Building For The Future - Andhra Pradesh, India

An update from Jaya Prakash Ravuri, Lead Pastor of Calvary Gospel Church, Gundugolanu, Andhra Pradesh, India….

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am Jaya Prakash, pastor of Calvary Gospel Church. On behalf of our entire church family, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Sovereign Grace Church for your precious gospel partnership, and especially for your generous partnership with us toward our church extension project.

I would like to briefly share our story.

We live in an orthodox Hindu community. My father, Mr. Subbarao, was a faithful believer and a local evangelist. In the 1990s, he started a small house church, which continued faithfully until 2015. I grew up in this fellowship, where we were about 20 members.

In 2015, my father went to be with the Lord. By God’s grace, I had received formal pastoral training, and I continued the ministry. As the Lord graciously brought new believers, our church began to grow steadily. Soon, we felt a deep need for a larger place of worship.

However, living in a community that is often resistant to the gospel, it was very difficult to acquire land for a church building, or have anyone willing to let us rent off them. In 2016, we added another floor to our house to accommodate around 70 people. By 2025, our congregation had grown to 80, and the space became too small. At times, people had to stand outside during the service due to lack of space.

Finding new land remained extremely difficult, so expanding our existing building became our only option. Our plan was to extend the church by an additional 500 square feet, which would allow space for about 70 more people, along with a pastor’s office and a guest room on the upper floor.

The estimated cost of this project was around $30,000. Most of our church members are daily wage earners with limited financial means, and we were only able to raise about 20% of the required funds.

I shared this need with Sovereign Grace through Dave Taylor and Todd Peterson of Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, Texas. We were not expecting what we received, and were deeply moved by the sacrificial giving of so many brothers and sisters from Sovereign Grace Churches and Cross of Grace Church. Our hearts were filled with joy and gratitude when we learned that Sovereign Grace was willing to support the remaining financial need.

By God’s grace, the construction was completed in about six months. Today, we have a much larger space where our congregation can gather comfortably. No longer do people need to stand outside. Truly, the Lord has done great things for us, and we give all glory and praise to His name.

On behalf of our entire church family, I extend our heartfelt thanks to each one of you who generously and sacrificially contributed to this project. Thank you for partnering with us in the gospel.

Looking ahead, we hope to acquire a nearby place where we can host special programs such as Christmas celebrations, church conferences, and Christian weddings. We humbly request you to keep us in your prayers.

With gratitude in Christ,
Jaya Prakash