India
Hundreds of millions of Indian people are being held in the iron grip of deeply ingrained religions and philosophical worldviews.
Persecution in India is rapidly on the rise.
As mentioned in the March 2024 Easter Situation Report the Government in Assam has come out to strongly oppose praying for the sick in the name of Jesus and has enacted a new bill to restrict Christian prayers for supernatural healing, criminalizing such practices.
Watch the video HERE of the press conference with the Chief Minister of Assam.
Participation in endless religious rituals and customs has left the people of India weary and unfulfilled. As a result, when the Gospel is presented appropriately and the invitation is extended for an individual to meet a personal, loving God, the people respond wholeheartedly.
Prior to British rule, the Indian subcontinent (current day Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan), contained more than 500 distinct kingdoms. Today, although India is a single political nation, it more accurately consists of thousands of distinct people groups with their own unique cultures, languages, religions, values, and perspectives on life. Indian society is divided into a ranking system called castes. A person’s caste is decided by birth and cannot be changed. Higher castes are religious leaders, soldiers, and landowners. The lowest caste is the Dalits, once known as the untouchables.
Of all the countries in the world, India stands out as the nation with the greatest potential for a spiritual awakening. This is because throughout India’s history, religion has consistently held pre-eminent importance in the lives of its citizens. Today, India is an overwhelmingly Hindu nation with 80 percent of its population, or about 800 million people, adhering to this ancient faith. Muslims make up over 13 percent of the population (the third largest Muslim population in the world), with Christians comprising an estimated 5% percent.
Oppression, leading to persecution of Christians in India is increasing and intensifying. Believers suffer at the hands of the government, extremist groups, neighbors, and even family members. Pastors are imprisoned in some areas for “enticing” people to convert to Christianity.
- Official Name
- Republic of India
- Form Of Government
- Federal Republic
- Population
- 1,433,519,399 (2023)
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Official Languages
- Hindi, English, 21 others
- Major Religions
- Hindu, Islam, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jains, and a variety of folk religions.
Empower’s Response
National Church Planter Support ($100/family/month)
Indigenous pastors and church planters, reaching out to the unreached villages in India, exist on very little income. They sacrifice many comforts in this life, in order to extend God’s Kingdom in India and lead their people to Jesus. This vital monthly support provides food, housing, clothing, and some transportation money for a church planting family. This enables them to have their basic needs supplied while taking the Gospel to new areas and planting churches.
Give to National Church Planter SupportMini Crusades ($100/event)
These three to five day evangelistic outreaches are held in unreached villages or among unreached people groups. Anywhere from 100 to 300 people attend evening meetings where the Gospel message is presented in a culturally relevant way through music and preaching. During the day, in-depth Bible classes are available for active seekers. At each event, between 20 and 80 attendees make a commitment to Christ and are baptized. Each new believer receives discipleship and training in the Word of God, as well as being established in a newly created congregation of believers with a trained young pastor taking leadership.
The cost to hold a Mini Crusade is only $100 and these funds provide for a trained evangelist/church planter, transportation for a musical team, a sound system, and evangelistic and discipleship books to reach a village for Christ.
Give to Mini CrusadesPastoral Training ($10/ Pastor)
Ongoing biblical training of pastors and spiritual leaders is essential to ensure the ongoing health of the Church throughout India. These three to five day training conferences provide pastors with the opportunity to continue their studies and have essential times of fellowship with other pastors who share their experiences.
Up to 100 pastors attend each conference. The cost of one pastor per day is $10 and provides the pastor with food and study materials. The pastor pays for his own transportation to get to the event.
Give to Pastoral TrainingMotorcycles ($1000)
Church planters and pastors often live in remote, rural areas of India. If they must travel by foot to preach the gospel or meet with seekers and believers, covering any amount of territory becomes very time-consuming. By providing a pastor who has multiple congregations in various villages with a motorcycle, it is possible to greatly multiply the effectiveness of their ministry and lead more people to Christ. This motorcycle also provides a means of transportation for the pastor and his family, which proves to be an additional large blessing to these dedicated servants of God.
Give to MotorcyclesOrphan Support ($35/Month)
A large segment of the Indian population is considered to be "The Forgotten Ones." These are the orphans of the country. A national ministry that Empower partners with has opened orphanages in many locations to take care of these helpless children. As believers care for these young ones, their lives are massively impacted while on earth and for eternity.
$35 per month provides a safe home in the orphanage, along with food, clothing, and Christian education.
Give to Orphan SupportJesus Festivals
There is a remarkable and ongoing outpouring of the Holy Spirit that shows no signs of slowing down, as massive numbers of people are turning to Jesus. It is truly a historic event!
The impact of this movement is evident through the record-breaking number of water baptisms and the establishment of new churches in villages and towns across the central and northern regions. Individuals are experiencing a personal connection with a loving God who understands their needs. This revival of believers and the significant influx of new souls is a result of the Holy Spirit's power at work.
Due to this swelling tide of believers, Jesus Festivals have become a common occurrence, drawing in crowds ranging from 1,000 to 5,000+ attendees over the course of three days.
Give to Jesus FestivalsOther Countries We Work In
Empower Ministries operates all over the world — from Canada to Burma, from Israel to India, and beyond. We believe there has never been a better time to equip people to share the Gospel.
