Radical Hindu groups continue to target Christians, including believers who worship in the GFA-related churches in Karnataka, India. On Sunday, September 17, members of a radical Hindu nationalist group confronted GFA Pastor Gouthamlal Lepcha at his church in Karnataka. They threatened to kill believers and damage their church building if they continued to meet for worship services.

Shortly after the confrontation at the church, Pastor Gouthamlal was summoned to the local police station where he was instructed to turn away all worshippers who had come from Hindu backgrounds. When he refused to deny these new believers the right to worship, the anti-Christian groups reiterated the threats against him and his congregation. The threats did frighten worshippers, who expected the Hindus to attack during the service the following Sunday.

Thankfully, the radicals did not show up to disrupt the service that weekend, nor have they attacked the church since then. However, many believers are terrified to attend worship services. The average weekly attendance has fallen to about 10.

These new threats come just six months after a group of about 10 radicals crashed into this same GFA church shortly after an Easter Sunday service in April. They severely beat Pastor Ratish Javed, who pastored the church at that time. They also brutalized a group of about 35 women and children, leaving many of them with severe injuries. The radicals ransacked the church and threatened to cause more harm if the people continued to conduct worship services.

Pastor Ratish spent time in the intensive care unit of the hospital recovering from his injuries. He has lingering health problems related to the attack and has since been transferred to another church. According to The Hindu newspaper, police arrested 10 of the perpetrators a few days after the attack, but no word is available on their fates.

A small minority of Hindu radicals espouse the ideals of hindutva, an ideology that regards Christianity as subversive to Hinduism. These Hindu extremists believe that to be Indian means to be Hindu. They accuse Hindus who choose to follow Christ of abandoning their faith, thereby diluting the commonality of the Hindu ethnic population in India. They also claim that Christians are forcing Hindus to become Christians. That’s why these followers of hindutva are pushing for anti-conversion laws in the Indian states that do not already have such laws on the books. They view Christianity—and Christian missionaries especially—as a threat to Hindu nationalism in India.

During the past few months, these extremists seem to have turned more of their attention toward the Muslim community. However, they continue to threaten Christians.

Pastor Gouthamlal asks for prayer for the believers who are putting their lives on the line every time they attend a worship service. Pastor Gouthamlal also requests prayer for the safety of his family, including his two sons.