Mission India ministry workers attacked and jailed
Pray for the safety of staff and Bible Club partners in south India
August 13, 2009
Update: 9:09 am, Monday - Praise God, our jailed ministry workers have secured bail and are expected to be released from jail Tuesday after 7 days behind bars on false charges. Please continue to pray for the situation as they will continue to fight for these charges to be dismissed.
Update: 2:21 pm, Thursday - Staff & ministry partners are still being held in jail for a third day. A judge refused to hold a hearing on bail after the police delayed filing a report; a hearing is not expected until at least Monday. A praise point: the person overseeing the district jail where they are held is reportedly a Christian and our staff & partners have been provided with food.
The details are still trickling in from India, but here is what we know so far:
On Tuesday, a group of 80 ministry partners in south India were gathered at a 4-day training for the Year-Long Children's Bible Clubs, which will launch this fall in India.
Suddenly, around midnight, a mob of 20 Hindu extremists burst into the rented building, shouting threats and wielding sticks.
Their accusation? That we were planning to coerce children into becoming Christians.
The attackers beat up two partners, burned Bibles, and terrified the participants, who were held against their will for at least 14 hours. Another local pastor who rushed to the scene was also badly beaten.
Urgent prayer needs:
- Pray that the false charges against 8 ministry workers will be dismissed
- Pray that the tension in the community will ease and that local Christians will not experience continued threats
- Pray that the training will be rescheduled in the near future so boys and girls can have the chance to hear about Jesus
- Pray for safety during similar training sessions taking place this month across India
Police arrived on the scene - and promptly arrested 8 of the Christians, including two of our Indian ministry staff.
Please pray with us - especially for the ministry workers who are still in jail as we write this. They risk being beaten because of their faith in Jesus, and we are uncertain whether bail will be granted.
It's hard for us to see a bright spot in this terrifying situation, but there is at least one reason to praise God:
This attack took place because the Holy Spirit
is visibly at work in this community.
Eyewitnesses say the attackers vowed publicly to fight back against what they see as a "dangerous" increase in the number of Christians in the area.
"Before there were no Christians in our villages. Now there are 2 to 4 Christians in every village," the Hindu extremists shouted.
There may be just a handful of Christians today, but as the extremists clearly fear, believers are eagerly sharing the Gospel. Your prayers and support are key to helping equip them with essential materials and training.
