The Odyssey – Posted by Permission from Harry Brown

The following is a story from India and as this story demonstrates; if we allow God to use us, He will.

Jyoti has a passion for oral learners and has trained hundreds of women who are now starting and leading Bible storytelling groups. But after attending the Disciple Making Movement training in Delhi, November 2011, she realized she wanted to be part of starting a Disciple Making Movement among the middle and upper class in her city, located in a state in north India– a social strata where the church has yet to see breakthrough.

So Jyoti started a neighborhood English class for women. In the middle of each lesson,  she would somehow insert a simple statement about God and what he meant to her. The women were touched and began asking her to pray for them. Soon she was starting every class with prayer and the ladies were opening up about family problems.

Then Jyoti taught the women that they could pray for themselves — anytime, anywhere. That was a turning point. They began to tell how Jesus was giving them peace and making their lives happier. Their self-image was being restored.

Amita, a widow who was so depressed she wouldn’t even make eye contact with people, began speaking boldly and sharing her new hope in the Lord. And when she asked for a Bible, Jyoti took the opportunity to introduce the whole group to the Discovery Bible Study. The women dove into the discussion of the scriptures. “It’s amazing how they have begun understanding God in a personal way,” says Jyoti.

Because of social and religious pressure from their upper class community, these women will not be permitted to go to a traditional church — but they can easily be discipled in the informal DBS group. And Jyoti is finding that these ladies have influence in their social strata. In fact, she sees great potential for this Discovery Bible Study to multiply and someday become the citywide movement she longs to see.

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