The TideĀ® reaches countless listeners in remote villages and populous countries on three continents. However, what overjoys the ministry is when just one person responds that The Tide gospel programming was truly inspiring. Such was the case for a listener in India, where we have produced radio programming for nearly four decades. She shared with us how the gospel message motivates her family to strengthen their relationship with Jesus.
āThis listener in India told us that the program āShanti Dataā brings peace and joy to her heart,ā said Director Don Shenk. āBefore that, her family did not experience true peace and happiness. Their lives are now abundantly blessed with Godās Word. This story illustrates why itās never too late to witness this kind of spiritual transformation, and our hearts rejoice when we hear from listeners who are impacted by Jesusā saving graceāone family at a time.ā
With a population of more than 1.3 billion, India has nearly 2,300 people groups. 2000-plus are still considered unreached by the gospel. Multiple religions are practiced throughout India, but Hinduism is the largest, with only about 2 percent identifying as Christian. That means there are still more than 1.2 billion people in India who donāt yet know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Since 1978, The Tide in India has grown from a single Hindi language broadcast to include radio programs in eight Indian languages, and plans include reaching more people groups in the future. These programs are produced in a Tide studio in India using indigenous ministers who can effectively communicate the message of Christ to their own people in the languages they were born to speak.
The Tide in India is complemented by activities including literature distribution, Bible correspondence courses, seekers conferences and discipleship seminars, and a radio distribution project called āRadios for India.ā This combination of ministry elements has proven to be extremely effective in changing lives throughout India and planting churches where believers can be nurtured in their faith and through which whole communities can be drawn into the Kingdom of God.