To get more church partners involved with what God is doing in India, Mission India just hired a new Director of Church Engagement, *David!

He says, “There’s a tremendous opportunity to partner with Mission India to go and invest where not many people are going among the most unreached people groups in the world. So my basic role is just reaching out to churches and connecting them with the work that’s happening in India.”

David formerly served as a church planter in Ohio for 16 years before coming on board with Mission India. For him, the mission to share Jesus in India is personal.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“I’ve always had a passion for reaching India because I grew up overseas,” David says. “I was born in Dubai, lived in Mumbai, India, lived in Abu Dhabi, and then my family moved to the US in 1991. But generations ago, my family in India was saved as a result of missionary movement in India. So I’m the beneficiary of that spiritual legacy. I’ve always wanted to give back what God has blessed me with.”

There is a deep and desperate need for Christ’s hope in India. Around 1.3 billion Indians have never even heard the Gospel message. That’s 95 percent of the population.

In fact, David says, “Did you know that one-third of all the unreached people groups in the world live in India? There’s still so much work to be done. So the more prayer partners that we have and pastors that are partnering with us and engaged in this work, the greater the work can continue moving forward.”

Mission India empowers and trains local believers in India to plant churches and reach the unreached in their communities. They support Adult Literacy Classes, Children’s Bible Clubs, and Church Planter Training!

The ministry has also been providing emergency COVID-19 Relief Kits to struggling Indian families. Each Relief Kit feeds a family of four for four weeks and opens the door for Gospel conversations.

“We give [the Relief Kits] to pastors in these areas and we basically empower them to reach out to people in their communities so that they are the face of the relief work that is happening.”

This is where your church comes in! Whether it’s getting your small group to pray for India and the ministry or sending your pastor on Mission India’s pastors trip, there are several ways churches can get involved with what God is doing in India.

You can donate to support Mission India’s Relief Kits here.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Last name omitted for security purposes.

Since Thursday, India has reported more than 330,000 new cases every day. As of yesterday, the nation had over 17 million infected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “storm” that “has shaken the nation.”

(Photo courtesy of Deepak Choudhary via Unsplash)

Bartholomew* with Mission India explains, “They’ve had a double mutant strain…that they think is part of the reason. And there’s been plenty of festivals as this is a huge season for that in the nation of India. So when you muster those two things together…along with hygiene and healthcare and having access to those things, it just took off.”

This second coronavirus wave is devastating India’s healthcare system.

“Hospitals are critically low on oxygen…. On top of that, major cities are seeing hospitals putting up to two people per bed as they deal with COVID. And a lot of hospitals are now turning away patients,” Bartholomew says.

“We’ve heard reports of partners driving hours. One partner drove 20 hours to take a loved one to a hospital because they had an open bed. So it is just dire.”

The city of Bengaluru — Karnataka state’s capital and a technology hub — is responding to the surge with stricter lockdowns. Delhi was already in lockdown earlier last week. And other cities are following suit.

Bartholomew says these lockdowns mean more economic hardship for Indian families. “A lot of Indians are day laborers. So that means whatever you earn that day, that’s what you live off. That’s what you bring home for food for your family. And with…lockdowns, that means they can’t necessarily earn any money (or the same amount of money they used to), which now starts to lend itself to a humanitarian and starvation crisis potentially.”

Last year, Mission India worked with local believers to distribute Relief Kits to over 100,000 Indian families in need.

With this second wave of cases, Mission India’s partners are, once again, distributing emergency Relief Kits. Each one has enough food and hygiene items for a family of four for four weeks.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Bartholomew says, “Our partners are being the hands and feet of Jesus in the most immediate and urgent way right now as they distribute Relief Kits. These individuals that they’re distributing to, they’ve lost all hope. They think they have nothing left. And in a lot of cases, they have nothing left. They’re looking for something to fill that loss.

“So as we distribute these Relief Kits, all of a sudden, not only are you filling this tangible [need], but then we get to share why we’re doing it. We’re doing it because Jesus has called us to be these types of individuals where we give hope, we give grace, we give life. We’ve had so many countless stories of families breaking down and crying.”

Mission India’s other programs are still ongoing where possible — like their Adult Literacy Classes and Children’s Bible Clubs. As families get Relief Kits, many are joining these other programs and learning more about Jesus’s love for them.

“Pray for our partners as they go out and distribute Relief Kits where possible,” Bartholomew asks. “Pray for those partners that are in communities that are just broken and looking for hope. May they be emboldened to share about the ultimate hope that we know in Jesus.”

If you want to sponsor a Relief Kit with Mission India for just $40, click here to give!

Header photo courtesy of Govind Krishnan via Unsplash.

*Names changed for security purposes.

Over 600 million people voted in this election, and Modi won by a landslide. His political party (Bharatiya Janata Party) won 354 of 545 seats (272 seats are needed for a majority) in The Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament—a win even bigger than their share of the vote in 2014.

In recent years, persecution against Christians in India severely increased—and now, Mission India’s partners in India anticipate challenges continuing.

Mission India’s Bartholomew* says, “Our partners in India have been faithfully praying…as they just try to see what the new round [of political leadership] looks like for them in terms of ministry and how God’s going to move amidst all of this.

“But they’re also at the same time energized, knowing that regardless of what happens politically, God is still in control. We’ve heard that a lot from our partners. They know that God will be faithful and they’re going to keep doing what they believe God is calling them to do.”

This year, Open Doors USA ranked India as the 10th worst country in the world for persecution of Christians, who have faced violence and loss of rights.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Now is the time to stand with Christians in India, both in prayer and by empowering them with tools and training to continue to push the light of the Gospel against the spiritual darkness around them. Opponents of the Good News seem to be growing in numbers and in strength, and the future feels uncertain.

But we know who holds the future, and so we pray. Please join our Indian Christian brothers and sisters in praying for protection, for wisdom, and for an open door to the Gospel message.

If you would like to receive Mission India’s daily prayer e-mail, India Intercessor, click here and you’ll be automatically signed up to receive daily prayer requests from India.

Header image obtained from Narendra Modi’s personal feed on Flickr.

*Name changed for security purposes.

Mission India’s 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs are kind of like VBS for kids in India. This month, Mission India has a matching grant that will double every dollar given to its 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Normally, $1 sends one child to a 10-Day Children’s Bible Club. However, between now and April 30, $1 will give two kids a 10-Day Bible Club experience.

It’s not often you can make an eternal difference with just $1.  Bartholomew* with Mission India says these 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs are often the first place these boys and girls get to meet Jesus.

“In these VBS-like settings, they learn how to worship and pray and get to hear all about the love of Jesus and how Jesus comforts them and wants to live with them and be a part of their lives.”

Mission India’s Bible Clubs also provide a safe space for the kids to just be kids and feel loved. Bartholomew explains many of them come from broken homes.

“They come from abusive families and families that are involved in addiction and have financial issues — just a lot of mess. So, for 10 days these kids can come and hear about hope and hear about grace and hear about love that is never-ending.

“It’s a powerful two weeks and the Gospel is just surrounding and immersing within these kids.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Once a child attends a 10-Day Children’s Bible Club, he or she will often transition into one of Mission India’s Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs which meet every day after school.

It’s a unique opportunity to spiritually pour into a child long-term, and the impact doesn’t stop there.

“Oftentimes, we see these kids actually be catalysts for total transformation within their families. I’ve read countless stories and shared countless stories before of how one child goes to a 10-Day Bible Club or a Year-Long Bible Club and he or she goes back to their family and shares the hope of Jesus with their family and their family accepts Jesus!”

Click here to donate to the India’s Children 2019 Matching Challenge with Mission India!

Bartholomew says, “Our prayer is that these kids would come to the safe place that we provide, that they would hear the message of Jesus, and they would come to know their Lord and Savior. [Pray] also that they would take that back to their homes and communities and be catalysts of change and of hope and of grace.”

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

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.

Brijesh Singh, the complainant’s advocate, alleges that these Christians were convincing people from local districts to attend a church in Baldeh village. According to Singh, they were even distributing “prohibited medicines and drugs” and prompting conversions while users were under the influence.

The Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton explains, “The court, instead of saying that’s ridiculous, they actually allowed the charges to go forward. So now we have a First Information Report against 271 people for this charge of talking bad about Hinduism and it all goes back to those anti-conversion laws that are written to keep Christian groups and other groups from talking to Hindus about changing their faith.”

(Photo courtesy of World Watch Monitor)

The names of three Pentecostal pastors were released with the charges — Durga Prasad Yadav, Kirit Rai, and Jitendra Ram. The others accused are merely noted as their accomplices.

“This situation pretty clearly illustrates how the anti-conversion laws in India are being used against Christians. This is a case where an advocate from a radical Hindu group went to court and said, ‘Hey, look, these Christians are inducing people to change their religion.’”

Nettleton recently spoke with Pastor Kumar from the All India Christian Council on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio podcast. During the podcast, Nettleton shares, “[Pastor Kumar] talked about one of these anti-conversion laws, [which] says if you want to talk to someone about changing their faith,…six months before you are going to have that conversation you need to go before a magistrate and say, ‘I’m planning to have this conversation with this person about changing their faith,’ and get the magistrate to sign off on that.”

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Australia)

Anti-conversion laws like this are often used to target Christians and other religious minorities in India. They are also used to prevent Hindus from leaving the faith.

“That’s what these anti-conversion laws are. They are completely unreasonable, they completely undermine the promise of religious freedom that the Indian Constitution contains, and yet here we are again with a case where 271 people have been charged based on these completely unjust laws.”

It’s not just legally dangerous for Christians in India. Believers there also face physical danger. Uttar Pradesh is known for being one of the harshest Indian states for Christians to live. According to ADF-India and Project Doto, Uttar Pradesh had the most violent attacks and hate crimes committed against Christians in the first half of 2018.

Nettleton reminds us, “Yes, there are political aspects to it, but it’s a spiritual battle. We need to pray for Christians in India to continue to be bold witnesses even though they know this could happen. They know they could be taken to court. They know they could face charges when they have those conversations, but let’s pray that they stay encouraged and that they stay bold.”

Please pray specifically for the 271 Christians, including three pastors, who are facing these accusations. Pray for the charges to be cleared and for their faith to grow stronger in this situation.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Also, he adds, “As the Bible tells us, let’s pray for the persecutors. Let’s pray for this radical Hindu group that is coming against the Church. Pray for the judge in the case and the attorneys involved, and pray for God’s spirit to move in the nation of India.”

Check out VOM Radio’s new website here!

This was the last Native American community the On Eagles’ Wings team visited for their Summer of Hope outreach — and it was one of the darkest places the ministry has been to in a long time.

The On Eagles’ Wings team consisted of 46 young Native American men and women from 28 tribes. They took the Gospel to 12 Native communities this summer, traveled over 3,000 miles, and led 29 rescue events.

(Photo and header photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

Ron Hutchcraft of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries traveled with the team and says it was incredible to watch Native young people reach their peers with life-saving hope. Many of the team members came from broken pasts themselves and could share how Jesus made all the difference in their stories.

Going to share that Good News with their peers wasn’t easy. And yet, Hutchcraft says, “They are overcoming their fear to go out and tell their people in hostile environments about Jesus. They understand that they are the best people to reach their own people tribe to tribe. They understand the importance of fervent prayer. They are not defined by the pain of their past. They have decided to be defined by who they really are — as sons and daughters of the Most High God.”

At each Native community they visited, On Eagles’ Wings worked with local Christians who are ready to follow-up with people who make a commitment to Christ.

“We’ve been back just long enough to start to get reports back of what’s happened when the team left and they’re having the events that we suggest they do to continue the momentum so that a movement can be born on that reservation.”

When the young Native believers with On Eagles’ Wings arrived at the last Native community — which was the most hope-starved community they visited — they were weary from a long summer of outreach.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

However, their biggest challenge was still before them — a challenge that would become their greatest victory for the name of Christ.

Hutchcraft explains, “It’s a reservation where the tribe has declared a crisis in drug trafficking. We told our team they couldn’t wear sandals because of all the drug needles in the grass where we had our events.”

The local children behaved wildly, always fighting and even attacking the team’s equipment. However, the reason why these kids were acting out broke the team members’ hearts.

“A tribal elder explained it. She said, ‘Most of these kids have been abused, most of them sexually abused, and their parents don’t want them home ever because they just want to do drugs at home. They are in essence orphans with parents, just trying to raise themselves.’”

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

Hutchcraft shares, “That’s the environment this team came into. Now, they know broken because they have lived broken. They told their hope stories and they took time building relationships and expressing the love of Christ by the way they treated people.”

Through sports outreaches, fun prizes, music, and being willing to just sit and talk with people, the team members saw hearts slowly start to open. They had their biggest audiences of the summer show up for their events. But the best was yet to come.

On the last night, young Native men and women with On Eagles’ Wings shared their hope stories publicly and how Jesus saved their lives. It struck a chord.

“The night of the public invitation in this most broken of places was the largest harvest of the Summer of Hope as people surged forward to give their lives to Christ in this desperate place.”

The team saw double the number of commitments to Christ here than in any other Native community they previously visited.

In all, when the Summer of Hope was over, 601 Native American young people from 12 communities embraced Jesus as their Savior.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

So who were some of the young men and women who started living new lives for Jesus? Hutchcraft says, “One was the girl who saw her sister commit suicide and had to cut her down. She gave her heart to Christ this night when the team was there.

“The five girls with cut marks all over their arms from trying to bleed out their pain. The one who had carved the word ‘alone’ in her arm. She’s not alone anymore. All five of those girls were led to Christ by one of our young warriors.

“The boy who said, ‘My dad left, my mom died, and I was just beaten up by 15 kids.’ [He] gave his life to Christ that night when he thought there was no hope.

“A relative of the boy who was set on fire, who came very much from the centuries-old traditions of the tribe, but that night he chose Christ as his Savior.

“The young girl who was molested on Christmas Eve and has tried to deal with the pain by cutting, mutilation, [and] drugs. Well, we’ve got girls who have experienced the same thing and one of them led that girl to Christ.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“[A] young man came,… he is the last of four people in his family left. The others have died terribly and he had even attempted suicide the week before, but God spared his life so that the following week he could give that life to Christ instead of taking it. He was kept alive until we got there and I believe he was kept alive by people’s prayers.

Hutchcraft reflects, “So in those hundreds of Native young people choosing Christ, our stories are people like this — answers to the prayers of God’s people…. This, more than anything else, is obviously a report on what Jesus did because only Jesus could have broken through on these places.”

The Summer of Hope with On Eagles’ Wings may be over, but this is just the beginning for many of the team members. Out of 46 Native men and women from the team, as many as 28 of them may be headed to Bible school or getting Bible training this fall.

“These young warriors are the object of some of the most severe and relentless attacks by the enemy of any people I know. There is so much in their background that Satan wants to use to try to drag them away from this incredible calling that they have stepped up to. They are the point of the spear of a powerful move of Jesus among the First People of this continent.”

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

To continue propelling this Gospel movement among Native Americans, Hutchcraft emphasizes the need for God’s people to pray.

“Please pray for their spiritual protection. Pray for their strength to stand in toxic environments. Pray that what they experienced this summer of how God could really use them would turn into a calling to spend their life reaching their people for Christ.

“Secondly, pray for the people on the reservations where we have been who are working on follow-up right now to secure for the future these commitments that young people made…. We’re praying that God will use the efforts of these local people who are using a strategy we’ve given them that will cause there to be an ongoing light for Christ to a younger generation for years and decades to come.”

For his third and final prayer request, Hutchcraft references Philippians 1:6, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

Hutchcraft asks, “Let’s pray that prayer for the young warriors of On Eagles’ Wings. Let’s pray that prayer for the people who invited us to these reservations who are now trying to build a long-term youth ministry out of that momentum. Let’s pray that prayer for the young men and women who gave their lives to Christ this summer, that the good work God has begun, He will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Click here to learn more about On Eagles’ Wings!

Ron Hutchcraft with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says the team has five more Native American communities to visit, and prayer is paving the way.

For example, in the first community the team went to, “A man came up to me. It turns out we went to college together, believe it or not! He said, ‘Ron, back in 1992 when God broke your heart for Native America and you were just starting to talk about this new thing, I began to pray that someday God would bring you to the reservation near us right here.’

(Photo and header photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“He was standing next to me on that reservation watching in living color the answer to his prayers — 1992 to 2018 praying for a breakthrough among the Native young people of his community — and he was standing there watching it happen.”

Hutchcraft says, “It takes that kind of fervent, prevailing prayer to change the course of spiritual history in Native America. Fierce, fervent, faithful prayers.”

At each community, the On Eagles’ Wings team gathers on the local outdoor basketball court for their ministry. This is often the hub for local Native young people to hang out. The basketball court may even be the place where drug deals and violence take place. However, when the young men and women with On Eagles’ Wings arrive, the court is transformed into a platform for building relationships and sharing Jesus.

The team hosts competitive games and sporting events for several days, plays music, and starts conversations with the teens and young adults who show up.

Towards the end of their outreach, young Native men and women with the team publicly share their stories and how Jesus changed their lives. Because their stories are the same stories of Native young people nearly everywhere, their hope stories resonate and open hearts to Christ in ways nothing else can.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

Hutchcraft is with the On Eagles’ Wings team and he shares, “We are in right now and going to be on some reservations where there is even some physical danger because of the enormous amount of drug activity, gang activity, violence, and beyond that. Some of it I don’t even want to talk about because it is so broken and even sordid. Our team is so very, very needed.”

In the world of missions, prayer is not the lazy last resort the world often perceives it as.

“Your prayer is not just helpful. It is decisive in these battles. We just ask you with all our hearts to join God’s little army of Native warriors in this battle with your prayer.”

As you pray, Hutchcraft offers these requests:

• Open hearts – Please pray, “That God would break through, first of all, to what I would call sin and pain-hardened hearts. Yet, that mask of hardness is only to protect [Native young people] from anything hurting [them]. But it also keeps Jesus out and makes them unwilling to talk about anything else and about feelings whatsoever.”

• Pleasant weather – “Let’s pray for great weather because our most effective place to do our events is outside on a basketball court…. How great it would be if a place that now is a place where you go to buy your drugs would become known as the place where many of that generation chose Jesus.”

• Strength for the team – “Let’s pray for the 47 young warriors of On Eagles’ Wings who are God’s little army — but they are Satan’s big target and every button he can push from their broken backgrounds, he is pushing to try to bring them down.

“We really need prayer for supernatural strength because it has been grueling — it’s spiritually grueling, it’s physically grueling, it’s mentally grueling. So we really need prayer for supernatural strength to carry us all the way to the finish line and then to sustain them as they get back home to become an agent for change back home.”

• Growth of Native Christian leaders – “Many of these young people are feeling for the first time that God could really use them to be part of the answer for their people. For some, that will be a call for what is perhaps the most desperate need in Native America — for Native Christian leaders.

“Let’s pray that those who God calls from this team to begin to train and prepare to be Christian leaders for their people will hear the call, answer the call, and become that generation of Native leaders that we’ve waited for.”

• Many commitments to follow Jesus – “Pray for a public demonstration of choosing Christ on these reservations that will represent a milestone event that no one will ever forget — that will mark for a generation a Jesus breakthrough.”

You can continue following the On Eagles’ Wings team and getting updates over the next few weeks! Hutchcraft shares, “If you go to HopeForNativeAmerica.com, you’ll hear from some of them how you can pray and how you can support them because there is no way they can go unless somebody sends them.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“If you’d like to follow the video reports that we do after every reservation and let the warriors tell you the story of what God has done, that you can find at Hutchcraft.com.”

Today, Hutchcraft estimates only four percent of Native Americans have a relationship with Jesus Christ. However, through Native Christians reaching out to fellow Natives, the tide is shifting and their communities are experiencing spiritual revival.

Hutchcraft says, “When this Summer of Hope is over, we just beg the prayer warriors to continue to pray for these young warriors who are the point of the spear of what I believe to be a historic move of God among Native Americans.”

They are with the On Eagles’ Wings team – a branch of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries – and they are traveling to 12 Native communities across North America to share Jesus.

We caught up with Ron Hutchcraft to get an update, and he says they are seeing God move in amazing ways.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“It’s an amazing group of young people who have all lived the brokenness of growing up on a reservation and their stories, though they have lived thousands of miles apart, are tragically so similar and they are congruent with what we’re finding on reservation after reservation.”

Even though Native Americans were the first mission field in North America, today only four percent of Native Americans know Jesus as their Savior. Native communities are often plagued by violence, drug and alcohol abuse, broken families, and suicides compounded by the pain of abuse their people have suffered.

“I will tell you, it’s pretty hard to deny a living Christ because these young men and women can only be explained by a Savior like Jesus. There is no other way to explain the rescue that has taken place in their lives.”

The young men and women with On Eagles’ Wings are going out to tell fellow Native people that hope has a name — and His name is Jesus.

Their plan is to visit 12 Native communities across North America with the Good News of the Gospel. So far, the team has gone to seven communities.

“These young men and women have already led hundreds of young Native people to Christ — many of them taking a public stand in environments where you just don’t choose Jesus — and they are.”

The Prince of Peace in a Violent Park

At one point this summer, the On Eagles’ Wings team split to cover more ground. Part of the team went to an urban Native area. This community is notorious for drug-use, shootings, and violence.

The epicenter of the violence and dealings is a park in the heart of the city. And that’s where the Native men and women with On Eagles’ Wings took the Gospel.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

Just across the street from this park lies a housing parking lot. The On Eagles’ Wings team gathered there to hold sporting events, play music, and get to know young people in the community. The whole time, they prayed fervently for protection and wisdom.

Not long after they arrived, Hutchcraft says they could sense the Holy Spirit’s presence. “What we were told, first of all, was that there was a supernatural peace that settled over the park and the housing area that people would say [they] never see…. The park was empty, and with our events right in that parking lot, we had all kinds of basketball things going on and a large crowd there and the local people stood there just amazed.

“There was a supernatural peace that was just great evidence of the presence of Christ. There were some difficult conversations because you get very hard in the city. It’s a survival skill to show no feelings and admit no feelings. Yet, all around this housing area parking lot, here are these young warriors, some of them pretty intimidated when we started…but still, with supernatural courage…they went out and began to have personal conversations with these young men and women.”

The fun activities continued throughout the week, and eventually On Eagles’ Wings team members began to publicly share their hope stories and how Jesus made the difference in their lives in front of the young people gathered.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“All of a sudden in this usually chaotic area, when those hope stories began, it was like a supernatural silence fell across the crowd,” says Hutchcraft.

A public invitation was extended for the local Native young people to accept Christ. In an urban Native community like this when vulnerability is considered a weakness, there is tremendous pressure to not accept Christ.

However, there is no denying that the people were starved for hope. “They came from every corner of that parking lot and it was led by the big basketball players, which are the most influential guys in the community. They were the first ones out to choose Jesus publicly. It was overwhelming.”

Hutchcraft shares, “The local leaders who have invested their lives in this community, the local Christians just melted down in tears and said, ‘This is a dream come true.’ One of them said, ‘You can’t imagine what it’s like to have every day another drug overdose, another shooting, another death, another tragedy, and then On Eagles’ Wings came with the hope of Jesus and brought His peace with them.’”

Meanwhile, the other half of the team was at another reservation, small and remote. This reservation has had 75 drug overdoses since 2016 and 15 drug overdose deaths.

“Again, there, one by one by one, they led many young people there to Christ. So it was twin victories! In just a couple of nights on two reservations simultaneously where the need, the brokenness, the danger even is greater than most of us will ever face, God is an awesome God and He shows how awesome He is by the changed lives of these walking miracles that I call the warriors.”

From Dealing Drugs to Receiving Grace

One of the most powerful stories with the team comes from the second Native community they visited this summer. A team member with the On Eagles’ Wings team shared his story and the Gospel. He then asked the crowd to join him in prayer if anyone wanted to begin a relationship with Jesus.

Afterward, the young man gave an invitation for anyone who prayed with him to come forward. He hadn’t even finished speaking before people started coming.

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

“The first one out, we see this late-20-something young man step out and he just stands there facing all the people. He didn’t care who knew that he was choosing Jesus…. We didn’t know who he was till later.”

Hutchcraft says they learned from one of the local Christian leaders that the first young man to step forward is Casey* — the local drug dealer.

“So here he is looking at his customers probably, saying, ‘I’m choosing Jesus tonight.’ He came up to the local leader of the team that invited us…and after he had been counseled, he came up and he just bear-hugged the local Christian leader and said tearfully, ‘This is amazing.’ Yeah, it is. It’s amazing grace is what it’s called.”

The Work Isn’t Over

We will tell you more about what is next for the On Eagles’ Wings team tomorrow. They still have five more Native communities to travel to and share the Good News.

For now, please pray for wisdom and strength as these young Native men and women continue their Gospel ministry.

If you would like to give in support of the On Eagles’ Wings team, click here!

*Name changed

Ron Hutchcraft with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says they have worked among Native American communities for 26 years. “We deal with suicide all the time in our ministry with Native Americans because what was happening nationally recently is just a tiny hint of the pain that they live with all the time in Native American communities.”

Among Native Americans, nearly everybody knows somebody who has taken their own life. This has resulted in what Hutchcraft calls “serial grieving”.

“My own daughter-in-law who is Native American [has] a brother and two nephews [who] have died by suicide,” says Hutchcraft. “This is one family.”

Over the course of 10 years, suicide rates among Native Americans were up by 65 percent — higher than any other demographic in the US. In a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides among Native women rose by 89 percent and men by 38 percent.

A Hopeful Response

There is a crisis of depression and hopelessness in Native America. It may seem too easy to say that the hope of Jesus is the answer. However, Jesus is not a trite response because following Jesus as a Native American isn’t easy. After 400 years of missions work in North America, only four percent of Native Americans know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

“Usually they will not hear [the Gospel] because they have believed Jesus is the white man’s God and there [are] a lot of things that happened in history in the name of Christianity that have made them feel that way.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

When it comes to reaching Native people with the Gospel, the best messengers are other Native Americans. Through On Eagles’ Wings, a ministry branch of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, a team of young Native American Christians will visit 12 Native communities this summer — and they’ll bring the hope of the Gospel with them.

“I have watched thousands of Native Americans come to Christ over the past years, and it isn’t me. I’m a little white guy on a bus praying for a team of Native Americans,” Hutchcraft says. “They have lived all of this hurt and violence and despair and depression and suicidal feelings and addiction and they have been to all the funerals of their friends…but now they have become incredible messengers of the hope of Christ.”

A Hopeful Transformation

As the On Eagles’ Wings team visits each Native community, they gather on the local basketball court to hold sports competitions, share food, give prizes, play music, and build relationships. Then at some point during the week, team members publicly share their hope stories with the young Native men and women gathered.

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

Hutchcraft says the response is amazing. “You could have an Eskimo team member 400 miles from a road up in remote Alaska go to a reservation 3,000 miles away and the stories will be the same. Wherever we go, the stories will be the same and will break your heart.

“Then they start to tell of a brown-skinned tribal man…named Jesus who has changed their life forever because of what He did on a cross for them and the fact that He conquered what no man could conquer when He conquered death.

“When they ultimately invite their generation of Native Americans to Christ, there are breakthroughs that, based on my reading of missions history, I think may be historic.”

The On Eagles’ Wings team will prepare to launch after the Warrior Leadership Summit during the first week of July. Right now, they desperately need prayers and financial support to make the trip possible. Click here to support a team member with On Eagles’ Wings!

“They can only go if they are sponsored by caring Christians…. If that’s on your heart, you want to know how to pray for them and how you can support them, go to HopeforNativeAmerica.com.”