Upcoming political change triggers a rise in persecution

Image courtesy Mission India)

India (MNN) ― Christians are becoming scapegoats in the run-up to India's national elections.

According to ASSIST News, Hindus are trying to secure votes in the run-up to next spring's national elections. India's politics have two major players: the secular Congress Party, which has ruled India for the past decade, and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The BJP official party platform is that India is a country that's only for Hindus," says Dave Stravers of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India. "Hindus have the rights, and any other person of any other religious persuasion should leave the country."

As a result, Christians are coming under fire.

Sajan George, president of the Global Council of India Christians (GCIC), told Morning Star News that persecution in Karnataka state increased from 4 attacks between the months of January and May to 21 attacks from June to mid-September.

"The Hindu extremists want to show their existence by attacking the Christians, and sadly the present Congress government is not serious about these attacks launched against the Christians," Senior Advocate S. Nova Bethania of Christian Legal Association told Morning Star.

"Christians are targeted because of the very fast growth of the Christian Church," states Evans. "We actually have seen presentations by Hindu leaders saying, 'The growth of Christians is so fast in our region, within a generation we'll be majority Christian if we don't put a stop to this.'

"That fear of losing political power when your party is based on religion, because so many people are turning to Christ: that's really the basis of the persecution."

In mid-September, a mob of Hindu extremists beat a 50-year-old believer and dragged her around the streets, Morning Star reports. They also tried to re-convert the woman to Hinduism, pouring water on her to symbolize religious cleansing and applying a red dot to her forehead.

The attack lasted a total of six hours. The woman was eventually rescued by her sister-in-law and taken to a hospital where she was treated for internal injuries and multiple contusions.

"What I am suffering is nothing compared to what my Lord Jesus has suffered," she told Morning Star. "I will love Him forever for giving me a new life."

Mission India workers face the same dangers.

"Our workers are threatened every day," says Stravers. They are "beaten up, attacked, forced out of locations."

Despite daily persecution, the Gospel is spreading and the Church continues to grow.

Mission India's Adult Literacy program and Children's Bible Clubs are widely accepted by Muslim and Hindu populations alike. Click on each program name to learn more.

"Without literacy, [people] cannot participate in the economic growth of India," explains Stravers.

India is one of five developing world economies known as BRICS: Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa compose the rest of the acronym. These countries have experienced an economic boom over the past decade.

Rapid growth isn't limited to the economy.

"I'm just so impressed and overwhelmed, in fact, by the response to the Gospel," says Stravers.

"Everywhere we go, people are open to the message of Christ. People seem so eager to get out from under the burden of Islam, or the burden of Hinduism."

Pray that more people will turn to Christ from these religions. Please ask the Lord to protect Gospel workers in India.

Church leader attacked; missionaries threatened daily

Children's Bible Clubs are
introduced in a community
through a 10-day program.
(Image courtesy of MNI)

India (MNN) ― While believers were gathered at his home singing worship songs, a mob of Hindu extremists brutally attacked Raju,* a church leader trained by Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India.

Dave Stravers with Mission India said about 20 men broke into Raju's home wielding clubs. Radicals destroyed things in the home and then turned their rage to Raju. When his 12-year-old daughter asked the extremists why they were attacking her father, they began to beat her, too.

"Persecution is a growing reality in India," said Stravers. After violently attacking Raju and his family, extremists proceeded to drag the believer and his wife to a nearby Hindu temple.

"They smeared vermillion--which is like a finger-paint--on their foreheads and pushed their heads down…and forced them to worship the idols in the temple," Stravers explained.

"This is a pretty typical thing; it happens quite often in India," he added.

Last month, the Evangelical Fellowship of India observed weekly attacks on Christians. Hindu extremists throughout India threatened and beat believers, often accusing them of "forcible conversions."

Could this escalating violence lead to another Orissa-like situation?

"That possibility is always there, yes," Stravers admitted. "It's impossible to predict when that might happen or where, but it's always a possibility.

"In the meantime, you have these local acts of aggression that happen every week, and many cases every day. This is happening all over India."

One of Mission India's partners believes that a non-Christian relative may have told the attackers about Raju's worship group. Raju and his family are currently in hiding. Stravers said a similar pattern takes place in India whenever believers face persecution: they lie low for a few weeks until the chaos dies down, and then resume their work quietly.

"After a few weeks, people realize that these Christians aren't a threat and that they're actually bringing good to the communities," explained Stravers. "Ideally, Raju will go back to his ministry, and the church will start worshipping again."

Ask God to protect this believer and his family.

"We need to pray that they will take courage, that they will receive comfort and support from other believers," stated Stravers. Pray also that the Gospel would continue moving forward in India.

"India is right on the frontier of what God is doing to make the Great Commission the Great Completion in our day."

Stravers said India is hungry for God's Word. For one dollar, you can send a child to Mission India's Children's Bible Club. Many families learn about the Gospel through their children who attend these clubs.