to have leadership. There clearly has to be leadership. Anything with more than one head is a monster, so there needs to be leadership.’

Rev. Job Gnanaprakasam

Rev. Job Gnanaprakasam is one of the most dedicated, well-known apostles of his time in India. Born in 1925 to orthodox Hindu parents, the Lord saved him during one of the meetings conducted by Rev. & Mrs. Livesey, the British Assemblies of God Missionaries in 1943. He then gave his heart to Christ and was baptized and surrendered himself to His glorious ministry. 

Rev. Livesey taught him the Word of God and led him into the pastures. He was given ordination in 1948 as the Pastor of the church by Rev. Donald Gee, the Father of the Pentecostal Churches, Rev. Woodford and Rev. Lawrence Livesey, England. 

His wife Ruth was raised up by a Godly missionary. Though she was brought up amidst affluent circumstances but she chose to be the wife of a pastor a journey which was very difficult but rewarding in course of time.

Their ministerial work began in a very simple and modest way. As the first step they were preaching in the hamlets in the streets and then moved to town churches and cities. The Lord made them stand even in the great cities of U.S.A, England, Africa, Germany, and other countries in Europe and Asia. The Lord has honored them with a great ministry. They were unable to bear the burden of the wealth of God’s ministry alone and the substance of God’s ministry was so limitless that they had to beckon to their children to come and help them. The Lord has given them four sons, two daughters and all of them are married. Their last son has gone to be with the Lord. They are blessed with 10 grand children. They all support them in their ministry. As Joshua says in Josh. 24:15, ‘As for me and my house we will serve the Lord’. On October 26th, 2005, Mother Ruth was called home to receive her rewards in Heaven.

Dr. Job has obeyed the apostolic calling in his life and God has today given them 450 churches all over India. Today his eldest son, Rev. Dr. David Prakasam is the president of all the ministries that have been established by him. Here are the ministries that they are involved with:

Bible Colleges for Men & Women

Tailoring school for women

Children Homes for Boys and Girls

Bethel Livesy Memorial Middle School, Mielkal

Homes for Hill tribe children

Film Ministry

Family Welfare Schemes

Leper Rehabilitation Homes

Widows Homes

REV. MICHAEL AND DIANE ROLLO

Michael was born in Fraserburgh in 1956 and was “born again” through a Church of Scotland Summer mission in the late 70’s.  He was baptized in the Holy Spirit at a Cairnbulg Convention in 1980, following a challenging message from David Skelton; later that year he was baptized in water.

Michael worked in the Bank when he left school, studied for his bank examinations, then later moved to industry.

In 1982 He married Diane, a nurse from the NE fishing village of Gardenstown.  Diane was converted through Luis Palau’s ministry. Michael and Diane were heavily involved in the local Fraserburgh AOG Church when they were called to full time leadership. In 1986 they moved to Retford, with their small children John and Lyndsey, while Michael studied at Mattersey Hall.

In 1989 they accepted a call to pastor Larbert Pentecostal Church, in Central Scotland, where they have remained since. 

During their time in Larbert, the Church has grown little by little, to its present size of about 160 people, including children.  They also undertook a major building project in the late 90’s, when the hall was practically rebuilt.

The Church now has a full programme of weekly activities. In a typical week around 250 plus people will be touched by the ministry of the Church.

Michael and Diane have been married for 26 years.  They have four children and a grand-daughter.  Their eldest son, John, is the Church Youth Pastor. All the children play a very supportive role in the life of the Church.

Michael served as Scottish Assemblies Of God Regional administrator for around fourteen years but in recent years he has stepped back from Regional office to devote more time to the local assembly. Diane is also a member of the Pastoral Team.  She has a part time job, with a Christian charity,  teaching a healthy Lifestyle programme to Primary School Children.

Michael is a director of the Scottish Bible Society and of Positive Steps, a Christian Charity. He is a Religious Representative on Falkirk Council Education Committee and a member of the chaplaincy team in Larbert High School. In recent years he has ministered overseas in the Philippines, Kenya, Ukraine, USA, Hawaii, Ireland, India, Austria, Brazil and Belarus, and Burundi.

Mrs. Norah Spraggins

I have known Norah for many years who, along with her late husband, Stanley, did excellent service for the Lord both at home and abroad. Please pray for our dear sister that she may know the continued blessing of God upon her life and labours.

When I knelt by my bed on September 24, 1934,at the age of eleven, and committed my life to the Lord I could never have imagined the way my future would unfold. Now I look back and rejoice at the experiences with which I have been blessed in so many ways.

The war years were spent in the Admiralty where I worked in a special section set up to receive and send signals to all parts of the world so that wherever ships and stations were to be found they knew what was happening..

By the autumn of 1952 I was married and serving with my husband in a pioneer A.O.G in Kings Lynn.

Two years later we were bound for Africa to fulfill the Lord’s calling to serve Him in the Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of Congo) where we worked on a number of bush stations. It was a joy to work alongside men and women whose hearts The Lord had touched and to see others commit themselves to God’s way of life.

When our colleagues went home for a break it became my responsibility to care for the school whilst my husband visited in the area of our work which was about the size of East Anglia.

From 1960 until 1982 I enjoyed being a pastor’s wife, as well as teaching Religious Education in the comprehensive sector. Over all those years until the present time I have been able to minister in many different churches, The Lord has been so good in that he is always with me and I rejoice in His constant help.