Bihar is known as the “graveyard of missionaries” among the Indian missions because of the hardship of reaching the people in Bihar with the Gospel. For many years, hundreds of missionaries from all around the world sacrificed their lives to reach the people of Bihar. Bihar is one of the poorest states in India. The lack of education, cultural differences, language barriers, religious differences, the caste system, and ignorance make it even harder to reach the people of Bihar.
Exciting Word is celebrating our 25th year of our ministry in Bihar. It was because of the very humble beginning of our Brother Edwin Simon (who is with the Lord now) that led us to the state of Bihar. We visited some of the tribal villages in Bihar and conducted a few small meetings. The response of the people and the miracles and wonders that took place in those small meetings opened our eyes to the need of sharing the Gospel to the unreached villages and people groups in Bihar. We joined together with a few native missionaries under the leadership of Edwin Simon. Since then we have seen a move of the Holy Spirit in a great way in the villages of Bihar. Our prayer and God-given vision was to raise up native people within the community and equip and train them and send them to their own community.
For the last 25 years, Bihar has become one of the greatest harvesting fields. The seed of the Gospel that the dedicated missionaries sowed in Bihar, and the tears they shed for the people of Bihar are bringing a great harvest, especially among the tribal areas. We have seen God in His mercy raising up young and old people who had no theological training or very little training, called by God to share the Gospel to their own community and people groups. While they shared the Gospel, our Lord established His Rhema Word with miracles and wonders and has drawn thousands of people to the kingdom of God.
Brother Kishan used to be a laborer, working near our home. We shared the Gospel with him, he found Jesus, and our Lord led him back to his own native people and used him to spread the Gospel among the unreached people groups around his village. My first public meeting in Bihar was in Brother Kishan’s village. It lasted for three days and was attended by over 5000 people. During those three days we saw more than 600 people respond to the Gospel call. My largest baptism service was in Bihar where we baptized over 287 people early in the morning in the “holy” Ganges River. Today there are thousands of house churches who meet once a week to worship the Lord in truth and spirit. All because his community came to the Lord.
Brother Ragave is yet another young man who was a missionary by profession who came to construct a small church building in a tribal area. God had touched his life and delivered him from alcoholism and drug addiction. He went back to his own community and our Lord used him in a tremendous way for His glory. For the last 11 years our Lord used him to reach out to thousands of unreached villages and people groups, where he started hundreds of house churches.
Chandan and his wife with four small children received a call from God to go to a particular community. He went and shared with many mission agencies and leaders, and his own church told him not to go because they felt it was “unbreakable ground.” Everyone who had gone there previously for mission work had perished. (The area was known for illegal activities and the government was fighting with an extremist group who was demanding political freedom) Everyone told him “Don’t go; you will lose everything.” Chandan came to me in one of our meetings, shared his vision with us, and we promised to stand with him. For the last 10 years Chandan has been breaking the “unbreakable ground.” He has led hundreds of people to the Lord, including some of the extremists. He has started more than 38 house churches in different villages, and started our training center there, where 41 people are going through the training program.
Chandan has faced extreme persecution several times. He has been threatened, and twice he was attacked and beaten up. A friend of his was killed by a radical group. Last month they were planning to have a baptism service but somehow the word of the baptism reached the radical group. A crowd of over 100 people were waiting in ambush to attack Chandan and the new believers and trap them. Just in time our God miraculously saved them when one of the radicals secretly called Chandan and told him to postpone the baptism service.
Nowadays, Bihar is becoming the graveyard of missionaries again. Hindu radical groups are mercilessly attacking the believers, including women and children, beating them with bamboo sticks, throwing them on the floor, tearing the clothes of women and publicly humiliating them. We have reports of attacks on Christians in several places in Bihar during the Easter time.
Last month Brother Sunny, one of our former missionaries who is still pastoring a church with over two hundred baptized tribal believers, was attacked during their Sunday service. He was beaten up badly and paraded through the street where they tried to force him to call out to their Hindu god and goddess. When he refused, he was beaten more. His attackers said, “We are teaching a lesson to everyone who will not worship our god and goddess.” At their hands he received severe injuries, including one in his neck. It was our Lord’s mercy that while they were taking him to burn him publicly, the police arrived and saved him from the hands of the radicals.
Bihar is one of the greatest harvest fields, and at the same time one of the most dangerous mission fields. Now it is becoming too hard and dangerous to give baptisms to new believers publicly. Over the last few years, we have baptized people early in the morning or at night, but that too is becoming hard. We prayed and asked God for His wisdom, and we believe we have His answer. We are planning to build a water tank inside the churches (5 feet deep x 4 feet wide x 6 feet long). We will construct it with a lid made of iron bars and wood, and cover it with a rug. People will sit on it for worship, not knowing it is there. When they have a baptism service it will be opened and used for the service. After draining and cleaning it, it will be used as a water tank for the church. We are praying for our Lord’s provision for this. Each baptism tank will cost $350 to $400, and it will be a great blessing. It will give freedom to conduct baptisms safely, without the attention of the people in the village.
Help Us Share the Gospel
We want to thank you for every one of your prayers. Without your prayers we would not be able to harvest this harvest. To read more inspiring and exciting testimonies of what God is doing among the unreached people groups of India, click the links on the right, and keep reading!
Proclaiming the Gospel…
…until He comes