Strategic partnerships in India
By Rob Carter
“It was eight in the evening and the temperature was still around 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celcius). We made our way in the dark down a narrow, rocky path between the small, dusty houses to the believer’s home. A small group of Indians sat crosslegged on the concrete terrace. They were excited at receiving Viv Penfold and I – their first ever Western visitors.
Ten years ago there were no Christians amongst the Netakani Tribe in the village of Madaram. That was until Pastor Sudharshan-Joseph started to reach out to the idol-worshipping Hindu people in that remote location. At that time he earned a modest living by repairing radios. He and the first believers endured constant mockery and disruption and were physically beaten on a number of occasions.
Now there is a group of thirty strong believers meeting in the village, drawn from a total of 130 families in the area. Sudharshan-Joseph is one of 280 leaders who have benefited from the training that Missionary Ventures has helped to provide in the state of Andra Pradesh over the last twelve years. He pastors the mother church in Bellampalli with 150 believers, but more importantly, he has discipled twenty other men and sent them out to plant churches in the wider Adilabad District.
We met one of those men named Pastor Jayaraja. As a teenager, he came into contact with Sudharshan-Joseph and chose to follow Christ. His family immediately disowned him and pressured him to convert back to Hinduism. He reluctantly went to the local railway station to travel the hundreds of miles back home. Sudharshan-Joseph and his wife Camilla-Grace heard of his plan and ran to the railway station to talk to him. In the months following, they counselled and prayed with him. They eventually adopted him and helped him with his education. Jayaraj was discipled by Sudharshan and his goal was to become “just like Pastor Joseph”. He soon felt the call of God on his life to be a church planter himself. He now lives in Asifabad where he has a church of 40 families and is reaching out into surrounding villages.
These faithful, sacrificial leaders are having a real impact among little reached tribal groups and Missionary Ventures is privileged to be part of their story.”