The witness of Christ prevails among Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists.
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Bible correspondence literature used in Nepal |
South Asia-—the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, with strong Muslim elements-—is seeing the witness of Christ being spread and strengthened among its nations. The witness of indigenous messengers is key.
Many Indians believe that the apostle Thomas came to southern India in the first century. Indeed, there is evidence to support such claims, including church sites that date to ancient times and his alleged grave outside Madras.
Early Christianity came under the patronage of kings and ministers of high-caste Hindus and eventually differed little from Hinduism, lacking real life or zeal. By the time India had gained her independence from Britain in 1947, Christians composed only 2% of the population.
Following independence, many foreign missionaries found that their visas were not renewed, though some remained under certain circumstances. Under the foreigners, local believers had very little leadership responsibility. Once the foreigners left, Indian Christians picked up the mantle of leadership and began taking the gospel to their countrymen with vigor.
Many followed in the tradition of Sadhu Sundar Singh, the son of a Sikh nobleman who forsook all to follow Christ. In the first part of the 20th century he wandered barefoot over the mountains to preach the gospel to inhabitants of Nepal and Tibet. Following that model, P.J. Thomas in Kerala began training itinerant preachers and started the first women’s Bible training center in India.
P.M. Thomas, another Keralite, went to Kashmir in 1963 and began a ministry among Muslims and Hindus. That movement continues today with 260 national missionaries serving among Himalaya nations. In addition, it spawned a dozen other organizations, large and small, that have nearly 3000 missionaries on the field.
Bakht Singh found Christ in Canada and returned to start a discipleship movement in India in 1933 that resulted in the birth of thousands of assemblies. The witness spread to Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.
Others too numerous to name started great works of God. Many of these began Bible colleges or missionary training centers, and a fleet of suwarthiks— native barefoot preachers—began going to India’s 600,000 villages. By 2000 evangelical Christians composed 5% of India’s population, according to David Barrett’s World Christian Encyclopedia.