Aarav Ministering at House Church
In one area of our village, there are radical Hindus and on the other side, militant Communists. After graduating from the Church Planting School, the Lord placed me in a remote tribal village where there is a lot of fear and turmoil. The nearby dense forest is ideal for the communist militants to hide and do their violent operations.
The militants demand resources from the rich, and they frequently search to gain and take public wealth. They will enter into established businesses and forcefully demand properties, money, and government securities. They also oppress poor tribal villagers, and many are killed.
In our remote village, fear of death is very common. We live among the thick trees. On one side of us are the government police officers and, on the other, the communist militants. Each side keeps its eyes on the villagers caught in the middle.
Sometimes the sound of gunfighting is so close, it feels life threatening. In the midst of trauma, many village people lose hope and expect imminent death. COVID-19 has made the situation worse with militants struggling to find more resources.
The chickens and animals in the village provide income to the tribal village people, but the militants steal from them. Often the militants are given misinformation about the relationship with the government police, so Christians are especially targeted.
At great risk, tribal believers continue to live in this area and meet in house churches. These believers worship Jesus secretly. Still, the joy and the assurance of the future is amazing. They are robbed and deprived of their daily survival needs, yet they love their enemies and consider everything lost for Jesus’ sake.
It is glorious how the tribal believers in the jungle practice discipleship and praise the Lord. There, amidst the chaos, Jesus has begun a great work in 10 nearby villages already. Church planters are courageously moving forward as feeling called by God into these unreached villages.
Aarav’s story represents the growing movement of church planters advancing God’s Word in India. There are now over 4,800 trained church planters from this network.
If you would like to support global church planters or provide a bicycle that would empower a church planter to reach more people for Christ, click the button below. Please pray for church planters in India who serve quietly in rough places who traverse through dense forests for the sake of the gospel. These church planters are bringing peace in the midst of upheaval.
