There is a state in northern India dominated by the great Himalayan mountains. Known as the “Abode of Snow,” and characterized by hills and forests, it is also sometimes referred to as “God’s own Abode.” The majority of the people in the state (98%) are Hindus. For many years it has been India’s least evangelized state. Every mountain in the state is named after a Hindu “god,” so it is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrimages. There is much devotion to idols.
The Lord opened the way for us to start our ministry in this least evangelized state in 1998. Almighty God is blessing the ministry and the work has progressed wonderfully. Over the past 20 years our Lord has enabled us to reach into thousands of villages and share the Gospel with people who had never heard the Gospel. We have established hundreds of house churches and led thousands of people to the Lord.
Revival in the Mountains
Recently, for nine days, two of our leaders traveled to some of the interior mountain villages where our brothers were able to reach and start house churches among the different communities. Wherever they stopped, the local believers joined them in worshiping the Lord. Most of them had been idol worshipers for many generations, living in spiritual darkness, under the bondage of sin, not knowing the way out. But the light of the Gospel has sprung up in hundreds of villages of this state and is transforming the lives of many people, especially the young people.
After a nine-hour drive, down a narrow road full of potholes, our two leaders finally reached the first of these mountain villages, almost 200 hundred miles away from their home. Here, some of the young believers had started several new prayer groups. The trip to the village had been very difficult. They had felt and sensed the attack of the enemy several times on the trip. At the same time, Almighty God was with them, as it says in 1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Throughout the trip they felt the Presence of the Lord and His divine protection. As they reached the village, a large crowd of people was waiting for them, gathered together from the surrounding hills and valleys. After quickly freshening up, they joined the meeting. Though they were physically exhausted, their spirits were rejoicing, that so many people walked so many miles to hear the Gospel.
Worship Sets You Free
During worship, the Spirit of God moved mightily in the meeting, setting people free from the bondage of evil spirits and sickness. Almost everyone who came forward for prayer had one of these problems in their lives. Many of them were in bondage to demonic spirits. When our team of brothers began worshiping, the demons threw the people to the ground screaming loudly, both men and women. As they continued to worship, the Presence of God came down to the meeting. They saw the demon possessed people crying out and the demons departing even before they laid hands on them. Our Lord touched the lives of hundreds of people, delivered them, healed them, and many were restored through prayer and the ministry of the Word. The presence of the Lord was so powerful the meeting went on until two in the morning.
The Presence of God Saves and Heals
The following morning they went to another village 22 miles away, where our missionary D is ministering. There again, people from the surrounding hill villages walked many miles to attend the meeting. The Lord helped them to share the Word and minister to the people, who came with many needs. Our Lord in His mercy healed the sick and delivered the demon-possessed, and touched many lives. Many people came after the meeting and shared with them that they were able to experience the touch of God in their lives in a fresh way.
The next destination was a village where they met a young lady, 22 years old, who had been unable to talk or hear from birth. Six months ago she was healed through the prayer of another young lady who was a new Christian. The lady who was healed was the daughter of a Hindu temple priest. Through her testimony, many people have believed in the Gospel and experienced the power of God in their life. The temple priest arranged a meeting in his house and invited the whole village to the meeting. To reach his village, our team had to walk about three and a half miles. They walked through the narrow paths and climbed the hills with God-given strength. Physically they were very tired, and when they reached the village their legs were swollen and ached with pain.
The prayer meeting there was a great blessing, with around 200 people attending. Before the meeting, the temple priest told our leader “There are lots of people in the village opposing me for allowing this meeting in my home, but my family has served many gods and goddesses for generations without any answer to prayer. Every day I used to spend 11 hours worshiping the gods and goddesses, but none of the gods and goddesses could help my only daughter. Jesus healed her and opened her ears and mouth, so I want to express my thanks to Jesus by conducting this meeting in my village and giving the people an opportunity to hear about Him.” During the meeting the Presence of God was so real in that place as we shared the gospel, 49 people, including the temple priest and his wife, publicly came forward to receive the Lord in response to the Gospel call. During prayer, our Lord in His mercy healed the sick, delivered the demon-possessed and restored broken families. After the meeting, a good number of people obeyed the Lord in water baptism.
All through the nine days our leaders spent in that hilly area they saw a tremendous move of God drawing hundreds of people to the Lord. In every village, people begged them to share the Gospel or come to their home for prayer. One man who accepted Jesus into his life was very upset. He asked them “Why were you so late coming to our village to share the Gospel? If you would have come just a few months ago, my wife and son, who died in an accident, would have heard the Gospel and would have gotten saved.” They literally cried with him. The “Macedonian Call” is ringing out from the villages of India today.
Answering the Macedonian Call
Paul received a vision that directed his missionary activities: A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Will you help us answer our own “Macedonian Call?” Will you help us take the Gospel to the remote villages of India? Will you invest in the Great Harvest that Jesus spoke of, and is now taking place? Just click one of the links below. Our missionaries will be blessed, and you will too!
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