Bihar is known as the “graveyard of missionaries” among the Indian missions. Bihar is the third largest state in India with 104 million people. It is one of India’s most densely populated states, with well over 2,850 people per square mile. The vast majority (89%) of the population are living in compact or clustered villages in the cultivated plains. Economically it is one of the poorest states according to the government standards. A large segment of the population lives below the poverty level, and the literacy rate is one of the lowest among the Indian states. Almost 58% of the population is below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state.
Bihar is also one of the least reached states in India with regard to the Gospel. According to the Joshua Project there are more than 450 people groups, out of which 430 are considered unreached by the Gospel. Idolatry, witchcraft, drug abuse, alcoholism, caste discrimination, looting, fighting, and every expression of spiritual darkness is prevalent in this state.
In the last 10 years we have seen tremendous church growth in Bihar. Many mission agencies are involved in reaching the people groups. Our organization alone has 26 full-time indigenous missionaries working in Bihar.
Over the past five years, the Lord has greatly blessed us and has given us a great harvest of souls in Bihar. Last week our coordinator, S*, visited the mission stations and submitted this report:
Passionate Worshipers of Jesus
On March 10, 2019, Pastor J* (a senior minister in our ministry) and I were picked up at the railway station and were rushed to a tribal area where the Lunia people live. In 2017 there were half a million Lunia people, without even as much as a single Christian among them. That year, we sent our outreach team with 13 young people to this Lunia community to share the gospel with them. In the beginning they met with hardship and persecution. Four of our brothers were jailed for three days for evangelizing among the Lunia community. Now, as we bounced down a dirt road in an old taxi, passing through the different villages, we felt the spiritual darkness in that area. As we reached the village where our brothers wanted to take us, we were led to a school building where more than four hundred people were worshiping together on a Sunday morning. J* and I were tired, but upon seeing the people and the way they worshipped our Lord, we forgot our weakness and with our whole heart we joined the worship. I can say it was one of the most touching worship services I ever attended in my life. There were no musical instruments but people were joining together, lifting their voices and singing, every word worshiping the Lord. During that time of worship we saw people delivered from evil spirits. After the service we learned that these people are from the Lunia community. Over the past two years more than 700 hundred people from the Lunia community have come to know Jesus through our brothers. Fourteen villages have a regular Sunday service, and another 17 villages have regular weekly prayer meetings. We were overwhelmed by what we saw and experienced. With tears of joy, we thanked the Lord for the harvest.
Powerful Move of the Holy Spirit
On March 13 we were led to another community called the Bhar, with over 2 million people also in the state of Bihar. As with the Lunia, there were very few Christians among them. Farming is the main occupation of the Bhar people, and they often work as laborers in fields owned by the higher caste people.
In February we had sent two teams, a total of 14 brothers from different communities, to do outreach for six weeks. By the grace of God, there were a lot people drawn to the Lord. Our outreach team led us to a prayer meeting they had started just a few weeks ago in the Bhar community. A prayer meeting was arranged in the courtyard of a house, and as we reached there around 25-30 people from the village were waiting. As we shared the gospel with them, the Spirit of God moved mightily in the meeting. People were being set free from the bondage of demonic spirits and disease. Everyone who came forward for prayer was afflicted by an evil spirit, and most of them had some kind of sickness that manifested in their life as well. When we laid hands on them and prayed, the demons threw the people to the ground and they began screaming loudly. Much of the same thing happened in all nine of the prayer groups we visited with our outreach team, in different villages in the Bhar community. Through prayer and the ministry of the Word, and by God’s rich grace and mercies, God delivered all of them completely.
We went from one place to another and visited all 9 of the prayer groups that our brothers have started in the last six weeks. We ministered to many people, and over 93 people received the Lord Jesus as their Savior. God is moving in a very special way among the unreached community, through signs and wonders, and deliverance. During the 9 days of the trip, we attended three of our local training centers. Eighty-four men and women graduated from different tribal communities after they had completed our 40- day house church leaders’ training this past year. Four new training centers have been started for this year in different areas, and one of them is among the Lunias.
Partnering With the Father
Jesus told us “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” (John 4:35-36). When you partner with us, you are a partner in the Great Harvest that Jesus spoke of, and is now taking place. Our missionaries will be blessed, and you will too!
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