As you were growing up did you see yourself in the ministry?
My intention was to be a lawyer. Before coming to America I had my degree in criminal law from the State University of India.
What changed your mind?
The example of my father. He said we have many lawyers in India, but we need preachers. One of my close friends was killed when I was in college and that was a turning point for me. He was Buddhist. I had been very close friends with him for many years but had never shared Christ with him. I was doing some preaching while I was getting my degree. I saw some young people making a decision to go into full-time ministry, and they said, “What about you?”
What is the balance of religion in India?
Out of 1.2 billion people, 82 percent are Hindu and 14 percent are Muslim. People don’t realize India is the second-largest Muslim nation in the world. One percent are Buddhist and 2.4 percent are Christians—including Catholics and all denominations.
How have U.S. churches helped?
The churches in America have been a great encouragement—providing resources. I’m grateful to our friends and churches in America who have stood by us for the last 24 years.
Many short-term mission teams come your way. How do they help?
First of all, we have short-term mission teams that help the medical evangelistic work. We have two hospitals, one in the city and one in the villages. Visiting American surgeons do about 100 cleft lip and palate surgeries per year with us.
Second, many preachers and leaders come and teach in Central India Biblical Academy, visit the new churches, and encourage the Christians who are being persecuted by communicating, “We are with you.”
We have an orphanage, and some team members want to work with the children.
We have seekers conferences with people who are attracted to Christ but have not made a decision. Having someone come from 10,000 miles, from a privileged country, and saying we have come to share Jesus with you—that makes a great impact.
We attract 2,500 to youth conferences. The teams that come do teaching and preaching during the youth conferences.
It’s called Central India Christian Mission—are you limited geographically, or does the mission extend beyond that?
We are working in nine central and north Indian states where the Christian presence is less than 1 percent. We have also gone beyond our borders to work in Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
How do you raise up leaders in new areas?
It is amazing to see a lot of these leaders have grown through our children’s ministry. One of the major areas of our work is children’s ministry.
Tell us about that.
We’ve had children’s ministry for a long time. One of the things we have been doing is to rescue children from slavery. There are 20 million children in India who are under the bondage of slavery. In principle it is against the law, but in practice it is true. You will find children near the Taj Mahal working in the marble factory for maybe $10 per month. In the northeast where we are working you see hundreds of tea shops that basically are centers of prostitution.
The Christian Medical Association of India has announced that 10 years from now one-third of India’s population will be affected by AIDS. We are talking about 500 million people 10 years from now.
We have refugee camps in Delhi for Chinese and Burmese refugees. There are literally thousands of children who don’t go to school because they don’t have the resources. I was in a camp where they fix one meal every three days. Taking care of these children is one of our primary goals.
Does persecution of Christians continue in India?
In the past 10 years the persecution has really grown. People are beaten badly, their huts are being burned, and they are forced to leave the areas where they are preaching. Church buildings have been demolished, and even some preachers have been killed.
In practice, the caste system is very strong in India. Fifteen percent—high-caste people, Brahmans—are controlling our government, our judicial system. They are in the positions of power, and low-caste people remain low-caste.
Christianity attracts these low-caste people. It becomes a way out of the caste system. The persecution comes mostly from the Hindu extremist groups. They are against conversion. They are against Christian missionaries.
Isn’t there a guarantee of freedom of religion in the Indian constitution?
Yes. But those states governed by the Indian People’s Party (a Hindu legalistic party) have made an anticonversion law; if someone wants to change his faith he must go through a long, red-tape procedure. He must get permission from the head of the district. He has to sign an affidavit in the court and give account of his financial status before converting. Basically, the party says India is the nation for Hindus and you cannot separate Indian culture and Hinduism. In those states they have said anyone who is forcefully converting someone there is subject to five years of imprisonment.
How have you responded to that?
We have sent appeals to our governor and the president of India saying these laws are contradictory to the laws of India. We believe that above all, where our constitution contradicts the Bible, we follow God’s law.
Has persecution strengthened or hampered the work of the church?
It has strengthened the work of the church. The Sunday before last we had a preacher at our youth conference, Kelvin, who was tortured two days before the conference. He was beaten badly, bones dislocated, 11 stitches on his lower lip. He said, “Lord, thank you so much for adversities, thank you for persecution. From persecution we grow, our churches grow; we are united with Christ in his sufferings. Because we are in Christ we know it is well with our soul.”
I guess dealing with persecution is a regular part of your work.
Two of our evangelists and a 16-year-old girl in Nepal were kidnapped by the Maoists during a worship service. These people were asking for ransom. The people in the church sold everything, went that night, paid the ransom, and rescued the 16-year-old girl because they thought she would be raped. They were also asking for ransom for the preachers. They would take them at night and put them in black bags, hang them from a tree, and beat them with sticks. We were afraid that if we paid the ransom it would become a routine thing and that would encourage them to do the same thing with other preachers. But I saw the families and I saw the little children, and we went ahead and paid the ransom and got the ministers back. Churches in Nepal and churches in India responded generously.
You have been personally threatened, yet you stand firm. How do you counter the fear?
When this started I was a little fearful. I didn’t know how to respond. My wife and my family have been supportive, and we have a commitment of “no turning back.” I have preached at gunpoint. As a result there is a church planted there with 80 believers. I think we need to live more dangerously and with courage.
In every persecution we have seen something good that comes out and extends the kingdom.
Psalm 27 says, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”
