Last month, village leaders in Penkodo, located in India’s Chhattisgarh state, passed a new resolution that specifically condemned Christianity under the guise of protecting local customs and culture.
When local Christians were not participating in traditional Adivasi festivals, village leaders became angry and asked these believers to stop practicing their faith—but the Christians refused. In response, Persecution.org reported, the leaders drafted an April 13 ordinance claiming Christianity was harming local traditions and declaring that the “local church should be destroyed and that all Christians should be driven out of the village.”
These are the acts of persecution Christians face in India, where The Tide® (www.thetide.org) global radio ministry has reached listeners with the hope of the Gospel for more than 40 years.
“Besides our reach here in the U.S. that began in 1946, India was the first global location touched by our heart language radio broadcasts,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk. “The precious people of India face challenges and even dangers for believing in, worshipping and loving Jesus—situations that we in America will never know. Over four decades, The Tide ministry has introduced nine radio programs in eight different languages in India, and our listeners repeatedly ask for longer programs that air more often. Praise the Lord for this evidence that He is working in their lives!”
These listeners regularly report to The Tide ministry about their life-change, such as Sakal, who listens to the “Aap Ke Liye” program in his Hindi language from the Bihar state in India.
“I come from a non-Christian family,” Sakal said. “Once I went to another village and there at my friend’s house, I heard the radio message about Jesus Christ for the first time in Hindi. For the last several months, I have been listening to the radio program ‘Aap Ke Liye’ with great interest. I learned that Jesus Christ, after His death, was raised from the dead. He is (the) living God. Now I believe in the Lord Jesus and request you to send me some literature to know more about Christ.”
Gouri also listens to the “Shanti Data” program in the Odia language from her home in Jagatsinghpur, Odisha.
“I like this program and listen every week,” Gouri wrote. “I receive peace and joy in my heart as I listen to the word of God. When I feel lonely and discouraged, your radio message gives me spiritual strength and courage. ‘Shanti Data’ radio program has changed my life.”