India and Mission Voice Network
India is one of the least reached and most populated strongholds in the world. It is predominantly a Hindu nation (80%) with another 15% of its population Muslim. The country has been highly resistant to the gospel and is increasingly hostile to Christians. Open Doors lists India as the 10th most dangerous country in the world for Christians to live with “horrific levels of violence from Hindu extremists”. The percentage of Christians in India has fallen from 2.6% to 2.1% in the past 50 years.
This makes the impact of our partnership there mind-boggling. It is the most exciting thing we have ever seen in global missions.
Pastor Vijayan (an Indian pastor) visited New Life in 2013. At that time, he had organized a network of 75 Indian church planting pastors. His goal was 100. Seven years later, by the grace of God, Pastor Vijayan’s ministry has exploded into a network of 1200 pastors, with churches in over 4000 villages, proclaiming the gospel throughout southern India. It is revival like… incendiary. Not many start their testimony with the resurrection of their mom (see video below).
How we partner with MVN
We provide ongoing monthly support for Mission Voice Network and the church planting pastors it supports.
We print and mail MVN’s monthly newsletter for them.
We are looking to develop and manage the MVN website.
We regularly pray with and encourage church-planting pastors there.
We visit India annually to do the following:
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Lead a Pastors and Wives Training Conference: Every other year we lead training conferences for all of the 1200 church planting pastors. This is done in several regions to make the numbers manageable. We offer training for pastors and their wives and children.
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Open Air Evangelism Meetings: These meetings draw crowds of curious Hindus, often result in salvation and healing, validate their church-planting pastors, and push the battle lines of their ministry forward.
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Visiting Pastors: These pastors are on the front lines of ministry. They are persecuted, poor, and can feel alone. They pastor in a country that is a stronghold against Christianity. We visit to encourage, validate, bless, promote, and pray for the pastors. We often bring gifts of rice.
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Child Development Centers: These centers are filled with Hindu children who come for educational purposes. Our visits validate the gospel, encourage the leaders, often result in salvation and healing, and because we also serve a meal to the children and the poor of the town, lift the standing of the pastor and the church.
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Village Churches: Churches often ask us to come lead services for young believers who are considering a calling to the ministry, for encouraging marriages, for building up leaders, or to pray over the needy.