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Having both his church and home burned to the ground, Pastor Jegan is no stranger to persecution. Jegan is the Regional Coordinator of Kaluthura and overseer of the Vision 2000 ministry in Sri Lanka. He started evangelizing to the Singalees (people of Sri Lanka) after receiving a strong leading from the Holy Spirit. Shortly after he began his ministry, his church was set on fire for the first time by Buddhist monks and Singala extremists. In total his church has been burned four times. It wasn’t until January 13, 2010, that the attacks spread to his home. By the grace of God, Jegan’s wife and two children escaped unscathed by the attack. Even though the extremists are getting bolder, the pastor has no intentions of abandoning this ministry. Currently, his church has no building in which to meet or conduct a worship service. Though Pastor Jegan is “greatly discouraged by this incident,” he said that he will continue to serve the Lord here at any cost and will continue to follow the Lord’s leading for his life. The local police were unwilling to file a case or investigate the incidents. Please keep Pastor Jegan, his family and church members in your prayers.

To find out more about building a church in India or Sri Lanka through India Gospel League, click here or call the office at 888.352.4451.

By Rev. Samuel Stephens

We continue to experience the movement of the Holy Spirit in an unprecedented and amazing way in this nation. As the gospel is proclaimed and churches are planted, lives are touched and entire communities are being transformed. While this is gratifying in itself, the church in India now faces a bigger challenge of envisioning and shaping the future of a country that is becoming increasingly influential on the world stage.

One of the biggest challenges the Indian church faces is the low literacy level of the ever-increasing numbers of new believers. India currently has one of the largest illiteracy populations of any nation on Earth. In 2006, the literacy rate for adults in India was just higher than 60 percent.

Discipleship is hard enough, but adding the challenge of discipling someone who cannot read makes this close to impossible. Illiteracy forces the rapidly growing churches to be completely dependent upon paid clergy for spiritual survival. This situation has to change very soon.

India Gospel League remains sensitive to this challenge. Over the years, several measures have been taken to address the issue of literacy and to ensure that the church emerges as a strong and vibrant instrument of influence and an agent of transformation. Literacy is promoted through small group Bible studies, called New Life groups. In these groups new Christians are trained in the scriptures, learn about prayer and join together in worship. Adult literacy training is also made available so that believers can become self-sufficient in their study of the word. These groups are absolutely essential in combating the vast issue of illiteracy among Indian adults.

Written by: Dr. David Rice, from Aurangabad, Maharashtra

We just finished the two-day pastor’s conference in Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. It was a wonderfully spirited gathering of more than 250 pastors. I am always encouraged by these men. These men are taking the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard.

I spoke with one pastor who planted a church 11 years ago. During that period the Lord has used this faithful brother to baptize 7,000 new believers and plant an additional 22 churches. Twenty years ago you could hardly find anyone who was a believer, today three percent of the 80 million that live in this state are Christians.

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