Missions to India

One Illness, 63 House Churches

Apr 10, 2021 | Stories

We first came to this area one year ago. At today’s meeting, Nishan, one of the local leaders, shared how he and his family became followers of Jesus last year.

Nishan’s wife had been very ill for a long time. They spared no expense looking for a cure. Nothing helped. Eventually, they lost everything – their savings, their home – all lost. The worst part was that his wife was still sick!

One day, in the midst of this desperate sadness, they had the opportunity to attend a nearby house church meeting. What they heard about Jesus thrilled their hearts. There was hope!

After some time, they put their trust in Jesus and his Kingdom. Then they wanted to know if they could start a church in their home. Of course! The disciples of Jesus were happy to show them how.

That was one year ago. Since then, Nishan and his wife have seen seven generations of disciples made and 63 house churches birthed!

The story above was part of a report from a movement leader in North India. If you are a Beyond donor, your generosity has played a part in this story!

*pseudonyms

Bhojpuri Girl Raised from the Dead

Apr 18, 2019 | Stories

1 Corinthians 15:20 proclaims; “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”

In light of this verse, we celebrate our risen Lord this Easter weekend and share this excerpt from the forthcoming book, Bhojpuri Breakthrough, written by Victor John, with Dave Coles.

“About 12 years ago *Sashi was very sick with a fever, so her parents took her to the hospital. After two days her condition became more serious, and she was moved to the ICU. She had not been there long when the doctors came out and told her parents, ‘Your daughter is dead.’ When they saw the body, Sashi’s mother began crying and screaming. Her father said, ‘Don’t cry. Let’s pray.’

So they went in, knelt down by Sashi’s body and began to pray. They prayed earnestly for about 10 minutes, then suddenly they heard Sashi hiccup and start breathing again. They called for the doctor, who came and checked her over thoroughly. At last, he said, ‘She’s completely healed! She doesn’t need any more treatment. You can take her home now.’ Sashi went from the ICU with a high fever to dead to completely healthy and on her way home. This miraculous work is just one of many the Lord has done among the Bhojpuri.”

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Eph. 3:20)

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

*Victor John is a movement leader in India who Beyond has had the privilege of working with and learning from. Dave Coles is an encourager and supporter of Church Planting Movements at Beyond. Dave was able to meet Sashi’s father, ask further questions, and verify this story through a separate party.

*pseudonym

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OWNING THE GREAT COMMISSION
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ONE ILLNESS, 63 HOUSE CHURCHES
One day, in the midst of this desperate sadness, they had the opportunity to attend a nearby house church read more …

A Caroling Calamity

Dec 13, 2018 | South Asia, Stories

When Sanjay* and some fellow followers of Christ decided to celebrate the Christmas season with caroling, they knew to be discreet. After all, they lived in northern India, where persecution of Christians is an everyday threat. Casually going into the streets singing to random strangers was not an option. No, they purposed to only go to the homes of friends like Raja. Raja was not yet a follower of Jesus but he was regularly participating in one of the local Bible studies. Surely it would be okay to sing outside his house? They assembled at Raja’s home and had begun singing when the front door flew open and a man shot into their midst. It was Raja’s older brother, Charan.

With a machete-like knife in his hand, the irate man lunged into the crowd of carolers. Charan first destroyed the drum they were playing and then began slashing wildly toward the people. He got close enough to cut one man’s shirt, but thankfully no blood was drawn. The carolers quickly left and reported this incident to the police. Some officers accompanied them back to Raja’s home, but by the time they arrived, Charan had fled. After the officers left, Sanjay and the others prayed for Raja and his whole family.

About one week had passed when Sanjay’s phone rang. It was Charan. He explained that he had turned himself into the police and asked if Sanjay could come down to the station. As soon as Sanjay arrived, Charan bent down, touched Sanjay’s feet three times (a gesture of respect) and said, “I am very sorry. You are a good person.” God had been at work in the lives of Raja’s family, and, because of this incident, all of Raja’s family except Charan decided to become Christians!

This Christmas, whenever you hear your favorite carols, please be praying for God to open the hearts of those who are violently opposed to him. Pray they would accept Christ and become conduits for many others to receive him.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let Earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

*pseudonym

RELATED STORIES

GOD STORIES CHANGING LIVES IN INDIA
Life was not peaceful. I was a cruel person. Even my children did not want a relationship with me. read more …

OWNING THE GREAT COMMISSION
The Banjara people of North India live bleak lives. They are impoverished. Illiterate. Unwelcomed within city limits. read more …

ONE ILLNESS, 63 HOUSE CHURCHES
One day, in the midst of this desperate sadness, they had the opportunity to attend a nearby house church read more …

The Power of the Simple Story . . .

Oct 14, 2018 | Stories

The gospel is unstoppable and uncontainable: like a river, it flows despite obstacles and barriers. It penetrates the hard-to-reach places, seeping in because the spreading of the gospel has nothing to do with man and EVERYTHING to do with God. In this story from the field, our team in South Asia give us a glimpse of how the gospel continues to spread despite persecution and resistance.

Soma sent us a couple of voice messages last week. One was a recording he took of a conversation he had had with a leader who has been with us almost since the beginning. This man was part of the second group we ever trained. Only two men from that group applied, but–oh, what fruit they have borne! So many generations!

At some point this year, this brother was forced to leave his home. The Hindu radicals in his village simply ran him out. Here’s a brief summary of that conversation between Soma and the leader: Radical Hindu groups are forcing their way into Christian homes, searching for Bibles. They threaten the people when they find something. They also bring cameras with them and take photos of the Christians in the homes. Discovery Bible Study is proving to be really powerful because it is so simple. But, we must continue to keep it simple. People must just learn the Stories, then the method gets passed along. People must memorize the Stories, instead of carrying a Bible. [In other words, the whole thing must be done orally or with speakers, not with actual Bibles.] When these radical groups find no Bibles, they treat the people better. How great it is to simply discuss a Story, even without a Bible!

I did not hear defeat in their voices. They were just stating the facts while declaring that the Work is continuing/will continue. Hallelujah! It’s a precious thing to realize illiterate followers of Jesus know more Scripture than we do. They’re memorizing the Stories because they have to! We are also praying about how to get more audio speakers (hand held devices with select scriptures and story sets) distributed. Historically, we’ve paid for Bibles and audio speakers from the same fund. Right now, that fund has dropped to the lowest it’s ever been. We’re not sure what that means. Are we to stop buying Bibles because owning one causes trouble for people? Having a speaker in their homes seems to be more innocuous. So, is it time for us to raise more funds to purchase as many speakers as we can? We invite you to pray with us for this.

Join us in prayer for these innovative and resourceful leaders. Pray that we will be able to raise funds to buy more speakers and pray that like a mighty, unstoppable river, the Good News of the gospel will continue to flow despite the opposition and persecution.

RELATED STORIES

GOD STORIES CHANGING LIVES IN INDIA
Life was not peaceful. I was a cruel person. Even my children did not want a relationship with me. read more …

OWNING THE GREAT COMMISSION
The Banjara people of North India live bleak lives. They are impoverished. Illiterate. Unwelcomed within city limits. read more …

ONE ILLNESS, 63 HOUSE CHURCHES
One day, in the midst of this desperate sadness, they had the opportunity to attend a nearby house church read more …