Pastor Haresh serves the Lord in the thick jungles of Chhattisgarh, India. But even deeper than the area’s physical remoteness is its isolation from the Gospel. Since his arrival there in 2003, Haresh has been laboring to change that—and now a church of nearly 30 people meets regularly in one village. The new believers take their faith in Christ seriously, eagerly learning from the pastor and helping him in outreach.
By regularly reaching out to surrounding communities with the love of Christ, Pastor Haresh has penetrated more than a dozen other villages with the Gospel message as well. His wife is active in ministry, too, sharing Christ with other women.
But now this dedicated young pastor has encountered opposition for his witness and needs our prayers. Reaching out to youth has been a significant part of Pastor Haresh’s ministry-and many have responded with great enthusiasm. But some have not.
Some young men recently harassed him because of his stand for the truth, forcing him out of the village where he planted his church.
Now Pastor Haresh is no longer allowed to return to share God’s Word there or disciple new believers. And some in the village have even threatened to tell local authorities that he was forcibly converting people, prohibited under Chhattisgarh’s current anti-conversion law.
Pastor Haresh’s primary prayer request is ministry-related, and not for his personal safety. “He has requested us all to pray,” a field correspondent reports, “so that God may open the door for him to return to this village where he has planted a church, where the believers need to be fed the Word of God.”