Training Strong Workers in Darjeeling

Praise God for the presence of the Spirit of God who makes Darjeeling Bible Training Center a growing influence in north West Bengal state and beyond.

Dr. Costa S. Deir (now with the Lord), who earned five Ph.D. degrees in his lifetime, was a tireless missionary, evangelist, writer, traveler and trainer of Christian leaders around the world. He influenced many thousands of Christians with leadership potential in many areas, including evangelism and missions.

In his various books, he states a basic principle that lies at the heart of every Christian endeavor: “The strength of the work lies in the worker.” His goal was to encourage and produce strong leaders in whom he could make biblical principles of leadership second nature so they would become salt and light in their workplaces and communities.

While he lived, Dr. Deir visited India Bible College and Seminary (IBC) where he has continued to influence faculty and students alike who have later gone out throughout India and beyond to fulfill their God-given callings.

Two graduates of IBC who have learned and lived out what Costa Deir has taught are Pastors Pradeep Kumar and Mhontsen Lotha, who founded IGO’s ministry in Darjeeling, in north West Bengal, near the border with Nepal.

While at IBC, they both received calls from God to northeast India, especially to Nepali-speaking peoples. They were personally mentored by IGO President Valson Abraham who helped them develop a strong foundation and strategy for their future ministry. Before they went to Darjeeling in 2007, they honed their strategy by working among Nepali people in Ludhiana, Punjab.

Fifteen years ago, in 2010, they founded Darjeeling Bible Training Center and are focused upon producing a new generation of strong spiritual leaders based upon the strategies they learned at IBC and in Punjab.

Darjeeling Bible Training Center is the only Bible-centered school in a region of 35-40 million Nepali-speaking peoples. Most of them are Hindus and Buddhists. From the beginning, Pastors Pradeep and Mhontsen have felt a heavy burden to ensure that this school’s gospel light shines brighter than the appalling darkness that surrounds them. This cannot come from human strength and ingenuity alone but through strength that comes from the Holy Spirit.

Both Pastors Pradeep and Mhontsen are strong prayer warriors. The school faculty are prayer warriors, and their students and graduates are taught early on to become prayer warriors. They take everything to God in prayer both corporately and individually. They have a clear sense that God is willing to give, but they must first ask. Nothing is too big or small to ask of God.

All students at Darjeeling Bible Training Center are former Hindus or Buddhists. They were not brought up in Sunday school or church. They come from backgrounds where deities were regarded as impersonal forces or impulsive beings who must be placated before they can receive benefits. Some students have known demonic oppression in their past and have experienced God’s deliverance, motivating them all the more to trust His authority and power.

Learning to see God daily at work in their personal and corporate prayer lives reinforces their faith and motivation to boldly demonstrate the unique power and authority of Christ to people they will soon meet in their ministries, people who do not yet know Him.

A few examples of DBTC prayer focus (we could name many others):

The DBTC community actively prays for deeper Great Commission vision based upon Holy Spirit understanding and empowerment. They pray for continual filling of the Holy Spirit for wise leadership of the school. They pray for individual faculty/student needs and concerns, for unity of purpose and love for one another. They pray for God to bring the right men and women to the school, only those He has called to fulfill the Great Commission, dedicated to His ways.

When someone is ill, they pray for God’s healing touch. They pray for good study habits and examination times. They pray for a vehicle to enable them to conduct the business of the school. They pray for God to help them absorb and understand what they are learning, and the ability to apply it to real-life situations. They pray for faith to use their authority against demonic powers. Again, this is only a sampling of what they lay at the Lord’s feet.

After they graduate from DBTC and become workers, they have already received by daily experience the strength they need to become effective evangelists and church planters in a region where gospel light is only beginning to shine.

A few examples of things that have taken place in recent weeks and months:

God touched a student, Abhishek Rasaily, who experienced severe chest pain. When fellow students took him to the doctor, the doctor discovered heart issues. He was given time off to go to another city for treatment. For a time, it looked as if he would not return to school, but the students and faculty continued to pray regularly for him. A few days later, he returned to the school, completely healed, fully able to resume his studies.

Another student testifies of the unusual way he came to DBTC. His name is Sol Man Moktan, and he originally comes from Nepal. For several years, he worked at a good-paying job as a mechanic in Malaysia.

One day, he received a powerful vision from the Lord to study the Word of God and return to Nepal where he would serve as an evangelist/church planter. The vision was so real, personal and powerful, he felt he had no choice but to drop everything he was doing right away and make the long trip back to Nepal, still not knowing what his next step should be.

Right after he arrived home, his church had a visit from Pastor Mhontsen Lotha, IGO’s co-director at Darjeeling Bible Training Center, accompanied by another pastor. When the two men preached, Sol Man Moktan knew this message was for him because it touched upon the same message that he received in his vision.

At the end of his message, Pastor Mhontsen invited anyone in the audience to join the student body at Darjeeling Bible Training Center. Sol Man Moktan knew that invitation was God’s summons for him. He has since become a student at Darjeeling Bible Training Center and is now preparing for his future ministry back in Nepal. Although Nepal has more than 400 Bible schools, he knew that God was calling him specifically to study at DBTC in India.

Since all students are relatively new to the faith, Pastors Pradeep and Mhontsen spend much time in encouraging growing personal relationship with Christ and an ability to hear the voice of God. While openly sharing their own walks with God, they also bring in outsiders to encourage and to challenge renewal of mind (Romans 12).

Recently, the school conducted two days of spiritual emphasis. A locally known pastor came as the chief guest. This anticipated event, like all others, received much prayer ahead of time from faculty and students alike.

Those two days became crucial to the students. Most of them had special encounters with the Lord and received spiritual gifts they did not have before. Those two days resulted in other permanent life changes, and were not just the emotional result of a temporary “mountain top experience.” The teachers and students all expressed a desire of more such personal encounters with God beyond their academic studies.

Regularly taking everything to God in prayer has resulted in a strong sense of harmony with one another, Pastor Pradeep reports. Students feel free to share personal needs and struggles they face. As they prayerfully deal with these things together, they open themselves up to closer walks with God. Eventually, these things begin to spill out into the larger community that surrounds DBTC.

As the only Bible school among 35-40 million people, Darjeeling Bible Training Center receives a lot of attention and curiosity from the surrounding community. The united desire of everyone at DBTC is that the school will serve as a source of stability and love for a region that is often troubled by political divisions, demonic oppression and sickness.

During the COVID pandemic, DBTC helped to provide food and other basic supplies to many of those who were unable to feed their families. This provided an opening to demonstrate the love of Jesus to those who had no knowledge of Him. There is great openness to Jesus Christ among the people who live in Darjeeling and surrounding communities.

The larger community is becoming aware of DBTC by word of mouth. Many students return to their villages and tell their families and friends about the school and how it has changed their lives. It doesn’t take long for their families to discover the positive changes that a new relationship with God makes in their Christian family members, based upon foundations of answered prayer. This has sparked rising interest in what is happening at DBTC and has resulted in invitations to graduates to come and explain the Good News.

A growing desire for truth has caused many people from the villages to request admission to DBTC, or at least visitations from students and faculty to learn more about Jesus Christ.

Darjeeling Bible Training Center has become more than a place to gain academic knowledge of the Bible in order to become theologically knowledgeable religious workers.

Rather, it has become a place where leaders, faculty and students intentionally seek to follow the two great commandments of Jesus—to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves. This has become the sure foundation for the strong worker who represents his/her Lord Jesus well in a society that desperately needs Him.

Pray that Darjeeling Bible Training Center’s gospel influence will continue to grow in north West Bengal and beyond.

Pray that all IGO training centers throughout India will train strong workers through Spirit-led prayer.

Pray for IGO training centers to be started in every state and territory of India.

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