Bethesda Gospel Mission

Bethesda Children's Homes

In John 5, the Bible reveals a pool called Bethesda near Jerusalem where Jesus heals a man who has been lame for over thirty-eight years. In the Hebrew language Bethesda literally means "House of Mercy." On that day the lame man encounters and experiences mercy in the presence of Jesus Christ and his life is forever changed.

According to UNICEF and USAID, 47% of India’s children younger than 3 are malnourished; more than 2 million children die annually from preventable and curable infectious diseases and other causes. Though it is against the law to abort the fetus because of its sex, abortion is legal. Female feticide is still practiced in parts of the country, where an infant girl is valued considerably less than a boy. Girls are seen as a burden on the family, requiring a large dowry, which many poor families cannot afford. It is estimated that more than 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in the last two decades.

In our homes we care for children from different communities, regardless of racial or religious belonging. Our purpose is to promote the total development of children through loving care in a home-like atmosphere with adequate nutrition and healthy social interaction. We provide: Essential care, emotional rebuilding, spiritual teaching, and secular education.

South Malabar Theological College

SMTC exists to serve local churches by developing God-called men for authentic Christian leadership. We believe that we must train nationals to reach their own people instead of sending foreign missionaries. Nationals are culturally conditioned and sensitive to reaching their own people. Nationals do not need to spend years in language study. Nationals are physically and psychologically adjusted to both the climate and the culture. As natural born citizens, they have rights and privileges which might not be extended to foreigners and they are economically conditioned to live on very little in comparison to foreign missionaries. Our students come to us from all parts of India thus we have graduates working in a variety of fields all over the country. Many new students have never heard the glorious gospel of love, so when they leave, the message and the way of kingdom life spread wherever they plant their feet.

Church Planters

Several students from our college return to their native villages to start communities of faith. They care for the physical and spiritual needs of the local people in a way that others from outside of that community simply cannot. We support our students financially, either for a short period (until the local congregation is able), or longer, as they often serve in highly impoverished areas. We currently have faith communities in Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Visit our FB page to see more pictures of these communities. If you would like to support these native missionaries or our children, students, teachers, and workers, click on 'Donate' in the navigation bar.