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What is God
Doing in
India? |
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India
Population: 1,048 million
Capital: New Delhi
People Groups: 2,329
Main Religion: Hindu 80%
All Christians: 5% |
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ANDRHA PRADESH |
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"Two of our full-time
evangelists were looking for accommodation for the night," reports
German missions agency "Stimme der Zigeuner" (Voice of the Gypsies).
"When they eventually found a place to stay in Khamman, Andra Pradesh
State, the house owner refused to let them in because they were
Christians. The housewife bravely decided to let them in. The unfriendly
owner, a rich landowner, suffered from diabetes, and had open wounds on
his feet. His doctors had prescribed various medicines to prepare him
for an amputation the following week. His wife asked her guests for
prayer for herself and her husband. The evangelists told her that she
too should pray to God. The healing was rapid; the surprised doctors
cancelled the amputation, because the man was completely healthy. When
his wife told of her husband's healing in the nearby store, the store
owner, who suffered from cancer, also started praying to God. She was
healed too. The thankful landowner donated land, on which a church
building was opened in April 2004."
Stimme der Zigeuner, July 2004 |
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UTTAR PRADESH |
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Operation Agape reports
that 800 Muslims in Northern India recently became Christians. Over 100
house churches have been planted in various districts of Uttar Pradesh
State in the past six months alone and every member used to be a Muslim.
Many of the new believers are already actively sharing their faith with
friends and relatives in their surroundings. In West Bengal State, 15
Islamic priests and their families have been baptised, and there is a
growing church planting movement among the region's Muslims. Source:
Operation Agape, July 2004 |
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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
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Manoi learned black magic
and sorcery from a Hindu priest in Himachal Pradesh. For eight years, he
served as a priest in the famous Chamunda Temple, which made him rich.
He lost his fortune, though, so returned to his hometown. His sister
spoke to him regularly about Jesus, but Manoi said that if this God
existed, he should appear to him personally. The following night, Jesus
appeared to him in a dream, saying "Today, you will become my son," and
giving him a New Testament. The next day, a pastor visited, who had had
the same dream. Manoi gave his life to Jesus, and now plants churches in
Himachal Pradesh. Kingdom
Ministries News, June 2004 |
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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
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G. Singh was a very
well-known witch doctor in Himachal Pradesh, India. He 'healed' many
people, but the healings only lasted a short time. One day, he became
seriously ill himself, and nobody could help him. Finally, he called on
a Christian for help. The Christian, K.N., prayed for him, and he was
healed instantly. The first thing he did was burn all his spell books,
then he was baptised, along with the rest of his family. In a short
time, he won 15 other families for Jesus, including his previous guru.
Kingdom Ministries News, June 2004 |
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The Lord has recently
worked miracles in the lives of three practitioners of black magic,
bringing them to Christ. One of the magicians, an elderly man, worked as
a magic healer for many years. Although many sought his cures, he
could, ironically, do nothing for the illnesses from which he and his
family suffered. After years of suffering and questioning his own
practices, he requested prayer from a native missionary. When the
gospel was explained to him, the magician placed his faith in Christ as
his Savior. Both the man and his wife then experienced miraculous
healing in their own bodies. Now he shares his testimony of deliverance
with those who visit him, as well as pray for their healing in Christ's
name. The wife of another magician became ill and was unable to speak or
eat. After four days, the magician sought help from native Christians
who were fasting and praying. When Indian believers prayed earnestly
for her, she was again able to speak and eat. Finally, there is the case
of Devadas, who practiced sorcery for 30 years and strongly objected
when some of the village families accepted Christ. He planned to attack
the native missionaries who worked in his community. However before he
could execute his plan, Devadas was struck with malaria and became very
weak. His black magic and witchcraft were of no avail. Neighboring
witch doctors were equally powerless. Devadas' health deteriorated and
eventually his kidneys began to fail. He was taken to the hospital, but
even the doctors lost hope. One evening, in desperation, he called his
Christian neighbors and asked them to pray for him. Within a few hours
after they prayed, his kidneys began to function. Having gained faith
in Christ, he requested prayer for his full recovery, and this too
occurred. Devadas and his entire family have placed their faith in
Jesus Christ and committed their lives to Him.
Missions Insider, May 2004 |
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JAMMU AND KASHMIR |
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The Northern Indian state
Jammu and Kashmir, previously mostly unreached, consists of 14
districts, 6,000 villages and has some 18 million inhabitants. "In the
past five years, thousands of people have decided to follow Jesus
Christ, and hundreds of new house churches have formed," reports Agape
Voice. Whole families regularly come to faith, as in Badaol, a village
in Doda district. "Our church-planting team encountered a whole family
lying sick in bed. None of them was able to fetch the doctor. Our team
explained the Gospel, and prayed for them. Jesus healed every single
person, and the entire family decided joyfully not only to follow Jesus,
but also to open their house for regular church meetings." Northern
India is also home to one of the fastest-growing revival movements on
Earth. Last year alone, 200 new house churches were planted in Hariyana,
which was long considered to be one of India's least evangelised states.
According to an April 2004 report, the number of house churches in
Northern India has grown to around 30,000 in the past 7 years, with an
additional 28,000 regular home prayer meetings. Experience shows that
these rapidly become house churches. Church growth adviser Joshua Pillai
reports that there are a further 10,000 house churches in Southern
India. Agape Voice, Joshua
Pillai and others, Friday Fax, May 2004 |
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PUNJAB |
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Indian
missionaries are fervent in their quest to spread the news of Christ. In
April 52 missionaries, trained as church planters, graduated from a
Bible college in Punjab assisted by Christian Aid. One of the first
tools new missionaries require in India is a bicycle, which will enable
them to cover many villages each day. Many times the wives of
missionaries ride alongside their husbands during the day, because in
the Indian culture only women can evangelize other women. "On foot I was
able to cover only two to three villages each day. Once I got a new
cycle, I was able to go to many more villages, some of them over 30
miles away. And I can return home each day now," reports an Indian
missionary. The native Christians are boldly evangelizing in villages
and towns throughout India, in spite of the fact that attacks against
Christians have increased in the country. In Madhya Pradesh 65 homes
and churches were burned, causing 30 gospel workers to flee the area.
In Orissa a gang shaved the heads of six Christian women, some of whom
were also stripped and tortured for not returning to Hinduism. "We have
surrendered our lives at the foot of the cross so that we can take
Christ's love to the hurting, dying and crying humanity," writes an
Indian ministry leader, "We know the price that we may need to pay, but
for us, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Missions Insider, June 2004 |
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"In April 2004, at a
conference in Nagpur, central India, I met a very special man," writes
Susanne Gmur from Switzerland. "Abandoned by his parents, he grew up a
gypsy, and ended in a children's home. One day, a preacher came, took
him out of the home, and helped him. His parents were jealous, because
he earned a wage. They took him back home, but he ran the 25 miles back
to the preacher. At 15, he started evangelising, and baptised 6,000
people in the following years, but failed the exam to become a pastor
seventeen times (really!). At a conference in Hyderabad, he met Dr.
Victor Choudhrie, a strategic church planter, who explained that it is
not about the number of baptisms, but about disciples! He immediately
left his denomination and started planting house churches. Today, his
disciples include several professors from the Brahman caste. His heart
for children is particularly impressive; in addition to his own two
natural children, he and his wife have adopted seven street kids. Two
days before we met, he slept at the Nagpur railway station beside a
7-year-old girl, who knew neither her own name nor her parents. He asked
her if she would like to stay with him. She agreed immediately, and
wouldn't let her 'new father' out of sight. He bought her clothes, and
named her 'Hope'. The adoption took only five minutes. He had not even
informed his wife. You should have seen the girl smile!" Susanne
Gmur, Friday Fax, May 2004 |
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The Lord is
working miracles in the lives of practitioners of black magic in India,
bringing them to Christ. One of the magicians, an elderly man, worked as
a magic healer for years, and although many sought his cures, he could
do nothing for the illnesses from which he and his family suffered.
After suffering and questioning his own practices, he requested prayer
from a native missionary. When the gospel was explained to him, the
magician placed his faith in Christ as his Saviour. Both the man and his
wife then experienced miraculous healing in their own bodies. Now he
shares his testimony of deliverance with those who visit him and prays
for their healing in Christ’s name.
Christian Aid, Missions Insider, May
2004 |
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Every month our
pioneer missionaries share the Gospel with more than 250,000 families in
India, generating over 10,000 responses! Among the new believers in
Jesus is a man named Suresh who suffered from severe epileptic attacks
for many years. Two EHC workers appeared on the scene. “They came to my
house and introduced themselves as messengers of the good news of God.
They explained to me about Jesus Christ the Savior and gave me
literature. I received a strange peace of mind and asked them if Jesus
can answer my prayers. They said yes and prayed with me. When they
prayed, I was surprised because they were not chanting some words or
phrases, but were talking to Jesus as if He were right there. I felt the
presence of God at that moment and prayed with them in my heart. I slept
well that night and the epilepsy attacks never returned from that day! I
am writing to you with joy that this Jesus is now my Lord. I am grateful
to the EHC workers who introduced me to Jesus!”
E-vangelism Update, April 2004 |
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Tens of thousands are turning to the Lord in
India as gospel teams are professing Christ openly in many parts of the
country. Native missionaries recently saturated a town with the gospel
in a weeklong series of open-air meetings held nightly in a city of
100,000. Average attendance at the meetings was about 1,000. The gospel
was preached, and by week's end more than 200 attendees had come to
Christ. This crusade was combined with numerous evangelistic activities
with student teams handing out printed Scriptures in some 80 surrounding
villages. Through follow-up efforts, local missionaries planted several
new churches.
Christian Aid, Missions Insider, March 2004
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WEST BENGAL |
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A West Bengali
witch doctor was recently healed of his afflictions through the
intercession of a Christian missionary. The witch doctor had an
established clientele, with many local people coming to him for
remedies. But his craft was of no avail when he himself became mentally
ill, nor was his own guru able to help. In desperation, a local
Christian missionary was called in. The man of God prayed and through
Christ's intervention, the curer was instantly healed. Duly impressed,
the witch doctor destroyed the altar of his Hindu god and he and all his
family accepted Christ. Missions
Insider, February 2004 |
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GUJARAT |
It really wasn't Leela's fault. She lives in a region of
India that is under control of radical Hindus, who severely oppose
Christian missionary work. Paralyzed for seven years and unable to
walk, this village woman was miraculously healed through the
intercessory prayer of two Christian missionaries. However, when one of
the Christians later returned to strengthen Leela's faith, he was
unexpectedly attacked by a gang of 25 villagers led by the village
leader. They severely beat the man of God, breaking three of his ribs.
The missionary lost consciousness, was revived with water, and was taken
out of the village to be finished off. Fortunately, the missionary
escaped from his captors, hiding in a lake until he could give them the
slip. The ministry of these missionaries continues to impact nearby
villages.
Missions Insider, February 2004
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BIHAR |
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Bihar, a State
in northern India with 87 million inhabitants, was known as "the
missionaries' graveyard". In the past five years, though, the picture
has been a little different - some 1,000 church planters were trained in
the area, according to the Dawn Report. What happened? "Most important
was training new believers and established Christians to spread the
Gospel in an oral culture. The results are better than we could have
dreamed," say Rev. Jim Bowman and his wife Carla. In 1998, they started
training 120 evangelists and pastors in oral communication, with
astonishing results, as the participants started putting that which they
had learned into practice: one pastor has planted 30 new churches,
another 20, others 5, 15 or 17 - unheard of in Bihar! Traditional
evangelistic concepts such as tracts and Bible studies have little
effect, because many people in tribal societies and villages are
illiterate; written information has very little value for them. The
evangelists were trained to use stories, songs and metaphors to
communicate the Gospel. In five years, over 1,000 church planters have
been trained, who are leading thousands of people to Christ, and
planting new churches. Some of the characteristics of the church
planters: 80% are Biharis, 20% missionaries from other Indian cultures;
60% are full-time church planters, 40% part-time; 80% are directly
involved in church planting, 20% in social ministry; 80% are less than
30 years old.
DAWN Ministries, March 2004 |
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Work by local
missionaries is bringing the light of Jesus Christ to temple prostitutes
and their families in several states of India. Devadasis, is a Hindi
term attributed to women who serve as "maid servants" of one of the
Hindu gods. They usually begin their profession as temple dancers, but
very often become prostitutes because of the money they can receive from
patrons. Several government programs instituted to stamp out this
practice failed due to lack of motivation and proper follow-up. No
measures were put in place to provide alternative employment of the
ex-prostitutes. Local Christian ministries, however, have helped fill
this gap. Native missionaries question prostitutes at yearly temple
festivals, and initially the women pretend to be enjoying what they do.
When further questioned, however, they cry and express their
hopelessness and despair. Aware that earning a livelihood needs to be
addressed, the Indian missionaries provide monthly food and medical
support for the women who abandon their sordid life. Several ministries
purchase sewing machines in order to teach former devadasis how to
stitch clothing and thus earn a living. At the same time they are
taught the gospel of Christ and his power to transform the lives of
those who believe. As a result many former prostitutes are now radiant
Christians. Where possible, these women are also being prepared for
Christian marriage, and children of the former prostitutes are being
instructed and cared for by Christian teachers. Much remains to be done
because thousands of temple prostitutes are still enslaved by this
practice. But through the efforts of gospel workers, "maid-servants of
god" are becoming the maid-servants of Christ.
Missions Insider, March 2004 |
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A poor woman in
India had a goat that had fallen ill. Despite all the medicine and
murmured mantras, the goat could hardly breathe and was obviously about
to die. Everyone in the village gave up the goat for dead -- except the
poor woman who owned him. She went to the local Christians, members of
the Yadav shepherd tribe, who prayed. When the goat stood to its feet,
the whole village was astonished, and about 25 people opened their
hearts to Christ. Shout to the Lord for proving his power before the
whole village. Ask him to mature these new believers into multiplying
disciplemakers. Pray that the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ
will spread throughout the region.
Advance, March 2004 |
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Native
missionaries in Asia's remote villages are presenting the gospel through
an evangelistic film that reaches where "The Passion of the Christ" is
unable to go. Despite all the buzz and controversy surrounding "The
Passion," millions of people in remote villages in
Asia have yet to hear about Jesus for the first time. But a ministry
called Gospel for
Asia has equipped native Asian missionaries to reach their people
with "Man of Mercy," a film about the life of Jesus. The film, which was
made in
India, is not shown in theaters, but is set up by missionaries outdoors
and draws large crowds. Many viewers shed tears in response to the
gripping film, and Gospel_for_Asia reports that tens of thousands of
conversions to Christian faith have already resulted from these public
showings. Nevertheless, 500,000 villages in India alone remain
unreached. Gospel for
Asia, March 2004 |
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ANDAMAN ISLANDS |
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A recent trip by
native Indian missionaries to the Andaman Islands resulted in several
unreached tribes hearing the Word and numerous professions of faith.
During a four-day gospel meeting in this remote island region of India,
attendance grew to 2000 with some 300 professing faith in Christ for the
first time. Two bedridden women were cured and several deaf and dumb
people were healed of their afflictions. As these and other deliverances
occurred, many Muslims and Hindus who attended came forward to accept
Jesus as their Savior. At another meeting held in a marketplace, over
90% of the attendees were non-Christians. Several individuals who
watched from a distance noted that many in attendance rushed to the
missionaries when miraculous healings occurred. One man who could not
move his hand or leg was delivered and healed by prayer and some 60
souls were saved. Contact with the tribal members ranged from large
meetings to individual interactions. During the month-long crusade,
some 500 people professed faith in Christ.
Missions Insider, March 2004 |
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Christians
interested in teaching children's Bible clubs in India are coming
forward in large numbers and overwhelming Mission India of Grand Rapids,
Michigan, reported mission spokesman John DeVries. He says the
organisation has never seen a greater response in 30 years of ministry.
"We've trained 70,000 children's Bible club teachers in a two-year
training programme. That's the real good news. The bad news is we had to
turn away 215,000 more," DeVries explained. "We lack the funds for
bringing them to their localities for training, and we lack the funds
for producing that many course materials." The 70,000 newly trained
teachers taught 3.5 million young people. "We would have had an
additional 6 to 8 million children had we had the funds for the training
and for the Scripture supplies," said DeVries. The outreach is
increasing despite growing persecution against Christians across India.
"It seems like the higher the risk of persecution, the higher the demand
grows. The tighter it gets and the rougher it gets, the more volunteers
come out of the woodwork to want to reach the children."
Mission
Network News, January 2004 |
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A ministry in
northern India has gained a positive response to its presentation of the
Christian message as a way of life on a higher plain. In recent months
the ministry has presented a moral message to three public schools, at
two open-air meetings on public grounds, and even to a special meeting
of the city police (arranged by the Hindu police chief himself). The
principal of a 1,000-student school even requested a Bible when he was
approached about the possibility of presenting the message at his
school. "The meetings were welcomed because they stressed right living -
no smoking, no drinking, no drugs," the leader told Christian Aid.
"These moral values were presented as being based on the claims of
Christ. New life through salvation in Jesus Christ was shared as the
way. Some tried to disturb the meetings, claiming that conversion to
Christianity was the purpose. Generally, however, most people
appreciated the moral life message. One purpose, admittedly, was to
present Christianity in a favorable light." Those responding to the
message may request a free copy of the Gospel of Luke video and a Bible.
Personal follow-up is being planned. Christian
Aid, Missions Insider Report, January 2004 |
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Ishwar Das is a
young man who was strongly into drug consumption and smoked hashisch.
Gasram, a church planter from central India, came to Ishwar's village
one day. Some people greeted him, shaking his hand, including Ishwar.
When Ishwar shook Gasram's hand, something strange happened; he received
an electric shock. He was instantly freed from his drug addiction. He
asked question after question the whole evening, and was baptised the
next morning, together with several of his friends. Of the village's
1,500 inhabitants, 275 have been baptised, and themselves reach the
surrounding villages with the Gospel.
Operation Agape, January 2004 |
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A poor woman had
a sick goat. Despite all the medicine and murmured mantras, the goat had
obviously reached the end of its life, and could hardly breathe.
Everyone in the village had already given the goat up for dead - except
the poor woman. She went to the local Christians, from the Yadav, a
shepherd tribe. They prayed, and the goat stood up, instantly healed.
The whole village was astonished, and some 25 people were baptised. "We
now have a goat church in the village,"
Agape Voice, January 2004 |
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CHATTISGARH |
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The gospel is
having a delivering effect upon people of the Mariya tribe that inhabits
about 230 villages in India's state of Chattisgarh. Mariya are
illiterate and typically provide food for their families by hunting and
primitive farming. The India census counts tribes people as Hindus, but
they really follow folk religion or witchcraft. Masu and Sukie were
members of the Mariya tribe, but Sukie was suffering from a demonic
spirit. One day she and her husband, Masu, heard the gospel preached by
an Indian missionary and came forward for prayer. Both accepted the Lord
and Sukie was set free from demonic oppression.
Christian Aid, Missions Insider Report,
January 2004 |
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CHATTISGARH |
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Among the Mariya
tribal women was a woman named Sabi, who was possessed by an evil
spirit. She sometimes had uncontrollable fits, and once lapsed into an
eight-day comatose state. The family members took her to many forest
gods and goddesses, witch doctors and temples, but nothing helped. Then
one day Masu heard about her plight and with some fellow believers
visited her house and shared Christ. Sabi was touched in her spirit and
accepted the Lord. After this, Masu declared three days of fasting and
prayer and invited Sabi to attend a prayer meeting on the third day. As
they prayed, Sabi experienced full deliverance through the Lord Jesus
Christ and became normal again. This greatly impressed the other Mariya
people who were present and ten of them accepted Christ that very day.
The village church continues to grow at the rate of two new believers
per month. Christian
Aid, Missions Insider Report, January 2004 |
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"We have never
seen such rapid church growth as in India," says Elwira Howald of Swiss
mission agency Kingdom Ministries. "Take Haroon, for example, who works
with his wife as an evangelist in northern India. By 1998, they had led
around 800 people to Christ and baptised them, but there were no house
churches or leaders. When they started working with people like Victor
Choudhrie, Haroon trained 24 men and women as 'Master Trainers', who
themselves trained another 30 trainers. These 30 trained 65 others, who
trained 300 church planters. These church planters have started over
1,000 house churches. The chain looks like this: Victor Choudhrie -
Haroon - trainers of trainers - trainers - church planters - new
believers. This multiplicative process keeps the missionary work in
local Christians' hands from beginning to end and can grow explosively,
because each person teaches others what they know," she says.
Elwira Howald, Kingdom Ministries,
January 2004 |
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ANDRHA PRADESH |
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Those familiar
with the Christmas story may not realize how much it impacts those who
hear it for the first time. A ministry in the Telegu-speaking area of
India invited 200 non-believers to its Christmas observance held in a
tent in front of its office. It was the first time most of the audience
heard the story of the birth of Christ. One woman suffering from chronic
arthritis and low blood pressure said, "This is a great day for me. I
heard about a God who loves me." Several women surrounded the minister’s
wife and shed tears of joy as they said, "We are blessed. We came to
know about a God Who knows about us and loves us." Missionaries
conducting similar programs in outlying villages reported similar
results. One missionary said because of drought people in his area had
to purchase drinking water brought from the city only once every ten
days. Ten litres of water costs $US1. "Poor people cannot afford it,"
the missionary said, "so they use any water from gutters or anywhere
they find for drinking, which causes many health problems. Many farmers
committed suicide because of dry fields and inability to support their
families. People are running after any god or goddess looking for hope."
Among those who accepted the Lord were many children and a 90-year-old
Sadhu. Christian Aid, Missions
Insider Report, January 2004 |
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In northern
India, a ministry in northern India let their light shine over Christmas
despite fog and cold. The leader of a Christian ministry told Christian
Aid it was able to bring the Christmas message to more than 4,000 Hindus
and Sikhs through its school Christmas programs. The ministry operates
several schools, including a school for 1800 children. About 4,000
relatives and friends attended the program put on by the students over a
three-night period. The ministry also reached out to a home for 116
children of leprous parents. "We could not afford to give our children
Christmas cakes," the leader said, "but they did not miss the Christmas
joy, as many heard the Christmas story for the first time in their
lives." Christian Aid, Missions
Insider Report, January 2004 |
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The president of
a ministry that works to plant churches and spread the gospel to
unreached nations says God is moving powerfully in India. Recently
officials with World Help visited the city of Allahabad in northern
India, where two years ago 60 million Hindu pilgrims gathered at the
Ganges to purify themselves in the sacred river during a massive Hindu
festival. But during this last visit, World Help president Vernon Brewer
says he saw more than 40 thousand former Hindus singing, praying, and
responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He describes the growth of
Christianity in the region as "just an unbelievable move of God," and
says even though the ministry is helping with resources, prayer, and
funding, the visitors from World Help largely just sat on the sidelines
and watched the spirit-filled Indian Christians worshiping, praying, and
sharing the word of God. "It was led entirely by nationals," Brewer
says. The ministry president points out that there is much work to be
done in terms of evangelizing in this region. "This is the least-reached
part of the world," he says. "As few as one in ten thousand are
Christians." But Brewer says ministry partners in northern India have a
strategic plan to reach 175 million lost people with the gospel and to
plant one million house churches throughout northern India.
Agape Press, January 2004 |
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Evangelist Joel
Marandi of the Brethren In Christ Church in Purnea, northern India,
reports: "The Safa Hor are a group within the Santal people living in
Mohini village in the Araria district. They worship the Hindu god Rama,
and celebrate a fire walking ceremony each year: they dig a pit, in
which they lay a fire, and then walk over the burning coals - without
burning their feet. I've been evangelising in this village for two
years, without visible result. I realised that this fire walking ritual
was demonic, and the reason why I was not making progress. "This year, I
called some Christian colleagues to help. Together, we walked around the
place where the ceremony was to be held, praying that God would break
the power of all demonic idols in the village. Only a few villagers
showed up for the ceremony. One tried to walk on the fire, but burned
his legs. I then told the people about Jesus, the true God. Following
the clear demonstration of his power over their own ceremony, 25
villagers decided to follow Jesus. Isn't God great?"
Friday Fax, December 2003 |
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BENGAL |
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The team showing
the JESUS Film in West Bengal was exasperated as an old man continually
interrupted by loudly proclaiming Hinduism. They packed their equipment
and prepared to leave the village. A shadow of a man moved to one
driver's door. "Pssst," he whispered. It was the rowdy old man who had
interrupted the film. "What can I do for you?" the driver queried.
"Can
your Jesus heal my back?" the aggressive man pleaded. He now seemed
nearly desperate with pain. "Yes," the Campus Crusade team member
smiled. The team prayed. The Lord touched his back. He was instantly
delivered from his searing pain. He ripped the talisman from around his
neck and was filled with such joy that he ran home praising Jesus as his
savior, and telling everyone that he had been saved and healed! The old
man now stood upright when before he was bent and stooped.
The
word spread through the village like a fire. Even the man's guru became
converted. The guru had 500 followers to whom he began to preach Jesus,
saying "I didn't know the truth before. Now I do. Follow Jesus, he is
the only way." Global
Prayer Digest, December 2003 |
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DELHI |
India's capital
New Delhi has over 1,000 slums, in
which mostly itinerant workers have their home. Some 6 million people
live there - but the children are often simply abandoned when their
parents go looking for work. The German missions agency Inter Mission
started and supports 130 slum schools for children from non-Christian
families. In the Alaknanda slum, they started a school in the toilet
complex: 15 teachers teach 650 children. The Bible teaching and
teachers' personal care for the children has opened many for the Gospel.
When
Ravi prayed for his uncle
Ravi, one of the pupils in a slum school, had an uncle who was very ill.
The doctors said that he would not survive. They took him to many
hospitals, but without success. One day,
Ravi simply knelt down
beside his bed, laid his hand on his uncle and prayed for three hours.
Jesus answered his prayer and healed his uncle. The miracle prompted a
change of heart in
Ravi's mother, who had
previously forbidden him to attend Christian services. She has now
decided to follow Jesus herself. Inter-Mission,
December
2003
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JHARKAND |
|
Birender Ram
Bali, from the Munda, previously unreached people group in the northern
Indian state Jharkand, witnessed his wife's 18-year fight against
cancer. Her condition deteriorated steadily, and the entire village
expected her death soon. In August 2002,
Bali visited a nearby town on business. In the marketplace, he heard
a man proclaiming something which he had never before heard: "Every one
of you can ask Jesus to help you with your problems and sicknesses. He
will answer your prayers because he is the true and living God." Those
words echoed in
Bali's head as he travelled back to his village. He asked himself who
this Jesus could be. Knowing that his wife could die any moment, he
decided to call on Jesus that night. He said "Jesus, I don't know who
you are, but the man in the marketplace said that anyone can call on
you, and you would help. Please heal my wife." That became his daily
prayer. Over a period of three months, his wife's condition improved.
Everyone in the village was astonished, and asked how she had been
healed.
Bali told them "I heard a man in the marketplace say that we can ask
Jesus to solve our problems and heal our sicknesses. I started calling
on Jesus that night. I called on him every day and night until I saw
that my wife was healed." Many people in the village then wanted to know
who this Jesus was, because they, like Bali, had never heard his name
before.
Bali told them that he did not know who Jesus was, but that he
believed that he was a God with the power to do anything. The people
started bringing their sick to
Bali,
so that he could pray to Jesus for their healing. To his astonishment,
Jesus repeatedly answered his prayers. Finally, two Christian
missionaries arrived in the Munda village. They had prayed that God
would send them to a people group which had not yet heard the Gospel,
and God led them to Bali. Bali was very touched that God had sent them
to him, and became a devoted follower of Christ after hearing the
Gospel. Following a thirty-day training, Bali is now a missionary in his
own village. In the meantime, two churches have been started among the
Munda. Inter-Mission,
December
2003 |
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ORISSA
|
Severe persecution against church planting ministry in
India's
Orissa
State was interrupted with a sign from heaven when a meteor crashed to
earth near the
Bay of Bengal. Missionaries with an indigenous church-planting ministry had won to
Christ and discipled 15 families in a certain village. So in early
September the ministry sent builders to construct a church building on a
piece of land donated by one of the local believers. Suddenly on the
third day of construction about 50 Hindus gathered about 50 yards away,
placed a stone there, and said that someone had dreamed they should
construct a Hindu temple there. The next morning about 300 people
gathered at the site and attacked the laborers working on the church
building. They snatched $220 from the builder's pocket, beat him
mercilessly, and ordered him to stop construction. At that time the
pastor and the president of the church arrived to see what the trouble
was. The angry crowd dragged them both and ordered them to turn over 50
bags of cement and iron rods to them. The next day, two missionaries
with the church planting ministry arrived at the site and they, too,
were beaten, but managed to escape by motorbike. Then the tide began to
turn. That very same night, one of the villagers who had forcibly taken
four bags of cement died. Two days later a meteor streaked across the
sky, spreading flaming fragments as it went. Witnesses said the meteor
lit up the night sky and others reported hearing a deafening roar. It
crashed into a house and news reports said at least 20 people were
injured. Local citizens were terrified. After this, the leaders of the
militant Hindus apologized to the Christians and said they wanted to
return the materials they had taken away. "The police authorities were
not helpful at all, but the situation is under control," the leader told
Christian Aid.
Christian
Aid, Missions Insider Report, October 2003
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Hindus, too, are
being touched by the supernatural. One sweltering, humid morning Saral
Singh, an EHC worker, came to Kashinath’s village. Saral explained that
only through Jesus Christ could one find eternal salvation. All
Kashinath had to do was believe. But believing seemed impossible for the
well-trained Hindu. Surely, he reasoned, salvation had to be earned by
worshipping many gods, and required far more than the simple faith this
evangelist described. So Kashinath rejected the message of Saral Singh.
But then Kashinath had a dream in which he saw a man standing before him
dressed in beautiful white clothing. "Kashinath," asked the Man, "how
many parents do you have?" "One father and one mother," he replied.
"Why, then, do you worship so many gods and goddesses? I am Jesus, the
true way to God the Father." With that, Kashinath awoke from his deep
sleep. It was early morning, and he set out immediately to find the EHC
evangelist. Saral Singh had not yet left the village, and he listened
intently as Kashinath described his unusual dream. Then, the evangelist
explained once again the message of the Good News. This time, when he
spoke about Jesus, Kashinath knew exactly whom Saral was referring to.
He had seen Him in his dream. And before mid-morning, Kashinath had
placed his trust in Christ. Why? Because his life-changing dream had
confirmed to him the reality of the Gospel.
Every Home for Christ, E-vangelism
Update, October 2003 |
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ASSAM |
|
The Hmar
Christians of northeastern India are extending the "love of God" to
their "enemies" - the Hindu Dimasas, who they say have recently killed
many of them in a violent tribal conflict. Dr. Rochunga Pudaite, a Hmar
believer and the founder and president of Colorado Springs-based Bibles
for the World, says the organisation is planning to supply food and
also to give tribal members the God's Word as a sign of Christian love.
Pudaite recently stepped into the middle of the conflict by calling on
both sides to stop the violence. He said that troubles were started on
March 3 when what he called "Naga political revolutionaries kidnapped
three people from a neighbouring Dimasa village and demanded ransom."
The violence continued until many on both sides had been killed. "Our
friends in the area where the killings took place have just bought rice
to be given to the Dimasas," he said. "I have asked that they also give
them something to eat with the rice, so they bought some dal which is
like a split pea." When asked why he thought it was important to show
God's love the Dimasas people in this way, Pudaite replied, "We are
commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to love everyone, including our
enemies. We have to demonstrate that love by our life and by our
actions." Advance!, September
2003 |
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UTTAR PRADESH |
Mohan Philip was a fighter pilot until the age of 30. He
then build a weapons factory for rockets, which made him rich. At 40, he
suffered a severe heart attack; his coronary arteries were 90% blocked.
He planned a five-fold bypass operation in a special clinic in the
USA. In the meantime, his wife and daughter came to faith in Christ. "You
won't need an operation," his daughter told him, and prayed for him on
the telephone. A subsequent x-ray revealed that the blockage of his
coronary arteries had receded so much that an operation was no longer
necessary. Mohan decided to follow Jesus too. Today, four years later,
he is one of the main leaders of the UP Project, an almost unique church
planting project in the Indian state Uttar Pradesh.
Friday Fax, October 2003
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UTTAR PRADESH |
|
Around two years
ago, Uttar Pradesh - previously a Hindu stronghold - with its 175
million inhabitants, began to open for the Gospel. This had been
preceded by many Northern Indian Christians' intense prayer. Since then,
tens of thousands have come to faith; some 2,700 new house churches have
been planted in Northern and Central India alone since January 2003.
Around 1,800 church planters and house church leaders are involved in
the UP Project - a long-term missionary initiative aiming to plant 1
million new churches by 2010. Pairs of church planters go to pray in
villages, typically visiting ten villages each day. They introduce
themselves to the mayor, and ask whether there is anything for which
they can pray. They then pray, fast and preach the Gospel until they
find a 'house of peace' - one of the villagers opens his house as a
house of prayer. This often happens following a healing or deliverance
from demonic possession. When the first people come to believe in Jesus,
they are immediately instructed how to follow Jesus. There are already
around 24,000 'houses of peace' in 4,000 of Uttar Pradesh's villages.
These houses of peace are only then called 'house churches' when the new
believers seriously follow Jesus and have been baptised.
Kingdom Ministries, October 2003 |
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Are illiterate
women more effective missionaries than educated women? Bindu Choudhrie,
Dr. Victor Choudhrie's wife, reports "It used to be normal for the wives
of men in full-time Christian ministry to work within their husband's
ministry, but their contribution was never really noticed. In courses
over the past 13 months, we've been encouraging women to live out the
full potential which Christ has put in them. Many of them knew that in
theory, but had never experienced it. However, the fruit was immediately
visible when they were confirmed in their role. Of the 2,063 women who
took part in these intensive courses, 30% became church planters,
themselves leading people to Christ, baptising and discipling them. They
have planted 728 new house churches. Interestingly," says Choudhrie,
"the women with little or no education were much more effective
missionaries than educated women. One of our main strategies is prayer
walking in advance of church planting." Victor Choudhrie's report about
Jayaker is a typical example of prayer's role in evangelisation and
church planting: "Jayaker was an active young man, but became enchanted
with a group of naked Sadhus (itinerant monks) in his village. He fell
into a trance, and then left with them. For 10 years, he lived naked,
taking hashish and harder drugs, filling his life with occult practices.
Later, he joined the more occult Rajnish Ashram in Poona. He finally
heard the Gospel from someone, and woke up, becoming a dedicated
disciple of Jesus. One day, he was in
Ujjain
with his friend Raju, where he discovered a Hindu priest with a tray
full of things used for idolatory: oil lamps, flowers, coconut and so
on. Jayaker asked Raju for prayer covering while he neutralised the
priest's mantras - which he knew by heart - in Jesus' name. The priest
was astonished, because he was suddenly unable to move his arms to
sacrifice to the idol. 'Another power is at work here,' he said. When
the priest tried to move again, the tray fell out of his hand. Jayaker
and Raju belong to a team of Indian Christians in Ujjain preparing for
the Kumbh, a festival which twenty million Hindus are expected to
attend." Choudhrie family,
Madhya Pradesh, India, October 2003 |
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“It’s the rainy
season in India, which means more snakes - and more demonic activity,”
writes Dr. Victor Choudhrie. “The farmers go about their work, asking
the Gods for special favour. The Saperas - snake charmers - appear
everywhere with their poisonous Cobras in bamboo baskets. Hindus
sacrifice milk, among other things, to these Cobras - many not realising
that Cobras can’t drink milk because of their forked tongue. During the
Hindu festival Dev Uthani, in which the local God ‘sent to sleep’ by the
Hindu priests are ‘woken up’, millions of idols are made. But the Living
God does not sleep. Millions were expected to attend a Hindu event in
Nasik near Bombay in August 2003, but God sent a flood; the whole temple
complex was under three feet of water, so that only the most dedicated
came to celebrate. In northern India, minor and major miracles are
happening as never before. When Jesus delivered a demonised man, the
Christians told the demon to leave a clear sign that it had left the
region: it left a large whole in the roof. Concerted prayer is making a
growing number of religious centres ineffective, and some have even been
closed,” says Choudhrie. Victor
Choudhrie, Friday Fax, September 2003 |
|
|
"'Thomas', an Indian church planter, lies in a dilapidated
hospital after being severely beaten for preaching the Gospel. He has
only one thought: 'How quickly can I get out of here to preach again?'"
writes Jim Montgomery, founder of the Dawn Movement. "One of the
highlights of my life was meeting Dr. Donald McGavran, the father of the
church growth movement. He taught me to measure the growth of churches,
and to find out how to accelerate that growth in a healthy manner. Not
long ago, ten percent growth per year was exceptional - for example a
church growing from 100 to 110 or from 600 to 660 in one year. Today,
though, we're experiencing something which far exceeds that, like
throwing an old typewriter away, replacing it with the newest computer,"
he writes. "In traditionally unreached nations, but also in evangelised
nations, we're seeing movements in which that which used to take decades
is happening in years, months or even weeks. One recent report from
Thomas' region, for example, tells of 32 missions teams which started
with 2,616 house churches on
1 January 2002. By 31 December that year,
there were 8,784 house churches - a growth of 236%! The number of
Christians grew from 43,676 to 128,665."
DAWN Report, August 2003
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NAGALAND |
Nagaland, one of the world's most mysterious lands tucked
in the mountainous, jungle-covered northeastern corner of
India, has 10,000 missionaries poised to take the gospel to nearby lands,
said Nagaland's Christian president, Isak Chishi Swu, while visiting
California Saturday, August 23. "We want to penetrate
China,
Cambodia,
Myanmar,
Vietnam,
Laos and
Nepal with the gospel," he said. "We have 10,000 missionaries who are ready
to go." Swu said the outreach is being held up by the finalisation of
peace talks between the Indian government and the 4 million people of
Nagaland - an Indian state established in 1961 - that borders
China,
Myanmar and
Bangladesh. "We want to request the whole world to pray for us that the peace
process with
India will be successful so that God will then release us to preach the
gospel around the world, particularly in the neighbouring countries. We
are not demanding our independence from
India, but we do need recognition." The soft-spoken 73-year-old president
was born in a hamlet called Chishilimi in the Sumi region of present-day
Nagaland. "In 1921 my father was one of the first converts in Nagaland,"
Swu said. "God used him mightily, and he and some colleagues converted
our whole tribe during a period of four or five years. Before this, our
tribe was pagan." He says that 95 percent of the Naga people are
Christian.
Assist News Service, August 2003
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ORISSA
Pioneer
missionary Laban began sharing the Gospel among the Kui people in the
state of Orissa. Laban was surrounded by a hateful mob and beaten, his
gospel literature destroyed. Then the mob forced him to his knees before
a Hindu idol. Laban refused to worship the idol, and was finally thrown
out of the village, with a warning never to return. Others might have
gone on to another village. Not Laban. With a new supply of gospel
literature and a prayer, he went right back to the Kui village. The
villagers admired his courage and some decided to listen. One by one,
people began to believe, including the village priest. Before long, an
entirely new village was formed of the new believers who had turned to
Christ. E-Vangelism Update,
September 2004 |
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"I was recently
reminded of a story in 1 Samuel chapter 5. The Philistines took the Ark
of the Covenant and put it in their god's temple. The next morning, the
statue was lying on its face in front of the Ark. They lifted it back in
place, with the same result the following morning. A Tamil woman was
brought to the service last year because she had bad asthma. She asked
us to pray that she would be healed, and afterwards came regularly to
the service and converted from Hinduism to Jesus. In her apartment, she
had many pictures of Hindu gods; one day, they all fell to the ground.
Her husband hung them back on the wall and fastened them with sticky
tape. When the woman returned home after a service, they were all on the
floor again, even though nobody had been at home. Her Hindu husband was
naturally amazed, but at the request of his wife, they threw the
pictures away." Daniel
Rutschmann, November 1995 |
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One Christian
girl was married in her village. On the wedding day a great storm arose
with strong winds. All the wedding guests fled in panic. Heavy rain
drops fell from the black clouds overhead. The people thought that the
tent that had been erected for the ceremony would be blown away and all
the food would go to waste. At that point three young Christians – the
only believers in the whole village – decided to pray to Jesus since
they had seen on the Jesus movie that He has all authority over the
weather. They knelt down on their knees and started praying. In a short
time the storm was completely gone and the sky was clear. They started
loudly praising the Lord. This event stood as a powerful witness to the
community and many came to faith in Christ.
Cooperative Outreach of
India, May 2001 |
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RAJASTHAN |
|
Two Christian workers entered a village
in India's Rajasthan state and were asked to pray for a man who had been
bedridden for 20 years. After praying, the workers left the village with
a promise to return the next week. When they came back, the formerly
bedridden man walked out to meet them. "I have accepted Jesus Christ
with great faith!" he cried. "He has helped me and given me a new life.
My whole family believes in him, and we will praise him all our lives!"
Praise God for his wonder-working power, which heals both body and
spirit. Ask him to mature these new believers and use their testimony to
start many more churches in Rajasthan state.
Advance, April 1998 |
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TAMIL NADU |
|
Sunder, a
pharmacist in Madras, India, grew up as a Brahman and knew nothing of
Jesus Christ. At the age of 30, he was diagnosed as suffering from
Leukaemia. The doctors saw no hope of recovery, and Sunder was soon
unable to leave his bed. Shortly before his expected death, he had an
unusual experience: he saw his two white angels carry his spirit out of
his body on a sort of stretcher and place him on a table. Lying there,
he could see nothing other than a very bright light, and heard a voice
say "I am Jesus." That was all. Immediately, he felt his spirit return
to his body. He sat upright in his hospital bed and astonished his
relatives by proclaiming "Jesus is Lord!" and starting to remove all the
needles and pipes from his body. The doctors and his relatives assumed
he was delirious and had lost his mind. Sunder, however, insisted that
he was healthy and wanted to go home, so the doctors, unable to do
anything else, tested his blood again. To their complete surprise, they
found no more indications of Leukaemia and could do nothing but release
him from hospital. Sunder then decided to become a Christian, married a
Christian woman and now lives with his two small children south of
Madras. He has not had any relapse since the event and continues to work
in a pharmacy. Sadhu Chellappa,
August 1995 |
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The new
Christian, an ex-Hindu, was shocked: his rice field was full of weeds,
and he was in danger of becoming the butt of village jokes because his
harvest looked so poor. In tears, he went to the Indian missionary
Ravikumar Kurapati. "I encouraged him with the Word of God," says
Kurapati. "The next day, I went with him to his field, watched by almost
the entire village. I took a bucket of fresh water, and prayed. I then
asked him to take the water and throw it over his crop. When the harvest
time came, he was amazed: he collected an incredible 30 sacks of rice
from his narrow strip of land. It also opened the other villagers' eyes
to see that Jesus Christ is the true God," says Kurapati, who planted a
new church in the village. The newly-saved farmer donated some of his
land for the church. Gospel for
Asia, October 1996 |
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TAMIL NADU |
|
On
12th October 1996,
the Indian evangelist Sadhu Chellappa held a crusade in the previously
unreached town of Kandarvakkottai in Tamil Nadu. The pastor of a
church-planting project had obtained permission for the event from the
local police which was then withdrawn after he and the police chief
received threats from the fanatic Hindu RSS party. The event could only
take start at 6:30pm after the intervention of a local member of the
Legislative Assembly. 1,000 of the town's 6,000
inhabitants came to listen, but the RSS was not so easily put off: they
had the seemingly good idea of cutting off the town's electricity
supply. They hadn't reckoned that the Christians had brought along a
diesel generator able to power the lights and 32 loudspeakers. For the
duration of the event, there were no other sources of noise, and the
preacher's voice could be heard clearly throughout the town. According
to Chellappa, hundreds accepted the gospel that evening. The
newly-planted church is now attended by over 150 people.
Sadhu Chellappa, October 1996 |
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ORISSA |
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Lalit from
Orissa state was, as he describes himself, "a worldly singer" before
contracting a fatal illness. He lay on his death bed for 3 months before
seeing a vision of Jesus at around noon one day. "Jesus was carrying
something like a rod in his hand, and touched me on my bed. I was
healed. I have been serving him since then!", he says. To start with, he
became a preacher and tract-distributor with Every Home Crusade. One
day, his leader sent him to distribute tracts near Kulpani, which Lalit
describes as having many fanatical Hindus. One of the villages to which
he was sent was infamous for its Kali-Mandal, a temple to the goddess
Kali, to whom human sacrifices are still made today. He hadn't been
there long before people started warning him "Babapriest, the head
priest, is already searching for you. They want to sacrifice you to
Kali. Run away quickly!" Too late - 500 armed men captured the small
team, beat them and dragged them to the Kali temple, where the priest
was waiting with a large sword. "Deny Jesus and turn to Kali, or Kali
will drink your blood today!" They gave Lalit cow dung mixed with water
to drink, but he said to his Lord "If I die, I am with you. If I live, I
will continue to serve you. My life is in your hand." The priest lifted
his sword, but was interrupted by a woman shouting "Let him go. We don't
want to see that any more." Other women took up the cry, and Lalit could
escape. Today, he is a modern David: when he plays his flute (the 'rod'
he saw in Jesus' hand in his vision), people are healed and demons
driven out. He and his team of 25 have planted 110 churches since 1992,
and have baptised almost 3000 people. Smiling broadly, he says "There
are now 3 churches with a total of some 150 members in the Kali-Mandal
village now." Lalit Kumar
Nayak, December 1997 |
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RAJASTHAN |
Dunger is a village on the border between the northern
Indian states of Rajastan and
Gujarat. A 6-year-old boy drowned there recently and was to be buried later
the same day, as is normal in many hot countries. But according to
Parthing Matchar, the boy's father, pastor Duad, a Christian called Manu
and a number of other members of the Indian Pentecostal Church (IPC) got
there first. They prayed in Jesus' name and placed their Bibles
symbolically on the child's body. "Then the child opened his eyes,
alive. We could find no words to express our feelings as we experienced
God's power raising the dead as he did in Acts."
KY. Geevarghese, September 1997
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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
|
"At first,
Randeep didn't want to pray for the girl. She was lying on the ground,
possessed by demons, and the Hindu Pujari (witch doctor) wanted money
and goats to drive the spirits out. God spoke to Randeep: 'If you don't
pray for her, I will ask someone else.' Randeep obeyed, prayed, and the
girl was delivered. The people were greatly shocked. The next morning,
others came to knock on Randeep's door, to ask him to pray for them as
well. Thousands heard the gospel, many people were freed of demons and
repented of their sins, and the Christian churches grew. Then came the
opposition: Randeep was hung head down over a river with his feet tied
together, and was told that he would be drowned if he did not promise to
leave the district. He replied, quietly, that they should let the rope
down, because he wouldn't leave - but his persecutors decided not to
drown him. Instead, they stabbed him in the stomach. He didn't have to
go to hospital, though, because Jesus healed him. Randeep's young wife
told him 'If you die for the Lord in Kinnaur District, I will raise our
son and pray that he will take your place.'"
NIHN/Concern, August 1997 |
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TAMIL NADU |
|
Just like a
predecessor in the New Testament, a woman in Tamil Nadu state, India,
had been suffering from haemorrhaging, reports the mission agency Gospel
for Asia. "Her illness was so severe that she was no longer able to
work. As she heard that Joseph, a local evangelist, would be preaching
in a nearby church, she asked friends to carry her to the meetings on
her bed. Joseph noticed the woman as soon as he started preaching.
Nothing happened on the first day, but Joseph was filled with joy on the
second day as God touched the woman wonderfully. She got up from her bed
and jumped for joy. 50 people decided to become Christians that day, and
25 have already been publicly baptised."
Gospel for
Asia, June 1997 |
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RAJASTHAN |
|
Raju (name
changed for his protection) was a newly-saved Christian who listened
carefully as his pastor spoke of the healing miracles Jesus performed.
Suddenly, the stories became reality for him: he noticed that a tumour
from which he suffered was vanishing. His personal experience of how
Jesus is healing people today caused his faith to grow in leaps and
bounds. A few days later, he passed through a village in Rajastan, where
he heard that a local politician belonging to the fanatic Hindu party
RSS had just died. Raju offered to pray for the dead man. The dead man's
relatives told him to go away, but Raju insisted that Jesus can raise
people from the dead. He pushed his way through the people, laid his
hands on the dead man's body. As he prayed, the man's hands started to
move, frightening the others present. With that, Raju became even more
bold: turning to the others, he told them that they must declare that
Jesus is Lord and Saviour of all people before he continued to pray.
Everyone present did so, and as Raju continued praying, the dead man
rose in front of their eyes. As a result, all of the politician's family
members decided to become Christians. Other members of the politician's
party reported them to the police for breaking the anti-conversion law,
which forbids anyone to convert to another religion. When the police
arrived to investigate and arrest the accused Christians, they found a
prayer meeting. Some of the people present asked the police to wait
until after the prayer if they wanted to arrest anyone. The group then
went to a nearby pond, where 350 previously orthodox Hindus were
baptised in front of the police. "Hey, you really are converting!" said
the police, to which the new Christians replied "No, we are already
Christians. We are simply taking a holy bath. Surely you can understand
that!?" With that, the police left.
Rev. Rajamani, Mission Director of | | |
German