CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.—Despite “extreme” levels of persecution for India’s 66 million Christians, people are hungry for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Tide® (www.thetide.org) global radio ministry has worked in India for more than four decades—since 1978—and reaches listeners in a variety of ways besides radio programming in eight Indian languages.
One method, said The Tide Director Don Shenk, is through successful and long-running Seekers Meetings, where people in India can gather to learn more about Christ.
“For many years, Seekers Meetings have served as a way for The Tide partners to get up and close and personal with potential believers in India,” Shenk said. “Many are curious, but at the same time, hesitant. The largely Hindu nation can be a challenging place for Christians to live, work and worship. Still, those interested in meeting Jesus continue to gather, with many making the decision to call Him their Personal Savior.”
To close out 2019, eight Seekers Meetings led by The Tide partners in the Chhattisgarh and Odisha states reached over 200 potential new believers. Of those, many invited Christ into their lives and were also baptized to mark this new birth.
“After the completion of the Seekers Meetings, we are regularly doing the follow-up work with them through our local workers, so that they would grow spiritually in the Lord,” reported one partner. “We hope and pray that more numbers of believers will be joining our local fellowship.”
Basudev is a listener to the ‘Marsal Dahar’ radio program in the Santali language.
“I am writing to you for the first time from Rayagada,” Basudev shared. “I have learned many things about the life of Jesus Christ. Now there is a desire in my heart to know more about the true and living God.”
Another listener, Ragendra, hears the Gospel through the Hindi language broadcast called “Aap Ke Liye.”
“For the last six months, I have been listening to program with great interest,” he said. “It has taught me many good things and also has shown me the right path. Now I have peace and joy in my heart, and I am much more eager to read … the Bible.”
For more than seven decades, The Tide ministry has recorded and broadcasted Gospel programming in eight countries on three continents in 25 heart languages spoken by millions of people in multiple regions of Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand and Zimbabwe. With more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide and more than 2,000 people groups that have been unreached by the Good News of Jesus, the opportunities are tremendous.
For more information about The Tide broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, special yearlong campaigns, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its website at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page. Read more about The Tide ministry and Director Don Shenk here.
To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide global radio ministry, contactMedia@HamiltonStrategies.com, Jeff Tolson, 610.584.1096, ext. 108, or ext. 102.