Putting A Cherry on Top!

TIP is putting bows and ribbons on our 1st year of service unto the Lord in India. It has been a remarkable season of spreading CARE, COMPEL & COMPASSION, while laying down the bedrock for a firm and unmovable foundation in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

This year saw the formation of our leadership team: Brian Underwood, Co-Founder & Care Director; Chris Carpenter, Compel Director; Sherri Underwood, Co-Founder & Compassion Director (Medical); Brett Karanovich, Consultant; Kim Hudelson, Adminstrative Assistant. Mike Furl has been tabbed as a possible/future Compassion Director (Orphanage).

Brian, Chris & Brett went on a trip to India/Nepal with The Timothy Initiative (TTI) in February. The experience has led us to establish a partnership with TTI in Discipleship & Church Planting throughout India. It is our hope to set up and conduct upto 5 training centers as early as October 2017. This would include 4 in Andhra Pradesh and 1 in Tamil Nadu.

In the middle of the year, we filed and completed the 501c3 status for TIP. What an answered prayer for us! It allows us to accept & receive charitable gifts and offerings. It gives us the ability to pay our staff and have US federal recognition as a formal non-profit organization. In this time we were able to set up and get running our own web site: www.thei3project.org

Brian’s past experience with International Commission (www.ic-world.org) has allowed us the ability to set up TIP from an organizational stand point. We were able to establish trip applications, packing guides, trip brochures, trip binders for our leaders, a network of India nationals, a growing list of ministry partners and many other profitble entities.

The latter months of the year saw two more trips to India. Chris led a team of 4 people from Miami Valley Church (Miamisburg, OH) to Our Father’s Home Ministries International (OFHMI). OFHMI is an ophan ministry housing 35 children. They do so much more than that as they reach into their community to help assist other pastors and ministries. TIP was able to come alongside of OFHMI to conduct a VBS, a village outreach, village feedings, and a pastor’s conference. Their impact on the children and the staff of OFHMI is still talked about today. O-H-I-O!            

The Underwood’s went on a 22-day journey consisting of indentifying and developing new work and new India national workers. During the first half of the trip, they witnessed and participated in a village viewing of The Passion of the Christ & a re-enactment of the Crucifixion. Three pastor conferences were held. TIP Baptist Church was established in the Amalapuram area. In Tamil Nadu, they saw the need for training centers and medical camps. All in all, 225 people made public declarations commitment. The last half of their trip saw an emphasis on medical work. A 3-Day Open Clinic was made available to the people at the CBM Bethel Hosptial in Vuyyuru. The next two days saw medical camps in area villages. In total over 600 people were seen and medicines prescribed with doctor honoraniums…total cost = $361! WoW! They finished their journey with a stop off at OFHMI. Sherri was able to provide a general medical and dental check up for each child.