Late one night, a group of young men in Madhya Pradesh, central India, broke into a Christian church and vandalized the property. Working quickly, they hauled the brand new furniture outside, dragged the pieces to the local well and sent them crashing to the bottom.

Sajan Kewal was pleased.

As leader of a group of young religious fundamentalists, Sajan kept a low profile for the next few months. Then he and some friends went back to survey the condition of the church, but there was little sign of the damage they had wreaked. Believers had lovingly made repairs, replaced the furniture, and—from all appearances—were still meeting there to sing and pray to Jesus. Venting their anger, Sajan and his friends tracked down those responsible for the repairs and beat them unmercifully.

"I wanted to wipe out Christianity from our state," he remembers, adding that he'd helped demolish many other churches. Tough as nails, he was a credit to the anti-Christian cause.

Out to Destroy

Born in a small village in Madhya Pradesh, Sajan grew up in a devout family that venerated the Hindu deity Hanuman, the monkey god. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, it was their custom to rise at 4:00 a.m. to bring sacrifices to the idol—coconut, flowers, or incense—and spend the day fasting. This had been the family tradition for generations.

When Sajan was 22, his world was shaken when his landlord father died, leaving behind two wives and their children. A serious dispute over inheritance rights broke out in the family, and Sajan became so bitter toward his stepbrothers that he plotted to kill them. But even as he saved money to buy a gun, his father's death raised questions that troubled him more than the inheritance dispute: Where is my father now? When it's my turn to die, what will happen to my soul?

"I had no peace of mind," he recalls. "I was totally corrupt in my heart."

In his quest to discover purpose and meaning in life, Sajan joined an anti-Christian organization of religious fundamentalists. With his go-getter personality, he was soon leader of a local group.

"We were told that Christianity is a foreign religion and that we need to stop it," he explains. With 25 to 30 young men under him, Sajan set out to harass area missionaries who showed the JESUS film. He estimates that they destroyed 50 film projectors and burned perhaps as many copies of the JESUS film.

But when they vandalized the church, Sajan's life was on the brink of change. For the pastor and his congregation, that act of vandalism was a call to prayer—and for the next year they prayed for divine intervention in Sajan's life.

During that time, the pastor had opportunity to talk one-on-one with Sajan and gave him a New Testament. Reluctantly he began reading it and was moved by the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Sajan went to a worship service, curious to learn more. When his group found out that its leader had visited a Christian church, they threatened to beat him.

As Sajan secretly immersed himself in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit ignited the truth to his heart and revealed the deep love of God. "The message of the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ came alive," he says. "I realized my hopeless condition, repented of sin, and received Jesus as my Savior and King. I was completely changed. The love of Jesus conquered me."

All for the Living One

When Sajan became a Christian, the news spread like wildfire and nearly everyone he knew—relatives, friends, and neighbors—rejected him. "I stood firm for my Redeemer and began to witness of the Living One to the lost." And while God removed his hatred for his stepbrothers, they still despised him for being a Christian. Like many new believers in the 10/40 Window, he was driven away from his home village.

Through God's provision, Sajan attended a Bible college for one year. During this time he surrendered to God's call to ministry. He then poured himself into Gospel work for four years, planting four churches and helping more than 200 people come to the Lord.

Today the 28-year-old missionary studies at a GFA Bible school in India, where he receives additional training for even greater effectiveness in ministry. His dream is to plant more churches in Madhya Pradesh after graduation. He hopes that God will use him to reach troubled youth—even those who live to harass believers. As Sajan knows from his own past, they're only enemies of God until Jesus conquers their hearts.

Please pray

*For Sajan to have perseverance in his studies at Bible school, especially for learning English (a skill that gives him access to a wider world of ministry resources);
*For his wife and baby girl to know the Lord's tender care and grace during his schooling;
*For salvation for his father-in-law and step-family;
*For the Lord to reveal His love and salvation to Sajan's former gang members and others like them.