Four Women, 1000 House Churches
Sadhu* was once a passionate leader in India’s Listening Movement. He began his ministry with great enthusiasm and a deep desire to see God’s Kingdom advance. But over time, his heart grew resistant to correction. He became unwilling to learn, holding tightly to traditional ways instead of empowering and releasing others to make disciples.
The fruit of his leadership began to change. Instead of love, joy, and multiplication, there was frustration, control, and stubbornness. After multiple attempts to reconcile and restore him, Sanjay* and some other leaders made the difficult decision to remove Sadhu as the primary leader in his area and begin looking for someone else to step into that role.
But replacing a leader takes time, and during the waiting, that area experienced a leadership vacuum.
Then something unexpected happened.
Four women who had previously been meeting with Sadhu realized they could no longer wait for someone else to lead. If disciples were going to be made, they needed to obey Jesus’ command themselves. Armed with portable speakers loaded with audio Scripture, they stepped out in faith and began sharing the message of Jesus from village to village.
Their obedience came at a cost.
Navi*, whose husband was still a Hindu, became angry about her faith and reported her to the police. She was arrested and spent three days in jail before her husband eventually requested her release.
When Navi was freed, she immediately met with one of the other women. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” she said tearfully.
Her friend reminded her of a difficult truth: “When we obey Jesus, we will face persecution.”
Navi made a decision that changed everything: “If I am going to go to jail for this work, then I had better work hard while I am not in jail.”
She traveled to 28 villages in three months, sharing the gospel. Her husband continued to harass her until he finally forced her out of their home. She moved in with her sister in another village and never stopped obeying.
Over the course of 18 months, the police came hundreds of times trying to intimidate and stop these four women. But they continued to share the Good News.
Today, their obedience has resulted in more than 1,000 house churches being birthed. These churches constitute multiple streams and generations of disciples multiplying throughout the region.
When asked how they continue despite persecution, legal battles, and opposition, their response was simple:
“Even though we face persecution and have court cases against us, we pray and keep going because Jesus told us to.”
These four women remind us that God’s work does not depend on titles, positions, or traditional leadership structures. He uses ordinary people who are willing to say yes, step out in faith, and obey.
Please pray for these four women. Pray that their passion for Jesus never grows cold, that they never become comfortable or complacent, but continue running the race with perseverance—even in the face of intense persecution. Pray that they continue making disciples who make disciples and bear abundant fruit for God’s Kingdom.
*pseudonym
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