Welcome to Giants of the Faith, a podcast where we explore some of the great figures in Christian history. I'm your host, Robert Daniels, and today we're going to talk about Mark Buntain, a Canadian evangelist and missionary who founded a hospital and a feeding program in Calcutta, India. This episode is for Tim Svoboda, who won the graphic novel contest from a few months ago by suggesting Buntain.
Mark Buntain was born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1923. He was the son of a Pentecostal minister and grew up with a passion for missions. Mark's father was the pastor at a large church in Winnipeg before he took a position in Toronto as the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Canada.
He worked as a radio broadcaster before he felt the Lord calling him to the ministry. In 1953, he and his wife, Huldah, received a letter from the Assemblies of God inviting them to go to India for one year of evangelistic services. So they boarded a ship in New York, along with their young daughter Bonnie, and began the long journey to Calcutta.
They arrived in Calcutta, a city with a metro area of over 14 million people, and began to preach the gospel in a large tent. They faced many challenges, such as monsoons, poverty, and opposition. But they also saw many miracles, such as healings, deliverances, and conversions. They rented a hall above a nightclub on the main street, where they held nightly services. They called it "hell downstairs and heaven upstairs".
Their services grew and Buntain soon felt the need to build a church and a school for the poor children. But finding land in such a crowded city was not easy.God provided through a Muslim friend, who sold the Buntains a piece of property behind the church. They dedicated their first school in 1964, with 200 children enrolled.
One night, a beggar walked into the tent and shouted, "Preacher, feed our bellies and then tell us there is a God in heaven who loves us." This touched the Buntains' hearts and inspired them to start a feeding program for the hungry. They began with a handful of children, but soon the number grew to thousands. They also opened a hospital, a nursing school, an orphanage, and other ministries to serve the physical and spiritual needs of the people.
Mark Buntain died in 1989, at the age of 66. He had a heart attack while preaching in Calcutta. He was buried near the church, where thousands of people came to pay their respects. His wife, Huldah, continued his work until her death in 2016. Their daughter, Bonnie, and their son-in-law, Lowell, are now leading the ministry, which has expanded to other parts of India and beyond.
Mark Buntain was a giant of the faith, who dedicated his life work for the people of India. He was a man of compassion, who fed the hungry, cared for the sick, and preached the gospel. He was a man of vision, who built a church, a school, and a hospital. He was a man of faith, who trusted God for the impossible. He was a man of love, who showed the love of God to the least of these.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Giants of the Faith. If you want to learn more about Mark Buntain, you can check out his biography, The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up, by James McQueen. You can also visit his website, calcuttamercy.org, where you can find more resources and information about his life and ministry.
Thank you for listening. Until next time, God bless.