Photo by Reuters/Stringer
India (MNN) ― Serial terror blasts in Rajasthan's city of Jaipur last week claimed 61 lives. A little-known militant Muslim group is claiming responsibility and appears to have used bicycles in the bombings.
Dave Stravers who heads up Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India says one of their project coordinators fell under suspicion. He was preparing to train a class of 10 church planters.
Each church planter is provided with a bicycle, along with Bibles and materials, to help them travel from village to village during their two years of training. The bicycles are a key part of the ministry. "Pastor Samuel had gone to purchase bicycles from a bicycle shop, and because he was purchasing 10 bicycles all at once, somebody got suspicious and called the police."
Stravers goes on to say, "The police arrested him, and he found himself under rather intense interrogation regarding what he was doing with the bicycles. The fact that he's a religious worker made them even more suspicious."
Police have also released a sketch of a man in his early 20s who is suspected of buying the bicycles and have questioned nearly a dozen people.
Though no charges were filed, authorities escorted the pastor to his home and went through his papers, questioning him about his ministry work near Jaipur.
Stravers says he's now under scrutiny, which could complicate ministry. "We purchase about a thousand bicycles a year for our church planters. The church planters we train plant, on average, two churches per year."
Despite the anti-conversion laws in Rajasthan, their teams will remain evangelistically active. "The authorities have felt a need to try to put a damper on this because they see what's happening with so many people becoming Christians for the first time, and they're sensing the open spiritual atmosphere."
Pray for other Christians doing ministry work in the region, where just 0.1% are followers of Jesus.
