Missionaries attacked in India

India (MNN) — It’s not getting any better in India. Persecution against believers continues and it appears it’s only going to get worse. Gospel For Asia says the violence continues to hit their workers.

Gospel for Asia’s KP Yohannan just returned from Orissa State. Yohannan says, “Six of our missionaries (have) been beaten so severely that they are now in the hospital. The Hindu fundamentalist group in that community warned our missionaries, saying that ‘you should not stay here, you have to leave’, but our brothers felt that the Lord sent them there and they should not run away,” says Yohannan. He adds, “especially when they realize they got a church now starting and the new believers need care.”

Yohannan says the new believers are also being threatened. “(The Hindu militants) are saying, ‘you should renounce your faith and come back to their faith of their forefathers'” otherwise they’ll be treated like the missionaries.

New believers are required to sign affidavits declaring their conversion before they can be baptized. Yohannan says, “Never the less, by the grace of God, people, who are truly coming to Christ, are willing to do that.”

The missionaries are slowly recovering and a full recovery is expected. Yohannan says,”these brothers are saying we are grateful the Lord gave us the privilege to suffer for His sake and if the leadership allows they will want to go back to the same place and continue the ministry.”

As thousands of people in India come to Christ, Funding is needed to help print Bibles. “We just need 3 or 4-million-dollars just to be able to buy the paper. I can’t even begin to tell you the tremendous need that we have right now to see more Bibles printed.”