by Joe R. Price
Synopsis: While many consider India to have a very spiritual culture and go there in search of enlightenment, Joe reminds us that inhabitants of the sub-continent need the light of the gospel to remove the darkness of unbelief.
Annual preaching trips to India since 2006 have repeatedly impressed me with the enormity of the need for the gospel on the sub-continent of Asia. With 1.35 billion souls,1 India's population comprises more than 17.5% of the world's total population of 7.6 billion.2 Put another way, one out of six people on earth are Indians. That is an astounding number for a country with a land mass slightly more than one-third that of the United States.3 Indeed, the whole world needs the gospel, all 7.6 billion souls, and we rejoice over, and pray for, all the gospel work around the world. It continues to be a personal blessing to preach the gospel to saints and sinners in the country that hangs in the shadow of the Himalayas.
India excites thoughts of exotic places filled with wonder. Its culture is undoubtedly different from western norms. Since 2002, India's Ministry of Tourism has promoted India under the banner, "Incredible India."4 For Christians, an even more incredible thing about India emerges—the number of lost souls there (Mark 16:15; Acts 16:9-10).
India has been a Hindu nation for about 4,000 years. In 2017, 79% of Indians were reportedly Hindu.5 (Muslims account for about 15% of the population,6 and "Christians"—in the widest use of the term—about 2.5%.7 New Testament Christians are a very small subset of that figure.) A synthesis of Indian culture and tradition, Hinduism is thoroughly idolatrous, with millions of gods and variations thereof. Shrines and temples to the gods are as common in India as our local convenience stores. Like Paul in Athens, one's spirit is stirred to see an entire nation "given over to idols" (Acts 17:16). Paul's sermon, The Unknown God, is an important text to know and teach in India (Acts 17:22-34). (For more on Hinduism, see "Hinduism" by Mark Mayberry.8)
Along with the great need for the gospel, millions and millions of Indians are impoverished physically. In 2013, the median income of India was about $600 per month.9 The brethren I know and with whom I work live in villages and small towns, generally subsisting on far less (more like $150-200 per month, if that much). Many gospel preachers work without any regular support. I know of poor churches that can only supply the preacher 500 rupees a month (at an exchange rate of sixty-eight rupees/dollar, that's $7.35). Currently, $150-200/month adequately satisfies the basic needs for a village or small-town preacher and his family (the government provides rice, the basic food commodity, to low-income citizens).
India's pro-Hindu government is making it more difficult for non-Hindus to exercise their faith. For example, a church that I visited in January 2018 is facing trouble from local citizens because they meet in a private home. The Christians are being told that, if they want to worship, they should go to the church (building) in the community. (The village church is denominational.) Such pressures challenge the brethren's faith to remain true in worship and faithful to the Lord.
Although the Indian constitution officially banned the caste system in 1950, it remains etched into the psyche of a people whose social interactions have been shaped by it for millennia.10 Indian Christians are not immune to the biases that exist within their villages and the greater Indian community. Teaching the impartiality of the gospel is an important theme to preach in India (Gal. 3:26-29; Jas. 2:1-13).
A fundamental need for Bibles continues to exist among the churches. A Telugu language Bible costs between $2-3. Requests for Bibles remain constant from brethren with whom I labor on a regular basis.
The mindset and practice of institutional liberalism among churches of Christ is a prevailing challenge of the work in India. In the 1960's J. C. Bailey, J. C. Choate and others brought the gospel to India, and many churches of Christ were formed. They also brought the human innovations of church centralization, church-supported human institutions, and the use of directors (Indian preachers who oversee, arrange and facilitate the operation and support of institutions and preachers). Institutional churches of Christ in America still fund several preacher-training schools and other evangelistic missions in India. Some preachers who attended these schools began to see abuses and started asking questions. Over the past 15-20 years, significant inroads have been made in south India against the errors of liberalism in churches of Christ. This is made possible by the firm, clear, and consistent teaching on how to establish and apply Bible authority, making relevant applications to the work and organization of local churches in India, including fellowship. The preachers who attend our classes for the first time have never heard Bible teaching on these subjects. Over the past twelve years, working first with Bobby Holmes and then others (including Mark Mayberry, Marc Smith, Steve Wallace, LeRoy Klice, and Dan Torres), we have taught about 500 preachers and given away thousands of Telugu language Bibles. Many of these preachers have left liberalism and now preach God's pattern for the church.
A base of brethren exists in south India (states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) who have renounced the tenets of institutional liberalism. On every trip, new contacts and class opportunities are being made to teach others who have never heard God's word on these matters. Other American preachers (such as John Humphries, who started working in India in the 1970's) are doing similar work with similar results. We are thankful for the opportunity of watering where others have planted, knowing that God gives the increase and is due all the honor (1 Cor. 3:5-7).
In addition to week-long preacher classes that concentrate on Bible authority and related topics, we visit and preach for village churches in the evenings (up to three a night). To be with these Christians who are poor in possessions but rich in faith is a great encouragement. It is important to teach preacher classes, and it is also important to visit the churches to have firsthand contact with the brethren. Few churches we know of have elders. Most of the churches have more women members than men. Their spiritual development continues to be needed and is always a part of our work (Col. 2:6-7; Eph. 4:11-16).
The internet has made the world much smaller. More and more American brethren are receiving requests from Indian preachers for financial support and benevolent relief. Some also ask for help in constructing church buildings. In my view, and with few exceptions, the need for preacher support, Bibles, and benevolence far exceeds the urgency for church buildings.
We desire to see every worthy Indian preacher supported, for "the laborer is worthy of his wages" (Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:14). Still, we advise care when considering these requests. Verify the need and the faithfulness of the preacher. Ask for personal references who can vouch for his situation and his work (men who go to India to preach can help). A few Indian preachers have been known to troll the internet looking for sympathetic donors. Some of them ask preachers whom they do not know to come to India and preach. (Our experience has been that such requests are usually attempts to find financial support.) The need for preaching throughout India is real, and we wish to encourage it. I advise preachers considering a trip to India to talk with someone who has worked there before committing themselves to go, sight unseen.
Sound gospel preachers are needed in India (2 Tim. 4:1-5). Preachers and their families who are willing and able to move there are unquestionably needed. So much more work is required than can be fully addressed in month-long trips once or twice a year. Still, we do what we can with the opportunities before us. Every trip brings new opportunities to preach in new areas (Rom. 15:20). We encourage faithful men who are interested and able to enter this field of work to do so. The fields are white for harvest (John 4:34-38). May we model ourselves after Jesus when He saw the multitudes:
He was moved with compassion for them. . . Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:36-38).
indiaonlinepages.com. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
worldometers.info. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
nationmaster.com. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
Incredible India Tourism. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
indiaonlinepages.com. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
Ibid. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
Mayberry, Mark. "Hinduism." Truth Magazine Online. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
"India's median per capita income lowest among BRICS: Gallup." business-standard.com. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
"India's caste system: Outlawed, but still omnipresent." CNN. February 23, 2016. Accessed July 30, 2018. Go here.
Author Bio: Joe has worked with the Mt. Baker church of Christ in Bellingham, WA for 22 years. He and his wife, Debbie, have four children. His Bible study website is bibleanswer.com. He can be reached at joerprice@mail.com.
