Meet the Missionary: Q & A with Shant and Ginny Manuel

Get to know Shant and Ginny Manuel

Q When did you first know God was calling you to create this mission?

On one of Shant’s last trips to India with Partners International, a local pastor in the northeast talked about the urgent need for leadership training and requested help from believers in Canada.  In October 2007, Shant sensed a strong call to return there and provide training opportunities to a group of pastors and church leaders. He invited other experienced pastors from Atlantic Canada to join him and, in January 2008 along with several other lay people, they spent two weeks in Sikkim and West Bengal teaching and assessing the needs for potential future ministry.  From that trip came additional requests for training from local church leaders in India and growing interest in this ministry back in Canada.  After much prayer and counsel, Shant and Ginny felt called to begin Far Corners Ministry.

Q What are some of the ways you have been affirmed in following God’s leading?

We started Far Corners Ministry by faith, and not really knowing where it would lead us.  We have seen God provide for every need of this work through His people, with support growing as the scope of the ministry expanded.  One of His great blessings was to connect us to our regional coordinator in India – a godly man who has a heart for strengthening the local church, training pastors, and ministering to various needs in Christ’s name.  To have such a gifted and trustworthy partner connected to the local church is an amazing gift!

Though we are a small ministry, we feel that God’s blessings have been great as we have taken each step forward in faith and confidence in Him.  We have had His assurance that while our role is to make the needs known, it is He who moves peoples’ hearts to pray and to give.  We are humbled by the faith and trust that churches and individuals have put in us and see this as God’s affirmation to continue.

 Q How can WRBC best support your ministry?

The partnership that has developed with the Whyte Ridge church family has been nothing short of amazing!  From the first mission trip undertaken by the church in November 2010, we have been so blessed by the many volunteers from WRBC that have contributed to our ministry in India and Nepal over these past eleven years.  The planning and preparation of these teams supported and guided by your church leadership has truly demonstrated your commitment to mission.

We look forward to more opportunities to serve together.  We also value your ongoing prayers for both of us, our Board of Directors, and especially for our regional coordinator in India and all the pastors and ministry leaders working in challenging circumstances.  We so appreciate your faithful financial support and response to the various needs that have arisen!

Due to the often-unpredictable situation faced by the evangelical church in India, we want to help them come to a place of future self-sustainability.  To this end, FCM is launching new agricultural projects that will result in local financial resources being available for pastors and churches.  We feel that this is a very important way to ensure the continued health and growth of the local church.  Please pray for FCM as we once again step out in faith.

Website: www.farcornersministry.org  – will be available again soon

Latest mission newsletter:

How to donate:

You can give to Far Corners Ministry in one of three ways:

E-transfers will go directly into the Far Corners Ministry bank account by using our ministry email: info@farcornersministry.org  For new donors using e-transfer – please also send a separate email giving us your name and mailing address for income tax receipts.

Cheques can be mailed to: Far Corners Ministry, 33 Byblos Road, Upper Hammonds Plains, NS  B4B 1Y1

Paypal through our website – www.farcornersministry.org – The website has been offline recently but will be available again by mid-September.

Far Corners Ministry is a registered Canadian charity (#BN 812210615 RR0001), and issues income tax receipts for all individual and corporate donations every February.  FCM is funded by the generous donations of individuals, churches, and business.  We treat these donations with great respect and pledge to faithfully use your gifts as good stewards of this work in India. – “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” Matthew 28:40