In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India [Paperback]

Kay Marshall Strom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2009

Why does God make so many poor people?
That is the question that Dr. Vijayam, PhD, recipient of India's highest national science award, kept asking as he grew up. He could not get over the suffering, despair and seeming hopelessness all around him in India. It eventually led him to embrace Marxist Communism as a hope for the poor.

In this deeply moving account, you will be profoundly challenged through the life of one man who, after giving his life over to Christ, took his God-given talents with his training and experience and then got to work right where he was for such a time as this. Reaching across the deep cultural chasms of caste and class, Dr. Vijayam pioneered the idea of harnessing technology for the poor and using it in combination with cutting-edge micro-enterprise concepts. He and his wife worked to free those enslaved as bonded laborers. To fulfill his vision of seeing the Gospel spread to each of the 4,000 unreached people groups in India, Dr. Vijayam established a center dedicated to training men and women master trainers who in turn train grassroots workers in the most inhospitable of areas. So, what can one person do for the Kingdom of God in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties?

Only change the world is all.

CONTENTS
Chapter 1: How It All Began
Chapter 2: For Such a Time as This
Chapter 3: A Better Way
Chapter 4: If Not I, Then Who?
Chapter 5: Transcending Divides
Chapter 6: A Generation Changing
Chapter 7: Full-Time for Christ
Chapter 8: India for the Kingdom of God
Chapter 9: The Power of One Multiplied
Chapter 10: A Family Matter
Chapter 11: East Meets West
Chapter 12: The Time Is Now

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

KAY MARSHALL STROM is the author of thirty-three published books. Four have been chosen as book club selections and ten have been translated into one or more foreign languages. Her writing credits also include numerous magazine articles, short stories, curriculum, stories for children, two prize-winning screenplays and booklets for writers.

For ten years, Kay taught writing classes through the California State University system and with husband Dan Kline, she designed and directed the Writers Certificate Program for Long Beach State University. Her most recent books have allowed her to travel the world and spend time with people of many backgrounds, especially in those areas most difficult for Christian witness, such as Sudan, North Africa, India and Indonesia. Kay and her husband have together spoken in more than 20 countries, including a pace-setting writing course they developed and taught in India in 2008.

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Authentic (June 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606570129
• ISBN-13: 978-1606570128
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,530,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring progress from India, October 5, 2009

By 

Jennifer Bogart "@ Quiverfullfamily.com" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India (Paperback)

Born into an Indian family sold out for God, Dr. B.E. Vijayam, a second generation Christian, spent much of his life surrounded by poverty, injustice, and caste-differences -- the pain of a fallen world. Plagued by the question, "Why does God make so many people poor?" he turned to an ardent dedication to Marxist communism as a teen.

Through the faithful teaching of his church-planting father during times of family worship, Vijayam came to a startling understanding that the answers to poverty, violence, and injustice are found not in revolution, but rather in the person of Jesus Christ. Immediately entering into an evangelistic ministry, Vijayam's heart for the lost has remained undiminished throughout his life, leading to the establishment of several training programs for ministers of the gospel.

Blessed with a penchant for academics, Vijayam entered into the sciences, and has been involved with the establishment of several programs dedicated to bringing technological and agricultural advances to the poor of India at a grassroots level. Combining his heart for evangelism with his experience in reaching Indians with technologies that allow them to be self-supporting, he approaches the gospel holistically -- seeking to provide the hurting with their vital physical needs, and their deep spiritual need for Jesus as well.

Author Kay Marshall Strom shares Vijayam's passion for the downtrodden and is dedicated to mobilizing western Christians through her writing. After visiting Dr. Vijaham and the projects he's spearheaded in India, Strom is bringing his story to the western church, to encourage, and to inspire action.

As supporters of native, or national missionaries in India, In the Presence of the Poor is of particular interest to my family. The parallels Strom draws between the natural shift in the methods demonstrated for evangelism in the New Testament church of Acts and the presently occurring shift in mission-senders in the modern church are new to me. While native missionary work has always seemed practical and efficient, Strom's thoughts provide examples from scripture to support this growing method.

Strom is an accomplished author who writes in both Christian fiction and non-fiction. While this modern day missionary biography isn't as stirring or captivating as her splendid novelization of John Newton's life Once Blind (after which I became a devoted fan), readers with a heart for social justice and missions will find a kindred spirit in this, Strom's latest. News from the frontlines in the 10/40 window (where the majority of the world's un-reached people groups dwell) is both encouraging and inspiring to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story of using religion for social progress, October 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India (Paperback)

The caste system, although not officially practiced in India, still holds some ground in the modern day. "In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India" from Kay Marshall Strom tells the story of one Dr. Vijayam, an Indian man of science who embraced Jesus and began his work to help the poor he felt previously powerless to help, attempting to use God's word to combat the Hindu-oriented caste system. "In the Presence of the Poor" is a powerful story of using religion for social progress.

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategic Missions, September 5, 2010

By 

Jim Schindler - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India (Paperback)

I thought that this was one of the best books I have read on how to equip the poor to help themselves. I am always opposed to creating dependency with western money but this is the way to remove that obstacle and see how the believers in India are helping their brothers and sisters equip the poor to be more self-sustaining. I believe that this is a very strategic way to meet the needs of the poor and to share the good news with those who have never heard.