Pastor Paul and other pastors freed ... but in hospital and still needing prayer

Our amazing Lord has done it again! Pastor Paul reports from his hospital bed they are all recovering, and thanks everyone for their prayers. He cites Philippians 1:21-24, and will write more later when he is able. Hallelujah!

Please keep up the prayers since all were extremely seriously injured and will need lots of recovery time.

As a reminder, the Apostle Paul wrote the following—from prison—in the verses Pastor Paul refers to:

“For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.  If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better;  but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”

The original story on the attc capture: URGENT prayer needed for Pastor Paul and team

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URGENT prayer needed for Pastor Paul and team

Pastor Paul traveled early last week with a small team to a remote area in North India and now, with two other pastors, is in extremely serious danger. A mob of Hindu RSS militants burst in during a gospel meeting, brutally beat them and now hold them captive. (The RSS, a violent right-wing organization closely affiliated with the Indian government, promotes Hindu supremacy.)

Those witnessing the attack say Pastor Paul, along with Bibles for Mideast junior pastors Abishek* and Nasar*, have been very seriously injured. They watched in horror as Pastor Paul, his clothes torn, left a trail of blood across the road as they dragged him and the others away.

All we know at this point is that they remain locked in a room in the area, likely without food. No one is allowed near them. They had been ministering among the locals in the Keonjhar District of Odisha, not far from where Australian missionary Graham Stains and his children were burned alive by militant Hindus two decades ago.

Map of India showing Keonjhar District of Odisha

Pastor Peter Haneef and others have complained to police, but local Hindus had already lodged a complaint about the pastors’ attempting to convert people and ‘innocent children’ to Christianity. In increasingly radically Hindu India, converting others is a crime with serious consequences. So police are on the side of the RSS. And too often, RSS and others’ form of ‘vigilante justice’ means torture and death.

Obviously our only help here is from on high. Please join with us in praying our Almighty God releases ALL the heavenly back-up needed to protect and save the men. All our church members are praying and fasting to this end. Don’t forget to pray for the captors as well.

Please keep up your prayers for them, and we will keep you posted.

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* Names changed for the safety of the young pastors and their families

International Christian Concern published a story last year on the findings of the Indian branch of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF): Over 200 reported incidents of anti-Christian violence in India in 2019 (but there are many, many more unreported).

Looking for the perfect church? Look no further!

I was looking for the perfect church, so I decided to contact the Apostle Paul and ask a few questions. There’s no one better than him to help me find a perfect church, right? He founded several and knows them very well, after all. Here’s a transcript of our exchange. 

😊 Hello! Is this, Paul, the apostle?

👉 Yes, this is him.

😊 May the peace of Christ be with you! 

👉 And with you!

😏 Sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but I would really appreciate your advice. I've been so disappointed with the church I’ve been going to for several years. I was wondering about the church in Corinth. Might it be the perfect church?

👉 I did have high hopes for that one. Unfortunately they haven’t gotten very far along in their walk … still acting too much like selfish unbelieving children (1 Cor. 3:1-5), putting one another down and forming cliques (1 Cor. 1:11-13). Some have even taken to filing lawsuits against each other (1 Cor. 6:1-2, 4-5)! Even worse, the word is there has been some of the worst kind of sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1).

😲 Goodness gracious! How about the church in Ephesus? 

👉 Well, I spent a lot of time with them and they absorbed the teaching well. So the people have been well-grounded in God’s word (Acts 20:25-28). They’ve worked hard and endured huge trials. Strange thing is though, they’ve lost their first love … and abandoned the loving service they’d been doing for others. I’m confident they’ll be fine once they get around to repenting (Rev. 2:1-5)!

😶 Yikes. I’ll probably go to the church in Thessalonians then.

👉 A mostly good bunch. In spite of all we showed and taught them, however, some are refusing to go out and earn their own keep. I’ve sent them a letter so we’ll see how that goes (2 Thess. 3:10-12). I’m sure they’ll come around.

😳 Maybe I’ll pass on them for now, at least. How about the church in Philippi?

👉 That’s a wonderful, loving church! We’re having some problems with two sisters there right now, Euodia and Syntyche, who’ve got some kind of feud going on but I’m trusting they’ll get it all worked out (Phil. 4:1-3).

😕 I see. So maybe I'll move to the church in Colossi.

👉 Well, you know what? Some judgmental types and a few heretics are causing confusion there too. And another group has decided it’s okay to worship angels (Col. 2:16-19)!

😲 What?!?  How about the church in Galatia then?

👉 Ah, some Galatian believers have taken to viciously criticizing each other over who-knows-what (Gal. 5:15).

😳 Sheesh, I had no idea it was so hard to find the perfect church!

👉 You better believe it. I was talking to the Apostle John a while back and asked him how the church in Thyatira is doing. He said they’d been doing so well, but for reasons we can’t figure out, have been tolerating an adulterous woman who even calls herself a prophet. With her crazy, evil teachings she has led many into sexual immorality and other terrible things (Rev. 2:19-22).

👉 Oh, and he also told me that in Laodicea, church members have lapsed into lazy lukewarmness, letting pride and arrogance guide them instead of love and self-sacrifice (Rev. 3:16-18). Even over in Pergamum—generally a great bunch of believers—some have been led astray by pretty weird doctrines and beliefs (Rev. 2:13-15).

😶 You know, Paul, I thought for awhile I’d try the church in Antioch … but I heard you even had problems with Peter there? That he’d been hypocritical in his treatment of the Jewish and non-Jewish believers? Is that really true?

👉 Yes, sadly so. Hoping and praying I got through to him, and to them. I really got in his face about that (Gal. 2:11-13) … rather embarrassing for us.

😓 Wow. Well, my final wonder is about the ‘mother church’ in Jerusalem. Please tell me it’s not true what I heard about them? Like that a couple lied and died for it??

👉 Yes, unfortunately that did happen (Acts 5:1-10). A strong hard lesson for us all.

😵 Hey, I’m feeling pretty alone and lost here, Paul. Where the heck should I go? 

👉 May I humbly suggest you begin right where you are. Have a sober, clear-eyed look at yourself, friend. Remember our Lord’s teaching on pulling out the plank obstructing our own view before we start looking around and thinking we can deal with a speck, or possibly more, that may be affecting someone else’s (Matt. 7:3-5).

👉 And something just as important: stop constantly criticizing church leaders and your other brothers and sisters of faith. Put an end to spreading unnecessary negative comments about others' conduct and begin to cooperate with your fellow Christians! We’re all part of the same family and we’re supposed to all be in this together. It’s only as we join forces, using our giftings for the building up of others and the church that we can even begin to taste the fullness promised in Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). And realize perfection is possible ONLY in Christ, and we all have a long way to go. Please friend, try to start seeing people through God's eyes. Ask God to help you do this and He will.

👉 Oh, and one more thing. Let’s suppose by some great miracle you do find the ‘perfect church’. You know what? As soon as YOU start going there, it won't be anymore!

Exciting 2019 highlights for the ministries of Bibles for Mideast

(with reporting from Pastor Peter Haneef, President, Assembly of Loving God)

We cannot thank God and our faithful supporters enough for enabling a brilliant year for Bibles for Mideast and its umbrella organization, the Assembly of Loving God.

Twenty-eight new Assembly of Loving God underground house churches were established, seven in Africa (three in Somalia alone), eleven in the Middle East and ten in other parts of south Asia.

Jungle baptismal ceremony

Most excitingly, a grand total of 9,622 people were baptized! 7,932 found freedom from Islam, with the remainder escaping Hinduism, Buddhism and local tribal belief systems. Several thousand more prepare for baptism at this writing. The picture here shows a baptismal ceremony held for new believers at one of our Indian jungle churches several months ago. More recently, on New Year’s eve, over 50 new Christians from various faiths were baptized at a challenging site near another jungle church (Saved from witchcraft ... and crocodiles ... in the Indian jungle).

Pastor Kumar organised and led this month's hospital prayer meeting on January 10, with over 1,000 people in attendance. This is the hospital where he had been taken after the brutal attack on his church and its members last September (that story here).

cHRISTIAN MEETING IN THE hiNDU HOSPITAL

A number of students and hospital workers shared their testimonies, with many doctors and other staff, even the Managing Director of the hospital, filling the auditorium to capacity. Some nursing students reported that even though their parents opposed their reading the Bible, they continued to do so secretly. And every single new attendee accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord (apologies for the low-resolution photo)!

Rebuilding after Indian mudslides

The ministry continues its work helping a number of families who lost their homes during the 2018 flood and landslides in India. Two houses have been completed and the keys handed over to families while several other homes are still being built. Unfortunately a lack of funds has slowed the work.

Our church in Iran faces severe persecution. One woman, actually a member of the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s family, accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior! After prayer with some of our workers, her cancer vanished and soon, she joined the KIngdom of Jesus. Local Muslims have made attempts on her life. She, other believers and the Bibles for Mideast pastor there live under constant threats of death. But our Lord has kept them safe.

Once again, we thank you for your prayers and financial support … please keep it up. We cannot do any of this without the help of you and God’s people everywhere.

If you feel led to support us in our efforts to reach the lost in many areas restricted to the Gospel, please click here.
As ever, we especially cherish your prayers.

Saved from witchcraft ... and crocodiles ... in the Indian jungle!

A Bibles for Mideast team of four pastors and some of their family members travelled recently to a remote area of India to hold a week of prayer and fasting leading into the New Year. The religion of the local tribespeople in that area can best be described as a mixture of magic, traditional animistic beliefs and practices, and elements of Hinduism: witchcraft, basically.  

Led by Pastor Paul, the team had been gathering with a very poor church in a jungle area of India near West Bengal. The Bibles for Mideast pastor leading the congregation belongs to the tribe.

Tribal couple in rural India making baskets with dry bamboo strips in front of their traditional mud hut

The Holy Spirit moved mightily: a paralyzed man who had been helped to a meeting left unassisted; and by the end of another gathering, a deaf woman could hear!

Yet even while they met, Hindu militants affiliated with the national government attacked and vandalized a nearby church (that report made the news). The attacked church had been holding prayer and fasting meetings as well. We sent out a prayer request as threats manifested and multiplied.

Due to the increasingly dangerous situation, plans to hold a New Year’s Day baptismal service for over 50 new believers had to be put on hold. Police and militants could be seen patrolling the entire area; somehow they had been alerted. So we put out another prayer request. Miraculously, within about four hours of that going out, I got a jubilant message from Pastor Paul.

”Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Thank you ... thank you all for your prayers. Our Lord answered and 54 people have been baptized.”

Not an ideal baptismal site!

Deep within the thickly-forested area near where they were staying lay a pool. Crocodiles made it their home, and other wild animals drank from it. Yet one of the pastor’s wives prophesied that the pool would be safe for a baptismal ceremony. After corporate prayer, they decided to go for it.

Even with cool temperatures this time of year, Pastor Paul reported the people didn’t notice the cold but instead felt warmed by the Holy Spirit. Local tribal people helped the believers by leading the mile-long march to the pool, armed with bows and arrows and other weapons in case of threats from the animals.  They even drummed and sang as they led the march.  Since no one dared visit the pool even in daytime, the area was nowhere on the radar of the police or RSS ((radical Hindu nationalist) volunteers.

“We saw several crocodiles lying on one side of the pool,” Pastor Paul says. “so we selected the opposite side to hold the baptisms.” He noted with amazement how while they all expected the water to feel cold, they found it wondrously warm.

t was now past midnight, so the only slight illumination emanated from stars barely visible through the thick forest.

“We four pastors entered into the water to do the baptisms. And we baptized all candidates in the same pool without wasting time. The local tribal people stood by with their bows and arrows to rescue us from the wild animals.  It was like how Nehemiah built the temple with weapons.” 

Nothing in the forest, not even the crocodiles, seemed to notice. By 4:30 in the morning they wrapped up the service, exultant and thankful for the prayer support of God’s faithful around the world.

One baptismal candidate deserves special mention. A local tribesman we’ll call Mallu* had, five years ago, been attacked by a crocodile at this very pool. The crocodile had latched onto his leg, and Mallu recalls that someone “with nail-scarred hands” appeared and rescued him from its clutches. He lived, but remained unable to walk properly. . When some Bibles for Mideast missionaries visited his region and shared the gospel message, he realised the one who saved him from crocodile had to have been Jesus. His testimony reinforced the decision to choose this pool as the baptismal site, and of course he wanted to be part of it as well. 

“It was our Lord's plan,” Pastor Paul aptly notes, and he had the honor of baptizing Mallu. It turned out to be a healing ceremony for the man as well, for he emerged from the baptismal waters able to walk without any difficulty!

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* Name changed for security reasons