India (MNN)–It is well-known that Christians have been the target of intense attacks from Hindu extremists in the country. A common occurrence now is for these extremists to accuse Christians of converting people by “force” or “fraud”.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India’s Dave Stravers recently returned from Orissa State, where anti-conversion laws are aggressively enforced.
He says while the violence is disconcerting, there is a bigger picture to see. “The big strategy here of Satan and of those people who oppose Christians is intimidation. They’re trying to intimidate the workers, so the big thing that we pray for is ‘courage’.”
The counter-strategy is simple, he adds. “If people will not be intimidated, if the work goes on in the measure in which it’s been going, this persecution strategy will not work.”
Stravers says, in spite of the persecution, there is evidence of a vibrant and a fast-growing church. “Our main ministry is to provide training and materials for Indian Christians. We actually train up 100-thousand people a year through our staff in India. We give people here the opportunity to provide training. We have a lot of people on the waiting list.”
For details and to help, go to Mission India’s website.
