By Linda Jones

04/19/2018 Washington, DC (International Christian Concern) – On January 28, 2018, Emmanuel Faith Gospel Church in Daulthabad was attacked by 50 members of the Hindu Vahini. This terrorist group is an affiliate of the RSS, a nationalist Hindu organization that seeks to “maintain” their Hindu pride and culture. The perpetrators disrupted the church’s worship service and manhandled the pastor and other church members. They continued to vandalize the church by destroying the podium, music equipment, church signs, and chairs. Afterwards, the attackers also threatened to set the church on fire if the members continued to gather for worship.

Many of the necessary items used for church meetings, which had taken the small congregation several years to purchase, were completely destroyed. Therefore, soon after ICC learned about the incident, we decided to assist our fellow brothers and sisters by helping them replace the destroyed property. ICC donated an amplifier, plastic chairs, carpets, speakers, a podium, and some congas. This assistance relieved some of the financial burden on the congregation as they sought to raise money to replace the damaged items.

The congregation was very grateful for the assistance. Pastor Sudhakar, the lead pastor, expressed his gratitude, “We never thought that somebody would come and give this offer to us, we were devastated and experiencing not only intense opposition, but now the [vandalism] of the church by destroying those things that we use for the worship…We really thank God for opening a way that we could have most of the items replaced, it was impossible for us to replace those items by ourselves, and it is great encouragement for me personally and even for the church to know that God is faithful and uses His Church to bless others who are in need.”

He continued, “I want to thank ICC and our brother who came to help us, the visit of [this] brother to us, immediately after the incident was so comforting and then the financial assistance; we will be ever grateful to ICC and pray for you. On behalf of the church, a very big thank you.”

Please pray for the safety of Emmanuel Faith Gospel Church’s congregants and the pastor who still gather for worship in a dangerous place. Ask God to protect them from the radicals who continue to threaten them for their decision to follow Christ. Remember to also pray for the provision and support of the church as a whole as they encounter persecution.

For interviews with William Stark, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org