Jun 21: India, Bihar, Chhattisgarh
India
Republic of India
Asia
See Prayer Information
Geography
Area: 3,166,000 sq kmA further 121,000 sq km of Kashmir, a contested area, is administered by Pakistan and China. Geographically and politically, India dominates South Asia and the Indian Ocean. There are 28 Union States and 7 Union Territories.
Population: 1,214,464,312 Annual Growth: 1.44%
Capital: Delhi
Urbanites: 30.1%
HDI Rank: 134 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Peoples: 2,533 (88% unreached) All peoplesUnreached Peoples Prayer Card
Official language: Constitutionally there are 22 official languages. The official language is Hindi (spoken by 40% of the population). English is a subsidiary official language Languages: 456 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Hinduism| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 71,011,000 | 5.84 | 3.7 |
| Evangelicals | 26,290,283 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| Hinduism | 902,711,323 | 74.33 |
Challenge for Prayer
The Church in India is highly diverse, has a long legacy and is, at the same time, vital and growing, and nominal and declining. Much of Indian Christianity is the result of people movements over the past 300 years, punctuated by local revivals. In many denominations, it remains in Western forms. Liberal theology, universalism and growing nominalism in the Church have dried up the spirit of outreach to the millions of non-Christians. Many congregations have no first-generation believers from a non-Christian background. Disputes over personalities, power and property have led to many divisions, court cases, widespread disillusionment and continuous loss of young people to materialism. At the same time, steady streams of Christians transfer from these groups to newer, more dynamic Independent churches. Pray that present pressures and the work of the Holy Spirit might bring new life to traditional forms of Christianity.a) The Orthodox Churches are the oldest expressions of Christianity in India, tracing their heritage back to the tradition of the Apostle Thomas, who reputedly ministered and was martyred here in the 1st Century. Orthodox Christians number in their millions, and many denominations of other confessions are also heavily influenced by the Thomist tradition. These groups are rooted strongly in Kerala and southwest India.
b) Catholics represent the largest single body of Christians in India with nearly 20 million affiliates. They are known for their charitable work – most notably Mother Teresa’s legacy among the poorest of the poor and the more than 5,000 Catholic-run health-care facilities, comprising more than 20% of India’s total.
c) The need for change in the Church is urgent and has never been greater. Pray for:
i Unity. The National United Christian Forum brings together the Catholic Bishops’ Forum, the National Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship. The All India Christian Council serves Christians of all denominations, with over 5,000 agencies, NGOs, denominations and institutions working for human rights, social justice, religious freedom and protection of minorities. A spirit of divisiveness characterized the past; now, unity is greater than ever before, in part due to hostility from external forces. Pray for unity to mature and to endure. Greater cooperation and accountability are needed between local churches and sending agencies.
ii Indigenization of Church culture, structure and expression – for too long, churches have relied on foreign cultural forms.
iii Greater reliance on an Indian model of cell/house churches rather than on Western-style modes and places of worship.
iv Effective discipling – through coordinated, collaborative efforts – of the many being impacted by any one of the multiple methods of evangelism. Many new believers come to faith through large rallies, healings or miracles, but opportunities are few for Christian instruction to strengthen and sustain them in their faith.
v More relevance in impacting the mainstream of national life. The Church is seen as linked to the marginalized, deprived sections of society. Business, politics, arts, culture and the middle and upper classes – all shapers of Indian society – have not yet been impacted by the gospel.
For an additional 14 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of India.Bihar
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
The first fruits of spiritual harvest are now ripe. The number of those coming to Christ is increasing, more than doubling the census figures for Christians (but still a mere drop in the ocean of humanity in Bihar). Those sharing the gospel perceive a greater spiritual openness. Pray for continued acceleration of this praiseworthy trend and for implementation of effective means of discipleship for the tens of thousands of new Christians. Previously, they came from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This change has resulted in no small part from:a) The massive investment of personnel by Indian missions. There are over 4,000 Indian missionaries in Bihar. GEMS (Gospel Echoing Missionary Society) has over 2,000 missionaries, and BORN (Bihar Outreach Network) has 300. FMPB, Vishwa Vani, GFA, Emmanuel Christian Fellowship Centre, OM, India Missions, NIEA, AoG, YWAM, Operation Agape and others supplement this number.
b) Excellent research and analysis that highlight people groups, castes, languages, religions and needs. Vision 2020 is setting ambitious goals for ministry and church planting in Bihar.
c) A focus on prayer, church planting and holistic outreach (including medical facilities), schools, children’s homes, community healthcare projects and vocational training.
For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Bihar.Chhattisgarh
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Chhattisgarh is known as the “Home of the Tribals”, with Dalits making up a large proportion of the population as well. Tribal peoples are generally poor, undereducated, highly superstitious and religious, and deeply engaged in the world of spirits, witch doctors and sorcery. BJP’s neglect of tribals and Dalits is matched only by their reaction when Christians attempt to minister to them. Pray that the liberating light of the gospel might shine into every one of the many tribal groups here. The Gond tribe is the state’s largest people; over 30 agencies now seek to reach out to them with the gospel.For an additional 2 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a good comment, Negative comments will not be posted.