India (MNN) ― Gospel for Asia leaders in Hyderabad, India, report a GFA missionary was released from jail under some unique circumstances.
The missionary, who serves as pastor of a GFA-affiliated church, was arrested following a full day of evangelistic work with the women's mobile team. When the village headman heard of the arrest, he appealed to police to release the pastor, and they did, although they required him to pay a fine of 1,000 rupees (US $24.81).
According to GFA, the pastor was accompanying a GFA women's mobile team while they worked in a village in central Andhra Pradesh. The women shared Gospel literature and visited homes and invited people to an evening showing of a film about Jesus. That evening, the missionaries were pleasantly surprised when about 1,000 people came to the film showing, more than five times their usual response.
The women's team noted a patrol in the crowd, but that wouldn't be unusual as there had been some disturbances in the area recently. However, things came to a head when plainclothesmen accused the pastor and mobile team members of trying to forcibly convert the people.
Anti-conversion laws are either on the books, pending, or in debate in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand states.
While there is no law against Christian activity in Andhra Pradesh state, which is where the team was working, a strong Hindu nationalist presence can be felt through opposition to activities thought to be evangelistic in nature.
Please continue to pray for the women's mobile team and the church in this area, that they won't be intimidated into silence.
