A group of eight people from churches around Sydney responded to a call from the Indian Gospel League (IGL) to provide more training for new leaders earlier this winter.

Backed by Moore College and led by the Rev Ken Noakes, assistant minister at Naremburn-Cammeray Anglican Church, the group made the journey to Salem, a six hour train ride from Chennai (Madras) in Southern India, to teach a theology course called ‘Creation to New Creation’.

The week-long course, a version of the Moore College ‘Introduction to the Bible’ Course, was taught on alternate weeks, first to men and then women, keen to expand their Bible knowledge.

“In India at the moment, particularly within the IGL, there is a massive growth going on within the church,” said team member, Blair Courtney-O’Connor. “The problem is that the development within the church is lagging behind.”

Teaching the course, attended by around 25-35 each week, proved rewarding, but also presented some difficulties. “There were times when there was no equivalent understanding from our culture to their culture, our language to their language,” said Mr Courtney-O’ Connor. “But we received numerous comments that each pastor would go back to their own congregations and use what was taught to them.”

In the second week, the first week for the women, the teams travelled to a series of conferences in neighbouring regions within Tamil Nadu.

“The most encouraging thing was meeting the women who were in the villages,” said Kara Gilbert, a pastoral worker at St Thomas’, North Sydney.

All those on the recent two week trip, which also included David Wakeling, Glenyss Carey, Karen Gettens, Anthony Elyard and Rachel Fairfull agreed they were “blown away by the work of Jesus Christ in India”.