Last month, over 5,000 people gathered in Seoul for the Fourth Lausanne Congress. One of the themes that was covered was “God’s Mission Amidst Challenge and Adversity.” Contributing to this theme, Dr. Babu Verghese blessed us here at The Tide with an update on what is happening on one of our largest fields, India.
Dr. Verghese is a journalist, historian, linguist, and author of 27 books, living and working out of India.
Noting that India has a history of Christianity dating back thousands of years to the Apostle Thomas, Dr. Verghese shared that currently, Indian Christians are facing the most extreme levels persecution that has ever occurred in the country. He shared several individual accounts of persecution that occurred in 2024, where extremists attacked innocent Christians while they were gathering for prayer and worship. Homes were destroyed, some were severely wounded and some even lost their lives. There was no justice from the authorities, who deemed these attacks to be domestic disputes and did not prosecute the attackers. On average, five brutal attacks against Christians happen every day in India.
Dr. Verghese then discussed an extremely strict anti-conversion law, enacted in Uttar Pradesh in August 2024, which made it illegal to distribute Bibles or share the gospel. These actions can now lead to up to 20 years imprisonment and large fines. The law puts the burden of proof on the accused, who can languish for indefinite periods of time in detention. Similar anti-conversion laws have been enacted in several provinces in India.
It is encouraging that the increased persecution of Christians in India was under the spotlight in perhaps the pre-eminent global gathering of Christians. India has been on our prayers this year and we have highlighted the country’s strategic placement in the heart of the mission field as well as the persecution of Christians there.
Dr. Verghese ended with a word of encouragement. We serve a God who is not silent. Despite this persecution, Christians are not denying the Lord and some even view persecution as an opportunity to share the Gospel. An anonymous brother shared with Dr. Verghese that persecution was a way to bear our crosses and partake in the sufferings of Christ. As Dr. Verghese succinctly summarized, persecution fans the flame of the Gospel.
Praise the Lord! Even as advocates work hard to shed light on persecution, may there be massive movements to Christ in India in the midst of the fire.