Locked Out and Beaten – but Persevering

Bimal and his family live in a house in a small village. One morning they packed a makeshift tent, sleeping mats, and a few cooking items and clothes. They then gathered the knives they had made to sell at the market. The family was travelling to a town 25 km away for two weeks, with the hope of profiting from more buyers at the larger town market.

Upon arriving in town, they set up their makeshift tent next to a small church.

A few days later, the pastor of the church approached Bimal’s family and invited them to the church for lunch. They were very poor, so the offer of a meal was a tremendous blessing. During lunch, the pastor shared the message of the gospel.

On Sunday, Bimal’s family attended the worship gathering and then returned the following week as well. Even after they had gone home to the village they decided to travel back to the town each Sunday for church. Bimal and his family believed and trusted in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life!

Not long after they were saved, the villagers discovered that Bimal had a Bible and confronted him about it. “Why do you have a Bible?”; “Don’t you know that we are Hindu?!” “You can’t have that Bible with you here!” Several villagers beat Bimal and his family – including his 7-year-old son, who needed medical treatment for his arm. The villagers went inside the house, took out all of their belongings, and locked the door so the family could not go back inside. They told Bimal that his family had to move out of the village. Through all of this, Bimal and his family refused to renounce their faith in the Lord Jesus.

The family made their way to the town with their basic belongings and told the pastor what had happened. The church welcomed the persecuted family in and told them they could live in the church for the time being. Other churches helped by providing food and basic necessities for Bimal’s family while they stayed at the church.

After some time, the pastor reached out to a mediator who traveled to the village to speak to the villagers. He negotiated an arrangement whereby Bimal and his family could return to live in the village peaceably. The conditions given were that no pastor or missionary could enter the village, and that Bimal and his family could not talk about their faith in Christ.

Bimal and his family have now been back in their village for about 1 year. Praise God that they have not renounced their faith in the Lord Jesus. They continue to travel to the town on a weekly basis for fellowship and worship with other believers.

Situations like this are becoming more common. One of our partners told us that he recently encountered a sign in a village which states, “No Christian pastor or missionary is permitted past this point!”

Pray for believers to stand strong in the face of opposition. Pray also for boldness and wisdom to know how to love and share the gospel with villagers who are becoming increasingly hostile to the gospel throughout India.