A new light is dawning in a corner of Asia where spiritual darkness is great.
...Native evangelists in northern India, Nepal, and Bhutan are starting churches in the Hindu- and Buddhist-dominated region, ministries there reported.
..."Jesus is building His church" through the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of indigenous missionaries, Guine Anderson of Hong Kong-based Sowers Ministry said. Sowers trains and helps support native missionaries working in the region.
...Sowers missionaries have started 106 churches in central and northern India in the past several years, Anderson said. In spite of economic hardship, severe persecution, and the murder of some Christian workers the missionaries continue to bring the message of Christ to tribal groups that have little or no Christian presence.
...Churches are growing among the Kurku people, a tribe of about 400,000 living in central India, Anderson said. Six new churches have been started and many of the tribesman have been trained to do evangelism and church planting since 1996, he said.
...Supernatural displays of God's power are a key factor, Anderson said. Kurku people transport their sick on ox carts to one village church and "as they're prayed for, God heals them instantly," Anderson said. "The next week they return with another cart of sick and demon-possessed people." Several villages are now open to the gospel message because they have seen friends and relatives made well, he said.
...Young people are trained to preach and start new churches. More than 125 have been trained in India and 99 Christians from the Himalayan region have been trained at a center in Nepal, Anderson said. The Himalayan evangelists have started several church-planting initiatives in their region.
...Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom, forbids evangelism. Churches are allowed to worship and talk about Jesus, but asking someone to change their faith carries a mandatory three-and-a-half year sentence, according to news reports. Baptizing a person into the Christian faith carries a seven-and-a-half-year sentence.
...Christianity is growing despite the obstacles. There are more than 200,000 Nepalese Christians, up from 50,000 in 1991, a Nepalese pastor said. Native workers are having success among tribal people in Nepal, Charlottesville, Va.-based Christian Aid Mission, a ministry that helps meet the needs of indigenous evangelists, reported.
...A village church grew from 24 to 334 in a few years, a Christian leader there told Christian Aid. As in India, many people become followers of Christ after being cured of physical and spiritual ailments through prayer. "The Lord meets them where they are and demonstrates His power. This is bringing more people" into churches, the leader said.
...A Christian worker from Kathmandu rode a bus, then walked for seven days to reach a village that had no church, Christian Aid reported. He lived among the people for four months and saw 65 make professions of faith in Christ and start a church, the ministry said. Another Christian worker was arrested and beaten by police, but continued to minister and 42 families in his village have become Christians.
..."Christianity is alive and well in Bhutan," Anderson said. There is relative freedom to worship and many people are open to the gospel message. Often Buddhists who attend church services to be entertained or to spy on the Christians become followers of Christ, he said. A church in the Thimphu, the capital, has grown from 200 to more than 500 people in recent years, he said.
