The Secret of How One Man Has Planted
Over 5,000 Churches in 4 Countries
and Has Won Over 500,000 Souls
to Christ in 47 Years
But it’s how he’ll be rewarded that could really affect you personally …
By Jack McElroy, President
McElroy Electronics Corporation
Shirley, Massachusetts
I know what you’re thinking, Dear Reader,
It’s impossible. One man can’t do all that, even in 45 years. And you’re right, one man can’t and didn’t—acting alone.
But…
An inspired leader can accomplish this and more.
And it’s what this man will accomplish in the future (Lord willing) that affects you.
I’ll get to that in a minute. But first, let me introduce you to this extraordinary friend of mine who has accomplished so much for the Lord.
His name is Dr. G.S. Nair. He is a former Indian Army officer and high-caste Hindu who was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1972. And like the Apostle Paul after his conversion, the same can be said of Dr. Nair: “straightway he preached Christ … that he is the Son of God.”
I’ve known Brother G.S. since 1982. He has stayed in our home many times over the past 40+ years. I’ve traveled with him to support churches in the United States. But more importantly, I have visited him and seen the ministry in India firsthand.
Here’s what I take away from our relationship…
He reminds me of the apostle Paul.
That may sound like a bold claim, but let me show you why I make it.
I can do it best by contrasting his appearance in the United States versus at home in India, where he is “in the field.”
First, when Brother G.S. visits supporting churches in the United States, he is usually introduced as “one of our missionaries.” And so he is.
But missionaries just don’t seem to have the “celebrity” status they once had. When they’re at a new or supporting church, many folks just walk by with little thought or care about what missionaries are today and what they’re doing. Perhaps this is because the cost of being a missionary today is low compared to what it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Modern transportation (cheap airline travel) and modern communications (Skype and email) have largely taken danger and daring out of the mix, and no one goes to the mission field to “die” anymore. So missionaries are sort of a commodity.
I’ve seen it in the way missionaries are treated when I’ve traveled with G.S., and I get it. Don’t get me wrong, Brother G.S. is the last person to seek “celebrity status.”
But it would be a shame to overlook this extraordinary man, just as it would have been a shame to overlook the Apostle Paul when he came to town: “And when we came to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.”
Second, Dr. Nair’s thick Indian-English accent is sometimes hard to understand.
Like the Apostle Paul, G.S. is “rude in speech, yet not in knowledge.”
Yet this man of God speaks Malayalam (his native tongue), English, Hindi, and several Indian dialects (I wonder what kind of accent the apostle Paul had?).
Third, G.S. is not physically domineering and doesn’t dress ostentatiously or try to “project an image” of being someone special.
In fact, his demeanor is like that of the Apostle Paul, who said of himself “in presence am base among you.”
He is a humble and unassuming man.
But here’s what the average Christian doesn’t see…
Back in India, the comparison is even more pronounced.
The Apostle Paul said, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.” And, like Paul, G.S. travels extensively, ministering to pastors and folks in the churches he’s had a hand in planting.
Burdened for the welfare of the believers and edification of the saints, Brother G.S. constantly visits churches throughout India, as well as the churches in Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, and Bhutan.
The apostle Paul went on three missionary journeys that we’re told of. I’m sure he would have gone on more if he’d had better transportation.
Brother G.S. has probably logged more miles than any three busy executives of multinational corporations.
And speaking of church plants…
It’s been estimated that the Apostle Paul started at least 14 churches in his lifetime. Although G.S. has personally planted 4 churches to date, he’s responsible for a couple of thousand more, as you’ll see later.
I could go on about G.S. and the Apostle Paul, but I want to get to more important matters…
Who doesn’t want to support church planters?
Just about every church I know wants to support church planters. I’ve been in and around independent Baptist churches for nearly 45 years. Just about every pastor I know has a policy of only supporting missionaries who are church planters.
But G.S. has done more than that.
He has multiplied himself by creating…
46 "Church Planter" Factories
I know it sounds weird, but because I’m a businessman, that’s what it looks like to me.
The “factories” that G.S. has created include:
- 4 Bible Colleges
- A Seminary
- 41 Bible College Extension Schools
Through these facilities, G.S. has trained over 4,500 other church planters. The focus of the Bible colleges, seminary, and extension schools is not just to graduate men who can pastor a church, but men who can go out and start new churches––they are entrepreneurial pastors, if you will.
What’s important about these church planters is that they’re nationals––folks from different parts of India, Myanmar, Nepal, and other countries, who go back to their own states or countries to evangelize their kinsmen according to the flesh.
And why is that such a big deal?
Because, unlike foreign missionaries, nationals don’t have to go to a language school or adapt to a new culture. But of course, even if you wanted to send foreign missionaries to India, you can’t. India’s been a closed mission field since 1978.
And what church doesn’t want its missionaries to be…
Big-time soul winners?
Isn’t that what we expect? Isn’t that why we want “reports from the field” to assure us that the mission's budget is being spent wisely?
G.S. is a great evangelist. But he’s more than that; he’s a soul-winning leader who has developed a proven method of raising and teaching others how to win souls by the thousands–– to the tune of over 500,000 souls won to Christ over the past 47 years. That’s right––500,000. Not 50, 500, or 4,500. Hey, even 5,000 would be considered phenomenal.
You’ve got to be wondering, how are these fellows taught the ropes?
The secret sauce is…
The world’s most unusual summer job.
This Church Planting Summer Ministry Outreach is the grand engine of our church planting model in India. They've used it for over 47 years–– because it works.
Instead of going home for summer break, many of their students and faculty members serve with evangelistic teams, traveling throughout India to reach many for Christ. Typically, 60-70 teams are sent out, with 6-8 students and faculty members in each team.
Here’s what each team does:
- Invite people to gospel meetings through door-to-door evangelism
- Hand out hundreds of thousands of tracts each summer
- Hold street meetings, Bible studies, and cottage meetings
- Preach, sing, and give testimonies at evangelistic meetings
- Deal one-on-one with inquirers, seeking to lead them to Christ
- Do follow-up work that results in Bible studies, baptism of new converts, and establish new churches
The Results
Through these efforts, over 5,000 churches (with over 500,000 souls) in all the states of India have been founded (plus 80 more churches in neighboring countries).
Over 100 home Bible studies are being conducted in preparation for becoming newly organized local assemblies. Plans are also being made to enter Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and other countries.
Over the past 47 years, the Lord has blessed the “church planter” ministries with over 5,000 graduates––with many more helping in various ministries (children’s homes, Christian schools, etc.). Over 85% of these graduates go on to full-time service for the Lord. That’s an astounding rate of faithfulness among the graduates of the colleges.
But here’s the amazing thing; in addition to all his responsibilities…
G.S. Nair is still a local church pastor.
G.S. always tells folks in his presentation in the United States that he is a pastor. And that he is. In 1978, he founded and is still the pastor of People’s Baptist Church in Trivandrum, India. Even with his great responsibilities and travels, Dr. Nair is still a local church pastor with a pastor’s heart.
Not only is Brother G.S. committed to the ministry of the Word, but like our Savior, G.S. is a compassionate man pitying the fatherless and widows…
As the Scripture says:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)
His compassion and leadership have produced…
26 children’s homes…
Some call them orphanages. But he doesn’t.
That’s because the children are cared for by a pastor, his wife, and members of a local church. They don’t see the children as “orphaned” anymore. They are members of a family. And lots of these kids come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior.
Do you know how much that means to each of the 515 little ones they care for? Oh, and by the way, the ministry doesn’t go looking for orphans. There are plenty of them. G.S. has a special and unique way of developing these homes, but we don’t have time now to get into that.
… and many additional ministries
I could go on about how the mission also oversees 8 private schools (five in India and one in Nepal) with an enrollment of over 2,100 students. They are not labeled as “Christian” but private instead. This allows for presenting the Gospel in an unencumbered way.
Many non-Christian parents send their children to these schools because of the quality of education their children receive. Hundreds of children and many of their parents have come to know the Lord through this outreach. Recently, one of the Schools in Manipur State conducted a youth camp where forty came to know the Lord.
Plus there are 2 vocational training centers for women, an assisted living home, a ministry to lepers in two Indian states (yes, there is still leprosy in India), 2 ladies’ homes (providing for 11 women, mostly widows, some of whom have been rejected by their families because of their faith in Christ), and a home for 30 abused girls. Plus, a New Drug Rehabilitation Center and medical ministry are in the works.
If you ever get the chance, don’t miss the opportunity to experience a true visionary.
Sometimes all we see is the speaker behind the pulpit with a PowerPoint presentation, but Brother G.S. is so much more than that.
He is a Spirit-filled visionary who has set up an evangelistic and charitable organization that actually does everything we say we believe in.
So if you ever get the opportunity to meet and speak to this extraordinary man, grab it.
Spend as much time as you can with him, and let his vision challenge and warm your heart. You won’t find many other men today who will inspire you like Brother Nair.
But as I mentioned earlier…
It’s how he’ll be rewarded that really affects you.
Here’s what I mean.
We’ve all been taught about rewards and crowns the Lord will give to faithful servants, and no doubt G.S. is in line for his.
But let me tell you a story about who else will be standing alongside him and getting rewards for his deeds as well, and how you can be included in the group…
None of Dr. Nair’s accomplishments ever would’ve happened had it not been for three elderly widows and a medical missionary.
In 1972, G.S. was diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted to a Baptist Mid-Missions hospital. While there, he came to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior through reading the Bible and the consistent witness of a medical missionary doctor named. Quentin Kenoyer and his wife’s name was Marleah. They served the Lord faithfully in India for 26 years. It’s been said of Dr. Kenoyer that “Today, some of the influential pastors in the area testify that they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ while they were patients” at his hospital.
But here’s the thing; contributions to that hospital ministry were made by…
Three or four elderly widows
Here’s the story of their 100+ fold return on investment.
Although there are many people that helped to build the General Hospital, here’s a story GS relates about the TB sanatorium from missionaries who work there.
They told him that there were three or four widows who financed the building of the TB sanatorium and especially the ward in which he was kept.
These ladies never knew how the Lord would eventually multiply their investment by the hundreds of thousands of saved souls that would be to their account.
Like the scripture says, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Ecclesiastes 11:1.
On the Day of Judgment, there will be several widow ladies who will receive great rewards credited to their account because it was their sacrificial giving that helped one medical missionary reach one man through whom the Lord has already reached over 500,000 souls.
How’s that for more than a hundredfold return on investment?
They gave because there was a cause—the souls of men and women for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died. Dr. Nair works because of this cause.
Those ladies sacrificially gave to a work that they prayed would win some people to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But they had no idea how their prayers would be answered. They could never have anticipated the return on their investment. What they didn’t know was that one of the folks who would be won to the Lord would be a high-caste Hindu Indian Army officer named G.S. Nair, who like the apostle Paul would be
…a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles… Acts 9:15
And they never would have dreamed that through G.S. Nair and his ministry, over 250,000 people would come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior––that’s a lot of fruit from their prayers and sacrificial giving.
We all know from Scripture that there’s a judgment day coming when the Lord is going to hand out crowns.
I can see the tears of joy flowing down their faces as the Lord rewards them abundantly above all they could’ve ever asked or thought. He’s already told each of them, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
They’ve already heard those words. But this will be another time when all can rejoice at the work the Lord has done in them and through them.
Does the Lord care about what those widows did? You bet he does. Consider the widow’s mite. Although we don’t know her name, we do know her deed. But someday we will know her name. And someday we will know the names of those ladies as well.
I’m happy for them now, but I’ll be rejoicing with exceeding great joy then.
But what about you?
You can’t go on the streets of India teeming with lost souls and handing out tracts. You can’t preach to or teach these folks who desperately need to know the truth.
Even if you wanted to, you can’t. You can’t get a missionary visa to do any of these things in the country of India.
But you can change the world in a big way— one soul at a time, by investing in a whole army of men and women who are ready to do these things in your stead.
You can become that foreign missionary to India by investing in them, just like those ladies invested in the hospital that was instrumental in the salvation of G.S. Nair.
You are not just investing in “a missionary” but in a life-changing, dynamic, international ministry that is comprehensive (everything we say we believe in––they do); built on a biblical model (the ministry of a local church); and seasoned with 40 years of efficient, cost-effective, and extraordinary results.
Sign up for the email letter to learn how you can become part of the team that’s changing the world for Christ in India and surrounding countries.
Now Available: A new book about Dr. G.S. Nair and PBMI…
Building His Father’s Business… One Soul at a Time
The true story of a modern-day Apostle Paul
G.S. Nair, the Missionary-Entrepreneur of India
The book reveals highlights about this extraordinary man and the ministry over the past 47 years. You’ll learn how they:
- Founded 4 Bible colleges and a seminary––with over 5,000 church-planting, soul-winning pastor graduates to date
- Founded 41 Bible college extension schools––reaching populations in nine Indian states and two other countries
- Founded 26 children’s homes––providing care for over 515 orphans
- Founded 8 private Christian schools––The ministry oversees five schools in India and one in Nepal
- Established an evangelistic, church-creating “factory” they call their Summer Outreach Ministry
- The colleges send out over 60 teams of students and faculty to various states of India
- They hold open-air evangelistic meetings.
- They preach, sing, give testimonies, and pass out hundreds of thousands of tracts.
- They make door-to-door visitations, initiate Bible studies, lead people to Christ, baptize new converts, establish new churches, and motivate them to reach their communities with the Gospel.
- Founded 2 vocational training centers for women––teaching women a trade that will enable them to effectively witness to other women.
- Established an assisted living home––providing a home for elderly believers.
- Developed a ministry to lepers in two states (yes, there is still leprosy in India) ––caring for folks who are unemployable and have been rejected by their families.
- Founded a ladies’ home––helping 11 women (mostly widows), some of whom have been rejected by their families because of their faith in Christ
- Founded a home for abused girls––providing care for 30 girls rescued from human traffickers
You’ll also learn how this man is being used by God…
- How as a Hindu G.S. read through the Bible in six months, trying to disprove it
- How Dr. Nair was saved in a Baptist Mid-Missions hospital in 1972
- The verse in Jeremiah that converted his heart
- How the Lord healed him of tuberculosis
- His call to the ministry
- How he was taught to depend on the Lord for his daily needs
- How in 1976 G.S. and three college friends with five dollars among them ventured out onto the streets of India to be about their Father’s business of establishing local Bible-believing churches
- The faith of his steadfast wife, Sarah Nair
- How he established a gospel team and developed a brand
- How G.S. and his family were the targets of a death threat
- How G.S. can tell when a person is possessed by a devil
- How demons can inhabit inanimate objects
- G.S.’s experience with a demon-possessed pastor’s daughter
- How demons did a “flyover” as G.S. was praying, just to show off their power
- G.S. Nair’s most precious Bible verses
- His best book for practical ministry knowledge
- How G.S. defines success
This book is…
Not just a missionary hero story.
Far from it.
You’ll get valuable insight, hints, and practical advice to help you serve the living God.
You will learn ministry-building secrets like:
- The soul-winning, church-planting model taught at the Bible colleges
- The “secret sauce” of evangelism used to plant over 4,600 churches and win over 460,000 souls to Christ starting from scratch.
- How they minister to lepers
- Five principles of prayer
- The remedy for doubt
- The four-step process to establishing New Testament churches
- How to balance ministry and family
- How to avoid burnout in the ministry
- Why do the college and seminary never advertise for students
- How do they determine which students to accept at the colleges
- How G.S. motivates faculty and staff
- The marks of a true Christian leader
- How to successfully deal with stress
- How to negotiate pricing with non-Christians––exactly what G.S. says to them
- How to get along with opposing neighbors
- The challenge of meeting payroll––what G.S. tells his workers when they get paid
- How to instill the right kind of spirit in staff and students
- How to hire the best workers
- Firing people––how to do it the right way
- How they build character
- How they made the ministry partially self-funding
About the Author
Jack McElroy is an entrepreneur, businessman, publisher, and author. He has authored three books and co-authored two others. Jack was raised as a Roman Catholic––attending a Catholic grammar and Jesuit high school. His life changed in 1978 when he became a Born Again Christian after a 2-year search for the answer to the question: “What happens to you after you die?” He has been the president of McElroy Electronics Corporation for over 45 years. He co-founded and was president of Dutchess County Cellular Telephone Corporation in Poughkeepsie, New York; co-founded and was chief manager of Minneapolis Cellular Telephone Company, LLC, in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and co-founded and is president of McElroy Publishing and McElroy Rare Bible Page Collections.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass Lowell). Jack and Susan have been happily married for 48 years. They have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. His website is http://jackmcelroy.com/
The book is now available from:
or
Transforming Hearts and Lives Since 1992
27-33 Fredonian Street
Shirley, MA 01464
(978) 425-4055
(978) 425-6116 Fax
info@mcelroypublishing.com