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Gurgaon, India - Location of our Delhi Model Church
Hindu Priest
Varanasi Creamation
Bombay Training Center |
India 's Defining Moment India is in an Economic Revolution Income levels are rising rapidly in the educated middle class which represents about one third of the population. They are well over 300 million and roughly the population of the United States. But 40% of India 's population, the Dalits, live in unimaginable poverty, subsisting on daily wages between one and two U.S. dollars. They are becoming increasingly angry. India is in a Cultural Revolution India 's youth are abandoning their Hindu traditions and embracing western secularism, materialism and pop culture. Many of them are quickly discovering the emptiness of popular western values and becoming Christians. India is in a Religious Revolution India 's poor are embracing the Gospel in growing numbers and their commitments to Christ have shaken the Hindu community. An article in the Wall Street Journal in September, 2007 pointed out that thousands of India 's lower cast Dalits are converting secretly to Christianity. They are reluctant to make their conversions public due to persecution and the fact that there are certain government jobs available to them as long as they remain Hindu. If they become Christian, they no longer qualify for government jobs. The World Christian Database estimates that there are over 23 million secret Christians in India. In the past ten years, persecution has dramatically increased in India. As Hindu extremists witness the eroding of their political and economic base, they are reacting in violence that is often overlooked by local police and government officials. Orissa, January 1999 Australian Missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned alive in their car. Graham lived modestly and served a colony of lepers in one of the poorest areas of India. Allahabad, 2005 India 's first Christian University, a 95 year old institution, was closed after a violent attack by Hindu radicals. Andhra Pradesh, August 2008 A Catholic Priest was martyred. His body showed signs of torture, with wounds to his face, his hands and legs broken and his eyes pulled from their sockets. Karnataka, August 2008 Two pastors were publicly stripped and beaten. Orissa, August 2008 The violence is ongoing but to this date, 11 believers have been martyred, 20 churches burned and 150 homes destroyed. A 20 year old woman was thrown alive into a burning building, a paralyzed man burned alive in his home, a young nun gang raped by Hindu extremists, mobs have surrounded villages to attack Christians and many believers have fled into the jungle to save their lives. Local churches are increasingly becoming the target of violent persecution but they also represent the most viable way to truly affect change in India. Hinduism is threatened and the violence is an indication of the inroads the Gospel is making in India. For the past two years I have focused on Nepal and the work there has gone exceptionally well. In 2009, I want to begin a new focus in East India. I am laying the groundwork this month for what we hope will become a new model church plant in a major city of east India. I envision this work as being similar to our model churches in Colombo, Islamabad, Delhi and Nepalgunj in that it will have a regional influence as an example and training center. Thanks for standing with us as we make a difference in a desperate region. ChurchAsia - P.O. Box 82080 - Baton Rouge, LA 70884changing the world...one congregation at a time |
