Our indigenous house church leaders are starting house churches in the unreached Hindu and Muslim dominated villages in Northern India. God is building His church through wonders and miracles done in His power, through simple believers who have committed to serve the Lord in difficult situations. Despite economic hardship and severe persecution, our brothers continue to reach the unreached.
A Child is Born
Sidhu and Lakshmi are a young couple from a tribal area. They were married at the young age of 18, as is the custom in their tribe. After 10 years of marriage, they still did not have any children. To help them conceive, their parents tried all kinds of witchcraft on Lakshmi but nothing worked. Finally, Sidhu’s family accused her and sent her back to her parents’ home, saying they don’t need a daughter-in-law who can’t bear a child. Sidhu loved his wife but under the pressure of his parents he was helpless. Three years ago, he went and took his wife and together they ran away from his village and came to a small city. There they met some believers who were praying together in a brick factory. The believers introduced Sidhu and Lakshmi to this new idea of faith in Jesus. They laid hands on them, blessed them and prayed for the Lord to bless them with a child. In that small city, Sidhu and Lakshmi accepted the Lord, but after barely three months of fellowship with the believers, the pandemic struck and they were forced to go back to their tribal village.
Sidhu’s family was still not willing to accept Lakshmi, so they had to pitch a tent just outside the village. They were happy, and though they had many difficulties and hardships to endure, they had something new, the Joy of the Lord.
Sidhu and Lakshmi began to share their new faith in Jesus with their friends and the Gospel spread through the village. Through their prayers the Lord did wonders and miracles. Many people were touched, healed, and delivered through the power of God. The believers in the village began to come together regularly and hundreds of people came to know the Lord.
After 9 months, their joy knew no bounds when they came to know that Lakshmi was expecting a child! Just last month Regi and Sherly were in their village for the dedication of their son, Ashish. They had the privilege of dedicating the five-week-old boy for the glory of God, in front of 300 villagers who were the relatives and friends of Sidhu and Lakshmi. Regi shared a Gospel message, and 42 people responded to give their lives to the Lord. The same day they baptized 48 new believers from the surrounding village.
Today, there are sixteen villages in the area with new house churches. Previously a totally unreached area, the Gospel is now being shared around those villages. There are 178 baptized believers, hundreds of people are attending the house churches, and thousands have now heard the gospel.
The Child is Born
The story of Sidhu and Lakshmi reminds us of another birth we celebrate during this season. Joseph and Mary were a young couple from a small village. They, too, had some difficulties they had to overcome. Sidhu and Lakshmi ran away because of their love for one another, and to escape the persecution of their families. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to be registered for the government census that was taking place. After Jesus was born, they ran away to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod.
Sidhu and Lakshmi lived in a tent outside the village; Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable because there was no room in the inn. Sidhu and Lakshmi’s lives were transformed from sadness to joy because of the birth of their firstborn son. Mary and Joseph’s lives were transformed, and all our lives were transformed, from sadness to joy, because the Christ, the Savior of the World, was born!
This Christmas, our outreach teams have been busy sharing the Gospel door to door in many villages. 400 house church leaders (brothers and sisters in Christ) have been sharing the Gospel throughout unreached villages, along with the believers in their congregations. They have distributed 100,000 Gospel of John packets, and 60,000 New Testaments. From December 20th through the 27th they will be holding 60 public meetings in various areas. Picture a tent revival meeting, and you will get the idea of what a public meeting is like. As our brothers share the message of the Gospel, and demonstrate the Gospel through healings, miracles, signs, and wonders, pray for the hearts of the people attending, that they will desire a relationship with Jesus. Pray that extraordinary miracles will take place. Pray for boldness for every believer.
In addition to praying for the teams, please keep our leadership team in prayer. We ask for God’s wisdom and grace to continue leading the ministry.
Help Us Share the Gospel
We thank God for ordinary people like Sidhu and Lakshmi whom God is using for His Glory and the expansion of His kingdom. Today the message of the Gospel is speeding into the unreached villages of India through native believers, transforming thousands of lives.
Did you enjoy this testimony? Will you help us continue sharing the Gospel in the darkest places of India? Ask Father God what He would have you do. To find out how to contact us, and 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,