SEND! magazine Second Quarter 2006: A High Calling — GFA Missionaries Respond to Persecution

A High Calling — GFA Missionaries Respond to Persecution

As a Hindu extremist group surrounded his house, shouting and chanting, Pastor Ramesh prayed with his missionary parents, wife and four-year-old son. Then he told them it was time to leave. It was a painful decision for the native missionary because the building was not only Ramesh's family home, but also that of the 60-member church he pastored.

Violence against Christians in Asia can seem to shatter the progress of any work of God. The church building where Pastor Ramesh ministered was taken over, then defaced with Hindu slogans and symbols. But the native missionaries keep their focus on Jesus and are willing to serve Him no matter the cost.

Opposition to his ministry had begun and quickly escalated in the preceding weeks, accompanied by the anti-Christian group's harsh threats and violence.

"We will burn you and your congregation alive if you don't recant your faith in Christ," they warned Ramesh. On one occasion, they had forced him into a vehicle and taken him to a remote location, where they slapped him around and shoved him to the ground. Then the group had begun to exert increasing pressure on him to abandon his house and church building. So that morning, after seeking the Lord's wisdom, the family left.

Moments later, the extremist group took over their home—and the church. They proclaimed it a Hindu temple, placing a brightly painted image of a deity in the courtyard.

Not if, but When

Believers like Ramesh are accustomed to persecution. Living in nations with Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist majorities, these Christians see it not so much as an "if" but a "when." A young person in Asia knows that when he tells his nonbelieving parents of his decision to follow Jesus, he is likely to be harassed, beaten or even disowned. In these close-knit societies, abandonment like this can be heart-wrenching for new Christians and perhaps the hardest persecution of all.

So in GFA's 54 Bible colleges where future missionaries receive their training, response to persecution is taken seriously. Some classes include practical instruction on how to handle anger, violence and death threats. Weekend and summer outreach opportunities provide practical preparation for what students will likely face as full-time missionaries on the field.

Graduation ceremonies at GFA's Bible colleges are times of both rejoicing and reflection. Leaders feel mixed emotions as they commission the students to full-time ministry-joyful for their commitment and love for the Lord Jesus—but also wondering, "What pain will they endure for the sake of Christ? Who will lay down their lives?"

Greater than the Fear

These men and women are human beings. Enduring beatings, facing threats and dealing with daily hostility can be terrifying and traumatic experiences. Recovery from injuries can be painful and slow. Ramesh clearly remembers his own ordeal.

"When they took me to the remote house to beat me," he shares, "the faces of my son, wife and parents began to flash in front of me. I became anxious about their future. I thought, 'What will happen to them if these men kill me?' "

On a recent trip to Orissa, India, Gospel for Asia founder and president K.P. Yohannan met a lady who had experienced terrible persecution in her own home.

"One sister told me her whole family is Hindu," he related. "She is the only one who knows the Lord Jesus Christ. Her husband beats her every week for praying and reading her Bible. Even for coming to this [meeting], he beat her severely and threatened to divorce her."

But the love these missionaries and families have for Jesus is greater than their fears, as Dr. Yohannan's account of this lady's response confirms: "I cannot stop loving my Jesus," she told him. "My body is full of pain, but I will follow Him until the end, and all I am looking for is to see my Jesus face to face. Please pray for my husband," she added, "that he may also know Jesus."

'We are Happy'

Gospel for Asia Bible college students are often told, "If you are given the privilege to be martyred for the Lord's sake, remember that heaven is a much better place." That sense of privilege carries over to the mission field. GFA native missionaries view suffering for Christ as one of the highest callings in life.

Pastor Ramesh agrees.

"The Lord tells us in His Word, 'Blessed are you when you are persecuted.' We are happy even though we have to leave our home or get beaten for His sake," he states. "I am even willing to lay down my life for the Lord."

Although they do not ignore or deny the pain and suffering they experience, this attitude is what sustains these men and women each day in their service to the Lord. It fills them with joy and gives them determination as they reach out to the lost of Asia with His hope, knowing their labors are worth the risk.