Sunday School Ministry

Sunday schools can pioneer ministry work in a village. Sometimes when missionaries go into a village, the only ones willing to listen to the Good News are the children.

The children are so eager to attend the Sunday school classes, they will sometimes sneak off without letting their parents know. But when their mom and dad find out—and they see the difference it has made in their children's lives—they, too, end up joining the Sunday school class.

Never Too Old for Sunday School

Are you ever too old for Sunday school? Jamali Puja says no.

The 80-year-old woman chose to follow Christ after hearing about Him from one of her relatives—a child who was attending a local Sunday school class.

Jamali’s story, and many others like it, helps Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries remain committed to reaching out with God’s love through Sunday school, no matter what happens.

National missionaries Prabhal Rao and Raju Binswar started teaching Sunday school classes at a local church when they were still Bible college students. At that time, they were assigned to complete a practical internship at a church in an area near their Bible college. They also reached out to a village that was just a short walk away and started teaching Sunday school there, too.

Their classes were very popular, and soon they had a roomful of eager children learning about Jesus. The children’s parents had taught them to follow the traditional religions of their ancestors. So when the kids went home and told their parents what they’d learned about Jesus, the parents were intrigued. This opened up frequent opportunities to share the Good News with parents.

One mother, Madhura, asked a lot of questions. She listened intently to their presentation and requested the men to come back and tell her husband about Jesus. But telling him about God’s love turned problematic. When Madhura’s husband showed up that day, the missionaries found out that a gang of young men had followed him home. The young men belonged to a local anti-Christian extremist group and they were unhappy that the couple was talking with Christians. The men verbally harassed the missionaries, then beat them up.

“Stop entering this village with the message of Jesus Christ and don’t disturb this family,” one of the angry men said to him. “If you come again and try to convert people from this village, you will have to face terrible consequences.”

The group chased Prabhal and Harish out of the village.

A few months later, Prabhal went back into the village and started teaching again. He continues to minister to the children who grew up learning to worship multiple gods and goddesses by performing sacred rituals. When Prabhal taught these children about Jesus, once again their parents and relatives asked questions. One of these relatives was Jamali.

Prabhal is praying that many will come to know the Lord in this village.