Raina Miller with Mission India says, “It’s so much more than an ability to read and write. It’s when they can read and write and when they can gain an education that affects every aspect of their lives.”

A Daily Challenge

The last census was taken in 2011 and showed almost one in four adults to be illiterate. While this number is projected to improve with the next census, there are still many people lacking this basic skill.

Miller notes that it affects almost every area of life. Mission India has heard of people who board buses for travel and then have trouble reaching their destinations since they cannot read street signs. Illiterate adults struggle to sign bank documents or open bank accounts to save money. People might be shortchanged in their paychecks or overpay for services, but because they don’t recognize numbers, they cannot prove disparities. Parents who cannot read face challenges even at the doctor’s office.

(Representative photo courtesy of Ted Erski via Pixabay)

“There’s other cases where a parent will want to take their child to the doctor, and there’s all kinds of barriers. They can’t read the bottle of medication to know how much medicine to give their child. Or we heard about one woman who took her child to the doctor, and they were calling everyone’s number when it was their turn to come back to the doctor’s office. She had taken a number, but she didn’t know what it said. So she didn’t know when she would be able to go back with her child, and she was too humiliated to ask.”

Disparity in Who is Affected

According to the last census in 2011, these issues affect significantly more women than men. Often women are expected to marry young and run the home, so education is seen as less significant. Or in larger families there might only be enough money to send a few children to school and so men are favored.

Additionally, there are more people from lower positions in society who struggle with adult illiteracy. However, with Mission India’s classes, all students are treated with dignity and respect.

“So many of them are from a low caste. They’ve been humiliated their whole lives. They’ve never been seen as able, and for the first time, they’re seen as beloved and welcome. Just the warmth of the teacher and the community is a huge, significant start in even building their confidence.”

A Bible-based Approach

Mission India uses a Bible-based curriculum to teach students to read and write at a fifth-grade level. This level is significant for finding work in India. They also offer health and hygiene training and special classes for entrepreneurship.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Miller says, “In John 10:10, Jesus says He came that we may have life and have it to the full. And we see all of this as part of that. So equipping students with practical skills that meet their everyday needs is a way to bring them life to the full here on earth, not just in heaven, but along the way.”

In addition to opening up the world of education to their learners, Mission India shares the truth of Scripture. Their curriculum uses the Bible as the basis for their texts. This helps students not only learn to read, but learn how to read God’s Word.

Most people who attend the classes do not come from Christian backgrounds. However, Miller shares that on average about 40% of those who graduate the adult literacy classes become followers of Jesus. For those who joined the classes already following the Lord, the ability to read opens up doors to study Scripture on their own.

Join the Work

These classes have the ability to change lives, both now and for eternity.

(Image is courtesy of Mission India)

“One of our biggest prayer requests for adult literacy classes is that as students gain an education, that they would see that it’s Jesus that is providing for them, that it’s through Him that they find joy and hope, and that He is giving them this incredible opportunity. So our prayer is that students find stability, find dignity, find confidence, and that ultimately they see all of that is from Jesus.”

The adult literacy class costs $40 per person. From March 1 to April 30, some friends of Mission India are matching every dollar given to adult literacy classes up to $300,000. So paying $40 for one person to attend classes will actually send two adults to class.

If you’d like to join this work, please visit MissionIndia.org/read.

Representative header photo courtesy of Tep Ro via Pixabay.

Delayed Language Access

Rob Myers with DOOR says that around 90% of Deaf kids are born into hearing families. However, many of those children’s families don’t ever learn sign language.

“The statistics that I’ve heard is somewhere around 80%-85%, but it’s at least a majority of the parents don’t learn sign language. When you think about places in a rural area, in a developing country, the percentage is going to go up even more so. So you’re probably talking somewhere between 90%-95%. A vast, vast majority of hearing parents don’t learn sign language, and there’s a number of reasons behind that.”

This delay in access to language means both speech and written language are restricted. Myers explains that learning to read and write is really a sound-based activity. The symbols on paper are connected to a language a person already knows. So many Deaf children struggle to learn to read.

“So there’s this huge discrepancy there in terms of what information a Deaf child will have access to, and that carries over into them knowing that they have a name,” Myers states. “Many Deaf kids, before they get access to sign language, don’t have access to any language and that includes understanding their own name. So most Deaf kids grow up not knowing they have a name. It’s only when they enter Deaf school and they finally get access to sign language that they begin to understand what’s being communicated around them, including their own name.”

Discovering Identity in a Name Sign

Myers says that when a new child comes to a Deaf school, one of the first things that the other kids do is introduce themselves and look for unique characteristics of the new kid. These characteristics can be included in a name sign for the child. A name sign is a special honorific sign given by a Deaf person that incorporates some feature of the person named. For many kids understanding their new name sign is incredibly exciting.

(Image courtesy of Luisella Planeta on Pixabay)

“When I visit Deaf schools kids will come running up, and the very first thing that they’ll do is they’ll give you their name. They’ll say, I’m and then they’ll sign their name. And the first thing that they want you to do then is to repeat back their name sign so that they feel seen and they know that you recognize and understood their name.”

Always Known by God

Two-by-two teams share that the Gospel often moves powerfully once Deaf children begin to understand their names.

“One of the things I’ve heard from them repeatedly is how powerful it is when these kids learn not just that they have a name, but that God knows their name. And that God has always known them. And that even in these isolating experiences where they’re in places where it feels like no one knows their language, no one can communicate with them, no one knows who they are – God still sees them. He loves them, and He’s been pursuing them.”

There are many Deaf who need to hear about God’s love for them through Christ. DOOR works in many countries with their two-by-two teams to go into schools and share the Gospel regularly with Deaf children. DOOR shares updates from these programs through their website and newsletter so people can be praying. Learn more here. 

Myers also explains that while DOOR mostly works internationally there is a wonderful ministry in the US called Deaf Kids Connect. He recommends that parents of Deaf children or churches that have a Deaf child check out their resources on how to engage Deaf kids. Learn more here.

Image courtesy of Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels

Regan Miller with Mission India shares the story of a woman named Rajeshree, whose family was in a downward spiral of poverty. 

“She and her husband were both illiterate. The only jobs they could get were low-paying, day labor jobs,” Miller says. “They really were in need of hope.”

Today, Rajeshree is a follower of Christ and a small business owner. (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

As Rajeshree and her husband fell into addiction to alcohol and tobacco, their family sunk deeper into poverty. She became more and more responsible to provide for their needs, which quickly led to exhaustion, anger and hopelessness. 

“As much as she wanted to change her life, she didn’t know how. Then an adult literacy class came along, and she was able to enroll. Not only did she learn how to read and write, but she got care from a compassionate Christian teacher,” Miller says. 

“Through that teacher’s discipleship and the Bible-based lessons, Rajeshree actually came to faith in Jesus, and it changed everything.” 

Because of Jesus, Rajeshree’s entire demeanor changed from bitterness to kindness. She and her husband realized the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol and quit both. She also received training on how to start a small business of locally sourced products. 

“She was so excited. She learned how to make dish soap, laundry detergent, cooking oil, all kinds of practical things that people in the neighborhood would need to buy anyway,” Miller says. (Read even more about her story here.)

Would you pray that Rajeshree’s entire family will come to know Christ as Savior? You can also be part of sending another person like her to literacy class this upcoming school year. 

“It only costs $40 for a student to go to one of these classes for a whole year,” says Miller. 

Learn more and sponsor a literacy class student here.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

Regan Miller with Mission India tells us, “In India, one in four adults is illiterate. If you’ve never had an education, there’s so much you don’t know: your rights in society, or why you should maintain a clean home, how to feed your kids nutritious food, when to take your kids to the doctor.” 

She explains, “It’s really difficult especially [for] parents in India to maintain a clean home or to have consistent income. Some are so desperate for income that they even send their kids to work instead of school. So then the cycle just continues and poverty becomes a generational issue.”

For these men and women, Mission India’s adult literacy classes are the start of a new life. 

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

“When they [are] done, they’ll have a fifth grade level education in reading, writing and math,” Miller says. “They’ll be able to count money, they’ll be able to open a bank account, they’ll be able to read the bus signs so that they can take transportation around town.”

Mission India believes that this holistic lifting up of a person’s life is part of what Jesus meant when He said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

“He came to change our lives not just for eternity, but for today,” Miller says.

Every literacy class is led by Christian teachers, who keep the gospel at the core of the class. The Bible is one of the first texts that students read.

“As students start to see that everything they’re learning is a gift from God, they also are learning Scripture in the process. They come to put it together that Jesus is who is blessing them,” Miller says. 

“They’re learning these new skills, they’re being spiritually changed. So many of them end up receiving Christ as Savior as a result.”

Please pray! Miller says, “We would love prayers over these students as they finish out their year, that they will be persevering to the finish line and be excited about what they’re learning and eager to pass it on — especially [what] they’re learning about Christ.”

Connect with Mission India here to read about students like Bisma and Kishu whose lives were transformed through literacy classes.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

This quote by one of Mission India’s Adult Literacy Class students poignantly describes life when you can’t read, write, or even spell your own name.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Jan with Mission India says through Adult Literacy Classes, this student “saw the transformation [and] she was able to embrace and be fully part of society. But not only that, of course – her eyes were opened spiritually to who Jesus Christ is.”

Approximately 300 million people in India are illiterate, and the majority are women.

Jan says, “You’re vulnerable to being cheated in the marketplace. You could be cheated out of your wages. And then you are at increased risk as well to bonded labor or a scheme of human trafficking. And you’re just unable to participate in society.”

Through biblically-based Adult Literacy Classes, Mission India is empowering Indian women to be “Difference Makers” – in their homes, their workspaces, and ministry!

Difference Maker: A Women’s Night Out

As Mission India seeks to encourage women in India and worldwide to be “Difference Makers,” they are hosting an in-person event called Difference Maker: A Women’s Night Out in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

(Image courtesy of Mission India)

Jan says the Difference Maker event is “kind of like a women-to-women thing. Women lifting up women!”

This event will be hosted at Calvary Church on Thursday, October 7th at 6:30 pm. There will be praise and worship, dessert, and a speaker from Proverbs 31 Ministries, Amy Carroll.

“She is a dynamic speaker with a wonderful humor and a wonderful, sensitive heart,” Jan says. “She’ll be sharing specifically about how God has given each of us a place of influence where our voice is crucial. And she’s going to be talking about ‘How do godly women speak up in godly ways?’ and challenging each one of us.”

Attendees will also learn about a special opportunity to support fellow women in India through Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. And go on a virtual reality tour of India!

It costs just $8 to attend Difference Maker. You can register online for your ticket here. And bring along another woman in your life – whether it’s your mother, a friend, neighbor, or even your small group!

How to Pray

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Can’t attend the event? You can still pray!

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to move among Indian women in Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. Ask the Lord to bless their families and work, encourage the class teachers, and to lead many Indian women into relationship with Jesus.

And pray for the women at the Difference Maker event to be inspired to speak up in godly ways and have a Christ-like impact in their circles of influence.

Jan says through the event, “My hope is that women are inspired to grow tender hearts, to grow strong voices that will make a difference in changing lives through literacy, and ultimately, really through the love of Jesus Christ!”

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

This initiative is called Orality Coaching. Since 2015, Spoken Worldwide has been partnering with other Christian organizations and hosting Orality Coaching workshops. By God’s grace they have seen great success.

Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says, “The model is that we’ll come alongside an existing ministry that has a curriculum, or has a methodology of working, and historically has been in a highly literate environment. And then we will help them modify that and move that into recognizing that there are non-readers that would expand their reach of ministry.”

Orality Coaching Workshops

These workshops give Christian individuals and organizations the tools and strategies needed to help share their Bible studies, messages, and literature with an oral audience. These workshops happen all over the world in partnership with large and small Christian ministries.

Workshops can include both readers and non-readers, but the goal is to equip local people who already see the need for discovering a different way to share the Gospel. The sessions are completed orally and interactively. Students are given the tools to translate their content into oral stories and are given examples to help them practice and learn.

(Image courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

For instance, instead of a traditional inductive Bible study, they tell a Bible story orally.

“We’re digesting that passage together without having to read it. And there’s group learning, and then there’s group replication,” Weaver explains. “Each person is going out of that group, and then can take that to someone else they know or another small group and have that same kind of discussion. So it enables discipleship to happen more quickly, more easily. There’s less barriers to entry, if you will, to join in learning about who God is – to engage with Scripture.”

The impetus behind this initiative is the spread of the Gospel. Spoken Worldwide knows that the Church needs to work together. Different people and organizations have different strengths. Instead of “competing” or focusing solely on their own work, Christian organizations need to work together to see the Gospel brought to every unreached people group.

Get Involved

Teaching people how to present the Gospel orally is Spoken Worldwide’s passion and skill. They want to share that to help increase their own ministry as well as the reach of their partner ministries. However, working with many people and ministries requires wisdom and discernment.

Weaver says, “So far the pilots that we’ve run, the partners we’ve engaged with, have had tremendous response to this program. And ultimately, what we want to do is we want to be behind the scenes and help them be more effective in their work. So [pray] for us to take a good backseat, and to learn how to get out of their way and let them do their ministry well.”

Prayer is crucial. Weaver asks that the Church pray for Spoken Worldwide to have wisdom as they minister with their partners, but he also asks that they pray for more workers. There is a lot of demand for these programs and not enough staff to pursue every opportunity. Pray that God would provide more workers.

He also asks the Church to be on the lookout for organizations that would be open to this partnership model. Point those who are in leadership with Christian outreach ministries to Spoken Worldwide and their Orality Coaching program.

Learn more about Spoken Worldwide’s Orality Coaching program here. Support the ministry of Spoken Worldwide here.

Header Image courtesy of Cristeen Quezon on Flickr https://bit.ly/3qpTow2

That makes solar-powered audio Bibles invaluable since people can listen to God’s Word in their heart language. Kenya Hope sends teams to distribute solar-powered audio Bibles and Joy Mueller with Kenya Hope says it’s very emotional.

(Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

“When we go into the villages, we give out hundreds of Bibles. And you know what? We’re driving away every time with people still saying, ‘I didn’t get one! Where is mine?’ There are just literally thousands of people who don’t have God’s Word.”

Each of Kenya Hope’s audio Bibles is about the size of a cell phone, making it very portable. On the back, a solar panel powers the device without the need for electricity. And each audio Bible is pre-loaded with Scripture in the community’s heart language.

“In Kenya alone, there are over 42 languages and we can’t personally learn all of them,” Mueller says. “But we just find that by giving out the audio Bibles, it’s kind of like a little evangelist…. Even after we leave that community for that trip, that little evangelist just keeps proclaiming God’s Word.”

Because they don’t always have enough audio Bibles to go around, Kenya Hope teams try to distribute the devices primarily to those who can’t read or who prefer oral communication.

(Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

The stories they come back with are powerful.

“One of the women we gave [an audio Bible] to, she came back to us and she said, ‘This isn’t working!’ She had literally worn the buttons off on her audio Bible listening to it so much. It wasn’t damaged, it was just she had worn it out,” Mueller says.

“Another young man we had given it to, I came back the next year and I said, ‘How many times have you listened to the Bible?’ And he goes, ‘…I’ve listened to Matthew enough that I almost have the whole book memorized.’

“And this last year, this gentleman came up to us and…he said, ‘I just want to tell you I live alone. I’m all by myself and last year, you gave me this Bible. It has become my very best friend. I love Jesus and I have learned so much through this gift of the audio Bible.’”

In every story, Kenya Hope sees the truth of Isaiah 55:11 lived out, which says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

(Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

It doesn’t cost much to send a solar-powered audio Bible to Kenya — just $38. You could cover that just by giving up your twice-weekly latte for a month.

If you would like to give to Kenya Hope’s audio Bibles, click here!

“Many are still waiting to hear God’s Word and it’s such a simple thing,” Mueller says. “I know that when you give out one, that one Bible reaches 20 to 30 people because they sit around in a group and listen to it.”

Please pray for Kenya’s Christians to grow deep and strong roots into God’s Word. Ask the Lord to use the Kenyan Church as a beacon of His truth and grace. And pray for Kenya Hope to be encouraged as they reach the nation with Christ’s love.

Header photo courtesy of Kenya Hope.

Lynn Cowell, author and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries, recently traveled to India and met with Mission India partners. There, Cowell learned one out of four Indian adults is illiterate, “which is hard for me to wrap my mind around because that population equals nearly the entire population of the US.”

Women account for 68 percent of illiterate adults in India, largely due to gender disparities and early marriages that force young girls to drop out of school.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Mission India is removing the barriers facing adults — and women, in particular — with their Adult Literacy Classes.

During her visit, Cowell got to meet one of Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. They teach reading, writing, and math so that by the time students graduate, they are at a fifth-grade level.

This doesn’t just change the lives of adult students; it redirects the stories of entire families as parents place greater value on education for their children, including young girls. It also means parents can get better jobs themselves with higher income. They may even be able to start their own businesses.

But the impact doesn’t end there. “The very words that are inside the booklets where they’re learning to read is God’s Word. As they are being introduced to reading, they are also being introduced to the Son of God,” Cowell says.

“As a result of that, 40 percent of the students in these literacy classes typically become new Christians. Then…typically three out of five [literacy classes will] plant new churches.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Cowell especially enjoyed meeting Sunita, a former Adult Literacy Class student.

“After going through that class, she became a believer in Christ,” Cowell says. “It changed her life so much that she next became a project manager, which means that she managed over five different classes. She began to become a leader in her community.

“When we met her, her face literally just beamed with confidence — a confidence that had come from knowing Christ and from the skills that she had gained through not only becoming a member of these classes but becoming a leader in her community.”

 Cowell left her experience with Mission India motivated to get involved.

“Even though I am not a missionary, even though I spend my days serving God here in America, I can still have an impact on what God is doing around the world.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

It’s not hard to support educational and spiritual transformation in India. You can sponsor a literacy student with Mission India for just $40!

“For me and my husband, $40 can easily be a night out that we choose to stay in to change the life of someone forever!” Cowell says.

Even if you can’t give, your prayers are powerful. You can sign up for Mission India’s emails here to recieve regular prayer requests and impact stories.

Please pray for Adult Literacy Class students like Sunita to know the life-changing love of Jesus. Ask God to bless Mission India’s teachers who are representing the Gospel as community leaders.

Mission India also released a four-day devotional today to help you pray for the persecuted Church in India. Sign up for your IDOP devotional here!

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

Although 95 percent of Indian children start primary school, less than 44 percent finish 10th grade. Today, India has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world. Nearly 30 percent of Indian adults today cannot read or write.

Jada is a 10-year-old Indian girl whose parents are two of many illiterate adults in India. They lived in poverty and felt very strongly about Jada getting an education.

Jada (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

However, when Jada would come home from school and struggle with her homework, her parents couldn’t read the material to help. Her grades started failing and Jada felt overwhelmed.

Eventually, Jada’s parents allowed her to enroll in a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club with Mission India. The Bible Club meets every weekday after school and the leaders are trained to help kids with their homework.

Mission India’s Bartholomew says, “By us having this program available and training our partners to go do that work, we’re helping kids stay in school and hopefully increase the literacy rate and graduation rate.”

But that’s not all. “The most important part, obviously, [is] these kids get an opportunity to hear the Gospel and the power of that. They get to find out what their worth is and how Jesus values them and loves them.”

Jada’s Bible Club leader reinforced what she learned that day in school and helped with her homework struggles.

“The leader also encouraged her to seek Jesus for help in understanding her subjects and what she was learning. It was just a really great way to start to begin to pray to God while learning from the Bible Club leader,” Bartholomew says.

“Gradually, her grades improved. Her parents were just so excited about that and her confidence was restored and it has set her up to get herself out of poverty.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Mission India’s Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs are underway again for the school year. Every day, they are academically supporting kids like Jada and introducing them to Jesus.

Want to help? It just takes $24 to sponsor one kid in a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club!

“That $24 is enabling that child to be invested in academically and spiritually for a year. So $24 over 12 months, you can see that investment is quite inexpensive, but the power of that investment to transform a child’s life is tremendous.”

Click here to give to Mission India’s Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs!

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security purposes.

Three days earlier, Malati had gone to a bank in India to make her deposit. Equivalent to roughly $34 USD today, the 2,500 rupees were a large sum for the average Indian family.

However, there was one problem at the bank. Malati couldn’t read or write. Not that this was unusual. Around 35 percent of women in India are illiterate. So Malati asked a seemingly kind young man to assist her with the deposit. He graciously listened as she told him what to write and filled out the deposit form for her.

Now, Malati realized what had happened. The young man, so willing to assist her, had written down his personal bank information and routed all 2,500 of her rupees to fill his own pockets. When Malati’s husband found out, he was furious. There was nothing she could do.

Not long afterward, Malati heard there was an Adult Literacy Class with Mission India starting in her village.

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes are year-round and led by indigenous teachers who are trained through the ministry.

Bartholomew* with Mission India explains, “The goal educationally at the end of these Adult Literacy Classes [is] that these adults will have a fifth-grade education level. So they’re able to proficiently do math and read and write, which all then translates into success in terms of those adults’ daily lives.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“The best part of it is they…get introduced to Jesus — some for the very first time. So it’s just amazing to see the kind of transformation these classes can bring to their communities.”

As for Malati, when she heard about the Adult Literacy Class, “She signed up right away. She was just so excited. She didn’t want to lose any money anymore. The teacher, Sunitha, helped Malati in many ways and Sunitha would actually visit the bank with Malati to teach her about the transactions and how to fill out the deposit form so she could do it on her own now.”

Bartholomew says, “One day, as Malati was listening to Sunitha talk about the lesson, Sunitha started talking about Jesus. She shared the Gospel with Malati and her classmates. Malati was just so moved by hearing about the Gospel and what Jesus did for her, that day…Malati gave her life to Jesus.”

Today, Malati has graduated from the class and learned how to start her own vegetable garden. She sells the produce from her garden in her village and is earning her own income.

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

“As I’m saying this, I have a smile on my face,” Bartholomew reflects, “because you’re getting to see really the Kingdom of God come forward! You are seeing people who are transformed emotionally and physically and also spiritually through these classes.”

There are many women and even men in India who would benefit from access to an Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. You can be a part of connecting them with educational tools and spiritual hope that could change their lives! Malati’s story is just one of several that Mission India hears every month on the holistic impact of their classes.

“First and foremost, we believe prayer is the first work in missions. So we would ask your readers and listeners to join us in praying for people like Malati, and also for people like Sunitha who are taking up their time in teaching these men and women how to be literate.”

You can also support an Indian woman or man in an Adult Literacy Class! All it takes is $40 for one enrollment.

“During that time, you’re going to give them a year-long transformation,” says Bartholomew. “It’s not just a week, it’s not just a day — $40 enrolls one person for the entire year where they not only learn how to transform themselves, but they get to learn how to transform their families and communities.”

Click here to give to Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security purposes.