India (MNN) — Anju is a young woman in India who has completed all three of Mission India's study programs.
She attended Children's Bible Club, Adult Literacy class, and is now helping her community by attending training for church planting.
This success was not expected. Anju's teachers did not see her as a bright student when she was in elementary schoo,l so she dropped out. As a teenager today, she is helping plant two churches after church leaders encouraged her to get involved with the church planting training course.
Dave Stravers of Mission India said, "So here you have a story of a self-conscious elementary school drop-out who thought she was good for nothing, and suddenly she finds herself, through the loving attention of Christian mentors, being a leader–not only of children but of adults."
Last year more than four million children attended Children's Bible Club. While the numbers are large, Anju's story is proof that the quantity is translating to quality. "Children really are the key to reaching India and perhaps to reaching the world. They have so much potential, and when the grace of God gets working in their lives, wonderful things begin to happen," said Stravers.
Mission India has had many students become leaders beginning in their children's groups. "We have had thousands of church leaders who actually were raised up in their position of leadership in the church by going through these three programs," Stravers said.
While the programs are very beneficial to children, they are an incredible journey for a woman in India. Many of the women's stories are the same. "They will say, ‘I did not know I was a human being until I learned to read.' Many women, especially in the untouchable classes, are told, ‘You're not fully human,' and therefore are
mistreated," explained Stravers.
It costs just one dollar to send a child to Children's Bible Club. In a country that is less than three percent Christian, children need to hear the Gospel at a young age.
