Fanatics Attack!

When we launched the 2020 Network project in 2008, we often reminded ourselves that persecution would surely erupt as the numbers of believers mushroomed. That persecution may now have started: One of the pastors who partners with us in the 2020 Network has been attacked and there are rumblings of the Hindus staging mass “reconversion ceremonies” and bringing an “anti-conversion law” in the state.

Here is the report that just came in from our East Region director David:

“In Gorakhpur, Eastern Part of Uttar Pradesh state, we have a 2020 Network partner named  Pastor Benny from South India. He is faithfully serving the Lord and almost every Sunday 800 to 1,000 people come to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Last Sunday, June 20^th, during worship time, 80 to 100 anti-Christian gangsters came into the church and started attacking the believers.

IMAGE: Gorakhpur Newspaper Showing the Anti-Christians Raiding the Church

They smashed some of the sound equipment and threw the chairs and Bibles out of the building. They beat some of the believers with their fists and dragged the pastor outside. About then the police came and stopped the violence, but the complaint was lodged that the pastor was ‘converting’ people to Christianity.

We sent a lawyer and paid the money to prepare legal papers in defense of the pastor. However since the MP (Member of Parliament) of Gorakhpur District, Yogi Nath, is also anti-Christian, we are not getting any help from the government or the police. Pastor Benny is under a lot of pressure so please pray for him.”

Here is how the journalists, who are also anti-Christians, reported the story in the Times of India on June 23^rd:

Notice the strong anti-Christian wording of these articles. The press and the fanatics are all of one mind to fight against people following Christ. They want the public to think that being Hindu is a sacred issue of ancient traditions and of national identity. The fact is, it’s nothing but politics and economics that causes them to fight against people finding freedom in Jesus. When Hindus turn to Christ, they are liberated physically as well as spiritually. They realize that God created all humans equal and that the mere fact that they were born into poverty doesn’t mean they are destined to a life of subservience. Thus when large numbers of the rural poor turn to Christ, the ancient “caste” system that provides cheap labor for the wealthy is eroded. The Hindu newspapers will not likely tell you this.

The impoverished village believers will be the target of the “reconversion ceremonies” that are being planned by the anti-Christian groups. This is not a happy event in which they are peacefully requested to denounce Christ. First the anti-Christians go through the village and find out who is following Christ. Then they forcefully go into the houses, drag the believers out and start beating them and threatening them. They are then taken to the place where the ceremony is to be performed and by force they are put through a ritual to “reconvert” them to Hinduism. Then the anti-Christians go back and proclaim in the newspapers that so many Christians “reconverted to Hinduism.”

So please stand in prayer with us and with the national believers and pastors in Gorakhpur area who are under a great deal of pressure right now.

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110 Cycles and Counting!

The village pastors and leaders face many difficulties and one of the greatest is lack of transportation. Often they go by foot to the villages to share the Gospel because they do not have bicycles. 

We are very thankful to Mr. Chapman through whom funding was provided for 200 cycles for village pastors and church planters. To see that the cycles went to the most needy and also the most worthy individuals, we first made a list of 200 rural pastors and leaders who were successfully planting churches but who were desperately poor and didn't have a cycle or else whose cycle had worn out. Distribution began in June and is proceeding zone-wise. There are 71 Districts in the state of U.P. and we have grouped these into ten zones. We had each zone coordinator arrange a one-day meeting of those pastors and leaders who were on our list. Then we traveled out to the remote areas to meet with them. We purchased the cycles locally and distributed them to the leaders there during the conference. Along with distributing cycles we spent time together in prayer, sharing testimonies and providing motivational teaching.

During our distribution program in Zone Four we also baptized five new believers in the Ganges River. While we were baptizing, we saw that many other people were dipping in the Ganges and worshiping the river, hoping to get salvation. We joined our hands together and prayed for these people who are still in darkness. So far throughout five zones we have distributed 110 bicycles to the village house church leaders. In the coming month we will be distributing more cycles in the remaining zones. By providing these bicycles to the village pastors and house church leaders the work of the Gospel will accelerate.

 

Here are some brief testimonies from these pastors:

Dinesh Kumar, District Kanshiram Nagar: Dinesh has been serving the Lord for six years and has planted nine house-based churches. He had a motorbike and used that for visiting the different villages to plant new churches and to teach the Bible. But last year due to financial difficulties he had to sell his motorbike. After that he was continuing to serve the Lord, but he now had no motorbike and he didn’t even have a bicycle. Sometimes he borrowed a cycle from others and sometimes he went to the villages by foot or by bus. He was praying to God for a cycle, and God heard his prayer. After receiving the cycle he was very happy.

Puran Singh, District Unnao: Puran had a very old bicycle. which was not in good condition to ride but still he used to ride three to six miles to share the Gospel. He was praying to God for a new bicycle. When we gave him the new bicycle, tears started flowing down his face because he was so happy to receive the new cycle. He said that he will give his old bicycle to his co-worker, so even the old cycle will still be in use for the Gospel work.

Majle, District Kanpur Dehat: In 2005, Majle accepted Jesus as Savior and started serving the Lord by going to new villages to share about Jesus. He is lame in his right leg and walking is difficult for him, but still he was going by foot two miles each day to serve the Lord. The bicycle will help him go to more villages and to do so without so much discomfort.

There are many people like these pastors and leaders who don’t have a cycle, but still they go and share the good news of Jesus among the unreached peoples. In our own hardships, let us take courage from these dedicated servants of our Lord.  

Be part of the excitement! Sponsor the 2020 Network today.

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Networking in Action

In May, we found out that we would not be receiving a large foundation grant that we had received annually for the past three years. This was a big blow to this year’s 2020 Network Project. However, God never ceases to amaze us. Some of His most strategic tools are simple people who are gifted with the ability to market and promote His work. Within only about two days of receiving the bad news, through the work of Anu Koshy, a mother and school teacher in Colorado Springs, new friends wrote a check for 1/3 the amount of the grant!  

Two months later, based on the recommendation of another friend, we received another grant, which means we now have about 70% of the total needed for the 2020 Network Project which resulted in 75,000 souls saved last year.

Another person we wish to apreciate for his recommendation is Mark Tubbs, Director of Harvest International Ministries (HIM). HIM is a network of churches and organizations of which TellASIA is a member. Last year while visiting us in India, Mark was deeply impressed with how Leanna had developed the nationals and built them up into highly effective executive leaders. He saw large numbers of people being touched by TellASIA’s work, combined with exemplary unity and strength of our teams in both Lucknow and Varanasi. This motivated him to recommend Leanna to be commissioned as an apostle, which took place on June 4^th during the annual HIM Leadership Conference in Pasadena. Leanna is the second female to be thus recognized.  

Left to right: Pastor Che and Sue Ahn, Sr. Pastors of HRock Church and Director of Wagner Leadership Institute; Leanna; Ann and Mark Tubbs,
Directors of Harvest International Ministries

Most recently, Pastor Asa Dockery of World Harvest Church in the little north Georgia town of Blairsville has been very effective in helping get the word out both about what Jesus has done for the world, and about what TellASIA is doing to transform lives in North India. He has a relationship with two TV stations: TBN in Chattanooga and Atlanta Live in Atlanta. He recommended Leanna and TellASIA to these stations. Amazingly God worked it out for both a taped and live interview to occur on the same day! Pastor Dockery and his wife picked-up Leanna in the morning and they drove to Chattanooga. (We really appreciate the staff at TBN for their warm and exuberant reception!) After the taped interview they drove to Atlanta in time for Leanna to be on the live program that evening. In each interview Leanna began by sharing her dramatic encounter with Christ and concluded by telling about the work of TellASIA.

LEANNA WILL BE ON TBN IN TENNESSEE! For those of you living in the Tennessee area, tune in to TBN on Friday July 9th from 11:30am-1:00pm. Leanna’s 25-minute interview will air during that time.

Do you have a gift for promotion or marketing? Do you love to talk to people about good stuff that’s happening? Do you have friends? If so then WE NEED YOU! You can help connect TellASIA with new people who will help us do more in North India and other unreached nations! Just a word or a phone call can enable us to reach hundreds more souls, or to educate more destitute children.

Please contact us for digital or hard-copy material you can use to share with others about this fruitful ministry!