A Family Continuing a Legacy
One of our house church leaders’ training centers in a tribal area of Bihar state, with 37 men and women—mostly young people—decided to reach out to 67 unreached villages in their county during the last Christmas outreach. Prayerfully, they went door to door distributing New Testaments and tracts, sharing the gospel, and praying for the people. Most of the villages received them, but in seven villages they endured humiliation and persecution. Yet our brothers and sisters faithfully and systematically went door to door. These brothers and sisters were from tribal backgrounds, most of them young believers with only two or three years in the Christian faith. Still, they boldly shared their testimonies and their relationship with Jesus.
One of the villages our brothers selected to reach was Dhandh village, with a total of 379 families. Not a single Christian lived in that village; it was a very anti-Christian place. Seventeen years ago, in this village, our missionary Kishan and his friend were attacked by the villagers, wounded, and thrown outside the village. Our dear brother Kishan bled to death and became the first martyr for the gospel from our Exciting Word ministry.
Seventeen years later, Brother Kishan’s oldest son, Ravi—who had seen the wounded body of his father at just 12 years old—decided to follow the path of his father. At the age of 15, he surrendered his life to the Lord’s work. After completing his high school education, we sent him to a Bible seminary. Upon finishing his studies, he returned and became the pastor of the church his father had started. The Lord shaped Ravi into a fine young man with a great burden for his own people and for unreached people groups. We gave him the responsibility of leading the Christmas outreach in that area.
According to him: “We divided the 37 members into five teams. One day, as I was getting ready to go with the outreach team, my mother and two sisters (my father Kishan’s wife and daughters) told me they wanted to join. I said that if they wished, they could come. We joined the team, not realizing that we were going to Dhandh village. It completely slipped our minds that this was the village where my father had been beaten and had laid down his life for the Lord.
“When we arrived, we divided into four teams and systematically went door to door. We entered almost every home, met people, talked to them, shared the gospel, and people did not object. Many families allowed us to pray for them; they shared their difficulties and needs. Some brought their sick to us. We prayed and blessed each family and invited them to the public meeting in the nearby village. Everything was peaceful. My mother and sisters were enjoying every moment—they were rejoicing in the Lord. My mother said, ‘I have great peace; my heart is rejoicing in the Lord.’ We all felt the same. It seemed the Lord had touched many hearts in that village. As they were returning, my mother suddenly realized it was the same village where her husband had laid down his life for the gospel. They were filled with emotion yet still experiencing divine peace.”
Our outreach team held four public meetings during Christmas in that area. One of the meetings was three miles from Dhandh village. At that public meeting on December 24th, Brother Kishan’s wife and all three children were present. Many people from Dhandh village came and shared that after the outreach team visited and prayed in their homes, they had experienced many miracles.
An 11‑year‑old girl, Nithu, who was almost blind (doctors said she had only 20% vision), was brought to our outreach team for prayer. After prayer, her eyesight was restored. Her parents took her to the eye doctor, and he confirmed that her eyesight was normal.
Another incident involved a 14‑year‑old boy who was born with kidney issues, and his family could not afford treatment because they were very poor. The parents had lost all hope; he was their only son. At one time, someone had taken them to a house church where they prayed for him and told them he would be healed, but the parents did not believe. For 14 years they lived expecting his death. While our outreach team was in the village, the parents asked them to pray for him. He was weak and very unhealthy, but the team prayed and blessed him. From that moment, his health began to improve. Within two days he became energetic, the swelling disappeared, and he began eating well. They took him to the government hospital, and the doctor confirmed that his kidney was functioning normally. When the doctor asked what had happened, the parents said, “Someone came to our home and prayed for our son in Jesus’ name.” They brought the boy to the public meeting, walking three miles, and shared their testimony for the glory of God. Almost everyone knew these children’s situations, and they were amazed by what had happened.
That day, Kishan’s wife and daughters led worship with tears, seeing more than 400 people attending the meeting—half of them from Dhandh—unaware that the family of the man they had killed for the gospel was standing before them. Ravi preached the Christmas message with tears and passion, his family standing with him. The Holy Spirit ministered to the people according to their needs. When an altar call was given, Ravi said it was difficult to speak, but he felt a fresh anointing. He saw only the needy before him, and his heart was moved with compassion. He shared his heart, and 73 people responded to the altar call and came forward to receive the gospel.
After three months of the outreach, more than 200 people began attending regular prayer meetings in Dhandh village, led by Ravi. In the first week of March, several village authorities came together to warn those attending the meetings that they would be socially boycotted. But the people continued gathering for prayer. Since last Friday, they have been facing social ostracism and persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Access to public water sources, village shops, and medical care has been denied. Village authorities even announced a fine of ₹11,000 ($125) if anyone offered them water, making survival extremely difficult. Please pray that God will intervene and break this injustice and social ostracism.
During last Christmas outreach, we distributed over 125,000 New Testaments, visited more than 230,000 homes in 862 villages, and shared the gospel. Together, we held 109 public meetings. More than 26,000 people attended these meetings, and 2,112 responded to the gospel call. According to our brothers, in the last four months over 278 prayer groups have been started in unreached villages where weekly prayer meetings now take place—some even online due to threats from radical groups. We have also distributed 11,000 full Bibles in seven different languages.
Right now, we are sending out 720 of our House Church Leader trainees for Easter outreaches. We are preparing for this effort and need Bibles and other gospel materials. They are planning to reach over 100,000 homes in 435 unreached villages. Please pray for the Lord’s favor and protection over the outreach team, the Holy Spirit’s guidance as they share the gospel in various situations, and divine provision for all our needs.
Help Us Share the Gospel
Hearing testimonies from these unreached tribal areas reminds us of the power of the Gospel we preach, the light of the Gospel that shines and overcomes the darkness. Please consider helping us in this task. Without your prayers and support we would not be able to reap the 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