Christians Beaten by Militants

14 November 2007

Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, India On the morning of November 4, six Christians, including Pastor Vishnu Barad and his wife, were beaten by Hindu militants in the Thane district of Maharastra. The believers were reportedly targeted for attending prayer meetings in the area. Pastor Barad was detained when he went to the local police station to register a complaint against the militants.

On November 10, a group of approximately fifty Hindu militants attacked Pastor P.C. Nayak of the Believers Church in the city of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, local villagers called Pastor Nayak to a meeting regarding the construction of a church building. When he arrived at the construction site the militants beat him. He was hospitalized with internal injuries.

Pray that Pastor Barad will be released. Pray for healing for those injured in these attacks. Pray that Christians in India will maintain the attitude of Christ and respond to their persecutors with love and grace (Matthew 5:43-44).

For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, go to the India Country Report.

India

India Information

Current Ministry Projects
VOMC assists persecuted Christians with legal support and rehabilitation assistance, and cares for children of martyrs by providing them with a safe place to be nurtured physical and spiritually. VOMC also partners to equip Christians in India with Biblical training and works to strengthen and support marginalized and persecuted Christian women. Additionally, VOMC helps to provide medical assistance to believers who have faced injuries after being attacked.”

Project Funds: Families of Martyrs, Equipping the Saints, Legal Defense, Relief and Development, Women’s Ministry, Medical Fund
Country Information
Population
1,399,179,585 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Indo-Aryan (72), Dravidian (25), other (3)

Religion (%)
Hinduism (79.8), Muslim (14.2), Christianity (2.3), Sikh (1.7), other (2)

Leader
President Droupadi Murmu (2022)

Government type
Federal parliamentary republic

Legal system
Based on English common law; separate personal law codes apply to Christians, Hindus and Muslims.

Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for India
Despite the intimidation and violence that have taken place in many of India's states, may Christians wisely yet unashamedly preach the Gospel. Pray that indigenous Christians and foreign missionaries will minister in ways that do not hint at fraudulent conversions, unmasking the intentions behind the anti-conversion legislation. Intercede for India's leaders, that they may reign with justice and righteousness.

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