God is doing amazing things in India. Hundreds of children hear the good news of Jesus Christ every year through VBS camps conducted by Zion Evangelist and Care Ministries (ZEC) and its founders, Syam and Esther. The couple started ZEC in 2005 because of their heart for the poor and needy. Now the team of more than 70 workers and volunteers serves children all across Visakhapatnam in southeastern India.
Through the years, many children came to Christ, became VBS volunteers, and even church planters. In a predominately Hindu region with little resources for education, Syam became like a “traveling seminary,” as Pastor Craig Smith, Missions Pastor at Northwoods Church in Peoria, Illinois says. During his visits to India, Pastor Craig saw how God nurtured Syam and Esther’s missional efforts. “They’d see hundreds and hundreds of children weeping and responding to the good news of Jesus.”
ZEC Ministries now sends volunteers to conduct VBS camps within churches they launched. To create a deeper, more relational connection, “rooftop Bible clubs” began. These regular meetings attract upwards of 50 children, so they meet on flat rooftops and study God’s word.
“It’s what helps them continue to sew seeds in their Christian life through participation in these clubs,” says Pastor Craig.
Syam, Esther, and their sons, Judah and Jesse, who are also going into ministry, will be at the FEC conference this month on July 27th and 28th in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We praise God for how he has used generational discipleship in both ZEC Ministries and Syam and Esther’s family.
