“For the Lord is sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Psalms 84:11 KJV
Dera Bassi church is named after the town in which it is situated. A small sized town is part of Punjab and situated on National Highway connecting Chandigarh to Delhi its 230 kms i.e.145 miles from New Delhi and 15 miles from Chandigarh. There are a few Christian families residing in this town. There was no Church building in a long stretch of 30 miles. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ placed retired Army Colonel in this town who had completed Masters Degree from Fullers’ Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA. For the first time in the history of this town celebrated Christmas in public function in 2005. Amazingly, people mistook that for birthday party of Col (Retd) Ernest M Massey. It was the level of awareness or say ignorance about Christianity despite of the work of two to three persons were preaching the word of God independently and results were not very encouraging.
Maken family from Miami visited Dera Bassi and God used them build a church at Dera Bassi along with parsonage just adjacent to the church. thus facilitating the spread of His kingdom. On 23rd December 2007, Dera Bassi Church was dedicated by Pastor Bud McCord
Col Massey is the ordained Senior Pastor of this church. There are seven families in the church comprising of 25 members. Church is involved in lot of social activities in the slum areas. One of the political leaders (senator) of Punjab Assembly was kind to us. He provided water connection for the slum area. Punjab and its neighboring states have quite less number of Christians. There are sometimes (two to three times a year) protests by Hindus and Sikhs during the conventions and public functions of Christians. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is kind to us; we have His protection and can worship freely but are conscious of the fact of the latent threat against spreading the kingdom of God openly.
Our church has been growing steadily towards its firm footing in a biblical way i.e. boldly, with full assurance of God and grounded through word of God. We have compassion for poor and needy. Every week some seekers come and hear Bible based message and they start visiting us. We have gradually progressed and two marriages have been solemnized. It is the first time in this town, Christian marriage took place. Likewise first time immersion baptisms were conducted in the baptism tank right in front of the congregation in the church, similar to what happens in USA. A total of ten persons were baptized after they were formally taught about baptism, its importance and the responsibilities of the believer after the baptism.
It is heartening to note that since last year, the shops of this have started keeping stuff regarding Christmas festival. Although it is more of commercial usage yet Dera Bassi Church has been able to create awareness amongst the townsmen. Praise the Lord.
Shobha Mathews being baptized
Prayer Requests:
Dera Bassi Church is being used by God. We really praise our God for that. We have one prayer request for the Graveyard. In this County there is no Graveyard for the Christians .They have to go to another county to bury their Family members which is very tough. as it is very far away. Our Church needs to buy a piece of land for this purpose in this county. We need prayers and your help Continual support is needed. We are very thankful to you for remembering our Church in your prayers
Signing off in the Mighty name of Lord Jesus Christ
Col (Retd) Ernest M. Massey Senior Pastor Dera Bassi Church, Dera Bassi, Punjab, India
