Missionaries Harassed, Ministries Threatened
ICC Note
“In spite of the opposition, our brothers have decided to stay in the village, trusting the Lord and continuing the ministry,”
10/02/2009 India (ANS) — Hardik, Prakash and Jaival live in different parts of Maharasthra , India , but all three Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries are facing intense opposition to their ministries.
When Hardik and Prakash first began sharing Christ’s love in a village after graduating from Bible college, it didn’t take long for a group of staunch anti-Christians to discover what they were doing—and the extremists were furious.
On September 20, while the two missionaries were out sharing the Gospel, the anti-Christian group approached the missionaries’ landlord, demanding to know why he had rented a house to them. They ordered him to beat both his tenants and turn them out of the house.
When the landlord told Hardik and Prakash about the incident, they decided to turn to the police. The authorities informed them that the same group had come to the station two days before and had ordered them not to allow any Christians to stay in the village because they forcibly converted people to their religion. The group had also told the police that they would disrupt another Christian ministry in the village if it continued its work.
The mob threatened Jaival, telling him he would not be allowed to lead any more prayer meetings or services in the village.
Rather than trying to help Hardik and Prakash, the police simply advised them to leave the village as soon as possible. The two young men were left with a choice: leave or stay in a village where they were being threatened.
“In spite of the opposition, our brothers have decided to stay in the village, trusting the Lord and continuing the ministry,” writes GFA’s state correspondent.
In a separate incident that took place on October 25 in the northern part of Maharashtra , a group of anti-Christians barged in and stopped the worship service Jaival was leading in a believer’s home. The mob threatened Jaival, telling him he would not be allowed to lead any more prayer meetings or services in the village.
Just recently, Jaival had experienced the joy of seeing 15 families choose to follow Christ.
“Now, it seems it’s going to be hard to continue the prayer meetings because of the threats,” writes GFA’s correspondent.
GFA leaders request prayer that Jaival and the other believers will still be able to meet for worship, and for a change in the hearts of their opposers.
They also request prayer for protection for Hardik and Prakash, and that God would intervene in this tense situation and work in the lives of those coming against their ministry.
