The following is taken from another blog that had had contact with the ministry in a similar fashion to myself. The first post is from me and the subsequent ones are from others (names removed). There are some very interesting things said.
- Hi there I was googling this ministry as well (I likewise have received many favourable comments on my blog from him) and came across this blog post. I have been corresponding with the pastor too and it sounds like the same requests as given to both of you. Do we know if this is a legit thing or a set up scam? I am wary by nature when it comes to people I don't know praising me abundantly haha
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Hi Christine,
I can't comment about legit or otherwise. It does seem the pastor makes a practice of approaching people through their blogs by way of effusive praise which progresses to requests for their private email address ... As I said in a previous comment, the internet is a funny place ... it would concern me that there is so little info available about them online ... at the moment there only is a very few hits when they are googled ... their own website, their facebook page, a few blog posts from folk who, like you & I, were contacted through their blogs ... I'd say use discretion ... God bless. -
Grace and Peace,
I to received praises from this guy, but I emailed him and explained that, thats not a way you would want to approach someone for help, and that I was very uncomfortable with him calling me man of God, when he doesn't know anything about me. He responded and apologized with an email of the same format with the man of God left out. I also asked him about where he was and the environment there, and how did he come to know the Lord. Still no response. I pray this is not a scam, this grieves me especially in these days where the name of Jesus is just a byword and the bible is not reverence. I pray for the Lords quick return and for those who are truly serving in these foreign nations. I would love to know if anybody can get a hold of some real info about this ministry.... -
Hi ,
I think you took the right approach with this. Your prayers are my prayers on this issue.
Every blessing. -
Respected ----, Greetings To You in Jesus Our Lord. I have Read All of Your Answers to The People who asked You about Our Ministries.
Can You Please Remove all of Our Ministry Details from Your Website, Please?
I Believe That Our Great God make The Good Ways for HIS People.
Please Remove all Of Our Details from Your Website.
Please Forgive me in Jesus Our Lord, I should not have asked Your Help for HIS Work in India.
Thank You -
Dear ----, Please read " Romans Chapter 12: 9 - 18."
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Dear CSIMin,
I am not sure about the wisdom of removing your details from my blog. It has clearly served as a way for people who have been made uncomfortable about your method of approach to try and find out more about you & discuss matters with others you have approached in a similar fashion.
I am however very glad that you have made contact with me again. I would very much like it if you could provide some details I could verify about your ministry. For example if you could give me the names & contact details (preferably email addresses) of some people who are unconnected with CSIMin who could vouch for the good work that you do - ministers from local churches, officials of local charitable organisations, people involved in the government of the region in which you operate. It would be important that they are independent of your organisation & that it is possible for me to verify they are who you say they are (& verify that they are who you say they are also). So far, all I can find out about you is your own website and facebook page. I can find no other reference to you anywhere & frankly I find that very odd. Anyone can download a few pictures and put them on a website. It does not mean they are who they say they are.
I am sorry if this seems to be lacking in trust. You must understand that people in my position are frequently the target of people who are not who they claim to be. Hard experience has taught me to be cautious. If you can gain my trust by providing the information I ask for, I will publicize it & do my best to help you in your work. If you can not demonstrate that you are who you say you are and are doing the work that claim to be doing, then I honestly do not think I would be doing the right thing by removing this post and the words of cautious advice that exist in the comments box.
I hope this is satisfactory to you. For the sake of convenience I have done another post on CSIMin about this issue http://thewayoutthere1.blogspot.ie/2012/09/christ-saving-india-ministries-2.html
& I will do another when you send me the details I have asked for (which I pray that you will). -
Dear Levi, Holy Greetings To You in Jesus Our Lord.
I Read Your Comment many times. I fasted and Prayed To God To Show me way to Prove myself and Our Ministries as legitimate.
I Understood that You were cheated , that is why you are taking this Type of Caution.
I am a unworthy Servant of God, I Worked as a Biochemist and I left my job to Do the Work of God, I was cheated by some people who Claiming to be Godly even though they were not.
Our Ministries are One Of The Big Ministry in Our Area and We are Facing Much Persecutions in Our Daily Ministries, Many People and organizations Works Against us to stop the God's Work.
Because of These Reasons I can not get any Letters from The Govt. Officials .
We have more than 350 Churches in Our Ministries.
When I Read Your Comment , I wept in The Presence of God,I asked HIM to show me a way To Prove Our Ministries as Legitimate, HE put an Idea in my heart. I followed that Idea.
Please see These Small Videos on YouTube,I Pray and Believe that These Videos gives you an Idea About Our Ministries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miGt3xhQLmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4CR-6POLbk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aYrKh-pSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdCybSGFgrw
Dear ----, If it is God's Will, Please Come to India and Visit Our Ministries.
Dear ----, You Can Check Our Website and Facebook page and tally the Video and Pictures.
This is Only To Prove Our Ministries as Legitimate.
In What Way Our Lord Leads You in That Way Do Each and Everything Towards us.
Dear ----, I must Honor The Elders, Godly people and other strangers, this is I learned from My Parents , From The Word of God and from Our Culture, that is why, I wrote Honorable words when I Write Comments on Others Website.
Please Forgive me for The Mistakes in my English Usage.
You Can Make a call to me " My Phone Number is +91 9705745938.
I have been Prayerfully waiting for Your reply.
Thank You. -
Dear Brother Williams,
Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry if this is causing you distress. If you are what you say you are, you have no need to be - the truth will be established in due time.
I'll have a look at the youtube clips when I get a chance - I am incredibly busy with work right now. And financially I'm not in a position to travel to India. However, I went over your website again & note that you don't give any locations for the various places your ministry operates in. Could you supply some? I have some friends who have contacts with a number of charities operating in India & I am sure they could make some inquiries to verify the work that you are doing.
Every blessing, L+ -
Dear ----, I am so Thankful to you for Your reply.
We will soon update our website with the information you asked.
If it is Pleases to you, You can give my Phone number to Your Contacts in India to talk to me and visit our Ministries.
Please see The Videos and If you believe that We are legitimate, Please Write a Post about Your Understanding About Our Ministries.
We Pray for You, Please Pray for us.
Thanking You
In Christ Alone.-----------------------------------------------------------So as you can see it is all very interesting and I am not really sure what I think about the whole thing. Many questions come to mind about why he wanted the details removed etc.I also received this link via email from Williams that I found, frankly, extremely emotionally manipulative:At the end of the day I have not told Williams to stop emailing me and I do continue to pray for him, but his requests for help through clothes, food and money I cannot help with for two reasons; the first being I have no money to help him with (!) the second because I cannot know where that money is going or who it is helping.I think that we all have to make up our own minds about this. I find the whole thing a bit fishy and my instincts are going crazy with warning bells whenever I look into this guy so I am gonna play it safe.Feel free to leave comments etc about your own findings on this. Don't just take my word for it.
That video that was sent to you would appear to seem that begging has come from the street to youtube.
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing has that awkward tension of appearing to be a scam but using a name that we trust and love.
I think the thought about not knowing where the money would go is the key thought. If you want people to buy into something then they need to know what it is they are buying into.
I also wonder what church group / denomination they associate themselves with as this would help clarify what they are doing and show at least some accountability to something beyond CSI.
I have asked him this before, wondering who he affiliates with, but he said they were an independent community focused on helping and saving the orphans. It's all very strange and I just know that I would NEVER invite strangers to come and visit my ministry if it mainly dealt with children. I would get to know them very well first!
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