Missionaries on Trial for Preaching the Gospel
August 4, 2009
A complaint lodged against two Bible college interns could leave new Christians on their own for discipleship.
Yash Menon and Rajiv Trivedi work under Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Bala Chopra in a village in Jharkhand, India, where 30 believers, both local and from a neighboring village, gather for worship. The two interns have been conducting regular prayer meetings in the nearby village in the home of a believer named Harbir.
Three days ago, one of these meetings was disrupted by relatives of one of the Christians. The group began beating Yash and Rajiv, accusing them of forcefully converting people. Then they went to the local authorities and filed a complaint against the interns and Harbir.
The leaders of the village are holding a meeting today to decide if the complaint is valid. According to Bala, the missionaries might be asked to sign an agreement stating that they will not preach the Gospel or conduct worship services in the village.
Please pray that this meeting will have a positive outcome for the missionaries and other Christians in the village, and that God will change the hearts of their attackers. Also pray for the rest of Yash and Rajiv's state as violence is on the rise throughout the area.
