India (MNN)–Gospel For Asia’s KP Yohannan says yet another devastating attack hit The Believers’ Church at Lamding under Thoubal district.
This makes the 4th attempt to destroy the building this year, but this one included a hail of bullets.
No one was hurt. In earlier attempts, angry mobs had dismantled the construction four times in the previous six months. Once, they set ablaze the missionaries’ temporary living quarters and burned their belongings to ashes.
Yohannan observes, as the severity of the attacks grow, so too, does the determination of the church body. “They are just about to put the roof on it, because they were building it 24 hours non-stop–all the believers, kids, wives, everybody there. They are determined to put the roof on and have the dedication of the church, no matter what happens, within a week. That’s what they told me.”
It’s a power struggle. Yohannan explains that the upper caste Brahmin are threatened by the Dalits’ turn to Christianity. “All this kind of boils down to the fact that they need to annihilate or remove the Christians, destroy the Christians and the church out there. But, you know the strange thing, the more they were opposing this particular church, the more conversions and baptisms were taking place.”
In the meantime, local Christian organizations have appealed to the governor for protection from such attacks. Pray for the group, as they have battled some discouragement and would be grateful for prayer as they continue their labor of love.
