Persecution produces a hero
Pastor Kumar* is a successful church planter and takes the Gospel into the darkest places. His evangelistic zeal attracted the ire of the anti-Christians in his area. In December, two new people started attending his church. They were spies. Soon they began to falsely accuse him, using the standard accusations that the Hindu community assumes.
They accused him of using bribery to persuade people to convert to Christ, and of feeding them beef. Since cows are considered holy to Hindus, such allegations quickly arouse wrath against the Christians.
Pastor Kumar’s district is a religiously sensitive place. There are 41 big temples in the main town alone. The people are zealous Hindus and even minor incidents lead to unrest and riots. The false testimonies against Pastor Kumar created rage in the Hindu leaders. On January 30, 2016, they kidnapped Pastor Kumar and conducted a Hindu religious ceremony including forcibly shaving half of his head. Thus they declared they had “converted” him to Hinduism. Then they put him on a donkey and paraded him through the streets mocking and jeering. Though they passed two police outposts, no police came to the pastor’s help because the police are typically on the side of the Hindu fanatics. So the mocking went on for four hours.
These believers endeavour to share the love of God with everyone they know, so that all may know Him. They want to reach the unreached and tell them about the person of Jesus. Despite being put in jail, or being beaten, or being outcasts, they are steadfast and secure in their Faith.
Finally, the police took Pastor Kumar to jail. After some time, the TellAsia’s leaders managed to get him out of jail and took him and his family to a place of safety for a few days of rest and mental recuperation. Even in the midst of persecution, Pastor Kumar was courageous and stayed strong in his faith.
Pastor Kumar is a great example of the many men and woman in India who face persecution every day for being followers of Christ. These believers endeavour to share the love of God with everyone they know, so that all may know Him. They want to reach the unreached and tell them about the person of Jesus. Despite being put in jail, or being beaten, or being outcasts, they are steadfast and secure in their Faith. They are heroes. Heroes of the Faith.
* Name has been changed