The Voice of the Martyrs - Finding Purpose in Prison

Finding Purpose in Prison

On Feb. 6, 2022, as Pastor Rajiv’s congregation in India prepared for Communion, three members of a right-wing paramilitary organization entered the service. They began making a video accusing the church of converting Hindus to Christianity. When police arrived, they took Rajiv and another Christian to the police station. The police questioned Rajiv repeatedly about his work, even though the church was officially registered with the government and had permission to meet. Eventually, based on the Hindus’ claims, Rajiv was charged under the state’s anti-conversion law and put in jail. READ THE FULL STORY

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The Voice of the Martyrs - What it's like to follow Christ in India

The Need for Prayer

Christian persecution is on the rise in India. Radical Hindus intent on making India a purely Hindu nation have been emboldened since the election of Narendra Modi as prime minister in 2014. Modi is a member of the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has seen a 20 percent increase in membership since his election. Here is what it is like to follow Christ in India: Hindu–nationalist informants live in nearly every village and report on the activities of Christians, resulting in attacks and arrests. Churches have been demolished and burned, worship gatherings have been disrupted, and crosses in graveyards cemeteries have been vandalized. Bibles and other Christian literature have been confiscated and burned. Pastors and evangelists have been beaten and jailed, and several are martyred each year. Christians are often arrested and detained after being falsely accused of “forcing” Hindus to convert to Christianity. When our brothers and sisters in Christ in India face persecution, we can stand with them in prayer! STAND IN PRAYER TODAY

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The Voice of the Martyrs - He refused to renounce his faith in Christ.

Persecuted Christians in India are standing firm in their faith, and we invite you to stand with them. GIVE NOW

Vijay, an elder of a church in Madhya Pradesh state, left Hinduism to follow Christ after being healed of tuberculosis. His faith in Jesus Christ meant everything to him, and he knew he had to share his faith with others despite the risk. Vijay led his wife and many of his relatives to the Lord. And he didn’t stop there. He boldly shared the gospel with local villagers, and eventually more than 30 Hindu families placed their faith in Christ! As the gospel spread, so did word of Vijay’s evangelistic pursuits. One afternoon, while his wife and children were away, Vijay lay down to take a nap after a long morning of working with his cattle. He awoke to find his home engulfed in flames. A group of Hindu extremists had set his house on fire and fled the scene, hoping to kill him and silence his gospel witness. The fire destroyed Vijay’s house and killed several buffalo, goats and cows that his family depended on for their livelihood, but Vijay managed to escape. Through the support of friends like you, VOM purchased two buffalo and a goat for Vijay’s family to help them get back on their feet. Reflecting on the incident, Vijay quoted Job 1:21 — “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Though Vijay’s face and hands were scarred by the flames, he remains joyful. “If I am alive or dead, it will be for Jesus only.” —VIJAY Please let faithful believers like Vijay know they are not forgotten by the global body of Christ. Stand with them today! DONATE NOW Our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in India are boldly proclaiming the gospel. Please pray for them and consider giving a gift to help them and let them know that they are remembered by the global body of Christ. Your support will make a difference. Your gift now will help Christians in India who have suffered persecution or whose family members have been killed or imprisoned because of their Christian witness equip front-line workers with Bibles and ministry tools they need for effective discipleship and outreach Every gift matters for our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who have counted the cost of shining the light of the gospel among the lost. Thank you for praying and giving.

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The Voice of the Martyrs - UPDATE: India now designated as a "restricted nation."

India Now a “Restricted Nation”

Radical Hindus in India have become increasingly violent and open in their persecution of Christians in recent decades. While The Voice of the Martyrs had previously designated India as a “hostile area,” that designation has been escalated to “restricted nation” to reflect the current reality for Christians there. Since India’s election of Narendra Modi as prime minister in 2014 and his reelection in 2019, our brothers and sisters in Christ have experienced a marked increase in opposition and violent attacks. This persecution under Prime Minister Modi is occurring in a country that has been called the world’s largest democracy and that claims to allow its citizens the constitutional freedom to profess, practice and propagate their religion. VOM’s designation of “restricted nation” is normally reserved for countries with federal laws restricting Christian worship and witness, but India’s situation is unique. Modi’s leadership has advanced not a law but an ideology called Hindutva, or Hindu purity, that has resulted in the persecution of Christians. This ideology is Hindu nationalism at its core with the goal of creating a “pure” Hindu nation. Hindutva, as embraced and promoted by Prime Minister Modi, has created an unquestionably restrictive environment for Christians throughout the subcontinent. Historically, the persecution of Christians in India has occurred mostly at the leading edge of gospel ministry, in predominantly Hindu areas. The situation has changed. “Now, this is the full-fledged urging of Hindu nationalism, which is to eliminate Christians from the ‘Hindu homeland.’” —COLE RICHARDS, VOM PRESIDENT You can learn more about India’s designation change in the Special Report included with your February magazine, which should be reaching your mailbox soon. For an overview on persecution in India and ways to pray, select the button below. PRAY FOR INDIA Christians in India are facing increased opposition and imprisonment from Hindu nationalists, who seek to eradicate their witness for Christ and establish a purely Hindu nation. Despite beatings, arrests and even the murder of loved ones, persecuted Christians in India faithfully continue to advance God’s kingdom. Today, you can stand with them to help meet their needs and encourage them as they share the gospel at great cost. Your gift will help Christians who have suffered persecution or whose family members have been killed or imprisoned in India. Your gift will also equip front-line workers with Bibles and ministry tools they need for discipleship and outreach efforts in India. HELP CHRISTIANS IN INDIA

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Today in the Mission Yearbook - Gifts to the PC(USA)’s One Great Hour of Sharing support dignity to India’s most oppressed

A Dalit woman is thankful for a new sewing machine and for shelter

March 27, 2023

Through its partnership with the Society for National Integration Through Rural Development, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is working to bring about a hopeful future for people in India. (Photo courtesy of Oxfam India)

While the economic and social status of women may be improving marginally worldwide, the lives of many women in India — like Smitha Krishnan — have remained virtually unchanged.

Krishnan is a Dalit – a word from Sanskrit and Hindi literally meaning oppressed or broken.

Krishnan, a 37-year-old widow from the village of Chennaipalem in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, belongs to the lowest social group in the Hindu caste system.

Dalit women, who according to published reports make up roughly 16% of India’s female population, are among the world’s most oppressed. Widely reviled across India, Dalit women face not only gender bias but also caste-based discrimination and economic injustice.

Among the many indignities the Dalits suffer, they are forbidden to draw water from the common well, prohibited from entering temples, given the leftovers thrown away by the higher class and barred from the right to education.

Krishnan, a trained seamstress — who already faced rampant income inequality and lack of opportunity — was left as the sole provider for her family when her husband died just before India’s last tsunami, during which she lost their thatched and mud house and everything in it.

Today, supported through a grant from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to the Society for National Integration through Rural Development, Krishnan and her family face a more hopeful future.

As one of PDA’s traditional partners, SNIRD — a nongovernmental organization that has been instrumental in helping the people of India overcome natural and human-made disasters — provides Presbyterian supporters of One Great Hour of Sharing with an opportunity to participate in SNIRD’s transformative work in communities like Krishnan’s throughout southern India.

The Offering’s purpose of helping neighbors in need around the world remains constant, giving the PC(USA) a tangible way to share God’s love since Presbyterians first joined the effort in 1949. One Great Hour of Sharing benefits not only the ministries of PDA, but also the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Self-Development of People. Although the Offering may be taken anytime, most congregations receive it on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday.

“It was lifesaving when SNIRD came to our community to provide us with shelter and sewing machines, which I never imagined would happen,” Krishnan said.

According to the late Sheku Sillah, who was PDA’s Sierra Leone-based regional project manager for Africa and Asia until his untimely death in November, PDA has partnered with SNIRD for the past seven years, helping thousands of people to cope with the impact of tsunamis, flooding and the Covid pandemic, saving thousands of lives in the process.

Through One Great Hour of Sharing, SNIRD’s work has included raising community awareness about Covid precautions, providing WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), facilitating and promoting mask-making by local women — including Krishnan herself — and being involved in flood and tsunami rehabilitation projects.

Sillah said that the work of SNIRD is also addressing the key goals of Matthew 25 among those who are considered “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45b) in several significant ways.

“One important thing SNIRD is doing is to advocate for the recognition of the Dalits to be registered as citizens of India, in addition to providing them disaster-resistant shelters,” he said. “PDA’s support through SNIRD is dismantling structural racism through advocacies to the government of India for the recognition of socially excluded communities.”

Krishnan’s tears of joy tell the whole story.

“The shelter and sewing machine donated to me by PDA through SNIRD has not only restored my livelihood but has also restored my hope and dignity in my community,” she said. “At the same time, it has enabled me to provide face masks at an affordable price to other community members during COVID-19, who were also finding it difficult to have face masks.”

“Because of people’s gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, we now live in a permanent and disaster-resistant shelter, my kids are back in school, I am able to feed and clothe them, and when they get sick, I am able to take care of their medication, too,” said Krishnan. “Thank you, PDA and SNIRD. And may the Lord continue to provide for those who continue to give to One Great Hour of Sharing.”

 Rev. Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director, Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ryan and Alethia White, Mission co-workers serving in Germany, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Emily Wilkes, Mission Specialist Domestic Refugee in Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Wise God, thank you for helping us grow in knowledge of your will and in Christian community. We ask to be enabled by your Holy Spirit to bear fruit that is pleasing to you. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Restoring Dignity to India's Most Oppressed

While the economic and social status of women may be improving marginally worldwide, the life of the Dalit women in India remains unchanged. “Dalit” is a word from Sanskrit and Hindi that literally means oppressed or broken. Dalits are forbidden to draw water from the common well, from entering temples, are given the leftovers thrown away by the higher caste and are barred from the right to education. 

Formerly known as “untouchables,” the Dalit women, who make up nearly 16% of the female population, face not only gender bias but also caste-based discrimination and economic injustice.

For Smitha Krishnan, this cruel existence was an everyday reality. A trained seamstress, Smitha was left as the sole provider for her family when her husband died just before India’s last tsunami. Not only did she lose her husband, but she also lost their thatched and mud house and everything in it - including her only means of making a living, her sewing machine.

“The destruction of my old sewing machine, which was my only source of income, and the death of my husband, leaving me with five kids to take care of, made life extremely tough for me and my kids,” she said.

Thanks to a grant to provide shelter and sewing machines among other essentials from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) to the Society for National Integration through Rural Development, or SNIRD as it’s known, Smitha and her family face a more hopeful future.  

SNIRD, a nongovernmental organization that has been instrumental in helping the people of India overcome natural and human-made disasters, has received support through Presbyterians’ gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Because of these generous gifts, thousands of people are able to cope with the impact of tsunamis, flooding and the Covid pandemic. 

One Great Hour of Sharing’s purpose of helping neighbors in need around the world remains constant, giving us a tangible way to share God’s love - not only through the ministries of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, but also the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Self-Development of People.  

The collaboration between SNIRD and PDA seeks to dismantle structural racism and eradicate systemic poverty, both goals of the Matthew 25 invitation and challenge.

Smitha’s words tell the whole story.

“Because of people’s gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, we now live in a permanent and disaster-resistant shelter, my kids are back in school, I am able to feed and clothe them, and when they get sick, I am able to take care of their medication, too,” she said. “Thank you, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and SNIRD. And may the Lord continue to provide for those who continue to give to One Great Hour of Sharing.”

Please give what you can to One Great Hour of Sharing. When we all do a little - it adds up to a lot.