India: Manipur conflict

Please pray for God’s comfort and peace for the families of three pastors who were killed recently on their way home from an inter-church peace conference. Pray for reconciliation among the communities involved in the conflict, which broke out in 2023. Pray for people’s hearts to be turned to peace and for an end to the conflict.

The post India: Manipur conflict appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

When it’s not safe to go to church – even a house church – what do you do?

Eddie and George (names changed) live in the foothills of the Himalayas about 200 to 250 km from the China–Tibet border. Eddie is a pastor and George works closely with him. Eddie belongs to a high-caste, but generally poor and rural, ethnic group who are scattered over small villages that dot the mountains of this region. Most of these villages are only reachable via four-wheel drive and hiking through the mountains.

Coming to faith at the age of 15, Eddie is instrumental in a grassroots movement that is reaching his people – a previously unreached people group. He helped train 50 to 60 house church leaders who now care for some 4,000 to 5,000 of his people who have come to faith in Jesus.

Eddie’s ethnic group is classified as an unreached people group. In the past, a few of this people group have come to faith. But they usually joined existing churches in the towns that are largely attended by migrants from other parts of India. Eddie’s own people remained unreached for many years.

However, in the last 15 years, disciples of Christ trained by Eddie, George and others have taken the gospel to the villages, planting numerous house-churches. In different villages, groups of believers would meet together in worship and study of God’s word. But in more recent years after the covid-19 pandemic, the hostility from religious fundamentalists has worsened. Christian believers in the villages can no longer freely invite their neighbours to pray together without opposition, which at times has turned violent. Eddie and George could no longer freely visit the leaders and believers in different villages like they used to.

Against the odds: what they did next

Eddie has introduced a new strategy. He calls it “moving house churches.”

No longer able to freely meet, Eddie and George go hiking into the mountains where they are joined by leaders whom they can contact. On these mountain hikes, that last from a few days to perhaps a week, they spend time together in fellowship, prayer, and studying the Bible. In the mountains is where Eddie and George teach, share life together and teach these leaders.

Most of the leaders range in age from their late teens to early thirties. Many of them have gone through high school and college. Each leader is responsible for leading five to 10 house churches; with each ‘church’ numbering five to 15 believers. In total, they number 4,000 to 5,000 believers scattered over a radius of 50 to 70km from where Eddie and George live.

Sacrificing self to serve others  

Eddie and George’s passion to serve in difficult circumstances is inspiring. Eddie holds three masters’ degrees and was invited to pursue a PhD in the USA. His wife and children are already in the USA, but he has chosen to stay – for the sake of his people. In 2017, George left his job as a hospital technician to assist Eddie in the work of discipling indigenous leaders. 

Over the last few years, Eddie and George have faced many challenges – in ministry and in their personal and family lives – shaped by the  sacrifices their work demands. Both of them are in their late 40s and early 50s, yet they don’t plan on stopping their regular treks into the mountains. Eddie says he’ll continue his trips into the hills, “as long as my body allows me.”

Eddie and George are like a modern-day Paul and Barnabas. They take God’s word to the very edges. They share the gospel, pastor, lead and disciple followers of Christ in situations where traditional church approaches cannot work. 

Shared with kind permission of AsiaCMS. 

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The post Church on the move in North India  appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Local partners with Asia-CMS continue to introduce people to Jesus and help them grow in confidence as his disciples despite the difficult conditions created by the pandemic…

Our co-mission partner M and his team work in Northern India to develop leaders within unreached people groups, establish more house churches, disciple new believers with Bible studies and strengthen local believers through house visits and community support. He shares this testimony of a young man named R, whom he encountered during the course of his ministry this past quarter. At a time when there is so much hopelessness, this is a hopeful beacon for all of us.

A passionate dreamer

R is a passionate 23-year-old man who studies hard to achieve his dream of becoming an Indian Administrative Service officer, which is considered to be one of the top government jobs. He has three sisters and one brother. It was his older sister who shared the gospel with R; she became a believer through the church ministries that M belongs to. Nevertheless, R didn’t quite have a full understanding of Jesus and God.

One day, M was out trekking with his team and along the way, they had the memorable opportunity to share the gospel in every village they walked through. As they stopped at each village, they also had fellowship with families who already heard the gospel. The young leaders in that region usually do their best to follow up with those they reach out to during visits such as these.

A faithful servant

It was on that fortuitous day that M encountered the enthusiastic R in one of the last villages they trekked to. M and his team visited R and his family, listening to his experiences and why he wanted to become a government officer. The qualification needed to become an IAS officer is a stringent one that requires high intellect and even higher test scores; it certainly isn’t an easy path.

Nevertheless, it was a path that R was ready to walk on and has been painstakingly pursuing. R shared that he needs the internet and books to study, and he has to walk miles to get a strong connection on his phone. He also shared that he is a seeker and would like to know more about Jesus and the Bible.

M found him to be a nice young man with a gentle spirit and a helpful heart. M felt a nudge in his heart that he should help R in whatever way he could. So, M decided to go beyond just regular visitation and opened his home to R so he could stay and have a proper place to study with a stable internet connection.

Future potential

M believes in his heart that there need to be more Christian young officers in high government ranks who will support other believers and can be of great influence and help in church growth and standing up against persecution.

At that time, M didn’t have the chance to talk with his wife about the situation and his offer to R. But he prayed, and when he asked her later what she thought of the offer he had made, his wife did not hesitate; she gracefully accepted to have R stay with them.

R is currently settled in with M and his wife. They are using this time and opportunity to disciple him and train him to be a godly leader. R is studying hard for his exams next year. He is a promising and bright student, with a deep eagerness to learn.

Will you remember R in your prayers so that God continues to work in his life and prepares him to be baptized at the given time. Pray also for R’s faith to increase and be strengthened, as well as for the knowledge and wisdom to prepare for his top exams.

Please pray:

• for M and his family as they continue to disciple R
• for his ministry and team as a whole – as they continue to serve the needs of the people and communities around them
• for the leaders and believers out in the field – many are experiencing and going through depression during this time

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The post Discipling with open hearts and homes appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).