Official Website of Bonny Andrews

The Tim Keller I knew

Fri, 19 May 2023 22:48:53 -0700

Gospel movement in Urban Cities

Kalpana and I had the privilege of knowing Tim and Kathy Keller and serving them in the last three years of his life. Our decision to move to New York was driven by our shared calling to reach out to youth in global cities with the transformative power of the gospel. A friend recommended Roosevelt Island in Manhattan as a potential location to live, and when we learned that Tim Keller lived there, our search was over. We became neighbors with the Kellers, and our lives were forever changed by their friendship.

Divine Appointments

During the midst of the pandemic, Kalpana serendipitously met Kathy at the apartment pool, and their friendship grew rapidly. When our third son, Luke, was born, they prayed fervently for a safe delivery. Despite his sickness, Tim personally delivered meals to us, showcasing their remarkable generosity and humility.

On a occasion, Kathy invited Kalpana and me to meet Tim. During our visit, she entrusted me with the keys to their apartment while they were away for treatment. Tim, brimming with excitement, eagerly guided me through their home, which boasted an astounding collection of over 4,000 books. He emphasized, "Bonny, there is no place in the apartment that you cannot access." His office, doubling as their living space, displayed handwritten notes from Presidents, while their comprehensive library covered an array of subjects, from theology to church history and everything in between. Kathy had the remarkable privilege of being pen pals with none other than C.S. Lewis himself, and she dedicated a wall in their house to showcase their treasured exchange of letters.

Loren Cunningham: A Guiding Light in My Journey of Faith

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 08:55:08 -0700

Divine Appointments

In 1995, as a wide-eyed 14-year-old in Trivandrum, India, I had the profound privilege of crossing paths with Loren Cunningham. My pastor Suresh Cherian was very instrumental in bringing various global leaders into our church and city shaping and challenging the minds of many young leaders like me. Loren, the visionary founder of YWAM, profoundly influenced my journey.

Igniting the Fire: Loren's Inspiring Vision

Loren's impassioned tales of faith, his unwavering commitment to nations, and his unwavering dedication to young people ignited a fire within me. Inspired by his words and adventurous spirit, I mustered the courage to approach him and requested his autograph in my Bible. What he inscribed, Mark 16:15, would become the guiding principle of my life.

Kris Vallotton, a senior leader at the prominent charismatic Bethel Church in Redding, California, said on Friday that YWAM is “probably the greatest missionary organization in the history of the world.” He called Cunningham “one of the greatest heroes of faith in modern history.”

He remided us, "The way you discover your gifts is really by serving not by searching."

In a world where mentors and guides abound, the scarcity of true spiritual fathers is evident. The apostle Paul's words resonate with profound truth: *“For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.”* (1 Corinthians 4:15) This scarcity underscores the need for authentic spiritual fathers in the Kingdom of God.

My personal journey, intertwined with the teachings of Pastor AR Bernard, sheds light on the invaluable role of spiritual fathers in shaping lives and advancing God's mission. He emerged from a childhood without a father's presence, yet he rekindled the embrace of the Heavenly Father's love and has now assumed the role of a spiritual father to countless souls.

Pastor A.R. Bernard is a visionary pastor, leading one of New York's largest houses of worship, Christian Cultural Center (CCC). With over 37,000 members, Recognized as one of New York's 50 Most Powerful People in Brooklyn, The Power Pastor by The New York Times, and a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Consulate General of Israel.

The Gift of Spiritual Fathers

In 2019, amidst the vibrant city of Dubai, I encountered a man whose impact would forever change my perspective on mentorship. As Pastor AR Bernard often says, "Leadership is the ability to take people from where they are to where they have never been." He says "Life is God's gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God."

I shared with Pastor Bernard our Read More

Exponential Thinking and Confession!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:46:26 -0700

Son: “Mom, how do you divide fractions?”
Mom: *whispers* “Siri, how do you divide fractions?”

This joke cracks me up but is also today’s reality. We live with a voice-activated digital system where artificial intelligence assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri speak to us and answer our questions! We live in a world where we speak and things happen! This season God wants to change your confession. The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue! Well if you look at the Hebrew Calendar, the year 2020 is the year 5780, which is the year to ‘Widen Your Mouth in Wisdom’. It is the year of vision declaration and confession. It is symbolic of the Jewish alphabet ‘pey’ which means mouth.

Genesis 1:3 says: “God said, ‘Let there be light. And there was light!’.” God has bestowed on us this same power to call things to life. Ezekiel 37 talks about the valley of dry bones. The Spirit of the Lord led Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones. Then he said to him, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!”

There might be a crisis in your home right now. Maybe there are dry bones that need resurrecting. God wants YOU to start declaring and prophesying to see exponential results. What is prophesying? It is speaking in faith, the Word of God to a situation that does not exist. But first you need to change how you think and begin to believe in the power of exponential confession. It is rightly said, the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thinking!

Speak the Word into your marriage, into the lives of your kids, into your workplace and begin to witness the season of the exponential! Confess the Scriptures daily over yourself! ‘I am the head and not the tail, above and not the below. I am ready to take over. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!’

Would you pray with me:

God, I pray that You place the...Read More

Walk Into An Exponential Environment!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:46:25 -0700

The beautiful, sought-after Japanese Koi Fish, has one amazing genetic quality: The Koi’s size is determined by the environment the Koi are raised in, its diet and genetics. You may have only seen the small fish in the tanks at your local pet shop, but given the right conditions, Koi can grow from 2 to 6 inches a year. Before long they can grow larger than a cat or a small dog! When you move this fish from a glass bowl into a glass tank, this fish doubles up in size! Every time you double the size of the fish’s environment, the size of the fish increases!

As you embrace this season of the exponential, God will shift your environment. Maybe move you from your comfort zone and push you into new environments. Make you conquer uncharted ground. You have the potential to go way beyond where you are right now. Your real potential is that 30 inches, just like the Koi Fish. But your current environment is possibly the reason that is controlling and stalling your growth!

Consider this: the five people closest to you shape your success, interests and much more about you — maybe more than you even realize. Who are the five around you? You want to surround yourself with the right people. People who are exponentially better in a variety of ways. If you're always the smartest person in the room, you're not growing. Instead you are hurting yourself.

People might have told you not to dream big, that you cannot do better than your current situation. Don't let the circumstances that you've been through define who you are! Get ready to move! God is going to do something NEW with your environment. Prepare yourself for a new job, a new assignment, relocation! This is YOUR moment! Get ready to move out of your comfort zone to step into the exponential environment that God has for you!

Would you pray with me::

God, I pray that You may place the right people in my life right now. Please help me make the right choices in my...Read More

Grab Hold of Exponential Vision!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:46:23 -0700

Exponential thinking is hard for humans!

Imagine someone taking 30 steps. These are incremental steps of about two feet each. You have a pretty good sense that it’s about the length of a very large room. Now imagine someone taking 30 exponential steps, meaning each step doubles in length from the one before. How far would that be? Possibly nearly the distance to the moon! (Source: guide.xshift.com)

Welcome to the season of the exponential! In this season, God wants to give you 20/20 vision! In the year 2020, God wants to give you 20/20 vision! This means perfect vision, perfect clarity of things that are in front of you. In this context, I quote these words of Pastor Rev. A. R. Bernard, ‘Vision is the capacity to break out from the confines of the past.’

2 Kings 6: 16-17 is one of my favourite stories of God’s protection and exponential vision. The king of Syria was waging war against Israel. But every time he planned an attack, Elisha who would hear from God, would tell the king of Israel their plans and thwart the attack! Furious at the events, the king sent horses and chariots and a great army to surround the city and to arrest Elisha. As Elisha prayed for his panicking servant’s eyes to be opened, “the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was FULL of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Exponential Vision!

And that is exactly what God is going to do for you in this season of the exponential! He is going to OPEN up your inner eyes to see things you’ve never seen before or ever dreamt of seeing before! We have all got our secret pasts, our dirty laundry that we don’t want to talk about. Stories of abuse. Stories of anger. Failed relationships.

1 Corinthians 2: 9 talks about a season of things unseen, unheard and not yet perceived! I believe as you...Read More

What is 'Exponential'?

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:46:21 -0700

In 1859, Thomas Austin, a landowner in Winchelsea, Victoria, Australia imported 24 wild rabbits from England and released them into the wild for sport hunting. Within just 6 years, those 24 rabbits multiplied into millions!

Genesis 26 says that there was a massive famine in the land and everybody wanted to leave and go to Egypt to be safe. BUT the Lord appeared to Isaac, asking him instead to stay in Gerar. Isaac obeyed and guess what?! Isaac planted crops in the land and in the same year reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him! He thrived and flourished in famine! Exponential!

Fleeing from crisis is typical of us as human beings operating in human wisdom. That’s what the world has taught us to do. But God scripts a whole different story! Stop and listen to what God wants to speak to you in this season!

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it….!” The first words God said to mankind after He created them! This means to rapidly increase, to take over, to thrive! Exponential! And this is exactly what God wants to do in your life in this season! But in order for this to happen, there has to be surrender, obedience and faith!

Let’s take a closer look at Abraham’s life. He was comfortable in his home, with his family business, investments, and inheritance locked in but guess what? God commanded him to leave everything and move! To move from comfort zone to a place called the obedience-cum-blessing zone. That’s exactly what Abraham did and the rest is history!

Maybe as you read this, you’ve got negative thoughts running through your head. Maybe there’s crisis in your family, or a divorce, or a workplace issue. You feel like quitting. But let me tell you something: the God of the Bible says, ‘I will bless you a thousand times!’

Would you pray with me:

God I would love to see acceleration and increase in my life this year. Please help me step into this season of the exponential and...Read More

Let My People Go!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:46:19 -0700

God entrusted this ‘mission statement’ to his messenger, Moses as a direct ask to Pharaoh! The Israelites were in a tough spot and the circumstances were not profitable or favourable for Moses to step out into such a mission. Have you ever wondered if God knows about the place where you are? The situation that you are in? Or the struggle that you are facing? A look at Exodus 5:1 tells us how God is interested in sending us on a BIG MISSION.

What does being sent on a Big Mission look like?

People matter: Everything that we do in our lives is about people. There are thousands around us going through hardships--depression, suicide, domestic violence, stress at home or the work place. Will you reach out to them?
You're never too...: rich to not give or too poor to not receive. God has created you such that you have something to give or to receive, and to be on a mission for Him, to rescue and help, support and guide another. And that's essential to accomplish the mission that He has entrusted you with.
The mission is bigger than you: Exodus 4:13 tells us that the mission that God appoints us for is always bigger than us. And God does not want you to handle it on your own. God gives Moses an Aaron. But God also assures Moses that it is God who does the qualifying.

To be called for God’s mission is a big privilege. It's not our skills that qualify us, but in truth it is the grace and love of God. The Bible abounds with stories of God’s messengers, many, not to say all, who felt they did not qualify. They could barely believe that God would choose them for a big mission! Moses was one such example. Jonah ran from the assignment and Gideon saw himself as the least in the family. They each had a common thread— a sense...Read More

5 QUESTIONS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 2019!

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 04:05:52 -0700

As a Millennial, you’re probably full of hope for the future, sure of your identity and without too many cares. But as you carve out your God-given space in the world, here are five important life questions you’re going to want sorted out sooner or later.

1. Who am I?

When it comes to knowing your identity, the question of who you are demands your attention. It would be dangerous to let the wrong person answer this for you. So, who does God say you are?

You are a child of the most high God!

Who you are is not based on what you have, where you come from, or how much money you have. Your identity is based on the powerful truth that you are a child of God.

2. Where am I from?

Contrary to popular belief, you are not something that emerged from a “big-bang explosion”.

You have been handmade by the Creator!

You were masterfully designed and intricately woven together in your mother’s womb by the Creator God (Psalm 139:13). You are made in His image and in His likeness.

3. Why am I here?

This question empowers you to understand your purpose. Your purpose is to fulfill God’s plan on earth. Your purpose is to fulfill God’s heartbeat for you!

4. Where am I going?

If you are a child of God, you are going forward and not backwards, you are going to Heaven and not to Hell. That’s right, you have a DESTINY!

Every person who’s got their name in the Book of Life is going to Heaven, which leads to another question, is your name in the book? If your name is not in the book, it's a great time to think about that now.

5. What can I do?

Now that you know your identity and that you have a purpose and a destiny, what can you do about it?

There is POTENTIAL inside each and every single one of us.

Has someone ever told you that you do not have any potential? Maybe, you have convinced yourself that you...Read More

HOW TO LOSE CONTROL AND LET GOD TAKE OVER?

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 04:03:56 -0700

Ever wondered what is the quickest way to get close to God? What if you choose to lose control and let God take over.

I often hear God calling me out - “Bonny, it’s time to swim deeper!” I can look like quite the man standing confidently tall in a shallow swimming pool. But come deeper waters, I am prone to go into full-blown panic mode because I have never learnt how to swim.

Just like how I can con you into thinking that I am a star swimmer while in shallow waters, I can look my Christian-best by saying and doing all the right things without a real relationship with God.

Depth is indispensable to God!

God is far more than surface-level interactions. He constantly pursues us into a deeper prayer life and a closer fellowship with Him.

Ezekiel 47 :1-5contains a powerful description of how God leads us into deeper waters with Him.

From ankle-deep, to knee-deep, to waist-deep and then to overflowing, the author is led forward in the water which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We too are taken from a place of shallow faith into a place of complete dependence on God. In the process, we are strengthened from within as we learn to surrender control to the Holy Spirit. We grow into maturity as our prayer life deepens and our wisdom grows in the Word of God. Eventually, we reach a place where we are submerged in the Holy Spirit, where it is no longer us, but Him.

This place of absolute surrender is NEXT LEVEL! This is where God takes control, and leads us throughbreakthroughs that are far beyond our capabilities. Ephesians 3:20 says, “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than we can ever ask or imagine”.

Today, I want to encourage YOU to allow God to take precedence over your life. Head to a place where God is in control!

CALL-TO-PRAYER: I invite you to open your...Read More