KOLKATA MINISTRY REPORT -- 1995-2006

Many people have burden for the lost souls in India and Kolkata (previously called Calcutta) being one of the most populated city in India has caught the imagination of many preachers and men of God. But the one who took the real step to reach out with the full Gospel to this city is Pastor Daniel Darlong. He completed his Theology graduation in 1992 February and evangelized in different places of North East India before coming to Kolkata. While constructing a new church building in the small state of Tripura in the month of March he got an urgent phone call of Bro. Stanley Scism from the United States of America asking him to go to Kolkata for ministering there and he immediately got ready to go to Kolkata as soon as possible. On the 18th March of 1995 he took a flight to Kolkata from Guwahati reaching there on the same day. That was how the ministry in Kolkata was started.

Pastor Daniel Darlong has to face many difficulties as soon as he reached Kolkata Airport. There was no one to receive him or show him where he will stay when he landed in the Kolkata Airport and as he didn't know anywhere to go from the Airport he prayed for half an hour in front of the taxi drivers who were pulling him and his luggages to board their taxi. He kept on praying for God's direction and later heard a voice directing him to go to a nearby Christian institution (St. Stephen's Vocational Training Centre). Here he stayed for one month. During his one month stay in that Vocational Centre 9(nine) people from USA came and visit to encourage him. They were Late Rev. Wayne Pounders, Bro. Paul Denise, Bro. Jonathan Suber, Bro. Richard Hinkle, Bro. Stanley Scism and Sis. Tonya Blackwell and others. It was the first service that they had in Kolkata on 8th-9th April1995 at William Carey Hall of the Church of North India (CNI) auditorium. It was a very successful meeting by the blessings of God and after two days meeting 4(four) people were baptized in Jesus name at 7:00pm at Hooghly river in the darks of the evening. Those were the first water baptism in Jesus name in this 11(eleven) years of ministry. From that very day started the United Pentecostal Church's true Apostolic Doctrine ministry in Kolkata.

After settling down, sometimes later the North East India UPC Headquarter send Bro. V. Biaksangliana to assist me in the ministry. The following year Bro. Pounders, Bro. and Sis. Richard Hinkle and Bro. Steve Dickson came to visit me on 19th Feb. 1996. And in 1997 Rev. Jonathan Suber's family and two young men Bro. Jason Dillon and Bro. Brian Stock came to assist Pastor Daniel Darlong in the ministry. They stayed in Kolkata city for 5(five) months praying for God's move here in Kolkata.

On 3rd June 1998, Rev. Wayne Pounders, Rev. Paul Dennis, the then UPCI Regional Director of Asia and Bro. Ray from USA and Rev. P. Chunga from North East India came to finalized and we purchased the present building in August 1998. Before this the Pastor was living in a rented room. There were only two Christian families of other churches where our building is when the present building was purchased. And now we have presently three churches in and around the City of Kolkata. One at Dum Dum Airport looked after by Pastor Daniel Darlong, at Batanagar, looked after by Pastor V. Biaksangliana and the other at Howrah, looked after by Pastor Simon Das.

After starting the Compassion International Children Development project we could share the Word of God to the families in the area around with this Children ministry program. They are the same people who had refused to even talk to Pastor Daniel Darlong when he first started evangelizing in the area. After teaching the children and their family members about the Word of God through this Compassion Children Development project they continuously invites the Pastor to share with them the Word of God and pray for them in time of their sorrow and happiness. We can reached about 200 houses through this children project and share with them the Gospel ­ our main aim and objective of establishing the church in the city of Kolkata which were not possible in the past.

We are blessed with many well-wishers and people praying for us. We use to have occasional visitors from different parts of the world from Louisiana districts of USA, the Downs from Australia, the Scandinavians, the Singaporeans, the Corbins from Bangladesh and others. Besides visitors from the Louisiana Districts of US, Tabernacle of Joy of Singapore is one of the most important people who have continuously encouraged us through their prayers and helped us in different aspects of the ministry. In 2005 year, with the visit of Scandinavian Youth Team and Tabernacle of Joy Team, the church has been greatly blessed with Spiritual Revival in the church and as well as among the children. In 2005, fifty-nine (59) people were water baptized in Jesus name and ninety-nine (99) people received the Holy Ghost at Dum Dum Church alone. Praise the Lord! This is the greatest sign of progress we have witness in this eleven years of ministering in the city of Kolkata. We believe that this is just the beginning.

Now the ministry is extended to the neighboring states of Bihar and Jharkhand. The ministry in Bihar and Jharkhand started on 5th May 2005 and it is rapidly growing. So far, we have four churches established with 60 people water baptized and around 39 people filled with Holy Ghost. One of the Trinitarian Pastor baptized Bro. Bhagwan Pandit, and another Trinitarian Bible College graduate Bro. Prem Jaslok and Dr. Mukesh Bhakta are now looking after the churches' day to day activities under the guidance of the local church committee which were formed as the ministry was growing rapidly. These churches have been supported by the Dum Dum local church for the smooth running of the works there.

The first crusade of the United Pentecostal Church was held in 22nd - 23rd October 2005. Rev. James Corbin was our main speaker in the Crusade who was accompanied by his assistant Bro. Peter Biswas. More than 460 people attended the Crusade and three people were baptized in Jesus name and 61 people received the Holy Ghost. We are really thankful to Rev. James Corbin and Bangladesh brethren for their continuous prayers for the ministry in Kolkata.

We would like to see as many lost souls as possible to come to Christ and accept Him as their savoir and worship Him.
It is my earnest prayer to the Almighty God that He will keep the works of saving the lost souls in the City of Kolkata and the whole of India going from strength to strength for His glory only.

God Bless Kolkata Ministry.

Pastor Daniel Darlong
Kolkata