Taking the Gospel to the Tribes
Away from the teeming masses of the cities, deep in the Indian jungle, there are people who believe in forest gods and goddesses. Many are openly hostile to Christians. Yet, here we were, bringing the Gospel of hope and light into the darkness. The moment we entered this forest village we could feel the hostility and presence of pure evil. God emboldened us as we started witnessing to the women we saw washing tamarind (a local Indian spice often used in cuisine) at the stream.
The people here also believe in karma and reincarnation after death, not recognizing that we are all sinful and will stand before God. We boldly told them that there is indeed life after death and that Jesus Christ can wash them with His blood and that Satan will then no longer have any hold on them.
God is good! The Gospel is powerful! Several women responded to our testimonies and came to Christ.
This particular village is quite large for a jungle village and once had a church that had died over the years. Harvesters Ministries took hands with the local pastor and helped re-establish a church that is ready to serve the community.
Reports from this village are that the church is growing and people are experiencing God’s love and mercy in their daily lives.
Training Pastors in India
In a large town a few kilometres from the Bay of Bengal, Harvesters Ministries’ representative Peter* is working among these tribal communities.
“The nearer we come to Christ, the more intense missionaries we become,” Peter* believes these words and experiences them in his daily life. “We face the burden of winning the lost at any cost and this burden intensifies every day. These tribal people also believe in the spirits of their ancestors and as a result, here it is quite challenging to minister to them.” Harvesters has trained and enabled Peter* and others like him to become pastors and lead the lost to Christ.
Overcoming Rejection
Anjali* is HIV-positive. She was lost until a Harvesters pastor shared the Gospel with her. Sadly, in Anjali’s village she will always be seen as the girl with HIV, but she knows that she is a loved daughter of God. God can use anyone to do His work and to enlarge His kingdom. Anjali has completed her evangelism training with Harvesters and is now sharing the Gospel with other individuals who are seeking the Truth.
Anjali faced uncalled-for rejection and judgement because she is HIV-positive. Some people would not allow her into their homes and some even refused to speak to her. However, Anjali did not want this to stop her from spreading the Gospel and leading the lost to Christ, she wanted to disciple people and evangelise those who do not know the Truth yet. On this journey of discipleship Anjali met Lalit*. Lalit is from a higher social class and she was very hostile towards the Christian faith. As Anjali started testifying to her about the wages of sin and the doom that sinners will face, Lalit was shaken. She too believed in reincarnation and did not realize that she will perish. Anjali used the opportunity to share Christ with Lalit. She immediately responded to the Gospel and decided to follow Christ. She was baptized by our local pastor. Anjali says, “I do not know how long I will live but I do know that I want to spend my life leading others to Christ and spreading the Gospel.”
Small Beginnings, Huge Outcomes
Harvesters Ministries has been involved in India for the past three years. In that time more than 4300 churches have already been planted. Pastors are being trained for these churches and the Harvesters curriculum is being translated into 10 of the 16 major languages of the country (there are over 650 known dialects spoken in India). What a wonderful God we serve. None of this will be possible without Harvesters Ministries supporters.
How can I get involved?
Harvesters Ministries is a church planting organization with many willing missionaries working across the globe to evangelise the lost at any cost. We are seeking the support of people with a passion for Christ to lighten our burden and help us to mend the nets.
*Names have been changed.