Hinduism & Ministering to Hindus - AMT

Ministering to Hindus goes back to the earliest time ofthe Church. The apostle Thomas was the first to carry thegospel to India. Outreach to Hindus has taken on manyforms ever since, and, especially in the twentieth century,the response to the gospel is much more encouraging thanwhen ministering to Muslims. Even though the statisticssay there are 3% Christians in India because of theresponse to the gospel by so many Hindus, the percentageis actually much higher.Friendship evangelism is usually the easiest way to initiatea contact with Hindus. Most Hindus esteem religion ingeneral and are free and open to speak about it. A sincere,non-judgmental interest in all aspects of Indian life willprovide a good basis for friendship. Personal interactionwith Hindus will lead to a more certain grasp of theessence of Hinduism than reading many books.Most important is a consistently Christ-like life in sharingthe gospel with Hindus. Mahatma Gandhi said, “You giveme a Christian who will live like Jesus Christ, and I toowill become one.” We need to show them a transparent lifeof peace and joy as a disciple of Jesus Christ.It is important never to criticise or condemn Hinduismopenly. There is much that is good in the practice of bothChristianity and Hinduism. Pointing out the worst aspectsof Hinduism is not the way to win friends or show love.It is a credit to Hindus that they rarely retaliate againstChristians by pointing out all our shameful practices andfailures. Criticising Hinduism can make us feel we havewon an argument; it will not win Hindus to Jesus Christ.It is better not to argue or to debate on points where wemust disagree or to suggest that separation from familyor culture is necessary in becoming a disciple of Christ.To insist is a denial of Biblical teaching (1 Corinthians7:17-24). We must avoid all that hints of triumphalism andpride. We as Christians desire all to find peace and joy andtrue spirituality. We need to speak of hell, only with tearsof compassion. We must point to Jesus so that it is obvioushe is the only Way. God will work and the Holy Spirit willdo his work as we pray.In India it has been, and is, the practice that Christianwitness to Hindus focuses a lot on humanitarian effortsthrough outreach projects centred on the ministry of love,mercy and compassion, and through education and medicalinitiatives, such as hospitals, orphanages and HIV programs.In all the ministry of Christian Missions Charitable Trust, wehave sought to help all without distinction of caste, creed orcolour. In CMCT we have engineered many projects withtremendous effectiveness. The Lord has led us over manyyears to reach out through Girls and Boys Rally work. Thishas been and still is a tremendous outreach to thousands ofHindu young people. Even in May this year we saw nearly200 from Hindu backgrounds come to know the Lord. Theseyoung people, hungry for the truth, reach out through soupkitchens and provision of meals in slums to tragically poorpeople, and they bring many to a knowledge of the livingGod. We have demonstrated compassionate ministry throughour medical work of leprosy rehabilitation; bringing hope tohundreds of HIV-affected families; and through the tsunamiministry bringing the gospel to a fishing hamlet that hadnever heard the gospel before. I will never forget after wepresented an Easter drama, with the death and resurrectionstory vividly portrayed to them, how so many came and said,“We never knew this before, no-one ever told us.”The orphanage ministry involves 150 people; nearly all arefrom Hindu backgrounds, but most have come to the Lordand stand strong for him today. In the face of the perplexityengendered by the diversity of Hindu beliefs, the assuranceof truth and salvation evidenced by Christians has spoken toso many Hindus. Loving relationships that demonstrate whatChrist can do in a life, by freeing people from the dominationof demons and bondage, bring many to freedom in Christ.When we genuinely listen to a Hindu point of view andappreciate what is good, we always find a listening ear and anopen heart.We have learnt, in dealing with Hindus, never to havea spirit of criticism or superiority if we want to opentheir hearts to accept the claims of Christ. Having adeep friendship with Hindus, being sympathetic andcommitting each contact to the Lord in prayer, and havinga consistently Christ-like life, are the most importantfactors in sharing the gospel with Hindus.It is sad to see so many people groping in darkness allaround us, as it is the devil’s work to blind the eyes ofpeople so that they will not turn to the living God. There isa tremendous challenge ahead of us every day to bind thepowers of darkness. In a few northern states of India, theanti-conversion bill has been enforced. Due to this, manywho have become Christians returned to Hinduism. It is verymuch a perilous time; the need is to act now. There is muchwork being done in India today through many evangelicalorganisations, full time national workers, pastors andevangelists. The seed of the gospel is being sown everywhere.For the past 36 years I have been conducting a women’sBible study on Monday evenings on a roof top in acongested area called Tondiarpet. Over 80 women attend,90% of whom are Hindus. We have seen so many cometo the Lord over the years. For many this is the onlyChristian meeting they can attend. They come on theway to the market while their husbands are at work. Theyhunger for deep Bible studies. Many do not have theirown bibles as their husbands have destroyed them, but Ihave seen hundreds of women memorise whole chaptersof the Bible off by heart, word-perfect. These women hideGod’s Word in their heart and know more of the Biblethan those of us who are privileged to have a bible. Theygo to their friends’ homes in the day time and read theBible and memorise it. They write notes in the meetings;some even dig holes in the ground outside their homesand bury portions of the Scriptures so that they canhave easy access to them in order to read when no one isaround. To hear these women pray moves me to tears andwill surely move the heart of God. Many are now openlytestifying and they themselves distribute the Word of God.This ministry to Hindu women is one of the most blessedministries I am involved in.K Janaki writes, “I was born in a Hindu family. My familyand I worshipped idols; we practised a lot of idolatry. Ilived near a Christian church and I used to listen to thesongs. I was afraid when I was in a dark place, and in fearI used to call out the name of Jesus. I began to realisethat attending Hindu temples was displeasing to the livingGod. I asked Jesus to be my Saviour. I was married to aHindu and after marriage I practised more idolatry, butinside I had no peace in my heart. I felt empty inside. Igave birth to seven children. My husband used to gamble;he never took care of the family. I had no money to lookafter my family. A Christian sister counselled me. I startedattending church without my husband’s knowledge. In1979 I heard Amma was conducting a meeting. I attendedand was greatly comforted. I had decided earlier thatI wanted to die prematurely, but God has renewed meand now I cannot wait to attend the meetings and studyGod’s word. I write out the messages and give them tomy children to read. Now all my children except one sonhave come to know the Lord. Now God has answered myprayers and my husband has come to know the Lord.The testimony of Mr Ezekiel Mani, who now worksin CMCT, is a great challenge. He was a Hindu andremembers the call of a newspaper boy, “Sir, paper?Sir, paper?” He lived in poverty and delivered the dailynewspaper. Forty eight years ago his name was Krishna.The local Postmaster asked who this boy was – he was somoved by the sight. A doctor’s wife, who was a soul winner,took pity on him. He was attending school and she began tosupport him by giving him money to buy his breakfast. Thisboy was attracted by her loving care, and he often went tomeet her. When she was able, she shared the gospel withhim. During these days he was searching to know the livingGod. She gave him a Tamil bible. Being a staunch Hinduand his parents being orthodox in their faith, he becamevery scared about a vow that he had made to a Hindu god.He searched for the Lord, and his doubts were cleared bythe living God and the fellowship of a local assembly.In 1967 the Lord spoke to him through Deuteronomy30:10. Mr Mani then obeyed the Lord in baptism and tookthe name of Ezekiel Mani. He had to find a job. He prayedand fasted, and he was given a job as a sweeper in KarigiriLeprosy Hospital. To test him, he was given a job to becomea medical clerk. By God’s grace he became a very efficientmedical recording officer. He then married and had twochildren. The Lord gave him a Christian wife. Sadly, his wifedied in 1991 and alone he brought up two children and theLord enabled him to get them married. For over 40 years,the verses from 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 have been true in hislife. He became lonely and the Lord led him to Chennai andto CMCT. He rents a little room and looks after himself. Hesays, as the Israelites did when they entered Canaan after 40years, “The Lord has helped me to find Canaan in CMCT.”He is a godly, humble man. Instead of being a newspaperseller, he is now a good news-teller.The Lord is working as we seek to be walking JesusChrists day by day to those still in darkness. There areso many testimonies that can be related by CMCT staff;what follows is a poignant one.Alila stood on the beach, holding her tiny infant sonclose to her heart. Tears swelled in her eyes as she beganwalking slowly towards the river’s edge. She stepped intothe water silently, making her way out until she was waistdeep, the water gently lapping at the sleeping baby’s feet.She stood there for a long time, holding the child tightlyas she stared out across the river. Then all of a sudden inone quick moment she threw the six-month-old baby tohis watery death.Many often witness for Jesus among the crowds whogather at the Ganges. Alila was found that day kneelingin the sand, crying uncontrollably and beating her breast.With compassion a worker knelt down next to her andasked her what was wrong. Through her sobs she told him,“Sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I haveto the goddess Ganges, my first born son.” This worker’sheart ached for the desperate woman. As she wept hegently began to tell her about Jesus’ love, and that throughhim her sins could be forgiven.She looked at him strangely. “I have never heard thatbefore,” she replied through her tears. "Why couldn’t youhave come 30 minutes earlier? If you had, my child wouldnot have died.” For many people like Alila, missionariesare arriving too late, simply because there aren’t enoughmissionaries on the fields. Pray that thousands ofadditional labourers can be sent into the harvest.8 Serving-TogetherAugust2008 Serving-TogetherAugust2008 9