Raina Miller of Mission India notes poverty is the root of India’s child labor problem: “India’s dealing with so much poverty that there are often times where we see cases of children being sent to work with their parents out of total desperation. So there are some parents who would love to give their kids an education, but if they’re not going to have dinner tonight, then they feel like the option is to send their child to work instead, just to make sure that kids aren’t going to bed hungry.”

Children can find themselves in a variety of jobs, such as selling balloons, working in tea stalls, or picking through trash to find things they can sell.

“This was the Bible club,” says Miller. “This was who the Bible club was reaching.”

Mission India’s Bible Clubs include singing, prayer, scripture memorization, and discipleship. They also offer holistic support, teaching children the importance of bathing, wearing clean clothes, and brushing their hair. Ultimately, as these children grow through the club, it can impact their entire families.

Atul

Atul is one of these Children. His father was a daily wage laborer who mixed cement in brickyards, and their family lived in a home made of bricks and tin sheets with water pooling on the floors any time it rained.

“If his dad couldn’t find work that day, the kids went to bed hungry that night, and as you can imagine, if you’re desperately hungry, it’s really hard to focus at school,” says Miller. “So Atul began skipping school. Pretty soon he was working alongside his parents and became a child laborer.”

When Atul found the Bible club, he discovered he was not alone—and so much more.

“All these kids struggled with poverty and fear and hunger, and yet at the Bible club, they could find joy, and they had each other, and they had community, and it was a place where they could just be kids again, unlike in their day-to-day lives. So Atul really grew and thrived in that environment.”

His confidence grew, he began helping to teach his little sister and others in the club, and he has been attending his regular school more frequently. Now, he wants to become a teacher, so he can help other children. When someone asked Atul what had caused this change in him, he told them it was because he went to the Children’s Bible Club every day, describing it as “another school that’s filled with love and laughter.”

Pray that Atul and his family, who have already experienced growth through the Bible club, would fully accept the salvation of Jesus.

As the school year is coming to a close, the year-long Bible clubs will also be wrapping up—however, more will start in the fall.

“We would love to welcome as many of India’s child laborers and other kids as possible to join year-long Bible clubs and to have an experience like Atul did,” says Miller. “A $24 gift would reach another child like Atul with Christ-centered love, Bible-based lessons, and a space to just be a kid and receive discipleship from a caring Christian leader.”

You can donate to the Children’s Bible Clubs at missionindia.org/single-gift-donation/?referral=MNN2605.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

A man we’ll call Paul is a pastoral coach supporting work in India. He explains that India’s majority-Hindu government has a vision for India to become a Hindu Rashtra, or state. 

“For that, they have to plug every hole — that means anything which is going to be a hindrance to that vision of establishing a Hindu Rashtra,” says Paul. 

To Hindu leaders, Indians who follow a religion other than Hinduism have betrayed India’s heritage and given allegiance to foreign nations, says Paul. By extension, that means evangelical Christian ministries are not viewed favorably. 

As one strategy to combat foreign influence, India created the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in 1976. It has put red tape on non-profit organizations that receive foreign funding. In recent years, the government has effectively canceled the FCRA licenses of more than 20,000 organizations. Many were Christian-led. Without that license, these ministries are effectively blocked from receiving foreign funding. 

But here’s where the uncomfortable problem comes in: when Christian orgs dodge the system, they put not only themselves but others at risk. 

“The problem I see is many Christian agencies were not following, or they were not being compliant, in that sense,” says Paul of the FCRA licensure.

(Photo courtesy of Mahmut Yılmaz via Pexels)

He gives a hypothetical scenario in which one FCRA license holder allows other groups or individuals to route money through their account. 

“Now, with the current realities, you’re going to be in deep trouble, because they are really monitoring every penny you spend,” he says. “[If] they even see a slightest error or discrepancy, they are canceling your FCRA account.”

Recently, an evangelical Christian NGO was exposed as part of a network that was using United States–based debit cards in India. It was not even registered under the FCRA. It is now under investigation by India’s Enforcement Directorate. 

“[The government is] going to weaponize that to further say ‘This is what we have been telling over the years, how Christian organizations, Christians in India — and there is collaboration with the Western world — are trying to convert us Hindus in India,’” says Paul. “This is what they have been [saying]. Propaganda is going on. Massive, big-scale now, all over India.”

The situation is complicated. Please pray for wisdom for Christians to respond to these circumstances. Pray that the Church, both within India and outside of it, spreads the gospel in a way that honors God. 

India is around 80% Hindu, with an estimated 1.15 billion adherents according to Joshua Project (Photo courtesy of Wevlog Vijay via Pexels)

Header photo: Believers in West Bengal, India (Photo Courtesy of Ranit Das via Pexels.)

Two years ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost its national majority. It had to form a coalition with other parties, called the National Democratic Alliance. 

But on May 4, 2026, the BJP claimed its first-ever victory in West Bengal State. The party now governs 18 of India’s 28 states — 21 states if we count the entire National Democratic Alliance’s reach.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the joint SCO-CSTO Outreach Summit on Afghanistan, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on September 17, 2021.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Duane Friesen with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada says the BJP’s growing influence raises many serious questions for India’s Christians. 

“If the Hindu nationalists continue to grow in their control over the country, will it cause some of the legal ramifications for the Christian community to be challenged? Will equal citizenship be lost even more than there already has been? I think that’s a legitimate concern,” Friesen says. 

“The more that Modi has influenced, the more — it seems — that Hindu nationalism results in a direct confrontation with the Christian community.”

In the past 12 years of Modi’s tenure as prime minister, anti-conversion laws have risen as a source of pressure for Christians. Since 2017, nine states have passed laws regulating religious conversion. These laws often land Christians in jail with charges that their words, prayers, church services, or more have enticed someone to convert to Christianity. (More on anti-conversion laws here.)

Other pressures on Christians come from living in a Hindu-majority culture. For example, this week Friesen heard of believers whose community denied them the right to bury their dead. This is all too common in India.

Friesen says Christians are preparing for more challenges ahead. Yet the call to share the gospel is not dictated by political realities.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

“India is 1.4 billion people, with an opportunity for the gospel to expand,” he says. “I think we pray for our Christian brothers and sisters there, that in the midst of whatever challenges they are facing, God opens the door for them to see the next person come to understand the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.” 

Pray for strength, courage, and joy for India’s believers. 

“Whenever there’s opposition, there is opportunity. I know that their heart has been to keep focused on the calling [of God] in their life. So let’s pray with them,” says Friesen. 

Header photo courtesy of Tom Chen via Unsplash.

Elections this week in four of India’s states and one territory have returned the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to dominance. 

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP leads a coalition of parties called the National Democratic Alliance. With the BJP’s landslide victory in West Bengal State this week, it now leads 18 of India’s 28 states. That’s nearly 80 percent of India’s population, according to a poll analysis by the TV network India Today.

Add to that the fact that the NDA coalition (including the BJP) governs 21 of India’s 28 states, and you have a major political force. 

A man we’ll call Paul serves as a pastoral coach in support of work in India. According to Paul as well as other reports, the BJP’s campaigning in West Bengal was less than honorable. It involved the presence of many soldiers.

“My friend who lives there [said], ‘It looks like there’s a war taking place in West Bengal,’” says Paul. “They went ‘all out’ and did every unethical, immoral way to defeat [the incumbent chief minister]. And they won — a massive victory, 200-plus seats.”

Irregularities included a voter list overhaul that removed some 2.7 million voters. A disproportionate number of those voters were Muslims. That’s according to an analysis from independent research organization SABAR Institute, based in Kolkata.

What’s next for India? 

Several concerning realities may come from the BJP’s expanded reach.

Sonajhuri Haat Bolpur, West Bengal, India (Photo courtesy of Ratul Pal via Unsplash)

The first thing to expect comes from the party’s record, says Paul. “Every state they [the BJP] captured, they immediately brought in this anti-conversion law,” he says. 

Anti-conversion laws can be framed as protections for religious freedom. But in practice, they are anything but. Such laws are currently present in at least 12 of India’s states. 

Then, on a national level, Paul believes the BJP will push to change India from a secular republic to a Hindu republic.

“They were short one state, and now they won West Bengal. So we can expect that a constitutional amendment will be happening very soon,” he says.

If these predictions come true, Christians and Muslims in India have testing times ahead.

“Especially in terms of missions,” says Paul. “We’ll have to relook at how we do missions completely — probably have to go underground. It’s already happening. Many churches are shut down in the states where these [leaders] have passed this anti-conversion law. Many churches have closed down.”

These changes and challenges are no surprise to God. Please pray!

“Pray that the Church will stay strong, united,” says Paul. Pray for wisdom for churches about complying with government regulations. 

“Pray for us [that] as a church and leadership will come together and come up with some more concrete plans and strategies to live out our faith in the midst of this context,” says Paul. 

Header photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the joint SCO-CSTO Outreach Summit on Afghanistan, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on September 17, 2021. (Wikimedia Commons)

But a new bill put forward in April 2026 has many believers concerned. They fear it’s another attempt at government control.

“What has so far kind of leaked out that this welfare board is to address community issues: marriage, funeral rights, interfaith marriage issues, things like that,” says John Pudaite of Bibles For The World. 

The issues Pudaite names are all legitimate challenges that Christians face within India. “But since it [the bill] is linked to the FCRA amendment bill, it just raises a lot of question and caution as we give this some thought here,” he adds.

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) governs how non-governmental organizations can receive foreign money. A 2026 amendment bill for that act was tabled earlier this year after significant protests. If passed, it would have allowed the government to seize the assets of any NGO that lost its FCRA license. 

(Read our report here on why the FCRA amendment would be deeply concerning for Christian NGOs.)

Bibles For The World works in areas where there is restricted access to God’s Word, where copies are scarce or among peoples where Christianity is beginning to take root — such as Nepal, Cambodia, areas of India, and other Asian and SE Asian nations. (Photo, caption courtesy of Bibles For The World)

Yes, it’s complicated. But here’s the connection between the two bills: According to a report from Christian Today, the National Christian Welfare Board could potentially be the “Designated Authority” that the FCRA amendment would assign to handle any seized NGO assets.

“Whoever is in power is going to just stack that board with people that are sympathetic to their political position,” says Pudaite.

The good news is that the proposal for a National Christian Welfare Board is only a proposal. However, it’s yet another potential tool in the Indian government’s already wide arsenal. Christians are staying vigilant and speaking out.

“I know that [a lot of] the Christians will join hands with some of the other minorities in India and begin working to try to get this removed,” says Pudaite.

Please pray that God will open the eyes of those opposing the Body of Christ. Pray also for the faithful witness of Christians, that they will reach many with the hope of Christ. In the challenges, they are not waiting for easier times. Pudaite says that Bibles For The World recently printed 500,000 copies of the Gospel of John in nearly a dozen languages for distribution across the country. 

“We just continue to see amazing growth and amazing — what would I say? — passion to share the gospel,” Pudaite says. 

Header photo: Woman in Bengalaru, India (Stock photo courtesy of Marie Couffon de Trevros via Unsplash)

May 3, 2026, marks three years since ethnic violence erupted between the Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki-Zo tribal people. In the first few days, dozens of people were killed, and hundreds of homes and houses of worship were destroyed. Today, it is estimated that 260 people have died and over 60,000 have been displaced in the conflict. (More on the reasons behind the conflict here.)

For three years, Manipur has remained divided, with ongoing unrest.

“This is something that we’ve been right in the thick of, as we have a large mission base in the southern part of Manipur state,” says John Pudaite with Bibles For The World.

Manipur church, c. 2023 (Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

Buffer zones between villages and even a year of tight central government control (called President’s Rule) have not brought lasting peace.

“They have installed sort of a caretaker government right now, and they’re trying to continue to police these areas,” says Pudaite, “but we’re seeing already some attacks, incidents of violence, against the tribals happening at some of these flashpoints at these buffer zone areas.” 

Attacks happen on both sides. A bombing on April 7, 2026, killed two Meitei children. Kuki-Zo militants deny responsibility, but the incident sparked new protests and clashes with police. 

Despite the long instability, Pudaite says, “God is good, and His people are extremely resilient. We have not seen any of the churches in the area whose faith is shaken. Rather, it’s been strengthened.” 

Pudaite also shares the incredible news that the southern part of Manipur is “completely evangelized.” Ask God to help believers in Manipur State spread the gospel and build true peace in this conflict. 

Header photo: Aid distribution in Manipur villages in late 2023. (Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)

Proponents of the amendment say its purpose is to ensure foreign money is not misused to fund activities detrimental to national interest. However, John Pudaite of Bibles For The World states it would allow the Indian government to take control of assets from organizations that have had their FCRA registration canceled or suspended.

“The government could basically confiscate all assets you have were created with foreign contribution,” says Pudaite. “So an organization that had planted and built a number of churches, even if it was 20, 30 years ago—all of those churches could be confiscated if they were under scrutiny by the government.”

According to recent counts, approximately 22,700 organizations have lost their FCRA registration, and thousands are under suspension pending further investigation by the government. This bill would still apply even to assets surrendered by organizations outside of the country to their partner organizations within the country.

“It talks about the government being able to establish a designated authority there—that’s the words of the bill—that will take possession of those assets,” explains Pudaite. “So let’s say there’s a ministry that has a mission hospital, half a dozen schools, and 30 churches, and their FCRA has been suspended or canceled. The government, through its designated authority, can essentially take control of all of those properties if they if they have been created with even any percentage from foreign contributions.”

The bill did pass in the cabinet and went to the parliament floor—however, it received pushback and has been retracted. It’s expected to be resubmitted at a later parliament session.

“But that’s the type of thing that’s happening behind the scenes,” says Pudaite. “They’re trying to take over all the property of the church and of Christian ministries in India.”

Pray lawmakers in the Indian parliament would act in the best interests of fairness and religious freedom, and pray on behalf of Christian ministries within the country.

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Zoshua Colah via Unsplash.

“[The new law is] framed with the title of a ‘freedom of religion’ law, but it’s actually the exact opposite,” says John Pudaite with Bibles For The World.

Believers have reason for concern. Instead of truly protecting people from being forced to change their faith by fraud or any form of coercion, anti-conversion laws are easily wielded against Christians across India. Christian Solidarity International reported in February that in 2025 alone, more than 400 believers were arrested, with 125 remaining in jail under false charges.

A church in Hyderabad, India. (Photo courtesy of Paul Silvan via Unsplash)

“It really is a case of ‘guilty until proven innocent,’ the way that these laws have been implemented and enforced throughout India,” says Pudaite. 

A simple statement of belief in Christ can become grounds for an accusation. People can claim that the music a church congregation plays might entice others to attend its gathering and perhaps change their faith.

Chhattisgarh’s new anti-conversion law carries stricter fines and prison sentences than its previous 1968 law. People accused of illegally converting others will not be eligible for bail, and a conviction of a mass conversion could even carry a lifetime prison sentence. 

“They define ‘mass conversion’ [as] two or more persons in a single event. Even two people, say a husband and wife from the same family, deciding to follow Christ at a single event, this now becomes a ‘mass conversion,’” says Pudaite. 

Online content is also fair game under the law. “Somebody who just makes a post on their Facebook page that’s pro-Christianity could be charged under this law. It depends how far they want to take it,” says Pudaite. 

Notably, conversion to Hinduism from other religions is exempt.

“That’s where we see the most movement, is people coming out of Hindu backgrounds, Muslim backgrounds, Buddhist backgrounds, and Sikh and [Jainism] into Christianity,” says Pudaite. “They [Hindu leaders] want to stop this flow out of their traditional religions into Christianity.”

The constitutionality of anti-conversion laws under scrutiny

Chhattisgarh’s updated law comes at the same time as a nationwide review by India’s Supreme Court of anti-conversion laws. India’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, which anti-conversion laws seem to limit. That future Supreme Court ruling could bring relief for Christians harassed by false accusations of forcibly converting others, but so far, the legal process has been slow.

Woman in Bengalaru, India (Stock photo courtesy of Marie Couffon de Trevros via Unsplash)

“This case got on the docket back in September of last year. The can keeps being kicked down the road on this, but it is a standing order from the Supreme Court. They’re asking each state to give substantiation for their passing of an anti-conversion law,” says Pudaite. 

Twelve of India’s states currently have anti-conversion laws in place. Pudaite says the challenges have not stopped Christians from their mission to share Christ. 

“This [law in Chhattisgarh] is going to kind of drive things more underground, as it were,” he says. However, “There are pastors and missionaries that are continuing to share their faith boldly.”

Pray for endurance for Christians in Chhattisgarh State who will have to endure the new anti-conversion law. Pray for a fair future ruling by India’s Supreme Court about these kinds of laws. Continue to monitor India closely regarding concerns about freedom of religion. 

Mission India regularly encounters adults who were trafficked as children and teens. Broken and abused, they are in desperate need of life skills and Christ’s love.

Mission India’s Raina Miller says, “In India, there’s not the hope of Christ, by and large. A lot of people don’t know who Jesus is. Ninety percent of the people groups are unreached by the Gospel. So if they’re living in hopelessness, they’re desperate.”

Nanya (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

That desperation often leaves children vulnerable. Miller shares the story of Nanya, a young woman who came out of bonded slavery.

“Her dad, who was an alcoholic and really struggling, he had sold her off into a bonded labor contract for two years,” Miller says.

“She was sent off to work for a family [with] crazy hours – like 5 am to 11 pm for two years straight. She just had no life outside of that…. When she was working, she earned none of the money. It all went to her dad.”

When Nanya gained her freedom at 18, she didn’t know where to go next and couldn’t read or write. Eventually, she joined a Mission India Adult Literacy Class.

“She learned, first of all, how to read and write,” Miller explains. “Second, she learned how to save and earn money in ways that had dignity and were something that she can be excited about.”

The best part? Miller says, “She also discovered the love of Jesus and received him as her Savior!”

Today, Nanya runs her own business as a beautician and shares her skills with other young women.

Adult Literacy Class (Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Miller says, “Adult Literacy Classes are meeting people in their hardest, deepest, scariest moments and helping them find a way out. Sometimes that’s trafficking; sometimes that’s other situations that they’re stuck in. But our Adult Literacy Classes also provide education around these issues to help prevent them in the future…. We’re really excited about that aspect of our Adult Literacy Classes and just the holistic impact that they make.”

This month, there’s an opportunity to help more people like Nanya.

Every donation to Mission India will be matched up to $300,000. Normally, $40 covers the tuition for one Adult Literacy Class student — but through the end of April, that same $40 will allow two students to enroll.

You can give today at missionindia.org.

Header photo courtesy of Deepak Kumar/Unsplash.

India’s Constitution protects religious freedom in Articles 25 to 28. It gives every person the right to believe, practice, and share their faith, and it defines India as a secular country. However, there has been a rise in persecution against believers.

John Pudaite with Bibles For The World shares a recent story of a pastor attacked during a worship service. “They dragged him outside, and they forced him to chant Hindu chants, praising one of their gods, and then they forced him to eat cow dung,” he says.

Preamble to the Constitution of India (picture courtesy of Beohar Rammanohar Sinha\Prem Behari Narain Raizada via Wikimedia Commons)

Christians report similar incidents from different regions. It is happening across the entire country, adds Pudaite, especially in the 12 states that have passed anti-conversion laws. These laws are one reason many of these attacks go unpunished.

Still, Christians believe a higher law, the Constitution, is on their side.

The National Council of Churches, representing approximately 14 million Christians through its network of 32 member churches in India, has backed a petition. The goal is to challenge whether these laws are constitutional.

“There is what they call a public interest litigation in India that has taken the case all the way up to the Supreme Court,” explains Pudaite.

Now, the responsibility falls on the states to prove their laws follow the Constitution. But the process keeps getting delayed. In the meantime, pressure continues.

“They [Christians] get arrested. They have to pay bail. They have to go to court,” says Pudaite. And on top of that, many attackers feel unpunished.

While waiting for a decision, Christians are finding other ways to speak out. Thousands of Christians marched with torches on March 22 in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, to protest the state’s new anti-conversion law.

Believers in West Bengal, India (courtesy of Pexels)

Even so, Pudaite says the deeper battle is spiritual: “Along the way the enemy is just going to make it difficult for those who follow Jesus to continue to follow Him.”

Pray for a legal breakthrough in India, and for the protection of Christians’ rights.

Visit Bibles For The World to learn more about the work they do helping communities worldwide have access to Scripture.

Header photo: Central Wing of the Supreme Court of India (photo courtesy of Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons).